The Elf
Elves were the first of the immigrant races to arrive. It really isn’t sure how the first one arrived, but it is clear that elves were indeed the first to settle on this world.
Elven relations with other races
Humans
For some odd reason the elder elves will verbally defend the humans almost instinctively if insulted by being called lazy, cowardly or untrustworthy. The elder elves only state that it was the humans who made the greatest sacrifices in the ancient war, but will not explain further. The other elves get along fairly well with humans, so long as they remain outside their area and are met on neutral ground.
Dwarves
Elves and dwarves trade constantly and appear extremely friendly. However, one is rarely ever seen beyond the trading posts or deeper each community. There has not been an open war between these two races for over a thousand years.
Halflings
Halflings are not really trusted much by any race. They are tolerated but always watched very carefully.
Half-Elves
Half-elves can only be created by an elven male and a human female. Therefore all half-elves are in human cities. The elven community considers any being born to a human as human and is treated as such, unless the half-elf boosts of elven heritage, then the elves will become annoyed and voice in their opinion of the half-breed.
Mixed Blood Elves
A mixed or non-blood elf is an elf who is or who has at least one parent or ancestor that was not on world for the Great War. Mixed or non-blood elves do not share the same compulsions as do the others. These elves are seen as more as distant cousins and are regarded as less important or as ‘visiting elves’.
Half-Orc
Few elves will befriend a half-orc except the Nomads. Wild elves will view them as orcs if they travel alone and as ugly humans if travelling with other humans. The others will attempt to avoid any contact, finding their mere creation disgusting.
The Compulsions of Elves.
These are feelings and urges elves that are pure blood from ancestors who lived through the Great War. Other elves from other location or elves who share an ancestor with an off world ancestor either do not have them, or are lessened a great deal. No one understands why these exist or why each elf sub-race has a different one, they only know they have them and they attempt to deal with it.
These compulsions are not overwhelming unless the persons will is extremely weak. The character only needs to save verse RSW with various bonuses or negatives. The younger and more inexperienced will have the hardest time. A list of the compulsions is listed below;
- Elder Elves
- Compelled to verbally defend humans reciting their great sacrifice during the Great War. Attempting to ignore this compulsion results in a Will save at a at a DC of 18
- Wild Elves
- Wild elves have a very strong dislike for orcs and half-orcs of any kind and any tribe. This compulsion will not force an elf to attack an orc, but it will lead them in that general direction. A Will save can be made with a DC of 15
- Blue Elves
- Blue elves are claustrophobic by nature. They do not like small enclosed spaces and are not fond of going underground. A Will save at DC 15 in small spaces or suffer -1 attack, damage, wisdom and intelligence checks. Save with -1 or suffer the same underground.
- Nomadic Elves
- These are the oddest of the elves. Nomadic elves are compelled not to increase their status, they will nearly always dress in dungy burlap and wool and older clothing. They feel uncomfortable in anything new or comfortable. They are always polite to other elves even when being insulted by them. The only time a nomadic elf will raise his/her voice or lash out in anger to another elf is if that elf is harming or abusing a beast of burden. But then will quickly apologize for his/her behavior. Some humans see the nomadic elves and the most humble of elves, while other elves loth them finding manners and dress disgusting and their appearance as ugly and unkempt.
For all sub-races except Nomadic, the mentioning of the name Balmaridous will give the feeling of an icy hand gripping the spine and squeezing, this feeling lasts only a moment
| Sub-Race | Ability Score Adjustment | |||||
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHR | |
| Blue | - | +1 | -1 | +1 | - | - |
| Elder | - | +1 | -1 | - | - | +1 |
| Nomadic | +1 | +1 | +1 | -1 | - | -2 |
| Wild | - | +1 | - | -1 | +1 | -1 |
Elder Elves
Elder elves are the oldest of the sub-races. Many claim they know more about the history of the world then they claim to know. An elder elf is one of the best scholars. Their walled and sealed cities are protected by scores of archers. It has been claimed that in 7 attacks on elder elf cities, not a single elven blade needed to taste blood, for the elven bow fell all her enemies. Elder elves have 30 feet infravision and exceptional night vision. Elder elves gain two extra prophecies in Lore at first level and gain one additional language. They also gain an additional +1 attack with a longbow.
