Elf and Elfkin

Elves of Glan’Amar have the longest surviving written history. They arrived as fey of various kinds before a cataclysm caused the Material Plane to become severed from Faerie, the First World. After this event, cut off from their home and unable to return, many of the remaining fey died while others were strong enough to adapt to the new world and become a part of it. The Elves, as well as the gnomes and a few other ancestries, were created as part of this. Starting few in number, the elven population did eventually grow and in time they became their own civilization rivaling the existing Hauflin. It was not until after the Void Aeon that the elves fully came into their own. Magic was restructured as part of the Reformation and with it the elves grew into an empire unchallengeable by any others in their lands.

Elven kingdoms covered most of Eldaria, the former continent that Tol’Galen and Harental were once a part of, and peoples of other civilizations were brought to heel to their might. At the height of their power, the elves were capable of enormous magical effects from flying cities to vast teleportation networks that stretched across cities, realms and worlds. It wasn’t until the rise of the Jade King that their magic failed them. A cataclysmic backlash of magical energy meeting caused the Sundering of Eldaria, an event that disrupted the magical flow of the entire world. Swaths of the lands of the elves fell into the sea, wizards of power great and small were eviscerated by their own protective magics lashing out erratically, and the great floating cities of the elves fell. Since that time the elves have dwindled, no longer able to cast their High Magic. Magic, however, remains at the forefront of the remaining elven civilizations in one aspect or another.

Though they have changed much from their time as fey, the elves still hold a few traits that harken back to the days they lived in the unchanging, yet constantly changing, lands of Faerie. “Elven Sorrow”, or the Sorrow, is a trait that all elves have, though it may not affect the elf for centuries. The Sorrow stems from the formerly immortal race being subject to a world where they constantly watch the changing of the seasons, the decay and death of the land around them. It is for this reason that the Eldaran kingdoms used their magic to extend and at times stop the aging of the forests around them. It is also why many elves refuse to grow close to the short-lived races as their deaths only fuel their Sorrow, leading to an earlier death. Half-elves do not inherit the Elven Sorrow.

Elves of Binordheim

The elves of Binordheim, or Alfar, left Eldaria to settle Binordheim to flee the constant infighting of their lands before the Nords arrived. The Dokkalfar (Shadow Elves) and Ljosalfar (Light/Star Elves) created several settlements across the land of Binordheim both together and separate and their society flourished with the study of magic and philosophy, but when their ideals clashed, the ensuing conflict forced their separation. The Dokkalfar were sent away into the darkness of the world below while the Ljosalfar remained above in the light. The effects of the Sundering however did reach the Ljosalfar, decimating their population. Now there are few Ljosalfar remaining in the north, but the Dokkalfar are known by the Nords to surface in the dark months to raid and pillage before retreating underground again.

Basic Information

Growth Rate & Stages

On average, elves grow to physical maturity between 35 and 50 years of age. They grow to mental maturity long before they reach physical maturity. They are not considered adults until they reach their first century. Depending on the elf and their experiences, life expectancy for elves runs an average between 500 and 800 years (upwards of 1200 in some rare cases).

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Elves have keener eyesight than other mortal races.

Ancestry and Lineages

The known lineages of elves stem from a number of differently aligned fae that were abandoned on the Mortal Plane when Faerie fell out of planar alignment with it millennia ago. The surviving fae became the first elves, taking a permanent mortal form. These elves consist of: the magically gifted Amethyst Elves originating from the Eldaran Ascendency and the remnants of the Eldar Princedoms from before the Dearth, the solitary Verdant Elves of the forests of Tol'Galen and beyond who often live in independent and disconnected communities, the righteous Dawn Elves originating from their kingdoms in southern Lithria where they continue to contest a border with the massive country of Trandrafia, the oft shunned Shadow Elves of the Underworld and the World Below who were the first to discover and master the mysteries of shadow magic, and the wondering and wandering Star Elves who remain primarily in Binordheim in few numbers.

