Eladrin
Made with Hero Forge
In the creation myths of the Seldarine, the first, primal elves were incorporeal nature spirits created by a whimsical, formless god known as Corellon Larethian. As wisps of air and light and joy, they frolicked around him in Arvandor, a wild paradise located on the outer plane of Arborea. The most favored of Corellon's creations he made into gods themselves, nearly as powerful as he, and for a time, it was good.
It came to pass, however, that an ambitious young goddess named Lolth convinced many elves to embrace a more physical form, becoming much as they appear today, in the hopes that she may more easily control them. This angered Corellon, who felt betrayed by Lolth and the elves at large for abandoning the form of his likeness. A schism grew amongst the gods. Corellon's accusations of betrayal were so relentless that they became a self-fulfilling prophesy, and Llolth finally attempted to kill and usurp him. Corellon, however, was too powerful to be slain. He eventually won the conflict, but the god was full of rage and bitterness. No longer trusting his own creations, be they god or elf, he banished them all from their paradise in Arvandor, never to return until their death.
Scattered across reality, the elves struggled to find a home as wild and good as their lost Arvandor, until, at last, they discovered the Feywild, an endless realm of passion, chaos and natural beauty to rival even Corellon's paradise. It was full of dangers as well, but the elves would risk them; they were desperate for a new place to live.
Arriving in the Feywild in droves, the elves built vast cities of splendor, and spent eons in the land of faerie. They changed the place for all time, and were changed as well, becoming even more fey-like than they were in Arvandor. Many began to identify themselves as something beyond elves, and beyond the old elvish gods who abandoned them. Though this has yet to be confirmed by mortal scholars, "eladrin" is quite possibly a word to unite the first born free from Arvandor.
Feywild Eladrin are like elves, but moreso. One could say they are as different from elves as elves are to mortal humans - more alien, wild, fickle, whimsical, passionate and temperamental... and very often more dangerous.
Eladrin have spread to many other worlds since their arrival in the Feywild. Some have calmed their passions, becoming the elves known on countless prime worlds. Others have aligned themselves with the faerie courts, the nymphs and dryads of Olympus, or sought refuge in the Outlands, among the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the enchanted woods of Tír na nÓg. Still others have become so chaotically faerie-like that they are a new creature entirely, and a few of these have even dared to return to Arvandor, but while Corellon's rage has subsided, it is rare when he permits a living eladrin to stay.
The oldest of the eladrin have settled in Arborea, building noble kingdoms in the verdant forests near their ancestral home. These eladrins are slightly less temperamental than their Feywild cousins, and are likely the closest living relatives to the ancient primal elves that once lived in Arvandor as nature spirits. Much like the first elves, Arboean eladrin can assume incorporeal forms of water, wind, light, and fire. A few of these eladrin might indeed be old enough to have lived through the divine schism between Corellon and Lolth, and still remember their time in paradise.
(from Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. II - 1994 - [credits])
"The eladrins are a cowardly race of sniveling weaklings. They’re untrustworthy and treacherous, and they turn up in the most inconvenient places! Why, a body can’t get two steps in their precious Arborea without their arrogant, conceited shiere knights showin’ up and puttin’ their long noses in your business! Let’s see ’em come on down to Baator. We’ll whip ’em into shape. Teach ’em a thing or two about proper organization. They’d find out the hard way how baatezu’ll run things once we’ve burned Arborea to the ground around their pointed little ears. ’Course, we still got that little tiff with the tanar’ri to settle, but when we get them straightened out, well, just you wait! What?!!! A shiere riding this way? I - I - I’ve got to go. Duty calls, and all that. Wouldn’t want to be missed back in Avernus, after all."
- Uzamaer the Maw, cornugon captain visiting Sigil
The eladrins are the native race of Arborea, just as the baatezu are associated with Baator and the tanar’ri with the Abyss. They’re wild and free beings who exult in their own existence and live a life of song and celebration. The eladrins aid all people of good hearts against the forces of evil, but seek to do so with individual acts of kindness or heroism.
In Arborea, the eladrins move from place to place constantly, reveling in the natural beauty of the plane and seeking adventure. They’re defenders of goodness and freedom wherever it is threatened, and seek to counter the influences of tanar’ri and baatezu among mortals. To the eladrins, mortals should be free to choose their own destinies without fiendish interference; many of the more powerful eladrins constantly roam the planes and prime-material worlds, working against the baatezu and tanar’ri who seek to dominate these realms.
