Quick Scroll: App. Per. Soc. Assn. Adv. R.T.

Elves were one of the first races to populate Thepa. Their homelands were the vast forests, which provided shelter and food for their families. Druids and rangers became the preferred professions of the elven race, though a not-so small dose of sorcerers etched their niche as well.

The elven lifestyle was and still is based upon personal freedoms. They did not interfere with other races unless elven lands were in jeopardy; however, they did find enjoyment interacting with humans. Human ingenuity continually surprised the elves, and their influence taught the elves to view magic in new ways. Sorcery grew in popularity.

Years passed by while the elves integrated these thoughts of magic into their society. They spent a great deal of time learning how to manipulate arcane magic with superior control. The sorcerer faded and was replaced by the wizard.

The elves did not implement this “improved” way of thinking to just their arcane crafts. They applied it to all branches of their civilization, from living arrangements to cities and even to their divine practices, which shifted their race even further from the druidic path. Clerical sects popped up assuming the places of more natural roles.

Near the time of the Cataclysm, the forces of good and evil began to alter the world in unhealthy ways. The elves chose to follow, unaware of the dangerous situations it would cause. The war and Cataclysm occurred. Strangely, the elves placed no blame upon the direction of their research; rather, they surmised their involvement was too liberal. As a result, the elves disengaged from worldly matters, now only stepping forward in the direst of circumstances and only those circumstances that directly affect their interests.

Appearance

Elven frames are slight, though they are not short in stature. Elves stand between 5 and 5.5 feet tall and weigh 110 to 150 pounds. They have black or blonde hair. Coloration other than these two types is rare as is their unique skin.

Elves tan easily, never burning from natural sunlight. Most elven skin is a deep golden color when tanned. If an elf has not been exposed to sunlight for a month, his skin reverts to a sickly, greenish pale white. This tone change does not affect the health of the elf in any way. Elven eyes are almond shaped and usually green, hazel, or brown.

Elves are not immortal, but they do tend to produce many elders who live to be over a thousand years in age. A typically elf lives 350 to 750 years before old age takes him. Strangely, with extended lives, elves do not seem to have the same problems as some of the other longer-lived races. Elves have an instinctual awareness of the ecological impact, and deliberately control their populations with planned births. For similar reasons, they tend to live very far apart from one another.

Personality (chaotic good)

Elves are individualist. They enjoy their personal freedoms while respecting the autonomy of others, yet they also believe that their government, rather their lack of government, is the only way to exist. Elves look down upon the races that “need” laws to act benevolently. They are quite opinionated about this matter, though they do not speak their bold thoughts unless asked.

Furthermore, elves do not stand up for another person unless that individual specifically asks for assistance. They believe people are capable of taking care of themselves. If an individual does not request aid, then he did not want help in the first place. An unprovoked elf is very careful about sticking his nose into the affairs of others.

This introverted style of living influences an elf’s personal life as well. His friendships and lovers are always of his highest priority. He’ll regard these chosen relationships with a sense of purpose, but never demands reciprocating acts of kindness. Elves are a devoted people devoid of expectations, but as dedicated as they are, they are even more patient.

Elves see their personal connections much like the seasonal order. Nothing is permanent. Things are renewed or not, and all relationships should be given time to take their due course. Heartache would seem a problem for the elves, but their patience and beliefs normally prevent such feelings. Elves simply deny themselves the emotions of hardship. This behavior is not insensitivity. It is a defensive mechanism in which an elf suppresses his feelings until he can once again experience happiness.

Unfortunately, not all feelings can be controlled by this method. Death is exceptionally difficult for an elf. It is permanent and uncontrollable. Particularly intimate losses are nigh unbearable, though suicide is rare. Life feels hollow and meaningless, even when other loved ones are nearby. An elf may grieve in this fashion for several years before he is able to quell the devastating effects to his personality.

Society

Elven communities prescribe to a gender-based political system that allows their society to be ruled equally by both sexes, yet not uniformly. Female elves take up their political positions inside the Jika, the council that determines whether an action is necessary or not. The male elven council, or the Arah, decides how the action is to be carried out.

Each society is also overseen by a queen and a king. Foreign relations, their domestic security force, and whether to war or to negotiate are regulated by the queen. The king’s role encompasses the rulership of the elven nation, intramural seatings, and the final vote on the manner in which wars are waged. Arguments about where male and female rights begin and end occur often, especially when potential consequences place the elven civilization at risk.

