D&D (2024) Should 2014 Half Elves and Half Orcs be added to the 2025 SRD?

[Remathilis]

It's a perception issue.

Fay Ancestry is the weakest and least defining part of Elf

A human taking Tough is closer to a Dwarf than a half elf is to elf.

So if updated to 2024 standards, half elf has a lot of design space.

my take

Darkvision​

You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.

Dilettante
You have a link to the Feywild that extends your natural drive to explore new concepts. Choose a simple weapon or a cantrip on the cleric, druid, or wizard spell list. You know the mastery of the weapon if chosen or the cantrip if chosen.

Fey Ancestry​

You have Advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the Charmed condition.

Versatile Linguist​

You have a fey grace that extends to your ambitious words. You know one additional language of your choice. In additional you have Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma checks with someone when speaking in a language other than Common. The creature must also be able to understand the language.

Seems like you already have a version of half-elf you like. If you're using it for your own game, all you have to do is substitute it for whatever half-elf they are using. If you are using them in a published product, you already have a licence to do it from the 5.1 SRD. Further, there is an almost 0% chance whatever WotC comes up with will match yours.

So it sounds like you have the solution to your problem already.

 

[Minigiant]

Could you clarify for me what is meant in this section here please?

Vampire the Masquerade is a role-playing game about playing a vampire.

The game runs and plays best if you roleplay not as a human but as a vampire. It usually takes a while for a new person who's playing the game to get into their heads that they're not human but a vampire. You have to roleplay as an undead creature of the night in secret societies who cannot trust humans except for those who join the same society that you're in with those seeing humans being the main and little a lifeblood of your own body all while having to deal with the interconnected factions and sex within that secret society.

Once you get into your head that's your playing a whole new reality one that's not relatable to your own human one, the game becomes more fun and actually bit easier.

 

[Minigiant]

Seems like you already have a version of half-elf you like. If you're using it for your own game, all you have to do is substitute it for whatever half-elf they are using. If you are using them in a published product, you already have a licence to do it from the 5.1 SRD. Further, there is an almost 0% chance whatever WotC comes up with will match yours.

So it sounds like you have the solution to your problem already.

The point is not me creating the species.

The point is everyone having access the species.

Because when Manticore Publishing and Griffin Games crates there books that are compatible to this version of the edition, They will have to create their own version of both of the species and likely each create two different versions of it which might not be compatible with each other and their own subsystems.

And that's my core issue with things that are not in the SRD.

Because you can make something compatible to the SID You don't have to make something compatible to something else that's compatible to the SRD. And I want all versions of the half elf to be compatible with each other.

 

[wicked cool]

Just curious but can elves now have beards? If no then there should be 1/2 elves

 

[Remathilis]

The point is not me creating the species.

The point is everyone having access the species.

Because when Manticore Publishing and Griffin Games crates there books that are compatible to this version of the edition, They will have to create their own version of both of the species and likely each create two different versions of it which might not be compatible with each other and their own subsystems.

And that's my core issue with things that are not in the SRD.

Because you can make something compatible to the SID You don't have to make something compatible to something else that's compatible to the SRD. And I want all versions of the half elf to be compatible with each other.

They don't even do that now. You know many different variants on elf, dwarf, and halfling already exist in the 3pp sphere? More than I care to count. Species are the second easiest thing to make (backgrounds are first) and everyone has their own vision of what they should look like. Find the one you like, and when Manticore and Griffon make two different half-elves, say "I'm using the one Manticore one for my game, (or I'm publishing my setting using the Manticore half-elf)."

Seriously, this is like complaining that Tales of the Valiant, Lord of the Rings 5e, and D&D should all use the same elf stats because they are all 5e based. Pick the one you like and roll with it!

 

[wicked cool]

So does tanis exist?

 

[Minigiant]

They don't even do that now. You know many different variants on elf, dwarf, and halfling already exist in the 3pp sphere? More than I care to count. Species are the second easiest thing to make (backgrounds are first) and everyone has their own vision of what they should look like. Find the one you like, and when Manticore and Griffon make two different half-elves, say "I'm using the one Manticore one for my game, (or I'm publishing my setting using the Manticore half-elf)."