Wild Elves
Magic Defense Adjustment added to roll to check for critical hit. +1 to hit and Damage to Orcs and Goblins. These elves have the ability to see at a great distance (daytime). The elf can determine race and direction of travel of any creature within sight up to 10 miles in distance. If the creature is known or is being tracked by the elf, the elf can determine Identity with a successful tracking check. Exceptional night vision, as long as the night is clear and starlight or moon light is available. Has an instinctive dislike for orcs and half-orcs. They are not very friendly to outsiders and those outside their own sub-race.
Blue Elves
Have the greatest affinity with magic. They get their name from their pale blueish skin. Some in the realm refer to them as “night-elves” though the Elder Elves will instantly contradict such a statement stating they are nothing like the “night-elves”, but will not explain further. Higher level Blue elf wizards are able to use their blades to simulate the somatic component of their spells, enabling them to both fight with weapons and cast spells combat spells at the same time. This is extremely difficult to master and requires the elf to return to an elven society with the proper teacher. Blue elves have exceptional night vision as well as limited infravision (30 feet). They are at home in the dark gaining a +1 bonus to blind fighting. This sub-race has a fear of enclosed spaces nearly all have uneasiness for going underground. Their homes are generally built off the ground and have large open windows in more than one wall.
Nomadic Elves
The nomadic elves are just that, they move from place to place following the seasons and animal herds. Though they are the friendliest of the elves, their nomadic lifestyle and appearance tends to put people off. They are exceptional fighters and horsemen (gaining riding, land-based free) and they constantly fight off would be raiders. They have a 60 feet infravision and the same exceptional night vision as their cousins. Nomadic elves know how to get the most out of beasts of burden and extensively are able to pack an animal with the proper weight to ensure the maximum speed and distance out of the animals. Nomadic elves are angered easily when seeing any service animal being misused, over used or abused. Nomads can also extend the length of trail rations and water to ensure the maximum distance can be covered with the minimum amount of resources. Other races may have a hard time following these ration rules and may have a harder time keeping up with these caravans.
Benefits of Age
All elves gain an additional bonus a certain number of years past their starting age. This assumes the elf returns to their society during the long spells between adventures. This also assumes the character accepted the racial weapon proficiencies at first level and opted for only one of the two weapons. If both weapon are taken the benefits are at two the ages but are applied to both weapons.
| 50 | 100 | 200 | 250 | 350 | 450 | 600 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1 Hit | +1 Damage | Additional Attack | +1 Intelligence | +1 Hit | +1 Damage |
History and Lore
Each sub-race has their history, lore and myths. Some correspond with each other while others do not. On average very few writings survived the Great War. In most cases only pages from books or parts of pages have been preserved. The elder elves had arrived nearly a thousand or so years before any of the other races and it was them who had paved the way for the other races to arrive. They established themselves mostly in the dense forest to the north and used the wide river for access to the south sea. It is claimed they had explored nearly every inch of the world, and are the only race to have ever been in the western lands.
The Blue Elves were the next to arrive, though it is actually unclear as to how long they were here. These elves were slaves of a dark elf race and were used as laborers, servants and for sport hunting. It is unclear as to what happened to the dark elves, but nearly overnight the plains, hills and marsh was crawling with frightened elves fleeing from their underground masters.
The Wild Elves arrived hundreds of years later in flying ships; they established trade with the Blue and Elder elves. Over time, trading posts were built and more and more stayed. From all accounts these elves appear and act nearly opposite of the Wild elves of today. An elder elf did say “it was the Great War that changed them, as it changed us all”.
