Resistance to Heat and Cold

Elves are keenly attuned to the world and its meteorological cycles. As such, they are less affected by extremities of temperatures than are many other races. The blazing sun of the desert and the chill of the arctic cause elves discomfort, but not nearly as much as such extremes do others.

Elves can withstand up to 100°F with only mild discomfort. Likewise, they can remain clad in their usual clothes to a low of the freezing point of water and be only mildly uncomfortable. Below 32°F, they suffer the same ill effects as anyone else, but until that point they feel little different. Above 100°F, they suffer as do others but exhibit no undue stress until that temperature is surpassed. They lose no body water to sweat, nor do they need to lighten their clothing.

It has been surmised that this is why elves have pale skin and only rarely tan. Their resistance to the elements prevents much of the skin damage that other races suffer. Only those elves who are constantly exposed to the elements suffer even the slightest amount, and even then they do not tan as deeply as some humans and dwarves.

The elves' immunity to a range of temperatures does not extend to fire or snow, or anything that simulates these conditions. For example, an elf could not stick his hand into a fire and be undamaged, nor could he walk through freezing rain without effect. Neither are elves immune to spells that rely on fire, ice, wind, and other weather-related effects. It is only to natural temperatures that elves have even the slightest resistance. A cone of cold or a fireball has the usual adverse effect on an elf.

[Complete Book of Elves]