In wild forests, in lost towers, and even in the darkest depths of the world (and beyond) live one of the most iconic races in all of fantasy. Elves are as varied as their lifespan is long but all share in common certain magical traits and outlooks that more mundane men lack. It isn’t the easiest thing to embody for a Dungeon Master, or more likely, a player. Verily, many don’t even try. To be sure, these people can play them as they wish, it’s their games and characters. However, even a little effort can go a long way to making memorable characters out of common cliches. It’s often all that’s needed. But I’m not here to waste time on tips and tidbits, I’m here to play my elves to the hilt.
Elves are a particularly difficult race to portray. Many people view them as a carefree, otherworldly beings of poise and grace. Unfortunately, this frequently comes across as naive, narcissistic, and flamboyantly delusional. It is even more unfortunate if this was their intent, but that’s another matter for another post. In truth, elves are much more than that. Imagine a garden. Picture growing flowers in the spring. They sprout up for the season, hang around through summer and are gone by fall. Instead of a flower, though, replace it with an oak you plant yourself. Countless seasons come and go as the tree reaches higher into the sky. That is like the flower to an elf. Looking then to humans, and most other races at that, they are specks in the span of time an elf experiences. To get into the mind of an elf, you must first understand their timeframe and that timeframe spans ages. Not that they are incapable of planning for immediacy, not at all, but it isn’t a bad start for your elf to have a habit of planning in their timeframe only to be told or to suddenly realize, “Hmm, disheartening, I forgot you don’t have 100 years.”
Next up is their sleeplessness. Elves do not sleep (at least in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons). They’re incapable of it, but their trance allows them a dream-like state of rest. To convey this, sleeping creatures might fascinate you. When someone else takes watch, they might wake to see you curiously staring at them. Though you’ll mean nothing by it, it may unsettle the other characters. This is fine, as that’s just part of being so foreign from other creatures. Just don’t overdo it. Another way to convey this aspect of being an elf is to ask some party members if they had any dreams and what they were like. This might be especially interesting to you if you’re asking a half-elf. Half-elves lack the insomnia of full elves, so it might be possible for them to convey more clearly to you, an elf, what a dream was actually like. Or so you’d hope, anyway.
Another way elves differ from normal creatures is their innately keen senses. Others must train themselves to hear, see, and smell as well as elves do naturally. Though the rolls of dice have more weight on this, in more role play-heavy scenarios, you might almost think of yourself like a dog. You could make out the gentle jingle of coins amidst a crowded tavern or marketplace and relay who has the most money while others might blindly feel around or blunder into others to steal their coin purses. You could discern what ales people have ordered from the faint scent of their breaths. You might even criticize your meals and drinks more concisely as you would be able to detect quite a lot of subtle flavors or textures that would be lost on others. Just don’t take it too far and say you should be able to taste when a meal is poisoned, as those are even more subtle and would require a roll, unless your DM says otherwise.
Lastly, elvish traditions include a focus on weaponry. The long life of an elf is well worth defending, but they aren’t called martial arts for no reason. Artistry is a core value of the vast majority of elves, so try to mention that in your downtime, you go through your graceful weapon routines before you begin the rest of your day. What’s more, simply being proficient with a smattering of swords and bows means you could talk shop with other warriors, even if you are a wizard or a druid. This might not seem like much, but having some form of common ground with somebody, despite being so alien, can make you more relatable to others. Helping a fighter spar during downtime or having an archery contest with a rogue could help establish better party relations after you’ve creeped them out by watching them sleep or told them what they ate for breakfast a few days ago when even they couldn’t remember.
Elves are clearly foreign from other races, and indeed almost otherworldly. But with the preceding advice, it should be much, much easier to play an elf. So long as you don’t overdo one trait or the other, you’ll have no problems bringing your elvish character to life. Because if you’re not killing it, you’re not playing it to the hilt.
-The Clark Side.