![[Castle Line]](../images/castle.gif){kind=small}
Appearance:
Personality:
Having lifespans in excess of a thousand years gives Elves a very relaxed
and patient view of the world. Elven empires began to consolidate and stabilize
more than 11,000 years ago in the wake of the Dragon Wars near the end
of the Bronze Age. They have watched the rise and fall of dozens
of Human empires in that time. In matters of technological advancement,
Elves are very conservative; typically weighing the cost and benefits of
new technology for years after its introduction by other races. Some
Ferrinethani clans have refused to adopt even weapons of bronze, prefering
to remain with the purely natural raw materials of stone, wood, hide, antler,
and bone.
Time has little meaning to Elves and the pace of life in an Elven community is leisurely to say the least. "I'll think about it." is a reply dreaded by Human merchants dealing with an Elf, as 'thinking' can easily span days, weeks, or months.
Most other races view Elves as flighty or frivolous. Elves devote a great deal of their energy to music and art. Instead of developing new technology, Elves continually work to improve what they have. Instead of looking for new ways to manufacture arms and armor, they strive for the perfect lines in a sword blade, or the perfect curve of a breastplate. They rely heavily upon their powers to LifeShape in all aspects of their lives and can spend decades 'Shaping a home. They regard the magic they have as a tool, and nothing more, and they lack the drive of Humans to ever expand their knowledge to greater heights. There are no Elven WildMages or Metamagicians, as no Elf would ever care to think about, or research, magic in those ways.
Lifestyle:
Elven communities are typically populated two-thirds by Hyrrianethani
and one-third by Argentranethani, with numbers of Sylvaranethani equal
to the Hyrrianethani living in smaller groups in the surrounding areas.
Ferrinethani never join in Elven communities. The Drow, of course,
have been banished to the Underdark.
Elves have the longest lifespan of the races; between 800 and 1200 years. The growth of Elfchildren parallels that of Humans for the first six or so years after which it begins to slow. An Elfchild will have seen the passage of 25 or more summers before reaching the physical maturity of a Human in their early teens. Growth slows even further and it takes a further hundred and twenty-five years before the Elf is considered a young adult and is ready to leave the Elven lands. Elves do not suffer the infirmities of advanced age until very near the end of their vast lifespan.
Though Argentranethani are somewhat more inclined to magic-use than the other Elves. Many Argentranethani become excellent archers, practicing with the longbow during their extended youth, but ever learn even the rudiments of hand-to-hand combat. They are typically regarded as the upper-class of Elven society and the most likely to mingle in HighBorn Human society.
Sylvaranethani tend to be more tribal than their Argentranethani and Hyrrianethani neighbors and often decorate their bodies with tattoos and paint and wear tokens representing animals of the forest. Hawk and eagle feathers, bear and wildcat claws, porcupine quills, and wolf teeth are all revered by Sylvaranethani. They are often nomadic and travel from village to village. Elven communities maintain a number of unoccupied houses ready for the use of traveling families of Sylvaranethani. They are largely the defenders of Elven communities and elite soldiers of the Sylvaranethani are called BladeDancers, which reflects their wild, savage, and graceful fighting style.
Ferrinethani live in small, nomadic family clans hidden deep in the forests, well away from other Elven communities. They rarely stay in one place more than a few days and build only the simplest shelters from the elements. Even more tribal than the Sylvaranethani, the Ferrinethani are usually seen as savages even by the other Elven races.
All Elves, except the Drow, have the ability to actually guide and manipulate the life processes of lower order living things. This ability is called Lifeshaping and is central to the development of Elven villages and communities. Such villages are always built near (or on) a body of water; the shores of lakes, rivers and oceans are preferred, but Elves will live near large streams as well. Homes created by Elven Lifeshaping abilities are literally grown from the living forest.
Though there is much physical diversity between Elves (even more than between Humans), all Elves share certain characteristics. All Elves have 90% resistance to sleep and charm spells. Most Elves spend much of their youth practicing with bow and sword, gaining +1 to their attack dice when wielding long swords or any type of bow except for crossbows. It is difficult to hide or conceal doorways from Elves, merely passing within 10' of a concealed door gives Elves a 1 in 6 chance of noticing it. Actively looking gives the Elf a 2 in 6 chance of finding secret doors and a 3 in 6 chance of finding a concealed door.
Elves also have a special type of vision; Elvensight allows an Elf to see in conditions of near total darkness as well as does a Human on a cloudy day. However, unlike infravision, and Elf using Elvensight cannot see in total darkness; some small about of normal light is necessary.
