Races of Farvion: Elves

 Elves are a medium-sized, nimble folk dedicated to the collection and passing on of knowledge. On the isle of Farvion, they can mostly be found in the northeastern forests of the isle, dwelling almost solely within the boundaries of Alvar, the Elven republic. Elves are generally known as the protectors of history and magic, and typically find themselves obsessed with the protection of things that are old. This is partly due to their nearly unageing bodies, which cease to age at all once adulthood hits. Their divine blood drastically slows aging beyond this point, with them being capable of living for hundreds, if not thousands of years. This resistance to age provides some resistance to time magic. Elves typically dislike association with other races, due to their love and pride relating to freedom. This extends to the point of disliking other cultures that are not as free as they are. Elves are generally shorter than Humans, though on average amount to being only an inch or two shorter. They are generally lighter than Humans. Elves lean most naturally towards a chaotically good alignment, due to their love of freedom. Again, they keep to themselves, which does not often provoke war with other races. They can easily be provoked into battle however, by any race which disgraces it's own history and destroys important records. This in fact also applies to just about anything with historical significance, being magic, or even especially old natural landmarks.

Elven Characters

Elves dwell most favorably within their cities and forest retreats, though they are generally comfortable anywhere surrounded by nature. They are exceptionally graceful, having a bonus of +1 to their Dexterity score automatically, however even with so many years of development, they are still not fully intertwined with their divine blood and thus suffer a -1 to their Constitution. Characters of Elven race may choose to become Fighters, with a level maximum of 7th. They may become Magic-Users as well, with a level maximum of 11th. Elven Thieves are also possible, and like most races, they have no restriction on level. Some twisted Elves who turn to evil are capable of becoming Assassins, being capable of reaching up to 10th level as Assassins. Elven multi-classed characters are also possible, being most well known for Elven Fighter/Magic-Users and Magic-User/Thieves. An Elf character could even, under the right circumstances, decide to become a Fighter/Magic-User/Thief.

Elves are highly resistant to specific forms of magic, with sleep and charm magic having little to no effect on them. They are in fact 90% resistant to sleep and charm spells, meaning a 91 or higher must be rolled on a d100 in order for such a spell to have effect on an Elven character.

Elven culture prizes specific weapons above others. Elves attack at +1 on their "to-hit" rolls involving shortswords or longswords, and are just as accurate with any sort of bow (other than a crossbow.)

Typical Elven culture makes them knowledgeable in the languages known by the races they interact with, being Elvish, Gnomish, Halfling, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Orcish, Gnoll, and the "common tongue" of mankind. Exceptionally intelligent Elves who have an Intelligence of above 15 are allowed an additional language for each point above 15.

Like many other races, Elves can see into the infra-red spectrum at a distance of up to 60'. 

Secret doors are very difficult to conceal from Elven eyes. There is a 1 in 6 chance for an Elf to automatically detect any concealed door within 10 feet of his or her position. When in an active search, Elves may discover secret doors with a 2 in 6 chance, and concealed doors within a 3 in 6 chance.

All Elves with an Intelligence of at least 8 have a certain degree of knowledge over the magical world. All Elves with this Intelligence requirement at least know the of existence and abilities of all Magic-User and Cleric spells up to 5th level, as the 1st through 4th levels of spellcasting are generally well known to Elves. 

Lastly, Elven characters are skilled especially in moving stealthily, as ambush is their preferred form of defense against invaders. If not wearing metal armor, and at least 90' away from any party not consisting entirely of Elves or Halfings who are also not wearing armor, Elves with a chance of 4 in 6 may surprise any creature they encounter. This of course assumes that there is not a portal which needs to be opened to reach the opposition, though even in this case there is a 2 in 6 chance of surprise.

The Elves of the World

Long before the Age of Myth, The Archangel Gabriel blessed a group of three Humans with a single drop of his holy blood. Back in the days where Clerical magic was the only magic practiced, these Humans were meant to become teachers of Clerical study to Human characters. And so, they were given greatly extended lives which allow them to maintain this knowledge for a much longer time. Of the original three, there was Eldiryn the Wise, Guthirél the Swift, and Lady Anduril the Fair. For 30 years Eldiryn and Anduril courted, and were married under the moonlight. And while the two grew only closer with time, Guthirél fell more distant and lonely than the others. When Lady Anduril had her first children, Guthirél became consumed by his jealousy. He met with Eldiryn and slew him in the night, cursing his brother, and by extension, himself. He fled from Anduril and the young elves, and grew as cold and wild as the wilderness surrounding him. Guthirél grew to despise the elves. In his fall from grace came the first of the orcs, beings of darkness who turned from the light that clothed the elves, and grew to hate them in their beauty and grace. The hideous might of the orcs grew to see no equal.

The elves grew over time to have bodies more accustomed to this divine blood. Their ears grew long and pointed, and their bodies grew slender and graceful. With the passage of time, these people took to their own culture and traditions, differing themselves from the race of men. Thus became the first of the elvenkind.

Ever since, these elves have grown to carve out their own role in society. Their incredibly long lives allow their bodies and minds to stand the test of time. With their long lives, elves have grown to love all things that last as long as they do. They hold their magical arts very close, and care deeply for things that last. As such, they are generally cautious about any decision they make, as it may well affect the rest of their very, very long lives. As time went on, elves began conducting magical research over an incredibly long period. The elves researched new forms of magic, integrating Magic-User ability into their daily lives. Around the year 82 B.A, the Elves found a new method of creating a magically reinforced metal, giving way to the creation of elfin chain armor. Elfin chain functions as normal chain armor, but weighs only about half as much and is entirely non bulky, not restricting movement at all.

With the dwarves colonizing the mountains, which have stood for longer than any elf alive to date, it's not that hard to see what problem the elves might have with the dwarves*. They actively destroy and rebuild the faces of the mountains that stood alone for centuries. Not only that, but the dwarves often willingly cut down the old trees to harvest their resources. The elves will not stand for such mockery! The dwarves are too focused on carving out their own history for elvish approval, hence the distrust between the two races. They will not often go to war over these disagreements due to their shared hatred of goblins, and shared trust of gnomes. Either way, such a subject should likely not be brought up around either group...

* - That, and the fact that Dwarves often refer to Elves as "Tree-fondling hippies." Even if done mostly in private, the insult is a source of great angst for the elves.