>elves are skinnier than humans >elves have no penalty

They do a lot of climbing and hunting and shit in those forests they live in, so I assume they're lean but rather fit on average.

>>48125121
Elves are also very tall. They appear skinny accordingly when muscle mass is the same.

Also strength and muscle mass doesn't always correlate.

>>48125121
Wild elves (elf subrace that is basically wood elves +) are as strong on average as half orcs (and about as smart too), while still being physically similar to other elves (ie. similar build and stature). So yes, elfs are stronk.

>>48125146
Not all elf subraces are taller. In Greyhawk they're all shorter, and in Faerun the Drow are short as well.

Halflings are a better example. After 3.5 they haven't had a strength penalty (and even before then there were enough ways to work around it that the penalty might not count for much) despite being half the size of humans. The little fuckers have like proportional ant strength or something

Depends on setting.

>>48125407
IN YOUR OPINION, WHICH WAY WOULD YOU PREFER IT?
It's like you people don't understand the purpose of online message boards.

>>48125121
In some versions of OD&D the elf class is based on Int & Str.
So not only were old school elves stronger than they look, they were just STRONK in general.

>>48125387
They were also really goddamn short before 4e.

One of the designers, when discussing how halflings were raised from 3 feet tall to 4 feet tall, explained that he was thinking about the race when he saw his three-year old son running around, and it dawned on him just how damn short 3 feet tall really is, and how ridiculous it would be for someone like that to be considered a physical threat.

>>48125553
Well he's sort of right, though the tallfellow subrace was always about that tall

>>48125553
I once saw a Paul Bunyon statue being used to advertise a home improvement store and once I stood next to his ankles and looked up all I could think of was fighting against a mad Titan in D&D the month before and scoffing at being afraid of something that, in retrospect, could kill me easily

>>48125121
I also explain this by giving them primate-like musculature structure so that they can use more of their strength. Also explains their affinity for trees and climbing and makes them look wierd

File: 1458227292047.jpg (55KB, 395x401px) Image search: [Google]

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>>48125347

File: DOS.png (121KB, 741x735px) Image search: [Google]

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>>48125121

>>48125121
They may be stronger.
But they can't take a hit worth a damn

>>48126389
Do you have a point to go with your le meme face?

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>>48125861
Seeing a T-rex skeleton in person puts in perspective just how terrifying a dragon would be, especially since a T-rex is only about the size of a midling Dragon.