3.5 Counting as an Elf

[Triskavanski]

In 3.5 is there any way to count as an elf without being one? There is Stoneblessed that lets you count as a dwarf/golioth/ or gnome. And I could have sworn there was an elf one as well.

[Flickerdart]

You are thinking of Ruathar, but unfortunately it doesn't actually let you count as an elf.

[Triskavanski]

Well shoot.

[Darrin]

Mongrelfolk counts as elf for some things.

Changeling with the Racial Emulation feat.

One level in the Shaper of Form PrC (Dragon Compendium) lets you change your race, but the mechanics are a bit vague.

[HolyDraconus]

Half elf paragon class?

[Crake]

Half elf paragon class?

Don't half elves just count as elves innately?


Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf.

[John Longarrow]

What are you trying to count as an elf for?
And what level/resources are you bringing to bear to do so?

[Âmesang]

Honestly it shouldn't be all that broken to simply have an "Elven Blood(ed)" feat that would allow a character to count as elven for the purpose of effects; for example the offspring of a human/half-elf pairing — not enough elf blood to be considered a "half-elf," but still just enough to count for something, like arcane archer or being damaged by an elf bane weapon.

[Triskavanski]

The goal was to count as an elf for Wildrunner PC to get the Druid/Wizard PRC without being druid.

[Uncle Pine]

There is a ritual in Savage Species that you can use to get racial substypes like (goblinoid) and (elf). AFB, so I can't give you a page reference.

[Andezzar]

There is a ritual in Savage Species that you can use to get racial substypes like (goblinoid) and (elf). AFB, so I can't give you a page reference.That does not help. The PrC requires the race to be elf, not the character to have the elf subtype. Race, Type and Subtype are three distinct properties in D&D.

[Darrin]

Honestly it shouldn't be all that broken to simply have an "Elven Blood(ed)" feat that would allow a character to count as elven for the purpose of effects; for example the offspring of a human/half-elf pairing — not enough elf blood to be considered a "half-elf," but still just enough to count for something, like arcane archer or being damaged by an elf bane weapon.

There is an Elfblood feat in the Ghostwalk Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20031225a). But it can only be taken by half-elves, and all it does is make your racial abilities more "elf-like".


The goal was to count as an elf for Wildrunner PC to get the Druid/Wizard PRC without being druid.

Holt Warden 3 gets trackless step, although getting into that without druid might be iffy.

[Triskavanski]

Yeah, luckily the Archivist could fairly easily get there.

[Psyren]

Holt Warden 3 gets trackless step, although getting into that without druid might be iffy.

IIRC the standard trick there is to be a Bamboo Spirit Folk from OA. It was converted to 3.5 also.

[Darrin]

IIRC the standard trick there is to be a Bamboo Spirit Folk from OA. It was converted to 3.5 also.

Requirements specifies that it has to be a class feature. However, I can't imagine sticking that close to RAW is all that popular.

[Uncle Pine]

There is a ritual in Savage Species that you can use to get racial substypes like (goblinoid) and (elf). AFB, so I can't give you a page reference.

Found it: it's the Ritual of Association, a minor ritual from Chapter 11 of Savage species. It costs 56,000 gp and 2,240 xp, but it is otherwise a LA +0 ritual that will allow you to qualify for the Wildrunner PrC without wasting class levels or feats.
If you need a reference for why the elf subtype is sufficient to enter Wildrunner or other elf and half-elf-only PrCs, check the "Variant: half-humans and humanlike races" box on page 150 of RoD, which while it describes the consequences of adding the human subtype to humanlike races, it also points out the benefits of other racial subtypes:

"For most half-human races, this [adding the human subtype] is only a very minor change. Such races retain whatever humanoid subtypes they possessed, while gaining the human subtype. Half-elves, for example, would have both the human and elf subtypes, while half-orcs would have both the human and orc subtypes. [...] Tipically, the result is that such races enjoy all the benefits (and suffer all the drawbacks) provided by both subtypes. For example, half-elves could use human-only magic items while still qualifying for elf-only prestige classes.

[Andezzar]

Even the variant does nothing about PrCs or other things that require the race to be Elf. The variant grants them another subtype and they now enjoy the bonuses and drawbacks of both subtypes.

Equating subtype with race is simply false and not coverd by the rules. Red Dragons and Fire Elementals for example share the Fire subtype. Are they of the same race? Shadows and wraiths share a type on top of sharing a subtype. Are they of the same race? Is an orca of the same race as a huge shark?

You may want to read the rules of the Ritual of Association:
This minor ritual gives the character a racial subtype or type modifier such as gnoll, goblinoid, orc, or reptilian. (This ritual does not grant the human, dwarf, elf, gnome, and halfling subtypes of humanoid.)Emphasis mine.

[Triskavanski]

Shadow/Wraith - Actually they could be. If two elves walked into a bar and one was killed by a shadow and the other was killed by a wraith, they would be the same race still, even though the kind of undead they are would be different.

[Andezzar]

Does the race property survive death and becoming undead? AFAIK there are no rules about that.

[Crake]

Shadow/Wraith - Actually they could be. If two elves walked into a bar and one was killed by a shadow and the other was killed by a wraith, they would be the same race still, even though the kind of undead they are would be different.

that would be true if either was a template, but neither are. Their souls become straight up different creatures, they retain nothing of their former selves (except in some VERY rare circumstances, some residual memories). If you had used vampire and lich, that would have been correct, but not for shadow and wraith.


Even the variant does nothing about PrCs or other things that require the race to be Elf. The variant grants them another subtype and they now enjoy the bonuses and drawbacks of both subtypes.

Equating subtype with race is simply false and not coverd by the rules. Red Dragons and Fire Elementals for example share the Fire subtype. Are they of the same race? Shadows and wraiths share a type on top of sharing a subtype. Are they of the same race? Is an orca of the same race as a huge shark?

You may want to read the rules of the Ritual of Association:Emphasis mine.

The variant rule would seem to suggest that it is the elf subtype that grants the half elf the ability to take elf-only prestige classes, and the same reason that the human heritage feat would let anyone enter human-only prestige classes (by giving them the human subtype) despite not actually being the human race. Despite what you're saying, the RoD variant DOES equate the humanoid subtypes with being of those races.