Elf

Elves mingle freely in human lands, always welcome yet never at home there. They are well known for their poetry, dance, song, lore, and magical arts. Elves favor things of natural and simple beauty. When danger threatens their homes, however, elves reveal a more martial side, demonstrating skill with sword, bow, and battle strategy.

There are a number of elven subraces: moon elves, sun elves, wild elves, wood elves, and dark elves (also known as drow).

Moon elves, the most common race of elves, are graceful but frail, with +2 Dexterity and -2 Constitution. Sun elves lack their cousins' agility but have a powerful intellect instead. Generally more feral, wild elves are less educated but sturdier than other elves. The reclusive wood elves are stronger than other elves but less cerebral and intuitive. The drow of the underdark are blessed with great intellect and charm, though they are hindered by daylight.

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Drow

Descended from the original dark-skinned elven subrace called the Illythiiri, the drow were cursed into their present appearance by the good elven deities for following the goddess Lolth down the path to evil and corruption. Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes in shades of lilac, silver, pink, and blue. They also tend to be smaller and slimmer than most elves.

Racial Traits:

- Ability Adjustments: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.

- Hardiness vs. Enchantments: Immunity to magical sleep effects, +2 racial bonus to saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.

- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.

- Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.

- Spell-Like Abilities:

1/day - Darkness as sorcerer of equal level.

1/day - See invisibility as sorcerer of equal level.

- Darkvision: Drow can see in the dark up to 120 feet. This replaces the low-light vision ability most elves receive.

- Spell Resistant: Spell resistance of 11+ character level.

- Strong Will: +2 racial bonus to Will saves against spells and spell-like abilities.

- Light Sensitivity: Drow suffer -2 circumstance penalty to attack rolls, saves, and checks in bright sunlight.

- Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass drow 's wizard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

- Level Adjustment +2: Drow are more powerful and gain levels more slowly than other races. It will take more experience for a drow to reach level 2 than it would for normal races, for example.

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Moon Elf

Moon elves are the most common sort of elves in Faerûn. Also called silver elves, they have fair skin (sometimes tinged with blue) and hair of silver-white, black, or blue. Their eyes are blue or green, with gold flecks. They are the elven subrace most tolerant of humankind, and most half-elves are descended from moon elves.

Racial Traits:

- Ability Adjustments: +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution.

- Hardiness vs. Enchantments: Immunity to magic sleep effects, +2 racial bonus to saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.

- Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.

- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.

- Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.

- Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass moon elf 's wizard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Wizardry comes naturally to elves - indeed, they sometimes claim to have invented it, and fighter/wizards are especially common among them.

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Sun Elf

Sun elves are less common across Faerûn than moon elves, because most live on Evermeet, where nonelves are not allowed. Also called gold elves, they have bronze skin, golden blond, copper, or black hair, and green or gold eyes. These are seen as the most civilized and haughty elves, preferring to remain separate from nonelven races.

Racial Traits:

- Ability Adjustments: +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution.

- Hardiness vs. Enchantments: Immunity to magic sleep effects, +2 racial bonus to saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.

- Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.

- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.

- Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.

- Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass sun elf's wizard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Wizardry comes naturally to elves - indeed, they sometimes claim to have invented it, and fighter/wizards are especially common among them.

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Wood Elf

Wood elves are reclusive, but less so than the almost feral wild elves. Also called copper elves, they have coppery skin tinged with green, and brown, green, or hazel eyes. Their hair is usually brown or black, with blond and coppery-red occasionally found.

Racial Traits:

- Ability Adjustments: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence.

- Hardiness vs, Enchantments: Immunity to magic sleep effects, +2 racial bonus to saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.

- Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.

- Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.

- Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.

- Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass wood elf's ranger class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.