Elves — Playable Species, Lineages and Traditions
Playable Species · D&D 2024 · Earlier Editions · Elven Cultures
Choose the character rules for your edition first, then explore the elves’ histories, homelands and cultures below. A cultural name does not automatically grant another edition’s statistics.
At a Glance
| 2024 species | Elf — Medium Humanoid, Speed 30 feet (35 feet for Wood Elf) |
|---|---|
| 2024 traits | Darkvision, Elven Lineage, Fey Ancestry, Keen Senses and Trance |
| 2024 lineage | Drow, High Elf or Wood Elf |
| Ability scores | In D&D 2024, ability-score increases come from your background, not the Elf species |
| Next steps | Character Creation · Classes · Player Resources |
Elf Rules — D&D 2024 (5.5e)
Use this section for 2024 characters. A level-1 Elf chooses a lineage, one Keen Senses skill and a spellcasting ability for lineage magic. The Pathfinder traits further down this page do not apply to 2024 characters.
Species Traits
- Creature Type: Humanoid. Size: Medium. Speed: 30 feet, except Wood Elves at 35 feet.
- Darkvision: 60 feet; Drow increase this to 120 feet.
- Fey Ancestry: Advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the Charmed condition.
- Keen Senses: Choose proficiency in Insight, Perception or Survival.
- Trance: You do not need sleep and cannot be put to sleep by magic. Four hours of conscious trancelike meditation complete a Long Rest.
- Elven Lineage: Choose one of the three lineages below and its spellcasting ability (Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma).
Elven Lineages
| Lineage | At level 1 | At character level 3 | At character level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drow | Darkvision 120 feet and Dancing Lights cantrip | Faerie Fire | Darkness |
| High Elf | Prestidigitation cantrip; may exchange it for another Wizard cantrip after a Long Rest | Detect Magic | Misty Step |
| Wood Elf | Speed 35 feet and Druidcraft cantrip | Longstrider | Pass without Trace |
At character levels 3 and 5 you always have the indicated lineage spell prepared. You can cast each of those spells once without using a spell slot per Long Rest, or cast them with appropriate spell slots. Choose Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma as the spellcasting ability for your lineage spells when you choose the lineage.
Level-1 Elf Checklist
- Choose Elf and either Drow, High Elf or Wood Elf lineage.
- Record shared species traits and your lineage’s starting feature or cantrip.
- Choose Keen Senses proficiency and Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma for lineage spellcasting.
- Choose a class and a background; apply the 2024 background’s ability-score increases.
- Choose languages with your GM according to the campaign’s regional languages. Do not assume a shared Common tongue in every land.
- Record lineage spells received at character levels 3 and 5.
Culture versus rules: Sea, Sky, Mist, Grey, Wanderer and other elven peoples below represent cultures, homelands or historical variants. They do not automatically add 2024 mechanical benefits; agree any additional features with the GM.
Rules reference: 2024 Character Origins. The 2024 mechanical explanations above have been adapted for this page.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
2014 D&D 5e Elf rules — expand for older campaigns
In 2014 D&D, an Elf gains +2 Dexterity, Medium size, speed 30 feet, Darkvision 60 feet, Perception proficiency, advantage against being Charmed, immunity to magical sleep, Trance and the edition’s language rules. High Elves additionally gain +1 Intelligence, elven weapon training, a Wizard cantrip and an extra language. Wood Elves gain +1 Wisdom, weapon training, 35-foot speed and Mask of the Wild. Use these with 2014 rules only; they are not the same as the Pathfinder modifiers below. 2014 Basic Rules.
Elven Life and History
Elves are long-lived mortals, closely attuned to the living world but distinct from the fey. A forest that a human remembers as young woodland may be a place an elf watched grow from the first sapling. With that memory comes patience, but also grief: entire generations of friends may pass during one elven lifetime.
Appearance and Homeland
Elves are generally slender and pointed-eared, with great variety in hair, eye and skin tones. In some communities those features reflect the landscapes in which families have lived for centuries. Forest dwellers favour shades of leaf, earth and bark, while urban elves may be conspicuously fashionable. No one physical description fits every elven people.
Society and Craft
Many elven settlements are shaped by forests, waterways and the patient stewardship of living places. Those who dwell in bleak highlands or deserts can be fiercely protective of sparse resources. Elven artisans are renowned for delicate work in wood, bone, leather and other living materials, though some traditions prize stone, metal and intricate architecture just as highly. Scholarly schools and long-established magical colleges preserve knowledge across centuries.
Neighbours, Alliances and Arguments
Friendships with dragons, fey and other long-lived creatures can endure for ages. Relations with humans, halflings, dwarves, gnomes and orcs depend on local history, not on universal racial attitudes. Some elven courts cling to old prejudices; others have become cosmopolitan, or rely on people with whom they once fought. Old promises are powerful in elven politics, but different heirs may disagree about what an oath requires.
Why an Elf Takes the Road
An elf might seek the lost archives of an ancestor, protect a threatened grove, reclaim a confiscated family relic, track a stolen spell, escort an envoy to an unfriendly court, or simply escape the slow certainty of home. Long life makes these journeys different, not necessarily safer. An elven adventurer may return to discover that the people and governments they left behind have changed.
