Wild elf

Wild elves or green elves, also known as sy-tel-quessir or grugach, were a feral, stealthy subrace of elves that became more and more reclusive over the years. As of the 1370s DR, they were an extremely insular race who remained close to nature and were rarely seen by other races. They had a heavier build and darker skin than other elf subraces despite having a similar average height.

Description
Wild elves had darker skin than other elven subraces, in a range of light brown to dark brown. Males were usually larger than females, sometimes by as much as 5 inches or 20 pounds, but wild elves differed little in size from other elves. An average male was 5 feet 8 inches (173 centimeters) in height and weighed 150 pounds (68 kilograms), while an average female was 5 feet 3 inches (160 centimeters) and 130 pounds (60 kilograms). Their hair could be anything from black to light brown, and it grayed and turned to white with old age. Wild elves, like other elves, were nimble and agile in body, but they were commonly thought of as less intelligent than their elven brethren, due in part to their aversion to civilization.

They preferred to wear as little clothing as possible and chose instead to adorn themselves with other decorations like tattoos, feathers, or body paint. They could make and wear complicated and intricate beadwork.

Personality
Wild elves were a quiet, withdrawn people who neither liked outsiders nor tolerated any offense to their person. In some ways, wild elves were very savage and were quick to violence if provoked. Few things were more dangerous in the wilderness than a vengeful band of wild elves with ill intent. However, wild elves were not wholly uncouth and most would rather let trespassers go freely than harm them, so long as they learned nothing that could be used against the tribe; those who did were usually wiped of their memories rather than killed. Wild elves were also trustworthy and loyal friends who, though so slow to trust that short-lived races such as humans were often put off the attempt, would happily reward those who earned their respect and admiration in any way they could.

Culture
Wild elves lived in a tribal society without many of the advances available to other elves. They rarely crafted their own magical weapons and had lost the ability to use powerful magic. There were rare cases of powerful shamans; these were almost always female. Wild elves did retain the ceremonies and feasts often found among other Tel-quessir, which were occasions of joy with singing and dancing. Hunts were occasions where each member of the tribe had his or her own particular place. Sometimes these were held on their own, and sometimes they were held as part of a larger event. Although it was common for wild elves to speak a number of languages, it was rare to find one who was literate.

Wild elves who left their remote homelands to become adventurers were often drawn to careers that required physical strength, much more so than was the case with other Tel-quessir. Rangers and barbarians were particularly common among warrior wild elves, though fighters were not unheard of. Although wild elves worshiped the elven gods, they were only very rarely clerics or other divine spellcasters, feeling a closer affinity to the ways of the druid or shaman. Similarly, owing to a lack of literacy or magical tradition, very few wild elves became wizards, though the path of a sorcerer was well-respected among the wild elves. More experienced wild elven adventurers commonly become arcane archers or druidic hierophants.

Art and leisure
Wild elves strongly prefer art such as music and poetry to physical works of art like painting or sculpture. To a wild elf, the joy of art comes from its spontaneous creation, rather than latter appreciation. Because wild elves see the world as ever-changing and the things within it as impermanent, wild elves feel it is distasteful to write down musical scores or oral tradition, believing that it unnaturally locks the art into a sterile state. Wild elves carry on this ideology into their architecture, which is weaved into the tangled limbs of living trees in a complex web that would baffle many "civilized" architects.

Wild elves are excellent craftsmen, but they prefer tools that can be assembled or deconstructed at a moment's notice, often resulting in a primitive or even crude aesthetic, though wild elven tools are no less effective in overall use. Weapons in wild elf society tend to be those than can be created without the need for metal, a resource that is not naturally available without refinement. Bows and spears or halfspears are common weapons, as are clubs, daggers and knives made from bone. Some prefer to wear hide armor but most are content to use their innate agility or various forms of camouflage as their primary defense.

Like other elves, wild elves are fond of wild animals and try to live in harmony with their feral neighbors. Many wild elves keep animals like wolves, birds of prey, or wolverines in their tribes as guardians. Wild elves are not even adverse to keeping larger, more dangerous dire animals, who are kept as companions only slightly less often.

