Should Eladrin Be A Playable Race?
I like eladrin. They’re like elves, but… elfier. They invoke the mythic feeling of Tolkien’s Eldar elves. And after reading about them in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, I don’t want to let my players create eladrin characters.
Hear me out.
Flavors of Fantasy
I have two distinct tastes where high fantasy is concerned. I predominantly like to play in fantasy worlds even more cosmopolitan than traditional D&D settings. I like worlds where an arcanaloth can run a magic shop down the road from a post office run by an aarakocra. Planescape is a perfect example of this, a setting in which not just humans, but dwarves, elves, and halflings from comparatively mundane worlds like Faerûn feel like fish out of water. It takes fantasy to its logical, madcap extreme.
But I also like fantasy worlds like Tolkien’s Middle Earth or the Earth of Norse mythology, humanocentric realms where elves and dwarves are fantastical creatures on par with the fey or perhaps even fiends. In Middle Earth, elves are an ancient race so magnificent that they cannot remain in the world. They constantly hear the call of the Valar and must return to the Undying Lands of Valinor. They are beings of supreme supernatural power that no human could ever truly match.
D&D is not Middle Earth. Even in the grittier worlds of the D&D Multiverse, like Mordenkainen’s home realm of Greyhawk, humans, dwarves, elves, and halflings share a bespoke equality. They are all common races, as dictated by the Player’s Handbook. By casting elves as one of the common races of the Multiverse, D&D has made elves feel common. This is perfectly reasonable if you want to play a game of heightened fantasy in Planescape or heroic fantasy in the Forgotten Realms, but it does make it difficult to achieve that mythic Tolkienian feeling.
Enter the eladrin. If you want to recapture that mythic feeling in D&D, you should consider never letting your players play as them.
Who are the Eladrin?
“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.”
—Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
Okay, I was being a bit dramatic when I said you should never let your players play as an eladrin, but hear me out. Eladrin are elves who never left the Feywild, and thus are more akin to the elves’ fey ancestors in power and demeanor than their cousins who dwell on the Material Plane. They are to elves as elves are to humans; they take everything fantastical about the elves—their sense of whimsy, their elegant features and graceful motions, and smug sense of superiority—and turn it up to eleven. Even the high elves think it’s all a bit much.
In game terms, eladrin are an elven subrace that enjoy benefits such as a limited teleportation ability called Fey Step. Their most important trait, however, is their attunement to the seasons. An eladrin’s appearance, powers, and even elements of their personality can change with their season, which they can change whenever they complete a long rest.
Each one of the four seasons of eladrin also appears as a CR 10 monster in the Bestiary section. They’re chaotic neutral, so eladrin are a perfectly reasonable adversary for any group of adventurers to encounter, especially if their actions are harming nature or the Feywild, endangering the object of their powerful obsessions, or even just being a nuisance. As the haughtiest and most fey of the elves, eladrin are prone to fits of passion worthy of an Archfey.
No Players Allowed?
If you’re playing in a typical “heroic fantasy” D&D setting like the Forgotten Realms, the eladrin open new possibilities. By filling a similar mythic niche to the one that Tolkien’s Eldar elves occupied in The Lord of the Rings, the eladrin make it easier for Dungeon Masters to create realms in their campaign setting that possess the legendary mystique of Rivendell and Lothlorien; places just real enough to feel tangible, but also somehow greater than the mundane simplicity of home.
If you really want your players to view eladrin as an exalted people that stand apart from the troubles of the Material Plane, the easiest way to do this is to ask your players not to create eladrin characters. Thanks to all the new lore for elves presented in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, even playing a “regular” elf can be a novel experience.
If the tone of your game isn’t your concern, then you should also consider how an eladrin character will affect the cohesion of the adventuring party. Eladrin are forces of fickle chaos that consider themselves superior to nearly all other living beings. This is all excellent roleplaying fodder, but think about who you’re playing with for a moment. If your players are the kind to make trouble and then try to excuse it by saying “But I was just doing what my character would do,” then including eladrin as a playable subrace will probably hurt your campaign in the long run. Giving your players the option to play as fey or fey-adjacent characters is almost always a bad idea unless you have the emotional fortitude to take your problematic friends aside and try to work out a solution.
