Thanks for watching! Want more Web DM in your life? Check out our podcast here: patreon.com/webdm or our NEW TH-cam channel of live play D&D here: bit.ly/2HFh2kO
Web DM Okay but you didn't talk about how one might play a half elf that isn't also half human. You mentioned it in passing and I got excited, but you never pursued it... :( Or what about someone that's half human, half dwarf? Ideas on that? I'd love to see a video from you guys about homebrewing and homebrew balance.
Hey Jim and prewwit (not sure if I spelled that correctly) I’m running an evil campaign and I’m wondering what you would do to scare the players. They think they’re really Rough but I want to show them there’s a lot of things that can kill them still without killing them
Half elf obsessed with necromancy. Knowing he can't live as long as his elven relatives and death terrifys him. Willing to go to any length to starve off death
Had a half-elf death cleric at my table exactly like that. She actually was turned into an undead by another necromancer before she herself could start necromancing things xD
*[elves begin planning for war 50 years ahead]* "Yeah I heard the Elves are just opening up brothels at no charge, kinda out of the blue, but hey I'm not complaining!"
My DM used that immunity to magical sleep to great effect while making the backstory of our Half-elf Rogue. Raised in a human town, ostracized due to odd ears and eyes that shine in the firelight. It was odd that the village was suddenly enveloped in a fog, from his room the child ran out into the village and saw everybody asleep, some in the middle of their duties. And a voice in accented common says "Ah, there you are..."
Alrighty: Trained by Woodelves in the art of stealth but could never do what they do (Mask of the Wild) and their natural perception he chose to instead train himself that he could at least somewhat mimic them (expertise Stealth, Perception) The Elven village he trains in is revealed to be called "Bells" or "The Town of Bells" a jovial and friendly facade of a 'resort' village that welcome wealthy vacationers to their spas and healing houses. The truth is the village bells that seem to be everywhere act as both alarm system and training for their guild of thieves. Many times through out the day you would hear a bell ringing followed by the surrounding elves letting out a chuckle or breath out "Younglings..." Once he was deemed skilled enough he was then given the mission to track down a ring that was stolen from the guild. The sheer audacity that someone had stolen from the hidden guild didn't settle well with our Rogue. He jumped at the chance to not only show that he was ready but also restore the "Thieves' Honor" of the guild. Later found out that the ring was now the family heirloom of out Paladin, the thief being one of the Paladin's ancestors from 300 years ago. But that's another story all-together.
I really love Eberron’s half-elves. Elves came from one continent, humans from another. The marriage happened on a third continent (that is now the main continent) and instead of settling on being “of two worlds” and not fitting in, they see themselves as people of the new land itself, and not either of their ancestors’ which really got me interested in them (and maybe also having the mark of the storm)
In the current game I'm playing in, we've used some of the half-elves in that sort of "ambassador" position, and have also played with the ages. My druid's mother is like 500 years old, and every one of the druid caretakers of this particular glade has been an older sister of hers-- stretching back for hundreds of years. She was raised by her older sister, but that older sister was like.... 60 years older than her. More of a grandmother figure, who has now passed away, while her mother is still a member of the elven court. Like... TIME, man. Time.
Bobba Ganooch i agree.. because they aren't quite human and aren't quite elven, half elves make great outcasts. Or maybe the opposite, they are accepted anywhere visa is accepted. Either way, there's an allure to play em
The whole thing with elves using fast growing half-elves as emergency troops is so sinister but so cool. Elves see a danger coming in about 20-25 years, so they throw a bunch of parties...
Just finished my half elf shadow magic sorcerer, and I am in love with her. She is a proper shadow realm nerd, so each time the party meets a beast or something dark happens, her eyes glisten and she starts fangirling. Otherwise she is normally very blunt and reserved, which makes it extra fun when she gets her episodes ahahaha.
oh I’m currently making a half elf shadow magic sorcerer but since I’m a beginner, I’m stuck. Would you like to write about your character so I can get some inspo?
Just started learning about D&D and one of my friends want to do a home brew campaign or at least that’s what he called it. And I think I want to do a half elf but I wanna know about them by a lot before I chose to pick it as a character race so this helped quite a lot!
I honestly can’t believe you forgot Half Elves, they are like the most popular race aside from maybe humans. But, after months of pestering you, nice to see you do it.
In a 3rd party campaign setting I'm reading through (Primeval Thule), Elves only have one city left, and it's falling into ruin because most of them are hooked on a narcotic that allows them to sleep and dream, and they've rejected the real world. Half elves are a big deal because they're the caste in this city that keeps it running because they don't need the drug
My first character was a half elf who’s mother had kidnapped powerful humans so she can birth an army of half elf super soldiers. I loved it and I’ve loved half elves ever since
Interesting how Jim's pitch for an "against type" half elf is basically how some highelf societies would see every half elf. and Human. And Orc. Maybe Dwarfs too. Maybe even wood elfes? Basically everyone who isnt a Highelf.
If you think half-elf monks are fast you should try a tabaxi monk. Tabaxi have a race ability that allow them to double their speed for one round (not including dash) and they can use it again when they don’t move in a turn.
I love any and all cat people. And I vastly prefer if they have tails. So yes to tabaxi! I was just thinking about a tabaxi arcane trickster rogue.... but great point about the double double speed.... how about adding on boots of haste to make the Cat Flash! But hey it;s really up to the DJ for haste items... but if a wizard in the party can cast haste on the tabaxi monk.....
I've always wondered why the halfbreeds are (traditionally, at least) limited to Human-Orc, Human-Elf, and Human-Dragon. Why no Elf-Orc halfbreeds? Or something really odd, like Goliath-Gnome perhaps. I wish WOTC would bring back & modernize the old 3E template system... Flawed as the system was, building a weird crossbreed NPC was the work of minutes; doing the same thing for 5E takes me an hour or more.
Orcs and elves can't breed because their gods hate each other. As for other half-breeds, a friend of mine found out that gnomes and orcs are similar enough that they could breed. They end up as two cross-breeds, If its a male orc and a female gnome it makes an ome, a small but strong creature that looks like green gnome with on orc-like face and is mistaken for a goblin from time to time. If it's a male gnome and a female orc it makes a gnorc, a big intelligent creature that's lazy and cowardly, they look like fat orcs.
