Elf
Elves, known in their own tongue as Tel-quessir (also Tel'Quessir or Tel'Quess), were a number of closely related, long-lived races that excelled in magic.
Elves have pointed ears and lack facial and body hair. They live for around 750 years, and they don’t sleep but instead enter a trance when they need to rest. In that state, they remain aware of their surroundings while immersing themselves in memories and meditations.
An environment subtly transforms elves after they inhabit it for a millennium or more, and it grants them certain kinds of magic. Drow, high elves, and wood elves are examples of elves who have been transformed thus.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Although individual Tel-quessir races exhibited a number of unique traits, there were some features which were common to all of the races. Elves tended to be fair and beautiful by human standards and graceful, though they were often frail as well. Elves stood on average 5′10″‒6′8″ and weighed 130‒170 lb . Usually, true elves were a naturally slender and athletic race. Elves had a similar range of complexions to humans, with wood elves typically coppery or pale skinned and wild elves having darker pigmentation. Often, elven hair was dark, either brown or black, with copper red or blond hair also found amongst wood elves, although orange or even green hues were not completely unheard of. Elven eyes were commonly brown, hazel, or an emerald green.
Elves had pointed ears and had no hair on their body save eyebrows, eyelashes, and scalp hair.
Growth Rate & Stages
Elves were universally long-lived, achieving what they consider adulthood at 110 years of age and living for up to 700 and more years thereafter.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Elves were typically omnivorous, like humans, but tended to eat very little meat. This was not so much out of concern for the animal as an effort to make as little of an impact on the natural world as possible, with elves believing that the consumption of vegetation had a lesser impact on natural harmony. Additionally, this partially came from many elven cultures' traditions of nomadic life, which required food to be easily preservable.
Biological Cycle
Many elves did not sleep, instead finding their rest in a meditative state called reverie or "trance", which was as restful as true sleep but left them aware of their surroundings. In this state, they achieved the same results as a human might through sleeping in roughly two thirds the time. Elves able to trance were also often resistant to the effects of supernatural powers such as sleep, since they did not themselves sleep but instead rested in a semi-aware state.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Elven faces are commonly described as elegant or beautiful, with angular or refined features, high cheekbones, pointed ears, and almond-shaped eyes. Male elves may have an angular jaw and thin neck, while females have softer, more rounded features.
Civilization and Culture
History
Created by the god Corellon, the first elves could change their forms at will. They lost this ability when Corellon cursed them for plotting with the deity Lolth, who tried and failed to usurp Corellon’s dominion. When Lolth was cast into the Abyss, most elves renounced her and earned Corellon’s forgiveness, but that which Corellon had taken from them was lost forever.
No longer able to shape-shift at will, the elves retreated to the Feywild, where their sorrow was deepened by that plane’s influence. Over time, curiosity led many of them to explore other planes of existence, including worlds in the Material Plane.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Although the other races sometimes believed elves to be arrogant and condescending, they didn't hold any particular hatred for any races as a whole, though individual races may have had particular attitudes. The harshest racial conflict for the elves was actually often within, given the long-standing feud between the drow and the other Tel-quessir races. Elves could seem distant and unfriendly because many of the other races, such as humans and halflings, had a much shorter lifespan. It was easier for an elf to avoid contact with these races, rather than befriend individuals who lived only a small fraction of the elven life.
Dwarves and elves generally had a different problem in forming relationships. Dwarves favored hard work whereas elves generally enjoyed relaxation. Dwarves enjoyed carving homes from the rock and engineering unswerving straight lines, while elves preferred more natural, flowing shapes. Dwarves and elves could form strong bonds of friendship, but only when both agreed to overlook each other's differences.
Gnomes and elves generally got along well thanks to their mutual love of life, combined with the gnomes' love of fine art and illusion magic. On the other hand, halflings and elves shared only a lukewarm relationship. The elven habit of eating sparingly was not welcomed in halfling society, and elves sometimes deemed a halfling's curiosity as childlike and troublesome.
Elves regarded humans with both fear and respect. Humans grasped magic and adapted to many situations incredibly fast from an elven perspective, but they were wary of the human tendency to claim lands as their own, often regarding them as greedy. It was quite possible for strong friendships to develop between humans and elves, but it was equally possible that hostilities might arise.
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