A Case for Eladrin as Player Characters
That said, there's no right way to play D&D. I wouldn't let my players create eladrin characters in a game with a mythic tone unless someone pitched me a really excellent reason, but that doesn't mean it could never work. Flatly banning a new player race might be a bridge too far for you. If one or more of your players are excited about this gorgeous and fantastical new type of elf, you should just let them play it. D&D is all about having a shared narrative experience, and your players’ choices should inform the narrative. Even choices as simple as “My character is an eladrin paladin who follows the Oath of the Ancients” can set the story on a wild and unexpected path, and it is your job as the Dungeon Master to embrace the chaos and learn to engage with the curveballs your players throw at you, so long as they’re doing so in good faith.
Eladrin characters fit cozily into games that embrace the wet-‘n-wild heightened fantasy of Planescape, but they are not so far from home in games of mythic fantasy. Legolas joined the Fellowship of the Ring, after all. In fact, Legolas is an excellent example of an elf (or in our case, eladrin) heightening the mythic tone of a story through his familiarity rather than detracting from it. The entire point of the Fellowship of the Ring was that all races of Middle Earth, even the exalted elves, had to band together in order to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.
You can heighten the drama of your story if you frame your player’s eladrin character as an ominous portent—a sign that things have grown so dire that even the Feywild has sent its people into the Material Plane. Or, the eladrin character could be an outcast from their homeland, forced to wander the Material Plane estranged from their magical homeland.
Here’s a table of Ideals you can use for eladrin characters to explain why they have left the Feywild and have joined an adventuring party, all while maintaining the mythic feeling of their race. You can use these Ideals instead of (or in addition to) the Ideals suggested by your background.
d6 |
Ideal |
1 |
Duty. I was tasked with leaving the comfort of my homeland to undertake a quest that may save all worlds from destruction. (Good) |
2 |
Desperation. I fled the Feywild in order to save my own life, and… oh dear. I can’t figure out how to get back. (Any) |
3 |
Fate. I was called to this world by a mysterious voice on the wind. I suspect it was the guiding voice of Fate. (Lawful) |
4 |
Curiosity. You humans fascinate me, and… oh, by Corellon, you wood elves are so quaint! I simply must learn everything about you. (Chaotic) |
5 |
Exile. The Archfey are so fickle, even the tiniest slight could spell exile—or worse. Please, don’t ask what I did… I don’t want to talk about it. (Any) |
6 |
Despair. I care nothing for the eternal splendor of my homeland. All things were meant to die—and things in this realm die ever so quickly. (Evil) |
Eladrin in Your Campaign
Do the eladrin have a home in your campaign? If they didn’t before you read Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, will you try to create a niche for them? Adding new races and creatures to a carefully crafted campaign setting can be an exhausting task, and players asking to create a character of a race you never added to your setting can be the source of many hours of rewriting.
How have you handled eladrin in your home campaign?
James Haeck is the lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author of the Critical Role Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and Kobold Press. He lives in a five-room apartment/dungeon in Seattle, Washington with his partner Hannah and his two kitten-shaped fey tricksters, Mei and Marzipan. You can usually find him wasting time on Twitter at @jamesjhaeck.
I would allow an Eladrin to play in mine but the player would have to own the roleplay aspects of the character. This a race that weak roleplayers need not apply and there has to be a valid reason for them to be there. Like the Eladrin was somehow/some reason cast out of the Feywild and they want to get back and just not concerned with the monsters or business of the "lesser" races.
I think there are both valid and invalid points in this article, but I don't think either of them will stop me from playing an Eladrin.
