Pallid elf

Pallid elves are a subrace of Elves distinctive by their pale skin, which is said to be as pale as the moon.

History
The ancestors of the pallid elves were a group of reclusive elves who worshipped The Moonweaver and lived in a woodland on top of a mountain plateau in the Cyrios Mountains, protected by illusion magic from their moon priests. During the Calamity, however, the plateau on which the woodland stood sunk as minions of The Crawling King burrowed beneath it and sucked the life and color from the roots of the trees, leaving behind a valley of bleached, petrified trees that came to be known as the Pallid Grove.

During the Crawling King's attack, many of the elven denizens were dragged underground and tortured, but some survived among the sunken roots of the Pallid Grove under the protection of the Moonweaver. Forming clans, the survivors lived in fear of the Crawling King and hid from the destruction of the Calamity. Over time, the Moonweaver's blessings mingled with the elves' natural adaption to the Pallid Grove, eventually forming a new subrace of elves known as the Pallid Elves.

The pallid elves did not start to venture out of the Pallid Grove until the time of the War of Ash and Light, confused and curious about the world that had developed without them. Within the Clovis Concord, pallid elves are generally viewed with a cordial curiosity.

Traits and abilities
Pallid elves are seen as mystical and insightful, and, having only recently emerged from the Pallid Grove, wander Exandria with a childlike curiosity. They have pale skin comparable to the surface of Exandria's moon Catha. They can vary in height from 4'6" (1.37 m) – 6'2" (1.88 m), and they can vary in weight from 92 lbs. (41.73 kg.) – 170 lbs. (77.11 kg.). Because they are a subrace of Elves, they are medium-sized humanoids with an average lifespan of 750 years, and they can see in both "normal" vision and darkvision, but in the latter, they cannot discern color, only shades of grey. In addition, pallid elves retain the "Keen Senses", "Fey Ancestry", and "Trance" abilities of their parent race.

Pallid elves have two subrace abilities: "Incisive Sense" and "Blessing of the Moon Weaver".

Incisive Sense
Pallid elves have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Insight) skill checks.

Blessing of the Moon Weaver
Like most elf subraces, pallid elves have natural spellcasting abilities, using Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. They naturally know the Light cantrip, and they can eventually learn to cast Sleep and Invisibility (targeting only themself) once between long rests. Casting spells in this way does not require pallid elves to use material components.

Behind the scenes
Pallid elves were introduced alongside the Sea elf as a new subrace of Elves in the 2020 sourcebook Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. They are first mentioned in Chapter 3: Wildemount Gazetteer, and are fleshed out in Chapter 4: Character Options. Its official artwork was created by French fan artist Axel Defois, depicting a pallid elf with dark eyes, white hair, and pale skin in leather armor and a cloak, wielding two daggers.

So far, they have yet to appear or be mentioned onstream.