Dungeons & Dragons’ new Player’s Handbook is fixing one of the Dark Elf’s biggest issues with a Baldur’s Gate 3-inspired buff.
Dungeons & Dragonsis about to get its first major overhaul since the release of D&D 5E.A new Player’s Handbookis just over the horizon andsome lucky players will even have a chance to purchase it early.
We’ve been pouring over the new updates for classic classes like theFighter,Paladin, andBarbariancoming in the update. But of course, the new D&D Players Handbook isn’t stopping at Classes.
A recentblog postfrom the team at Wizards of the Coast has revealed some changes to D&D’s many Species (formerly races). A long-awaited change to the Dark Elf Species takes its cues directly fromBaldur’s Gate 3.
The Species changes revealed for the new D&D Player’s Handbook appear to be partly focused on removing unnecessary weaknesses. For the Dark Elf, that comes in the form of getting rid of their sunlight sensitivity.
Sunlight sensitivity causes Dar Elves to roll with a disadvantage on attacks or sight-based perception checks that target creatures in direct sunlight. This mechanic was notably absent in Baldur’s Gate 3 and it looks like Wizards of the Coast have taken a leaf out of Larian’s book to make the Dark Elf more playable.
This innate debuff has been commonly worked around by not applying it in homebrew settings but for official play in Adventurer’s League, it made Dark Elves almost obsolete. Now players who want to make an edgy Dark Elf with a tragic backstory won’t have to be unnecessarily penalized.
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Ethan Dean is a Games Writer on Dexerto’s Australia team. He is a journalism graduate and specializes in Baldur’s Gate, Diablo, Elden Ring, Pokemon, Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, third-person games, and regularly plays newly release games. You can contact Ethan at: ethan.dean@dexerto.com
