UA: New Race Options, Eladrin and Gith

The Eladrin ability score adjustment needs to be: +2 Charisma, +1 any other.

Charisma and all of its connotations [charm, innate magic, bardic song, etcetera] is what best represents the Fey Elf concept.

Intelligence is an accident of D&D only having Wizard class in the beginning, but it has merit in folklore too.

Dexterity is irrelevant.

Maybe handsized sprites connote Dexterity, but humansized spirits of magic, less so.



Edit.

Elves can work better this way:

Wood Elf: +2 Dexterity
High Elf: +2 Intelligence
Eladrin Elf: +2 Charisma

That is what the Elf feels like.



Edit.

High Elf
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence (!)
Trance
Investigation skill proficiency
Languages: Elven, Sylvan, and Common
Cantrip
Elven Armor (permanent Mage Armor, appears as supple chain armor or as invisible force)
High Elf Weapon Training (longsword proficiency, treat as finesse weapon and spell focus)
(Darkvision too?)



Edit.

Eladrin are a group of elves that are native to the Fey Plane. They feel like a separate race of Elf with their own four subraces. The concept of the Eladrin evolves across the editions, and their association with the four seasons seems to enjoy traction. They consolidate well into four kinds of Eladrin, each one corresponding to a season.

Eladrin Elf
• Spring: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity (Ghael, Coure)
• Summer: +2 Charisma, +1 Strength (Firre, Bralani)
• Autumn: +2 Charisma, +1 Intelligence (Tulani)
• Winter: +2 Charisma, +1 Wisdom (Noviere, Shiere)

 

[Azzy]

Where have all the Eladrin and Gith gone?

 

[Remathilis]

Where have all the Eladrin and Gith gone?

Back to the planes I wager; these material plane berks can pike it.

 

[Yaarel]

Eladrin are a group of elves that are native to the Fey Plane. They feel like a separate race of Elf with their own four subraces.

Fey Elf (Eladrin)
• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter

In 2e, there are seven different kinds of Eladrin. Each one roughly echoes one of the Elf subraces.
• Grey Elf (Tulani)
• High Elf (Ghael)
• Half Elf (Firre)
• Aquatic Elf, Nixie/Nymph (Noviere)
• Wood Elf (Shiere)
• Grugach Wild Elf (Bralani)
• Drow Elf, replaced by Pixie (Coure)

But the concept of the Eladrin evolves across the editions, and their association with the four seasons seems to enjoy traction. They consolidate well into four kinds of Eladrin, each one corresponding to a season.

Eladrin Elf
• Spring: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity (Ghael, Coure)
• Summer: +2 Charisma, +1 Strength (Firre, Bralani)
• Autumn: +2 Charisma, +1 Intelligence (Tulani)
• Winter: +2 Charisma, +1 Wisdom (Noviere, Shiere)

 

[OB1]

They feel like a separate race of Elf with their own four subraces.

Eladrin Elf
• Spring: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity (Ghael, Coure)
• Summer: +2 Charisma, +1 Strength (Firre, Bralani)
• Autumn: +2 Charisma, +1 Intelligence (Tulani)
• Winter: +2 Charisma, +1 Wisdom (Noviere, Shiere)

Agree completely and really hope this is the direction they end up going with rather than making them a subclass of Elves.

I would be down with the season still changing either depending on the season of the environment or by the player's choice (with some sort of limitations) as I do like that aspect of the UA.

 

[OB1]

Edit: Duplicate Post

 

[Chaosmancer]

Not to further de-rail the thread, but am I the only one a little confused by the sudden change in direction to talking about High Elves being under-powered and needing a power boost? I've never heard that before, and I'm kind of wondering where the heck it's coming from.

Sure, they may be a little behind these new Eladrin, but that's a different discussion I think.


Also, I'm always hesitant to give racial abilities that are flatly better than a class ability. Considering Warlocks get Mage Armor at-will that they have to cast, I would never suggest a sub-race get Mage Armor the spell with duration permanent. Sure, other races or classes get something similar due to scales or natural armor, but that is different than having a permanent spell that could also shed light if you felt it necessary.

 

[Yaarel]

My impression is, the armor proficiency feats (Lightly Armored, Moderately, and Heavily) prove unpopular, and are of less worth than a half feat.

A modest boost in AC seems inconsequential to gaming balance.

Permanent Mage Armor seems balanced for a race feature.

