Forest Elves

characters, Fantasy, magic, roleplay, steampunk, Writing / By

When you’re in the woods, there are definitely eyes watching you and it is likely that those are elf eyes, indeed, whether in old fantasy or a stroll through a modern 21st century city park!

Few fantasy worlds exist that don’t include elves of some kind or other, and the forest or wood elves with their affinity for nature abound! Here are some ideas to help you shape some woodsy elves to suit your narrative…

First Impressions and Descriptions

  • forest elf, wood elf, canopy elves, tree elves, conifer elvers, boreal eolfs, rainforest elves, copse elf,
  • some tree elves may be named by tree variety: oak elf (hard and stern by nature), willow elf (flexible and playful, but tends toward weeping), poplar elf (not to be confused with a popular elf who has a lot of friends), birch eolf, maple ulf (fond of syrup),
  • range from playful, boisterous, welcoming and energetic, to suspicious, tricky, confrontational, affronting,
  • tall, lanky, thin, majestic, graceful,
  • short, lithe, roguish, spry, spritely,
  • mousy, reclusive, stealthy, coy, hidden, quiet, shy, inhibited,
  • scampering, dancing, pesky, spunky,
  • clothed in natural fibres, special elven weaves, light leather, doe-skin, bark armour, cuirboille,
  • carry bows, spears, darts, wooden spiked weapons, thorn spikes, short swords, daggers,
  • magic, magical abilities, spells, charms, enchantments, illusions,
  • stealthy, sneaky, sly, hiding skills, dexterous, agile, quick, shifty,

Environments

  • woods, jungle, forest, rain forest, temperate forest,
  • old woods, ancient forest,
  • copse, thicket,
  • park, sanctuary, retreat,
  • dead standing trees, snags,
  • river valley, vale,
  • vegetation,
  • vines, roots, climbing stems, branches, shoots,
  • rich, fertile forest floor: moss, mushrooms, coarse woody debris, humus, soil, dirt, organic decay, pine needles, dropped leaves, fallen trees, fungi, stumps, logs, muskeg,
  • sink hole, bog, marsh, wetland, gully, ravine, quicksand,
  • creek, brook, river, rivulet, runoff, floodplain, delta, bayou,
  • bedrock, rocky outcrop, bluff, cliff, overhang, berm, ridge, rise, hump, hillock, kame, dune,
  • mist, humidity, dankness, moist air, rain, dampness,
  • dim light, low light, filtered light, mottled light,

Stuff

  • ornately carved wooden staff, cane, quarterstaff, walking stick,
  • bow, longbow, short bow, recurve bow, yew, ash, oak, bamboo, hickory, laminated, enchanted, magically endowed, juniper, black walnut, rosewood,
  • wooden blades (special magical thingies), elfin steel blades (light and magical forged in magical fires… or whatever),
  • longhouses, canopy platforms, tree burrows, root dens, hovels, huts, houses, estates, wooden castles, spires, towers, rope villages, suspended hamlets, tree tents,
  • may live in one gigantic tree trunk, on mounted outer platforms, in carved wooden family dens, in great halls on branches, in hammock-like structures made of wood and leaf fibers,
  • pretty much everything is green and brown, camouflage-like,

Special Wood Elf Abilities

  • magic, spellcasting, invocation, animal summoning, charm, illusion,
  • stealth, moving silently, sneaking, hiding in trees and shadows,
  • magic clothing, staves, rings, wands,
  • enchanted weapons,
  • skills leaping from tree to tree, traveling the forest canopy, jumping, landing, rolling, parkour!
  • seeing in dark forests, low light,
  • keen sense of hearing,
  • speaking with animals and trees, befriending animals and trees,
  • healing, herbal tinctures and treatments,
  • knowledge of ancient lore of the forest,

Notes and Ideas

  • Woodland elves can live in any number of arrangements: solitary, matriarchal family groups, clans, extended family, patriarchal bands, tribes, confederacies, feudal systems, democracies,
  • Forest elves may live insulated, self-sufficient, protective lives or may have trade systems with others.
  • Elves invariably carry an aura of magic, perhaps able to cast spells or vanish. Lots of their spells are of the nature variety (naturally).
  • The nuisance variety of wood elf can be a real bother to hunters and adventurers while in the woods. The elves will tease, taunt, trick, and trap visitors until successful in clearing the wanderers from their forest. They take pure delight in this. Some of their antics may include: stealing items; kidnapping a party member and tying them to a tree for the others to find; making well timed noises so as to keep the party awake at night (Waking Wood was named for just such a thing); showing strange lights to lure folks off paths; appearing and vanishing; making critters appear to talk and give terrible omens; poking holes in waterskins; throwing bee hives at adventurers; singing terribly rude songs about the visitors; etc.
  • Some wood elves may in fact venture out of the woods, but this is not very common. Their ecosystem has virtually all that they need to survive. They do tend to be curious but living for hundreds of years, they are in no rush to find out answers.
  • Consider if your wood elves are hunters, gatherers, or both. Or neither; is there domestication of plants and animals? Small gardens or orchards, and a coop or sty for small animals? Are they nomadic, moving from camp to camp, or do they have a haven, canopy city, longhouse, lodge, wooden castle.
  • You could have forest elves consider themselves a part of the natural world and live a very eco-friendly environment. They may be thankful for what nature gives them and do their best to protect their world of the woods.
  • If you’re creating gods, heros, and deities for your wood elves, you may want to make them nature oriented: celestial (Mother Moon), variety of trees (Elm Lord), water (God of Brooks), leaves, trunk, branches, roots, soil, bugs, worms, butterflies, moss… no shortage of flora and fauna to worship and adore!

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