My favourite character to date, speaking of off type, was a Half-Orc Monk in Pathfinder while we were doing the Strange Aeons module. He was wise and burly, an introvert, but always did what was right despite getting the occasional stink eye.
In the homebrew setting im playing in, there is a kingdom where elves and humans co-exist where the ruling dynasty and nobles are all Half Elves. Who better to intermediate? Plus they have the perk of being longer lived. When we met a visitor from this land, herself a half elven princess, my elf was chagrined to be totally disregarded by her in favor of the Half Elf. She was baffled that the Half Elf wasn't just automatically in charge.
Having only ever played 5e, Half-Elf is my favorite race. I love both the mechanics and the implications for roleplaying. I've played two, a Bard and a Homebrewed Artificer. It's been great.
First off I'd like to say thank you for the content! I can't wait to see what's next! As for the video, thank you again for the part about a half-elf not always being half-human! One of my favorite NPCs that I had made, which was also a table favorite, was Trystam Myastan; a half-elf/half-dragonborn paladin. He loved to drink, fight, and make really bad plans.
That feeling when you realize you just moved from NY to Austin and Web DM are both IN Austin. You guys have helped me to become a better DM as a brand new player and I look forward to every new video. Cheers gentlemen, hopefully I can buy you both a beer sometime.
Four years later, this video is still useful! After a six month break, my playgroup is getting back together so my half elf Bard is rejoining the yawning portal.
I've been playing races as species for the last 10 years, or so. No half anything. The one time one of the players insisted (not really, but she really wanted to try a half elf) on it, I relented with the stipulation that her character was created magically and to expect odd reactions from npc's. She came up with an amazing backstory. It turned out to be one of the most satisfying character arcs I've had the pleasure to be a part of.
What about some kind of half-elf barbarian who is a terrible negotiator (at least in the traditional sense), and hates being called by the state/kingdom to go do war negotiations and stuff, but keeps being called back for these kinds of missions because, regardless of his actual persuasion abilities, he gets the results they need (usually in the form of treaties signed in the blood of one of the slain diplomats, signed by the other diplomat who was scared into compliance)? His rage is just his anger at being asked to do this by the king mixed with the stress of the negotiating situation, all coming to a point where he can't contain it any longer. Definitely Intimidation over Persuasion.
Then if you're a 'first generation half elf', are your parents human and elven? Then would you be more like those half-elf variants (more elf abilities than human)? Is the generic half elf just the 'diluted' version of the elf, where their specific ancestry becomes shrouded in a sea of human blood? There are too many questions.
I was actually just thinking about this in terms of genetics and punnet squares: 1 child is fully elven, 2 are half elf, and 1 is full human. that just begs the questions: which set of genes is dominant?
I’ve watched your videos for a long time. Rarely comment though. But I just wanna say that I really appreciate your content and view points. You’ve helped me understand a lot, and I’m finally getting around to DMing (hard to find a group). I’m watching this to help my Girlfriend make her character. I’ve gotten great inspirational questions from your discussions to ask new players when they are coming up with ideas... I could go on but it may turn in to a rant - so I’ll just end on saying thank you guys so much for what you do!
Great take on half-elves. I play a H-E Ranger, cha dump stat got up with the +2. Dex for days! Backstory was outcast but not mad about it, think Spicoli from Fast Times, but in the woods... with arrows!
I was surprised about your comment about the Dwarves before I realized that not everyone had read or thought about Dennis L. McKiernen's books the same way. When considering Dwarves, my first consideration comes from expressions he used in his books to explain Dwarves. A) "No friend has done a Dwarf a favor, no enemy a wrong, that has not been repaid in full!" This expression lets everyone know that these are a highly passionate people that are very concerned about their honor and the way people perceive them. B) "You are a Crafter of true worth!" This compliment tells me that these people are very impressed by the craft-master who takes pride in his work. A pride that shows in his workmanship. If I use these guidelines, Dwarves are not the slovenly, drunkard races with Gaelic accents that everyone tries to make them. They are a people with a rich history, deep passion and pride, and people who value their word and their honor.
I homebrewed a race. They’re called Brachyans and they’re skunk people. Skunk language, skunk spray, skunk senses, the whole nine yards. I’m so excited for my next game.
Ahh but how do the other races treat them? Would be interested in that. I also have skunk people; I call them; Mustephis. Also real skunks have poor eyesight but excellent sense of smell. Do yours have more human vision with enhanced sense of smell or poor sight? Also what is the range or use per day limits on the spray? I have mine as 1/day plus 1 per 5 levels in any character class; range 30 feet 60 ft diameter cloud of stench with the mustephis being immune to stench (including troglodyte or normal skunks) with wind effect dispersing it. Anyway hope you enjoy your version I haven’t actually played mine yet just wrote out the rules a while back.
Your character's racial traits should include an irresistible sexual attraction to any female tabaxxi you see and your palette shape forces you to speak common in what sounds like a thick french accent. go for it Pepe LaPeu!
I made a character way back in City of Heroes MMORPG. Gold skin, white eyes, white long hair, pointed ears. His story was that he was a half-gold elf that found himself on Earth. Magic origin, earth controller/empath(master at locking down mobs, with great healing). His medieval fantasy story is that he grew up as an expert duelist, preferring medium armor, but was not that good with bows(crossbows he's good with, just never had much luck with bows). He later gained natural power of nigh-divine healing, and a command of earthen and natural ground elements(earth, magma, etc.). And grew up along side a baby gold dragon that couldn't speak, but developed a telepathic bond with him. I have no idea what class to pick for him in D&D 5E.
