List of All the Different Types of Elves

[Kitsunekaboom]

There are the Forsaken elves from Scarred Lands. They can't breed, they are slightly mad. They basically reproduced by kidnapping humans and breeding with them, producing half elves. There aren't any real particular powers or abilities unique to them.

 

[Alzrius]

Of all the varieties of D&D elves, I've never heard of a Low Elf anywhere, so you can probably strike that one from your list.

Under the listing for Torilian elves, don't forget the draegloth (from Monsters of Faerun), the drow-glabrezu hybrid.

Rockseer elves (from The Night Below, a 2E product) should probably be in the Non-Torilian listing.

I still can't find a product that talks about Deep elves, and it's still uncertain if that's just another name for Rockseer elves or not.

Star Elves are Torilian elves. They're in Unapproachable East.

"Wilf Elf" should be "Wild Elf".

Lythari should be listed under Torilian elves.

I'm still not sure if snow elves are on Toril or not (and I'm having trouble finding where that race was written up).

The way you list things like High and Grey elves as non-Toril strikes me as slightly odd, since Sun and Moon elves are just different names for these. Still, I guess I can see the rationale. However, you should also list Drow under Non-Torilian elves, since there are drow on other worlds. Ditto for Snow elves and Avariel.

And you don't seem to list half-elves at all anywhere, whether by accident or design.

 

[Alzrius]

There are the Forsaken elves from Scarred Lands. They can't breed, they are slightly mad. They basically reproduced by kidnapping humans and breeding with them, producing half elves. There aren't any real particular powers or abilities unique to them.

Hmm, good point. They're found in the Creature Collection (which has a revised version due out soon).

I just took it for granted we were sticking to just D&D/AD&D.

 

[Gez]

There aren't any real particular powers or abilities unique to them.

No, however, they differ from standard elves by these factors:
Ability adjustments are -2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Cha
Favored class is fighter, not wizard
Their eyes are freaky -- the white is actually black
Their clerics can't cast spells higher than level 3 (this latter tie-in to the rest of their curse and why they are forsaken).


Alzrius: FR elves are different breeds than the "default" races and subraces, because of differences in height and pigmentation (skin, hair, eye colors). Their niche and important stats* may be the same, they still have different aspect.

(* Sun elves and grey elves actually have stats differences, since greys have -2 Str +2 Dex -2 Con +2 Int, while suns have -2 Con +2 Int. Also, since moon elves are sometimes nicknamed grey elves and sun elves are sometimes called high elves, it may stir up confusion.)

 

[Filby]

Here's as complete list of subraces as I can come up with, based on what the folks here have posted and my own sources, by campaign setting:

Forgotten Realms:

• 
  Aquatic elf (two cultures: Great Sea and Sea of Fallen Stars)
  Avariel (aka winged elves, see 'Races of Faerun')
  Drow (aka dark elves, same as in MM)
  Lythari (elven werewolves)
  Marels (evil aquatic elves found in the Moonsea; from 'The Moonsea', AD&D2E)
  Moon elf (aka silver elf, the 'high elves' of Toril)
  Poscadar elf (Native American-style elves from Anchorome, the continent north of Maztica; from 'The City of Gold')
  Star elf (aka mithral elf, mysterious elves from a demiplane in the Ethereal, from 'Unapproachable East')
  Sun elf (aka gold elf, the 'gray elves' of Toril)
  Wild elf (aka green elf)
  Wood elf (aka copper elf, descended from a mix of moon, sun, and wild elves)
  Zakharan elf (from the Al-Qadim campaign setting; fully integrated into 'enlightened' Zakharan society)

World of Greyhawk:

• 
  Avariel (winged elf)
  Drow (see MM)
  Gray elf (see MM)
  Grugach (wild elves from MM)
  High elf (see MM)
  Snow elf (tall, reclusive elves from the arctic; from Dragon Magazine 155)
  Valley elf (human-sized gray elf offshoot)
  Wood elf (see MM)

Dragonlance:

• 
  Armachnesti (Silvanesti offshoot found on Taladas, the northern continent)
  Cha'asii (primitive jungle-dwelling elves from Taladas)
  Dargonesti (aka Quoowahb among themselves; aquatic elves who can turn into dolphins)
  Dimernesti (aquatic elves who can turn into sea otters)
  Drow (the demoness Jialuthi from Krynn once posed as Lolth to convince many drow from different worlds to come to Krynn; she was killed and the drow were driven back to their own worlds. From 'Wild Elves')
  Elf of the Host (I only know the name. Apparently from some novel? 'Riverwind the Plainsman'? tell me if I'm wrong)
  Hulderfolk (reclusive 'wild elves' from Taladas)
  Kagonesti (the 'wild elves' of the southern continent, Ansalon)
  Lucanesti (I know virtually nothing about these elves except that they were introduced in 'Dark Queen of Krynn', a computer game?)
  Mahkwahb (evil aquatic elves who turn into sharks)
  Qualinesti (the 'high elves' of Ansalon)
  Silvanesti (the 'gray elves' of Ansalon)
  Tamirnesti (aka Hosk'i Imou Merkitsa; savage elves from Taladas)

