I’ll be honest I never heard of Eladrin until I picked up the 4th edition Players Handbook and then I thought – um so they put sun elves into the PHB and changed their name.  Then I read the entry for elves and thought – so they changed the magic loving elves that I grew up with since Basic Dungeons and Dragons into wood/wild elves which have been an expansion only race since the beginning.

I was a bit disappointed – but I can accept it.  At least they gave them reasonably decent art in the PHB, which is more than I can say for the Tiefling or the Dragonborn.  Sorry, but those need to go.

So what is an Eladrin?  Well it is much like the Tolkein elf that you would find in Rivendell whereas the “elf” is more like the Tolkein elf that you would find in Murkwood.  Oh I’m sure there were other influences but I doubt you’ll find any stronger than that.  Wizards couldn’t very well take the Middle Earth names so they chose Eladrin.  Either that or somebody was sitting around with the Forgotten Realms Players Guide from 3rd edition and realized that players often opted for ether sun elves or wood elves given the choice because the stats for high elves were kinda blah.

Personally I would have switched the two.  I would have kept elves as the magic loving race they have been since the beginning and then made the Eladrin into the wild dexterous tree huggers that elves now are.  I think for the sake of continuity this would have worked out better.

All that said, why has my experience been playing an Eladrin?  I ran an Eladrin wizard and I like it.  It has taken me a moment to get used to them, but they are probably my favorite race.  I have a soft spot for magic.  My very first character was a magic-user (died a horrible death on the Isle of Dread) and I’ve been hooked ever since.  I can’t say I would always pick Eladrin over other races, but I would certainly pick them over the new elves and I won’t be rolling up a Dragonborn anytime soon.

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Picking a race to play for your character in DnD can be a bit daunting – especially if you have personal biases like I do.  I don’t like to play dwarves, for example.

Which means that when I want to play a stout, immovable fighter, I either have to play a race I don’t care for or else I have to get creative.

Picking a race should be much more than just finding the race that gives you the best combat bonuses for the class you have in mind.  It is also a reflection of an aspect of your personality and an indication of what you bring to the table.

If every character you play is min/maxed or optimized fully every time, it won’t take long for the other players to know exactly what you are playing and how you are going to play it  - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  There are builds that are more effective than others, anyone who tells you different should be selling life insurance.  I prefer to allow the other players to find out my character’s strengths and weaknesses over time rather than saying “I’m playing an elf” and someone else finish my sentence “ranger, ranged attack specialist because you’re scared to get your hands dirty, and you want to do lots of damage.”

So, how do you pick a race?  Simple – pick what you enjoy.  Pick what matches the concept you are striving for.  If you like dwarves.  You read The Lord of the Rings and fell in love with Gimli – then play a dwarf.  If you liked Legolas better, play an elf.  If you read a Forgotten Realms novel and found something you enjoy – play that race.

And when you pick that dwarf, understand that you can make an effective character from that race in a lot of ways.  A dwarf rogue may not be great at sneaking but could excel at finding dungeon secrets and uncovering NPC lies.

Or you could just roll a die and play a random race.

Either way, have fun with it!

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Here is a pretty common dilemma for both experienced and new D&D aficionados alike.

For new players, they often don’t know what to expect from any of the individual classes so they just stare at the Player’s Handbook and hope someone tells them what to do. More experienced players have already seen it and done it and don’t want more of the same.

Today we’ll address the new player.

If you’re new to the game or if you’re helping someone new, the first thing to remember is to focus on the personality you want to play.

Don’t get overwhelmed with the rules and specifics of any powers or classes. Instead focus on the kind of hero you want to play.

Do you want to:

• Bash face at close quarters?
• Be mysterious and sneaky?
• Use spells to help the team?
• Strike from the shadows?
• Become a forest guardian?
• Serve in the town guard?

The idea is simple. Decide on the character’s place in the world and go with it. Your DM or a more experienced player can help you with the math and filling out your character sheet.

Another pitfall common to new players (as well as experienced players) is focusing too much on what the character could become. Dungeons and Dragons is a game about progress and change. There will be roughly 300 encounters, some 100 sessions between level 1 and level 30. If you play once per week that means that any plans you make for your character won’t be happening for several months at a minimum. Thinking about what the future could bring often stifles the decision making process of today.

Dungeons and Dragons offers you the ability to pretend to be whoever you want. Character creation gives you the chance to pick that person. If you focus on who you want to play in the future you may end up disappointed as the campaign may well go a completely different direction.

If all else fails, you can always play a random or premade character. There’s no harm in using someone else’s ideas until you get your feet wet.

Hope this helps, and as always have a great D&D night.

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