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 ...
49
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
43
votes
Accepted
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 ...
39
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 ...
39
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 ...
39
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
33
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 ...
33
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&...
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,
...
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 ...
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 ...
28
votes
Does an age of an elf equal that of a human?
Physically yes, up to a point - but that’s not all elves care about
While you can easily make this work for your game, the default assumptions about how elves age both physically and culturally are ...
26
votes
According to Rules As Written, At what age would Half-elves enter Menopause?
Are you sure it's a joke?
Is everyone having fun? I think it's worth asking yourself that. I'm sure I'm reading between the lines, but there's something that feels slightly unfun in the scenario you ...
24
votes
Accepted
Could an elf PC start adventuring at the age of 20?
This is a question that is probably more about the world your campaign is located.
Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms (in numerous novels) indicate that elves at the age of 20 would appear to our ...
24
votes
Accepted
Sleep's hp total and (half-) elf targets
You have it exactly correct. A (half-)elf in the area of the spell is affected in ascending HP order and sucks up the appropriate amount of the 'payload', it's just going to have no effect, and ...
24
votes
Accepted
Can a human assist on darkness perception checks?
The Working Together rule suggests that the human won't be much help
A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she
could attempt alone. (PHB p. 175)
... if the perception ...
24
votes
Can dim light be used to activate the wood elf's Mask of the Wild trait?
It's questionable; your DM is free to rule on this.
It's not clear that shadows in general are a viable source of obscurement for mask of the wild. All the given examples are A) natural events or ...
23
votes
Accepted
Does an elf's daily trance require 4 consecutive hours?
The answer you linked answers your question as well.
A: If an elf meditates during a long rest (as described in the Trance trait), the elf finishes the rest after only 4 hours. A meditating elf ...
23
votes
Accepted
How long is an Elvish generation?
100 to 200 years
According to Races of the Wild (2005), p.13:
Though an elf reaches mental and physical maturity at the age of 25, very few elves become parents until much later in life. Elves ...
22
votes
Sleep's hp total and (half-) elf targets
I disagree. Magic can't put the half-elf to sleep; he is immune to magical sleep. The sleep spell will act as if he is not there.
A normal human who is unconscious doesn't get his HP subtracted ...
22
votes
Accepted
Can an Elf grow a beard?
Elves cannot naturally grow a beard
Elves do not grow facial hair, according to the D&D 5th edition's Player's Handbook (p.21):
Elves have no facial and little body hair.
The item description ...
21
votes
Accepted
Are Valenar elves and Aereni elves different races of elves?
Originally, Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron stated that both high elves and wood elves are found among both the Aereni and the Valenar, so these groups are not subraces. Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron does ...
21
votes
What is the origin of Faerûn's languages?
Unlike Tolkien, the creators of the Forgotten Realms setting were not experts in languages and language construction. So I do not think you can find anything technical. Below is a quote from an answer ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
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