A discussion of elven culture cannot be complete without a description of their cities. From the outside elves appear as one with nature. Their cities are the envy of all races molded beautifully by elven artistry, but this perception is misleading. Elves manipulate the world to please themselves. They see nature as a tool, yet they choose to alter it harmlessly. This principle is the sole reason for their heavy involved with the Eluen-cuthpar and the transmutative magical experiments.

The mistakes of the past that may have caused the Cataclysm have changed the elves. They have withdrawn from involving themselves with foreign affairs unless the matters directly affect their society. They have become quite introverted even in their personal lives. Elves enjoy company in small settings, rarely holding large ceremonies. Most meals are small or snack-like and are typically eaten alone. When they do sit down for a meal it is with a decidedly small group, one to three others.

Marriages are private as well, often times with just the couple. Priests never perform ceremonies for unions. And as with all life, marriages are not necessarily permanent, though couples commonly grow into families, a status that is extremely important to elves. Childbirth is celebrated by the entire community. Gifts are presented to newborns throughout the first year of their lives, a period known as the Permulaan.

Associations

The elven people adhere to a live-and-let-live policy with all races. When the elves perceive a violation of their boundaries, they respond with swift action. In most instances, elves take the time to express their views and ask the offending parties to withdraw from elven interests. Unfortunately, some races have become such a recurring problem that the elves forgo communication and respond with violence.

Aside from border disputes, elves spend a vast amount of time traveling to various lands. They search, not only for their passion the arcane, but for all forms of knowledge: social, political, and ecological. They carry this wisdom back to their homelands to further enhance their understanding of Thepa and its people.

At some point in their travels, most elves become personally offended by the rules of stricter societies. Those that are slighted tend to nitpick, exploit, or abuse those laws in an attempt to show the ridiculousness of such legislation. Rebellious temperaments are inherit to elves and are inflamed by methodical civilizations. This disobedience against conformity can last lifetimes.

Amoraq: Exasperation is the key word when elves speak of the amoraq. Elves view amoraq as enormous children who need special attention. Unfortunately, elves do not feel it is there place to educate this race, which causes turmoil. Amoraq disturbances have grown throughout elven culture to such an extent that a restriction on elven cities has been instituted. Nowadays, a great cause must be established before an amoraq is allowed admittance to a town.

Arden: In the past, the elven nations have offered arden the opportunity to remove themselves from elven interests, yet they kept coming back. As such, elves have given up parley with the arden and simply consider the “weasels” as a horde of pests that need to be exterminated. If an arden family settles near an elven village, they soon find themselves with fewer siblings.

Drow: Originally, elves did not hate drow. The enmity of drow grew from the bloody raids and shameless atrocities carried out against the elven people. Dialogue no longer exists between these two races, only contempt remains. Yet, as with all races, an elf may accept a drow as a friend if the relationship is given a chance to prosper, but those opportunities are exceptional, and even then, the drow would never be accepted by the elven nations.

Duergar: Elven feelings for the duergar are frail. Contact between these two races is noticeably uncommon; though, on occasion, elves will pursue communication with this race in search of answers to problematic, arcane questions. Transactions are tense. The elves have a sense of the duergar culture, and the inequity inherent to the deep dwarves’ civilization is difficult for the elves to ignore.

Dwarves: Elves feel restricted by dwarves and dwarven laws. Conversations sour with structure; compromises reek of balance. Nothing flows smoothly between these races. However, elves and dwarves hold similar beliefs on the morale spectrum, thus they tirelessly work through their differences. After all, dissidence occurs between all races.

Fenodyree: Most races enjoy fenodyrean company. Elves are no stranger to the entertaining companionship of this halfling race. Trade is heavy, yet pleasant. During negotiations, the fenodyree are allowed full access to elven establishments. Any issues that might popup are settled on a case-by-case basis.

Goblins: Elves see a likeness between themselves and the goblins, but only at a primitive level. Goblins are basically the apes of the elven world. An elf enjoys pruning his nature, honing its beauty, while a goblin lets it spread out, uninhibited, often becoming deadly to those around it. On a whole, elves regard goblins as a perversion to elven nature and take the notion personally, which typically ends poorly for the goblins as elves have superior armies.

Humans: Humans have a very positive impact upon elves. They respect elven territories, trade abundantly, and possess an open-mindedness that offers new avenues of thinking to solve unconventional problems. The only major drawback to the human race is their short-sightedness. Elves weigh their decisions by the millennium, while humans prefer their verdicts judged by the centuries.

