Dark Elves

Dark Elves are one of the standard Elf varieties. They are a staple of standard fantasy found almost always in those that feature elves. In those where elves are portrayed as their nauseatingly good archetype, dark elves are usually typecast as the polar opposite, usually as chaotic stupid edgelords who get off on traditional evil, sadism and looking really sexy doing it. While a hawt elf maiden might be chaste, a hot dark elf priestess may theoretically promise you access to her silky ebon be-thonged areas should you prove yourself worthy, only to tear off your wang and use it as a musical instrument to summon spider demons against her enemies (i.e. everyone).

They tend to have most (if not all) of the following characteristics:

• Dark-grey skin and white hair.
• Overtly supremacist ideology ("You are but beasts of burden that can use tools that we shall use as we wish, disobey our dominant will and face agony that, if you are lucky you will quickly die from", most regular elves generally don't go beyond "You short lived members of younger races are foolish, short sighted and lack grace and perspective, go along living in squalor as is your way well away from us if you must but leave the important decisions to us if you know what's best for you"), even more so than their homosexual bretheren.
• An economic system based on slavery.
• A system of promotion based on might-makes-right (i.e. killing one's superiors to take their position). This is distinguished by the stereotypical kraterocracy of fantasy "bad guy races" by being a lot more Machiavellian and scheming and making it obvious is not usually considered a good career move, or even considered vulgar.
• A culture of eugenics where only the strong survive and only the strongest get to breed, which usually ends up just making them weaker rather than stronger for some reason.
• A fondness for spikes in everything, from fashion to architecture.
• Underground dwellings. The colder, darker, shittier and edgier the better.
• A backstory where they have rebelled against the other elves, lost some war, and been exiled to the above. Naturally they are somewhat miffed about this, and really hate elves. Even more than dwarves, which is saying something.
• Being slaves to some evil god or demonic entity whom they worship but hate, but usually being too proud to admit their enslavement to themselves. Rebelling against said entity or its plans for them will usually be strongly implied result in their race being destroyed, i.e. by all killing each other or having their souls sucked out. The priesthood is generally, but not always, matriarchal.
• A BDSM theme. It can vary in setting from self-mutilation like Hellraiser cenobites to just wearing black leather and bodices a lot.
• An inference that if they ever got their shit together they'd be a huge threat to everyone in the setting, but they they're always too busy backstabbing each other to ever do that. Hmm who else is like that?
• Skills at sneaking about, backstabbing, and poisoning.
• Obsession with arachnids (spiders almost always, some of the time it’s scorpions), often taking aspects of their culture and nature directly from arachnid lifestyle: deadly competition with siblings, killing mates after the act, poison, disabling enemies (especially to paralyse them and victimise them while helpless), and so on. They also like bread with spiders in it, because that's a thing.

Dungeons and Dragons

In the various Dungeons and Dragons games (and their spin-offs, like Pathfinder), Dark Elves are usually known as Drow.

Warhammer Fantasy

Kitbashing Warham Goblins and Warham Dark Elves can produce superior results.

In the long past of the Warhammer Fantasy world, the Dark Elves were once just elves. Then, heir-apparent Malekith found himself passed over when it came time to choose the Phoenix King, and he started a civil war. When he lost got bored, he and his followers (called the druchii in their language) were exiled left across the ocean.

Presently, the Dark Elves inhabit and dominate Naggaroth, the Warhammer World's analogue to North America; this might tell you something on how GW views the Colonies. Their population is concentrated in six major cities, including the capital city of Naggarond, but they also inhabit massive city-ships known as Black Arks, kept afloat by the magic of the Witch-King. Where the arks go reaving, things burn, slaves are taken, and fat lewt is piled high and sent back to Tortureonto (Karond Kar) or Evil Fredericton (Har Ganeth) or Hellifax (Clar Karond) or whatever. Don't mess with the corsairs. Unless you're a Norscan or a Hung, in which case, shine on you crazy Chaos Viking/Hun!

Then we have the shades, a bunch of hosers that live in the wilderness full of beasts that Chaos dragons think twice before messing with.

The Dark Elves are also the biggest jerks in the universe- The War of the Beard? Oh, we raided the dwarven caravans that started it all! *Mad cackle* JUST AS PLANNED!.

Coincidentally, this also leads up to Nagash's rise to power with his Necromancy since the trio of dark elves that were ordered to start the war ended up in Khemri, warhammer Africa, where they were shipwrecked when trying to escape. They were later found and captured by Khemri guards, then tortured by Nagash for information about magic and other high quality stuff to become powerful and evil. So yeah, Vampire Counts nor Tomb Kings would never exist if it weren't for the Dark Elves and The End Times would never happened. Not as planned for the Dark Elves.

Males are forbidden to use magic since Malekith's mum Morathi said that he would one day be killed by one. Not like anyone cares, but it's probably a plot by her to take the throne.

Among their traits are that their nobles ride exothermic carnivorous reptiles into battle. This is weird since their homeland is quite chilly, so you would think that they would be sluggish and inefficient mounts (hence why they have the rule 'Stupidity').

Warhammer 40,000

In Games Workshop's quest to give every WHFB race a counterpart in the grim, dark future of Warhammer 40,000, they created the Dark Eldar -- all the hedonistic fun of the Dark Elves, but in space!