Elves (Skills and Powers)

Elves Elves tend to be taller than dwarves, and shorter and slimmer than humans. Their features are angular and finely chiseled, and although elves may appear thin and weak, they are actually quick and strong. When circumstances dictate, elves can be fierce warriors, taking any steps necessary to protect themselves, their homes, and their friends. Most elves are between 5 and 5 1/2' tall and weigh about 110 pounds. They prefer to live in natural settings such as secluded forests and groves. They are chaotic by nature, and other races sometimes consider elves frivolous and aloof.

Elves are an extremely long-lived race, averaging about 1,200 years. This may explain some of their attitudes—life is to be taken slowly and enjoyed; never rush about to accomplish things; there is plenty of time for all activities. Elves enjoy singing, dancing, and looking for the natural beauty in everything they see.

Perhaps because they live so long, elves find it difficult to make friends with the shorter-lived races. Some elves don’t want to bother getting close to humans when those friends will die of old age so soon. However, elves who do make friends outside their race treat their comrades as equals. Friends—and enemies—are never forgotten.

Elves are fascinated by magic and devote time and energy to studying arcane forces. Even powerful human mages respect and admire elves’ understanding of magic.

The standard elven subraces are: aquatic, dark, gray, high, and wood. Player character elves can be the following classes: fighter, mage, cleric, or thief. They also can take the following multi-class combinations: fighter/mage, fighter/thief, fighter/mage/thief, or mage/thief.

Players who choose elves for their characters have 45 character points to spend on racial abilities. These points can be spent to customize an elf from the general skill list below, or they can be used to purchase a subrace’s skill package. Only 5 points can be retained for use later in the character creation process.

Aquatic Elves

Character point cost: 40
Aquatic elves, also called sea elves, live in oceans, lagoons, inlets, bays, and other bodies of salt water. They patrol the shallows and depths and rule from their courts of living coral. Though not often seen, when they are encountered it is common to find dolphins among them.

Aquatic elves serve to keep the evil inhabitants of the depths in check. Sahuagin are particularly hated foes, as are sharks that are large enough to threaten sea folk.

Skin colors vary from silver-green to pale blue. Hair is usually green or blue-green, matching the kelp beds where most sea elves make their homes. Their coloring helps conceal the elves from their natural predators. Aquatic elves have gill slits like fish, and they process the air they need out of the water. Unlike most fish, aquatic elves can live for some time out of water.

Aquatic elves can move about on land for a number of days equal to their Fitness scores. However, the longer they spend out of water, the weaker they become. For every two days spent out of the water, aquatic elves suffer a –1 penalty to all ability scores, and to proficiency checks and attack and damage rolls. If any ability or subability score reaches zero, the elf dies. Weakened elves recover within two turns when they return to salt water. Elves who enter fresh water do not recover, but the process of dehydration halts. Aquatic elves can stay in fresh water indefinitely. However, if an aquatic elf leaves fresh water, the dehydration process starts again.

Most aquatic elves are chaotic good, but player characters can be any alignment.

Languages: Aquatic elves begin play with knowledge of their own tongue, kuo-toa, sahuagin, dolphin. merman, and undersea common.

Aquatic Elves’ Special Abilities

Confer Water Breathing	Stealth
Resistance	Trident Bonus
Secret doors

Aquatic Elf Racial Penalties
Aquatic elves can be out of water only for a number of days equal to their Fitness scores. They cannot gain the elven attack bonus for bows, as such weapons are ineffective underwater.

Dark Elves

Character point cost: 45
The dark elves, also known as drow, live underground. Nearly all of them are evil, and they have used their cunning to become masters of much of the Underdark. Most intelligent creatures shun them. In many ways, dark elves are the twisted, corrupt versions of their above-ground relatives.

Drow have jet black skin, the better to hide their movements underground. And they tend to be shorter than other elves. The only other physical difference drow exhibit is their eyes, which glow a feral red—evidence, perhaps, of the hatred that burns in their hearts and minds.

Very few dark elves are of good alignment, and these are usually player characters.

Languages: Dark elves begin play with: drow, elf, gray dwarf, illithid, undercommon, kuo-toa, bugbear, and orcish.

Dark Elves’ Special Abilities

Infravision, 120'	Spell abilities
Resistance	Stealth
Secret doors

Dark Elf Racial Penalties
Dark elves suffer a –1 penalty on all rolls when exposed to bright sunlight or continual light spells. Lesser light sources do not bother them. All other elves hate dark elves, resulting in an initial reaction roll penalty of –2.

Gray Elves

Character point cost: 45
Gray elves are considered the most noble and reclusive of elvenkind, devoting time to improving their minds. Also known as the faerie, this race has withdrawn from the world around them, stepping forth only to combat great evils. To some—even other elves—this retiring nature makes gray elves seem aloof and uncaring. Indeed, the faerie can be haughty, disdaining contact with their cousins and considering themselves to be the highest, purest, most noble form of elf.

Tall and slender, gray elves have amber or violet eyes and silver or pale golden hair. They prefer to dress in white, silver, or golden yellow with cloaks of dark tones such as deep blue or purple.

Most gray elves are chaotic good, though player characters can be any alignment.

Languages: Gray elves begin with six languages of their choice. The languages are subject to the DM’s approval.

Gray Elves’ Special Abilities

Bow bonus	Secret doors
Infravision, 60'	Stealth
Resistance	Sword bonus
Reason bonus

Gray Elf Racial Penalties
Due to their reclusive and often haughty ways, gray elf characters suffer a –1 reaction roll penalty when dealing with other elves, and a –2 penalty when encountering other races.

