Fantastic

ELVES
E
lves are quite possibly

the race that best defines

fantasy—beautiful, magical, and

all but immortal, they embody

nearly everything meager hu-

mans aspire to be. Their grand

cities and wilderness retreats

stand proud in every land, living

harmoniously with nature while

bending it to their advantage. Yet

for all their long history and in-

credible life spans, in the game

rules these slender folk remain

roughly equal to every other race writing Michael McCarthy

color art Yihyoung Li
players can choose. editing Mike Myler
layout Eric Life-Putnam

EN World EN5ider |  Fantastic Elves

 Despite being as much as dozens of times older Beast Master. You have lived your life in har-
than their allies in an adventure, many inexplicably mony with animals and creatures of all kinds. You
have no more training; and, while they might come have advantage on Wisdom (Animal Handling)
from a culture steeped magic and nature, most are checks made to handle beasts. In addition, you can
only a hair more capable in the magical arts than cast animal friendship on a beast of a CR equal to
members of any other race. Although the reasoning half your level or less. You can’t use this feature to
behind this has mostly to do with game balance— cast the spell again until you finish a long rest.
allowing players to choose other races—it denies Child of the Bow. You have studied the precise
elves some of their due grandeur. art of archery for your entire long life. Over the
In the end, there are several aspects about elves course of a long rest, you can attune to any bow as
that stand above all others: their agelessness, their though it were a magic item that required attun-
ability to live with nature, and their close com- ement. While attuned to a bow, you do not have
munion with magic. All have been part of elven disadvantage on ranged weapon attacks wielding
mythology and culture since they appeared in the it when you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature
earliest roleplaying games and in stories and leg- who can see you and who isn’t incapacitated.
ends before that. Child of the Sword. You have studied the art of
sword fighting throughout your long life. Over the
course of a long rest, you can attune to any sword
Variant Elf Traits as though it were a magic item that required attun-
Elves seem largely homogeneous to outsiders, but ement. While wielding a sword that you are attuned
there is a much greater variation between individu- to, you can use your reaction to try to parry a me-
als than members of other races typically realize. lee attack that would hit you. To do so, you must
An elf using these variant racial traits can choose see the attacker and succeed on a melee attack roll
to replace any of their Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, against an AC equal to your attacker’s attack roll.
or Trance racial traits with one of the traits from the On a success, you take no damage from the attack.
list below. Elves can replace as many racial traits Farseer. Your eyes are far beyond the ken of other
as the GM allows, but can have each trait no more races, even most elves. You never have disadvantage
than once. on vision-based Perception checks due to distance,
Ancient Master. You have spent more than a hu- and your first attack roll each round made at long
man lifetime in pursuit of a skill. Choose one skill range does not have disadvantage from distance.
that you are proficient with. Whenever you make Plantshaping. Your connection with nature al-
an ability check using the mastered skill, before lows you to coax living plants into useful shapes.
rolling you may instead choose to have rolled a 10 As an action, you can touch a living plant and
on the d20. You do not gain your proficiency bonus draw material from it to create a simple functional
to the check, only your ability score modifier. wooden item with no moving parts that weighs no
more than 5 pounds. The plant is unharmed by the
Open Game Content | The game rule information process. You can’t use this feature again until you
in this article is designated Open Game Content. All other finish a long rest.
material in this article, including maps and illustrations Unearthly. While all elves embody human
(including illustrations in the public domain), in-character beauty, your own beauty is more akin to the super-
and out-of-character narrative and descriptive text, natural beauty of fey creatures than anything that
character and place names, trade dress, “EN Publishing,” exists naturally. You have advantage on Charisma
“EN World,” “EN5ider,” EN Publishing product ability checks made against humans that don’t use
EN and article titles, and EN World and EN Publishing Intimidation. You have disadvantage on Charisma
Publishing ™

logos, are designated Product Identity. (Intimidation) checks made against humans.

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New Elven Subraces
Long ago, the elven race was divided. Those who
turned to magic became the high elves, those who
communed with nature became the wood elves,
and those who followed the spider-goddess became
the drow. Yet as elves build cities in more regions
of each world, they themselves become more and
more specialized.
Any elf can choose one of the following subraces.
Although they can be considered unique subraces
of elves in their own right, many consider any elf
who reflects the land on which they live to be a nar-
row subrace of wood elf.

Ash Elves
As an ash elf, your tenacity and stubbornness allow
you to master even the most dangerous land or in-
hospitable terrain. Through a combination of magic
and determination, you have risen above earthly
needs and hardened yourself against a harsh world.
An ash elf’s skin is generally pale, and often gray.
Their hair is snow-white, as are their eyes.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score
increases by 1.
Burning Soul. You have resistance to fire damage.
Hardened Body. You do not need to eat or drink
to survive. You can still eat or drink to gain a ben-
efit (such as drinking a potion), but even then you
cannot taste it.
Intense Focus. You can turn your focus on any Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score in-
task at hand, pushing on despite any obstacles that creases by 1.
might present themselves. You can choose to take Adaptable. You’ve learned to thrive anywhere,
twice as long as normal to make a Strength, Dexter- especially in the water. You have proficiency in
ity or Constitution ability check; if you do, you gain Survival.
advantage on that check. You can’t use this feature Amphibious. You can breathe water as easily as
again until you finish a long rest. you can air. In calm water, you can swim up to half
your speed without a Strength (Athletics) check.
Ocean Elves Social Guile. You’re an expert at blending into
As an ocean elf, your gracefulness and social guile local cultures, recognizing any port of call for its
allow you to thrive both above and below the waves. many similarities to others the world over. When-
Your coastline cities are centers of trade and culture. ever you would be about to do something that
Ocean elves’ skin tend to be pale blues and greens, considered offensive according to the local culture,
with hair that is often blonde or black with shock- you automatically succeed on a Wisdom (Insight)
ing deep blues and greens not uncommon. check to realize it is taboo.