Kel: Everything that is wrong with a dwarf is made worse in a kel. Kelian laws are based around their selfish nature. Their rules work to supplant balance with other races. Kel take, often from elves, which makes them an enemy of the elven nations. Elves will draw upon great resources to annihilate troublesome tribes. Kel don’t go away unless you eradicate them.

Kobolds: Elves have very little interaction with kobolds. Brief trading inside human settlements is the most common form of contact. The lack of solid relationships grants luck to the kobolds for their secret lives elude the forest dwellers. If elves understood the truth of kobolds, they would likely slaughter them as they do the drow.

Nalu: Elves and nalu have little to say to one another. They have nothing in common, and neither wants what the other race has to offer. Elves pass by nalu in human settlements ignoring their existence, unless the nalu strike up conversations. Elves are not rude; they simply have lack feelings for the aquatic creatures.

Sobekites: Sobekites and elves are able to coexist without speaking to one another for years at a time. These two races feel neither the need for trade nor do they tread upon the other’s interests. In times of war, the races are able to rely on each other for strength; otherwise the relationship is a simple conservative friendship.

Adventuring

The reasons for elves to explore outside their cities are rather simple. First and foremost is that an elf is expected to explore the world at least once during his youthful adulthood, thus near every elf adventures for a short period of time in their life. On their adventures, many of these explorers realize that they desire to seek out the artifacts and relics of yesteryear. Arcane knowledge is rather valuable to an elf. But in all honesty, the true reason elves leave their cities is boredom. Like all humanoids, they seek companionship, and no amount of introversion can stem this need, especially when one has such a lengthy lifespan.

Class Preferences: cleric, ranger, wizard
Religious Preferences: Adaska, Askii, Baiperus, Eadiac, Ibidi, Iteff, Vazuet

Racial Traits (PF)

When creating an elven character, a player uses all the base traits presented below; these traits are inherent to the elf and cannot be altered. A player then selects alternate traits to flesh out his elven character. The total number of alternative traits may not exceed 4 racial points (RP). Each alternative trait has its RP cost listed after its name.

Base

+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution: An elf is both agile and educated, but lacks stamina.

Medium: An elf is a Medium creature and has no bonuses or penalties due to his size.

Normal Speed: An elf has a base speed of 30 feet.

Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in conditions of dim light.

Homeland: Select one of the following terrains for your homeland: forests or jungles.

Elven Immunities: An elf is immune to magic sleep effects and gains a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against enchantment spells and effects.

Elven Magic: An elf gains a +2 bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance. In addition, he also receives a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks made to identify the properties of magic items.

Skill Bonus: An elf gains a +1 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.

Pick one:

Weapon Familiarity: An elf is proficient with longbows and shortbows, which includes composite long- and short- bows, and treats any weapon with the word “elven” in its name as a marital weapon.

- or -

Weapon Familiarity: An elf is proficient with longswords and shortswords.

Languages: An elf begins play speaking Common and Elven. An elf with a high Intelligence score can choose from the following: Celestial, Drow, Dwarven, Fenodryean, Goblin, and Sylvan.

Alternative

Camouflage (1 RP): An elf gains a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks within forests or jungles (determined by Homeland).

Hatred (1 RP): An elf receives a +1 bonus on attack rolls against drow and goblin subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.

Weather Savvy (1 RP): An elf is so in tune with the air and sky that he can sense the slightest change in atmospheric conditions. He can spend a full-round action to predict the weather in an area for the next 24 hours. This prediction is always accurate, but cannot account for spells or supernatural effects that might alter the forecast.

Bond to the Land (2 RP): An elf gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC when in forests or jungles (determined by Homeland).

Mutate Magic (2 RP): An elf gains a +1 to the DC of any saving throws against spells of the transmutation school that he casts. An elf with a Charisma score of 11 or higher also gains the following spell-like abilities: 1/day — Jump, Magic Weapon, and Mending. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user’s level. The DC for the spell-like abilities is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Charisma modifier.

Nimble Faller (2 RP): An elf lands on his feet even when he takes lethal damage from a fall. Furthermore, he gains a +1 bonus to his CMD against trip attempts.

Treespeech (2 RP): An elf has the ability to converse with plants as if he was subject to a continual Speak with Plants spell.

Racial Traits (DD)

Ignore the racial traits above and use the Elf statistics in the Player’s Handbook, but do not use the Drow subrace.

First Artwork provided by Sandara
Second Artwork Provided by Mates Laurentiu
Third Artwork provided by Joseph Garcia
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