That said, there’s no reason in specific cases penalties shouldn’t be applied. I like it, in this example (obviously, else I wouldn’t have used it).

And a final nitpick, Arcane torrent should say “…cannot use encounter or daily spells…” never keep someone from using at-wills, another integral part of 4e.

Another reason for the separation is that I didn’t want our BE Warlord regularly feeding his addiction with daily powers, and didn’t want to argue with my (mostly new to 4E) players about the difference between a “power” and a “spell”.

I wanted our Warlord to have to work for the +1, so I made the spell sacrifice off-limits to him (otherwise he’d always expend it on days in which no combat was expected, such as long journeys… which sort of defeated the purpose). In retrospect, arcane classes should probably also be made to work for the bonuses. Besides, at higher levels, a single daily is often not a big deal. So I should probably scratch that out, and leave it at residuum/blood/mana as the only fixes.

And about the enhancement bonus, I agree about making it universal for any weapon or implement wielded by the BE – but still I’d require that it be magical, and that it be ritually bound to the wielder.

About the Dex/Int bonus, again it’s basically the result of us wanting to have a BE Warlord (dope fiend overlord!), so the option was simply tacked on to what you wrote. I suppose depending on the campaign or the party’s needs, it might make sense for a DM to allow it either way like we did, but a more ‘official’ racial template should indeed probably stick with Int+Cha.

Thanks for your feedback!

Any implement or weapon a blood elf wields is treated as having an enhancement bonus 1 greater than normal.

This is basically a net racial +1 attack and damage, but it seems a bit more elegant.

I’d definitely make the racial bonuses +2 Int, +2 Cha. Fits the BEs well, and I don’t know of any other race which gives a choice like that (humans excluded).

I just really don’t care for the split between spellbound and runebound BEs. Just my opinion of course, if you and your players are happy with it then run with it, that’s what really matters!

RACIAL BONUSES
2 Int OR Dex
2 Cha

MAGIC MASTERY
At character creation, choose between Spellbound or Ritualbound mastery.
-A Spellbound Blood Elf gains a 1 to all his Spell rolls.
-A Ritualbound Blood Elf gains a 1 to his Attack rolls with a ‘bound’ magic weapon. To bind a magic weapon, the player must perform a 10-hour ritual with his own blood (2 healing surges) as a material component. Only one weapon may be bound at any given time.

ADDICTION
Blood Elves are addicted to raw magic and will attempt to consume it in the following ways:
-Drinking the fresh blood of an elemental, aberrant or immortal creature. A Tiny creature supplies one dose; double it with each increase in creature size. In combat, drinking the blood of a dead (or Unconscious) adjacent enemy is a Standard action and grants Combat Advantage. If carried in vials, it can be taken in the same way as a potion. Blood in vials remain fresh for one week.
-Taking an extended rest in a high-magic zone (as defined by the DM, but could include e.g. dimensional rifts).
-(Spellbound only) Expending a random daily Attack power. In combat, channeling this energy is a Standard action and grants Combat Advantage.
-(Runebound only) Snorting residuum. Each dose is equivalent to half the amount obtainable from an item of the character’s level (e.g. 36gp at level 1). Snorting in combat is a Standard action and grants Combat Advantage.

WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS
Each day a Blood Elf cannot feed his magic addiction, he suffers the following effects:
-A cumulative penalty of -1 to all skill checks
-A cumulative penalty of -1 to Fortitude, Reflexes and Will
-A cumulative loss of 1 healing surge

My players like it so far, but I still need to flesh out a few more things. For instance, there should probably be at least one or two racial feats available…

Any thoughts?

There’s more information at the following link, but it uses lots of Earthdawn specific terminology. http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Blood-Elf-(Earthdawn)

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A while back on ENWorld someone mentioned the idea of extravagantly rich people snorting residuum as a drug… Now that you mention it, that seems like it would work beautifully with blood elves.