a recent request for FR lore i saw sent me down a rabbit hole of wiki research. if you're not an elder (or if, like me, 3e/3.5e is a gap on your shelf), it's easy to forget that previous editions of dnd were suffused with books upon books of Faerun lore and kingdoms. for instance, i'm rarely reminded of all the varied civilization in, under, and around the Sea of Fallen Stars (except that Thay is somewhere across it). in a decade of 5e there's been one book on the sword coast, one volo's city guide, one city gazetteer, an adventure to the north, an adventure to the south, and a lot of space left open for interpretation. it occurs to me that constantly retelling stories along this narrow strip of land has lead to a great deal of homogenization and party interchangeability. not that that's objectively a bad thing. but, it seems like no one bats an eye if you've got an aarakocra or minotaur in your party, let alone an elf. but, are elves really that... normal? unremarkable?

 it got me thinking: if you seed your campaigns from (or adjacent to) the official materials, how are elves portrayed at your table? what i mean is, are elves exotic and rare in your game? are they secluded and hostile? or is it common to see an elven adventurer satisfying their wanderlust and boredom like it's an evening out for them? do your elves feel the pull of time differently? are they seeking novel experiences or mastering a craft? are they automatic aristocrats everywhere they go with generational wealth and diplomat status or did their grandparents haul all the good stuff to Evermeet? do they have a funny accent? do they cite logic, use "fascinating" as a swear word, and nerve-pinch baddies? or maybe you too see a lot of the "just another warm body but this time with pointy ears and a longbow" types? NPC, PC, rumor, or whatever: how are elves portrayed at your table?

 ...i could ask the same about dwarves, but i think it'd go over their heads. elves it is. anyway, thanks!

At my tables, elves are usually just either more nature-y or more stuffy humans with pointed ears. Usually I don't have players who are terribly interested in exploring the long-lived nature of the elves, as seen in the more recent Frieren series. More often than not, elves are the butts of jokes involving growing from trees or some such. It's not often that serious elven lore becomes a focal point in adventures unless it can be applied in an interesting manner.  

Sadly we have a lot of players that want to play them, but have no historical connections or mannerisms or anything. Mostly they get played as humans with darkvision that don't have to sleep as much. I don't play them because I know too much and would tie lots of it in that would only bog down the storyline. One of the guys plays a lot of Elder Scrolls and I tell him that the high elves are like Native Texans... and he finally understands what I mean about the attitude...

In my campaign setting, elves, like all other races, are not mono-cultural entities so there is no one way that they're portrayed.

Elves are almost entirely extinct in my game. They had collectively sacrificed themselves to save the world, unbeknownst to anyone. Those who did not participate in this sacrifice assimilated in local cultures, but they are an extreme rarity in my world. All that is left of the elves as a people are ruins and the only reason they are in my game at all is because one of my players wanted to play one. I got the idea from Pointy Hat, if anyone is interested. He makes some very cool videos.

In my campaign, especially in humano-centric settings, like other demihumans elves are somewhat rare since humans are predominant, biggest cities have a small population of them sometimes living togheter in the same area, village rarely have many elves resident, and adventurers are rare so those of elvenkind are a minority.

One thing about the elves in my games is that they're mostly extinct. If we play in older times, there are more of them - and after that one campaign, there are precisely three, of which one is a lich. 

Elves are also evil. And let's just be frank, here: They always are, they just get away with it because they're pretty. 

Anyways, elves are all but extinct, they are super powerful, immortal, and regarded by all and sundry as an old wives tale, because really, who believes such powerful beings could exist and then just .. up and vanish. Same goes for dragons, btw.

Players can't play elves - but if they want the stats and whatnot, they can just pick them. They'll be humans with pointed ears, those are common enough.

I like that I have a name for every elf that exists in the world. Ephiscoban, Fael, Thaniel. There's two more - from before - but their names escape me right now. Ain'elle is one. Well, I have his name at home. 

I run an early world campaign and Elves are abundant. About 3/4 of them were pulled to the Feywild when the world was remade, but those left behind helped sheperd the other races (mostly through the work of Druid clans) until they could stand on their own. They are generally good but very protective of their homeland. They are the ones initially responsible for teaching humans magic and attempt to keep strict control over high level magical knowledge and history related to it. Most other races hold them in high regard and treat them on a level with aristocracy (at least when first meeting them). They do feel superior to other races (not that they would admit it), and while they accept half-elves on a social level, they don't allow them to live in their homeland.

Elves in the Feywild are a mixed bunch. They tend to be much more wild and unpredictable with lots of infighting. It doesn't help that they are always battling a lingering corruption of the land. There are different factions and each has their own issues bent to general alignments (good, neutral, evil). I haven't flushed this out much because it will be some time before the player's even have the opportunity to go there. 

