Elf

Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace, living in the world but not entirely part of it. They live in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests or in silvery spires glittering with faerie light, where soft music drifts through the air and gentle fragrances waft on the breeze. Elves love nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry, and the good things of the world.

Slender and Graceful
With their unearthly grace and fine features, elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races. They are slightly shorter than humans on average, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. They are more slender than humans, weighing only 100 to 145 pounds. Males and females are about the same height, and males are only marginally heavier than females.

Elves’ coloration encompasses the normal human range and also includes skin in shades of copper, bronze, and almost bluish-white, hair of green or blue, and eyes like pools of liquid gold or silver. Elves have no facial and little body hair. They favor elegant clothing in bright colors, and they enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry.

A Timeless Perspective
Elves can live well over 700 years, giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter-lived races more deeply. They are more often amused than excited, and more likely to be curious than greedy. They tend to remain aloof and unfazed by petty happenstance. When pursuing a goal, however, whether adventuring on a mission or learning a new skill or art, elves can be focused and relentless. They are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. They reply to petty insults with disdain and to serious insults with vengeance.

Like the branches of a young tree, elves are flexible in the face of danger. They trust in diplomacy and compromise to resolve differences before they escalate to violence. They have been known to retreat from intrusions into their woodland homes, confident that they can simply wait the invaders out. But when the need arises, elves reveal a stern martial side, demonstrating skill with sword, bow, and strategy.

Hidden Woodland Realms
Most elves dwell in small forest villages hidden among the trees. Elves hunt game, gather food, and grow vegetables, and their skill and magic allow them to support themselves without the need for clearing and plowing land. They are talented artisans, crafting finely worked clothes and art objects. Their contact with outsiders is usually limited, though a few elves make a good living by trading crafted items for metals (which they have no interest in mining).

Elves encountered outside their own lands are commonly traveling minstrels, artists, or sages. Human nobles compete for the services of elf instructors to teach swordplay or magic to their children.

Exploration and Adventure
Elves take up adventuring out of wanderlust. Since they are so long-lived, they can enjoy centuries of exploration and discovery. They dislike the pace of human society, which is regimented from day to day but constantly changing over decades, so they find careers that let them travel freely and set their own pace. Elves also enjoy exercising their martial prowess or gaining greater magical power, and adventuring allows them to do so. Some might join with rebels fighting against oppression, and others might become champions of moral causes.

Elf Names
Elves are considered children until they declare themselves adults, some time after the hundredth birthday, and before this period they are called by child names.

On declaring adulthood, an elf selects an adult name, although those who knew him or her as a youngster might continue to use the child name. Each elf’s adult name is a unique creation, though it might reflect the names of respected individuals or other family members. Little distinction exists between male names and female names; the groupings here reflect only general tendencies. In addition, every elf bears a family name, typically a combination of other Elvish words. Some elves traveling among humans translate their family names into Common, but others retain the Elvish version.

Child Names:  Ara, Bryn, Del, Eryn, Faen, Innil, Lael, Mella, Naill, Naeris, Phann, Rael, Rinn, Sai, Syllin, Thia, Vall

Male Adult Names:  Adran, Aelar, Aramil, Arannis, Aust, Beiro, Berrian, Carric, Enialis, Erdan, Erevan, Galinndan, Hadarai, Heian, Himo, Immeral, Ivellios, Laucian, Mindartis, Paelias, Peren, Quarion, Riardon, Rolen, Soveliss, Thamior, Tharivol, Theren, Varis

Female Adult Names:  Adrie, Althaea, Anastrianna, Andraste, Antinua, Bethrynna, Birel, Caelynn, Drusilia, Enna, Felosial, Ielenia, Jelenneth, Keyleth, Leshanna, Lia, Meriele, Mialee, Naivara, Quelenna, Quillathe, Sariel, Shanairra, Shava, Silaqui, Theirastra, Thia, Vadania, Valanthe, Xanaphia

Family Names (Common Translations):  Amakiir (Gemflower), Amastacia (Starflower), Galanodel (Moonwhisper), Holimion (Diamonddew), Ilphelkiir (Gemblossom), Liadon (Silverfrond), Meliamne (Oakenheel), Naïlo (Nightbreeze), Siannodel (Moonbrook), Xiloscient (Goldpetal)

Subrace
Ancient divides among the elven people resulted in three main subraces: high elves, wood elves, and dark elves, who are commonly called drow. Choose one of the two subraces presented below or one from another source. In some worlds, these subraces are divided still further (such as the sun elves and moon elves of the Forgotten Realms), so if you wish, you can choose a narrower subrace.

