Elves

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Elves in General

This world brings us many, many types of different Elves. Wood Elves, High Elves, Aquatic Elves, Light Elves, Dark Elves, Sun Elves, Moon Elves, Forest Elves, Savage Elves et cetera.

Elves overall are slightly shorter than the average Human, Elves are also noticeably more slender and graceful, averaging between 5 to 6 feet and 95 to 135 pounds. Males are slightly more muscular on average, there is little difference in height between the sexes, and neither sex grows facial hair. Their features in general may be described as more angular and defined; including long, pointed ears and wide, almond-shaped eyes. Most Elves have fair skin and dark hair, though this is no more true of all Elves than it is of Humans. They have a reputation for careful grooming, more so than perhaps any other race. This frequently extends to their clothing, which is luxurious and well-kept, though not to the point of impracticality.

Elves do not sleep as most other creatures do, instead falling into a four-hour restful trance. Consequently, Elves are unaffected by sleep-inducing spells and effects, and are able to remain active far longer than other races.
Elves also do not age as other creatures, looking exactly as their 25-year-old selves until close to death. Elves do grow physically weaker and mentally stronger as they grow older.

Types of Elves

There are, as mentioned befor, many types of Elves. But the categories used by Wizards in their Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance settings are the most common ones. Roughly taken there are 10 groups of elves:

1. Aquatic or Sea Elves.
These Elves live beneath the watery surfaces of many of the world's great seas, breathing as easily below water as their cousins do above water. Most Aquatic Elves tend to be greenish of skin and hair with webbed hand and feet. Sometimes they resemble mermaid like creatures, but not nearly always.

2. Avariel elves.
These winged Elves used to live in many of the mountain regions of the world, but these days they are almost extinct due to wars with Dragons and other mountain dwelling powers.

3. Drow.
This group of Elves was banished to the subterranean Underdark after the Kinslaying which divided the Elven races. The Drow are the only Elves that are inherently evil -chaotic evil. They live in great cities under the Surface and are to most Surface dwellers as bad a sight as the very demons from the nine hells.
A well known Drow is of course Drizzt Do'Urden (Dark Elf Triology/Icewinddale/etc) but also his close kin and the sub-characters in his stories. Figures such as the Archmage Gromph Baerne or the ever popular mercenary-king Jarlaxle.

4. Lythari.
These are originally Forest or Wood Elves that have the ability to change into wolves at will. Unlike true werewolves they keep their sanity and mind when they change and they do not change into unthinking killers therefor. Though most scholars see the Lythari as so far different from 'normal' Elves that they take them as a separate race not really akin anymore to Elves.

5. Moon Elves (or Silver Elves)
These are the most common type of Elves found. They typically have gray to silver hues of hair though some might sport ravenblack as well.
A well known Moon Elf, for example, is the Crimelord Elaith Craulnober. (Songs and Shadows series/City of Splendor:Waterdeep)

6.Snow Elves
Pale elves that live in the High mountain regions of the world. They worship Tarsellis Meunniduin, the Lord of Mountains. They are reclusive (even more so than 'normal' Elves)and usually led by tribal priests known as "Peakwardens".

7.Star Elves
I don't know much about these Elves aside from the fact that they left this planet for an extraplanar realm with the mysterious yet typically elven name Sildëyuir. Oh, and they aren't in anyway related to Vulcans, I heard :/ So no Spock as well known Star Elf, I guess.

8.Sun Elves (Gold elves)
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, blond or black hair, they are also called gold elves. Sun elves are less physically fit than their counterparts.
The only ones I recall are Craulnober's ex-girlfriend (whose name I forgot) and the Gold Elf that made Arylin Moonblade's youth miserable (whose name I also forgot).

9.Wild Elves
The most reclusive of all the elves, the wild elves pride themselves on their isolation and skill at keeping hidden. Their skin tends to be brown and they have similar colored hair which lightens with age. All other Elves see them as their somewhat barbaric cousins.

10.Wood Elves
Wood elves are a reclusive race, preferring to live in, obviously, woodlands and thick forests. They place more emphasis on strength than learning. Wood elves are considered by other elven subraces (particularly the austere sun elves) to be boisterous and hedonistic.

Elves, half-elves and sub-races of Elven races

There are sub-races and cross-races abound amongst the Elves. Races such as the cannibalistic Khanaraun (sub-race of the Drow) or the ghastly Ghost Elves. But also Driders, Mermaid-like Elvens and many others. But most of these are all sub-races that originated because groups of the basic race, one of the aforementioned ten, got separated and thus became the sub-race through generations of separation.

Half-elves, of course, are the offsprings of an Elf and non-Elf. Most of these are either Moon Elves -because there is so a damn lot of those- or through raids by or on the Elves. In the latter case one could think of the Drow, but also of the assaults of various Human groups on the Gold and Wood Elves.
A fairly well known half-elf is of course our good friend Tanis, friend, ok that is not really the word, let's say acquaintance, to Raistlin Majere.


Sources: Realm of the Elves/Kinslayer wars/The Quintessential Elf/various books I read (Songs and Shadows/Drizzt series/Dragonlance trilogies etc) and what I recalled without really knowing where I had it from. ---[Linn Scarlett]

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middle-earth elves Unari Ghost Elves Eastonia elves Avariel elves Drow External link: Elf

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Image on this page taken from the ECM Elf photo contest. Credits there.