Albino elves or cave elves

[Vorbis]

So i understand that drow are darkskinned because it represent their dark souls (or they were bound with shadow in Eberron). But most underground dwelling things tend toward lighter if not albino pigmentation. So I was wondering if there were any albino cave elves out there (that are already in a supplement, I'm not looking for how to make some).

[Kvantum]

The only albino cave elves I remember ever seeing were the Shadow Elves in Mystara, the "Known World" OD&D setting. Luckily enough, the downloads for the products are still on WotC's site, FOR FREE. Go to http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads and search for Mystara Campaign Setting, then download. The mechanical details will of course need conversion, but the flavor's still there.

[Bellona]

I seem to remember some non-Drow subterranean elves in Night Below (a 2e campaign box). They had developed some interesting earth and stone magic (including some sort of teleport ability between various earth nodes). As far as I recall, they were not dark-skinned.

[Frostflame]

Bellona wrote:

I seem to remember some non-Drow subterranean elves in Night Below (a 2e campaign box). They had developed some interesting earth and stone magic (including some sort of teleport ability between various earth nodes). As far as I recall, they were not dark-skinned.

You remember quite correctly, they were the rockseer elves. If you managed to return to them a certain crystal of unknown powers which if I recall only they know how to use, they helped you out alot when you assaulted the City of the Glass Pool.

[The Eldritch Mr. Shiny]

Kvantum wrote:

The only albino cave elves I remember ever seeing were the Shadow Elves in Mystara, the "Known World" OD&D setting. Luckily enough, the downloads for the products are still on WotC's site, FOR FREE. Go to http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads and search for Mystara Campaign Setting, then download. The mechanical details will of course need conversion, but the flavor's still there.

Linked for you.

[Rezdave]

Surprisingly, not only is the only GAZ there the one you need, but there also seems to be some info on the Hollow World Schattenalfen, which might also be interesting. They are not entirely subterranean, but live in caves and ride giant bats, IIRC.

Be forwarned with GAZ 13, however, that the backstory and development of the Shadow Elves is pretty far out there. Of course you can adapt it, but their culture is closely tied to a unique backstory. Still, I own it and found it interesting.

I do agree with the whole "cave-dwelling elves should be albino" philosophy. In my homebrew I explain drow as-follows:

Spoiler:

Drow are actually most closely related to the nocturnal elven progenitor-race ... you know, the one that worshipped the moon and gives the elves their low-light vision. The "good" elves only became light-skinned when they became diurnal, forcing their darker-skinned and "evil" night-time brethren out of their ancestral homelands and into caves through genocidal purges and such. That's why drow don't like surface elves all that much.

FWIW,

Rez

[Set]

Vorbis wrote:

But most underground dwelling things tend toward lighter if not albino pigmentation.

Traditionally, in D&D, elves seem to adapt to the coloration of their surroundings. The gray elves, described as mountain dwellers, tend to be palest and fairest of skin and hair. The high elves, living in and around human lands, tend to have caucasian colorations. The wild elves and grugach, living deepest in the forests, where light barely reaches the ground, are described as nut-brown. The sea elves, living underwater, are blue or green. The dark elves, living in lightless conditions, are the darkest of all. Old dragon articles even introduced arctic dwelling Tundra Elves, who were bone-white.

So really, what happens to humans with melanin and vitamin D and all that, doesn't seem to have anything to do with elven pigmentation, which seems to adjust to their surroundings.

You could go with albino underdark-dwelling elves, and make the 'Sun Elves' the most tanned and dark, to mix things up (or throw a wrench in the 'dark = bad' trope by making the white elves evil and the black ones good), but the precedent seems to be that elves who get a lot of sun bleach and elves who avoid light darken.

The idea itself is neat, and it might be fun to port it over to another race, such as the Gnomes, having the sun-worshippers being pale white and the 'deep gnomes' being dark (which would subvert the 'dark = evil' thing anyway, since the deep gnomes are just as good as the surface gnomes, for those bothered by the Unfortunate Implications of darkbad).

[yellowdingo]

If you look in your old english section of a Dictionary; Albho: pale elf, spirit.

So pale as to be spirit like...Now that is an elf. Wraith-like. If you want an Albho, slap on a Ghost Template.

[Jandrem]

There actually are albino Drow, called Xarkai(sp) featured in the Drow of the Underdark 3.5 book. They have the same stats as Drow, but have a very different position in Drow culture. They are often times used as spies and sent to the surface to infiltrate, since they can pass for normal elves much easier than their onyx-colored brethren.

My wife is actually playing as one in our Drow Wars campaign. She tried to keep it a secret from the other players, but they had suspicions for a long time. Made for some really fun/interesting inter-character plot development.

[Vorbis]

Vorbis wrote:

I'm not looking for how to make some).

yellowdingo wrote:

If you look in your old english section of a Dictionary; Albho: pale elf, spirit.

So pale as to be spirit like...Now that is an elf. Wraith-like. If you want an Albho, slap on a Ghost Template.

While that does sound interesting (as it must have when they ran it in Dragon), a ghost elf does not equal a albino cave elf.

[MrFish]

I actually use albinism and paleness for the Drow in my game; I agree with the idea that they'd be pale rather than dark. I think that the blackness of the Drow was evil. Sounds kinda 19th century don't it?