D&D 5E (2024) Solasta 2 and the 1/2 elf

[Umbran]

Falling back on memes is a sign of having run out of anything intelligent to say.

Mod Note:
1) Not all posts have to be logic supporting points. Memes are here to stay, so we advise getting used to them.
2) Maybe try a different phrasing that doesn't sound insulting such that it gets reported and mods come to review...

 

[MichaelSomething]

You all act like you can't just get a mod that adds half elf on day one.

 

[Clint_L]

for a non-insignificant amount of people having those specialized mechanics is what allows them to play a mixed ancestry character without it feeling like a barefaced lie.

Does your character need mechanics to reflect every story decision you make about them? Are they all lies?

Like, if I decide my character is an orphan, does that need a mechanic or else it feels like a lie? I don't get it. I never have. What makes mixed ancestry so different that it also needs mechanics distinct from any of the parent species, and if so, then why should those mechanics be limited to the two particular mixed species that Tolkien mentioned? Shouldn't we have mechanics for all the possible combinations?

And if we go down that route, isn't it pretty inevitable that players start mathing out exactly the best combinations for optimization, rather than focusing on the sotry of their character? Plus, character creation becomes way more complicated.

 

[plecostomus]

I think there are players who want to play someone that looks nearly human with maybe 1 superficial change, but has completely different traits.

And there are players who want the tiefling outcast fantasy, but don't want to be red or purple.

Or they want the "outcast" nature to come from something internal rather than external, e.g. half-elf 2014:

Walking in two worlds but truly belonging to neither, half-elves combine what some say are the best qualities of their elf and human parents: human curiosity, inventiveness, and ambition tempered by the refined senses, love of nature, and artistic tastes of the elves. Some half-elves live among humans, set apart by their emotional and physical differences, watching friends and loved ones age while time barely touches them. Others live with the elves, growing restless as they reach adulthood in the timeless elven realms, while their peers continue to live as children. Many half-elves, unable to fit into either society, choose lives of solitary wandering or join with other misfits and outcasts in the adventuring life.

This fantasy is tied to Elves Are Tolkien and live alone in the forest, whereas D&D has numerous locations and settings where elves live among all other kinds of people.

But despite those locations and settings existing, the 2014 elf lore was still aiming for Tolkien:

Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace, living in the world but not entirely part of it. They live in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests or in silvery spires glittering with faerie light, where soft music drifts through the air and gentle fragrances waft on the breeze. Elves love nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry, and the good things of the world.

So aside from all the other reasons to remove half-elves from the PHB, elves have gone from Elves Are Tolkien to "ask your DM" in 2024, because they have to work in many different settings. Which in turn means half-elves are not gonna give that outcast fantasy automatically.

 

[wicked cool]

The whole argument is the fact that the developers may include it as there’s a need by the community

Clearly you haven’t seen the builds community in Bg3 where the 1/2 wood elf is key in so many builds

Tanis and the twins and the 1/2 orc aren’t human and are not elf and it adds to the story.

We should just get rid of deep gnomes and wood elves and different types of Dragonborn and tueflings and dragons etc etc. the good dragons should just hang with the green like my little pony

 

[DEFCON 1]

Nope because there’s a part that just works. Their world like ours isn’t an ideal world. Tanis in Dragonlance doesn’t work as an elf. Tons of examples like that

That's not the point. The point is Vex and Vax could have been half-elves in CR Season 1 and been played as half-elves and been treated as half-elves... even if the couple of racial game mechanics written on their character sheets were human ones or elf ones. You don't need specific game mechanics to play a specific race. Heck, you can roleplay any species you want even if NO game mechanics are attributed to it. Someone wants to play a Treant PC? They can do so right now even though there is no 5E write-up for a Treant just by acting as a Treant and the other players and the DM all agreeing the character is a Treant and the entire in-game world treats the character as a Treant. A handful of pathetic minor game mechanics do not make something "real"... players and DMs treating what is and isn't true in their games is what makes things in the game "real".