Although the individual types of eladrins are diverse in power and appearance, as a race they’re creatures of faerie grace, quickness, and beauty. Eladrins fall into two categories: Lesser (bralani, coure, noviere, shiere), and Greater (firre, ghaele, tulani).
Planar Travel: Any Eladrin can travel to any Upper Plane, Ysgard, the Outlands, and the Astral Plane. Greater eladrins can travel to any Outer or Inner Plane, the Ethereal Plane, or any prime-material world. Unlike many fiends, eladrins can freely enter any world they can reach; they don’t have to wait until they’re summoned. However, eladrins are required to veil themselves when traveling in prime-material worlds. The same laws that force a baatezu or tanar’ri to subject itself to the manipulations of a wizard also prevent an eladrin from revealing its true nature except under the direst of circumstances.
When an eladrin is veiled, it takes on the guise of a creature native to the world it is journeying in. It may assume a human or demihuman form, pretending to be an adventurer or wandering bard. Once committed to its veil, it can’t do anythmg that its assumed identity couldn’t do whenever a mortal might be near enough to see. Should an eladrin violate its veil, it has to return to Arborea for 1,001 years before waking the prime-material worlds again. Usually the violator eladrin is allowed a brief time - a few minutes or an hour - to attend to any business it has to finish before it is called away.
The Court of Stars: The magical and mysterious heart of the eladrins lies in the Court of Stars, where the beautiful Queen Morwel reigns over her people. Morwel is sometimes called the Faerie Queen, the Lady of the Lake, or the Lady of Stars; she’s probably a demipower in her own right, and she’s surrounded by the brightest and most gracious of the eladrins. The Court moves from place to place throughout Arborea, existing only where night falls over the realm. The Court of Stars isn’t really the government of the eladrins as much as it is the heart or spirit of the race.
The eladrins’re on good terms with the elven pantheon and the [Olympian] pantheon, but they tend to keep to the wilds of Arborea. When the eladrins visit Olympus, they often assume the forms of petitioners or forest spirits, veiling their true nature. In the elven realms, the eladrins feel free to show themselves for what they are.
On rare occasions, the eladrins join with the aasimon who serve the [Olympian] and elven powers when some profound evil threatens all of Arborea. But for the most part, they prefer to leave the powers be and govern their own affairs.
Combat: All eladrins can use the following spells once per round at will: alter self, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, detect evil, and phantasmal force. They’re partially immune to the effect below:
Acid = Full Damage
Cold = Half Damage (or none)
Electricity = No damage
Fire (dragon, magical) = Half Damage
Gas (poisonous, etc.) = Half Damage
Iron Weapon = Doubled (Full)
Magic Missile = None
Poison = Full (or half)
Silver Weapon = Full*
Lesser eladrins’re vulnerable to weapons of cold-wrought iron and suffer double damage dice from any cold iron weapon that strikes them. If the cold iron weapon is enchanted, the eladrins ignore the double damage; the magic spoils the baneful properties of the blade. Greater eladrins don’t suffer double damage from a cold iron weapon, but they do suffer normal damage even if the weapon normally couldn’t hit them because of a lack of enchantment. For example, a greater eladrin normally hit only by +3 weapons or better can be damaged by a nonmagical cold iron weapon. Cold iron weapons have to be custom-made and cost twice as much as normal.
Silver weapons inflict full damage if they are sufficiently enchanted to be able to damage the eladrin anyway.
(from the Book of Exalted Deeds - 2003 - [credits])
THE COURT OF STARS REVISITED:
The noble, passionate, and mercurial eladrins call the Olympian Glades of Arborea their home. Shifting between its three layers is a demiplane known as the Court of Stars—the seat of power of the eladrin people. The Court of Stars drifts about Arborea like an autumn leaf on a pool and can only be reached when the eladrin monarch, Queen Morwel, wishes it so. Portals leading to and from the Court of Stars can manifest anywhere—within the halls of Corellon Larethian’s Court on Arvandor, beneath the eternal sea of Aquallor, somewhere in the white deserts of Mithardir, or any other location Morwel fancies. No power on Arborea seems capable of opening or closing a portal without Morwel’s consent. Rumor has it that one of Arborea’s fabled attractions, the Fountain of Beauty, which has the power to temporarily improve one’s Charisma, can only be reached from the Court of Stars, and that Morwel requires some kind of gift before granting passage.