Pausa Para o SP What's weird is that when I started DMing tabletop RPGs in '96 with AD&D 2nd, most people I played with stuck with Half-Elves because of their significantly large list of multiclass options. True demihumans like Elves and Dwarves (the former still being more common than the latter) were generally rare in the games I ran/played in while Humans and Half-Elves dominated most parties; I was usually the only player who bothered playing the smaller folk. 5E seems to have somehow brought back the Half-Elf dynamic, although I noticed that PCs now run the gamut of demihumans as well (Dragonborn and Tieflings appear to be popular), with the weirder or rarer ones sometimes being more common in the larger picture. Humans are still played enough that I wouldn't say they are neglected, but it's surprising now if I see a party with at least half of its number consisting of true humans. 3E (and 4E, to a lesser extent) really changed that dynamic.
First, thanks for the channel! I haven’t played since 2e. I decided to introduce my kids to D&D, and your channel is really helping get up to speed with 5e. My youngest daughter came up with the idea of playing a half-elven monk. She decided (with my help) that her character was dropped off with the monks as a baby. She only knows that her mother was human. Now she’s adventuring trying to find out about her parents. Kids have the best imaginations!
I have one that's half dragon, half elf. Mechanically just a straight half elf, draconic origin sorcerer from the PHB. Backstory is an ancient gold dragon polymorphed into an elf banged an elven princess and my character is the result. Thinks of himself as a dragon on top of the usual haughty, better than thou elf/nobility attitude. But his father sent him out into the world to learn more about himself which is how he ended up joining a motley crew of somewhat ne'er do wells trying to stop the Death Curse in Chult.
I'm currently playing a half-elven warlock who never met her elven father. She's not driven to find him, but this video has got me thinking about why she never knew him and if he was a good person or not. You've really opened up my eyes to the possibilities of expanding her backstory.
22 years ago, I did my first half elf. In my mind, he was half elf and half dwarf : bastard among two races with ancestral animosity, wanting harmony where nobody would listen. 22 years later, whatever the edition, I still LOVE half elf more than any other race (with or without advantages) and this comes from a powergamer ; 4th and 5th edition gave me all I lacked in powergaming department from that race... And since I played mostly half elf anyway since 2nd edition, I feel no shame in saying they rock! Still have 100% role play development options AND combat efficiency? Sign me in!
There was a D&D game where the party ended up in this town that was a the main trading town for the region. One person (not a 1/2 Elf but had Elven ancestry) fell in love with a Elf woman who ran one of the shops there. Things seemed to be going well until he started talking about his family. That is when they realized that the Elf woman was his great grandmother (or was it great great grandmother?).... She had a falling out with her daughter who left town to marry some human the next couple of towns over... Darn Elves & their long life spans!
That angsty type half elf? Tanis. :D In my own campaign world, I posited a situation where half elves had been outcasts from elven society and often enslaved or abused in human society until about two centuries before the start time of the campaign, at which point a band of half elven mercenaries founded a small country. In this same world, elves had massive fertility problems, so there were incentives to breed with the much more fertile humans. That nation was wiped out by later campaign events, but it was playing with both ideas.
Crazy how the civilization & world of this game mimics real life. If you think about it, Half Elves & Half Orcs in a way are like Creaoles or Pardons IRL.
I like half elves at, they're a great race in 5E and if any of my players want to be a half elf then they get to be a half elf. However, it may just be me, but I find half elves a bit creepy as a concept if you stop to think about the differences between humans and elves. I mean what is a human too an elf? An elf lives like 7-10 times longer than a human. That's - in terms of lifespan - like a relatively short lived dog (around 10 years) compared to a human. We keep short-lived things like that as pets. So from an elven point of view humans probably seem like they're these weird, forceful, elf-like things that live, reproduce, wither and die and at fairly quick rate (kind of like smarter dogs). Then some of the elves decide "I'm a get me sum of dat ays!", because why can't elves be perverts too? #pervyelves As such I can see why it's implied the half elves don't really fit in fully with either of their parents’ race. I mean, too other elves they're a constant reminder that (pardon the crude phrasing) an elf mated with a human “pet” and made a half-breed. But too humans they're just an upgraded human that lives longer and stays younger longer, so when farmer Bob is in his 50's and his knees start acting up that half elf farmer still looks like he's 20-something and his knee is still fine. Stupid unfair elfy bullshit, grumble, grumble, stupid half elves and their superior breeding - I want to live to 150 too! And that’s not taking into account that all these short-lived lovers will keep dying while the elf barely ages… cue “You remind me of your great-great-grandfather”-pillow talk. Because pervy elves, remember? So yeah, half elves exist mostly, the way I see it, because a bunch of elves are into this weird human fetish. Is it the humans’ hairy bodies? The generally greater body mass? Are there elf-clubs all about "dat human booty"? Seriously, half elves existence implies some weird fuckery is going on and I have increasingly mixed feelings about that stuff the more I ponder the ethics of such pairings... TL;DR: Half elves are fun.
Yep, elves *are* pervy. When you live that long, and stay "young" for that long, you're going to develop some pretty weird kinks just to keep it interesting and stave off ennui. In that way, elves are a bit like vampires...
I am thinking about testing a half elf bard from the school of satire and you guys gave me this idea about the jesters being the half elves, that are permited to duel in every place of the society despite the lack of money or status, thanks
I have a half-elf bard whose father was a human cobbler and whose mother was part of a traveling troupe of elven entertainers who needed new shoes. He uses enchanted footwear and the power of his dance - River Dance/tap dance when sound is needed - to adventure as a valor bard. His fancy footwork keeps him safe in combat and powers his bardic magic. Don't knock the half-elf shoemakers. :)
My campaign world, the elves are mostly very reclusive but as the end of their childhood they are sent to live outside the communities for ten years, in order to learn and bring in the new ideas, which is often how most Half-elfs come about.
Half-elves are one of my favorite races, both for the roleplaying possibilities they offer, and their stats. I've always felt a connection to races that are outcasts, and while I love tieflings, I think I overall prefer half elves, as the exploration of simultaneously being from two completely different worlds, yet a part of neither is very interesting to me. Plus, they make amazing Paladins because of that +2 to Charisma, which is also good because if you make Charisma your dump stat with the classic numbers, it means you have no negative stats, also making them good for min-maxing.
sylvanesti, the first elven kingdom and qualinesti which was an offshoot that were elves who had accepted other races in and led to half elven children. later in time qualinesti kicked out the non elves after a higher up had been killed by a non elf.