My players love playing elves, and half-elves. It's hard to get them to diversify but it's all good. I do make they at least pick a different sub-race which they're totally fine with. 

for anyone interested in an incomplete forgotten realms answer...

• the Cormanthor elven empire sits south of the Moonsea and north of the Inner Sea (Sea of Fallen Stars) and could boast upwards of +100k elves. former capital city Myth Drannor suffered a second destruction from a catastrophic 0079 gundam fan dm as a Netherese city was dropped on it (1487 DR). no elves here, oh dear. however, it's notable for how many magic items spread across the land can trace their origins back to the first destruction of this city. refugees supposedly fled to Semberholme and tree houses amongst its famously thick trees. there are also reports of limestone caverns to hide in which may or may not put them into contact with the drow elves. Tangled Trees is another realm within the empire, this one known for being exceptionally xenophobic and hostile to non-elves. there's a note in the wiki that "Cormanthor contains several portals... to Cormyr, Glister, and the River Chionthar" which suggests there's plenty of elves in those places too.
• reclusive mythical Evereska spent the end of the 14th century blipping between feywild and prime material planes leading to many half-elves moving off to live with more stable humans. in the 15th century it opposed the second Netherese empire and took in refugees from Myth Drannor. you'd find Evereska on a map as part of an equilateral triangle of 600mi sides with Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate as the two other corners. if it's not being all closed off and mythical again.
• wood elf kingdom of Earlaan in the northeast of High Forest fell to demons in the wake of many elves relocating to Evermeet. a fraction of the capital city Teuveamanthaar was later secured by reclusive druids and named Tall Trees (3.5e, Champions of Valor book (1358 DR?)). scattered sun and moon elf remnants of that kingdom would not be uncommon amongst the human "savage frontier" settlements along the Delimbiyr river valley.
• the region of Luruar, aka the Silver Marches defeated some orcs and disbanded their big League (1488 DR). The city of Silverymoon there has a population that's around 30% elf. most of our information is old but the city still stands as of 1489 DR (although, you know what else happened in that year? apparently "The gods were no longer silent but quiet, and in many places new priesthoods arose to interpret the gods’ now subtle signs." which seems like a hugely important thing worthy of more than just a sentence buried in the SCAG. it's stuff like this that takes the forgotten realms from 'filled with lore' to 'hostile to new dms')
• no significant elf presence in Moonsea, apparently (not to be confused with Moonshae islands on the way to Evermeet!) despite the Three Elves Inn. the people of the Dalelands remembered an old Dales Compact with Cormanthyr and so respected the ancient elven laws regarding the sancity of the forest. Deepingdale was especially cozy with the sharp-ears, being home to many elves who didn't migrate to Evereska or Evermeet during the great Retreat (1344 DR).
• elves were thought to dwell in Kryptgarden Forest in the late 1400s, say the wiki. but elves did and do dwell in every forest that's convenient for the dm to have them have had dwelt in, aren't they? although, given that the elves came from the feywild to the prime material to counter the influence of dragons, i like to think elves are in there somewhere just because green dragon Claugiyliamatar and some evil fey are supposedly pretty active there.
• following up on the portal to Cormyr... the realm referred to as "the Forest Kingdom" started out all elfy and dragonish but was handed over to a king arthur and the knights of the round table kinda situation. whereupon they began commercial logging. the 4% of elves that the wiki claims remain there probably have complex feelings about why they remain.
• following up on the portal to Glister... nope, no elves. human town destroyed by orcs in the 1470s.
• following up on the portal to River Chionthar... i dunno, maybe there's some elves in The Reaching Woods? but the Reaching is a tributary river, although it would make sense to shore up Evereska from the south with regards to keeping an eye on the High Moor, Serpent Hills, Forest of Wyrms, etc. since everybody fears the Najara yuan-ti and lizardfolk there.

So, in my world, Elfin are the descendants of volunteers who became the shock troops, the special mission soldiers, the equivalents of SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, SAS and such.

which suggests immediately that there was a war, and yep, a 500 year long war. They were all humans who volunteered to become such as Houses, collections of families. 125 Houses volunteered, and they are the forerunners of the Elfs.

Elfs are not a culture, in and of themselves. They are a people, a collection of families bonded by shared experience and necessity of survival, so they do have some few things they do. Elfin live in Communes, where their children are raised in crèches that focus on honing the natural skills of the children as a communal effort, because Elfs have a tendency to get a little bloodlusty when emotions are high, and need to learn outlets and coping skills for that so that they rule it, it doesn’t rule them.

There are several Communes, though not all cities or towns will have all of the communes, but there is usually one if there is at least a few Elfin families in an area. Elfs otherwise tend to be culturally part of the Realm in which they are raised, combining a few values from their commune and family with those they develop on their own and learn from their culture.

Elf’s are shorter than Imperials, lighter, but more nimble and quick.