Eladrin 5e

The elfiest of DnD elves wear their magic on their sleeve.

“One moment her eyes shot sunbeams, the next, daggers of ice. She was neither here, nor there, but forever midstream.”

What are Eladrin 5e?

Eladrin 5e, also called Fey Eladrin, are a subrace of Elves that can change their abilities and outer appearance based on their association with a season.

Eladrin evolved in the Feywild, a plane of powerful magic and wild emotion, after being cast out of the divine realm of Arvandor. They are magical creatures hovering between fey and human existence.

Eladrin Culture

Eladrin are elves that have dwelled in the Feywilds so long that the chaotic magics of the world have seeped into them. They are the oldest of the Elven subspecies and have been around in the world longer than any other. They can be found in the sourcebook Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse.

While in the Feywilds, the Eladrin gave into their emotions and the magic of their new home. They become excellent builders and crafted mind-bending structures that seemed to defy physics. 

Many Eladrin gave themselves wholly to the Feywild becoming fey themselves. The Eladrin that still wander the world, blinking back and forth between the material plane and the Feywild, are actually the remnants of the Eladrin that did not give themselves completely to the Feywild. 

They tend to be as carefree and mischievous as the other denizens of the Feywild, but they have also been known to be roused to anger and leave their home in search of adventure. 

Eladrin Appearance

Eladrin have similar characteristics to other Elves in DnD. They are tall and slender, but the Eladrin are described as being thinner than other variants of Elves.

Their most distinctive characteristics are their eyes. The Eldarin’s mix of fey and elven ancestry has given them magical powers of the fey realm thats hidden beneath the surface. This comes out in their eyes, which almost seem to glow or shimmer.  

Just as the season change, so do the Eladrin change with their own personal seasons. 

Spring

Spring Eldarin show happy and hopeful emotions. They will typically choose the Spring season when celebrating or in a jovial mood. This can be represented in their dress and shifting of hair and body color. 

Their skin and hair shift to green tones and their dress typically follows suit. 

Summer

Eladrin choose the Summer season when bold action is necessary. When angered Eladrin will often choose Summer to amplify their combat abilities. Although most associated with anger, this is not the only reason Eladrin choose summer. This could also be due to their adventurous spirit or any other decisive mood that they feel. 

Eladrin in the Summer season seem to radiate heat from their skin and their eyes can feel like they’re boring holes into those they look at. 

Fall 

Eladrin in the Fall season shift their colors again to bright oranges and yellows. These Eladrin are at peace and in a restful state. This is typically associated with a happy nature for the Eladrin and akin to the Fall harvest when work is done and they can relax.

Winter

The Eladrin’s hair and skin tone shifts again with winter. Their hair and skin grow white. 

Eladrin that choose the Winter season are typically in mourning or periods of self-doubt and reflection. They become contemplative and turn inwards. 

Eladrin Racial Stats 5e

These are the current Eladrin stats per Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse. The Eladrin’s signature move is the Fey Step, which lets them dip into the Fey and back out again, with different benefits depending on their current season.

• Ability Score Increase. + 2 on one score and + 1 on another, or +1 on three different scores. No scores above 20.
• Creature Type. Humanoid. Considered an elf for prerequisites or effects that require elves.
• Age. Up to 750 years or more.
• Alignment. Chaotic Neutral.
• Size. From 5 to 6 feet tall and 130-180 lbs. Medium size.
• Speed. 30 feet.
• Darkvision. 60 feet.
• Languages.  Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other appropriate language (discuss with your DM).
• Keen Senses. Proficiency in Perception.

Trance

You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep. You can enter a trance-like meditation for 4 hours a day, receiving the same benefits as a long rest.

Changing Seasons

Upon exiting trance, you can change your season and receive two proficiencies of your choice, along with a weapon or tool that goes with them. The benefit lasts until the end of the next long rest.

Changing seasons is a great way to add versatility to an Eldarin character and makes for some interesting RP choices. 

You could stay in Autumn or Spring for the majority of the time, but after a tragedy or when facing off an arch nemesis you can switch to Summer for more damage-dealing capacity. 

It’s a cool thematic flair that ties into the fey and natural elements of the Eladrin and each of the different seasons can be extremely useful in niche situations. 

Fey Ancestry

Advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the charmed condition on yourself. 

Fey Step

As a bonus action, magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Use a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Refresh uses on a long rest.

At 3rd level, Fey Step gains an additional effect based on your season. If the effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier (choose when you select this race):

• Autumn. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, up to two creatures of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you for 1 minute, or until you or your companions deal any damage to the creatures.

• Winter. When you use your Fey Step, one creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you before you teleport must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

• Spring. When you use your Fey Step, you can touch one willing creature within 5 feet of you. That creature then teleports instead of you, appearing in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you.

• Summer. Immediately after you use your Fey Step, each creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you takes fire damage equal to your proficiency bonus.

Eladrin vs Eladrin Variant

The Eladrin Variant 5e first appeared in the 5e Dungeon’s Master’s Guide as an example of subrace creation. Eladrin Variants were basically High Elves with Fey Step, instead of an extra language and a free cantrip. 

Eladrin 5e then received changes after becoming more official in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, and additional changes in Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse.

If you want to play an original Eladrin High Elf or an Eladrin Variant 5e, use an Elf’s base stats and then add the following respective perks.

Both Eladrin variant 5e and Eladrin High Elf 5e get:

• Intelligence. +1 
• Elf Weapon Training. Proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.

Eladrin High Elf 5e gets:

• Extra Language. Speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.
• Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.

Eladrin variant 5e gets:

• Fey Step. You can cast the Misty Step spell once per short or long rest.

How good is Eladrin 5e?

