Homebrew Desert 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.
Desert Elves
Desert elves have been shaped by arid lands, endless horizons, and the strange magic that gathers where sunlight, sand, and silence meet. Some dwell in hidden oasis-cities, caravan enclaves, salt flats, or ancient ruins half-buried beneath the dunes. Others wander from settlement to settlement, serving as guides, scouts, lorekeepers, or guardians of forgotten roads.
The magic of the desert lives within these elves. It sharpens their senses beneath glaring suns, teaches them patience amid scarcity, and lends them an uncanny affinity for mirages, heat, and shifting sand. To outsiders, desert elves can seem distant or severe, but their reserve often masks a deep reverence for memory, hospitality, survival, and the fragile balance of life in harsh places.
Desert elves are known by many names across different worlds, including dune elves, sun elves, sand elves, and mirage elves. In some cultures, they are regarded as descendants of elves who followed ancient crossings into blazing wastelands and chose to remain there until the desert itself transformed them.
Desert Elf Traits
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium (about 5–6 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
Darkvision
You have Darkvision with a range of 30 feet.
Elven Lineage
You are part of a lineage that grants you supernatural abilities. You gain the level 1 benefit of the lineage as shown on the Elven Lineages Table.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Ef | You gain resistance to Fire damage. You know the Fire Bolt cantrip. If you already have it, you can replace that cantrip with a different cantrip from the Wizard spell list. | Longstrider | Blur |
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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