For our needs of showing Elves as innately magic and tied to nature, I have given them a Cantrip tied to the Fey ancestry allowing a choice from the Wizard or Druid list and allowing the player to choose the casting stat between the 3 mental stats so as not make it worthless down the road.
D&D 5E PHB Races Redone
- Thread starter Eubani
- Start date
I am not entirely happy with the Dwarven increased carry ability. Would people agree that Dwarves are innately clan/family orientated by nature? Meaning that they naturally form tight knit family and extended family units, and when away from them latch on to what is available if it has proven worthy eg adventuring party is turned into an adhoc family for them. I ask this as it seems something that I could hang something off.
Faolyn
(she/her)
Yeah, but that's because their magic is actually supposed to be psionics, which is an Intelligence thing.
This is probably the best way. They're innately magical, but: Did they study magic and how they can manipulate it? If so, pick Int. Did they allow nature itself to shape their magic? If so, pick Wis. Did they just let the magic flow through them and let emerge as it will? If so, pick Cha.
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
The point is, the Intelligence score that all Gith express is only +1.
What distinguishes each subrace is +2.
By analogy:
The elf race would grant Dexterity score +1.
Meanwhile, the high elf subrace is Intelligence +2, the wood elf subrace Wisdom +2, and the drow elf subrace Charisma +2.
This arrangement would feel more magical.
Sounds good.
I view the Charisma as the innate magic being ones true self, and expressing ones personality and influence.
On my Dwarven racial write up I am thinking of replacing the Load bearing with Family not of blood: Once per short rest gain advantage on the next attack roll against an enemy that has caused damage to a member of your party. Thoughts? I also would like to hear everybody's opinion on what makes a Halfling a Halfling they seem to be lacking in story and place.
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Faolyn
(she/her)
Most well-known halfling traits are homebody traits.
Give them the ability to make full meals out of scraps that normally wouldn't feed anyone (stone soup style, perhaps). Or perhaps to take care of others so they regain more of their health. Maybe if you have a halfling fussing over you, you regain an extra HD after a long rest, or for every HD a halfling spends during a short rest, a certain number of allies regain an extra 1-2 hp.
Give them the ability to make full meals out of scraps that normally wouldn't feed anyone (stone soup style, perhaps). Or perhaps to take care of others so they regain more of their health. Maybe if you have a halfling fussing over you, you regain an extra HD after a long rest, or for every HD a halfling spends during a short rest, a certain number of allies regain an extra 1-2 hp.
That is really sounding cultural. Now an ability to gain sustenance from small amounts or inedible would be Biological but not really a Halfling thing.
Faolyn
(she/her)
Are you looking for biology or culture? Because you already have a lot of biological parts to the halfling.
I am trying to redo the races as they have been doing them lately in Tasha's and UA. That is with stat bonuses and cultural elements removed. If one looks at the Dragonborn UA different subraces were dealt with by promoting choices within individual powers. So what I am looking for is a single racial entry devoid of culturral elements and showcasing biological, supernatural and magic elements that the whole race exhibits.
Faolyn
(she/her)
Honestly, all of the halfling traits, even the sub-race traits, are either biological or on the border. Nimbleness definitely, Lucky almost certainly. Brave could be biological if you describe it as halflings not producing as much adrenaline or cortisol or whatever as humans do. Or it could be cultural if it involves growing up on a unique method of telling stories (since halflings are tale-tellers) that are designed not to scare the kids (no ghost stories) so much as showing them how to overcome the ghosts. Resistance to poison would be biological. Naturally Stealthy is probably cultural, unless you want to say they have unusually soft footsteps do to, I dunno, hairy toes.
Otherwise, I'd steal from the Dragonmarked halflings for culture. The two Eberron halfling houses are for healing and for hospitality, and both of those feel very halflingly but are also clearly learned. At least they would be outside of Eberron.
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