Forest Elf Alternate Racial Traits

Racial Variants

Pale Elf: Take the "Urbanite", "Maelstrom Vision", and "Secretive Socialite" Alternate Racial Traits.
As mysterious as they are reclusive, the Elves of the Dreaming Tower, also known as "Dreamseers" or "Pale Elves", make their home in the Dreaming Tower, a strange and ancient looming tower built near the center of the dangerous and rarely traveled Riptide Nexus. They rarely leave and are always seen wearing uniform masks...and violently and effectively drive all those who dare to come near far away from their small and rocky isle. Locked away inside their spire, these Elves spend their days dreaming and seeing into the past, into the era before the north and south chunks of the continent sunk...and once their dreams bear fruit, they scour the nearby ocean and seafloor for ruins of that long-lost time, to preserve and keep them safe.

Blood Elf: Take the "Jungle Striders", "Tezcahuital Blood Hunter", and "Terror in the Shadows" Alternate Racial Traits.
The Tezcahuital Elves of the Mundus Forest are a barbaric and tribal lot, one more commonly called "Blood Elves" by those who know of them or who have lived through one of their attacks to tell the tale...painting their bodies in ritualistic lines of red paint and sometimes even actual blood, these Elves stalk the forests as silent hunters and keep it safe from outsiders with often brutal methods. They hide their towering temples well, and though they are sworn enemies of Tamamo and her Imperium, they expertise with which they defend their borders and hide their true power centers has frustrated their attackers for centuries. Capturing those who dare defile their home forest and those who intrude upon their lands with lethal efficiency, these violent Elves drain the blood from their victims into massive offering bowls, where it is used to power rituals to keep the forest healthy and vibrant, and potentially for other purposes as well. Often, they range outside of their forest home on expeditions as a right of passage into adulthood, to brave the perils of the outside world, accomplish some notable deed, and prove themselves mighty. In this way, they earn their ritualistic lines they paint upon their skin and become truly one of their people. They are notoriously lawful for Elvenkind, and have a strictly organized society with clear laws and ranks that make them foreign and odd to other Elves.

Winter Elf: Take the "Frozen Hunter", "Freezing Sight", and "Icebody" Alternate Racial Traits.
Hidden far away to the north of the continent, The Øthir, or Winter Elves, are a conclave of brutal, cold, and unyielding but otherwise Good-Hearted survivalists that long ago broke off from the mainland elves and retreated to the north, where they live among the frozen forests and mountains of the iceblasted Frozen Spire Island. Reclusive and violently protective of their Isolation, the Øthir are a people content to let those who desire to pass through their terrain do so unhindered, but will often make these travelers pay a toll to them for their passage. They respect shows of force and tend to only become violent once it is used against them, and are otherwise content to be left alone and leave others alone if they are allowed. They guard even their names from outsiders, so reclusive are they, and often give cryptic and vague titles or falsities in their place. They are a brusque and suspicious people who are highly xenophobic even in regards to other elves, and this has garnered them a reputation as phantoms in the snow, and deadly boogeymen who can freeze flesh on sight and who devour creatures whole as cannibals...though many of these rumors are false, the Øthir enjoy taking advantage of them when they deign to make contact with outsiders.

Mountain Elf: Take the "Cragtop Travelers", "Fleet-Footed", and "Monastic Scholar" Alternate Racial Traits.
Disciplined and monastic, the Zelthuro, better known as the Mountain Elves of the Nine-Tailed Peaks Mountain Range in the Eastern Imperium, are a people who live among the highest peaks of the world, building small communities around large monasteries and shaving their heads and bodies bare in a display of their dedication to the breaking of tradition and the following of the newer monastic ways of their kind. Ordered, respectful, but brusque and brutally honest with others, these Elves can come off as prickly and uncaring to outsiders due to their seldom displayed emotion, but they are generally a well-intentioned people who place more importance on the gathering of knowledge and the betterment of one's soul through collection of knowledge, experience, and wisdom than they do on morality or social contact. They believe that, through careful refinement and dedication, each life brings them closer to spiritual perfection, as they are reborn anew in bodies after their death and eventually reach 'perfection' after many lifetimes. It is this that they strive towards, and seek out their entire lives; It is not uncommon to see Zelthuro traveling outside of their homes on monastic quests, or to simply explore and gather a deeper breadth of experiences to perfect their souls.