I homebrewed a half-elf consisted of dwarven and elven lineage. One of the added caveats to that is their age where they can live just as long as dwarves. I took into consideration how long both races can live and the offspring of a dwarf and elf living for another 170 years compared to a half-elf with human and elven lineage made sense to me. Half-drow sounds interesting. I'll have to think of a character of my own for that.
In a campaign I ran once, elves conquered a human nation within living memory and so half elves were really new and had uncertain legal status. Some elves didn't even think humans were people and looked at elves who took human lovers as if they shacked up with a stray dog. Never got to explore it very much, though. I had hoped to involve the PCs in a legal battle for half elven status, but our group broke up before we could
Oh man, Jim put me on the idea of a Conquest or Oathbreaker Paladin. Half elves have really good stats for Paladins already, and having one who uses that seething angst to project a desire to make the world accept them at any cost.
In a group i am in if you specify what elven race your elven parent is and they have a specific trait such as the dark elfs superior dark vision or the wood elfs 35 base speed you get that as apposed to the basic attributes of the half elves.
In my world, High Elves are based on an exaggerated version of greek city states. Long lived warrior philosophers who only band together when there is a serious external threat. Wood elves are the ambassadors to the sylvan and fae world, making sure the tiefling empire don't bring the wrath of the Queens of Summer and Winter down upon the world for a second time. Half elves are from unions between elves and tieflings, because humans are mostly extinct. In addition, many half elves emigrate to the city states, join the forest bands, or enter mountain forest monasteries where they become monks in service to one of the fae lords
I was thinking of a campaign around half elves and half orcs at war, due to their leader's having the same idea of breeding themselves into the dominant race in the known world.
Half-drow is _absurdly_ synergistic with Hexblade and allows for the best crit-fishing build in the game. I do like build synergy, but when I have a 60% chance to crit for 10d8 damage on top of three attacks with Great Weapon Master, and half-drow is enabling that build to work, it's definitely way stronger than all the other half-elf variants.
Half-elves. In 5E I have played my share. I played a Half-Drow before the SCAG came out, so it had no access to the alternate abilities. That would be the "against type" Half-Elf. A Draconic Sorcerer who was an outsider in both worlds - a plotter and schemer. A future criminal mastermind and tyrant. Zmey was a badass. I even played him as using "Common" in the wrong tense or word order, as if Undercommon were his native tongue, and it didn't translate perfectly. Although the Half-Aquatic Elf I'd like to play is also against type. Berserker Barbarian. He fears that the rage is actually the influence of Sekolah, and that the "shark totem" that lives within him endangers his own people.
In my campaign setting I have the elves and humans engaged in a genocidal war over control of a small series of islands, my players looked at it and decided they wanted to play half-elves but were unsure how they wanted to work it in (one changed races between session 0 and 1 because they saw the stat bonuses), I decide to work them in as being the unknowing experiments of an Elven Noble who wanted to breed warriors.
I kinda blended the go between and outcast by going for a half-elven psionic. My character is accepted but hides his abilities fearing becoming the outcast after fighting to be accepted.
Thanks for watching! Want more Web DM in your life? Check out our podcast here: patreon.com/webdm or our NEW TH-cam channel of live play D&D here: bit.ly/2HFh2kO
Web DM Okay but you didn't talk about how one might play a half elf that isn't also half human. You mentioned it in passing and I got excited, but you never pursued it... :( Or what about someone that's half human, half dwarf? Ideas on that? I'd love to see a video from you guys about homebrewing and homebrew balance.
Hey Jim and prewwit (not sure if I spelled that correctly) I’m running an evil campaign and I’m wondering what you would do to scare the players. They think they’re really
Rough but I want to show them there’s a lot of things that can kill them still without killing them
Half elf obsessed with necromancy. Knowing he can't live as long as his elven relatives and death terrifys him. Willing to go to any length to starve off death
Cool.
When she's obviously not into you.
Had a half-elf death cleric at my table exactly like that. She actually was turned into an undead by another necromancer before she herself could start necromancing things xD
*terrifies *stave
@@immortalwolf3055 *shut *up
*[elves begin planning for war 50 years ahead]*
"Yeah I heard the Elves are just opening up brothels at no charge, kinda out of the blue, but hey I'm not complaining!"
I just heard that those elves invited all whores in the realm to come and live with them!
Oh my
My DM used that immunity to magical sleep to great effect while making the backstory of our Half-elf Rogue. Raised in a human town, ostracized due to odd ears and eyes that shine in the firelight. It was odd that the village was suddenly enveloped in a fog, from his room the child ran out into the village and saw everybody asleep, some in the middle of their duties. And a voice in accented common says "Ah, there you are..."
continue this, please, tell us more
Alrighty:
Trained by Woodelves in the art of stealth but could never do what they do (Mask of the Wild) and their natural perception he chose to instead train himself that he could at least somewhat mimic them (expertise Stealth, Perception)
The Elven village he trains in is revealed to be called "Bells" or "The Town of Bells" a jovial and friendly facade of a 'resort' village that welcome wealthy vacationers to their spas and healing houses. The truth is the village bells that seem to be everywhere act as both alarm system and training for their guild of thieves. Many times through out the day you would hear a bell ringing followed by the surrounding elves letting out a chuckle or breath out "Younglings..."
Once he was deemed skilled enough he was then given the mission to track down a ring that was stolen from the guild. The sheer audacity that someone had stolen from the hidden guild didn't settle well with our Rogue. He jumped at the chance to not only show that he was ready but also restore the "Thieves' Honor" of the guild.
Later found out that the ring was now the family heirloom of out Paladin, the thief being one of the Paladin's ancestors from 300 years ago. But that's another story all-together.
cool, that puts some complications on the Character's motivation
I really love Eberron’s half-elves. Elves came from one continent, humans from another. The marriage happened on a third continent (that is now the main continent) and instead of settling on being “of two worlds” and not fitting in, they see themselves as people of the new land itself, and not either of their ancestors’ which really got me interested in them (and maybe also having the mark of the storm)
I was named after the Dragon Lance books, My name is Tanis, my mom and dad were big into Dragon Lance and couldn't decide on a name so Tanis it was
styroraptor Be glad they didn't name you Raistlin.
