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 shorterlived 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.
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, Lad, Melia, Naill, Naeris, Phann, Rael, Rinn, Sai, Syllin, Thia, Vall
Male Adult Names: Adran, Mar, Aramil, Arannis, Aust, Beiro, Berrian, Carrie, 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, Bird, Caelynn, Drusilia, Enna, Felosial, Ieleniajelenneth, Keyleth, Leshanna, Lia, Meriele, Mialee, Naivara, Quelenna, Quillathe, Sarid, Shanairra, Shava, Silaqui, Theirastra, Thia, Vadania, Valanthe, Xanaphia
Family Names (Common Translations): Amakiir (Gemflower), Amastacia (Starflower), Galanodel (Moonwhisper), Halimion (Diamonddew), Ilphelkiir (Gemblossom), Liadon (Silverfrond), Meliamne (Oakenheel), Naito (Nightbreeze), Siannodel (Moonbrook), Xiloscient (Goldpetal)
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 selfexpression, 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 aver 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 S 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.
Subrace. Ancient divides among the elven people resulted in multiple subraces. Choose one of these subraces. 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.
Dark Elf (Drow)
Descended from an earlier subrace of dark-skinned elves, the drow were banished from the surface world for following the goddess Lolth down the path to evil and corruption. Now they have built their own civilization in the depths of the Underdark, patterned after the Way of Lolth. Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes (so pale as to be mistaken for white) in shades of lilac. silver, pink. red, and blue. They tend to be smaller and thinner than most elves.
Drow adventurers are rare, and the race does not exist in all worlds. Check with your Dungeon Master to see if you can play a drow character.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Drow Magic. You know the Dancing Lights cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Faerie Fire spell once per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Darkness spell once per long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Drow Weapon Training. You have proficiency with rapiers, shortswords, and hand crossbows.
The Darkness of the Drow
Were it not for one renowned exception, the race of drow would be universally reviled. To most, they are a race of demon-worshiping marauders dwelling in the subterranean depths of the Underdark, emerging only on the blackest nights to pillage and slaughter the surface dwellers they despise. Their society is depraved and preoccupied with the favor of Leith, their spider-goddess, who sanctions murder and the extermination of entire families as noble houses vie for position.
Yet one drow, at least, broke the mold. In the world of the Forgotten Realms, Drizzt Do'Urden, ranger of the North, has proven his quality as a good-hearted defender of the weak I and innocent Rejecting his heritage and adrift in a world that looks upon him with terror and loathing, Drizzt is a model for those few drow who follow in his footsteps, trying to find a life apart from the evil society of their Underdark homes.
Drow grow up believing that surface-dwelling races are inferior, worthless except as slaves. Drow who develop a conscience or find it necessary to cooperate with members of other races find it hard to overcome that prejudice, especially when they are so often on the receiving end of hatred.
Eladrin
Eladrin are elves native to the Feywild, a realm of beauty, unpredictable emotion, and boundless magic. An eladrin is associated witb one of the four seasons and has coloration reminiscent of that season, which can also affect the eladrin's mood:
Autumn is the season of peace and goodwill, when summer's harvest is shared with all.
Winter is the season of contemplation and dolor, when the vibrant energy of the world slumbers.
Spring is the season of cheerfulness and celebration, marked by merriment as winter's sorrow passes.
Summer is the season of boldness and aggression. a time of unfettered energy.
Some eladrin remain associated with a particular season for their entire lives, whereas other eladrin transform, adopting characteristics of a new season. When finishing a long rest, any eladrin can change their season. An eladrin might choose the season that is present in the world or perhaps the season that most closely matches the eladrin's current emotional state. For example, an eladrin might shift to autumn if filled with contentment, another eladrin could change to winter if plunged into sorrow, still another might be bursting with joy and become an eladrin of spring, and fury might cause an eladrin to change to summer.
The following tables offer personality suggestions for eladrin of each season. You can roll on the tables or use them as inspiration for characteristics of your own.
