Elf Species Details
Created by the god Corellon, the first elves could change their forms at will. They lost this ability when Corellon cursed them for plotting with the deity Lolth, who tried and failed to usurp Corellon’s dominion. When Lolth was cast into the Abyss, most elves renounced her and earned Corellon’s forgiveness, but that which Corellon had taken from them was lost forever.
No longer able to shape-shift at will, the elves retreated to the Feywild, where their sorrow was deepened by that plane’s influence. Over time, curiosity led many of them to explore other planes of existence, including worlds in the Material Plane.
Elves have pointed ears and lack facial and body hair. They live for around 750 years, and they don’t sleep but instead enter a trance when they need to rest. In that state, they remain aware of their surroundings while immersing themselves in memories and meditations.
An environment subtly transforms elves after they inhabit it for a millennium or more, and it grants them certain kinds of magic. Drow, high elves, and wood elves are examples of elves who have been transformed thus.
Drow
Drow typically dwell in the Underdark and have been shaped by it. Some drow individuals and societies avoid the Underdark altogether yet carry its magic. In the Eberron setting, for example, drow dwell in rainforests and cyclopean ruins on the continent of Xen’drik.
High Elves
High elves have been infused with the magic of crossings between the Feywild and the Material Plane. On some worlds, high elves refer to themselves by other names. For example, they call themselves sun or moon elves in the Forgotten Realms setting, Silvanesti and Qualinesti in the Dragonlance setting, and Aereni in the Eberron setting.
Wood Elves
Wood elves carry the magic of primeval forests within themselves. They are known by many other names, including wild elves, green elves, and forest elves. Grugach are reclusive wood elves of the Greyhawk setting, while the Kagonesti and the Tairnadal are wood elves of the Dragonlance and Eberron settings, respectively.
Elf Traits
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium (about 5–6 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
Darkvision
You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Elven Lineage
You are part of a lineage that grants you supernatural abilities. Choose a lineage from the Elven Lineages table. You gain the level 1 benefit of that lineage.
When you reach character levels 3 and 5, you learn a higher-level spell, as shown on the table. You always have that spell prepared. You can cast it once without a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast it in that way when you finish a Long Rest. You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for the spells you cast with this trait (choose the ability when you select the lineage).
| Lineage | Level 1 | Level 3 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drow | The range of your Darkvision increases to 120 feet. You also know the Dancing Lights cantrip. | Faerie Fire | Darkness |
| High Elf | You know the Prestidigitation cantrip. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can replace that cantrip with a different cantrip from the Wizard spell list. | Detect Magic | Misty Step |
| Wood Elf | Your Speed increases to 35 feet. You also know the Druidcraft cantrip. | Longstrider | Pass without Trace |
Fey Ancestry
You have Advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the Charmed condition.
Keen Senses
You have proficiency in the Insight, Perception, or Survival skill.
Trance
You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep. You can finish a Long Rest in 4 hours if you spend those hours in a trancelike meditation, during which you retain consciousness.
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Posted Mar 3, 2026How do I use Shadar-Kai?
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Posted Mar 3, 2026The Shadar-Kai species option is from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. To use it in the character builder, you'll need to own that book (or have access to it through content sharing in a campaign) and enable "5e Expanded Rules" on the Home tab.
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Posted Mar 5, 2026Elf
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Posted Mar 13, 2026Why remove the Drow? I was literally building a drow, I wasn't finished, and I come back and the Drow is removed as a choice. Argh!
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Posted Mar 13, 2026Nothing has been removed. The Drow choice for Elven Lineage is right where it always was.
If you're talking about the old-style Drow "subrace" option for the 5e Elf, that also has not been removed and is also still right where it always was: https://www.dndbeyond.com/species/3-elf#Drow
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Posted Mar 14, 2026I was referring to the character builder as an option for the free account. It was removed as a free option when they named the "revised 2024-25" content to "5.5 ed.". It has since been returned, but I have witnesses just no screenshot. I didn't mean it was removed from cannon, only from the builder and to voice my frustration. Happy it is back as an option in the builder.
