Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)

Gary Gygax claimed Dungeons & Dragons elves draw very little from Tolkien's version of the elf. However, academic Philip J. Clements sees certain aspects as directly traceable to Tolkien's portrayal. Michael J. Tresca, in the book The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games (2014), stated the elven sub-types in Dungeons & Dragons can be traced to divided lines of Tolkien's elves – Noldor become high elves, Tawarwaith become wood elves and Sindar become grey elves in the game. == Publication history ==

Original Dungeons & Dragons The elf first appeared as a player character race in the original 1974 edition of Dungeons & Dragons. The aquatic elf was introduced in the 1975 Blackmoor supplement. Elves in Dungeons & Dragons are immune to paralysis as a holdover from a game balance adjustment in Chainmail. Players with elf characters could choose either the "fighting-man" or "magic-user" class to start with; multiclassing was allowed, however, elf characters could only take a max of four levels in fighter and eight levels in magic-user. The elf also appeared in the original Monster Manual (1977), with subraces including High Elf, Gray Elf (some of whom are also called Faerie), Dark Elf (also called Drow), Wood Elf (also called Sylvan), and Aquatic Elf. The grugach, valley elf, and cooshee (an elven dog) first appeared in Dragon issue #67 (November 1982) in "Featured Creatures", an ongoing series of articles where Gary Gygax released information on official creatures before their release in the upcoming Monster Manual II. The grugach, valley elf, and cooshee then appeared in the original Monster Manual II (1983). A number of elven subraces were presented as character races in the original Unearthed Arcana (1985). Basic Dungeons & Dragons The elf appeared as a character race in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977). In subsequent revisions, in order to streamline the game, the non-humans (including the elf) were presented as distinct classes. The elf class is often seen as a blend of the fighter and magic-user classes. The Shadow elf appears as a character race in GAZ13 The Shadow Elves published by TSR in 1990 as a 64-page booklet and a 32-page booklet. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition The high elf appeared as a character race in the second edition ''Player's Handbook (1989). The high elf also appeared in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989). Several elven races were detailed as player character races in The Complete Book of Elves (1992). Supplements focused on elves in specific campaign settings include Comanthor: Empire of the Elves, Elves of Evermeet and Elves of Athas''. Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition The elf appeared as a character race in the third edition ''Player's Handbook (2000), and in the 3.5 revised Player's Handbook. Elves were detailed for the Forgotten Realms setting in Races of Faerûn (2003). Elves were one of the races detailed in Races of the Wild'' (2005). Tresca explained that this edition allowed elves and humans to be equal in height and "deemphasized their low constitution, a balancing attribute created for earlier editions". Three subraces were introduced with it: the high elf, the wood elf, and the drow (dark elf). The ''Player's Handbook'' connects the high elves to the gray elves and valley elves of the Greyhawk setting, the Silvanesti and Qualinesti of the Dragonlance setting, and the sun elves and moon elves of the Forgotten Realms setting. They also connect the wood elves to the wild elves (grugach) of Greyhawk and the Kagonesti of Dragonlance. The 5th edition ''Dungeon Master's Guide (2014) also presented the eladrin (which appeared in 4th edition as a separate but related race) as an elf subrace, using them as an example for creating a new character subrace. The eladrin later appeared as Unearthed Arcana playtest content in "Race Options: Eladrin and Gith" (2017). Avariel, grugach, sea elves, and shadar-kai were presented as playtest options in "Elf Subraces" (2017). Eladrin, shadar-kai, and sea elves were then featured as playable subraces for elves in the supplement Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018). Those three subraces were then revised in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse'' (2022). In December 2022, Wizards of the Coast announced that the word "race" would no longer be used to refer to a character's biological traits and instead would be replaced with the word "species"; this change went into effect with the December One D&D playtest release. The ''Player's Handbook (2024), as part of the 2024 revision to the 5th Edition ruleset, updated the elf as a player species choice. The elf now has lineage options for drow, high elf, and wood elf. Connor Lindsay of Screen Rant'' explained that mechanically the updated elf is focused "more on the species' innate magical connections" and grants each lineage "a selection of spells they can cast as they level up" along with each lineage receiving "its own passive features". Lindsay noted that elves "retain a lot of their old features, keeping Trance, darkvision proficiency, and Fey Ancestry, and get a wider selection for their extra proficiency". == Fictional characteristics ==