While It is true that Eladrin are the Elfiest of the Elves, and even the designers say so, I don't believe it means they are caricatures of elves, as you point them to be (the most arrogant, superior, whimsical, magical and unpredictable of the elves.) Here's what I observed of the Eladrin from what I read on Beyond, and from the previews: they hail from the Feywild, where the emotions are the strongest, and the changes are the most radical. They embody the 4 seasons within themselves based on their feelings (to the point where they can change their appearance and fey step ability when they complete a long rest, which means that a player can play with the Eladrin's appearance and personality based on mood (either theirs or their character), but some Eladrin can spend an entire lifetime devoted to a single season.
Now, based on that general info, I'd imagine most ways to play an Eladrin would fall somewhere between these three extremes:
Each of these extremes have their merits, but can also be detrimental at the wrong table, in the wrong adventure, or with the wrong group.
What you portrayed might be closest suitable for the Whimsical Eladrin, who changes seasons at the drop of a hat at the risk of ruining the mystique of other elves in comparison. But you can also make a case that a dragonborn PC would spoil the appeal of Tyranny of Dragons, or a Tiefling PC/Drow PC ruining Out Of The Abyss for some people. I'd also imagine this would be what a lot of people would do with Eladrins during the initial hype, but a stronger argument for not playing an Eladrin this way might be the inconsistency of the character at the table, and how your character could seem wildly different between SESSIONS, might make that character less understandable for others. However, that too shouldn't seem like a big issue in practice, because players like these can find themselves most at home playing in AL modules, or in less-serious/more epic campaigns. But in a home game, your player's ability to change is limited to how often you as a DM hand out long-rests. Depending on your generosity, most sessions might experience 1 such transformation at best. But when playing with a whimsical eladrin of any class, long rests become a much coveted reward and could be treated as treasure.
At the other end of the spectrum is more of an antithesis to the whimsical eladrin - the dedicated eladrin is one that likes the season it's in, and would remain in it unshakably. It would take something massive to change it's attitude and season. Alternatively, the player might simply stay that way because they like that season the most, or because of the portrait colors, or the fey step ability they like best, etc. This can also be detrimental because then your fey eladrin becomes predictable, and the player might not be willing to adapt when the circumstances require a tone change. At the same time, such players are mostly can bring a necessary roleplaying tone to the campaign even as fey beings, and in the event that this character DOES change season, it becomes a big deal.
The practical eladrin might be the extreme of choice to strategists and power gamers, who change seasons almost exclusively for getting the most out of their fey step ability. It might seem a bit cold, but it's not a week racial ability, and, if used wisely, it could help an otherwise underwhelming party with a lot of it's problems. A winter eladrin fighter can frighten an enemy that's threatening the wizard, whereas a spring eladrin can send the rogue to a more advantageous position. If you can anticipate your needs, the eladrin can become a versatile team player.
How have you handled eladrin in your home campaign?
well, in general I really like your suggested ideals and might implement them, though some of them feel more like bonds than ideals. The eladrin I intend to play (once I'm done with my Tortle) will be as an eladrin princess from a fabled kingdom in the summer court (we didn't reallt use the feywild in our own setting, but rather made the fey a part of the world.) She was born of nothing and became a princess overnight, to be wed to a king eladrin. Having no wish to be his wife, and fearing the commitment of ruling a kingdom, she fled far away from there, and has been suffering from anxiety and melancholy ever since, and the elf princess of the summer court was doomed to an eternal winter of regret.
As you can see, I lean towards a more dedicated eladrin, based on my own theory behind it. This one being unable to shake her winter and anxiety attacks, and it would take something major to change that. However, I am not fully going to be dedicated to winter. Though it would be the default season for her, there will be sessions where she changes, in a feeble attempt to shake off the fears and the blues, but would more often than not revert back to her winter form at the end of the next long rest.
That's my solution to making the eladrin PC less overwhelming - not merely dedicating them to a single emotion or season, but doing so to the point where that season is a challenge they must overcome. "The winter eladrin who can't shake off her blues." "The spring eladrin who desperarely clings to his joyous past," "the summer eladrin who would sacrifice everything she has for a losing cause," or "the autumn eladrin who just can't say 'no'." Just to name a few examples.
