Chapter 2: Variations on a Theme

There are nearly as many types of Elves as there are Humans . . . perhaps more. After all, you Humans are different only in appearance. We Elves have more substantial differences, more than slight dissimilarities in philosophy. The Aquanesti, or Aquatic Elf as you call them, is as different from a Grey Elf as a dolphin is from a mountain lion, yet there are no petty racial quarrels between us that characterize the existence of every race but ours. What is the problem with Humans and Dwarves that you cannot live in peace with your own?

Certainly, we once had a history of intraracial conflict, but those days are long since past. We have our disagreements with one another, but we settle them like civilized folk—and I am beginning to believe that Elves are the only civilized folk in all the realms known to mortals.

Although we continue to war with the Drow, the cause of that war is far more than the color of their skin or their beliefs. It is the fact that their very existence is an affront to ours, that they were created by perversions within our own race. Our war is nothing less than sublime effort to undo an error made hundreds of centuries ago.

We do not judge anything by the color of their skin. Granted, we find it tempting to do so in the case of the Drow, but even we—who have so often been betrayed by our dark-skinned cousins—find it within ourselves to judge each of them by their own merits.

Unlike the Humans, the Dwarves, and the Small Ones, we Elves are not so much shaped by our heritage as by the way in which we are taught to live. Tales of Dark Elves who have the heart of High Elves exist, as do tales of treachery and deceit among High Elves. While both cases are rare, they have happened—and will happen. Always, we attribute these to the way in which the Elf was raised, for we know that is more important than blood. The marked differences in our brethren appear only when grand conglomerations make their individual traits societal.

-Eronion Marathas, elven seer

None are truly certain from whence the first elves arose. The elves themselves claim they arose from the blood of Corellon Larethian, while other races hold that they sprang full-fledged into the world, without divine intervention. One thing is certain, however: No matter where they came from, they have spread to nearly every world on the Prime Material Plane. Their affinity with the worlds on which they have made their homes leads one to suspect a more elemental nature to their being. However, since they have often been residents of these worlds longer than humans have existed, human sages are often inaccurate when speculating about origins.

Elves have adapted to life in nearly every environment possible. The mountains, the forests, the plains, the waters, and the underground all know the taste of elves. The snowy wastes have felt the light touch of elven boots, as have the hot sands of deserts.

The elves' curiosity about life makes it only natural that they expanded their holdings to such an extent. They wish to be sure of their world, and they cannot understand it if they cannot experience it. If an elf accurately reports her experiences, other elves can understand that world intuitively.

Yet elves are notorious for their desire to see things for themselves. Even when a place has been experienced and reported, many elves will still have a wish to see the place. Along the journey, they are likely to view each passing locale with great interest, stopping to explore anything that catches their interest. For this reason, the elf race as a whole is likely to have heard of any given location on any of the worlds they inhabit.

Through their inherent connection with all the worlds, elves adapt more easily than many other races. For this reason, they can be found in any clime, under almost any extreme.

Descriptions of the standard AD&D® game elves follow. These include aquatic, dark, grey, high, and sylvan elves, as well as half-elves. (Descriptions of elves specific to a campaign world—originally all high elves—are found later in this chapter.)

Tables 1 and 2 list the heights and weights, respectively, of the elf subraces. Note: Because females tend to be shorter and lighter than males, base numbers are divided into male/female values. The modifiers allow for a broad range in each listed category.

TABLE 1: ELF SUBRACES HEIGHT

	Height (in Inches)
Subrace	Base	Modifier
Aquatic	50/50	1d8
Drow	50/55	1d10
Grey	60/55	1d12
High	55/50	1d10
Sylvan	60/55	1d12

TABLE 2: ELF SUBRACES WEIGHT

	Weight (in Pounds)
Subrace	Base	Modifier
Aquatic	85/75	2d12
Drow	80/95	3d10
Grey	85/75	3d10
High	90/70	3d10
Sylvan	95/80	3d12

Any player may feel free to choose one of these subraces as a PC with the DM's permission. Otherwise, an elf player character is assumed to be a high elf (the most common subrace).

Naturally, the descriptions contained here do not apply to every elf. There are as many different types of elves as there are humans, each acting differently from his or her fellows. What follows is merely the tendencies a subrace tends to evince, not the actual patterns each elf must follow. Not all grey elves are snobs, nor are all drow elves evil personified.

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