D&D 5E Two (?) Questions about Elves and Classes

[SkidAce]

So the first one is easy.

My "elves" have fey ancestry in the ethereal/shadow realm (the two areas blend into each other). This is why eladrin cities can fade in and out.

My "dreamscape" lies in the border between the world and the ethereal. So elves should be naturally gifted there.

Elves don't sleep. Makes the trend of elves being the best dreamers...not such a god idea. Maybe humans should be the best dreamers. Not really needing an answer...just thoughts.



#2 however;

Our campaign has several types of magic/or skills that can be learned over time...blood magic...dream magic...martial arts. All of which used to be prestige classes. But that didnt fit well, so we switched them to feat trees. Take one Blood Magic feat...gain a few abilities. Take another...gain some more.

5E doesn't appear to do feat trees. But...lumping all the abilities of blood magic into one feat would be too powerful (i.e gaining all the abilities of a prestige class all at once, potentially at first level if a variant human).

Would keeping them as feat trees really be so bad? That way any class that met the requirements (i.e. some type of caster for blood magic) could choose how much they wanted to invest in it.

Or is there a better idea?

 

[trentonjoe]

You could still "feat tree" it. Magic Iniatiate give 3 cantrips and 1 1st level spell. There is no reason there can't be a 2nd feat that give another 1st and a 2nd or something.

Or you could make a subclass. Maybe the 1/2 or 1/3 spell casters could be your base. OR use the magicy monk as a baseline if you want "powers" not spells.

 

[Henrix]

Cool cosmology you got there.
It sounds to me like elves in your campaign dream, and dream well. No reason why they should not, just because they don't in other campaigns.


Subclasses is the 5e way to do the equivalent of feat trees.

Feats are few and far between, so that makes trees tricky.

You could do a sort of sublass that allows you to take other abilities than the standard ones from you normal subclass, so that you can pick and choose a little.

But a subclass would be easiest.

 

[SkidAce]

How would a subclass interact with the concept that the character could learn "rune magic" at any point in their career?

That was why I was leaning towards feat trees still...but sub classes are an idea I will look closer at.

Thanks to every one who has replied so far.

 

[BigVanVader]

Why make it a feat or a subclass? Why not keep it as something you can learn at any 'time', but it takes time out of your busy, adventuring life.

Also, I think the 'best' dreamers is a bit of a subjective thing. But, human's dreams should definitely be the most 'vivid'. It's why the Sandman returns to these ones time and time again and not so much to others.

 

[Minigiant]

Elf issue is simple. Elves are so good at dreaming, they don''t need to sleep to dream. They trance.

As for feat trees. You don't need trees. In 5e, the feat stands on their own. You can just grab multiples. Like Magic Initiate and Spell Sniper. PCs can take one or the other or both.

My world has gadgets.
One feat gives +1 Dex and proficiency with tinker kit, hidden blades, hidden dartgun, shock gloves, and grappling hook launchers.
The other feat is +1 Str and proficiency with tinker kit, spring shoes, bootblades, bootbombs, and roller skates.
The last is proficiency with guns and ability to craft gunpowder.

They all fit the theme but there is no tree needed.

 

[steeldragons]

Yeah. They could easily still be the "best" dreamers i nyour world if you want...No reason they can't "dream" in trance. Or maybe humans dream "the most" but elves know and "exist" in dream more readily...lucid dreaming or whatever it's called. They know when they are there. They can act and effect change on the dreamscape more easily or innately whereas it's something humans either stumble upon by accident or need to work hard to master how.

As for the feats issue...I'd think you could easily o a feat tree. I haven't really looked at them, as I don't plan to use feats (and don't have my book available atm), but as I understand it variant humans get one at 1st, everyone gets one at 4th, then what 8th? 12th? If you can make what you want all work within 2 or 3 feats, go for it.

But as Minigiant says, why does it have to be a tree? Seems like a good opportunity to pare down the abilities/feat tree/powers to work in a "5e way" as a single feat. What is it about this/these special types of magic that are "essential" to their flavor? That makes them worthy of feat? Undoubtedly they had a lot of levels of power and additional abilities because that's how things were in 3e prestige classes. How/what do they need to function, what is the iconic flavor, the essential powers/spells? Pare them down [if possible and you want to, obviously] to be a single feat and call it a day. A more/simpler 5e solution.

 

[Piratecat]

Maybe elves in your world don't dream because they were too good at it, and something or someone exiled them from the dreamscape. Maybe they even dreamed the world into existence and someone stole it. And maybe your heroes can give the gift of dreaming back to elves, and their entire culture will change as a result.

 

[Ahrimon]

You could mimic a feat try by having it a feat to start and then you gain abilities with levels after you took it. So, if you take it at level four, you have four levels of the feat by level 8 where someone who just took the feat would just be starting out.

 

[shamsael]

Maybe the Natural World itself is a dream. The standard races sleep because they are figments of the Dreamer's imagination and bound by the rules it creates. Elves are dreamers themselves. The never sleep within the dream, and seem to live on, unchanging for as long as the elf sleeps in whatever realm exists outside of the dream.