Elf Traits
Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of thousands of years of elven refinement.

Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age
Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.

Alignment
Elves love freedom, variety, and self-expression, so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. They value and protect others’ freedom as well as their own, and they are more often good than not. The drow are an exception; their exile into the Underdark has made them vicious and dangerous. Drow are more often evil than not.

Size
Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision
Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Senses
You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Fey Ancestry
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Trance
Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires.

Aereni High Elf
Elven culture began on the distant continent of Xen’drik. Tens of thousands of years ago, the elves rose up against the giants who ruled that land. Ultimately, the elves fled from Xen’drik and settled the island nation of Aerenal. There they split into two distinct cultures: the introspective Aereni and the warlike Tairnadal. While neither of these cultures have much interest in human activities, a small number of elves have immigrated to Khorvaire over the years and have integrated with the cultures of the Five Nations.

As a whole, elves are driven by tradition and respect for the past. Where humans value innovation, elves strive to perfect the techniques of their ancestors. With centuries to devote to their studies, the elves are masters of their chosen crafts; at the same time, their society has changed very little over the last five thousand years, while Khorvaire is constantly evolving. As an elf, consider your relationship with the past. Do you value the traditions of your ancestors? Or do you fear that your people are too mired in the past, and need to find a way forward?

Elves of Aerenal
Aerenal is ruled by the Undying Court, a council of undead elves sustained by positive energy. The Undying Court wields godlike power and has protected your island home for thousands of years. The greatest heroes of your people join the Undying Court after death; if you achieve great things in your life, you too could achieve this immortality.

The Aereni are isolationists who have little interest in the world beyond their island. The Five Nations are a place of chaos and war. With this in mind, what has caused you to leave your island and wander the world? Are you in search of a power that could earn you your place in the Undying Court? Have you been given a quest by one of your own deathless ancestors? Or are you an exile, banished from your homeland for some crime against the Undying Court?

As one of the Aereni, think about your history. What is your family known for, and how can you prove yourself to be a master of these skills? Do you have ancestors in the Undying Court, and if so, what’s your relationship with them? Do you find dealing with the short-lived races to be a challenge, or are you patient with them?

Aereni Wood Elf
Elven culture began on the distant continent of Xen’drik. Tens of thousands of years ago, the elves rose up against the giants who ruled that land. Ultimately, the elves fled from Xen’drik and settled the island nation of Aerenal. There they split into two distinct cultures: the introspective Aereni and the warlike Tairnadal. While neither of these cultures have much interest in human activities, a small number of elves have immigrated to Khorvaire over the years and have integrated with the cultures of the Five Nations.

As a whole, elves are driven by tradition and respect for the past. Where humans value innovation, elves strive to perfect the techniques of their ancestors. With centuries to devote to their studies, the elves are masters of their chosen crafts; at the same time, their society has changed very little over the last five thousand years, while Khorvaire is constantly evolving. As an elf, consider your relationship with the past. Do you value the traditions of your ancestors? Or do you fear that your people are too mired in the past, and need to find a way forward?

Elves of Aerenal
Aerenal is ruled by the Undying Court, a council of undead elves sustained by positive energy. The Undying Court wields godlike power and has protected your island home for thousands of years. The greatest heroes of your people join the Undying Court after death; if you achieve great things in your life, you too could achieve this immortality.