Spirit vs soul In early editions of Dungeons & Dragons, elves had spirits instead of souls which impacted some game mechanics such as various resurrection spells. This distinction was dropped in the 3rd Edition. Christian Hoffer of ComicBook.com commented that "while there are lots of theories about the technical reasons (many believe that D&D co-creator Gary Gygax was not a fan of non-human characters, and thus placed the restriction on them when writing up Advanced Dungeons & Dragons), the only 'official' explanation appears in Deities & Demigods, a D&D supplement released in 1980. [...] The major difference between a soul and a spirit is that souls live one life on the Material Plane and then spend eternity in whatever plane their chosen deity resides, while spirits are eventually reincarnated back into the Material Plane." Drow Grey Elves These elves are the most noble of elves, yet also the most arrogant. They are of higher intellectual capabilities than other elves, but, despite the fact that they are taller than high elves, they are physically weaker. They live in isolated mountain strongholds, and rarely allow access to outsiders. They have silver hair and amber eyes, or gold hair and violet eyes, and wear clothes of white, silver, yellow and gold, and usually wear regally colored cloaks. Shadow Elves These elves are an isolated race of elves that survived a cataclysm and adapted to live in caves in Mystara. The shadow elves are even paler than normal elves, with white hair and very clear eyes, usually a sparkling blue or gray color. The shadow elves are somewhat smaller and thinner than their surface cousins, standing about five feet tall and weighing about 100 pounds. Their ears are larger than those of wood elves, giving the shadow elves a sort of "walking radar" underground. Shadow elves have high-pitched voices—almost squeaky to human ears. High Elves High elves are the original eladrin and the original elves that came Abeir-Toril from the Feywild (dark, sun, moon, green, lythari and star elves), and most commonly encountered by other races, and the most open and friendly of their kind. They travel to other lands more than other elves. They are generally dark-haired and green-eyed, with very pale complexions the color of new cream. They simply do not tan, no matter how much time they spend under Oerth's sun. High elves prefer to wear light pastels, blues and greens and violets, and often dwell in homes built into living wood, high in the trees. In 4th edition the Eladrin are the High elves. Painted Elves This subrace resides in painted deserts and petrified forests, preferring a druidic lifestyle. Rockseer Elves or Deep Elves "Rockseer elves are the rarest of all elvenkind. They are far taller than most of their kin, with a few reaching almost to eight feet in height. An average weight for a Rockseer is between 120 and 140 pounds, with little gender difference. Rockseers are very pale skinned, and they have no body hair. Head hair is extraordinarily fine, always worn long, with the appearance and texture of exquisitely fine silk. The hair is silver, and eye color is a pale, almost ice-blue. They are androgynous in appearance, making it difficult for outsiders to tell males and females apart. "Rockseers have been separated from the rest of elvenkind since mythic times. Their own history tells that they were cowards at the great battle of Corellon Larethian and Lolth, fleeing the combat and taking refuge far below ground. They have no knowledge of surface elves. They know of the Drow and hate them, avoiding them whenever possible. They are extremely seclusive and shun the company of all other races, including the Svirfneblin. The only exception to this are pech, with whom Rockseers sometimes form friendships." ==Campaign settings==

