Shattered Lands Elves [Archive] - Wizards Community

Shattered Lands Elves [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Plastic Sun
09-21-07, 01:44 AM http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/MeowMixR/ElvenRanger.jpg

Shattered Lands Elves

The Elves of the shattered lands have suffered long and hard since the days of the Great War. Their ancestral forests were used as fuel for the great machines, torn down without the consent of the inhabitants. But all of this is recent history to the elves, this was barely three generations by their reckoning and the past holds even greater pain and tragedies for them. The old heraldic records that have been recovered since the war suggest a strange history to the Elves, that they were in ancient days once humans. This strange transmogrification of their race was a boon and curse from the Fae that they were beholden to, beings of mercurial nature and inscrutable motives. The elves were blessed with greater resemblance to their gods as well as unimaginably long life spans, stretching over long centuries and often over a millennium long. The minds of mortals (especially the short lived Humans) are neither designed nor prepared for such long life spans. Their sanity erodes slowly but surely from the long centuries of life until in the twilight of their lives’ they are quite mad. A schism has appeared in elf society in the centuries since the war. A new generation of battle-mad, vengeful elves has arisen since the years of the war, fed stories of massacre and death at the feet of their elders and screaming for the blood of the races that harmed them during the dark days of the war. These younger elves follow an ancient winter god whose violent vision of a frozen genocide appeals to the violent edge this generation seems to have embraced. The older generations still have memories of what transpired during the war, though they are often viewed through the shattered lens of their own degrading sanity. The Older elves attempt to reign in their younger members, but this is hampered because of their progressive madness, but they try their best to steer their race onto the road to peace.

Personality: Elves are shifting and flighty as befits their ancient connection to the faeries. An elf’s mood and temperament may shift erratically, making it difficult for other races to follow their oft-meandering minds and thoughts.

Relations: Most races steer clear as best they can of the elves because the races’ reputation for madness and violence unsettles the majority of them. The great exception to this rule is the centaurs who see the elves as one would see a wounded animal, something needing both caution and healing, the elves for their part tend not to mind dealing with the centaurs and often use them as go-betweens to the other races. The elves reserve a special hatred for Goblins, race of inventors were the chief architects of the destruction of the Elves’ homes, using the excuse of fuel to practice total warfare against them.

Alignment: Elves are an overwhelmingly chaotic race, the blood of the Fae coursing through their veins. Lawful alignments are nearly unknown among them. In respect to good and evil they are usually neutral, though younger members of the race tend more towards evil.

Appearance: Elves look much like humans, though the difference between the races is quite clear. Elves tend to be slighter of build as well as possessing an unearthly grace. Elves have sharply pointed ears, visibly longer than a human. The most shocking features of their race tends to be the strange nature of their eyes which will shift slowly along the spectrum of colors to match the mood of the elf.

Religion: The ancient god Zuvassin was rediscovered some short seven decades ago after a ruined temple belonging to the god was unearthed. Worship of Zuvassin exploded among younger elves that embraced the god’s dark message with disturbing readiness. Zuvassin is a relic from the savage past of the elves and he was worshipped as a god of vengeance and cold, his clerics are known as Wendigo among the younger elves and they are quickly becoming synonymous with brutality in the minds of more moderate members of the society. Older or moderate elves tend to practice druidism and fae worship, venerating nature and their unearthly faerie companions.

Languages: Elves speak Sylvan and Common.

Elf Lands: The elves hold an iron grip of the forests to the north of the central plains. They are temperate at the southern border but soon grow cold and icy, stretching to the northern pole. They defend their lands with near-fanatical zeal and are quite xenophobic towards intruders, though they will usually leave them unmolested until they show signs of actual aggression.

Elf Adventurers:

Elf Names:

Shattered Lands Elves Racial Traits

These statistics are instead of the normal ones

+2 to Dexterity, +2 to Charisma, -2 to Constitution, -2 to Wisdom: Elves are unnaturally graceful and charming, though they have an unfortunate tendency towards frailty. Elves grow progressively mad as they age but they seem to grow increasingly more charming and have a more distinct presence.