Mystara:

• 
  Aquarendi (aquatic elves, probably from 'The Sea Peoples')
  Blacklore elf (magic-users whose culture I believe died out in ancient Blackmoor; placed in the Hollow World by the Immortals to preserve their culture)
  Blackmoor elf (from Dave Arneson's Blackmoor setting; extinct, forerunners of the Blacklore elves)
  Ee'ar (same as the avariel of other worlds)
  Eldar (mentioned in a novel?)
  Eusdrian elf (from the Viking kingdom of Eusdria on the Savage Coast)
  Forest elf (the most common subrace; essentially the equivalent of high elves)
  Gentle folk (primitive elves found in the Hollow World)
  Grunland elf (probably extinct; from the old elven homeland, destroyed in Blackmoor's fall)
  Icevale elf (primitive elves found in the Hollow World)
  Savage Coast elf (native to the western lands of the Savage Coast, fully integrated into human society)
  Proto-elf (ancestor of the modern elves. Connection to yuan-ti?)
  Robrenn elf (from the Celtic kingdom of Robrenn on the Savage Coast)
  Schattenalfen (evil shadow elf offshoot, found closer to the Hollow World than the outer surface)
  Shadow elf (pale-skinned subterranean elves with a strong aversion to sunlight; recently conquered the forest elf kingdom of Alfheim; not really evil but very xenophobic)
  Southern elf (of Glantri; migrated to the Known World from Davania)
  Sylvan Realm elf (not sure if the Sylvan Realm still exists...)
  Water elf (pale-skinned, seafaring elves with a mercantile streak; primary inhabitants of the Minthorad Guilds)

Birthright:

• 
  Sidhelien (immortal Tolkienesque elves)

Dark Sun:

• 
  Athasian elf (7-foot-tall desert nomads)

Spelljammer:

• 
  Avarien (no connection to avariel; native only to the Astromundi Cluster)
  Faeriespace elf (elves from Faeriespace, a strange star system that resembles a huge tree, where all its inhabitants live in harmony; from 'Crystal Spheres')
  Kule drow (with kuo-toa and illithids, one of only three sentient species on Oerth's inner moon)
  Mratzal drow (evil drow from Faeriespace, but not as aggressive as other drow because no gods are worshiped in Faeriespace, hence no Lolth (which begs the question of how they got there); from 'Crystal Spheres')
  Perianth elf (elves from the Pyre system, in 'Shadow of the Spider Moon')
  Spider Moon drow (from 'Shadow of the Spider Moon')
  Wildspace elf (any elf who's taken to life in space; usually members or affiliates of the Imperial Elven Navy)

Planescape:

• 
  Alabaster elf (apparently extinct; what product are they mentioned in?)
  Elf einheriar (from Asgard, on Ysgard's first layer)
  Planar elf (any elf who was born on the Outer Planes)
  Svartalfar (good drow native to Ysgard's lowest layer)

Ravenloft:

• 
  Darkon elf (the 'native' elves of Ravenloft; same as high elves elsewhere)
  Shadow elf (in early 2E described as Lolth-worshipping drow; now apparently Fey type creatures called 'Sidhe' in late 2E and 3E. No connection to Mystara's shadow elves)
  • 
    Alf (small, winged elves)
    Brag (wild-eyed craftsfolk)
    Fir (tinkers and engineers)
    Muryan (aka Dancing Men; violent and aggressive warriors)
    Portune (sobre and silent healers)
    Powrie (aka Redcaps; evil and sinister assassins)
    Shee (elves of Maeve's Seelie Court)
    Sith (dark elves fascinated with death)
    Teg (feral and wild)
  Sithicus elf (descended from the qualinesti of Krynn drawn into Ravenloft when Lord Soth Laren was imprisoned)

Elves from Earth's Dark Ages (from Dragon 257):

• 
  Alf (wizardly light elves from Scandinavia, no connection to the cat-eating alien)
  Dockalf (illusionist dark elves from Scandinavia; similar to drow)
  Fey (reclusive elves from the British Isles)
  (note that these elves are probably best treated as Fey rather than Humanoids)
  I think that Eastern European elves may be mentioned in the 3E issue that dealt with a Slavic campaign. I'll check later today.