Greyhawk The elves of Greyhawk include the standard aquatic, dark (Drow), grey, high, and wood (sylvan) elves described in the core rule books of various editions of the game. Additional elven types created for this setting include the snow elves, valley elves, and wild (grugach) elves. Dragonlance The depiction of the elves in Dragonlance fiction is strongly influenced by Tolkien's elves. One of the major character types in the setting, they are presented as aloof and isolationist as a group, but also as caretakers of the natural world. Silvanesti and Qualinesti, Forgotten Realms The various elven subraces are more prominent in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and Faerûn boasts several major subraces. ;Star Elves or Mithral Elves (''Ruar-Tel'Quessir''): This subrace left the forests of Yuirwood for an extraplanar realm known as Sildëyuir. They have recently considered returning due to increasing threats by the alien nilshai. ;Sun Elves or Gold Elves (''Ar-Tel'Quessir''): Sun elves are primarily found upon the island of Evermeet and because of this, they are less common across the rest of Faerûn. With bronze colored skin; gold, black, or green eyes; and gold, blond, black, or (rarely) red hair, they are also called gold elves. Sun elves are less physically fit, but more intellectually advanced, Athasian elves are portrayed as hostile nomads, marked by savage dispositions and a deep distrust of outsiders. An Athasian elf stands 6½–7½ feet tall. They are slender, lean, and generally in terrific physical condition. Their features are deeply etched into their weather-toughened faces, and their skin is made rough by the windblown sands and baking sun of the wilderness. The dunes and steppes of Athas are home to thousands of tribes of nomadic elves. While each tribe is very different culturally, the elves within them remain a race of long-limbed sprinters given to theft, raiding, and warfare. The 2nd edition product Mind Lords of the Last Sea introduced a new offshoot of Dark Sun elf. The people of Saragar call them "ghost elves" for their fair complexions, light blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Ghost elves are elitist and xenophobic, and live almost exclusively in the city of Sylvandretta. To maintain a pure bloodline, they have inbred for millennia, resulting in their lighter appearance and halving their lifespan compared to other Athasian elves. Birthright The elves of Cerilia are known as the sidhelien and control various realms on the continent. While the Birthright Campaign Setting makes a clear difference in the rules between five Cerilian human cultures, such a distinction is not made for the elves. However, the elven realms have different attitudes towards their neighbours and other Cerilian inhabitants. Those ruled by Rhuobhe Manslayer, also called the Elf, are encouraged to hate humans, sometimes participating in the Gheallie Sidhe, the Hunt of the Elves, which set out to slaughter humans. Other realms set up magical barriers on their borders to prevent unwanted visitors. The 2nd edition setting allows player characters to be elves or half-elves as adventurers but also as regents, giving them control of provinces, law holdings, guilds and magical sources. While humans have to be infused with a divine bloodline in order to cast true magic, the elves already have a connection to the land and can utilise the magical power of the land's mebhaighl without being blooded. However, the elven societies do not trust any deities, especially not those followed by humans, so there are no elven priests or temples. The world of Aebyrnis (of which Cerilia is a continent) was once joined with the Shadow World. On this plane of shadows and illusions, now exists the Seelie who are more faerie-like than the sidhelien. The Cerilian lore hints that since the two worlds split, for every Cerilian sidhe, there is a corresponding member of the Seelie or Unseelie Courts. Spelljammer The elves are the largest political and military presence in space; at the time of the original Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space boxed set, the elves had just completed a remarkably successful extermination of interstellar orcs and goblins throughout the known universe. 5th Edition introduced Astral Elves who are now native to the Astral Sea. == Reception ==

Gus Wezerek, for FiveThirtyEight, reported that of the 5th Edition "class and race combinations per 100,000 characters that players created on D&D Beyond from" August 15 to September 15, 2017, elves were the second most created at 16,443 total, preceded by humans (25,248) and followed by half-elves (10,454). The three most popular class combinations with the elf were ranger (3,076), wizard (2,744) and rogue (2,257). Wezerek commented that some "races dovetail nicely with particular classes. The wood elf gets a bonus to dexterity as well as proficiency in longbows, perfect for the ranger class". In 2019, classics scholar C. W. Marshall positively remarked on the "wide diversity of genetically unique groups" of elves found in the game, "which can energize fans". == References ==