In the 2e core rulebook, there is an elf heritage called "cavern elf" that gives you darkvision.
It's my understanding that cavern elves aren't the same thing as drow but given that elves are said to adapt physical characteristics relating to their environment I would expect they look distinct from other elves.
I have searched the web and the various 2e core and lost omens books and I haven't seen a description or image of what a cavern elf might look like but I might've missed something. Can anyone point me to a reference?
(Side note, slightly irrelevant but my pandemic hobby has been taking up drawing so I would like to *attempt* to actually draw such an elf :D)
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Cavern elves per se were not a thing before PF2. We had the Jinin elves who are very distant cousins of the drows and have never been described as any different from usual elves, even though they too lived long below the earth.
Cavern elves in PF2 are really only elves with darkvision. You can describe them any way you like.
I picture elves adapted to an underground environment as an elven version of the Duergars or the Svirfneblins : gray skin, pale eyes, bald. Or their eyes could be completely black to better show the darkvision ability.
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About a year ago, someone asked James Jacobs (Paizo's Creative Director) for more information about Cavern Elves. There's really not much official information about them
As far as I know, no, no specific setting lore.Hi ,JJ
One of my player chose a Elf Heritages called"Cavern Elf"
And I never heard this(I think they are not the drows), and I can't found any setting about them in PF1 setting.
So I just assume they are elves living in the Cavern.
Does "Cavern Elf" have any story or setting I haven't find?
Thanks you.
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Cavern Elves don't necessarily look different from other elves any more than Anvil Dwarves look different from other dwarves or Versatile Humans look different than other Humans (Gnomes are a special case here).
The sorts of characteristics that cause members of a species to look different from each other run across heritages, they don't correspond with heritages.
Yeah, I think Paizo aimed to make Heritages less specifically tied to lore/appearances, so that question is unlikely to have clear specific answer, currently. That said, AFAIK there is only one specific example of "Cavern Elves" existing in the world of Golarion, that being Jinin in Tian Xia, so a more constructive question might be what do Jinin elves look like?
Yet AFAIK Paizo has never specifically distinguished the appearance of Jinin, while at the same time they have never specifically said "they look exactly like Kyonin elves" or Elves from Osirion or Mwangi Expanse. So far, I would say you could invent anything you want for how Jinin look, although I would say Paizo committing to a specific typical appearance would be welcomed. Personally, I like the idea of Jinin looking like Drow, which would also be a more final end to the correlation of Drow morality and their coloration.
The Dragon Empires Gazetteer had a picture of a Jinin elf in full samurai armor, albeit with an exposed face, & he looked like a standard elf. Blonde hair, fair skin. I might say his face looks a bit stern for an elf but there isn't anything in particular that I'd say distinguishes him from an elf from Kyonin, for example.
Of course that's a 9 year old book. I imagine that the internal design philosophy for what they want Jinin elves to look like has probably changed by now.