Damn, dude, your parents are nerds.
JJ nothing wrong about that
thats legit nerd. respect to your folks
This reminds me of my old uncle Fizban...
I seriously hope you guys get to some of the more obscure 5e races.
I love Genasi, Aarakocra, Tortles and all kinds of exotic weirdos.
Grung, Tritons, Bugbears...
Firbolg
dyldragon1 firbolgs and warforged
Minotaurs... :D
have they done a lizardfolk video?
"Actually, you can always turn a stupid idea in to a good idea"
-Jim Davis
Basically my entire D&D philosophy
In the current game I'm playing in, we've used some of the half-elves in that sort of "ambassador" position, and have also played with the ages. My druid's mother is like 500 years old, and every one of the druid caretakers of this particular glade has been an older sister of hers-- stretching back for hundreds of years. She was raised by her older sister, but that older sister was like.... 60 years older than her. More of a grandmother figure, who has now passed away, while her mother is still a member of the elven court.
Like... TIME, man. Time.
i believe they didn't actually forget, they just wanted pruitt to say that "forgotten bastards" line in the intro
this one got you my fastest upvote so far: 2 seconds in and i see Jim air kissing and giving me a wink.
Outcasts, even from the race videos. You guys role play even when uploading videos
Bobba Ganooch i agree.. because they aren't quite human and aren't quite elven, half elves make great outcasts. Or maybe the opposite, they are accepted anywhere visa is accepted. Either way, there's an allure to play em
Years later during a rewatch, and I only now catch Pruitt's incredible side-eye at 10:41
What happens when you step on a d4 barefoot?
You take 1d4 damage.
That joke had me rolling !
That joke's got no dice
a pointed, but limp, joke
Great! Also you shout aloud “Caltrop!” Instinctively instead of ouch or another noise.
Seems about right. Almost enough to kill a commoner. Thats what it feels like at least.
The whole thing with elves using fast growing half-elves as emergency troops is so sinister but so cool. Elves see a danger coming in about 20-25 years, so they throw a bunch of parties...
Man, I love half elves. There's something about playing an outcast with a foot in each world that's just so satisfying.
Just finished my half elf shadow magic sorcerer, and I am in love with her. She is a proper shadow realm nerd, so each time the party meets a beast or something dark happens, her eyes glisten and she starts fangirling. Otherwise she is normally very blunt and reserved, which makes it extra fun when she gets her episodes ahahaha.
oh I’m currently making a half elf shadow magic sorcerer but since I’m a beginner, I’m stuck. Would you like to write about your character so I can get some inspo?
Just started learning about D&D and one of my friends want to do a home brew campaign or at least that’s what he called it. And I think I want to do a half elf but I wanna know about them by a lot before I chose to pick it as a character race so this helped quite a lot!
Thank you guys for all of your service to the community. Love web dm!
Im a simple man. I see a new Web DM video, I press 'like'.
I honestly can’t believe you forgot Half Elves, they are like the most popular race aside from maybe humans. But, after months of pestering you, nice to see you do it.
Gotta keep these race videos going with the exotic and monstrous player races. Give them some Web DM love!
In a 3rd party campaign setting I'm reading through (Primeval Thule), Elves only have one city left, and it's falling into ruin because most of them are hooked on a narcotic that allows them to sleep and dream, and they've rejected the real world. Half elves are a big deal because they're the caste in this city that keeps it running because they don't need the drug
My first character was a half elf who’s mother had kidnapped powerful humans so she can birth an army of half elf super soldiers. I loved it and I’ve loved half elves ever since
Interesting how Jim's pitch for an "against type" half elf is basically how some highelf societies would see every half elf. and Human. And Orc. Maybe Dwarfs too. Maybe even wood elfes? Basically everyone who isnt a Highelf.
If you think half-elf monks are fast you should try a tabaxi monk. Tabaxi have a race ability that allow them to double their speed for one round (not including dash) and they can use it again when they don’t move in a turn.
and then if you take the (admittedly 3rd party) racail feat that allows them to use it twice before stopping... hoo boy.
I love any and all cat people. And I vastly prefer if they have tails. So yes to tabaxi! I was just thinking about a tabaxi arcane trickster rogue.... but great point about the double double speed.... how about adding on boots of haste to make the Cat Flash! But hey it;s really up to the DJ for haste items... but if a wizard in the party can cast haste on the tabaxi monk.....
Finally! My favorite race is the Half-Elf, final got around to it.
Annnnd now Wizards of the Coast decided they are racist!
I've always wondered why the halfbreeds are (traditionally, at least) limited to Human-Orc, Human-Elf, and Human-Dragon. Why no Elf-Orc halfbreeds? Or something really odd, like Goliath-Gnome perhaps. I wish WOTC would bring back & modernize the old 3E template system... Flawed as the system was, building a weird crossbreed NPC was the work of minutes; doing the same thing for 5E takes me an hour or more.
Nathan Talisien I'm pretty sure orcs and elves are simply to far apart to have kids but you can change that in your own game
Read 1st edition monster manual
Orcs and elves can't breed because their gods hate each other.
As for other half-breeds, a friend of mine found out that gnomes and orcs are similar enough that they could breed. They end up as two cross-breeds, If its a male orc and a female gnome it makes an ome, a small but strong creature that looks like green gnome with on orc-like face and is mistaken for a goblin from time to time. If it's a male gnome and a female orc it makes a gnorc, a big intelligent creature that's lazy and cowardly, they look like fat orcs.
My favourite character to date, speaking of off type, was a Half-Orc Monk in Pathfinder while we were doing the Strange Aeons module. He was wise and burly, an introvert, but always did what was right despite getting the occasional stink eye.
In the homebrew setting im playing in, there is a kingdom where elves and humans co-exist where the ruling dynasty and nobles are all Half Elves. Who better to intermediate? Plus they have the perk of being longer lived.