Nomadic elves came last. By all accounts there is no mentioning of them prior to the Great War, or any mention of them during the Great War. It is assumed then that these strange elves with a self-loathing custom arrived sometime after the Great War, making them the youngest immigrant race among all races.
The Elven Calendar
The elven calendar claims to have been started on the last day of the Great War. Therefore the year of on the Elder Elf calendar is the number of years since the end of the Great War which would be 341 ½ years ago from this writing. ( (Current Year + 1400 )/10 = Elder Years. An elven year corresponds to a faintly lit blue moon in the sky when it reaches the zenith above the Elder City Eluelian then a year has passed. This happens about once every 10 winters.
| Elven Year | Event |
|---|---|
| -285 | Elder Elves arrived on the world |
| -284 | Established the first elven city (name Unkown) |
| -132 | Blue Elves spotted for the first time |
| -129 | First Blue Elf city constructed (Ownferd) in hills overlooking marsh |
| -124 | Elder and Blue Elves establish the first city east of the Wide River named Tenarian Flats after it's founder Tenarian Yuulsus |
| -119 | First Lizardman-Elf war. Tenarian Flats destroyed |
| -110 | Wild Elves arrive. Establish trade with elder and blue elves |
| -108 | Wild elf trading post established in the hills north of the wide river. (name Unknown) |
| -102 | Wild Elf trading post detroyed by orcs |
| -100 | Elves met dwarves for first time |
| -93 |
|
| -92 | First Contact with Humans |
| -91 | Human cultists arrive via portal outside Tenarian Flats and claim the ruins for their own. Name it The Light of Gryoczogias |
| -90 | The Light of Gryoczogias destroyed by Lizardmen. High priest escapes through portal |
| -89 | Cultists return and reclaim The Light of Gryoczogias. Drain about 2miles of marsh around the city |
| -88 | Light of Gryoczogias sieged by Lizardmen. |
| -87 | Elves honor Lizard-Elf Alliance and attack Light of Gryoczogias. |
| -86 |
|
| -85 | Light of Gryoczogias destroyed by lizardmen |
| -73 | Under treaty Elder Elves reclaim Tenarian Flats. |
| -9 | Elder elf City of Eluelian Established |
| -7 | First contact with halflings |
| -5 | Beginning of the Great War |
| 0 | End of the Great War |
| 3 | First mention of Nomadic elves |
| 12 | Dwarves take over ruins of Tenarian Flats. Rename it Bornar after the king |
| 14 | Second Orc War |
| 17 | Bornar was sacked by Orcs and becomes their new stronghold called K'dak Throk |
| 18 | An elven attempt to sack K'dak Throk fails. |
| 36 | A human army from the east sieges K’dak Throk and manages to take the southern half of the city. |
| 37 |
|
| 45 | Marbot defends against a Lizardmen attack |
| 63 | Orc and human barbarians move south passed the northern mountains |
| 64 | Elder Elves sign an alliance with the Unuche Empire to fight the barbarians |
| 65 | Dwarven strongholds are attacked by barbarians. Dwarves remain defensive. |
| 66 | Barbarian hordes are pushed back over the mountain. |
| 140 |
|
| 190 | First Dragon War – A dispute between two dragon factions turns hostile. All races are in the crossfire. |
| 240 | End of First Dragon War |
| 245 | Second Dwarf-Human war for Marbot |
| 250 | Dwarven King removed by own clan. Human-Dwarf treaty signed |
| 251 | Human-dwarf trading and mutual protection pact signed in Marbot |
| 281 | Second Dragon Wars |
| 282 | Silmorious a great platinum dragon pledges protection of Marbot |
| 283 | Silmorious is killed in defense of Marbot. Marbot openly enters Dragon Wars. |
| 285 | Dragon Wars end with the slaying of Rriljarformoriti. His followers flee the continent. The Silmorious pact is signed between Marbot and a great silver dragon Eluiminiokin |
| 331 |
|