Yaarel
He Mage
The recent UA article, Travelers of the Multiverse, lists the "astral elf" as one of the options for what appears to be an upcoming setting.
(Speculation about this setting include Star Frontiers and Spelljammer, but some hope for Planescape. If Spelljammer, they seem to navigate the 4e Astral Sea but as a kind of empty space.)
Of interest in this thread is, the races. The UA presents the format for what the elf race will look like going forward.
Immediately apparent:
There are no more "subraces", going forward.
The "astral elf" would traditionally be understood as an elf "subrace". But here it appears in the format as its own separate race, using the new format. The ability score increases can be any ability, and are handled separately as part of the ability score generation step. The languages are Common plus any other, depending on culture. The typical elf can be any human height and weight.
Some of the elf race features are recognizable: Darkvision, Keen Senses (Perception Proficiency), Trance (conscious long rest), and Fey Ancestry (Charm resistance). But sensibly, the Sleep immunity is part of the Trance trait, rather than the Fey Ancestry trait. Trance specifies the trancer remains fully "conscious", whence immunity to sleep. The new traits peculiar to the "astral" elf are:
• Astral Fire (a light-related cantrip)
• Radiant Soul (self-heal during a successful death save)
• Trance Proficiency (swap weapon or tool proficiency during Trance)
Notably, these new traits are not separated out for a subclass section. They are intermixed among the more familiar Players Handbook traits as part of the new race format.
Thus there is no section for "base race traits" onto which "subrace traits" add. Every iteration of elf stands on its own. It might or might not share a same trait with other elves.
The astral elf race description confirms that the elf is an elf like the other elves are. Unlike the other elves, the ones that live on the Astral Plane age differently and have an immortal lifespan, with many having already lived for thousands of years.
The new format specifies the creature type, along with size (Medium) and speed (30). The astral elf is Humanoid, despite immigrating into the Astral Plane from the Feywild Plane. The astral elf is no longer Fey but maintains Fey Ancestry.
In sum, there are no more subraces. Each race is assumed to include diversity. Any potential variant, including a setting variant deriving from environmental adaptation, is written up fully as its own race, using the new race format for it.
(Speculation about this setting include Star Frontiers and Spelljammer, but some hope for Planescape. If Spelljammer, they seem to navigate the 4e Astral Sea but as a kind of empty space.)
Of interest in this thread is, the races. The UA presents the format for what the elf race will look like going forward.
Immediately apparent:
There are no more "subraces", going forward.
The "astral elf" would traditionally be understood as an elf "subrace". But here it appears in the format as its own separate race, using the new format. The ability score increases can be any ability, and are handled separately as part of the ability score generation step. The languages are Common plus any other, depending on culture. The typical elf can be any human height and weight.
Some of the elf race features are recognizable: Darkvision, Keen Senses (Perception Proficiency), Trance (conscious long rest), and Fey Ancestry (Charm resistance). But sensibly, the Sleep immunity is part of the Trance trait, rather than the Fey Ancestry trait. Trance specifies the trancer remains fully "conscious", whence immunity to sleep. The new traits peculiar to the "astral" elf are:
• Astral Fire (a light-related cantrip)
• Radiant Soul (self-heal during a successful death save)
• Trance Proficiency (swap weapon or tool proficiency during Trance)
Notably, these new traits are not separated out for a subclass section. They are intermixed among the more familiar Players Handbook traits as part of the new race format.
Thus there is no section for "base race traits" onto which "subrace traits" add. Every iteration of elf stands on its own. It might or might not share a same trait with other elves.
The astral elf race description confirms that the elf is an elf like the other elves are. Unlike the other elves, the ones that live on the Astral Plane age differently and have an immortal lifespan, with many having already lived for thousands of years.
The new format specifies the creature type, along with size (Medium) and speed (30). The astral elf is Humanoid, despite immigrating into the Astral Plane from the Feywild Plane. The astral elf is no longer Fey but maintains Fey Ancestry.
In sum, there are no more subraces. Each race is assumed to include diversity. Any potential variant, including a setting variant deriving from environmental adaptation, is written up fully as its own race, using the new race format for it.
Last edited:
