How do I roleplay: Elves

 “Once we followed in Corellon’s footsteps, but we strayed from that path. For our whole existence, we pay penance for a misstep. Is it just? Mayhap not, but when is love just? Is loss and longing a matter for judges to decide? The heart knows what the soul wants.” 

--Amlaruil Moonflower, Last Queen of Evermeet

Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, p. 35

How do you roleplay an elf? Well, in Dungeons and Dragons, elves are descendants of a somewhat chaotic god named Corellon, who it is said was able to change their form at will to suit that of their surroundings and environment, even consorting with other gods as mirror images of themselves. While the elves of the Forgotten Realms are no longer tied so closely to Corellon, it’s important to remember when roleplaying an elf. In fact, what are now known as the various subraces of elf used to all be forms that each individual elf could shapeshift into at will, now all frozen in one form after the schism with their god. 

It can also be hard to look at the Player’s Handbook description of elves and have an idea as to roleplaying them. Many D&D products present elves as almost one-note, very formal, almost ethereal immortal beings that live close to the nature around them, have noble to almost-haughty bearing, and are expert spellcasters and archers. But how do you roleplay an elf that isn’t just a Legolas clone? 

Without going into too much detail about the various subraces and their cultures, elves are one of the most diverse races in D&D. You have High Elves dedicated to their nobility and magical prowess, Wood Elves that live alongside and protect nature, Drow or Dark Elves that live in the Underdark and worship their dark Spider Queen. There are many different kinds of elves, and many different ways to think about playing an elf. One of the central themes of most elves tends to be their relationship to the Chaotic side of the planer cosmology and alignment. 

Being Chaotic isn’t necessarily about being random, and in elves, it actually relates more to being emotional. This isn’t to say your elf has to be hotheaded, melancholic, or chipper all the time, but instead would mean that much of their life is guided by emotion and their personal wants more than following strict logic. Their emotional nature can actually lead elves to attach themselves to philosophies and ideals quite easily, and sometimes even such a degree that they would die protecting their beliefs. Drow are an excellent example of this, with their dedication to Lolth the Spider Queen, worshiping her and undergoing a number of rituals to become priests and servants to their goddess. In fact, their society being so dedicated to their religion leads to a more Lawful and less Chaotic society, at least with a strict view of alignment. How alignment works could be an article of its own, and likely will be at some point, but for now simply keep in mind that alignment is mutable, and there is often a lot of grey area. 

Another excellent example of how emotion can lead elves is in the Shadar-Kai and Eladrin, subraces that are almost two sides of the same coin. Eladrin are elves of extreme emotion, residents of the Fey Wild whose emotions shift with the seasons, often transforming their physical being to match the emotions they are feeling. Shadar-Kai, on the opposite end of the spectrum, are elves whose environment drains the emotion from them, as they reside mainly in the Shadowfell. One thing you could consider in playing either of these subraces is what a different environment might do to affect how they act. Does a Shadar-Kai, so used to blunted emotions, experience more extreme reactions when they are no longer in the Shadowfell? Do Eladrin that travel to the Material Plane notice that their emotional extremes are lessened than they are used to as the chaos of the Fey Wild is no longer present around them? 

As with roleplaying anything in D&D, the best way to approach roleplaying Elves is with questions, and deciding what might be an interesting or different answer to that question. Like I talked about before, how do you play an elf that isn’t a Legolas clone? Well, the easiest answer would be to not play a ranger, but you could go deeper than that. Playing an elf that, while experiencing the melancholy typical of elves, is hopeful that their people will return to their former glory one day. Or perhaps your elf lacks the stereotypical grace and poise of their kin, being a bit clumsy or uncoordinated. 

The biggest thing to keep in mind with elves, at least in general, is that they are very in tune with their emotions, and the occasional lack thereof, and that can drive many of their decisions, even if they are unwise ones.