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- The beautiful faerie folk who call themselves the "people of the sun" or simply the "people" dwell throughout Fälgorna. The term elf is a bastardization of the elfin word el-finstri (see elfin language glossary), which means people.
- Elves are a joyous nature-loving people. They enjoy intricate art and craftsmanship. Nothing surpasses the elves' fascination with magic. This fascination has led to the rise of many powerful elfin wizards and the creation of many powerful magical items.
- In general, the elves hold themselves aloof from other races, believing themselves to be above the fray of the struggles of the short-lived races. Despite this arrogance, the elves have come to the aid of these races in times of trouble and shown them kindness in times of peace.
- Elves value friendship above all else save familial duty and duty to the gods. An elf does not choose friends lightly, but when one does that friendship is considered sacred.
- The long life span of elves makes quick decisions unnecessary. Elves will often debate a problem for decades or even centuries before deciding on a course of action. Humans often allude to the lengthy elfin decision making process when something appears to be taking longer than necessary with this popular saying, "It's like waiting for an elf to decide."
- Ritual and ceremony permeate the elfin culture. The beauty of these ceremonies, however, can be attested to by only a chosen few, because elves position the secrets of their inner culture on the same level as the sanctity of friendship.
- There are six subraces of elves in Fälgorna: Oceanus (aquatic), Elberethi (brown), Drow (dark), Variquesti (deep), Oldanquasti (trade), and Paladian (white).
- All elfin subraces share the following common abilities unless otherwise specified in the individual subrace description:
- Elves are 90% resistant to all sleep and charm spells.
- Elves gain a special bonus to find secret or concealed doors. Passing within 10 feet of a secret door, elves will detect it with a 3 in 20 chance of success. If they search a 10-foot-square area, elves can find a secret door with a 7 in 20 chance of success. Elves find concealed doors on a roll of 10 or less on a d20.
- Elves gain a special bonus with bows, excluding crossbows. When firing a bow, an elf gains +1 to hit. This bonus does not apply to damage.
- Elves are especially good with short and long swords. Like their ability with bows, they gain a +1 to hit (but not on damage) when using one of these weapons. This is in addition to any bonuses of the weapon itself.
- Elves move through forests and other natural terrain silently and almost invisibly. As long as elves are not attacking, they can only be spotted by someone who can detect invisibility. For example, when elves move through the woods, if they are careful, they will appear only as shadows of the leaves of trees, dancing in the undergrowth.
- An elf has the ability to cause an enemy's surprise roll to be penalized by -4 if the elf is moving alone, is 90 feet away from the rest of their party, or is with other elves or halflings and all are in nonmetal armor. If the elf must open a door or screen to get to the enemy. The penalty is reduced to -2.
- Elves gain the powers of Communion, Manifestation, Reverie, and Resistance to Heat and Cold as described in The Complete Book of Elves, pgs. 31-36.
- Elves gain a bonus nonweapon skill in two of the following areas: Artistic Ability, Dancing, Musical Instrument, Poetry, or Singing. An elf may also take a single craft skill in exchange for one of his bonus skills (an elf cannot receive two bonus craft skills). Elves who begin play at an age over 100 may also take another bonus skill in a nonadventuring area for every 20 years beyond a century that the elf has aged.
- All elves require five to 30 percent additional experience points to advance in level.
Table 2.5: Elfin ability score modifiers
| Drow |
Dexterity +2, Constitution -1, Intelligence +1, Charisma -2, Ego +1, Sanity -15% |
| Elberethi |
Strength -2, Constitution -1, Wisdom +2, Observation +1 |
| Oceanus |
Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Constitution -1, Charisma -1 |
| Oldanquasti |
Strength -1, Dexterity +1, Constitution -2, Charisma +2 |
| Paladian |
Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Constitution -1, Wisdom -1, Intelligence -1, Charisma +1, Sanity +10% |
| Variquesti |
Strength -1, Dexterity +1, Constitution -1, Intelligence +2, Wisdom -1, Ego -1, Observation +1 |
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