Alternate Racial Traits

Urbanite: You gain a +4 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when you are in the Urban terrain. Additionally, when traveling normally you leave no trail and cannot be tracked (though you may leave a trail if you so choose). This functions as Favored Terrain for the Urban Terrain. If you would get Favored Terrain from a class ability, it replaces this one once the bonus to these terrains rises higher than listed here. Replaces Protectors of the Elvenwood.
Having grown up in cities or civilized areas, some Elves are simply more accustomed to life in the streets and on paved roads than they are in the forest.

Maelstrom Vision: You gain mistsight out to 120ft, and mist, stormy conditions, or inclement weather no longer offer concealment from your sight. Replaces Eyes of the Green.
Living lives near the coast or out on the ocean, the Elves who grow up near the coast or on the ocean find their eyes growing accustomed to storm conditions, and misty environs.

Secretive Socialite: You gain a racial +2 on Diplomacy and Stealth skill checks, getting one of them as a class skill(Player Choice). Replaces Keen Senses.
Personable but secretive, many Elves are well-versed in the ways of the masquerade, and of wearing a 'face' to others while they hide their true nature beneath it. Sneaky but charismatic, they know when to talk and when to move unseen.

Greenwalker: Gain ability to cast tree stride as an at-will spell-like ability 1/day. The caster level of the spell is equal to your HD. You can no longer be hindered by magical or mundane difficult terrain. Replaces the ‘Protectors of the Elvenwood’ racial trait.
The most in touch with nature amongst the forest elves have been seen melding from within the very depths of the trees that comprise the elvenwood. Though little is known by the outside world of these mysterious elves, they frequently appear from the trees and bushes of the forest when travelers stray too far from the paths, their faces serene and peaceful as they escort them back onto the path. To the other forest elves, they are engimas: they are the very images of tranquility and serenity, and embody the timeless beauty of nature itself...infinitely patient and charming, not even their brethren quite know why or how they come into being. However, they are undoubtedly elves of the forest, and, as such, are seldom seen outside it.

Aspirant of the Verdant Path: Ability scores become (+2 Strength, +2 Constitution). Gain a racial +4 on acrobatics checks, and once per combat when you are struck and dealt lethal or nonlethal damage, you can reduce the damage you would take by your Constitution Modifier before the damage resolves but AFTER any DR or Resistances would be applied. Replaces Elven Immunities and alters ability scores.
Though many Forest Elves are content to sit in their villages and cities and waste away the years of their incredibly long lifespans, there are countless among their number that refuse to sit still as their peers and elders sit and waste away like statues. These Forest Elves strive to find the old greatness of their Race, and embark from their homes onto the fabled ‘Verdant Path’, which sees them travel across the Elvenwood with nothing but sack trousers and a sash on a quest to find their inner strength and identity. In this way, they toughen themselves by exposing their bare bodies to the elements and enduring whatever may come their way. In this way, they become strong and durable, their bodies reflecting their steely resolve as they fight Wulven, Sleep bareback, Live off the land, and train themselves to new martial and spiritual heights. Often, these Aspirants find themselves recruited into the Illustrious Clovenguard.

Scholar of Byblos: Gain a racial +4 to Knowledge(History). You may take a High Human alternate racial trait. If it replaces one trait, you replace Forest Elven Magic. If it replaces two traits, you replace Forest Elven Magic and Eyes of the Green. You cannot select ‘Imperious Dominus’ with this trait.
Whether through happenstance or intentional meddling, the Forest Elves are the only civilization which has such absolute unfettered and untainted access to the ruins of High Humanity...rumors abound even amongst the Forest Elves as to how such amazing knowledge has been extracted from the seeming ruin that long ago fell in the deepest groves of the Elvenwood when it appears to be so ruined. Some claim its exterior is simply a facade, and that after a controlled descent, the scholars of the Forest Elven Council brought the minimally damaged city back up to working order and decided to use it for some mysterious purpose...this, the fate of any potential surviving inhabitants...it remains a mystery. However, what is not a mystery is the mounds of lore, knowledge, and even old relics of High Human culture brought out of the ruins...so much so that some Forest Elves have cannibalized old remnants of the High Human species for themselves from the research done within the halls of the ruined city.

Feyscarred: Gain DR 5/Cold Iron and 10ft of extra overland movement per 5 levels. Replaces Elven Immunities OR Keen senses and Blessed of Byblos.
Owing to their close connection to nature, the elves are naturally creatures who closely sit close to the otherwordly fey in the eyes of the outside world. However, some forest elves take this groundless connection to the extreme, and are said to emerge from the odd monthly appearances of the spires in the depths of the forest different than before, their bodies tinged with the very essence of the chaotic forest. They are capricious, and more tricksy than their brethren, and fleeter of foot as well. Even the other forest elves treat these beings with suspicion and confusion, as they usually appear after going missing for months, years, and sometimes even centuries at a time, speaking of living in a forest far removed from the elvenwood, an infinite forest where reality itself works in mischievous, odd ways…

Eyes of the Court-Kissed: You may gain Thoughtsense out to 30ft for (1 + CHAMOD, Minimum 1) rounds per day as a swift action that does not provoke AoO. These rounds may be used in 1 round increments. You gain a +4 on Sense Motive checks, and may cast Discern Lies once a day as an at-will spell like ability. Replaces Eyes of the Green.
Among the Forest Elves who often deal with Fey Wilds, their eyesight which is widely renowned for its power and usefulness with their home sometimes is mutated by their dealings with the Fey Courts...whether a gift, prank, or accident many consider their new eyesight a great bounty. Additionally, these Forest Elves gain an innate sense to detect lying when dealing with others...an ability which proves useful many times over in dealings within the Fey Courts.

Timeless Ancestral Memories: Treat all Knowledge skills as class skills. Replaces Keen Senses.
Much like the odd Ghorans, Ents, and other races of the forest, some forest elves are not only in possession of an innately massive lifespan, but are said to have been able to store their most important memories, knowledge, and recollections in their very bodies to pass onto their descendants. Owing to this, their long lifespans, and habitual recordkeeping, it is no exaggeration when they claim to have a written or spoken record going back to the birth of their species.

Jungle Striders: You gain a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when you are in the Jungle or Forest terrains. Additionally, when traveling normally you leave no trail and cannot be tracked (though you may leave a trail if you so choose). This functions as Favored Terrain for the Jungle and Forest terrains. If you would get Favored Terrain from a class ability, it replaces this one once the bonus to these terrains rises higher than listed here. Replaces Protectors of the Elvenwood.
Having grown up in dense jungles instead of verdant forests, some Elves are more accustomed to swinging from jungle vines and darting from one titanic tree to another than they are moving through the thick underbrush of a forest.

Tezcahuital Blood Hunter: You gain scent out to 100ft against living creatures, which increases to 200ft against injured creatures(Below Max HP). Whenever you deal bleed damage, you deal an amount of extra bleed damage equal to 1/3 your total HD(Minimum 1). Replaces Eyes of the Green and Blessed of Byblos.
Having grown up, lived near, or been trained by one of the notoriously tribal and brutal Blood Elves, some elves are masters of the secret techniques of the Tezcahuital, daubing their bodies with dark red paint in ritualistic lines and symbols as they learn to smell blood as the Blood Hunters do...and how to draw forth more blood from each strike as they do.

Terror in the Shadows: You gain a racial +2 on Intimidate checks, and it is always a class skill for you. Replaces Keen Senses.
You are an expert with the inner workings of other's minds, and know how to perfectly act and position yourself to elicit maximum terror from your targets.

Witness of Genesis: A number of times per day equal to (1 + INTMOD, Minimum 1), may spend a standard action studying a creature or person to learn one of the following: Replaces Protectors of the Elvenwood.

• A) Their Vulnerabilities, if any

• B) Number of Hit Dice Possessed

• C) Their Resistances, if any

• D) A random fact or bit of information about them

The Forest Elves are more ancient than most races alive in the world today can even fathom...and fewer still can truly, truly fathom just how long one of them can live. Some of the oldest amongst them can claim to remember stories of the beginning of the mortal plane, of the wondrous struggles between the newly born gods and their rambunctious creations, of myth and legend, of heroes of old and climactic showdowns atop the clouds. Such Elves are infinitely wise, and are capable of drawing upon their knowledge of all things to learn about those they face.

