Khoravar D&D 2024: Species Optimisation Guide

Embrace your dual heritage with this Half Elven species for the Eberron setting, updated for D&D 2024.

The Khoravar are the Half-Elves of the Eberron setting. As they dislike the term “Half-Elves”, they instead refer to themselves as the Khoravar which means “children of Khorvaire” in Elvish.

Ironically, Wizards of the Coast have shifted away from half species in D&D 2024. Instead of having their own species entry (like Half-Elves and Half-Orcs had in the 2014 rules) you can instead pick the traits of one half or the other and flavour appearance etc how you like. A separate species entry for the Khoravar stands in contrast to that philosophy, but they are also an integral species to the Eberron setting, so it also makes sense to highlight their own capabilities.

Because of their dual heritage, the Khoravar are uniquely positioned to mediate between various species of Eberron. This leads to many taking on the mantle of diplomats, bards, mediators and translators. Others seek a deeper connection to their fey roots and become invested in nature and it’s magic by becoming druids and taking on similar roles.

The Khoravar haven’t been released as a species in a more traditional sense before. Instead, in Eberron: Rising from the Last War, they were an optional alternative to the Half-Elf. You’d take on Half-Elf traits and could then choose one of 2 appropriate Dragonmarks for Half-Elf houses; the mark of detection or the mark of storm. With Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, dragonmarks are now feats and the Half-Elf doesn’t have its own entry, so the Khoravar has aspects of what the Half-Elf was in the 2014 edition, with a Khoravar twist to it.

In my guide below, you can see how the Khoravar have changed, what tactics you can use with them, optimal class combinations and how to play this part Elven species.

Is a Khoravar the right species for me?

Choose a Khoravar if you want to…

A choice of many different cantrips
A changeable skills or tool proficiency
Roleplay a dual heritage

A Khoravar might not be for you if…

Your build will struggle with spellcasting
Have less need for skills

What’s changed for Khoravar in D&D 2024?

Talking about what’s changed for Khoravar is tricky as they didn’t exactly have their own species entry. Instead, you used the Half-Elf species traits and you could take a relevant Dragonmark in place of certain traits. Instead, we’ll have to compare what the 2024 Khoravar gets with the old Half-Elf traits.

These changes include:

Can be small – Previously, all Half-Elves were archetyped as part Elf and part Human so were all medium. In reality, the non-Elf part can be any playable species. This means that Khoravar can be small if that other half is from a Halfling, Gnome or some other small species.
Lethargy resilience – Rather than being immune to magic that puts you to sleep, you can succeed against it once every d4 long rests. As a side note, I think being able to do something every d4 rests is a clunky mechanic and one that’s a pain to track! Either make it once every long rest, make it work all the time or make it weaker but work all the time (say advantage against those kinds of effects). If I was the DM, I’d just say this works once every long rest for the sake of ease.
Half-Elf versatility – The 2014 Half-Elves would choose a trait based on their lineage or a more general option involving skills. Khoravar do better than this by having variants of 2 of these traits where one is better and the other is possibly slightly worse, but with more flexibility. Essentially, they get a variant of the skill versatility trait and the High Elf’s cantrips trait. For the skill versatility, instead of being proficient in 2 skills, they have one skill proficiency that can be changed. For the cantrips, they aren’t just limited to the Wizard’s spell list. Instead they can choose from the cleric or druid’s spell list too and they’re not limited by spellcasting ability; they can choose any, not just intelligence.

Khoravar traits

Creature Type	Humanoid
Size	Medium or small
Speed	30ft
Traits	Darkvision, fey ancestry, fey gift, lethargy resilience, skill versatility
Resistances	None
Proficiencies	One changeable skill or tool
Darkvision	Yes
Innate spellcasting	One wizard, cleric or druid cantrip
Book found in	Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

Tactics

Khoravar are quite versatile. Their biggest features are their cantrips and skill/tool proficiency. Both of these can be changed depending on what you need for your adventuring day. Add to this a bit of resilience and darkvision and you have quite a versatile species. I’d suggest the following tactics for them:

Versatile magic: Khoravar are great for getting almost any cantrips onto a build as you can choose from the cleric, druid or wizard spells lists (sorry, that does still mean no eldritch blast). This makes true strike an easy option to grab for a rogue or cleric that wants that for instance. Guidance is great for anyone and doesn’t even rely on a decent spellcasting ability score and you’ve got more versatility through things like mage hand and minor illusion if you’re not built for spellcasting.

Most Khoravar will want a decent spellcasting ability though, and barbarians will struggle here along with their rage restrictions.

Versatile skills: You’ve also got a changeable skill or tool proficiency. I think a lot of players will just use this to take whatever skill gap they want to fill, but the fact you can change this is useful depending on the day’s activities. Off studying in a library, grab arcana; going to sneak into a high security vault, grab stealth; need to negotiate a peace treaty, grab persuasion.

This will benefit characters that need more skills to flesh out their role. Party faces, scouts and even knowledge classes can all benefit most here.

Choosing a class for your Khoravar

Below I’ve scored how well each class works with a Khoravar:

Artificer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Barbarian ⭐⭐

Bard ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cleric ⭐⭐⭐

Druid ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fighter ⭐⭐⭐

Monk ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paladin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ranger ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rogue ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sorcerer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Warlock ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wizard ⭐⭐⭐

*Star ratings scored out of 5

Best classes for a Khoravar

Mostly were looking at classes with good spellcasting ability scores that will benefit from an extra cantrip and an extra, changeable skill proficiency.

I’d say the following are your best classes for a Khoravar:

Worst Khoravar classes

Barbarians are probably your worst option here. They neither have a good spellcasting ability or the mental capacity for spellcasting in combat (at least not while raging). All other classes can work fairly well with their traits.

About Khoravar

Appearance

Khoravar are Half-Elves. This means that they possess features of Elves like pointed ears and a slender figure, but these features may be less pronounced. They also share the features of the other species they share a heritage with. A Khoravar with Human ancestry might have a beard, one with Halfling ancestry may be shorter than most and one with Orc ancestry might have tusks.

It’s up to you how the physical appearance of your Khoravar manifests and which species your character shares a heritage with.

Personality

The Khoravar possess the personality traits of Elves, balanced with the attributes of their other heritage. Elves tend to be long-lived, studious and arrogant. Khoravar may possess these traits, but as they tend to be less integrated into Elven society, many of these traits are lessened.

Many Khoravar will use their heritage as a bridge between species, operating as diplomats, bards and other facilitators of communication.

How to roleplay a Khoravar

You may want to take on the role of peacemaker or negotiator. Resolve conflict between party members and opposing groups through the art of communication. You may also want to connect with your fey nature. Take special attention to the natural and magical world and seek to protect it.

Alternatively, you could use the internal and external conflicts of your dual heritage. You may even struggle to find a place you fit because of your slightly more unique heritage.