When we met a visitor from this land, herself a half elven princess, my elf was chagrined to be totally disregarded by her in favor of the Half Elf. She was baffled that the Half Elf wasn't just automatically in charge.
Having only ever played 5e, Half-Elf is my favorite race. I love both the mechanics and the implications for roleplaying. I've played two, a Bard and a Homebrewed Artificer. It's been great.
Really enjoy all the race and class stuff you are doing guys. When your done i request more boss monster videos like the hag and lich from you guys!
First off I'd like to say thank you for the content! I can't wait to see what's next!
As for the video, thank you again for the part about a half-elf not always being half-human! One of my favorite NPCs that I had made, which was also a table favorite, was Trystam Myastan; a half-elf/half-dragonborn paladin. He loved to drink, fight, and make really bad plans.
Thank you, for everything you have done for the DnD Community!
That feeling when you realize you just moved from NY to Austin and Web DM are both IN Austin. You guys have helped me to become a better DM as a brand new player and I look forward to every new video. Cheers gentlemen, hopefully I can buy you both a beer sometime.
Four years later, this video is still useful! After a six month break, my playgroup is getting back together so my half elf Bard is rejoining the yawning portal.
I've been playing races as species for the last 10 years, or so. No half anything. The one time one of the players insisted (not really, but she really wanted to try a half elf) on it, I relented with the stipulation that her character was created magically and to expect odd reactions from npc's. She came up with an amazing backstory. It turned out to be one of the most satisfying character arcs I've had the pleasure to be a part of.
y'all need to do assimar next
Half-elves and Bards being mechanically good came along in 4e, actually. Two of *many* excellent things brought over from 4e to 5e.
Yay, my favorite race and D&D show collide in a magical explosion!
What about some kind of half-elf barbarian who is a terrible negotiator (at least in the traditional sense), and hates being called by the state/kingdom to go do war negotiations and stuff, but keeps being called back for these kinds of missions because, regardless of his actual persuasion abilities, he gets the results they need (usually in the form of treaties signed in the blood of one of the slain diplomats, signed by the other diplomat who was scared into compliance)? His rage is just his anger at being asked to do this by the king mixed with the stress of the negotiating situation, all coming to a point where he can't contain it any longer. Definitely Intimidation over Persuasion.
Best part is the Barbarian archetype with the ancestor ghosts fits well with elves and the ideas of ancestry with half elves.
Just thought of a cool idea...a half-elf couple has twins, one child fully elfin and the other fully human.
Then if you're a 'first generation half elf', are your parents human and elven? Then would you be more like those half-elf variants (more elf abilities than human)? Is the generic half elf just the 'diluted' version of the elf, where their specific ancestry becomes shrouded in a sea of human blood?
There are too many questions.
I was actually just thinking about this in terms of genetics and punnet squares: 1 child is fully elven, 2 are half elf, and 1 is full human. that just begs the questions: which set of genes is dominant?
DesertFoxCXVII Elves would be dominate
Lucas Ballinger like how darker skin and eyes are dominant in humans? Makes sense
Sort of a twist on Castor and Pollux.
Back at the store! Awesome! Interesting choice to branch from the Class role play series.
I’ve watched your videos for a long time. Rarely comment though. But I just wanna say that I really appreciate your content and view points. You’ve helped me understand a lot, and I’m finally getting around to DMing (hard to find a group). I’m watching this to help my Girlfriend make her character. I’ve gotten great inspirational questions from your discussions to ask new players when they are coming up with ideas...
I could go on but it may turn in to a rant - so I’ll just end on saying thank you guys so much for what you do!
Love the dude walking behind the shot at 18:05. Is he casually sneaking up on our adventurers?
Great take on half-elves. I play a H-E Ranger, cha dump stat got up with the +2. Dex for days! Backstory was outcast but not mad about it, think Spicoli from Fast Times, but in the woods... with arrows!
I was surprised about your comment about the Dwarves before I realized that not everyone had read or thought about Dennis L. McKiernen's books the same way.
When considering Dwarves, my first consideration comes from expressions he used in his books to explain Dwarves.
A) "No friend has done a Dwarf a favor, no enemy a wrong, that has not been repaid in full!"
This expression lets everyone know that these are a highly passionate people that are very concerned about their honor and the way people perceive them.
B) "You are a Crafter of true worth!"
This compliment tells me that these people are very impressed by the craft-master who takes pride in his work. A pride that shows in his workmanship.
If I use these guidelines, Dwarves are not the slovenly, drunkard races with Gaelic accents that everyone tries to make them. They are a people with a rich history, deep passion and pride, and people who value their word and their honor.
I homebrewed a race. They’re called Brachyans and they’re skunk people. Skunk language, skunk spray, skunk senses, the whole nine yards.
I’m so excited for my next game.
Nicholas Ware That seems like it would be a really fun race to play.
Ahh but how do the other races treat them? Would be interested in that. I also have skunk people; I call them; Mustephis. Also real skunks have poor eyesight but excellent sense of smell. Do yours have more human vision with enhanced sense of smell or poor sight? Also what is the range or use per day limits on the spray? I have mine as 1/day plus 1 per 5 levels in any character class; range 30 feet 60 ft diameter cloud of stench with the mustephis being immune to stench (including troglodyte or normal skunks) with wind effect dispersing it. Anyway hope you enjoy your version I haven’t actually played mine yet just wrote out the rules a while back.
Your character's racial traits should include an irresistible sexual attraction to any female tabaxxi you see and your palette shape forces you to speak common in what sounds like a thick french accent. go for it Pepe LaPeu!
I adore the Bowie Half Elf in your thumbnail. Thanks for all the 5e tips!
I’ve been really loving the videos in the store, keep up the great work! Love you all 💜
I made a character way back in City of Heroes MMORPG. Gold skin, white eyes, white long hair, pointed ears. His story was that he was a half-gold elf that found himself on Earth. Magic origin, earth controller/empath(master at locking down mobs, with great healing).
