Elves and Eladrin in 5e

[Bjarkmundur]

I'm confused. I currently have three or four different versions of the Eladrin subrace open in different tabs. Which one is the "right", "final" or at least the most recent version?

Also, what are the implications of being either a Wood Elf, High Elf or Eladrin.

And last but not least, can you give me some world building tips regarding an Elven Capital and its general view on the surrounding kingdoms.

If Eladrin are from the Feywild, how can I make my Eladrin invested in the results of the 100 year war in my campaign setting's kingdom?

[Monster Manuel]

Not sure what you're looking for regarding the implications of being a Wood, High, or other type of Elf, other than these being subraces that are available for an Elf character, and that they will likely have some place in the lore of the world you;re playing in. The other stuff, I think I can address, though.

The Eladrin has gone through a lot of revisions, and there have been a couple of attempts to get a working version of the Eladrin in Unearthed Arcana playtests. The "first" iteration was the one in the DMG, which presented an Eladrin as an example of what you could do in the "creating your own subraces" section. It's arguable whether this was ever intended as playable, or if it was just an example. Not Adventurer;s League legal, at any rate. After that, we had a couple of unofficial rounds of Eladrin from the UA articles. Unearthed Arcana, if you're not familiar with it, is stuff that WotC is workshopping, and presenting to the community to try out and comment on, before it appears in a "real" book. The latest, final, official version of the Eladrin was presented in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. It;s the one with the 4 seasons-related powers, that change with their mood. Since this is the one that appeared in a real book as a playable race, that's the one you should consider "official".

For the last thing, one way you could get the Eladrin invested in the 100-year war in your world is to tie them to one of the kindgoms involved. Maybe they've taken a young king under their wing and are trying to help him grow into a great ruler, and now this other upstart kingdom is trying to kill him. They can't just swoop in and end it, because he has to learn and grow, but they are watching carefully, and helping from afar when they can. Or, maybe one of the rulers is a half-elf, whose parent was an Eladrin and the Feywild contingent are either supportive of their long-lost half-brother, or resentful of the shameful disgrace to their people. Just remember that they are seeing a 100-year-war as a mere blip in history, they take the long view of things.

Hope that's what you were looking for.

[Man_Over_Game]

To chime in on the reasons for getting invested, it stands to reason that the Eladrin have access to Divination magic to see into the future. Perhaps the war sets something in motion that is important to their way of life. Perhaps one side losing the war actually ends up causing the winning side to gain power and open up gateways to other worlds, causing change to the Eladrin's way of life. Like Manuel said, these guys are thinking long-term, so it doesn't always have to make immediate sense.

[2D8HP]

I'm confused. I currently have three or four different versions of the Eladrin subrace open in different tabs. Which one is the "right", "final" or at least the most recent version?


:confused: Tabs?

As far as I know the Eladrin that were in the on-line Unearthed Arcana PDF's have been superseded by the Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/mordenkainens-tome-foes) book in which the Eladrin have different seasonal themed personalities and abilities which may be changed per long rest.

It's a book with lots of Dungeons & Dragons lore, and I recommend going to a local game store and giving them money for which they will give you the book.

[MaxWilson]

If Eladrin are from the Feywild, how can I make my Eladrin invested in the results of the 100 year war in my campaign setting's kingdom?

Maybe it's the Malazan influence talking, but I say--destroy the Feywild. If the Eladrin home plane has been destroyed and they are refugees now on the Prime Material, they not only have a great reason to be interested in the elven civil war, they might even be their own faction in that war, fighting for living space and their ancient way of life. Complications and dynamic situations are great for meaningful play.

It also sets up an nice ominous tension with whatever mysterious force or entity was responsible for destroying the Feywild in the first place. Drop some hints but leave it open at first. (Bonus points if it was ice zombies.)

[Millstone85]

Also, what are the implications of being either a Wood Elf, High Elf or Eladrin.Here is my take.

One of the running themes of D&D is the divide between arcane magic and divine magic. Practitioners of divine magic, especially that of nature, often regard the use of arcane magic as being all too volatile.

In this context, the fey are an oddity. They are strongly associated with both nature and arcana. And elves, who have fey ancestry, are commonly envisioned as wizarding tree-huggers.

But then, the subraces that are high elves and wood elves reemphasize the split. A high elf can be a druid and a wood elf can be a wizard, but the reverse is much more common.

Buuut then comes the Feywild, an entire plane where the line between arcane magic and the forces of nature seems really blurry. As elves of the Feywild, the eladrin might not even be familiar with the distinction.

[Bjarkmundur]

Thanks guys!

I have a first-time player who wants to be an elf. But I want to give her sense of the heritage and make her feel like an elf (as opposed to a human with long ears).

When the Mage Wars ended the war magics had ruined a lot of the land and defile many beautiful places. As a result the Sorcerer King banned War magic, and at the same time made sure no one would ever be powerful enough to oppose him.

The four kingdoms had been warring for a long time, and it ended when all the head mages and Kings were dead, and one was left standing.

We are on a quest to end the anti-magic laws and the Sorcerer King's Reign. We have a fighter of Royal blood that the people will gladly see sitting on the throne and unite the kingdoms in peace.

How can I hook the High Elf or Eladrin society in? I can make one of the factions be a Elven citadel, but aren't eleves more likely to just close themselves off Wakanda style?
How does a single Eladrin come in to all this? Why is she invested in peace and free use of magic?

She didn't like the idea of a revenge mission btw, but with a different take on it I might ask her again. For example all the animals that died or the forests that where eliminated.