Morwel’s demiplane resembles an autumnal sylvan forest under a starlit sky. Time does not pass here, so creatures living in the demiplane (including plants) never age, hunger, or thirst. They do eat, drink, and sleep, but purely for enjoyment. Fey creatures living in the forest lead visitors to Morwel’s palace, which thrusts up from the heart of the woodland, its spires breaking through the forest canopy. Within the crystalline walls of her palace, Morwel entertains guests, hosts parties, and discusses pressing issues with her eladrin advisors and consorts.
Queen Morwel can seem flighty and pretentious at times, but she has the best interests of her people at heart. She does not rule alone, relying heavily on the counsel of her dear consorts. Over the centuries, Morwel has taken many consorts. Currently, she has two: a male tulani named Faerinaal and a female bralani named Gwynharwyf. Her affection for both is beyond measure.
Faerinaal is a master politician and a shrewd judge of character. Morwel relies on his guidance to handle serious matters affecting her darling subjects. Gwynharwyf is a fierce and devastating warrior whose tireless crusade against evil helps to unite the eladrin people.
[Queen Morwel] bears a passing resemblance to an elf, although her beauty is awesome and otherworldly. She wears a shimmering mantle of stars that flicker out before touching the ground, and she slices her brilliant rapier through the air with playful confidence.
Morwel (MOR-wel) has always ruled the eladrins. No eladrin can recall any monarch coming before her, and no eladrin can imagine the Court of Stars without her. To them, she has always been. Since time does not pass in the Court of Stars, it is conceivable that Morwel is many thousands of years old, although no one dares ask her to reveal her age. Morwel never leaves her demiplane, and some fear that if she did leave, the demiplane would collapse and be destroyed forever. However, she welcomes and entertains a steady stream of visitors and ardent admirers.
(from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes - 2018 - [credits])
ELADRIN AND THE FEYWILD
The Feywild exists separate from but parallel to the Material Plane. It's a realm of nature run amok, and most of its inhabitants are sylvan or fey creatures. In these respects, the Feywild has certain similarities to Arvandor. First-time visitors might be excused for not being sure which of the two planes they're on for a time after arriving. Unlike Arvandor, however, which is a plane of good, the Feywild leans toward neither good nor evil; both are equally prevalent and powerful there. For that reason, parts of the Feywild where evil holds sway are substantially more dangerous than any place in Arvandor.
All kinds of elves live in the Feywild, but one subrace- the eladrin- has adopted it as their home. Of all the elves, eladrin are closest in form and ability to the first generation of elves. Some could pass for high elves, but most are distinctly eladrin in appearance: very slender, with hair and skin color determined by the season with which they feel the closest affinity. And their eyes often glimmer with fey magic.
Continued exposure to the Feywild, over a century or more, hastens the onset of Remembrance significantly among most elves. Elves who have spent most of their lives in the Fcywild can experience their first other-life memory as early as the age of 200 years. Eladrin aren't affected this way.
Because of their link to the primal elves, eladrin tend to be haughty around other elves. They're proud of their heritage and equally proud of their ability to thrive in the Feywild, a land full of threats that would overwhelm and destroy weaker creatures. Some eladrin trade haughtiness for a tender kindness toward their elf cousins, knowing that many elves have never felt the ecstasies of a life amid the fey and of years spent near the ancient shrines and other glories created by the primal elves who first arrived in Faerie. These kinder eladrin take a special pleasure in introducing their realm to others.
Eladrin cities represent the pinnacle of elven architecture. Their soaring towers, arching bridges, and gracefully filigreed homes are a perfect blend of construction, natural elements, and magic-inspired motifs. Streams and waterfalls, gardens and copses, and structures of stone and wood are commingled in ways that are original and yet completely natural-looking.
Eladrin culture is older than any other elven civilization, and it's also the most decadent. Most elves are impetuous to some extent, but eladrin are known for their fickleness. Many of them change their minds on the spur of the moment without giving reasons. Their system of justice vacillates between capriciously harsh and whimsically mild, depending on the mood of the eladrin passing judgment, and eladrin are more susceptible to flattery than other elves are.
Elves from the Material Plane who have researched eladrin culture blame these traits on the influence of the Feywild. As part of their argument, they point out that eladrin who spend a significant amount of time on the Material Plane - adventurers and scholars, primarily - still demonstrate these attitudes, but to a lesser degree.
