Regardless of the game setting or literary basis, elves are creations born of/made from/exposed to/or otherwise connected with "light."
Using Light as your base, any setting only ever needs precisely NINE types of elves.
WHITE: The Light Elves. The Star elves. The Sidhe. The brightest/highest/purest of elfkind. What I would call Traditional D&D "Grey Elves."
RED: The Blood Elves. The Wild Elves. The Stone elves. Animalistic warriors. The brutest/most physical-least magical of elfkind. Traditional D&D "Wild/Grugach Elves."
ORANGE: The Fire Elves. The Copper elves. The Plains runners. The tribal/animistic/less-wild than wild elves-more-wild than "sylvan" or "sun" elves/Native American analogue elves. I don't think D&D has a traditional version of these elves...unless, maybe, the Dark Sun elves would fall into this. (I don't know Dark Sun well enough to know) I might place Greyhawk's "Valley Elves" here...though this isn't a valley.
YELLOW: The Sun Elves. The Gold elves. The Sand elves. The Desert builders. The high civilization-probably fallen or failing-from days gone by, probably very wealthy-or once was-society. Don't know if D&D has a tradition of these either. FR has Sun elves and multiple setting's have High elf fallen empires. Some of those probably count here.
GREEN: The Wood Elves. The Sylvan Elves. The Green Elves. The Woodland wardens. Expert archers/druidic magics/everyone wears things in shades of green, russet, and brown - often that resemble leaves and branching/tree motifs and (if not green, russet or brown) flowers. Whether a tribe or kingdom it's in a forest realm/society full of dual-wielding expert rangers. Traditional D&D "Wood/Sylvan Elves."
BLUE: The Water Elves. The Sea Elves. The Secret wave-riders. Deep diving/scantily clad/sunken treasure trading(or hording) trident-wielders/pseudo Atlanteans. Traditional D&D "Aquatic Elves."
INDIGO: The Night Elves. The Silver Elves. The Moon Elves. Conceivably the "Shadow" (darkness but not evil) Elves. The hidden ones, highly magical, history/lore-keepers, ancient knowledge sages and experts of myriad crafts (including, often, unknown metal-/smith-craft). I would place, here, the bulk of the Traditional D&D "High Elves."
VIOLET: The Spirit Elves. The Faerie. The Otherworldly Elves. The most capricious and/or the most wise, concerned with the mind, delighting in illusion and enchantment. Considered by many the most magical of elfkind. What have become traditional to D&D as the otherworldly "Eladrin" (while the original D&D "Faerie" elves were considered "Grey elves")
BLACK: The Dark Elves. The Evil Elves. The Subterranean Elves. The elves without any/haven't seen/exiled or actively turned from "the Light." The demon -as opposed to fae folk- partners, worshipers, and/or consorts. Cruel, tainted-by-evil, forsaken of the rest of elfkind (if not the gods and rest of the world), and/or debauched individuals, groups/tribes, and/or societies/civilizations -secret or otherwise- belligerent toward other life (above and/or below the "surface world"). Traditional D&D -and just about any other fantasy setting/rpg- "Drow/Dark Elves."
Those are all of the elves any world needs.
Using Light as your base, any setting only ever needs precisely NINE types of elves.
WHITE: The Light Elves. The Star elves. The Sidhe. The brightest/highest/purest of elfkind. What I would call Traditional D&D "Grey Elves."
RED: The Blood Elves. The Wild Elves. The Stone elves. Animalistic warriors. The brutest/most physical-least magical of elfkind. Traditional D&D "Wild/Grugach Elves."
ORANGE: The Fire Elves. The Copper elves. The Plains runners. The tribal/animistic/less-wild than wild elves-more-wild than "sylvan" or "sun" elves/Native American analogue elves. I don't think D&D has a traditional version of these elves...unless, maybe, the Dark Sun elves would fall into this. (I don't know Dark Sun well enough to know) I might place Greyhawk's "Valley Elves" here...though this isn't a valley.
YELLOW: The Sun Elves. The Gold elves. The Sand elves. The Desert builders. The high civilization-probably fallen or failing-from days gone by, probably very wealthy-or once was-society. Don't know if D&D has a tradition of these either. FR has Sun elves and multiple setting's have High elf fallen empires. Some of those probably count here.
GREEN: The Wood Elves. The Sylvan Elves. The Green Elves. The Woodland wardens. Expert archers/druidic magics/everyone wears things in shades of green, russet, and brown - often that resemble leaves and branching/tree motifs and (if not green, russet or brown) flowers. Whether a tribe or kingdom it's in a forest realm/society full of dual-wielding expert rangers. Traditional D&D "Wood/Sylvan Elves."
BLUE: The Water Elves. The Sea Elves. The Secret wave-riders. Deep diving/scantily clad/sunken treasure trading(or hording) trident-wielders/pseudo Atlanteans. Traditional D&D "Aquatic Elves."
INDIGO: The Night Elves. The Silver Elves. The Moon Elves. Conceivably the "Shadow" (darkness but not evil) Elves. The hidden ones, highly magical, history/lore-keepers, ancient knowledge sages and experts of myriad crafts (including, often, unknown metal-/smith-craft). I would place, here, the bulk of the Traditional D&D "High Elves."
VIOLET: The Spirit Elves. The Faerie. The Otherworldly Elves. The most capricious and/or the most wise, concerned with the mind, delighting in illusion and enchantment. Considered by many the most magical of elfkind. What have become traditional to D&D as the otherworldly "Eladrin" (while the original D&D "Faerie" elves were considered "Grey elves")
BLACK: The Dark Elves. The Evil Elves. The Subterranean Elves. The elves without any/haven't seen/exiled or actively turned from "the Light." The demon -as opposed to fae folk- partners, worshipers, and/or consorts. Cruel, tainted-by-evil, forsaken of the rest of elfkind (if not the gods and rest of the world), and/or debauched individuals, groups/tribes, and/or societies/civilizations -secret or otherwise- belligerent toward other life (above and/or below the "surface world"). Traditional D&D -and just about any other fantasy setting/rpg- "Drow/Dark Elves."
Those are all of the elves any world needs.
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