Elves from no particular setting:

• 
  Ghost elf (mysterious elves from the Ethereal Plane, from Dragon 313)
  Le'shay (powerful elf-like fey; see 'Epic Level Handbook')
  Rockseer elf (tall subterranean elves, from 'The Night Below')
  Sidhe (Irish elves, from 'The Celts', historical reference sourcebook)
  Sidhe (Seelie (celestial) and Unseelie (fiendish) fey from the Realm of Faerie, mentioned in 3E 'Manual of the Planes')
  The Dragon #1 had a short article about Tolkien's Noldor (deep elves (ie, deep in regards to wisdom), second of the three races of high elves), Sindar (grey elves, descendents of the Teleri (sea elves), third race of the high elves; for those of you who are curious, the first are the Vanyar (fair elves)), and silvan elves (aka wood elves; descendents of both Nandor and Avari, the equivalents of wood and wild elves respectively) as PCs for 0E D&D.
  I think it was Dragon 286 that presented ideas from Terry Brooks' 'Shannara' series for D&D. I'm sure they must have mentioned the Westland elf, his 'basic' elf race.

Elven crossbreeds:

• 
  Draegloth (drow/glabrezu half-fiends)
  Elfling (half-elf/half-halfling; one appeared as the protagonist in a Dark Sun novel)
  Fey'ri (demonic elven planetouched)
  Fainil (another kind of demonic elven planetouched, appears as bat-winged drow; from Dragon 244)
  Half-elf (normal type from the PH)
  • 
    Half-aquatic elf (see 'Races of Faerun')
    Half-drow (also 'Races of Faerun')
    Half-snow elf (unusual half-elves from various sources)
  Half-surface elf/half-aquatic elf (from Dragon Magazine somewhere)
  Half-surface elf/half-drow (stands to reason they would exist)
  Half-elf/half-dwarves (mentioned in 'The Complete Book of Elves' or 'Complete Book of Dwarves', I'm not sure which, plus 'Dwarves Deep')
  Half-elf/half-kender (mentioned in some Dragonlance book, I don't know which)
  N'djadtwa (elf-ogre crossbreeds from Dragon Magazine; encountered by Prince Haldemar of Haaken on his Voyage of the Princess Ark)
  Xakhun (half-drow/half-wood elf, from Dragon 144)

Hopefully I didn't leave anything out.

Edit: Added elven crossbreeds.

Edit: Added the Planescape elves and a couple others, plus bullets to (hopefully) make it easier to pick out individual items.

Edit: Add the elves of the host to Dragonlance (correct me if they don't belong); the southern elves, proto-elves, and eldar of Mystara; and the n'djadtwa and a few other crossbreeds.

Edit: Added the ghost elves from Dragon 313 and the elves of Faeriespace from 'Crystal Spheres'. Also spiffied up the list format.

 

[Wolf72]

Filby, how come you don't have Wood Elves for Greyhawk?

 

[Filby]

Oh, just a mistake, now fixed.

 

[X-Calator]

Alrighty...

Alright, a few last notes:

Our immaculate lady in heaven, Filby, talk about a godsend. That's exactly the kind of thing I wanted. It's so organized. Magnificent.

The only campaign settings I didn't see in your list was the Scarred Lands and Kingdom of Kalamar. Am I missing anything there? Kitsunekaboom mentioned the Forsaken elves for the Scarred Lands, so I guess I might be missing out on more if there are any in those two settings, unless of course the Scarred Lands and Kalamar aren't AD&D... which I find unlikely.

Oh yeah, anyone sure if deep elves is just another name for the rockseer elves?

Thanks alot, my friends. I hope you guys are around when I do dwarves. which I don't think will be as complicated as elves in the classification department. Actually, I don't think any race is as complex a one to categorize as elves, who are, next to humans, the most universally acknowledged beings in the fantasy mythos.

 

[Alzrius]

Dragonlance:
Hulderfolk (reclusive 'wild elves' from Taladas)

The description of these things, from what I remember, in Player's Guide to Dragonlance and the one in the Dragons of a New Age trilogy, were not elves in any sense.

 

[Gez]

Re: Alrighty...

Kitsunekaboom mentioned the Forsaken elves for the Scarred Lands, so I guess I might be missing out on more if there are any in those two settings, unless of course the Scarred Lands and Kalamar aren't AD&D... which I find unlikely.

KoK and SL have never been published by TSR, it's what set them apart.

Kenzer & Company publishes Kingdoms of Kalamar. This is an official D&D setting, as they have bought the license from WotC. It is an old setting.

Sword & Sorcery Studio, a subgroup of White Wolf, publishes the Scarred Lands. It is an all-new setting, made for the 3rd edition of D&D and the d20 license. Legally, it is not a D&D setting -- it's just a d20 setting. But technically, it's quite obvious it isn't for playing Spycraft, Call of Chtulluh or Star Wars.

There are several other d20 settings, of which I don't know much.

Privateer Press publishes the Iron Kingdom. This is D&D with steampunk. It's monster book, the Monsternomicon, has a large sect of worshippers that frequently boast it's the "Best. Monster book. Evar!!!"

Although not a whole world, just a city and its surrounding, Green Ronin Publishing's Freeport setting is popular.

There are several other settings published by several other third-parties. I've heard that Oathbound (Bastion Press) is good and Diomin is bad, but that's about all I know about them.