one of my players is playing an elf, and she has a question regarding the trance. I can’t seem to find the answer online.
In the handbook, it states “while mediating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice.”
Her question is, what exactly does this mean? Does this mean she can use this to train something new while in a Trance? Or is it just for flavor?
The thoughts and feelings of the day need to be sorted.
In most humanoids, this process happens automatically during sleep. The tradeoff for this automatic process is loss of awareness of their surroundings through the process of sleep.
In elves, this process isn't automatic but still needs to occur. While they remain aware of their surroundings, they still need to make the effort to sort the thoughts and feelings of the day.
Thus, if they were to try to perform some other kind of action (like training) they would soon begin to suffer the same mental detriments that other humanoids experience due to lack of sleep.
Sleep is a state. It's something that happens. Trance is a process. It's something you have to do.
If you are playing in a Forgotten Realms game (or looking for applicable lore), there is more fluff and interesting information about Trances sprinkled throughout the Elves section of Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes.
If you are playing in a Forgotten Realms game (or looking for applicable lore), there is more fluff and interesting information about Trances sprinkled throughout the Elves section of Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes.
The thoughts and feelings of the day need to be sorted.
In most humanoids, this process happens automatically during sleep. The tradeoff for this automatic process is loss of awareness of their surroundings through the process of sleep.
In elves, this process isn't automatic but still needs to occur. While they remain aware of their surroundings, they still need to make the effort to sort the thoughts and feelings of the day.
Thus, if they were to try to perform some other kind of action (like training) they would soon begin to suffer the same mental detriments that other humanoids experience due to lack of sleep.
Sleep is a state. It's something that happens. Trance is a process. It's something you have to do.
That's a pretty excellent reason for why elves mature so slowly, too - until they learn to Trance properly, they can't learn anywhere near at the same rate as humans or other non-trancing humanoids.
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one of my players is playing an elf, and she has a question regarding the trance. I can’t seem to find the answer online.
In the handbook, it states “while mediating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice.”
Her question is, what exactly does this mean? Does this mean she can use this to train something new while in a Trance? Or is it just for flavor?
It's just flavor text.
The thoughts and feelings of the day need to be sorted.
In most humanoids, this process happens automatically during sleep. The tradeoff for this automatic process is loss of awareness of their surroundings through the process of sleep.
In elves, this process isn't automatic but still needs to occur. While they remain aware of their surroundings, they still need to make the effort to sort the thoughts and feelings of the day.
Thus, if they were to try to perform some other kind of action (like training) they would soon begin to suffer the same mental detriments that other humanoids experience due to lack of sleep.
Sleep is a state. It's something that happens. Trance is a process. It's something you have to do.
DCI: 3319125026
Thanks! That explains it very well
If you are playing in a Forgotten Realms game (or looking for applicable lore), there is more fluff and interesting information about Trances sprinkled throughout the Elves section of Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes.
You beat me to it
That's a pretty excellent reason for why elves mature so slowly, too - until they learn to Trance properly, they can't learn anywhere near at the same rate as humans or other non-trancing humanoids.