Names heard among elves: Caladrel, Heldalel, Lanliss, Meirdrarel, Seldlon, Talathel, Variel, Zordlon, Amrunelara, Dardlara, Faunra, Jathal, Merisiel, Oparal, Soumral, Tessara and Yalandlara.
Elven Courts and Hidden Realms
Not all elven realms are alike. Some maintain recognisable courts, noble houses, banners and tournaments, where an outsider may be granted audience through diplomacy or a daring challenge. Others guard halls of music and enchantment that outsiders struggle even to find. Contact with such realms can change the fortunes of a village—or leave a traveller uncertain how much time has passed.
The old traditions distinguish courtly elves, whose quarrels and loyalties may resemble those of their neighbours, from deeply enchanted communities that keep their ways apart. Neither tradition describes every elf, and neither imposes extra rules on a 2024 character.
Rules from Earlier Editions
Choose one ruleset before creating a character. The 2024 species traits above are not combined with the ability modifiers or racial features from previous editions.
Pathfinder 1e — Elf Racial Traits
Ability scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, −2 Constitution. Type and size: Medium Humanoid (elf). Speed: 30 feet. Vision: Low-light vision.
- Elven Immunities: immunity to magical sleep and +2 on saves against enchantment spells and effects.
- Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
- Elven Magic: +2 on caster-level checks to overcome spell resistance and +2 on Spellcraft checks to identify magic items.
- Weapon Familiarity: proficiency with longbows, composite longbows, shortbows, composite shortbows, longswords and rapiers; weapons named ‘elven’ are treated as martial weapons.
- Languages: standard Pathfinder rules give Common and Elven at creation, with additional options by Intelligence. In the campaign, agree which regional languages replace any universal tongue.
Optional Pathfinder-style Elven Variants
- Arctic Elf: adapted to extreme cold and harsh terrain.
- Dusk Elf: attuned to night and shadow.
- Savage Elf: a vigilant hunter or survivor in dangerous frontier country.
- Tower Elf: descended from long-established centres of magical study.
Alternative racial traits are optional Pathfinder variants and require the appropriate source and GM approval; none changes the 2024 Elf.
Elven Peoples
The elves of different realms do not all share one history or one manner of life. The communities below have their own traditions and stories. For D&D 2024, choose one of the three mechanical lineages above unless the GM approves another rules option.
- High Elves, Ljosálfar (Light Elves)
- Dark Elves (Drow)
- Grey Elves
- Sea Elves
- Wild Elves
- Wood Elves
- Mist Elves
- Sky Elves
- Wander Elves
Character Concepts and Advanced Paths
Choose a concept to give your character a home, a relationship or an unfinished obligation. Prestige classes are older-edition specialisations; consult their own prerequisites before using one.
Elven Character Concepts (13)
Older Campaign Reference — Ages, Heights and Weights
These tables are historical campaign references, not fixed characteristics required by D&D 2024. Actual elven communities vary in lifespan and appearance.
Age by Elven People
| Subrace | Adulthood | Middle Age | Old | Venerable | Maximum Age |
| High elf | 110 years | 175 years | 263 years | 350 years | +4d% years |
| Dark elf | 80 years | 140 years | 210 years | 280 years | +3d% years |
| Grey elf | 120 years | 210 years | 315 years | 420 years | +5d% years |
| Mist elf | 140 years | 230 years | 345 years | 460 years | +5d% years |
| Sea elf | 100 years | 160 years | 240 years | 320 years | +3d% years |
| Sky elf | 90 years | 150 years | 225 years | 300 years | +3d% years |
| Wanderer elf | 105 years | 170 years | 255 years | 340 years | +4d% years |
| Wild elf | 100 years | 160 years | 240 years | 320 years | +4d% years |
| Wood elf | 105 years | 170 years | 255 years | 340 years | +4d% years |
Height and Weight by Elven People
| Subrace | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
| High elf | 4′ 5″/ 4′ 5″ | +2d6 | 85 lb. / 80 lb. | x (1d6) lb. |
| Dark elf | 4′ / 4′ 5″ | +2d6 | 75 lb. / 90 lb. | x (1d6) lb. |
| Grey elf | 4′ 10″ / 4′ 5″ | +2d8 | 80 lb. / 70 lb. | x (1d6) lb. |
| Mist elf | 4′ 10″ / 4′ 5″ | +2d8 | 100 lb. / 95 lb | x (2d4) lb. |
| Sea elf | 4’/ 4′ | +2d4 | 80 lb. / 70 lb. | x (2d4) lb. |
| Sky elf | 4′ 10″ / 4′ 7″ | +2d8 | 75 lb. / 70 lb.* | x (1d6) lb. |
| Wanderer elf | 4′ 7″ / 4′ 5″ | +2d8 | 90 lb. / 85 lb. | x (2d4) lb. |
| Wild elf | 4′ 3″ / 4′ 3″ | +2d4 | 85 lb. / 80 lb. | x (2d4) lb. |
| Wood elf | 4′ 5″ / 4′ 5″ | +2d8 | 90 lb. / 85 lb. | x (2d4) lb. |
* Weight without wings. In the older Sky Elf reference, wings weigh half as much as the elf.
Continue Your Character
Keep this reference growing
If this page helped with your reading or game, you can support its upkeep or explore the curated books.
Explore the Bookshop — epics, classics and stories behind imagined worlds.