D&D 5E PHB Races Redone

[mrpopstar]

I disagree. Any such implication is incidental.

They all mastwr at least some basic magic. That means they’re inherently magical, because that isn’t something that is even possible for other peoples.

Are they infused with arcane magic or are they students of arcane magic That is the question.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Are they infused with arcane magic or are they students of arcane magic That is the question.

The latter doesn’t make any sense on any level whether for a culture or “biology”. The former makes sense as an innate trait.

High Elves have a greater innate ability to learn magic. They are all spellcasters, even if they never put any actual time and effort into it. They can all use magic items that require a spellcaster, etc.

They get to choose their cantrip because they have innate magic not an innate set of spells. They choose how to channel it and practice doing so. The game doesn’t have any other way to model that.

 

[mrpopstar]

The latter doesn’t make any sense on any level whether for a culture or “biology”. The former makes sense as an innate trait.

High Elves have a greater innate ability to learn magic. They are all spellcasters, even if they never put any actual time and effort into it. They can all use magic items that require a spellcaster, etc.

They get to choose their cantrip because they have innate magic not an innate set of spells. They choose how to channel it and practice doing so. The game doesn’t have any other way to model that.

My contribution was that innate magic is a Charisma thing, as opposed to being an Intelligence thing, so I'm not unsupportive of high elves being innately magical, I'm just offering up the consideration that maybe Charisma might be a more appropriate stat. -- Just food for thought as this is fleshed out.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

My contribution was that innate magic is a Charisma thing, as opposed to being an Intelligence thing, so I'm not unsupportive of high elves being innately magical, I'm just offering up the consideration that maybe Charisma might be a more appropriate stat. -- Just food for thought as this is fleshed out.

IMO High Elves should have been +2 Cha anyway, so that’s fair.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The Drow race redo will most likely be done soon enough by WotC so I will leave it be, and as for the topic you broach I think that it could go either as a godly punishment or as environmental. Keep in mind Drow from different setting and different groups of Drow within a setting can differ greatly. For example a Dark Elf in Dragonlance is a criminal that has been exiled.

Dragonlance dark elves were not Drow, just outcasts from high elf society. Drow are a physically separate elven subrace (at least for now).

 

[Yaarel]

My contribution was that innate magic is a Charisma thing, as opposed to being an Intelligence thing, so I'm not unsupportive of high elves being innately magical, I'm just offering up the consideration that maybe Charisma might be a more appropriate stat. -- Just food for thought as this is fleshed out.

According to examples in 5e, some races use Intelligence for their innate magic, like Githyanki.

Different mental abilities make magic feel different. For example, for psionic magic, Intelligence is more about understanding the nature of consciousness and reality, Charisma is more about manifesting self-identity, and Wisdom is more about raw willpower. Psionic magic is also innate magic, and all of these abilities work fine.

That said, where the elves are artists and bards, Charisma in the sense of manifesting self-identity and esthetic beauty makes sense for their innate magic.

I view the elves as magical in every way. They are innately magical, and any high elf can innately spellcast. Each elf studies magic personally, like each olympic athlete trains, to master the talent to heights still unseen. The elven cultures celebrate, educate, and reward elves who excel at magic. I view elven government assemblies as magocracies, where the greatest mages become politically most popular and influential. Elves are like film and music superstars whose medium is magical arts.

5e has been going this way anyway, but probably the elf character can choose whichever ability they want for the spellcasting ability: Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom. Probably pick a cantrip from any class spell list.

 

[mrpopstar]

According to examples in 5e, some races use Intelligence for their innate magic, like Githyanki.

My original contribution (post #75) was that all fey in the Monster Manual with innate spellcasting use Charisma as their spellcasting ability.

I view the elves as magical in every way. They are innately magical, and any high elf can innately spellcast. Each elf studies magic personally, like each olympic athlete trains, to master the talent to heights still unseen. The elven cultures celebrate, educate, and reward elves who excel at magic. I view elven government assemblies as magocracies, where the greatest mages become politically most popular and influential. Elves are like film and music superstars whose medium is magical arts.

5e has been going this way anyway, but probably the elf character can choose whichever ability they want for the spellcasting ability: Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom. Probably pick a cantrip from any class spell list.

I agree with elves having a strong association with magic. I love that aspect of them!

 

[Yaarel]

My original contribution (post #75) was that all fey in the Monster Manual with innate spellcasting use Charisma as their spellcasting ability.

I agree with this.

Even when fey is a personification of "fate", I still want this kind of magic to be Charisma in the sense of manifesting a personal destiny, a kind of self-expression and persuasive cultural impact.

I agree with elves having a strong association with magic. I love that aspect of them!

Me too!

 

[Yaarel]

Heh, even when I like how the gray elf focuses on Intelligence magic, I still think the gray elf works best as both Intelligence and Charisma. The 4e eladrin gray elf, gets this right.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

We think alike!

Seriously, imagine two dwarven subraces. Sorry, ancestries. One was forced by other races to live high in the mountains, working hard all day. Another settles in a region of easy living. A thousand years pass. Can one sub-ancestry have a +2 to Str or Con, and the other a +2 to something else? Is it not possible for one sub-ancestry to have a higher top end for an ability score? It strains realism.

You'd expect that, but nurture still overrides nature. A character from the hard-working race might be of only average strength, whilst the one from an indolent ancestry could be massively strong.

Although... it is a game. Perhaps we should not be too worried about realism? But then we would not be concerned with ability scores...

Tell me a gnome and a goliath have the same Str range so I can sleep tonight!

A PHB halfling (so one not regarded as strong by many people) is like a 6-year old that is capable of deadlifting both parents at once.