101
votes
With the lifespan of elves, would you ever encounter a low-level elf?
Let me start by saying that this is a well-known potential "fallacy" in the settings/rule interaction
Human Level 1 Fighter: "Let me get this straight. You're a hundred and twenty."
Elf Level 1 ...
- 4,060
99
votes
Accepted
Is 4 hours long enough for a long rest for Elves?
An elf receives the benefits of a long rest in 4 hours while using the "Trance" trait.
According to the 2017 update to the Sage Advice Compendium:
Q: Does the Trance trait allow an elf to ...
- 3,426
66
votes
With the lifespan of elves, would you ever encounter a low-level elf?
Elves don't get their first character level until age 120. That means they spend a lot of time until then doing... well... something.
If we look at humans and what they learn in their first 15 or so ...
- 77.7k
58
votes
Accepted
Can the spell Catnap affect elves?
RAW - Yes, catnap can affect elves
Catnap is a bit deceptively named because, despite the name and the fact that one of its effects mimics a short rest, Catnap does not actually technically put ...
- 90.1k
50
votes
Is 4 hours long enough for a long rest for Elves?
I wrote my original answer in April 2015. More than 2 years later, the rules changed. While I am annoyed, I actually prefer the new rules as they sidestep the issue and just make sense.
To summarize: ...
- 629
50
votes
Why are elves immune to a ghoul's paralyzing touch?
Gary Gygax (2007): Elves' positive energy makes them immune to paralysis from ghouls
Gary Gygax answered exactly this question on a forum in 2007, (typo original):
When I devised the ghoul for the D&...
- 14.9k
47
votes
Accepted
Can an elf be magically put to sleep using a Wish spell?
It's up to the GM
A wish like this falls under this section:
You might be able to achieve something beyond the scope of the above examples. State your wish to the DM as precisely as possible. The ...
- 64.3k
47
votes
If an elf is stable with 0 HP, do they regain all hit points after a long rest of 8 hours or 4?
A stabilized elf can finish a long rest in 1d4+4 hours.
The rules for “Stabilizing a Creature” state (emphasis mine):
A stable creature doesn't make death saving throws, even though it has 0 hit ...
- 107k
45
votes
Accepted
How do I build a character with multiple races?
There aren’t rules for doing that: the rules offer “half-elves” (and “half-orcs”) as a race, but in both cases they aren’t mix-‘n’-match options, but static races that always offer (more or less) the ...
- 318k
45
votes
Accepted
Can elves trance in armor without any downsides?
No negative effects
Including the details on the Elven Trance feature here:
Trance: Elves do not need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such ...
- 7,523
44
votes
Accepted
Fey Ancestry says "Magic can't put you to sleep" and Brass Dragon has the ability to "exhales sleep gas". Does the breath weapon affect elves?
An elf is not immune to the Dragon's Sleep Gas
Jeremy Crawford has clarified in a tweet that Fey Ancestry only protects against magical sleep.
Nonmagical sleep gas/poison/etc. can knock an elf ...
- 1,554
38
votes
Accepted
How can the Starter Set's pre-made elf have 5 languages?
While elves get Common and Elvish, high elves get an additional language of their choice.
Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one
extra language of your choice. (PHB p.24, "High Elf")
...
- 141k
38
votes
Accepted
Are elves native to Faerun/Toril, or are they immigrants from elsewhere (like the Feywild)
5E Realms lore does not specifically address this. 4E Realms lore, on the other hand, does. Their exact origin is subject to some debate, even among the elves.
Collectively, the elves are known as ...
- 60.6k
38
votes
Accepted
Is there a way to make the Elven Accuracy feat work with the second benefit of Great Weapon Master?
The most optimal way to do this would be to play a Half-elf Hexblade.
Drow (PHB) & Shadar-Kai (UA Elf Subraces) come in second (+1 to Cha vs Half-Elf's +2), and other elves are still viable (just ...
- 7,960
38
votes
Accepted
How does forgoing advantage interact with Elven Accuracy?
Reading the rules as written for both, Elven Accuracy does not apply.
Elven Accuracy states "Whenever you have advantage on an attack roll", not "Whenever circumstances would grant you advantage".