His medieval fantasy story is that he grew up as an expert duelist, preferring medium armor, but was not that good with bows(crossbows he's good with, just never had much luck with bows). He later gained natural power of nigh-divine healing, and a command of earthen and natural ground elements(earth, magma, etc.). And grew up along side a baby gold dragon that couldn't speak, but developed a telepathic bond with him.
I have no idea what class to pick for him in D&D 5E.
Yaay, new video! Mmm, I think that now in 5E half elves are getting kinda common, aren't they?
Unfortunately yes. They're probably the most common race at my table. Apparently, there's a lot of love crossing the tracks in my world.
Pausa Para o SP
What's weird is that when I started DMing tabletop RPGs in '96 with AD&D 2nd, most people I played with stuck with Half-Elves because of their significantly large list of multiclass options. True demihumans like Elves and Dwarves (the former still being more common than the latter) were generally rare in the games I ran/played in while Humans and Half-Elves dominated most parties; I was usually the only player who bothered playing the smaller folk. 5E seems to have somehow brought back the Half-Elf dynamic, although I noticed that PCs now run the gamut of demihumans as well (Dragonborn and Tieflings appear to be popular), with the weirder or rarer ones sometimes being more common in the larger picture. Humans are still played enough that I wouldn't say they are neglected, but it's surprising now if I see a party with at least half of its number consisting of true humans. 3E (and 4E, to a lesser extent) really changed that dynamic.
First, thanks for the channel! I haven’t played since 2e. I decided to introduce my kids to D&D, and your channel is really helping get up to speed with 5e.
My youngest daughter came up with the idea of playing a half-elven monk. She decided (with my help) that her character was dropped off with the monks as a baby. She only knows that her mother was human. Now she’s adventuring trying to find out about her parents.
Kids have the best imaginations!
Maybe an episode about DMing for kids.
I have one that's half dragon, half elf. Mechanically just a straight half elf, draconic origin sorcerer from the PHB. Backstory is an ancient gold dragon polymorphed into an elf banged an elven princess and my character is the result. Thinks of himself as a dragon on top of the usual haughty, better than thou elf/nobility attitude. But his father sent him out into the world to learn more about himself which is how he ended up joining a motley crew of somewhat ne'er do wells trying to stop the Death Curse in Chult.
I'm currently playing a half-elven warlock who never met her elven father. She's not driven to find him, but this video has got me thinking about why she never knew him and if he was a good person or not. You've really opened up my eyes to the possibilities of expanding her backstory.
22 years ago, I did my first half elf. In my mind, he was half elf and half dwarf : bastard among two races with ancestral animosity, wanting harmony where nobody would listen. 22 years later, whatever the edition, I still LOVE half elf more than any other race (with or without advantages) and this comes from a powergamer ; 4th and 5th edition gave me all I lacked in powergaming department from that race... And since I played mostly half elf anyway since 2nd edition, I feel no shame in saying they rock! Still have 100% role play development options AND combat efficiency? Sign me in!
More than any other race, I feel like Half-elves suffers the most from the "Lord of the Rings" inspiration that D&D has.
There was a D&D game where the party ended up in this town that was a the main trading town for the region. One person (not a 1/2 Elf but had Elven ancestry) fell in love with a Elf woman who ran one of the shops there. Things seemed to be going well until he started talking about his family. That is when they realized that the Elf woman was his great grandmother (or was it great great grandmother?).... She had a falling out with her daughter who left town to marry some human the next couple of towns over... Darn Elves & their long life spans!
Dragonlance, baby. Always loved the half elves.
Anus half-elven!
That angsty type half elf? Tanis. :D
In my own campaign world, I posited a situation where half elves had been outcasts from elven society and often enslaved or abused in human society until about two centuries before the start time of the campaign, at which point a band of half elven mercenaries founded a small country. In this same world, elves had massive fertility problems, so there were incentives to breed with the much more fertile humans. That nation was wiped out by later campaign events, but it was playing with both ideas.
Crazy how the civilization & world of this game mimics real life. If you think about it, Half Elves & Half Orcs in a way are like Creaoles or Pardons IRL.
Love this video, thanks guys! Any recommend literature with half elves in them? It’s my favorite race!
Are you guys going to make videos on the races from Volo’s? Can you help a brother out and be the guys showing some love to Aasimar & Tabaxi?
Seconded!
The store's bell is likely not electronic, but a spring-loaded magnet that strikes a plate to make noise.
I like half elves at, they're a great race in 5E and if any of my players want to be a half elf then they get to be a half elf. However, it may just be me, but I find half elves a bit creepy as a concept if you stop to think about the differences between humans and elves.
I mean what is a human too an elf? An elf lives like 7-10 times longer than a human. That's - in terms of lifespan - like a relatively short lived dog (around 10 years) compared to a human. We keep short-lived things like that as pets.
So from an elven point of view humans probably seem like they're these weird, forceful, elf-like things that live, reproduce, wither and die and at fairly quick rate (kind of like smarter dogs). Then some of the elves decide "I'm a get me sum of dat ays!", because why can't elves be perverts too? #pervyelves
As such I can see why it's implied the half elves don't really fit in fully with either of their parents’ race. I mean, too other elves they're a constant reminder that (pardon the crude phrasing) an elf mated with a human “pet” and made a half-breed. But too humans they're just an upgraded human that lives longer and stays younger longer, so when farmer Bob is in his 50's and his knees start acting up that half elf farmer still looks like he's 20-something and his knee is still fine. Stupid unfair elfy bullshit, grumble, grumble, stupid half elves and their superior breeding - I want to live to 150 too!
And that’s not taking into account that all these short-lived lovers will keep dying while the elf barely ages… cue “You remind me of your great-great-grandfather”-pillow talk. Because pervy elves, remember?
So yeah, half elves exist mostly, the way I see it, because a bunch of elves are into this weird human fetish. Is it the humans’ hairy bodies? The generally greater body mass? Are there elf-clubs all about "dat human booty"?
Seriously, half elves existence implies some weird fuckery is going on and I have increasingly mixed feelings about that stuff the more I ponder the ethics of such pairings...