This description makes me want to play as an Eladrin even more.
First time I've ever read anything from Haeck that I've disagreed with..each to their own though!
I dropped Tieflings and Dragonborn. Dragonborn don't exist in my campaign world and Tieflings are not an entity that I want PCs to play. That said, the other basic races (except Drow) are available as are Warforged, Tabaxi, Armand, Gith and Ibixian.
The topic, as most topics, are here to fuel ideas and possible inclusion in campaigns. Don't like it, don't do it.
I do like to read these articles. Some of them don't fit my campaign, but even then, sometimes they provide a tidbit that does and I can utilize it.
One issue I would take with this article is that if you have players who want to play something like the Eladrin, a human centric setting low fantasy setting where elves are amazingly mythical might not be the best game to run.
Love seeing new content and more variety coming to DnD and then people crying when their players pick something other than Human Fighter. If you're unable to make something mystical and rare just cause it's apart of your PCs party, then you're ******* awful at making things mystical and rare...
Yeah, but all the official support is... elsewhere. There's no content to support that, meaning... while I have plenty of *freedom* to make things how I want, it means I have to make *everything* from scratch.
From my experience of being a GM, IT IS OUR JOB NAY OUR DUTY [ bit humour imagine this in a self righteous voice] to stop restricting player choice because you can't envision what they are straight away, isn't going to end well for anybody. Your restricting your friends ability to have fun, as a GM its our job to work with our PC to facilitate an enjoyable story for the whole group. its the basics of DnD. Allowing a PC to create a character with a unique aspect to their race is alright, sure he will be rare and the chances that he would meet another of his kind is very low and I don't think I could emphasis this more, but this has potential for many plot points and situations. It has the possibility to take the campaign into different ways from a grim underworld where there's a mysterious collector of rare things to the party meeting another eladrin in search for help as somethings amiss in the fey wilds. This way you can allow a various amounts of tones in a campaign. it can go from a mystical tone to a horror like tone quite easily. The thing is you can apply such things to the other races even humans the most bog standard race if that's what your world entails. Like all things we play dnd with our friends not acquaintances but it you decide to play it like it was a video game with set types of races, speech bubbles and move sets, get a pc, Xbox or ps4 and stop trying to restricting others. Like all things you can be entitled to your opinion even if its wrong.
On a side note: while this is contradictory to what I just said its okay to ban a race if it doesn't make sense for a one shot or campaign, but banning it outright is wrong. You will only create a divide between you and your friends if they want to play that race. Thankfully Mike Mearls our lord and saviour, the Gabe Newells of DnD and the guy people should pray to a night time, created this race as he wouldn't have wrote it this way if it wasn't role-play possible, he just wants him and his friends to have fun like we do when we play DND.
I don't really care what people think of this comment, I'm just letting off steam, if you play Dnd you have your own interpretation of it that's fine but I don't think you should try and force it onto others as that's just destroying the image of what DnD represents. Imagination.
As final side note [sorry] If that's what the player character would do regardless of the race, gender, sexuality [ even if they like apache helicopters a lil too much] and the player himself, it doesn't matter, if that's what he's going to do, that's what he's going to do as he will have his own perspective of the situation, example, a good character steals some money, obviously everyone goes he wouldn't do that, but lets say the money was actually some kids down the road and he want to return it. Dnd is a big bag of moral grey as things can happen and it can all be skewed through the perspective of other people. The only time it would be truly acceptable to stop that character stealing that hefty bag of money [ rich kid amiright ;} ] is if he can't justify why the moral good character would steal that money. easily understandable for the rouge as he's usually a morally evil character that probably wants the money. Usually I like to think about the outcome they are thinking of rather of the action as that determines if its truly something the character would do
While I can see your point, and agree with it to an extent, I think that final jab is unfair.
For one: most of the DM's I know (myself included) are employed full time and have families. In addition to other hobbies or obligations, that means the time such folk have to dedicate to modifying a campaign is limited. While it's certainly possible (especially with a great big cup o' joe), it can be taxing, and if it gets too taxing, saps the joy out of it. The few that don't fit this description are just starting out as DM's and are still learning the tricks of the trade; still green when it comes to world building.