Every Elf, except Drow and Ferrinethani, wears a necklace with a small glass vial containing about an ounce of the water of the village of their birth, called a LifeWater vial. By holding the vial and meditating for more than an hour, an Elf can heal damage (1d8+1) done to themselves once a week. Additionally, in times of great need, the water can be consumed and will function as a Heal spell. However, if the vial is used in this manner, the Elf will suffer an overpowering urge to return to the village of their birth to replace the water in vial. Until this quest has been accomplished, the Elf will be unable to concentrate on any other matters. The LifeWater vial is considered an Elf's most prized possession and no Elf would ever willingly give it up. If it ever becomes stolen, the Elf would stop at nothing to recover it.
The Drow do not have Elvensight, but possess true infravision to 120'. In addition to Elven magic resistance, Drow gain +2 to all saving throws against magical spells and effects. Also, Drow can fight with two weapons without penalty, even two weapons of equal size, (though shield use is impossible when wielding two weapons). Like the Duergar, Drow can move very silently when alone, but also suffer from exposure to bright sunlight (see Duergar for effects).
Names and Language:
The Elven language is one of the most complex of the world. It
typically involves long, multi-syllabic words in which each syllable refines
the meaning of the base word. Musical consonants, such as f g h j
l ll lh m n r s th v are most common, and the usual vowels are: a i e ae
o u.
Elven names typically consist of a short 'first' name, followed by a word which is a description of birth order, and a longer family name; such as Faonna'akai-Terralanamoradrianius or Orrian'tanur-Tellanuramaturani. The 'akai of the first name is the indicator of first-born, whereas the 'tanur of the second name indicates second-born. Third-born is indicated by 'ratha. To their acquaintances, the above-mentioned Elves would be known simply as Faonna and Orrian.
Equipment:
Elven equipment is almost always heavily decorated, and almost always
with natural themes such as leaves or shells or the circle, the most holy
symbol for elves; the shape of a water drop, the shape of the world, the
shape of a family all holding hands together. Often, natural imagery
is arranged in circles.
Elves rarely carry more equipment than they can manage without being encumbered in any way. They prefer light weapons and armor, relying more on dexterity than strength. Their typical dry rations are small cakes made from powdered nuts and diced, dried fruit; light but very nutritious.
Pantheon:
Most Elves worship Luranna, the goddess
of Nature, but some followers of Beyurn,
Dulcifer, and even Krushkor
(typically Sylvaranethani warriors) are also found.
History:
Elves are the first-born of the Elemental Sovereign of the sea and
were given more gifts by their creator than any other race. They
were the first to discover magic-use and the first to learn how to make
boats and learn to sail them more than forty-three thousand years ago.
Light, swift Elven sailing vessels led the way to long-range trading of
goods and ideas. And, even in the Modern Age, there is nothing on
the seas faster than an Elven clipper ship.
They have tried, throughout their history, to remain apart from the other races but have never been unfriendly with any of them. Elves have never strayed far from their native homes in the shallow seas and deep forests, but have worked tirelessly to protect these realms from the encroachment of Humanoids and any others who would ill-use them. Elven LifeShaping has been put to use with spectacular results including orchards where boat hulls are grown in single, strong pieces, living machinery which powers riverboats and sailing vessels, and entire living cities grown from coral or wood.
Classes and Kits
Elves have a great range of skills and can choose from a large number
of professions; warrior, priest, wizard, or rogue. Elves can be fighters,
rangers, clerics, mages, thieves, bards, fighter/mages, fighter/thieves,
or fighter/mage/thieves.
They are free to choose from a vast variety of kits, but most will fall into wilderness or natural categories.
Standard Abilities
![[Go Back]](../images/goback.gif)
Return
to Races page.
Elves
are the most physically attractive of Arr-Kelaan's races, and all Elves
tend to have delicate features. Most are between 5 and 5-1/2 feet tall
and weigh about 95 pounds. They have large, expressive eyes which glow
slightly at night in the same manner as a cat. Their sensitive ears
are large and gracefully upswept into points. Their hair is usually long,
fine and straight. Though they seem willowy and delicate, Elves – especially
females – are considerably stronger than they look. Underestimating the
physical strength of an Elf can be dangerous as most are skillful unarmed
fighters. Elves have excellent balance and are as comfortable walking along
the high limbs of a tree, or the pitching deck of a ship at sea, as they
are on the ground. Elves are most at home in the woodlands, being able
to become nearly invisible simply by standing still.