Eladrin is a fantastically fun race to play. Aside from Centaurs, they are the most alien DnD race in terms of the fey-human spectrum.

They are on the bright side of the spectrum, and should make your game shine! Fey-stepping around is a riot, and you can always change your season if you get bored!

How to play an Eladrin 5e

Going “full fey” is the most fun way to play an Eladrin. Roll a d4 during a long rest or trance, and let the fey come as it may. 

Tailor your spells according to your seasonal mood swings for even more chaos—and immersion.

Appearance-wise, you look like your season. Green skin and flowery hair in spring, bluish complexion and frost hanging off your brow in winter.

Autumn Eladrin 5e

Roll a 1. Peace and goodwill, when summer’s harvest is shared with all.

Avoid violence. Heal and help. Have even-tempered interactions. Cast spells like Calm Emotions, Cure Wounds, Greater Restoration, Heal, Lesser Restoration, Raise Dead, and Sleep.

Winter Eladrin 5e

Roll a 2. Contemplation and dolor, when the vibrant energy of the world slumbers.

Be cynical. Give cold responses and zap energy. Isolate and contemplate. Cast spells like Cone of Cold, Fog Cloud, Gust of Wind, and Ice Storm.

Spring Eladrin 5e

Roll a 3. Cheerfulness and celebration, marked by merriment and hope as winter’s sorrow passes.

Celebrate everything. Throw caution to the wind. Be joyous and inviting. Cast spells like Charm Person, Confusion, Enthrall, Hallucinatory Terrain, Otto’s Irresistible Dance, Suggestion, and Tasha’s Hideous Laughter.

Summer Eladrin 5e

Roll a 4. Boldness and aggression, a time of unfettered energy and calls to action.

Be quick to anger. Think passion and confrontation. Strike fear in timid hearts. Inspire awe with your speed and physical strength.

What class is best for Eladrin?

Sorcerers or Wizards

With the ability to increase any ability score plus Teleport with Fey Step, you can tailor your spells for each season or environment.

Horizon Walker Rangers

Portal and teleportation abilities synergize with Fey Step.

Oath of the Ancients Paladins

Per the Player’s Handbook, they are “old as the race of elves and the rituals of the druids” and are “sometimes called fey knights.” Harness nature to be a living guardian of each season.

Druids

Intimately connected with nature. If your DM agrees, change your Druid subclass depending on the season:

• Autumn: Circle of the Shepherd
• Winter: Circle of the Land
• Spring: Circle of the Moon
• Summer: Circle of Wild Fire.

College of Glamour Bards

Per Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, they have “mastered their craft in the vibrant realm of the Feywild” and were “tutored by pixies, satyrs, eladrin, and other fey to delight and captivate others.”

These Bards use their hypnotic musical skills for good or evil, which also fits with Eladrin’s chaotic neutral alignment.

---

GameCows Tip: Play different kinds of music to fit with the season! Bubblegum pop on your Mac-Fuirmidh Cittern for Summer, and lonesome dirges on your Zulkoon for Winter!

---

Barbarians

From a stats and ability perspective, Eladrin make excellent Barbarians.

While using their Barbarian Rage, they can teleport directly into a group of enemies, lighting them on fire with the Summer season abilities, and then cleaving them to pieces. 

The Fey were also considered violent when they chose to be, and a Barbarian Fey could be an absolute monster on the battlefield. 

Eladrin Lore

Eladrin are the offspring of Corellon, the patron god of all elves. A popular myth says elves emerged from Corellon’s divine blood after he was stabbed in envy by the orc-god Gruumsh. 

Elves once shared Corellon’s rootless, bodiless, changeable nature and could travel anywhere in the multiverse. But then the elven god Lolth questioned Corellon’s wisdom and nurtured the elves with dreams of visibility, power, possessions, and bodies to call their own.

Lolth’s call was heeded, which is when elves began to attain fixed forms based on their preferences, such as wood elves and sea elves. 

When the elves realized Lolth was vying for Corellon’s throne, they recanted against her, but it was too late. Corellon felt betrayed and cast the elves out of Arvandor, dooming them to mortality and fixed humanoid forms.

The first place the exiled elves settled was the Feywild, which reminded them of Arvandor due to its wild, intense, and unpredictable nature. 

Many elves then ventured into the multiverse. Those who stayed in the Feywild became Eladrin. After centuries of immersion in primal Fey magic, Eladrins regained some of their original powers of mutation, becoming one step closer to Corellon.

Celestial Eladrin 5e

Celestial Eladrin became so imbued with the power of the Fey, that they were offered grace by the elven gods and let back into Arvandor.

Celestial Eladrin are so glorious that the elven gods enjoy their company. They are servants to the elven gods and can navigate all planes.

Eladrin 5e Names

Eladrin names tend to be extravagant and ancient-sounding. Similar to the New Genasi 5e, they may also have names reflecting their inner nature, or their season of preference. 

Male Eladrin Names	Female Eladrin Names
Margrephor Moondown	Illacahne Windwalker
Rolrastra Laughingwater	Korahanna Mistwinter
Quomendi Briarbosk	Briqirith Lightshiver
Agrivar Autumnfire	Elroprath Windstar
Otircorin Oakwood	Quawirn Nightmeadow
Meirtiyn Morningdove	Durlynna Silverbow
Danis Leafbower	Caeneth Summerstars
Urafyra Erlshade	Metora Greencloak
Jelensanna Moonglade	Panykos Eveningfall
Narknis Duskmere	Grumiris Doedance

Eladrin 5e FAQs

To Fey or not to Fey? Hopefully, that’s no longer a question! Answer your other DnD questions about Gnoll 5e, Pseudodragon 5e, and Eldritch Knight 5e while you’re at it.