The Aereni are isolationists who have little interest in the world beyond their island. The Five Nations are a place of chaos and war. With this in mind, what has caused you to leave your island and wander the world? Are you in search of a power that could earn you your place in the Undying Court? Have you been given a quest by one of your own deathless ancestors? Or are you an exile, banished from your homeland for some crime against the Undying Court?

As one of the Aereni, think about your history. What is your family known for, and how can you prove yourself to be a master of these skills? Do you have ancestors in the Undying Court, and if so, what’s your relationship with them? Do you find dealing with the short-lived races to be a challenge, or are you patient with them?

Eladrin (Variant)
This version of the eladrin originally appeared in the Dungeon Master's Guide as an example for creating your own subraces.

Creatures of magic with strong ties to nature, eladrin live in the twilight realm of the Feywild. Their cities sometimes cross over to the Material Plane, appearing briefly in mountain valleys or deep forest glades before fading back into the Feywild.

High Elf
As a high elf, you have a keen mind and a mastery of at least the basics of magic. In many of the worlds of D&D, there are two kinds of high elves. One type (which includes the gray elves and valley elves of Greyhawk, the Silvanesti of Dragonlance, and the sun elves of the Forgotten Realms) is haughty and reclusive, believing themselves to be superior to non-elves and even other elves. The other type (including the high elves of Greyhawk, the Qualinesti of Dragonlance, and the moon elves of the Forgotten Realms) are more common and more friendly, and often encountered among humans and other races.

The sun elves of Faerûn (also called gold elves or sunrise elves) have bronze skin and hair of copper, black, or golden blond. Their eyes are golden, silver, or black. Moon elves (also called silver elves or gray elves) are much paler, with alabaster skin sometimes tinged with blue. They often have hair of silver-white, black, or blue, but various shades of blond, brown, and red are not uncommon. Their eyes are blue or green and flecked with gold.

Mark of Shadow Elf
The Mark of Shadows lets an elf weave illusions from shadows, crafting sounds and images to distract or delight. The mark also allows its bearer to draw on the shadows, making it an easy matter to avoid detection or even disappear while in plain sight. It is a valuable tool for an entertainer, a spy, or an assassin.

The Houses of Shadow
The elves have carried the Mark of Shadow for thousands of years. The families that carry the mark left Aerenal after the conflict that wiped out the Mark of Death and established  House Phiarlan  in Khorvaire. These elves are the finest entertainers in the land, giving them access to all manner of places and secrets. But the elves do more than entertain. There has always been an elite force of spies and assassins within the house. Common folk know nothing of this. Only special clients — powerful nobles, merchant lords, and the like — have access to these shadowmarked spies.

Towards the end of the Last War, a bitter feud broke out between the major families of the house. Known as the  Shadow Schism, it resulted in a split withinin Phiarlan — and the foundation of  House Thuranni. House Phiarlan continues to offer entertainment and espionage in the lands west of the Mournland, while Thuranni operates in Karrnath, the Lhazaar Principalities, and the eastern lands. As a rule, Phiarlan elves are the better spies and Thuranni agents are superior assassins. On the surface Thuranni and Phiarlan maintain a peaceful relationship, but rivalries run deep.

Valenar High Elf
Elven culture began on the distant continent of Xen’drik. Tens of thousands of years ago, the elves rose up against the giants who ruled that land. Ultimately, the elves fled from Xen’drik and settled the island nation of Aerenal. There they split into two distinct cultures: the introspective Aereni and the warlike Tairnadal. While neither of these cultures have much interest in human activities, a small number of elves have immigrated to Khorvaire over the years and have integrated with the cultures of the Five Nations.

As a whole, elves are driven by tradition and respect for the past. Where humans value innovation, elves strive to perfect the techniques of their ancestors. With centuries to devote to their studies, the elves are masters of their chosen crafts; at the same time, their society has changed very little over the last five thousand years, while Khorvaire is constantly evolving. As an elf, consider your relationship with the past. Do you value the traditions of your ancestors? Or do you fear that your people are too mired in the past, and need to find a way forward?