Base Ancestry Features

Elf

Once fae from Faerie who were trapped in the Mortal Realm until they became mortal themselves, the elves of Glan'Amar ruled the majority of the world for thousands of years through their mastery of magic and extended vitality before their downfall. Much like the fae they were born from, the elves have several sub-ancestries that have spread throughout the world and beyond.

ability score increase: +2 to any ability score and +1 to any other ability score, or +1 to three separate ability scores (Suggested: +2 Dexterity)

age: 600-800 years on average

Size: Medium

speed: 30ft

Languages: Elvish

sub races:
Amethyst
Shadow
Verdant [WIP]
Dawn

race features:
Darkvision. You have darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the Charmed condition on yourself.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Trance. You do not need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. You can finish a long rest in 4 hours by entering a trancelike meditation during which you retain a semi-consciousness.

Amethyst

Originating from the eternal forests of the Eldaran Ascendency, amethyst elves are known for the crystalized trees that stand eternally within their homeland. In the days of the Eldar Princedoms, at the height of elven civilization, the amethyst elves were the major lineage present. Masters of magic, they wove their magic into the very lands around them, changing them fundamentally. They were so steeped in magic that it changed them as well. Now each amethyst elf has traits reminiscent of their ancestral lands. On average, Amethyst elves are slightly taller than other elves, standing anywhere between 5' and 6'4" on average. They are generally pale - or even silvery - in complexion with hair that varies in color from silvery-white to black, dark blues, or even deep magenta. Due to the exposure to arcane magic, their usual silver, blue, indigo, or violet eyes have a translucent film of pale blue to violet coloration over their entire eye that almost glows slightly.

Amethyst Lineage Features

Amethyst

Amethyst Elves, also known as Eldar, are the main lineage of elves that survived the Shattering of Eldaria. They transformed the land around them with magic and embraced it so fully that it changed them fundamentally. Most have silvery-pale skin sometimes tinted violet in tone with hair commonly in white, silver, and sometimes blues to black. Their eyes, regardless of color bear a slight tinting over the entire eye of violet like the trees that remain of their Eternal Forest, a remnant of their "eternal" empire of old.

ability score increase: --

age: 600-800 years on average

Size: Medium

speed: 30ft

Languages: Elvish

parent race: Elf

race features:
Amethyst Magic. You know the Prestidigitation cantrip. When you finish a long rest you can replace that cantrip with a different cantrip from the Wizard/Arcane spell list. At third level you gain the ability to cast the Detect Magic spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. At 5th level, you can cast the Misty Step spell once, regaining the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells (chosen when you choose this lineage).

Dawn

The ancestors of the dark skinned Dawn Elves left the comfort of the Eldar homeland first to find their own path, conquering a large portion of southern Lithria before they were challenged by the nation now known as Trandrafia. Dawn elves have a propensity toward perfectionism. It is not uncommon for dawn elves to commit themselves to mastering a specific tool or skill in leu of a wide portfolio of skills. This has led to the dawn elves gaining a reputation as masters of craft second only to - or perhaps surpassing - dwarves in their creation of anything from clothing, jewelry, and wines to armor and weapons. Also known as "dune" elves, the dawn elves have a connection to radiance that shows even in their physicality, often attributed to ancestors who hailed from the court of Summer in Faerie. Dawn elves are often tan to dark in skin tone with copper, gold, or dark brown hair. Those with gold and copper toned hair sometimes have seem to have hair that shines in the light like the metals themselves. Their eyes are often hues of warm colors such as yellow, orange, or red - some with other colors such as light blue or green are not uncommon - with yellow-white points of light at the center of their pupils.

Dawn Lineage Features

Dawn

Also called Dune elves for the desert and savanna lands they inhabit, the dawn elves left Eldaria to forge their own path. Settling in southern Lithria, the Dawn Elves conquered much of the southern lands before they were eventually pushed back by a new country during the later years of the Dearth which was formed into Trandrafia. The dawn elves focus on perfection of not just the arcane, but any aspect of their lives and focus on singular skills and crafts, sacrificing versatility. They created the art of bladesinging by merging mastery of magic and the blade and boasted a mighty army driven by their deep belief in truth, righteousness and their own authority.

ability score increase: --

age: 600-800 years on average

Size: Medium

speed: 30ft.

