Elves

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Lore & Background

The Complete Book of Elves was written by Colin McComb and published in 1993, with interior color illustrations by Brom, Larry Elmore, and John and Laura Lakey, and black and white art by Terry Dykstra. It was originally advertised in TSR's 1992 Fall/Winter catalog as 'a detailed look at the culture, society, habits, strengths, and weaknesses of the many nations of elves.' In Dragon magazine, the book was mentioned throughout the series of magazines. Player Brian J. Van Court showed concern for missing magical cards that could be implemented including such sources in a letter to the magazine. In Bruce A. Heard's piece 'Lord of the Skies,' he touched on 'winged-elves' which were adapted from the Avariel in The Complete Book of Elves and Dragon Magazine issue #51. The book was also asked about by the community in Dragon Magazine's Sage Advice, with questions on the use of multiple actions to combine quick-draw and double-arrow shot, further detail on trick shots, and an inquiry about huntsmen being given a 'smaller penalty' when tracking 'other non-rangers' due to a hole in the kit's description. Thirty years after its publication, author Colin McComb admitted The Complete Book of Elves was 'dreadful,' and acknowledged the negative influence the book had on the 2nd edition of AD&D, apologizing for 'making elves so incredibly powerful and unbalanced that all of our AD&D games were henceforth ruined until 3rd Edition D&D came to save us.'

In Their Own Story

In Issue 10 of Australian Realms, Brad Smart found the descriptions of the various subraces 'too short for my liking, providing little additional information over what is set out in the individual campaign source books.' He also pointed out that 'the vast majority of the information on elven life, society, attitudes, culture and legends is useful only to players in generic "standard" AD&D campaigns [...] I found it useless for an elf in say a Dark Sun world.' Smart found the color plates 'a pleasure to look at' but found the black and white illustrations 'very bland.' He concluded, 'Compared with the other handbooks, The Complete Book of Elves holds its own, but does not stand out, useful for elf players, and those who buy every release, but otherwise read someone else's.' In the March 1994 issue of Magia i Miecz, Maciel Kocuj reviewed the large number of 'splatbooks' published by TSR, and found The Complete Book of Elves 'very similar in content [to other 2nd Edition splatbooks]. In some places the material is weaker, in some place stronger, and it brings a lot of both curiosities and boring repetitions.'

Reader's Guide

The Complete Book of Elves was reviewed in Casus Belli #92. The book is a supplementary sourcebook for the 2nd edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, focusing on the elven race. It includes information on day-to-day life, culture, myths, religion, new abilities, and spells. The book features interior color illustrations by Brom, Larry Elmore, and John and Laura Lakey, and black and white art by Terry Dykstra. It was part of TSR's series of splatbooks following the 1989 release of the three core rulebooks for 2nd Edition AD&D.

Did You Know?

• The Complete Book of Elves was written by Colin McComb and published in 1993.
• Interior color illustrations were done by Brom, Larry Elmore, and John and Laura Lakey.
• Black and white art was provided by Terry Dykstra.
• Author Colin McComb later called the book 'dreadful' and apologized for making elves 'incredibly powerful and unbalanced.'
• The book was reviewed in Casus Belli #92.