Race Creation

[RUTRIGGERED?]

I'm currently working on a D&D adventure, and I was creating a PC race that would sort of be an elf overhaul, just minus the combat strength. Any tips?

[mer.c]

What do you mean by "minus the combat strength?" Also, how are you trying to overhaul them? What's your aim for the race? Until we know a little more about what you want to do, I don't think we can help you a whole lot.

A good starting point would be just to take one of the Elf subraces and replace one minor ability with another minor ability of about the same power level and of the flavor you're going for. Past that, I can't be of much help until I know more about what you're aiming for.

[Hrugner]

It would help more to know what it was about the elf you wanted to keep rather than what you wanted to get rid of. Knowing what you think of as their combat strength would also be helpful.

[Foxhound438]

10 points to slytherin for OP's username

anyway, probably move the 2 dex into a mental stat, and change the cantrip/mask of wild/drow magic out for some noncombat stuff like speak with animals and similar "utility" spells.

[ZX6Rob]

Hmm... Well, unfortunately, that's not much to go on. Building a race is sort of a big deal. It's much more than just a collection of statistics bonuses and abilities. Ideally, you should be thinking of how it is that the race fits into your campaign world and what its relation to other races would be. What role do you see this new race playing in the world, beyond "int-based fighter" or "dex-heavy mobile caster"? Do you see this as being a race unto itself, something that is completely new, or do you see this as being a new sub-race of elves? Are they numerous in your campaign world, easily encountered, or would they be rare and spoken of only in legend? Do they keep mostly to themselves, or have they integrated with the other races of the world in some way. What do other races think of them? Do they have a racial tendency to be cautious, bold, slow, reckless, or possessed of some other trait? What is their history, what are their legends, who are their gods and/or goddesses?

That's really just scratching the surface. This may all seem like fluff, and it is, but it's also necessary fluff. The race's statistics should follow logically from what you want it to represent in the world. The traits that the race possesses will be determined largely from the role that they play in your campaign setting and your story. "Elves, minus combat strength" is a starting point for mechanical changes, but those changes should follow logically from their place in the story. And, indeed, that in itself is almost too vague -- elves are not traditionally known for their martial prowess in the first place. Granted, yes, you certainly can build excellent and effective fighters who are elves, but compared to a race like half-orcs (who are pretty much all about martial prowess), the elf comes up looking somewhat lacking in that area.

So, what role do you want this race to play in your campaign? Are they perhaps an offshoot of elven stock who, many centuries ago, secluded themselves away in a hidden forest sanctuary in search of wisdom, to the point where they scarcely resemble elves as we are familiar with at all? Perhaps in doing so, they would have neglected their bodies to the point where they were weak and frail, but would instead possess keen minds and incredible insight? Their eyes, long since adapted to the constant magical light of their home, would have lost the ability to see in the dark shared by their distant kinfolk, but in its place, they would have gained mastery of a particular cantrip or magical ability, a side effect of their constant practice of the arts arcane. Or, perhaps they wouldn't know the first thing about using a longsword or a bow, but their constant study of anatomy and physiology means they are all effectively proficient with the tools of healers and doctors.

I'd encourage you to think about the race that you're creating and how they fit into your campaign as a whole. When you have a good idea of what kind of traits you want the race to possess, what you want them to really be all about, the DMG for 5th edition includes a section towards the back dealing with the creation of new races and sub-races. This is a good reference for helping you to balance abilities and come up with new ones, making sure that your creation is in-line with what other players will be using.

Good luck and have fun!

[RUTRIGGERED?]

Sorry for the vagueness.
I sorta wanted to make the Wood elves more magical, and less combat inclined.
What I intended to ask was what racial stats I should increase/decrease to attain this goal.
In my campaign, the continent that it takes place on was once inhabited by a band of wood elves that migrated there thousands of years ago. Their society was druidic, and magic was believed to be more useful than combat, and thus they as a race they became more magically inclined. So I thought it'd be interesting to make the native island elves a playable race.
Sorry for the spotty grammar, English isn't my first language

[Foxhound438]

switch the +2 dex, +1 wis to +1 con, +2 wis. Switch out weapon training and mask of the wild for a level 1/3/5 magic feature, similar to the drow's. Level one gets a cantrip (likely druidcraft), level 3 gets a 1st level spell once per day (ie speak with animals), level 5 gets a second level spell once per day (probably let player chose from the land circle 2nd level spell options).

[Grod_The_Giant]

Take the High Elf, swap the +1 Int for +1 Wis (maybe even reverse the Dex and Wis bonuses if you'd like), use the Wood Elf's weapon proficiencies and take the cantrip from the Druid list. Done.

[Centik]

Take the High Elf, swap the +1 Int for +1 Wis (maybe even reverse the Dex and Wis bonuses if you'd like), use the Wood Elf's weapon proficiencies and take the cantrip from the Druid list. Done.