Languages: Elvish

parent race: Elf

race features:
Inward Perfection. Choose one skill or tool proficiency you have and lose your proficiency in that skills or tool, then choose another skill or tool proficiency you have and gain expertise it.
Righteous Radiance. You know the Word of Radiance or Fire Bolt cantrip. At 3rd level you gain the ability to cast the Sun's Retribution (Hellish Rebuke) spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. At 5th level you gain the ability to cast the Enhance Ability spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells (chosen when you choose this lineage).

Shadow

Delvers into the mysterious, shadow elves are named for the sub-school of magic they founded within the Withering, a plane of decay and darkness. Delving into this magic and the Withering it stemmed from caused permanent changes to the elves' physicality, turning their skin monotone shades of black and white, the sclera of their eyes to black, and causing them to develop a sensitivity to sunlight bordering on an allergy. They once lived on the surface in Eldaria but superstitions arose after the necessary destruction of another princedom that dabbled in questionable magic. The pilgrimage of their closest ally, the star elves, gave the remaining princedoms an opening to be rid of them. Nearly destroyed and driven into hiding, the shadow elves faced extinction until a voice from deep beneath the earth promised them vengeance and survival, leading them into a new life in the Underworld under a darker goddess and referred to by a new name: the Drow.
There were, however, some shadow elves that escaped their attempted genocide. When the star elves abandoned Eldaria for the lands of the north in Binordheim, a group of shadow elves joined their cousins in their migration. Though centuries later, the shadow elves of Binordheim, referred to by the Nords as "dokkalfar," did eventually come to a more diluted conflict with their star elf neighbors, leading the two groups to work together to find a more suitable location in which the dokkalfar society could thrive. These shadow elves travelled to a realm known as the World Below, often believed to be a mysterious place beneath the Underworld of Glan'Amar, where they have not been seen since. Some believe that the dokkalfar and the drow are in fact the same, especially the Nords who deal with the occasional "dokkalfar" raid on their villages and towns in the dark months of the year.

Shadow Lineage Features

Shadow

Elves of dulled skin tone, often colorless gray, white, or black due to their exposure to the energies of the The Withering in the days of the Eldaria Princedoms. Some escaped the warring in their old homeland alongside the Star elves to settle lands in the north only to later migrate deep underground into a realm known as the World Below when the light of the northern sky became too much for them, delving deeper into their mastery of shadow magic and its origin.
Those that remained, were quickly turned against by the other princedoms and forced from their homeland and into hiding, most of whom fled underground and into the Underworld, called by the voice of a long lost goddess of the elves, similarly shunned by their kin, who offered them vengeance against the elves of the surface.

ability score increase: --

age: 600-800 years on average

Size: Medium

speed: 30ft

Languages: Elvish

parent race: Elf

race features:
Improved Darkvision. The range of your darkvision increases to 120ft.
Shadow Magic. You know the Dancing Lights cantrip. At 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast the Faerie Fire spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. At 5th level, you can cast the Darkness spell once, regaining the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (chosen when you choose this ancestry).
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Star

The most rarely seen among the elves, Star Elves are live primarily in the northern reaches of Binordheim among their few remaining cities. Avid wanderers, the star elves were known at the height of elven civilization for the mapping of the worlds landmasses, chronicling of its people and places, and connectors of the many Eldar floating cities via their mastery of portals and transportation magic. They eventually mapped the entirety of the known world before looking beyond it to other planes and above it to the stars from which they get their name. The star elves abandoned their lands in Eldaria for the northern climbs of Binordheim, building their cities, or "spires," upon the peaks of the mountains that rose there to better view the stars and devote themselves to their new quest of . They were renowned near the end of the Age of Immortals as masters of magic and travelers between planes and worlds. When the Shattering of Eldaria happened and magic rampaged across the world, the star elves were one of the worst hit by its effects. While their flying city fell as the others did, the magical effects that held some of their cities in a state of interplanar flux were also ripped asunder destroying or evacuating entire districts of their cities and displacing others. Few star elves remained after their fall and the Dearth that followed nearly brought them to extinction. Now, few star elves are seen even in Binordheim where most have chosen to remain, desperately attempting to hold on to what little pieces remain of their civilization. Others decide to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and become the new chroniclers and cartographers of the now changed world.