TL;DR: Half elves are fun.
Yep, elves *are* pervy. When you live that long, and stay "young" for that long, you're going to develop some pretty weird kinks just to keep it interesting and stave off ennui. In that way, elves are a bit like vampires...
Half elf against type? Half Elf Barbarian.
I am thinking about testing a half elf bard from the school of satire and you guys gave me this idea about the jesters being the half elves, that are permited to duel in every place of the society despite the lack of money or status, thanks
I actually liked the "ding"s from the store. Was well edited to be tolerable and charming.
I have a half-elf bard whose father was a human cobbler and whose mother was part of a traveling troupe of elven entertainers who needed new shoes. He uses enchanted footwear and the power of his dance - River Dance/tap dance when sound is needed - to adventure as a valor bard. His fancy footwork keeps him safe in combat and powers his bardic magic. Don't knock the half-elf shoemakers. :)
My campaign world, the elves are mostly very reclusive but as the end of their childhood they are sent to live outside the communities for ten years, in order to learn and bring in the new ideas, which is often how most Half-elfs come about.
Half-elves are one of my favorite races, both for the roleplaying possibilities they offer, and their stats. I've always felt a connection to races that are outcasts, and while I love tieflings, I think I overall prefer half elves, as the exploration of simultaneously being from two completely different worlds, yet a part of neither is very interesting to me. Plus, they make amazing Paladins because of that +2 to Charisma, which is also good because if you make Charisma your dump stat with the classic numbers, it means you have no negative stats, also making them good for min-maxing.
I like the idea of a half-elf barbarian playing against type.
been a half elf bard since 2nd edition, Slink Songbird will never die!
I cast "Dispel Focus" (Somatic Component is ringing a small bell)
It's been a while since I've played. But my all time favorite character was a half-elf ranger/rogue .
sylvanesti, the first elven kingdom and qualinesti which was an offshoot that were elves who had accepted other races in and led to half elven children. later in time qualinesti kicked out the non elves after a higher up had been killed by a non elf.
I homebrewed a half-elf consisted of dwarven and elven lineage. One of the added caveats to that is their age where they can live just as long as dwarves. I took into consideration how long both races can live and the offspring of a dwarf and elf living for another 170 years compared to a half-elf with human and elven lineage made sense to me. Half-drow sounds interesting. I'll have to think of a character of my own for that.
18:02
“Where you get an advantage and drowback”:)))
Nice pick up by the store to purchase the old Borders shelves
I like the idea of a Half Elf not necessarily being human/elf. I play a Haalfsimar bard and I'm having a great time!
I went for weapon proficiencies with my half elf cleric to get access to a couple of martial weapons.
In a campaign I ran once, elves conquered a human nation within living memory and so half elves were really new and had uncertain legal status. Some elves didn't even think humans were people and looked at elves who took human lovers as if they shacked up with a stray dog. Never got to explore it very much, though. I had hoped to involve the PCs in a legal battle for half elven status, but our group broke up before we could
Pruitt: "...and throw a party"
Nice.
Half elf versatility+charlatan+rogue or bard=hi,I'm mister skilled nice to meet you
Oh man, Jim put me on the idea of a Conquest or Oathbreaker Paladin. Half elves have really good stats for Paladins already, and having one who uses that seething angst to project a desire to make the world accept them at any cost.
In a group i am in if you specify what elven race your elven parent is and they have a specific trait such as the dark elfs superior dark vision or the wood elfs 35 base speed you get that as apposed to the basic attributes of the half elves.
"I make glass slippers for the rest of my life" XD Made me laugh quite hard.
I order most of my stuff online but my god those store background shelves look glorious
In my world, High Elves are based on an exaggerated version of greek city states. Long lived warrior philosophers who only band together when there is a serious external threat. Wood elves are the ambassadors to the sylvan and fae world, making sure the tiefling empire don't bring the wrath of the Queens of Summer and Winter down upon the world for a second time. Half elves are from unions between elves and tieflings, because humans are mostly extinct. In addition, many half elves emigrate to the city states, join the forest bands, or enter mountain forest monasteries where they become monks in service to one of the fae lords
I've been waiting for this forever lol thanks you guys are amazing as always
In my small group I think about half the PC's have been half-elves. They are super versatile
I was thinking of a campaign around half elves and half orcs at war, due to their leader's having the same idea of breeding themselves into the dominant race in the known world.
Love the show guys. I am a 1st time Wizard and was wondering if had anymore info in the works for me? Keep up the hard work.
I remember going to tribe. Use to be friendly and welcoming. It was nice while it lasted.
Half-drow is _absurdly_ synergistic with Hexblade and allows for the best crit-fishing build in the game. I do like build synergy, but when I have a 60% chance to crit for 10d8 damage on top of three attacks with Great Weapon Master, and half-drow is enabling that build to work, it's definitely way stronger than all the other half-elf variants.
Half-elves. In 5E I have played my share. I played a Half-Drow before the SCAG came out, so it had no access to the alternate abilities. That would be the "against type" Half-Elf. A Draconic Sorcerer who was an outsider in both worlds - a plotter and schemer. A future criminal mastermind and tyrant. Zmey was a badass. I even played him as using "Common" in the wrong tense or word order, as if Undercommon were his native tongue, and it didn't translate perfectly.
Although the Half-Aquatic Elf I'd like to play is also against type. Berserker Barbarian. He fears that the rage is actually the influence of Sekolah, and that the "shark totem" that lives within him endangers his own people.
In my campaign setting I have the elves and humans engaged in a genocidal war over control of a small series of islands, my players looked at it and decided they wanted to play half-elves but were unsure how they wanted to work it in (one changed races between session 0 and 1 because they saw the stat bonuses), I decide to work them in as being the unknowing experiments of an Elven Noble who wanted to breed warriors.
I kinda blended the go between and outcast by going for a half-elven psionic. My character is accepted but hides his abilities fearing becoming the outcast after fighting to be accepted.
Your guys' thumbnails are always on point
In game terms that ability to take +1 in any two stats allow them to do things like Barbarian that isn't common among Elves.