The Shaman
First Post
In 1e AD&D, half-elves were the only demihuman player characters who could be druids or rangers.
In my games, that was their niche.
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What D&Disms have you never liked?
- Thread starter shadow
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In my games, that was their niche.
megamania
Hero
Hit points have always felt incorrect to me.
How many things go bump in the night however people continue to live in / near the dangers.
How maps make no geological sense.
Why warriors would wear full plate in a world of fast and mobile adversaries complete with magic.
I'm sure I'll think of something else.
How many things go bump in the night however people continue to live in / near the dangers.
How maps make no geological sense.
Why warriors would wear full plate in a world of fast and mobile adversaries complete with magic.
I'm sure I'll think of something else.
Because it keeps those fast and mobile adversaries complete with magic from making so rapidly dead a warrior wearing full plate complete with magic.
Also because it's less cumbersome than less-advanced combinations of plate and mail.
Real reason: "Planet of the Elves" was not what Arneson and Gygax wanted, and level limits mostly took care of that. The lack of appeal in being a 30th level thief relative to the effort it took to get there made it unlikely at least for PCs. Even among magic-users, in my experience, going past the early teens was quite rare in old D&D. High levels were mainly for arch-villain NPCs.
Possible Rationale: The long-lived non-humans have alien perspectives and instincts. Read Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword for one fictional portrayal. There are some great quotes from Tolkien, too.
Another thing: In AD&D, Elves (and Half-Orcs) could not be resurrected.
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JohnSnow
Hero
Metagame reason: elves and dwarves being "just better" than humans doesn't make for a well-rounded game.
In-game reason: elves and dwarves just don't have the same heroic potential as human beings. For whatever reasons, humans are just more gifted.
The more jarring thing was back when a starting 1st-level elf PC was over 100. As I recall, Order of the Stick had some very funny strips on the subject....
I figure the "Why elvse/dwarves aren't all better": A longer lifespan means a different view of time. It means less priority on getting things done FAST. Elves would take a year to do what humans do in a few weeks. Not because Elves are "Lazier", but because they put less priority on getting it done right now.
Or they may spend hours and hours doing one specific thing, rather than multi-tasking. Hours on end polishing a suit of armor, because they don't have to think "What else do I need to get done today".
At level 1
15 year old farmboy
100 year old elf.
At level 20
16 year old at the top of his progression.
101 year old elf at the top of his progression.
Or they may spend hours and hours doing one specific thing, rather than multi-tasking. Hours on end polishing a suit of armor, because they don't have to think "What else do I need to get done today".
I never found that jarring so much as the speed of progression.
At level 1
15 year old farmboy
100 year old elf.
At level 20
16 year old at the top of his progression.
101 year old elf at the top of his progression.
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I agree that the Half-elf did not have balance problems (at all) in 1E or 2E AD&D (or BECMI, for that matter). Nor does it seem to have any in 4E.
In 3E I suspect (guess, speculate, conjecture) that the race was too popular so they tried to make it less mechanically appealing. They overshot and the result was too weak. Just compare a 3.0 Half elf:
3.0 SRD said:
with a human
3.0 SRD said:
What niche was the half-elf able to dominate that a human could not do better at? Or, if you wanted the enhanced senses, why not play an elf?
In 3.5 D&D they added "+2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks" to the half-elf to enable it to dominate the diplomat niche. The downside was that, prior that edition, half elves were flexible (see massive class and multi-class options) but not really the natural diplomat type.
The Shaman
First Post
That does seem an odd choice, particlrly given the traditional 'fluff' view of half-elves.
Garthanos
Arcadian Knight
This is a part and parcel <-- youth fantasy
almost immediately out growing and performing there
elders.
D&D my friends has always been Luke not Han Solo
..(even in later versions of D&D they are just acknowledging
Luke is a plus 3 nascent jedi who already has
enhanced aim and piloting and not really a joe blow
farm boy - even starting out)
It's not just youth fantasy, just the speed of progression. When you can walk into a dungeon and come out two levels later, it's leveling speed, man.
As to the half-elf, I think the reason was: "We need to come up with a mechanical reason to encourage people to play half-elves". Since the only reason to play a half-elf was the RP reason of "Well I'm from two worlds". Not enough justification to have them in the PhB, especially given the Half-Orc was right next to the Half-Elf. All the other races had mechanical incentives.
As to the half-elf, I think the reason was: "We need to come up with a mechanical reason to encourage people to play half-elves". Since the only reason to play a half-elf was the RP reason of "Well I'm from two worlds". Not enough justification to have them in the PhB, especially given the Half-Orc was right next to the Half-Elf. All the other races had mechanical incentives.
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