Love the half elfs - reasons inside

[Slippery_Steve]

Ok guys I saw that some of you don't like the half elf so much just because he doesn't take anything to the next level, But I like him just because of that, he is a pure character to pick by style of playing, not for any special other reason... Here - I'll write some classes with half elfs VS same classes with the most obvious race to choose and tell why it's possible to pick half elf anyway.

Half elf assassin rogue VS Halfling assassin - For some reason no one considers that, so here are my thoughts -
Differences - Halfling gets the guile and the AC and attack chance bonus - While the half elf gets the extra bluff.
So obviously in math halfling takes it, more damage on sneak and even more bluff skill thx to guile so in most cases people will take the halfling - BUT there are some and some ways to play an assassin, I know people who just hates the aggro, HATES IT - and every time a monster comes out of the line and aggros them they must run circles or try to kill it slowly.
So if ur that kind of player, the one who hates when he have to handle 1vs1 monsters - with halfling ull get the little more bluff skill and even alittle more melee power - while with half elf ull get only another bluff button with slow cooldown.
So lets imagine it now - ur in the middle of a rough fight with aparty that barely handles, and a foe (lets say human) is running at u - as an halfling ull use bluff, give him a hit and start fight with aggro against him till the cooldown will be over.
As an half elf asme thing happens, but u can use the bluff after bluff right away, means ull gain 50% more sneak attacks while fighting aggro with a monster (more like 45% more cus of the less bluff skill overall) - total meaning ull make much more damage in a combat going out of the line.
I know I know, not alot of people would see it as something good or even a bit - specially not the pro's, but im sure we all can imagine someone who wants to open a rogue but he dont wanna be too careful in fights - means he'll get more 1vs1 aggro than other rogues - means half elf assassin might be right for him.
Edit: Also extra diplomacy use, which will really help their style of playing this character - as a rush rogue you might get much more aggro than you can handle - Extra diplomacy will help you dropping it easy.

Ill stop digging a little with my thoughts now and explain more general.

Battleclerics could be half elfs - thanks to the fact they have the fighter feat which will give them the possibility to remain cleric and gain all the cleric stuff to lvl 20 + get the weapon they always wanted for fighting foes. So yes - some will say "I wanna go fighter all the way to kensai and rest cleric" But still - battlecleric half elf is a decent way of playing, its alittle less tough but much more cleric - which will fit the style of some and some players.

Same thing about battleWizards, rare as they are (and tho i dont like them). And same thing about the battleBards, they now can remain theyre class and get all the benefits they want till lvl 20 from it, but still remain fighting melee.

I could think of a few more examples to give - but here is my point - Half elfs doesn't take anything or any class up to the top(except the tank half elf - they should take the tank into a higher top probably), its a race for fitting to some game styles, it's a race to make to gameplay more wide and interesting and i have no complains, I like it.



Edit: something I don't like about them: their look, human body and crappy gentle anime face... just... fix it...

Oh btw, even tho what i said - I do think they don't have good enough enhancements (More like... uncompleted), so here is an enhancement i thought of, hope devs will take interest.
------------------
Enhancement: Giant confidence

* You're confidence shine above you as a massive aura, giving you size bonus to half elven intimidate, means you will not suffer any penalty when intimidating bigger creatures than you up to the size of giants, Also you will get a bonus intimidating creatures below the size of giants.

[sirdanile]

Your first mistake is assuming rogues actually use bluff...

Diplomacy on the other hand...

I do like half elves but they feel sort of half-finished for now.

[AylinIsAwesome]

A battle wizard would be Warforged, not Half-Elf.

[Robi3.0]

A battle wizard would be Warforged, not Half-Elf.

Silly for someone to assume that they could roll up whatever they wanted.

[AylinIsAwesome]

Silly for someone to assume that they could roll up whatever they wanted.

Well, you could roll up a Half-Elf battle wizard... But the lower HP on d4 class and no self healing will make things much tougher.

[jkm]

Your first mistake is assuming rogues actually use bluff...

Diplomacy on the other hand...

I do like half elves but they feel sort of half-finished for now.

the martial weapons are a much better use for rogues, especially khopesh rogues.

[Dylos_Moon]

Well, you could roll up a Half-Elf battle wizard... But the lower HP on d4 class and no self healing will make things much tougher.

A half-elf battle pale master would have self healing after level 12.

[dormetheus]

the martial weapons are a much better use for rogues, especially khopesh rogues.

Well, if you're going to take the khopesh feat, then you don't really need martial weapon proficiency, right?

[issiana]

Your first mistake is assuming rogues actually use bluff...