For second: Just because someone complains about something because they have an opinion that differs from your own doesn't make them awful. In addition to the reasons cited above, they just may plain dislike the idea. And that's fine. No matter what gets published, there will always be someone it doesn't click with, or who doesn't have the same point of view as you.
All fey and fey descendants in my campaign world are from another multiverse. The Shadowfell and Feywild are what's left of their "prime material" when it collided with the "main" one. I basically said the original fey were like the "elves" that Jeremy describes - amorphous beings without form, but curious about all living creatures. So I just made every sentient race in my campaign world a relatively logical extension of the "Fey"-ing up of the prime material.
Eladrin were the "mortal" incarnations of half-humans "wild" side fey.
Shadar-kai were the "mortal" incarnations of half-humans from "shadow" side fey.
For us, eladrin and shadar-kai are a historical footnote. No more real in 'modern' times than Atlanteans. If a player wanted to play one, we'd come up with a story of one in a mirror of life-trapping or something (the D&D equivalent of cryogenically frozen). Wouldn't say no; would just need to find a way to make it work. It's actually kind of an awesome idea, now that I think about it. Just spit balling, but maybe her name was Steh've R'ogers; and she was a grand captain in an ancient eladrin war against a red-skinned demon. I don't know, probably wouldn't work.
So I know I've seen these images of Eladrin from the different seasons somewhere else before, but I can't remember where. Could someone please help me with this?
Edit: As soon as I posted this, I remembered. They are from the monster section of MToF, I believe.
This is how we played elves when they were not just a race but a class in the great old days.
I actually play an Eladrin in one of my campaigns. I justified it with the backstory. He ran away from home as a young boy, and stumbled through a Fey Crossing in the woods. Before he realized it, it was too late. He was stuck in the Material Plane. Now the character's life goal is to find a way back home.
Seconding your sentiment.
"I *personally* don't like something, or think that it can be terrible in the "wrong" hands sooo.... GET RID OF IT." Yeah, this attitude is no fun and frankly, tiresome.
In my opinion, Eladrin make excellent additions to the fray, but like what I've read...
Does seem a little much.
We get info on the blood war. Awesome. But why not give us more stuff for the angelic Aasimar? Give THEM some options? Wizards of the Coast seem to have a serious issue with focusing on Player's Handbook races, when turn them the internet anyone can find the info on the ready of the races that exist.
That said, the campaign I run has a LOT of elves- literally set in a world where there are like 7-8 elven subtypes in the original writing. This gives resume to have them cast more as nymphs and true fae- alien to this world.
My own Eladrin, Amorea, is an oddball BECAUSE they are exotic- heck they're a spy for the Archfey Seelie Court, and a warlock with a patron who is a giant moth in disguise and it reflects on their outward appearance. Yet I haven't played them. But this means they have story potential- being this curious curious-looking being from the "other side of the mirror" as they put it who is supposed to tell their boss about the material plane but as it turns out is waaay too curious for their own good. Oh and they're locked into Autumn, just because I love the colors of fall.
Well, if you have pick up the books "The last mythal" eldrain comes up near the end of the second book, and at the start of the third. I seem them as a powerful subrace of elves. Maybe you could say that the pc doesn't know he is eldrain. Or perhaps he's just half eldrain. But hey, I have 2 celestrials and an aasimar. The first celestrial has orange skin and 4 arms while the other one is half unicorn so.... just be careful alright ^^
Best the loot to you! ^^
Yeah, I’m still new to D&D and I did make a character a Eladrin (Variant) Cleric. Now my DM allowed me to play and since I didn’t know much about this race I played her like a normal elf character, with some of the race traits, like not need to sleep so she mostly meditating or studying for she’s a scholar traveling to gain knowledge.
So let us make whatever characters we want, if you allow we should keep them. If the DM allows them we shall play them.