If ...
- 5,914
38
votes
Accepted
What happens to a Bladesinger reincarnated as a Human?
They're still a Bladesinger
If you take a real persnickety reading of the rules, the SCAG says specifically that:
Only elves and half-elves can choose the bladesinger arcane tradition. In the ...
- 62.3k
38
votes
Accepted
Why do hobgoblins hate elves?
They have diametrically opposed cultures
Hobgoblins, though generally opposed to most other races besides their fellow goblinoids, have been described as having a specific hatred of elves since the ...
- 62.3k
38
votes
Should a high elf wizard use weapons instead of cantrips?
You don’t give us a criterion for “should”
If your criterion is damage potential - maybe. The long bow has a higher average damage on a hit than a Fire Bolt (6.5 vs 5.5). However, if her Intelligence ...
- 187k
37
votes
Is the offspring of an elf and a half-elf an elf or a half-elf?
XGtE suggests the result is a Half-Elf
This book includes a table (p. 62) for determining parent races when your character is a half elf. It includes the possibility of:
One parent was an elf and ...
- 35.8k
35
votes
Accepted
Does Fey Ancestry grant advantage on the save against Otto's Irresistible Dance?
RAW - No, Otto's Irresistible Dance is not a Charm spell
It does not say that the target will be "charmed", and the condition it imposes is significantly different than the description of ...
- 22.7k
34
votes
How can the Starter Set wizard have five skills?
This comes from the Elf's Acolyte Background.
From BD&D:
Proficiencies: Insight, Religion (p37)
So here's how this breaks down.
Elf: Perception
Acolyte: Insight, Religion
Wizard: Arcana, ...
- 102k
34
votes
Accepted
Why are elves immune to a ghoul's paralyzing touch?
I've seen three (4, now that I've seen harlandski's Gygax quote) reasons for Elves being immune to a Ghoul's paralysis ability:
Positive Energy
Per the Gygax quote, elves are suffused with positive ...
- 13.6k
32
votes
Do High Elves have the "Keen Mind" feat naturally?
Nope. The mechanical effects for each race, the racial traits, are laid out after the description of each race/subrace. The traits of High Elves are
Ability Score Increase,
Elf Weapon Training,
...
- 53.2k
32
votes
Accepted
Can elves maintain concentration in a trance?
Yes
Elves are able to maintain concentration during a long rest if they use their Trance trait.
Concentration is only broken by:
Casting another spell that requires concentration. You lose ...
- 122k
32
votes
Accepted
Elf (adjective) vs. Elvish vs. Elven
Elvish is the language, elven is the adjective
Are there rules on when to use elf (as an adjective) versus elvish versus elven in D&D?
In D&D 5e, at least, there actually are!
The official D&...
- 47.7k
29
votes
Accepted
Are the elf races really so bad?
Constitution is everyone’s second-most-important ability
That’s it, that’s all it comes down to. There are elf subraces without a Constitution penalty; those are fine. But for “Elf” race, and most ...
- 318k
28
votes
Accepted
Is my homebrew elf subrace feature balanced?
You should be okay but be careful of stepping on the druid's toes
There is nothing particularly unbalanced about the feature. You can sort of compare it to gaining a bit less than 1/3 of the Magic ...
- 64.3k
28
votes
Accepted
Is there any major mechanical advantage to playing a Drow Elf (full) rather than a Drow Half-Elf?
Superior Darkvision is the major advantage
The most significant mechanical advantage that a Drow has over a Half-Drow, and indeed most other races, is their 120-foot darkvision. Drow can see in the ...
- 62.3k
27
votes
Accepted
Is the High Elf's extra cantrip in addition to cantrips from your class?
You would have four cantrips.
The general rule is that features from your race, class, archetype, or whatever, are additional to one another. Features do not stack only when explicitly noted by the ...
- 3,216
26
votes
Does Fey Ancestry grant advantage on the save against Otto's Irresistible Dance?
The spell states that
Creatures that can't be charmed are immune to this spell
So, for purposes of immunity, the spell is considered to be a charm-type spell.
I would argue that, since this applies ...
- 27.1k
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