Autumn
| d4 | Autumn Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | If someone is in need, you never withhold aid. |
| 2 | You share what you have, with little regard for your own needs. |
| 3 | There are no simple meals, only lavish feasts. |
| 4 | You stock up on fine food and drink. You hate going without such comforts. |
| d4 | Autumn Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | You trust others without a second thought. |
| 2 | You give to others, to the point that you leave yourself without necessary supplies. |
| 3 | Everyone is your friend, or a potential friend. |
| 4 | You spend excessively on creature comforts. |
Winter
| d4 | Winter Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | The worst case is the most likely to occur. |
| 2 | You preserve what you have. Better to be hungry today and have food for tomorrow. |
| 3 | Life is full of dangers, but you are ready for them. |
| 4 | A penny spent is a penny lost forever. |
| d4 | Winter Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | Everything dies eventually. Why bother building anything that is supposedly meant to last? |
| 2 | Nothing matters to you, and you allow others to guide your actions. |
| 3 | Your needs come first. In winter, all must watch out for themselves. |
| 4 | You speak only to point out the flaws in others' plans. |
Spring
| d4 | Spring Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Every day is the greatest day of your life. |
| 2 | You approach everything with enthusiasm, even the most mundane chores. |
| 3 | You love music and song. You supply a tune yourself if no one else can. |
| 4 | You can't stay still. |
| d4 | Spring Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | You overdrink. |
| 2 | Toil is for drudges. Yours should be a life of leisure. |
| 3 | A pretty face infatuates you in an instant, but your fancy passes with equal speed. |
| 4 | Anything worth doing is worth doing again and again. |
Summer
| d4 | Summer Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | You believe that direct confrontation is the best way to solve problems. |
| 2 | Overwhelming force can accomplish almost anything. The tougher the problem, the more force you apply. |
| 3 | You stand tall and strong so that others can lean on you. |
| 4 | You maintain an intimidating front. It's better to prevent fights with a show of force than to harm others. |
| d4 | Summer Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | You are stubborn. Let others change. |
| 2 | The best option is one that is swift, unexpected, and overwhelming. |
| 3 | Punch first. Talk later. |
| 4 | Your fury can carry you through anything. |
Eladrin have the following traits in common, in addition to the traits they share with other elves. Choose your eladrin's season: autumn, winter, spring, or summer.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Fey Step. As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
When you reach 3rd level, your Fey Step gains an additional effect based on your season; if the effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier:
Autumn. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, up to two creatures of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you for 1 minute, or until you or your companions deal any damage to it.
Winter. When you use your Fey Step, one creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you before you teleport must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
Spring. When you use your Fey Step, you can touch one willing creature within 5 feet of you. That creature then teleports instead of you, appearing in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you.
Summer. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, each creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you takes fire damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 damage).
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 Faerun (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.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.
Cantrip. You know one cant rip of your choice from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.
Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.
Sea Elf
Sea elves fell in love with the wild beauty of the ocean in the earliest days of the multiverse. While other elves traveled from realm to realm, the sea elves navigated the deepest currents and explored the waters across a hundred worlds. Today, they live in small, hidden communities in the ocean shallows and on the Elemental Plane of Water.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Sea Elf Training. You have proficiency with the spear, trident, light crossbow, and net.
Child of the Sea. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet, and you can breathe air and water.
Friend of the Sea. Using gestures and sounds, you can communicate simple ideas with any beast that has an innate swimming speed.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Aquan.
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 Faerun, 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.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the longsword shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.
Fleet of Foot. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.
Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
Shadar-Kai
Sworn to the Raven Queen's service, the mysterious shadar-kai venture into the Material Plane from the Shadowfell to advance her will. Once they were fey like the rest of their elven kin, and now they exist in a strange state between life and death. Eladrin and shadar-kai are like reflections of each other: one bursting with emotion, the other nearly devoid of it.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Necrotic Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic damage.
Blessing of the Raven Queen. As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Starting at 3rd level, you also gain resistance to all damage when you teleport using this trait. The resistance lasts until the start of your next turn. During that time, you appear ghostly and translucent.
Bright Elf
Bright elves are one of the oldest and rarest subraces of elves. They have an innate connection to the celestial light and song of creation. They are more lawful than other elven societies, and they value obedience as well as conformity. Most bright elves believe themselves to be the purest and most original form of elf, and see other elven subraces as little better than non-elves, but there are some exceptions among their ranks that are more accepting. Some societies of bright elves are so certain of their purity and superiority that they become mostly lawful evil
In some worlds, bright elves split off long ago from the ancestries of other elves, settling in the Upper Planes where they formed kingdoms in subservience to angels of law. In other worlds, they are simply a rare variant of high elf with particularly potent light magic. And there are worlds where bright elves were the first elves, crafted by gods and angels to live according to the song of creation, resembling the story of elves within J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion.
As a bright elf, your body and soul are infused with light. A bright elf's skin is bronze, silvery, pearly, or pale white, and their hair is golden blond, platinum blond, or silvery white. Their eyes are usually golden or silvery gray, though some are a deep indigo void, with streaks of white radiating from their pupils like a starburst.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice other than Dexterity increases by 1.
Ancient Magic. Choose one of the following can trips: Dancing Lights, Light, or Thaumaturgy. You know that cantrip, and Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
Brightfolk. You have resistance to radiant damage, and you have advantage on saving throws made to resist being blinded by any effect that deals radiant damage or creates light, such as the Sunburst spell
Celestial Hybrid. You have two creature types: celestial and humanoid (elf). You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types.
Homebrew Changes
Subrace Changes
- Added the Bright Elf subrace from The Elements and Beyond Compendium