Seriously, this is like complaining that Tales of the Valiant, Lord of the Rings 5e, and D&D should all use the same elf stats because they are all 5e based. Pick the one you like and roll with it!

It's like the backwards compatibility issue. Or the old homebrew crit tables/fumble thing.

With it in the SRD, I as a player or I as a DM have the SRD to to judge the content from Manticore Publishing or Griffin Games against.

Because Griffin Games can be designing an elf that is based on you playing that elf with their classes and their feats and their backgrounds so just grabbing their elf might not be compatible with the rest of 5E.

It's the hole 2014 PC and a 2024 PC are compatible with each other if you use all of their system. Buddy PC that is half 2024 and half 2014 may or may not be compatible with the system.

It's the old D&D mantra of the "DM can do or allow whatever they want" but " X and Y or not exactly the same so they're not compatible unless design to be put together. And if not you might break the game".

Things that are deemed important to the feel and style of the game should be in the SRD. This way when people mess with those important aspects they take care what they're doing and they are also thinking about how others would integrate their ideas with other people's ideas and those other people's own ideas.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

So does tanis exist?

Well, according to the new rules: yes, he does, but he's either indistinguishable from an elf, or indistinguishable from a human, in terms of capacities. He still looks like whatever the authors described him to look like, because physical appearance can be whatever you want it to be.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Vampire the Masquerade is a role-playing game about playing a vampire.

The game runs and plays best if you roleplay not as a human but as a vampire. It usually takes a while for a new person who's playing the game to get into their heads that they're not human but a vampire. You have to roleplay as an undead creature of the night in secret societies who cannot trust humans except for those who join the same society that you're in with those seeing humans being the main and little a lifeblood of your own body all while having to deal with the interconnected factions and sex within that secret society.

Once you get into your head that's your playing a whole new reality one that's not relatable to your own human one, the game becomes more fun and actually bit easier.

In my experience, Vampire is best played as a character from the Matrix or, if Malkavian, as Jim Carey's The Mask.

 

[Remathilis]

With it in the SRD, I as a player or I as a DM have the SRD to to judge the content from Manticore Publishing or Griffin Games against.

What about things that aren't in the SRD? For example, How do you compare Tales of the Valiant's Spell blade subclass since the Eldritch Knight is not in the SRD? For that matter, kobolds and goblins aren't in the SRD as PC races either.

Because Griffin Games can be designing an elf that is based on you playing that elf with their classes and their feats and their backgrounds so just grabbing their elf might not be compatible with the rest of 5E.

Yeah, that's the inherent risk of using 3pp. Perhaps you feel Kobold Press and EN Publishing should be hewing closer to D&D 14/24?

It's the old D&D mantra of the "DM can do or allow whatever they want" but " X and Y or not exactly the same so they're not compatible unless design to be put together. And if not you might break the game".

Again, you are taking that risk whenever you use 3pp. Even material propertied to work with D&D vanilla doesn't always work as intended (glances at Darrington Press...)

Things that are deemed important to the feel and style of the game should be in the SRD. This way when people mess with those important aspects they take care what they're doing and they are also thinking about how others would integrate their ideas with other people's ideas and those other people's own ideas.

Guess, what, a lot of things aren't. Going by the SRD, the only background your character can have is Acolyte. The only feat is Grappler. The only subraces are High Elf, Hill Dwarf, Rock Gnome, and Lightfoot Halfling. Only one subclass is given per class. The reason, the SRD is there to give designers the tools to create their own stuff. WotC tried the whole "give away the game for free" with 3e, and that let people create their own knock-off PHBs. The 5e SRD is just enough to create your own stuff. Compare 3.5 to Pathfinder 1e and D&D 14 to Tales of the Valiant to see how much KP had to reinvent the wheel vs Paizo which only had to copy and modify.

The idea the D&D SRD is a complete game died a long time ago.