Elves are a splendid and magical folk, ill-suited to the grim lands of Ravenloft. Despite this, they are more commonly encountered than many of the other demihuman races. This is primarily due to the fact that they can often pass for human and, thus, have escaped some of the hatred and bigotry that most humans on the Demiplane of Dread feel for demihumans.
The largest concentrations of elves in the human realms occupy the cities of Neblus, Nevuchar Springs, and Sidnar, in the domain of Necropolis. The domain of Sithicus is inhabited wholly by elves, but these folk are tied to that land and seldom leave it. Another elf realm, the kingdom of Arak, vanished in the wake of the Grand Conjunction, and its whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
Description
The fair folk, as elves are often called, have elegant, honed features. Perhaps their most notable characteristics are their pointed ears, the distinctly almond shape of their eyes, and the angular brows that slant across their high foreheads.
Elves are much more slender than humans and stand somewhat shorter. On the average, a male elf reaches a height of approximately five feet. Females are generally about half a foot shorter.
A naturally lithe race, male elves seldom weigh more than one hundred ten pounds. Females, who are even more delicate than males, rarely reach one hundred pounds.
Players can use Table 52: Elf Physical Characteristics to establish the physical characteristics of a newly created elf character.
Table 52: Elf Physical Characteristics
| Trait | Formula | |
| Height, Male | 55+1d10 inches | |
| Height, Female | 50+1d10 inches | |
| Weight, Male | 90+3d10 pounds | |
| Weight, Female | 70+3d10 pounds | |
| Starting Age | 100+5d6 years | |
| Maximum Age | 350+4d100 years |
| Age | Years | Effects | ||
| Middle (1/2 Base Max.) | 175 | -1 Srt/Con; +1 Int/Wis | ||
| Old (2/3 Base Max.) | 233 | -2 Str/Dex; -1 Con; +1 Wis | ||
| Venerable (Base Max.) | 350 | -1 Str/Dex/Con; +1 Int/Wis |
Virtually all of the fair folk encountered in Ravenloft are high elves. Indeed, apart from the dark elves of Arak, these are the only elves known to exist on the Demiplane of Dread. Of course, other elves appear in Ravenloft from time to time, but these are always travelers drawn by the Mists from other realms.
Ravenloft elves favor light fabrics, such as silks and satins, and prefer pastel colors in their garb. They see the tailor's craft as but another expression of their artistic ability and always dress themselves with refined and cultured style.
Adventuring elves favor lighter armor, seldom wearing anything heavier than chain mail. For weapons, they usually elect to carry blades, especially long swords. Elven weapons and armor are invariably ornate as they, like everything else, are seen as objects of art. Being master archers, they seldom employ any other weapons besides bows for missile combat. They especially disdain guns, finding them far too loud and foul smelling to use.
Personality
In other lands, elves are known for their love of beauty, pursuit of knowledge, and peculiar fascination with magic. While this is true of the fair folk in Ravenloft as well, the persecution that most demihumans suffer when traveling outside of their home communities has led them to act more reserved and secretive than usual.
Ravenloft elves are well aware of the prejudice that most humans carry toward anything unusual or exotic. For that reason, they only reluctantly make their presence known and seldom seek the companionship of humans. Elves remain a reclusive folk who do their best to keep their cities hidden from the prying eyes of men and monsters.
While elves seem to be as rare as dwarves or the other demihuman races, this may not be the case. The reclusive nature of Ravenloft's elves suggests the possibility of elf villages - perhaps even cities - so well camouflaged that mankind has never discovered them.
Elves are great admirers of the natural world. They wonder at the marvels of a lush forest, listen for hours to the babbling of a brook, or breathe in the perfume of spring flowers. Nothing is more splendid to an elf than the tranquility of the forests and the peace of the wild.
While not greedy or covetous, elves also prize works of art and jewelry. This leads them to seek out gems and other objects of great value, though they do so for the splendor of the prize, not its monetary value.
If one were to draw an analogy to human history, elves would be most like the ancient Celtic, Gaelic, or Welsh cultures. Because of that, they usually worship gods from the Celtic pantheon. To be sure, names like Genevieve, Ernan, and Moran are most suited to the elves of Ravenloft.
Ability Scores
Few creatures are as light-footed and graceful as elves. Because of this, they receive a bonus of +1 to their starting Dexterity scores.
Conversely, elves are not as hearty or robust as the other demihuman races. Their light frames and slender builds reduce their starting Constitution scores by one point.
Special Abilities
The elves of Ravenloft, like their kin elsewhere, have many special abilities. These often enable them to survive in places where lesser creatures might perish.
Magic Resistance
Elves have a 90% resistance to sleep and charm spells. This is in addition to any normal saving throws allowed for the spell.
Weapon Expertise
As mentioned above, elves are masterful archers. In addition, they find the grace and style of skilled swordplay to be a joy in itself. Because of this, elves receive a +1 bonus to their attack rolls when using any form of straight bow (that is, not a crossbow). They receive a similar bonus when using short or long swords.
Surprise Bonus
Elves move as silently as hunting cats, often catching their opponents completely off guard. Because of this, an elf imposes a -4 penalty on an opponent's surprise rolls. If an elf must open a door or other portal to reach the foe, this penalty is reduced to -2.
An elf negates this ability by wearing metal armor or traveling in the company of nonelves (other than halflings). In the latter case, the elf must move at least ninety feet away from his companions in order to regain this advantage.
Infravision
Like many demihuman races, elves are gifted with vision that extends into the infrared portion of the spectrum. Elf infravision allows them to see as far as sixty feet in the dark. Items like torches and lanterns spoil this ability with their glare. See Chapter 13 of the DUNGEOH MASTER Guide for further details on this optional version of infravision.
Secret Doors
Elves have an eye for detail that makes it difficult to hide secret or concealed doors from them. In some cases, they will even notice such portals without actively searching for them.
Table 54: Secret/Concealed Doors
| Condition of Search | Chance to Find | |
| Passing within 10' of a concealed door | 1 in 6 | |
| Actively searching for a concealed door | 3 in 6 | |
| Actively searching for a secret door | 2 in 6 |
Iron Will
Elves, although they often appear to be flighty folk, are difficult to shake. As such, they possess more resistance to mental traumas than most other races. When an elf is called upon to make a madness check during the course of play, he receives a +2 bonus to his roll. This is in addition to any bonus received for exceptional Wisdom.