Although eladrin have the closest connection to CorelIon because of their ancestry, they are alone among elves in feeling little affinity for Arvandor. Eladrin don't long to end their cycle of rebirth and rejoin Corellon, but rather to meld with the Feywild when they are reincarnated. They believe that an eladrin who excels in life throughout a series of incarnations can eventually come back as a member of the Seelie or Unseelie court or, in extreme cases, even as an archfey.
PLAYING AS ELADRIN (elf subrace):
Eladrin are elves native to the Feywild, a realm of beauty, unpredictable emotion, and boundless magic. An eladrin is associated witb one of the four seasons and has coloration reminiscent of that season, which can also affect the eladrin's mood:
Autumn is the season of peace and goodwill, when summer's harvest is shared with all.
Winter is the season of contemplation and dolor, when the vibrant energy of the world slumbers.
Spring is the season of cheerfulness and celebration, marked by merriment as winter's sorrow passes.
Summer is the season of boldness and aggression. a time of unfettered energy.
Some eladrin remain associated with a particular season for their entire lives, whereas other eladrin transform, adopting characteristics of a new season.
When finishing a long rest, any eladrin can change their season. An eladrin might choose the season that is present in the world or perhaps the season that most closely matches the eladrin's current emotional state. For example, an eladrin might shift to autumn if filled with contentment, another eladrin could change to winter if plunged into sorrow, still another might be bursting with joy and become an eladrin of spring, and fury might cause an eladrin to change to summer.
The following tables offer personality suggestions for eladrin of each season. You can roll on the tables or use them as inspiration for characteristics of your own.
Autumn Personality Trait (d4):
1) If someone is in need, you never withhold aid.
2) You share what you have, with little regard for your own needs.
3) There are no simple meals, only lavish feasts.
4) You stock up on fine food and drink. You hate going without such comforts.
Autumn Flaw (d4):
1) You trust others without a second thought.
2) You give to others, to the point that you leave yourself without necessary supplies.
3-4) Everyone is your friend, or a potential friend. You spend excessively on creature comforts.
Winter Personality Trait (d4):
l) The worst case is the most likely to occur.
2) You preserve what you have. Better to be hungry today and have food for tomorrow.
3) Life is full of dangers, but you are ready for them.
4) A penny s pent is a penny lost forever.
Winter Flaw (d4):
1) Everything dies eventually. Why bother building anything that is supposedly meant to last?
2) Nothing matters to you, and you allow others to guide your actions.
3) Your needs come first. In winter, all must watch out for themselves.
4) You speak only to point out the flaws in others' plans.
Spring Personality Trait (d4):
1) Every day is the greatest day of your life.
2) You approach everything with enthusiasm, even the most mundane chores.
3) You love music and song. You supply a tune yourself if no one else can.
4) You can't stay still.
Spring Flaw (d4):
1) You overdrink.
2) Toil is for drudges. Yours should be a life of leisure.
3) A pretty face infatuates you in an instant, but your fancy passes with equal speed. 4) Anything worth doing is worth doing again and again.
Summer Personality Trait (d4):
1) You believe that direct confrontation is the best way to solve problems.
2) Overwhelming force can accomplish almost anything. The tougher the problem, the more force you apply.
3) You stand tall and strong so that others can lean on you.
4) You maintain an intimidating front. It's better to prevent fights with a show of force than to harm others.
Summer Flaw (d4):
1) You are stubborn. Let others change.
2) The best option is one that is swift, unexpected, and overwhelming.
3) Punch first. Talk later.
4) Your fury can carry you through anything.
Eladrin Traits:
Eladrin have the following traits in common, in addition to the traits they share with other elves. Choose your eladrin's season: autumn, winter, spring, or summer.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Fey Step. As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest. When you reach 3rd level, your Fey Step gains an additional effect based on your season; if the effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 +your profi· ciency bonus+ your Charisma modifier:
Autumn. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, up to two creatures of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you for 1 minute, or until you or your companions deal any damage to it.
Winter. When you use your Fey Step, one creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you before you teleport must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
Spring. When you use your Fey Step, you can touch one willing creature within 5 feet of you. That creature then teleports instead of you, appearing in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you.
Summer. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, each creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you takes fire damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 damage).
