Elf

Elves are the wisest, fairest and most long-lived of all the mortal races. Their race is comprised of six ethnic groups that share a common ancestry, each group significantly different from the rest in both physical and cultural traits.
The different ethnic groups of elves are some of the oldest peoples on Amanor, their ancestors having descended from the fey first created by the Empyreal Gods in the prehistoric Dawn Age. Nowadays elves are encountered all across Amanor. Other races usually either respect them for their wisdom, avoid them on the account of their elder mentality, or envy them for their many gifts. Their senses are much sharper than those of other races. Due to their long lives elves can excel in any field of expertise, and many elves take up exploration and adventure out of wanderlust. Their advanced age usually makes them calm, observant and patient even in the face of peril.
Contents

Social structure

Social habits of elves vary based on ethnicity, nationality and community. Generally it can be stated that elves -- especially old elves -- have mental landscapes much different from the younger races. Their long lives give them a timeless perspective on the world, making them appear to other folk as wise and patient, but also passive and aloof. Because of such social incongruence, elves prefer to keep to the company of other elves. This partly explains why elves live in nations of their own except for the grey elves, and even them, truth be told, tend to congregate into their own sheltered communities no matter what nation they live in.

Civilization and culture

Grey elves and wood elves are most commonly encountered, the former as minorities in virtually any civilized nation and the latter as independent tribes in the wild forests of the world. Ellondoth, the only remaining elven nation remaining beneath the sky belongs to the high elves, who have quarantined themselves inside their borders and are never seen by other folk. Beneath the ground, the dominion of the dark elves reaches to almost every corner of the Underdarkwhile the red elves are confined to their isolated nation of Seldaroth beneath the Shadowlands.

Naming traditions

See ethnicities for naming details. Do note that due to common heritage of all elves, they share plenty of influences in their naming conventions.

Rules

Standard D&D 5e rules are used with the exception of age and height; elves are taller and live longer than in base rules. Certain standard rules are expanded upon below.

Trance and its implications

Trance. Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

This unique trait has rather significant ramifications.
Elves do not sleep and do not dream; their minds never project out to wander the Dreamlands under the watchful eye of Istus. It follows that elves do not feel a religious connection to the God of Dreams, but neither are elves subjected to dangerous forces within the Dreamlands -- forces that might seek to overcome the God of Dreams and exert malign influence on oblivious dreamers. Moreover, elves are never plagued by nightmares.
The inability to dream has a slight but profound impact on the minds of elves. In dreams, the minds of mortals subconsciously process their life and all its experiences; elves have to do such processing consciously through meditation. This demands a certain degree of mental rigour.
Since elves need to meditate only half as long as other races need to sleep, they have a distinct advantage when it comes to productivity. It is no wonder that elves are often well versed in numerous sciences, professions and arts. However, since elves do not know what dreaming is really even like, they often find it difficult to discuss dreaming with other races.

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PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Average height
1.7 - 2,1 meters.
Average physique
Tall and lean.
Body tint, color and markings
Varies by ethnicity.
Special characteristics
Slightly pointed ears and radiant eyes. Elves are universally considered fair: either beautiful or handsome and sometimes both.
Perception and senses
Acute senses. Darkvision.
LIFE-CYCLE
Reproduction and birth
Biological reproduction.
Growth rate and stages
Elves mature and age slowly. They reach physical and mental adulthood by the age of 100 and can live up to 1,000 years old. Their bodies remain youthful and strong even until the end of their 9th century of age.
Mortality and death
Elves die mundane deaths.
ECOLOGY
Origin or ancestry
Descended from ancient fey.
Distribution
All across Amanor.
Habitats
All climates and biomes.
Population
Varies by ethnicity, but populous on average. Moon elves and wood elves are scattered across Amanor, being the most populous. Dark elves likewise cover a large geographical area, being numerous indeed. Red elves and high elves are confined to their respective singlular nations, which limits their populations dramatically.

Click to reveal secrets of the gods!

The exact origin of elves is unknown to their race. In truth, they are not the natural descendants of ancient fey, but rather a magically altered and "weakened" species molded by the Empyreal Gods from the demigod offspring of the Firstborn.