How many elves are too many elves?

[steeldragons]

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.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[BookBarbarian]

Everybody knows there's not supposed to be a bunch of kinds of elves...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

“How many elves are too many elves?”

To quote a German friend of mine, “Elf.”

Just to be clear, I like elves. I just don’t think the game needs an Elf subrace for every ecosystem. They’re proliferating like gangs in the inner cities- go four blocks and *poof*!*- new elven subrace.






* that is a sound effect, not a slur

 

[Gradine]

I'm perfectly happy with the Elves we got in the PHB. I think every other type of Elf is stepping on the toes of some other race, just so there can also be elves there. "We've already got Merfolk" "We need Sea Elves!" "So here is my write-up of Aarakocra" "Great, we also need Avariel!" Not everywhere needs elves, calm TF down, D&D.

 

[Draegn]

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.

Now I understand why the boys always say Oh be a fine girl kiss me when speaking to the elvish ambassador.

 

[AmerginLiath]

Dobby has no master! Dobby is a free elf!

New Subrace: Free Elf

In my campaign, that’s Elf, Free with Purchase!

 

[Harzel]

Could be worse-

The Paladin in question could be half drow, half gnome.

Like, um, drome. Or gnow.

A dromadin might be darkest timeline.

A palindrome, perhaps named Laivial, Raelilear, or Eilonolie.

 

[MechaPilot]

I love having more race, class, feat, background, and magic item options (both as a player and as a DM), but I've always had a real problem with D&D's obsession with elf races. There are so many elves that are basically nothing more than "Insert Terrain Noun or Adjective Here Elf," and I think it really infringes on us being given more interesting options. For example, there's no need at all for aquatic elves when we could've been given merfolk. There's no need for the Wild Elf when you have backgrounds dictating if you come from a wild or civilized people. There's no need for the Shadar-Kai to be Gothy Elves (or Bondage Elves, or Hellraiser Elves, whatever you want to call them) when they could be non-elves (though I'm not wedded to any specific prior edition's treatment of them).

On the upside, at least they gave us the ara-Coca-Cola and the winged option for tieflings and aasimar before giving us the Avariel.

 

[MarkB]

I feel like anything more than about six or seven elves is excessive.

And I'm not talking about subraces.