This. Maybe an additional bonus to stealth checks in the forest for that elf flavor.

[hymer]

Take the High Elf [...], use the Wood Elf's weapon proficiencies

Aren't those proficiencies the same?

[Citan]

Sorry for the vagueness.
I sorta wanted to make the Wood elves more magical, and less combat inclined.
What I intended to ask was what racial stats I should increase/decrease to attain this goal.
In my campaign, the continent that it takes place on was once inhabited by a band of wood elves that migrated there thousands of years ago. Their society was druidic, and magic was believed to be more useful than combat, and thus they as a race they became more magically inclined. So I thought it'd be interesting to make the native island elves a playable race.
Sorry for the spotty grammar, English isn't my first language

Hi!

My suggestions hereunder...
Subrace name: Old Woods Elves
(not very original, but serves to make the link with classic Wood Elves while indicating that this is in fact another thing).

Background example
In case that may help you since you say English is not your forte ;).

"Old Wood Elves mostly inhabit the XXX region of XXX. As the name they bear implies, they are inheritors of an ancient clan of Wood Elves that took property of the land thousands of years ago. It is said that when they first came around, their traditional skills with hunting and fencing were insufficient to preserve them from the hostile creatures, plants and animals alike. As such, in order to adapt to this new environment, they dedicated themselves trough generations to develop their sensibility to the invisible energy wrapping them around and studying arcanic magic.
Today, they rely primarily on mundane magic and environment manipulation to protect themselves and fulfill their lifes."

I feel that, if you're going the "species evolution" way, it's necessary to justify why they decided to evolve as such.

You could find a reason as to why they came to the place, or a reason as to why they decided to drop their martial abilities to favor magic. For the first, it could be that they fled a cataclysm or a war they were losing. For the second, it could be that this particular clan suffered from a genetic trait that prevented them to be as dextrous as they should be (note that this makes much coherence with the "losing war" idea. ^^). Or that the hostile creatures around are agile to a point that plain dexterity is not enough to fight them (but this should also logically affect the creatures your players are fighting, so probably not such a good idea).
Or just that magical energy was so dense in that area that they developed a natural sensibility to it and, since a recluded clan, they had nothing better to do every day than study it. ^^

Hence a quick draft on my part to introduce their mechanics with fluff. :)


Ability score increases: WIS +2 and DEX +1.I was tempted to suggest the +1 in INT, but it feels more coherent to keep it +1 DEX, while putting WIS as primary. It reflects the fact that they trained their senses to the point of neglecting their Dexterity, but since for Elves it's intrisically exceptional, you still get a bonus.
Obviously, depending on your fluff, this chould change (if you go the idea of "crippled dexterity" for example).


Elf Magic training: you become proficient in Nature skill, as well as clubs and quarterstaffs. You learn two cantrips of your choice from the Druid list. Additionnally, choose one level 1 spell from the Druid list. You can cast it once per long rest. Wisdom is your spellcast ability for these spells.

Quarterstaff seems an obvious choice for fluff reasons.
Cantrips are here to replace the usual weapon proficiencies: I felt that one would be a bit short, hence two. Was also tempted to impose one of them but it feels unnecessary.
Lvl 1 spell is the cherry on the cake, maybe over the top? I don't feel it's too powerful but I may be wrong.

Keep Darkvision, Fleet of Foot and Mask of the Wild (the first two because they are really "racial" bonuses, the last because imo it's coherent with fluff).

Use whatever in my post or drop it entirely as you wish. :smallbiggrin:
Hope that helps. :)

EDIT: I realize that my suggestion of "Magic trainint" is basically the Magic Initiate Feat, which makes it far too powerful (since it's not the only racial feature). So to make it balanced it should probably be reduced to only one cantrip learnt (and no spell).

[Grod_The_Giant]

Aren't those proficiencies the same?
Hmm. You're right; I could have sworn there was a difference.

[Joe the Rat]

Weapon profs are the easiest thing to shift around. For my campaign world, each suptype of elf has different weapons, depending on their environment. Wave elves trade the longsword for the cutlass, Sea elves take up Javelin, Spear, Shortsword, Net, and Trident, Sky elves use the Drow proficiency set + Air vehicles, as Rapiers and Hand crossbows are more practical in a seedpunk zeppelin environment. Wood elves are wood elves.



Elf Magic training: you become proficient in Nature skill, as well as clubs and quarterstaffs. You learn two cantrips of your choice from the Druid list. Additionnally, choose one level 1 spell from the Druid list. You can cast it once per long rest. Wisdom is your spellcast ability for these spells.

Quarterstaff seems an obvious choice for fluff reasons.
Cantrips are here to replace the usual weapon proficiencies: I felt that one would be a bit short, hence two. Was also tempted to impose one of them but it feels unnecessary.
Lvl 1 spell is the cherry on the cake, maybe over the top? I don't feel it's too powerful but I may be wrong.