Diplomacy on the other hand...

I do like half elves but they feel sort of half-finished for now.

actually bluff used well is a very very potent tool for a solo rogue, or even in a tactics based group. bluff can pull out a single mob from a group of mobs without aggroing everything else.
it has its uses and having 2 shots at it is great for solo/ small group play.

in general pugs who just zerg...bluff is pointless.

[jkm]

Well, if you're going to take the khopesh feat, then you don't really need martial weapon proficiency, right?

nope, cause typically you put radiance on a scimmy

[dormetheus]

nope, cause typically you put radiance on a scimmy

fair enough.

[Slippery_Steve]

Your first mistake is assuming rogues actually use bluff...

Diplomacy on the other hand...

I do like half elves but they feel sort of half-finished for now.

Well, in some sort of stances they do. And yeah you are right I'm a rogue and I don't have bluff only diplomacy. But as someone said - independent rogue might take the bluff to the top level he can for solo, and he could use it in party in some conditions as well.

And I totally forgot about the Diplo when I wrote it... which is another big plus.

[Tumarek]

Bluff is a great mob pulling skill... you sneak up ahead bluff one mob and run back to group. Just this one will follow. But then again you dont really need the extra use if you are in no hurry.

In combat i wouldnt even give it a "meh"

[Draccus]

Selecting a rogue race based on the uses of Bluff is a very, very poor decision in my opinion.

[Mister_Peace]

nope, cause typically you put radiance on a scimmy

I'm not seeing how this is better than putting radiance on a rapier, and not needing martial proficiency at all.

[Geonis]

I'm not seeing how this is better than putting radiance on a rapier, and not needing martial proficiency at all.

Because IC-Slash applies to khopesh and scimmy, but not rapier.

[Alabore]

Edit: something I don't like about them: their look, human body and crappy gentle anime face... just... fix it...

To be fair, I don't think the whole "anime face" deal fits with the rest of the existing races much.
I am not even sure "anime face" can be used as a compliment, either.
And those face don't look "animeish" much anyway.
Perhaps avatarish...

...

Will they change them?
Eh, who cares.



...

Gameplay-wise, half-elves didn't feel that bad.
Playing half-orc was a rougher experience - but I usually play rogue/rangers anyway.

As a rogue/ranger, the half-elf played in a familiar way.
Human versatility, meaning you get nice boosts on a non-human frame, that meshes well with Elven perception bonuses.

No extra feat and no extra skills mean you usually have to raise your INT a bit, on your typical exploiter, but Cleric or Monk Dilettante provide interesting alternatives to established multi-classing and levelling patterns, which is fine on my book.

Interestingly enough, some of the Dilettante feats, even in their current state, make multi-classing LESS desirable, allowing chars to stay pure, and borrowing class bits and features as they need them.

...

Are they "gimped"?
Do numbers matter that much?
I don't really know - I heard the player factor can be equally important...
We'll see.

[Slippery_Steve]

U keep saying the bluff and diplo and the extra feat is just not good as the alt. How can you base it? It is all about playing style, if someone's playing style is bluff and diplo, and he loves running with his rogue around - he should be an half elf. PERIOD
why? because playing style isn't math, u can say this playing style is poor or what ever, but it is something you can't deny - People will want to use it. There are different people with different playing styles, even those who just LOVE - not math love, LOVE using the bluff, because that's how they roll. And thats what they are good at.

And that's what the half elf is for

Edit: Point: It's not a math compare. Some people will play half elfs assassins better than they will play halfling assassins just because of their playing style.

[AylinIsAwesome]

U keep saying the bluff and diplo and the extra feat is just not good as the alt. How can you base it? It is all about playing style, if someone's playing style is bluff and diplo, and he loves running with his rogue around - he should be an half elf. PERIOD
why? because playing style isn't math, u can say this playing style is poor or what ever, but it is something you can't deny - People will want to use it. There are different people with different playing styles, even those who just LOVE - not math love, LOVE using the bluff, because that's how they roll. And thats what they are good at.

And that's what the half elf is for

Edit: Point: It's not a math compare. Some people will play half elfs assassins better than they will play halfling assassins just because of their playing style.

Bluff takes up several seconds worth of time you could be attacking, and after you only get a single sneak attack. Diplo is ok, but Bluff is not.

[TiranBlade]

I think the Half Elf playablilty has potention, infact I wanted something along this line for the Half Elf, after all it's my favorite race, especially for roleplaying purposes. It's not the character system that makes me hate the race.

IT IS THE APPEARANCE!
This is a complete and total butchering of my favorate race.