Magic and religion
Magic does not play as large a part in wild elf society as it once did. During the age of the long fallen eladrin empires the ancestors of the wild elves were as open to the study of arcane magic as any but since their fall, wild elves have abandoned its study, along with many other trappings of civilization. For these reasons, and others, wizards are uncommon. However, wild elves have, in contrast with their wood elven cousins, no particular aversion to the arcane arts and though they lack any strong traditions of the Art, they are generally welcoming of its use by sorcerers, who come by their talent naturally. Wild elves are also common practitioners of primal magic and druids are common amongst the wild elves, who typically use more words, gestures and material components in their spellcasting than is common among the druids of other races.

Wild elves have an approach to spirituality that is unusual among the Tel-quessir, even in comparison with the drow. While the wild elves honor and worship the Seldarine, they neither worship them exclusively, nor do they do it as part of the hierarchical and organized traditions that other Tel-quessir generally espouse. Instead, wild elven religious practice is often very informal and rooted in animistic traditions that see the fey gods as simply part of a greater pantheon that include primal spirits as well as the gods Mielikki and Silvanus. Of all the Seldarine, the wild elves feel closest to Rillifane Rallathil.

As part of their unusual traditions, wild elves have several unique practices and beliefs. Tattoos are common among the wild elves, who often enchant the markings with power. Wild elves also believe that each member of their race has a spirit animal. These animals are believed to provide spiritual guidance and protection. Young wild elves must discover their own spirit animal by attending a ritual involving spending hours in an enclosed area filled with burning herbs. During this time, he or she is expected to have a vision of the spirit animal that will accompany him or her for the rest of his or her life.

Relations with other races
Wild elves are not a very open-hearted race and are generally untrusting of outsiders, in part due to the harsh experiences of their history. Wild elves will commonly avoid or even outright attack intruders upon their lands, though not all wild elves are so extreme in their methods. Wild elves have been known to help lost adventurers, though usually such "help" involves capturing the intruders, magically altering their memories, and setting them free some distance away from their homelands. When wild elves themselves require help from outside, they will reluctantly seek it, sometimes even allowing visitors into their hidden sanctuaries. As a general rule, wild elves do not trust the N-Tel-Quess, but will reward those who earn their respect with lifelong friendship or even gifts such as ritual tattoos or a spirit companion.

History
When the eladrin first arrived on Abeir-Toril, the green elves, the lythari, and the avariels were the explorers. The green elves were by far the most successful at establishing themselves and exploring new areas, creating several territories that eventually each became the nations of Eiellûr, Keltormir, Syòrpiir, Thearnytaar, and Ilythiir. All of these nations were consumed by the Crown Wars between around and, during which time the "dark elves" of Ilythiir turned with a vengeance on their brethren and destroyed most of the green elven nations. After the disaster, the green elves never again created nations or cities.

After the fall of their ancient realms, the green elves entered a period they call the "Wandering," moving from land to land over a period of many generations. It was during this time that the green elves gradually diverged from their eladrin roots, becoming the first true elves. Forced to live as fugitives, slaves, or vagabonds the green elves eventually withdrew into the deepest forests and mountains of Faerûn. By the time of Jhaamdath's rise c. the green elves had largely settled into their current homelands and intermittent contacts with it and other human empires did little to encourage the green elves to move elsewhere.

The majority of wild elves did not participate in the Retreat to Evermeet, instead using isolation as a survival technique, but forsaking many of their traditional elven skills of high magic. Over the centuries following the Wandering, the green elves would diverge further from their ancestors, becoming distinct not only from the eladrin but from other elves. Losing touch with their ancient traditions and regressing more into primitivism the green elves became clan-based and then tribe-based, eventually becoming the wild elves as they are known today.

Homelands
Wild elves almost exclusively inhabit forested areas. They can be found in the Forest of Amtar, Chessenta, the Chondalwood, Chult and the Shaar. Some tribes live in small villages of huts, and others live a nomadic lifestyle. It is common to find entirely male or entirely female tribes. Some wild elf tribes construct villages at the tops of trees, using considerable engineering skill.

Behind the scenes
Under 1 and 2 editions, wild elves and wood elves were considered to be one subrace with different names. Wild elf was considered somewhat derogatory, much like calling a moon elf "grey elf." In the 2nd edition accessory Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves (p. 19), the terms "sylvan elf", "forest elf", "green elf" and "Sy-tel-quessir" were all synonymous with "wild elf."