- Medium: As Medium creatures, elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Elf base land speed is 30 feet.
- Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
- +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it. An elf’s senses are so keen that she practically has a sixth sense about hidden portals.
- Automatic Languages: Common and Elven.
- Bonus Languages: See subrace
Subraces
High Elf
Players Handbook
- +2 Dexterity, –2 Constitution: Elves are graceful but frail. An elf’s grace makes her naturally better at stealth and archery.
- Low-light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. Elves esteem the arts of swordplay and archery, so all elves are familiar with these weapons.
- Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan. Elves commonly know the languages of their enemies and of their friends, as well as Draconic, the language commonly found in ancient tomes of secret knowledge.
- Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass elf’s wizard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60). Wizardry comes naturally to elves—indeed, they sometimes claim to have invented it, and fighter/wizards are especially common among them.
Aquatic Elf
Monster Manual
Also called sea elves, these creatures are waterbreathing cousins to land-dwelling elves.
They cavort amid the waves and the ocean depths with allies such as dolphins and whales. Aquatic elves fight underwater with tridents, spears, and nets.
- +2 Dexterity, –2 Intelligence.
- An aquatic elf has the aquatic subtype.
- An aquatic elf has a swim speed of 40 feet.
- Gills: Aquatic elves can survive out of the water for 1 hour per point of Constitution (after that, refer to the suffocation rules on page 304 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
- Superior Low-Light Vision: Aquatic elves can see four times as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of low illumination.
- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. Elves esteem the arts of swordplay and archery, so all elves are familiar with these weapons.
- Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan. Elves commonly know the languages of their enemies and of their friends, as well as Draconic, the language commonly found in ancient tomes of secret knowledge.
- Favored Class: Fighter.
Drow
Monster Manual
Also known as dark elves, drow are a depraved and evil subterranean offshoot.
- +2 Dexterity, –2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma
- Darkvision out to 120 feet.
- Spell resistance equal to 11 + class levels.
- +2 racial bonus on Will saves against spells and spell-like
abilities. - Spell-Like Abilities: Drow can use the following spell-like abilities
once per day: dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire. Caster level equals
the drow’s class levels. - Weapon Proficiency: A drow is automatically proficient with the hand crossbow, the rapier, and the short sword.
- Automatic Languages: Drows also speak Undercommon.
- Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Draconic, Drow Sign Language,
Gnome, Goblin, Kuo-toan. - Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds drow for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.
- Favored Class: Wizard (male) or cleric (female).
- Level adjustment +2.
Gray Elf
Monster Manual
Gray elves are the most noble and regal of all elves. Taller and grander in physical appearance than others of their race, gray elves have a reputation for being aloof and arrogant (even by elven standards).
- +2 Intelligence, –2 Strength.
- Low-light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. Elves esteem the arts of swordplay and archery, so all elves are familiar with these weapons.
- Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan. Elves commonly know the languages of their enemies and of their friends, as well as Draconic, the language commonly found in ancient tomes of secret knowledge.
- Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass elf’s wizard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60). Wizardry comes naturally to elves—indeed, they sometimes claim to have invented it, and fighter/wizards are especially common among them.
Wild Elf (Grugach)
Monster Manual
Wild elves, also known as grugach, are barbaric and tribal.
Though other elves consider them savages, they contend that they are the true elves, for the rest have lost their primal elven essence in needing to build.
- +2 Dexterity, –2 Intelligence
- Low-light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. Elves esteem the arts of swordplay and archery, so all elves are familiar with these weapons.
- Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan. Elves commonly know the languages of their enemies and of their friends, as well as Draconic, the language commonly found in ancient tomes of secret knowledge.
- Favored Class: Sorcerer. Nomadic and rugged, wild elves favor the
sorcerer class rather than wizard.
Wood Elf
Monster Manual
Also called sylvan elves, members of this subrace live deep in primordial forests.
- +2 Strength, –2 Intelligence.
- Low-light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. Elves esteem the arts of swordplay and archery, so all elves are familiar with these weapons.
- Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan. Elves commonly know the languages of their enemies and of their friends, as well as Draconic, the language commonly found in ancient tomes of secret knowledge.
- Favored Class: Ranger.