Madness: Elves have a racial madness brought on upon them by the blessings of the Fae. As a race they are immune to both Insanity and Confusion effects. Per age category above middle-aged, the Elf gains an additional +1 bonus to Charisma and an additional – 1 penalty to Wisdom. An Elf whose Wisdom ever drops below 1 is considered unplayable, brought to the deepest bowels of madness and should be an NPC from there on. The racial madness incurable even by a Wish or Miracle spell. Designers note: Elves above Middle-aged are usually reserved for DM use only.

+2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects: The often-fractured minds of the elves cause them to be difficult to sway, though their willpower tends to be weaker

+2 racial bonus of Listen, Spot, and Search checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it: Elves have keen senses and often pick up on subtle clues that other races would miss.

+2 racial bonus on Survival and Hide checks while in wooded areas: Elves are adept at both hunting and stalking in their woodland home and such skills are encouraged at a young age.

Low-Light Vision

Favored Class: Ranger
Plastic Sun
09-25-07, 06:23 AM :bump:
Artifact
09-25-07, 12:22 PM Awesome work, Plastic Sun. I really like the "un-human" mind-set, very divergent from typical D&D elves and quite unique. Really nice pic by the way; your own work?

There is one downside however ;): When I read something that inspires me as much as this, I can't help but wonder about the setting in which it all takes place. See, now I've gotta bug ya to write a little about the Shattered Lands (your homebrew setting I presume?). Please?

