[d20r, Race] Elf

[Fax Celestis]

Elves average 5 feet tall and typically weigh just over 100 pounds. They live on fruits and grains, though they occasionally hunt for fresh meat. Elves prefer colorful clothes, usually with a green-and-gray cloak that blends well with the colors of the forest.

Elves are cautious warriors and take time to analyze their opponents and the location of the fight if at all possible, maximizing their advantage by using ambushes, snipers, and camouflage. They prefer to fire from cover and retreat before they are found, repeating this maneuver until all of their enemies are dead.

They prefer longbows, shortbows, rapiers, and longswords. In melee, elves are graceful and deadly, using complex maneuvers that are beautiful to observe. They often use their Natural Magic to cast sleep during combat because these won't affect other elves.

Elves speak Elven, and most also know Common and Sylvan.

+2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution
Medium size: Elves, being medium, receive no adjustments based on size.
Elven: Elves are humanoids with the (Elf) subtype.
Speed: An elf's base land speed is 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision.
Everwaking: Immune to sleep spells and effects. Elves do not sleep: rather, they enter a trance to rest.
Weapon Familiarity: Elves treat any weapon that has the word 'elf' or 'elven' in its name as a martial weapon rather than an exotic one.
Keen Senses: Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Awareness checks.
Focused: Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against Enchantment spells and effects.
Natural Magic: An elf has a small pool of reserve energy they may tap into daily. An elf has one charge per three class levels, minimum one. A charge may be spent to power a feat with the [Elf] descriptor or to activate one of the following spell-like abilities: detect secret doors, expeditious retreat, sleep. Caster level equals the elf’s character level.
Automatic Languages: Elven, Common. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.
Favored Class: Bladeweaver.

[Morty]

Hm. Looks fine, I guess. I have to ask, though: why the Wisdom penalty?

[Fax Celestis]

Hm. Looks fine, I guess. I have to ask, though: why the Wisdom penalty?

Actually, if you look closely, they have the same stat adjustments as drow. In fact, they share a lot of things with drow, but enough to make them different.

[MammonAzrael]

This looks good. I don't have much to say on it other than...Bladeweaver?

[Morty]

Actually, if you look closely, they have the same stat adjustments as drow. In fact, they share a lot of things with drow, but enough to make them different.

Yes, I've noticed that, but the Wisdom penalty still looks strange. If anything, I'd imagine elves with Wisdom bonus, since they're aware of their surrounding, quick etc. I suspect, then, that the modifier is here for the same reason as drow's modifier, i.e balance? Wisdom is a freaky stat in D&D anyway.

[Fax Celestis]

This looks good. I don't have much to say on it other than...Bladeweaver?

It's a martial character that gets seed-based casting, like a sorceror. I'm not quite done with it yet.

[MammonAzrael]

Ah yes, I remember. It just hasn't been added onto your Table of Contents.

Your fluff description paints them as very ranged favoring, will the Bladeweaver support this?

And why the change from studied magic, like wizards, to spontaneous magic (for both elves and drow)? Is this because of the fundamental change of your Sorceror? I'm not disagreeing with the choice, just wonder as to your reasons. I take it they will be more artsy/naturey, and not have the "ancient arcane mages" focus they have in past editions (aka no Grey Elves).

I like the Wisdom penalty, myself. It helps make them seem removed from the normal world. On a side note to that, I like the WIS penalty on the drow partially because of their predilection to clerical duties. They way their society is set up, and universally worshiping such a crazy goddess shows a lack of Wisdom, to me.

If you do decide to go the multi-favored class route, these guys could easily pick up the Cartomancer, Druid, Fencer, Hunter/Ranger, or Sorceror. It sounds like the Bladeweaver would be a bit like a mix between the Fencer and Sorceror anyways.

[Daracaex]

Wisdom doesn't make much sense to me, unless you're messing around with how skills are working. As it is, the elves are forest people, yet they get penalties on most everything to do with nature? Spot, Listen, Survival, why would they get a penalty to all that? And an inherit disadvantage to the wisdom-based nature classes as well?

It looks here like you're tried to combine the High Elves with the more nature-y Elves and I just don't think that works. One thing 4th did right was how they split up Elves into three to account for all the types without resorting to tons of subraces.

[Spiryt]

I also think that Wisdom penalty is a bit off.

100 pounds on average looks like a strenght penalty to me, but I guess that having 2 bad physical stats would be unbalancing.

[Fax Celestis]

Wisdom penalty and Charisma bonus removed.

[Daracaex]

Much better.

[Morty]

Much better.

Yeah. They both fit drow, but not the surface elves. And it makes sense that after living separately for so long and worshipping a crazy godess the drow differ from their cousins.

[Human Paragon 3]

This strikes me as brilliant. It's basically everything you'd expect from an elf, but in a way that actually makes sense. Activating natural magic to gain speed, powers of observation, etc. feels a lot more organic than the old 2nd endition holdovers.

Are there elf racial feats up yet?

[Lappy9000]

This strikes me as brilliant. It's basically everything you'd expect from an elf, but in a way that actually makes sense. Activating natural magic to gain speed, powers of observation, etc. feels a lot more organic than the old 2nd endition holdovers.

Are there elf racial feats up yet?Indeed. The natural magic fits wonderfully into the fluff. And thank you for not making their favored class wizard.

[Baron Corm]

How about +2 Charisma, -2 Strength? I don't think I have ever seen an elf with huge muscles. *Waits for someone to post the exception to the rule and smirk*

It makes the elven swordsman a little less powerful, but the ability to use some powerful exotic weapons could make up (and then some) for the small loss.

[Daracaex]

How about +2 Charisma, -2 Strength? I don't think I have ever seen an elf with huge muscles. *Waits for someone to post the exception to the rule and smirk*

I've never seen an elf with huge muscles, but I have seen elves with more strength than humans. It was a situation where they had more dense muscles that made them stronger without appearing larger. I think the ability scores are perfect where they are. Not everything has to have more than two changes.