Elves of Valenar
Your people are dedicated to the arts of war. Millenia ago, your ancestors fought an epic war against mighty giants. When they came to Khorvaire, they battled the champions of the goblin empire. The greatest heroes of those struggles live on after death, known as the patron ancestors. When you became an adult, one of the patron ancestors formed a bond with you. Now it is your duty to follow in the footsteps of your patron, living your life as they lived theirs, allowing this champion to live on through you. This is why your people constantly seek out conflict; you need to find challenges worthy of a hero.

In creating a Valenar, think about your patron ancestor. Your class should reflect their class; if you’re a wizard, your ancestor was likely a legendary archmage. If you’re a ranger, was your ancestor a famous blademaster, or a stealthy hunter? Was your ancestor chivalrous or merciless? Bold or clever? Whatever their nature, it’s your duty to follow their example. Is this something you proudly embrace, or do you resist it? Each patron ancestor is tied to many Valenar: do you have a particular rival who channels the same ancestor, or one who channels a rival of your ancestor?

It’s also important to think about why you are traveling with a group of player characters instead of serving in a Valenar warband. Are you driven by visions from your patron ancestor? Are you pursuing an epic quest that mirrors their legendary deeds? Do you seek vengeance for the death of a friend or ally? Or have you turned away from your people, either by choice or because of the actions of a rival?

Valenar Wood Elf
Elven culture began on the distant continent of Xen’drik. Tens of thousands of years ago, the elves rose up against the giants who ruled that land. Ultimately, the elves fled from Xen’drik and settled the island nation of Aerenal. There they split into two distinct cultures: the introspective Aereni and the warlike Tairnadal. While neither of these cultures have much interest in human activities, a small number of elves have immigrated to Khorvaire over the years and have integrated with the cultures of the Five Nations.

As a whole, elves are driven by tradition and respect for the past. Where humans value innovation, elves strive to perfect the techniques of their ancestors. With centuries to devote to their studies, the elves are masters of their chosen crafts; at the same time, their society has changed very little over the last five thousand years, while Khorvaire is constantly evolving. As an elf, consider your relationship with the past. Do you value the traditions of your ancestors? Or do you fear that your people are too mired in the past, and need to find a way forward?

Elves of Valenar
Your people are dedicated to the arts of war. Millenia ago, your ancestors fought an epic war against mighty giants. When they came to Khorvaire, they battled the champions of the goblin empire. The greatest heroes of those struggles live on after death, known as the patron ancestors. When you became an adult, one of the patron ancestors formed a bond with you. Now it is your duty to follow in the footsteps of your patron, living your life as they lived theirs, allowing this champion to live on through you. This is why your people constantly seek out conflict; you need to find challenges worthy of a hero.

In creating a Valenar, think about your patron ancestor. Your class should reflect their class; if you’re a wizard, your ancestor was likely a legendary archmage. If you’re a ranger, was your ancestor a famous blademaster, or a stealthy hunter? Was your ancestor chivalrous or merciless? Bold or clever? Whatever their nature, it’s your duty to follow their example. Is this something you proudly embrace, or do you resist it? Each patron ancestor is tied to many Valenar: do you have a particular rival who channels the same ancestor, or one who channels a rival of your ancestor?

It’s also important to think about why you are traveling with a group of player characters instead of serving in a Valenar warband. Are you driven by visions from your patron ancestor? Are you pursuing an epic quest that mirrors their legendary deeds? Do you seek vengeance for the death of a friend or ally? Or have you turned away from your people, either by choice or because of the actions of a rival?

Wood Elf
As a wood elf, you have keen senses and intuition, and your fleet feet carry you quickly and stealthily through your native forests. This category includes the wild elves (grugach) of Greyhawk and the Kagonesti of Dragonlance, as well as the races called wood elves in Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms. In Faerûn, wood elves (also called wild elves, green elves, or forest elves) are reclusive and distrusting of non-elves.

Wood elves’ skin tends to be copperish in hue, sometimes with traces of green. Their hair tends toward browns and blacks, but it is occasionally blond or copper-colored. Their eyes are green, brown, or hazel.