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Posted Mar 15, 2026Drow
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Posted Mar 17, 2026Update; the drow only remains as an option in the character building app so long as a class is not selected. As soon as a class is selected, the Drow race option is removed and appears to dissappear as if it is a payed option only. Very frustrating situation that reinforces the pay to play model of the D&D Beyond model. Pay for every book twice, be told at a drop of a hat that it isn't enough, membership dues are due, and the sandbox isn't just theirs its a trademark or copyright infringement to play the game outside of the sandbox. If they could find a way to monetize it we will have to pay to play at our own table tops.
Not directed at you wagnarokkr only the monitors of monetization.
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Posted Mar 17, 2026I totally understand your frustration here, and certainly WotC has made some questionable decisions lately, but I am like 99% sure that's not what's happening in this case. It works perfectly fine for me, and selecting a class has never had any impact on the availability of species selections (either in the rules, or in the tool) before, so I think it's far more likely that you're experiencing some kind of technical bug.
I may be able to help with that, since I've used this tool a lot over the years. When you say "Drow", are you talking about selecting "Drow" itself as a species option? Or are you talking about selecting "Elf" as your species option, and then selecting "Drow" under the "Elven Lineage" feature?
The former, "Drow" as a subrace of Elf, has never been a free option. It comes from the 2014 Player's Handbook. If you don't own the digital version of that book on D&D Beyond, the only way to get access to it is by joining a campaign where the content is being shared. If you had access and it suddenly went away, it could be for any of these reasons:
On the other hand, if you are talking about using the 5.5e Elf species and selecting "Drow" for "Elven Lineage" (i.e., the species that this page you're on right now is about) then that has always been available as a free option as it's included in the free Basic Rules product. If you're not seeing it in the Elven Lineage drop-down, what options do you see in there?
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Posted Mar 27, 2026high elfs are so op
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Posted Apr 1, 2026Hai
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Posted Apr 7, 2026That was when elf was something you took levels in, yes?
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Posted Apr 11, 2026Elf is what I am and will be endless there is a cat humanoid
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Posted Apr 13, 2026There is! They're called Tabaxi. You can find them in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. See here.
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Posted Apr 18, 2026I want to do like an ice elf play off what elf do I choose
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Posted Apr 20, 2026I love the elf
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Posted Apr 22, 2026If you have the 2014 PHB (like I do) then yes, outdated. It also says you need permission to play a drow, maybe that why they're so rare. But I'm making one now. I never felt like calling my DM in the middle of the night before a new game. I even want a wig
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Posted Apr 22, 2026A lot of heros do not grow up in their species/family environment. Think about Moses, King Arthur, Harry Potter, and children of drug addicts who live with grandparents or get adopted, war babies and refugees that go to another country. If you live in a first-world country, you may be cloistered from these facts.
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Posted Apr 22, 2026I'm fairly new to DnD and I think the new book is MUCH easier to read and understand. Here's an interesting story: I play at my local library and my character died. (RiP 🥺😘) so I asked the Librarian-GM for a new character sheet and he said, "I can't give those out anymore. They aren't ADA compliant." A few weeks later I was at a different game at a different library and after our session the different Librarian-GM said, "Guys, I have to get rid of these old character sheets, they aren't ADA compliant. Does anybody want one?" Also, when trying to find the DnD books on audio format, I found they are in the Books for the Blind Library.
So, putting all these clues together, I think the new books have something to do with helping the blind and disabled be able to play DnD in public places. (As I said, they helped me just understand how to play better and build a character easier.) However, I don't really know, just speculating🤔
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Posted Apr 22, 2026I will say, this makes adding subraces pretty easy for elf. You just have to use the table presented, and keep it balanced. For example, Sea Elf.
Level 1: You can breathe air and water, and have a swim speed equal to your speed. You also know the Shape Water cantrip (from 2014, since it makes more sense then Elementalism) and Resistance to Cold damage.
Level 3: Create or Destroy Water
Level 5: Speak with Animals, which you can cast a number of times without a spell slot equal to your Proficiency Bonus. Regained on a Long Rest.
Second example, Eladrin.
Level 1: Choose a season. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can change your choice of season, but has no effect outside of your personality at this level. As a Bonus Action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet, number of uses equals your Proficiency Bonus, regained on a Long Rest.
Level 3: When you use your teleportation, an extra effect based on your chosen Season occurs.
Level 5: Nothing, since you already get multiple uses of what amounts to Misty Step at level 1, with bonus effects at level 3. As you can imagine, Shadar-Kai look very similar to this, mirroring their 2014 option, but spread out via the lineage...