EN World EN5ider |  Fantastic Elves

 Variant Rule: Elves Really Are Better
The above options help elves come into their own in
a living world full of all kinds of deep, ancient races.
However none of them touch one of the most well-
known elven themes: that they are simply better in
every way than humans. For player characters, this is
not the case for obvious reasons—but there’s no rea-
son it couldn’t be. After all, when the typical elf lives
for dozens of human generations, why wouldn’t they
have a superior mastery over the aspects of living?
With this variant rule elves become true standouts
in even the most amazing fantasy world. It makes
their incredibly long lives meaningful, allowing indi-
vidual elves to gather many lifetimes of knowledge,
power, and wealth. All elves gain the following addi-
tional racial traits (and if the party has non-elven PCs,
Sky Elves the GM may consider awarding them a bonus feat).
As a sky elf, your humor and whimsy are imme- Adaptable Subspecies. Humans claim to be the
diately evident. Having spent your life far from most adaptable race, but elves can literally trans-
civilization, perhaps on an airship or in a floating form. Thanks to a well-guarded magical ritual, over
city, you have a certain naiveté about the ways of the course of 1 week, an elf can change his or her
other races. Of course just because you’re innocent subrace to any other elven subrace.
doesn’t mean you’re a fool—you’re more than sharp Ageless. Elves never actually die of old age. Rather
enough to catch anyone trying to trick you and then they typically tire of the mortal world after 750 years
turn their game back on them. and then willingly pass on to the next. During this
Sky elves’ skin is bright and vibrant, often almost time the elf remains young and virile and neither ages
orange. Their hair is usually a frizzy orange or red, nor takes penalties from aging.
although more traditional straight blond hair isn’t Historical. You have met historical figures of other
unheard of. races, and you learned and studied with them. You
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score have advantage on Intelligence checks made to recall
increases by 1. information and automatically succeed when they
Lighthearted. You are always cheerful and are related to local history.
pleasant to be around. Whenever you or a friendly Magical. Your society’s long reliance on magic
creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving informed your upbringing. You know one cantrip of
throw against fear, the creature gains a +1 bonus to your choice, and you have one additional daily spell
the saving throw. You must be conscious to grant slot of the highest level spell that you can cast.
this bonus. At 6th level, this bonus increases to +2, Studied. With centuries to study, learn and train,
and at 11th level this bonus increases to +3. elves achieve mastery over skills that humans can
Pure Innocence. Your lack of experience with only dream of. For each century of your age, you gain
other races makes you easy to excite, but conversely either proficiency in one new skill or mastery of a skill
much harder to fool. Creatures have disadvantage you are proficient in. Whenever you make an ability
on Charisma (Deception) checks made to deceive check using a mastered skill, before rolling you may
you. instead choose to have rolled a 10 on the d20. You do
Radiant. You know the light cantrip, except you not gain your proficiency bonus to the check, only
can only target yourself (instead of an object). your ability score modifier.

Fantastic Elves  |  EN World EN5ider

Elven Equipment
Elven craftsmanship is legendary. With lifetimes
to master their skills, elves create items that are
at least as functional—and often far more beauti-
ful—than their counterparts in other races. Some
of their most commonly made items (such as cloaks
of elvenkind) have gained popularity among other
races, but they are far from the only enchanted
goods elves craft with regularity. Below are pieces
of equipment that are likely to be in the hands of
the nobility in most elven settlements.

Clean Cloth
Wondrous item, uncommon
The cities of elvenkind are never dirty and a large
portion of that is due to magical cleaning devices Silent String
that move about, tidying up whenever people aren’t Wondrous item, uncommon
looking. When its command word is spoken as an This silvery bowstring makes no sound when
action, the cloth dances about cleaning up any area pulled or snapped. When used to string a bow or
with a radius less than 50 feet (as the prestidigita- crossbow (this process takes 1 minute), the weapon
tion cantrip). It cleans until it is picked up, at which becomes utterly silent and can be used without
point it becomes inert. It never stays dirty itself and making any sort of noise.
with a single snap, the cloth wrings itself instantly
free of even the smallest fleck of dirt. Travel Wafer
Wondrous item, common
Ring of Rulership Elven bread comes in all kinds, with each hav-
Wondrous item (ring), very rare (requires attunement) ing its own unique name, flavor, and traits but
This heavy gold and platinum ring is inlaid with travel wafers are the pinnacle of portable culinary
Elvish script invisible to anyone but the wearer. achievement. When you eat this sumptuous pastry
While attuned to this ring, your passive Insight as an action, you are sustained for a full day as if
score increases by +10. In addition, once attuned you had eaten three complete meals, allowing you
you can cast mass suggestion. You can’t use the ring to make a 2-hour forced march while traveling at
to cast the spell again until you finish a long rest. e
fast pace without tiring.

EN World EN5ider |  Fantastic Elves