Elves

Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace. Originally they lived in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests or in enchanted fae-like cities, full of music and beauty. Elves love nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry, and the good things of the world. Although they can be haughty, elves are generally gracious even to those who fall short of their high expectations—which is most non-elves. Still, they can find good in just about anyone. Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they go into a deep trance, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. They enter a dream-like state, dreaming of various memories. Such trances equated to about 8 hours of a human's sleep. Elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races. They are slightly shorter than humans on average, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. They are more slender than humans, weighing only 100 to 145 pounds. Males and females are about the same height, and males are only marginally heavier than females. They are said to have a life span well over 1000 years

Language
Elves can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish.

Gold or Sun Elves
Usually seen as the typical high elf, they have bronze skin and can have hair of copper, black or golden blond. Eyes can be golden, silver or black. They can be haughty, and rather snobbish, with a high opinion of elves in general. Humans are usually liked, but pitied. Fae-creatures and halflings can be viewed with exasperated amusement. Dwarves are looked down upon. And they are actively hostile to orcs.

Silver or Moon Elves
These elves much paler, with alabaster skin sometimes tinged with blue. They often have hair of silver-white, black, or blue, but various shades of blond, brown, and red are not uncommon. Their eyes are blue or green and flecked with gold. They are more friendly than their Sun Elf cousins, often spending time with other races and going on various adventures that allow them more contact with non- elves.

Wood or Wild Elves
Wood elves’ skin tends to be copperish in hue, sometimes with traces of green. Their hair and eyes tend toward browns and black, but some have taken on various hues found in the foliage and flora. Wood elves are reclusive and distrusting of non-elves and tend to be guardians of nature.

Dark Elves
The race of dark elves are usually universally reviled. To most, they are a race of demon-worshiping marauders dwelling in the subterranean depths of the Underdark, emerging only on the blackest nights to pillage and slaughter the surface dwellers they despise. Their society is depraved and preoccupied with the favor of Lolth, their spider-goddess, who sanctions murder and the extermination of entire families as noble houses vie for position.

Dark elves grow up believing that surface-dwelling races are inferior, worthless except as slaves. Dark elves who develop a conscience or find it necessary to cooperate with members of other races find it hard to overcome that prejudice, especially when they are so often on the receiving end of hatred.

However it is said that some dark elves turn from their brethren and seek a life on the surface, facing much prejudice as they make their way as outcasts. Many will follow moon or nature deities.

Note: Dark elves will be cursed with vision that is sensitive to light. However, somewhere in the realms is one who may be able to aid or cure said affliction.

Half Elves
Elves can breed with many of the other races, elf and human pairings becoming quite common. Most will have slightly pointed ears and commonly be graceful with a hint of fae-like beauty. They will have a life span greater than their non-elf parent, but not as long lived as their elven parent. To humans, half-elves look like elves, and to elves, they look human. They can be driven with wander-lust and sometimes suffer from a feeling of alienation, too elf to be human, too human to be elf. Some have become great ambassadors between their two races.