May I suggest starting a thread in the Campaign Workshop forum on these boards? I promise I'll stop by and offer as much encouragement as I am able. In any case, I really enjoy reading well-written articles and thank you for what you've shared so far.
Plastic Sun
09-25-07, 04:03 PM Oh well thanks, the whole idea was to be divergent. The pic was gleaned from a google search, it fit what I was going for so I used it. As for working in the campaign workshop. I really should get on that and stop just publishing races.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Plastic Sun 09-21-07, 01:44 AM	http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/MeowMixR/ElvenRanger.jpg Shattered Lands Elves The Elves of the shattered lands have suffered long and hard since the days of the Great War. Their ancestral forests were used as fuel for the great machines, torn down without the consent of the inhabitants. But all of this is recent history to the elves, this was barely three generations by their reckoning and the past holds even greater pain and tragedies for them. The old heraldic records that have been recovered since the war suggest a strange history to the Elves, that they were in ancient days once humans. This strange transmogrification of their race was a boon and curse from the Fae that they were beholden to, beings of mercurial nature and inscrutable motives. The elves were blessed with greater resemblance to their gods as well as unimaginably long life spans, stretching over long centuries and often over a millennium long. The minds of mortals (especially the short lived Humans) are neither designed nor prepared for such long life spans. Their sanity erodes slowly but surely from the long centuries of life until in the twilight of their lives’ they are quite mad. A schism has appeared in elf society in the centuries since the war. A new generation of battle-mad, vengeful elves has arisen since the years of the war, fed stories of massacre and death at the feet of their elders and screaming for the blood of the races that harmed them during the dark days of the war. These younger elves follow an ancient winter god whose violent vision of a frozen genocide appeals to the violent edge this generation seems to have embraced. The older generations still have memories of what transpired during the war, though they are often viewed through the shattered lens of their own degrading sanity. The Older elves attempt to reign in their younger members, but this is hampered because of their progressive madness, but they try their best to steer their race onto the road to peace. Personality: Elves are shifting and flighty as befits their ancient connection to the faeries. An elf’s mood and temperament may shift erratically, making it difficult for other races to follow their oft-meandering minds and thoughts. Relations: Most races steer clear as best they can of the elves because the races’ reputation for madness and violence unsettles the majority of them. The great exception to this rule is the centaurs who see the elves as one would see a wounded animal, something needing both caution and healing, the elves for their part tend not to mind dealing with the centaurs and often use them as go-betweens to the other races. The elves reserve a special hatred for Goblins, race of inventors were the chief architects of the destruction of the Elves’ homes, using the excuse of fuel to practice total warfare against them. Alignment: Elves are an overwhelmingly chaotic race, the blood of the Fae coursing through their veins. Lawful alignments are nearly unknown among them. In respect to good and evil they are usually neutral, though younger members of the race tend more towards evil. Appearance: Elves look much like humans, though the difference between the races is quite clear. Elves tend to be slighter of build as well as possessing an unearthly grace. Elves have sharply pointed ears, visibly longer than a human. The most shocking features of their race tends to be the strange nature of their eyes which will shift slowly along the spectrum of colors to match the mood of the elf. Religion: The ancient god Zuvassin was rediscovered some short seven decades ago after a ruined temple belonging to the god was unearthed. Worship of Zuvassin exploded among younger elves that embraced the god’s dark message with disturbing readiness. Zuvassin is a relic from the savage past of the elves and he was worshipped as a god of vengeance and cold, his clerics are known as Wendigo among the younger elves and they are quickly becoming synonymous with brutality in the minds of more moderate members of the society. Older or moderate elves tend to practice druidism and fae worship, venerating nature and their unearthly faerie companions. Languages: Elves speak Sylvan and Common. Elf Lands: The elves hold an iron grip of the forests to the north of the central plains. They are temperate at the southern border but soon grow cold and icy, stretching to the northern pole. They defend their lands with near-fanatical zeal and are quite xenophobic towards intruders, though they will usually leave them unmolested until they show signs of actual aggression. Elf Adventurers: Elf Names: Shattered Lands Elves Racial Traits These statistics are instead of the normal ones +2 to Dexterity, +2 to Charisma, -2 to Constitution, -2 to Wisdom: Elves are unnaturally graceful and charming, though they have an unfortunate tendency towards frailty. Elves grow progressively mad as they age but they seem to grow increasingly more charming and have a more distinct presence. Madness: Elves have a racial madness brought on upon them by the blessings of the Fae. As a race they are immune to both Insanity and Confusion effects. Per age category above middle-aged, the Elf gains an additional +1 bonus to Charisma and an additional – 1 penalty to Wisdom. An Elf whose Wisdom ever drops below 1 is considered unplayable, brought to the deepest bowels of madness and should be an NPC from there on. The racial madness incurable even by a Wish or Miracle spell. Designers note: Elves above Middle-aged are usually reserved for DM use only. +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects: The often-fractured minds of the elves cause them to be difficult to sway, though their willpower tends to be weaker +2 racial bonus of Listen, Spot, and Search checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it: Elves have keen senses and often pick up on subtle clues that other races would miss. +2 racial bonus on Survival and Hide checks while in wooded areas: Elves are adept at both hunting and stalking in their woodland home and such skills are encouraged at a young age. Low-Light Vision Favored Class: Ranger
Plastic Sun 09-25-07, 06:23 AM	:bump:
Artifact 09-25-07, 12:22 PM	Awesome work, Plastic Sun. I really like the "un-human" mind-set, very divergent from typical D&D elves and quite unique. Really nice pic by the way; your own work? There is one downside however ;): When I read something that inspires me as much as this, I can't help but wonder about the setting in which it all takes place. See, now I've gotta bug ya to write a little about the Shattered Lands (your homebrew setting I presume?). Please? May I suggest starting a thread in the Campaign Workshop forum on these boards? I promise I'll stop by and offer as much encouragement as I am able. In any case, I really enjoy reading well-written articles and thank you for what you've shared so far.
Plastic Sun 09-25-07, 04:03 PM	Oh well thanks, the whole idea was to be divergent. The pic was gleaned from a google search, it fit what I was going for so I used it. As for working in the campaign workshop. I really should get on that and stop just publishing races.