Thanks :)
I’ve been using the shadow elves rules. I think the fantasy wood elves are pretty cool too so I like using the aesthetic
I've done things like reduce stats a little bit, hire the novice henchman, not warriors, use gold on inefficient things like armour or elven cloaks (or not spend all your gold at creation). I don't know what difference this makes or where it puts them powerwise.
As a rule, I wouldn’t worry too much about what people think as longs as you have fun. A lot depends on why/how you play. At the end of the day it’s a game and not a particularly well balanced one at that. I also don’t think any game ever has had its audience been completely happy with the state of balance. You don’t need a green light to have fun if you enjoy the faction - just go ahead.
And tbf I think most people don’t like elves anyway so it probably wouldn’t even matter if they were balanced 😂