Star Lineage Features

WIP, Coming Soon

Verdant

Spread across the forested lands of the world, Verdant or Wild elf communities are some of the most isolated of the elven societies - second possibly to the star elves. These elves have established several independent, disconnected societies across the globe. The closest to nature in its natural form, the verdant elves make their living among the natural glades and under the canopies of jungles and forests, incorporating the growing trees around them into their homes rather than clearing them to make room for grand cities. The forests they live in are deemed sacred by their people as they are both a place of life and beauty, and the site of their resting ancestors. When a verdant elf, particularly one of high esteem among their kin, dies their family and community bury the body among the forest and performs a ritual in which a new tree grows from the grave of their fallen. Many of them believe these trees are imbued with a portion of their spirit, or perhaps possessed by it, granting their fallen kin new, lasting life. These trees are said to watch over the lands of the verdant elves, and cutting of these trees will cause immediate retaliation from the elves in the area.
Most verdant elves have traits that suggest truth to the myth that verdant elves descended from dryads, with skin in various shades of tan and brown tinted with other colors, mostly greens, wild hair of reds, browns, blacks, and sometimes even greens. They have a knack for blending in to their surrounding homelands and therefore each verdant elf community may have entirely different physical traits. In addition, and possibly most notably, are the changes that some of these elves can call upon, transforming portions of their bodies to resemble the creatures of the woods they inhabit. A gift not unlike druids or lycanthropes, but lesser.

Verdant Lineage Features

Verdant [WIP]

Also known as wood or wild elves, these elves are often isolationists, remaining in the forests, jungles, and woodlands they protect and call home. They often have tan to dark brown skin, often pigmented with green, and dark brown, black or sometimes green hair that allows them to naturally blend in to the nature that they surround themselves with. Myth claims that Wild elves originated from dryads who became cut off from Faerie and became mortal, but that is uncertain. When a Wild elf dies, their body is given back to the earth and a ritual is done to grow a tree from their corpse, a tree is believed to house a portion of their spirit so that they may remain, looking over their woods for eternity.

ability score increase: --

age: 600-800 years on average

Size: Medium

speed: 35ft.

Languages: Elvish

parent race: Elf

race features:
Fleet of Foot. Your base walking speed increases by 5ft.
Nature's Shroud. You learn either the Druidcraft or Primal Savagery cantrip. At 3rd level, you can cast the Longstrider spell once per long rest. At 5th level, you can cast the spell Pass Without Trace spell once per long rest.
Bestial Nature. You can choose one of the following bestial traits to embody. As a bonus action, you can transform into this partial hybrid form once per short rest. The transformation lasts for up to 1 hour or until you use a bonus action to shift back.

• Beasthide. You gain a +1 bonus to AC and two times your proficiency bonus in temporary hit points.
• Longtooth. You gain a bite attack that you can use as a bonus action on your turn. The bite deals 1d6+strength modifier in damage and uses your strength for the attack roll.
• Swiftstride. As a reaction, when an enemy moves adjacent to you, you can move up to 10 feet away from them without provoking attacks of opportunity.
• Wildhunt. You gain advantage on perception checks that rely on smell and hearing. As a bonus action, you can mark a target within 10 feet of you. You always know where this creature is on this plane of existence within 60 feet of you. You can only mark one creature in this way at a time.

Origin/Ancestry

Fey

Geographic Distribution

• Binorðheim

Related Organizations

• Clan Ulger

Related Technologies

• Sojourner Webway

Notable Elves / Half-Elves

• Rhyn Cytril (Amethyst)
• Luvon Urian (Half-Amethyst)
• Jet Luaith (Dawn)
• Sunhilde (Half-Shadow)

Amethyst Elf

Dawn Elf

Star Elf (Ljosalfar)

Shadow Elf (Dokkalfar)

Shadow Elf (Drow)