Keep Darkvision, Fleet of Foot and Mask of the Wild (the first two because they are really "racial" bonuses, the last because imo it's coherent with fluff).

Use whatever in my post or drop it entirely as you wish. :smallbiggrin:
Hope that helps. :)
Swapping Perception for Nature, removing weapon training (since all classes offer club and staff), trading Fey Ancestry (sleep immunity and charm resistance) for Druid-flavored Drow Magic+, then keeping all the wood elf traits.
If you wanted to keep this in line with other races, offer a bonus language (sylvan) or a tool proficiency (herbalist kit, woodcarver, and musical instruments come to mind). The 1/day Druid spell should come online at 3rd level.
If you want to keep Fey Ancestry, magic should replace the wood-elf specific traits.

Edit: Magic is a little trickier - I'm judging against Tieflings as well as Drow here. Maybe play this against Svirfneblin: 2 cantrips + mask of the wild, then a race-specific feat that grants additional Druid magic? I'm just not sure about every Oldwood running around with goodberry or entangle at first level

[hymer]

Hmm. You're right; I could have sworn there was a difference.

*shrug* Just a minor thing.

[Citan]

Swapping Perception for Nature, removing weapon training (since all classes offer club and staff), trading Fey Ancestry (sleep immunity and charm resistance) for Druid-flavored Drow Magic+, then keeping all the wood elf traits.
Ah, yes, I should have been clearer on the fact that except for racial modifiers to stat, my suggestions were just about subrace bonuses, but you kept all the other "racial" features including indeed Perception proficiency. :)

[RUTRIGGERED?]

Hi!

My suggestions hereunder...
Subrace name: Old Woods Elves
(not very original, but serves to make the link with classic Wood Elves while indicating that this is in fact another thing).

Background example
In case that may help you since you say English is not your forte ;).

"Old Wood Elves mostly inhabit the XXX region of XXX. As the name they bear implies, they are inheritors of an ancient clan of Wood Elves that took property of the land thousands of years ago. It is said that when they first came around, their traditional skills with hunting and fencing were insufficient to preserve them from the hostile creatures, plants and animals alike. As such, in order to adapt to this new environment, they dedicated themselves trough generations to develop their sensibility to the invisible energy wrapping them around and studying arcanic magic.
Today, they rely primarily on mundane magic and environment manipulation to protect themselves and fulfill their lifes."

I feel that, if you're going the "species evolution" way, it's necessary to justify why they decided to evolve as such.

You could find a reason as to why they came to the place, or a reason as to why they decided to drop their martial abilities to favor magic. For the first, it could be that they fled a cataclysm or a war they were losing. For the second, it could be that this particular clan suffered from a genetic trait that prevented them to be as dextrous as they should be (note that this makes much coherence with the "losing war" idea. ^^). Or that the hostile creatures around are agile to a point that plain dexterity is not enough to fight them (but this should also logically affect the creatures your players are fighting, so probably not such a good idea).
Or just that magical energy was so dense in that area that they developed a natural sensibility to it and, since a recluded clan, they had nothing better to do every day than study it. ^^

Hence a quick draft on my part to introduce their mechanics with fluff. :)


Ability score increases: WIS +2 and DEX +1.I was tempted to suggest the +1 in INT, but it feels more coherent to keep it +1 DEX, while putting WIS as primary. It reflects the fact that they trained their senses to the point of neglecting their Dexterity, but since for Elves it's intrisically exceptional, you still get a bonus.
Obviously, depending on your fluff, this chould change (if you go the idea of "crippled dexterity" for example).


Elf Magic training: you become proficient in Nature skill, as well as clubs and quarterstaffs. You learn two cantrips of your choice from the Druid list. Additionnally, choose one level 1 spell from the Druid list. You can cast it once per long rest. Wisdom is your spellcast ability for these spells.

Quarterstaff seems an obvious choice for fluff reasons.
Cantrips are here to replace the usual weapon proficiencies: I felt that one would be a bit short, hence two. Was also tempted to impose one of them but it feels unnecessary.
Lvl 1 spell is the cherry on the cake, maybe over the top? I don't feel it's too powerful but I may be wrong.

Keep Darkvision, Fleet of Foot and Mask of the Wild (the first two because they are really "racial" bonuses, the last because imo it's coherent with fluff).

Use whatever in my post or drop it entirely as you wish. :smallbiggrin:
Hope that helps. :)

EDIT: I realize that my suggestion of "Magic trainint" is basically the Magic Initiate Feat, which makes it far too powerful (since it's not the only racial feature). So to make it balanced it should probably be reduced to only one cantrip learnt (and no spell).

Thank you SO much, this was very helpful!