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Stuff D&D People Like No. 6: Elves

In the realms of fantasy no other fictional creature gets as much attention and affection than elves. In the worlds of D&D you could make a strong case for dragons too but when it comes to relatively mortal humanoids the magical, pointy eared folks stand at the top of the hill. Dwarves have their fanbase and halflings remain quite popular. Certainly tieflings skyrocketed to prominence and popularity in recent years as well. But they all pale in comparison to the prevalence of elves.

Perhaps the best illustration of how much D&D people like elves comes from another RPG. Talislanta, first published in 1987 by Bard Games, prided itself on among other things not featuring elves among the deeply rich setting’s many, many species and cultures. After several editions and eventually being made freely available Talislanta continues to boast the tagline, “Still no elves!”

Whether it’s their connection to magic, supernatural beauty or long lives elves remain ubiquitous in the D&D multiverse with variations adapted to a plethora of environments and settings. In the current iteration alone there’s 17 varieties of elf for players to choose from plus another seven half-elf types. Aquatic elves, drow, grey elves, high elves, moon elves, rockseer elves, snow elves, sun elves, valley elves, wild elves, wood elves and winged elves only scratch the surface of how many types of elves there have been throughout D&D history.

Certainly the elves of Middle Earth greatly influenced how they’re portrayed in D&D. Graceful, otherworldly and aloof, elves hold a similar appeal as vampires in the sense they’re sort of like humans but just better. In this regard the escapist fantasy of playing an elf character is easy to understand.

If you want to fit in with other D&D fans or let people know you’re a fantasy nerd without saying a word, try wearing some pointy ears. Muggles might give you a strange look but D&D people can smell our own and who knows? You might discover your next great adventure through an invitation to roll some funny shaped dice predicated on your own fondness for elves.

*Featured image — Elves in D&D come in a tremendous variety of flavors. It must be the pointy ears. People love pointy ears.

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