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)

 

[The Human Target]

Someone needs to introduce the Eladrin to Lithium.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Someone needs to introduce the Eladrin to Lithium.

Eladrin character: SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!

Everyone else: Ooooh, someone is feeling Summer today!

 

[gyor]

I like the shifting personality. It actually helps makes elves feel more different than just "humans with bows". I hope they do more things like that.

Gith seems like a generic bucket of mechanics. Though at least some combinations we havn't seen much of.

They aren't random mechanics, they are based on both fluff, the City are Psionic races that settled in very different envoriments that shaped their culture.

Githzerai dwell in limbo which is dangerous and chaotic when someone isn't forcing their will on it, which takes great disciple, and a constant awareness of their surroundings, which pushed the Githzerai towards a lifestyle akin to monks in order to force stability on their sections of limbo. So even non monks get a basic monk training so they can survive in limbo.

The Githyanki on the other hand are a warriors, they live in the Astral Plane, they have no need of the sample level of awareness (wisdom) to survive as much of the Astral Plane is static, and you don't need to eat, drink, or sleep on the Astral Plane.

So the Githyanki go to war against Illithids, Githzerai, and anyone who threatens them. They are also pirates.

And they are pressed into the Githyanki military by the Lich Queen, so they follow her alignment, unless they go rogue. All that physical training, plus not aging because of the Astral Plane keeps them strong, hence the strength bonus.

And their psionic magic is the result of Illithid experimentation, just like it is with the Grey Dwarves (different species, Grey Dwarves come from Dwarves, and Gith evolved from humans, although the transformation of the Gith is more extreme, hence being a new species instead of a subrace, Gith lay eggs for example I think).

The two Gith subraces split after freeing themselves from Illithids, each following a different leader and philisohy so they hate each other.

I think spelljammer had a third type of Gith that liked to spelljam.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

This seems like it's just a wholesale replacement for the high elf. Why would you take a high elf? I mean, sure, if you really want a cantrip that isn't one of the four best wizard cantrips in the game, that you can choose to switch between every morning, you might want to take high elf, but that's a pretty slim argument. The elf weapon training high elves get is almost always redundant or useless and all they get otherwise over the eladrin is an extra language. Yay.

This is just massive power creep but of course, because it'll be popular, it'll probably go through.

As for the gith, I really don't like the lack of synergy with the ability scores and I especially don't like two mental ability score bonuses on the zerai. As another poster mentioned, making the zerai prefer lawful neutral is also not in line with the core identity of the race, either.

 

[vpuigdoller]

I love the gith love!!! I like the flavor in the eladrin not sure yet on how I feel the way is implemented in this UA.

 

[Mistwell]

This seems like it's just a wholesale replacement for the high elf. Why would you take a high elf? I mean, sure, if you really want a cantrip that isn't one of the four best wizard cantrips in the game, that you can choose to switch between every morning, you might want to take high elf, but that's a pretty slim argument. The elf weapon training high elves get is almost always redundant or useless and all they get otherwise over the eladrin is an extra language. Yay.
This is just massive power creep but of course, because it'll be popular, it'll probably go through.

Why is that slim? Choosing which cantrip you take seems more powerful to me than being forced to choose one of those four (Friends, Chill Touch, and Minor Illusion, Firebolt, and two of those spells I've literally never seen chosen by any wizard player, ever)...and only depending on whether you're up for role-playing the baggage that goes with that choice. Doesn't seem like any power creep to me, much less "massive". You loose the choice of Booming Blade, Green-Flame Blade, Frostbite, Lightning Lure, Mold Earth, Ray of Frost, Thunderwave, Thunderclap, etc.. Lots of popular options lost if you take Eladrin instead of High Elf.

 

[Greg K]

I guess that I am am in the minority as I do not like the Four Seasons personality or the Shifting Seasons cantrips. As for the Gith, I have no reason to give them a look. I have disliked them since they first appeared the Fiend Folio, will not use/include them as a DM, and will not play in a camp that allows them as PCs- OMMV.

 

[The-Magic-Sword]

Ditto, many of the important cantrips are missing from the list the eladrin get- especially the Gish cantrips, frost damage, etc. Its a strong feature but I can't see it as excluding High Elves as a choice either, I would be more likely to consider the fey step feature to be defining (which makes sense, it's what they originally got)

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

Why is that slim? Choosing which cantrip you take seems more powerful to me than being forced to choose one of those four (Friends, Chill Touch, and Minor Illusion, Firebolt, and two of those spells I've literally never seen chosen by any wizard player, ever)...and only depending on whether you're up for role-playing the baggage that goes with that choice. Doesn't seem like any power creep to me, much less "massive". You loose the choice of Booming Blade, Green-Flame Blade, Frostbite, Lightning Lure, Mold Earth, Ray of Frost, Thunderwave, Thunderclap, etc.. Lots of popular options lost if you take Eladrin instead of High Elf.

Thunderwave is a 1st level spell. BB, GFB are both only good on classes that either have access to it already, or clerics and rogues. And even then, it's arguable for the rogue since it denies a bonus action attack with an off-hand weapon. Frostbite is an OK cantrip, but it's nothing special. Lightning Lure, Mold Earth, Ray of Frost and Thunderclap are not very good cantrips at all. Only ray of frost is even slightly comparable to fire bolt, and even then is definitely the weakest of the alternative attack cantrips. Fire Bolt is the damage cantrip of choice for a wizard, friends is a very powerful charm effect when you consider that anyone you use it on, isn't going to be around after 1 minute, it can be used to intimidate (so you're angering them anyway), charm person has the target realise they've been charmed and is a 1st level spell, and there's no saving throw for friends where there is for charm person. Minor illusion is one of the best cantrips in the game. In the hands of an imaginative player, it's incredibly powerful, and chill touch is the third best attack cantrip (only one better than it is shocking grasp).

Other than putting in message and shocking grasp, they couldn't have chosen better cantrips for the four to choose from. You're essentially getting four of the best cantrips compared to one, plus misty step, plus being able to choose charisma instead of int. Int is useless for anything other than a wizard, while charisma is used as primary in two classes, secondary in two others, and is good for everyone because of the power of the associated skills, and there being more (and more important) cha saves than int.

So yeah, it's a massive power boost and makes high elf almost redundant except for a few corner cases.

 

[cbwjm]

I think you're overreacting a little about the Eladrin there.