High Elves

Character point cost: 40
The most common type of elf, these are also the most open, friendly, and cooperative. High elves set the physical standards for elves, being about 5' tall and weighing about 110 pounds. High elves are the palest of all elves, with a skin tone resembling the color of fine cream. High elves usually have blond hair and blue eyes or darker hair, ranging from sandy brown to jet black, with intensely green eyes. High elves like to wear pastel shades. When out on a hunt or adventuring in the forest, high elves typically cover themselves in a cloak of forest green in the spring and summer and one of tan or russet in the autumn.

Most high elves are chaotic good, though as player characters they can be any alignment.

Languages: High elves begin with high elf, common, elf, gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, orc, and gnoll.

High Elves’ Special Abilities

Bow bonus	Secret doors
Infravision, 60'	Stealth
Resistance	Sword bonus

High Elf Racial Penalties
Because high elves are so friendly and open, they often take things—including illusions—at face value. High elves attempting to disbelieve something which is actually an illusion suffer a –2 penalty to the attempt.

Sylvan (Wood) Elves

Character point cost: 40
Sylvan elves, or wood elves as they also are known, descended from the same stock as other elves. However, they prefer to live a more primitive lifestyle, more in touch with their roots in the primeval forests they have made their homes. They are geared toward simple survival, and they concentrate on their environment rather than on philosophical debates and the study of magic. Sylvan elves enjoy the beauty of a singing bird, the patterns of an intricate spider web, and their own practice of tattooing. They are the most temperamental and emotional elves.

Sylvan elves are more muscular than other elves, and their complexions are darker. They have yellow to coppery-red hair and brown eyes, though some rare cases of hazel or blue eyes are known. Any sylvan elf born with hazel or blue eyes is considered a good omen for the tribe, believed to be destined for personal greatness. Sylvan elves normally dress in browns and greens, the better to blend in with the forest.

Unlike most of their brethren, sylvan elves tend toward neutral alignments, though player characters can be of any alignment.

Languages: Sylvan elves begin with their own dialect, in addition to elf, centaur, pixie, dryad, treant, and brownie. Sylvan elves rarely learn the common tongue, as they wish to have as little to do with the outside world as possible.

Sylvan Elves’ Special Abilities

Bow bonus	Secret doors
Infravision, 60'	Stealth
Resistance	Spear bonus

Sylvan Elf Racial Penalties
On rare occasions when a sylvan elf leaves his forest (most often as a player character), the elf’s discomfort is visible. Anyone encountering a sylvan elf outside his home suffers a –1 reaction roll penalty, as the elf is uneasy around strangers.

Elven Abilities A character with leftover character points may select additional racial abilities after taking one of the standard subrace packages. Or, if the player wishes to create his own customized elven character, he can pick and choose from the list of elven abilities listed below. Abilities cost 5 to 15 character points; refer to the descriptions below.

· Aim bonus (10): +1 to the Aim subability score. This negates the requirement that Dexterity subabilities must be within 4 points of each other. They can be within 5.

· Balance bonus (10): +1 to the character’s Balance subability score. This negates the requirement that Dexterity subabilities must be within 4 points of each other. They can be within 5.

· Bow bonus (5): +1 on attacks with long or short bows.

· Cold resistance (5): +1 bonus on saving throws vs. cold- and ice-based attacks, as the elf’s body is less susceptible to extreme temperatures.

· Companion (10): The elf gains the companionship of a cooshee or an elven cat. See the Animal Master kit for more specifics on companion animals.

· Confer water breathing (10): Once a day, the elf can confer the ability to breathe water upon another individual or creature. This ability lasts one hour for every level of the elf conferring the ability. For example, a 6th level aquatic elf thief could confer water breathing on another for six hours.

· Dagger bonus (5): +1 attack roll bonus with daggers.

· Heat resistance (5): +1 bonus on saving throws vs. heat- and fire-based attacks, as the elf’s body is less susceptible to extreme temperatures.

· Infravision (10): 60' infravision range.

· Javelin bonus (5): +1 attack roll bonus when using a javelin.

· Less sleep (5): The elf requires only four hours worth of sleep to be rested. This is especially valuable to spellcasters.

· Magic identification (10): A 5% chance per experience level of identifying the general purpose and function of any magical item, reflecting their interest in the arcane. This is as per the bard ability—see The Player’s Handbook for more information.

· Reason bonus (10): +1 to the Reason subability, due to gray elves’ devotion to developing their intellects.

· Resistance (10): 90 percent resistant to sleep and charm-related spells.

· Secret doors (5): because of their acute senses, elves are quick to spot concealed doors and hidden entranceways. Merely passing within 10' of a concealed door allows an elf a one-in-six chance (a 1 on 1d6) to notice it. If actively searching, an elf’s chances improve to a two-in-six chance (1 or 2 on 1d6) to find secret doors, and a three-in-six (1, 2, or 3 on 1d6) to notice a concealed door.

· Speak with plants (10): Once a day, the elf can use the speak with plants ability, as a priest of the same level.

· Spear bonus (5): +1 attack roll bonus when using a spear.

· Spell Abilities (15): Once a day the elf can cast faerie fire, dancing lights, and darkness as a priest or wizard of the same level. When the character reaches 4th level, he can add, levitate, detect magic, and know alignment.
· Stealth (10): When the elf is alone and is not wearing metal armor, he gains a bonus to surprise opponents. The opponent suffers a –4 penalty, a –2 if the elf has to open a door.

· Sword bonus (5): +1 on attack rolls using a short sword or a long sword.

· Trident bonus (5): +1 on attack rolls when using a trident.

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