Groups & Switching Classes
- There are two broad groups of elves: those that make their homes in the “woodlands” and those that prefer the remote “meadowlands.”
- Elves begin play as either fighters or magic-users. [1]
- Elves may switch class between adventures, but not during the course of a single game session.
- A new “adventure” is interpreted as any game session that begins in a safe homebase setting instead of a dungeon/underworld/wilderness setting. Example safe homebase settings include: non-hostile villages, towns, cities, keeps, castles, etc.
- Any elf that has switched class gains the benefits of both the fighter and magic-user classes in that:
- such elves may use the magical weaponry and armor available to the fighter class, even when acting as a magic-user.
- Experience is always tracked separately for each respective class, with earned experience during an adventure being allocated to the currently selected class.
- Elves that have switched class use the hit dice, saving throws, and the attack matrix for the currently selected class. Once a player has decided to undergo their first “switch,” it is recommended that two separate character sheets are kept. One will document the fighter class information and the other the information for the magic-user class.
- When a class switch occurs at the beginning of an adventure, hit points are re-rolled using the current hit dice of the selected class.
Other Abilities
- Elves gain +1 damage with magical weapons.
- Besides any bonus languages due to intelligence, elves speak the language of orcs, hobgoblins, and gnolls in addition to Elvish, Common, and their respective Alignment tongue. [2]
- Elves are immune to the paralyzing effect of ghouls.
- Elves can move silently.
- When actively searching, elves locate secret doors/passages on a 1-4 (on a d6 roll).
- Even when not actively searching, elves have a chance to passively sense the presence of secret doors/passages on a 1-2 (on a d6 roll).
- Elves can identify noises and detect other sounds on a 1-2 (on a d6 roll).
- Elves can force open doors on a 1-2 (on a d6 roll).
- Elves on foot may split-move and fire their bows (i.e., they may move up to one-half their normal movement and fire without penalty).
Additional Note: References to elves and invisibility are interpreted as only being possible with magical cloaks that are acquired during play or by casting an invisibility spell. Invisibility is not an innate ability possessed by elves.
Limitations
- Elves may not progress beyond 4th level as a fighter (i.e., a Hero).
- Elves may not progress beyond 8th level as a magic-user (i.e., a Warlock).
- Elves cannot be clerics.
[1] Instead of “Fighting-men,” I prefer to use the later and more gender-neutral class name “Fighters.”
[2] Woodland and meadowland elves are aligned with either Neutrality or Law.
Page Revised on 5/25/2025.
**Yes, I am updating my interpretation of OD&D Elves yet again! This is based on extensive play using just the 1974 OD&D booklets since my last update. I do not pretend to be emulating any “original” style of play or understanding of how elves were “supposed to be” used in the context of the rules. The above simply reflects what seems to be working for my games so far (especially in my particular campaign setting in which “elves” are twice-walkers that undergo ritual transformation when switching classes).
In short, I’m working from the interpretation that the “benefits of both classes” is primarily referring to restrictions around the use of magical items and spells. Thus, elves operating in both classes can “use magic armor and still act as Magic-Users,” or as the earlier D&D draft states, “they are able to utilize magic weaponry and spells at the same time.” However, they still actually switch classes, and while they have the benefits granted for both fighting-men and magic-users when it comes to magical weaponry, armor, and spells, they are otherwise operating in all other ways per the currently selected class. For my games, that means the hit dice, saving throws, and attack matrixes are based on the currently class. I no longer allow the most favorable of the two since the lifting of magical weaponry, magical armor, and spell restrictions (along with other advantages!) are enough. The ability to also choose from adventure to adventure is also an advantage that allows a player to plan accordingly and make a potentially important decision pertaining to gameplay (e.g., does one favor having more hit points or better saving throws, etc.). Lastly, while others have dismissed such class switching as “stupid” or “archaic,” the mechanic enhances the otherworldly strangeness of the “elves” in my games, and so it works for me and my players.