Note, Mage Armor cannot stack with other armors, nor with any armors that are magic items. At the higher tiers, there is even a concern the Mage Armor becomes substandard relative to the ACs of other characters if magical bonuses are prevalent.

Notice, even the UA Githyanki flat out gets proficiency with all light and medium armors! Nobody bats an eye about this.

Armor is fine as a racial feature.

 

[Yaarel]

Duplicatepost

 

[Ragmon]

Wait, so the Gith don't get DEX instead they get INT ? WHAT?
Their common attribute was DEX (+2 for Yankies and +6 for Zerai, 3.x ed), Githzerai even get a penalty to INT.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
A major issue is that there are no shared traits for the Gith, they both get +1 INT and that is it. Might as well be two different races.

Githyankies are graceful, sturdy but brash. Not Strong a not smart.
Decadent Mastery - This could have been a shared trait, since both Gith have time to learn.
Martial Prodigy - This is redundant to the fluff, TRAINED FROM BIRTH AS WARRIORS, their gonna have at least a level of fighter or some martial class to reflect this. If not then they were probably not raised from birth to become a warrior.
Psionics - Its fine.

Githzerai are graceful, wise but a bit simple. They got the INT part very wrong.
Monastic training - Kind of goes against the designers own philosophy of not adding too many stacking bonuses.
Psionics - Sure what ever.

Githyankies get more traits, this should be fixed.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Just about any person who played a few sessions in D&D 5 could have designed better races in 5-10 minutes.

I think they should rework the whole Gith race, how to make then work properly:
Gith
+1 to DEX - Yankie (+2 CON) and Zerai (+2 WIS), or turn it around and make it +2 DEX and +1C and +1W.
+ Darkvision
Spell Resisntace - Gnome Cunning essentially.
Psionics - go full ham, make the psionics the main divide for the Subraces. Give 'em very different set of powers.

This should be balanced enough, also it takes the lore from previous editions into consideration.

Something like this.

 

[Mistwell]

[MENTION=7635]Remathilis[/MENTION]

So far, something like the following.



High Elf
+2 Dexterity
+2 Intelligence
Investigation skill
Darkvision
Trance
Languages: Elven, Sylvan, and Common
Cantrip
Mage Armor spell (permanent)
High Elf Weapon Training (longsword proficiency, treat as finesse and spell focus)

Too much. WAY too much. You are nearly alone in your opinion that High Elves are in need of such boosts.

The model (from Dwarf) is "Existing Base Racial Stuff" plus Ability Increase +2 plus Dwarf Armor Proficiency (proficiency with light and medium armor). So to translate that to Elf, it would be "Existing Base Elf Stuff" plus Intelligence +2 plus Elf Weapon Training (plus language, which is almost nothing). You'd lose the cantrip. You sure wouldn't ALSO gain permanent mage armor. You wouldn't get ANY armor benefit - you're already getting too much if you just increased the ability score to +2 and didn't subtract anything else!

Eladrin are a group of elves that are native to the Fey Plane. They feel like a separate race of Elf with their own four subraces.

Fey Elf (Eladrin)
• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter

In 2e, there are seven different kinds of Eladrin. Each one roughly echoes one of the Elf subraces.
• Grey Elf (Tulani)
• High Elf (Ghael)
• Half Elf (Firre)
• Aquatic Elf, Nixie/Nymph (Noviere)
• Wood Elf (Shiere)
• Grugach Wild Elf (Bralani)
• Drow Elf, replaced by Pixie (Coure)

But the concept of the Eladrin evolves across the editions, and their association with the four seasons seems to enjoy traction. They consolidate well into four kinds of Eladrin, each one corresponding to a season.

Eladrin Elf
• Spring: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity (Ghael, Coure)
• Summer: +2 Charisma, +1 Strength (Firre, Bralani)
• Autumn: +2 Charisma, +1 Intelligence (Tulani)
• Winter: +2 Charisma, +1 Wisdom (Noviere, Shiere)

This is post what, number 8 in this thread alone saying essentially the same thing yet again?

I will ask again...why do you seem to think repeating it will make it happen? It really doesn't. I am not aware of any change to the game, ever, which happened because one guy just repeated it over and over again a whole lot.

Not to further de-rail the thread, but am I the only one a little confused by the sudden change in direction to talking about High Elves being under-powered and needing a power boost? I've never heard that before, and I'm kind of wondering where the heck it's coming from.

Sure, they may be a little behind these new Eladrin, but that's a different discussion I think.

It's just him. Nobody else is really bothered by high elves.