Lineage of Annihilation: Whenever you deal lethal damage to a creature, you can release a burst of bioelectric energy that prevents telepathy, the Collective class feature, sending/message, and all related/similar abilities that transmit words/sentences/thoughts/language from being used by or on creatures caught within a 30ft radius of the creature you struck for lethal damage, which lasts for 1 hour per HD. Allies may be excluded from this effect. 1/day, when you successfully strike a creature for lethal damage, you may choose another hostile creature within 30ft. They must then make a fortitude save equal to your total attack roll on the struck creature, and on a failed save they take half of your total damage to the struck creature dealt as sonic damage. Once this effect is used this trait cannot be used until the next day. Replaces Guiding Light and Blessed of Byblos.
Though most outsiders in the current age have forgotten the once legendary achievements of the Forest Elven People, the Forest Elves have not forgotten the victories achieved by their ancestors. Perhaps more than any other race except High Humanity have the Forest Elves endured calamity after calamity, weathered apocalypse after apocalypse, and survived when all seemed lost. Having fought the great High Lamia queen during the dying days of the Scalewars with such untamed ferocity and desperation that even the High Orcs feared their might, having been the only race to extend a helping hand to High Humanity during the all but forgotten War of Shattered Skies, when the insects of the Hive swarmed across the planet in the billions...the Forest Elves have a lineage and history unlike any other. Those rare elves who can trace their lineage back to such a time can tap into a shard of the power wielded back in those bleakest of days, when damnation sat just out of reach, ever waiting.

Legacy of Peace: Gain +2 racial bonus to Diplomacy, Sense Motive, and Bluff, one is always a class skill; replaces Keen Senses
Polar opposite to their Sand Elven brethren, who they frequently regard as barbarians, the Forest elves were once regarded the world over as ambassadors capable of stopping any conflict in its tracks. They were envoys of peace, of harmony, and stopped even the arrogant, high-handed high humans from genocide on more than one occasion...though they now sit idle in their forest, the Forest elves once strode to the highest heights and the darkest depths for the sake of peace. Some Forest Elves today carry a trace of this former magnificence inside them, and hold an innate ability to persuade and sense the motives of others.

Frozen Hunter: You gain a +4 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when you are in the Cold terrain. Additionally, when traveling normally you leave no trail and cannot be tracked (though you may leave a trail if you so choose). This functions as Favored Terrain for the Cold Terrain. If you would get Favored Terrain from a class ability, it replaces this one once the bonus to these terrains rises higher than listed here. Replaces Protectors of the Elvenwood.
Having grown up in the freezing cold of the tundra and the northern mountains, you have become more adept at darting unseen through fields of snow and ice than through forest underbrush.

Freezing Sight: As a standard action a number of times per day equal to your INTMOD +1(Minimum 1), you can force any creature within your line of sight to make a fortitude save(DC 10 + 1/2HD + INTMOD) or have their movement speed reduced by half and any cold resistance they have dropped by 10(If they have immunity, it lowers it to Resistance 20) to a minimum of Resistance 0. This effect lasts for 1d4+1 rounds, and on a successful save the target ignores the lowered cold resistance, and the speed reduction lasts for only 1 round. Replaces Eyes of the Green.
Their eyes frozen and icy blue, the Winter Elves are legendary in the north as cannibalistic boogeymen who eat eyes for sport...the truth of that is dubious, but regardless, their eyes are filled with potent magic and are capable of freezing the veins and bones of those they focus on...meaning that for those who earn their trust or who manage to kill one and take their eyes, learning the secrets of this technique can be incredibly beneficial.

Icebody: You gain cold resistance 5, and gain a racial +2 on Perception checks. Survival is always a class skill for you(If it is already due to your class, gain a +2 on it instead). Replaces Keen Senses.
Having grown up in the blistering cold most or all of your live, your skin has taken on a pale white color, and you have grown inured to the cold compared to others of your kind. Additionally, this adaptation has allowed you to excel in hunting and foraging in those same locales.

High Elven Magic: Receive a +4 racial bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance, and a +4 racial bonus on Spellcraft skill checks made to identify the properties of magic items. Replaces Elven Magic.
Though they vanished long ago to parts unknown, the High Elves were said to be living conduits for the prime essences to work through, and were capable of amazing, wondrous feats of magic...some elves today are able to harness a fragment of this legendary magical might, and find their own capable magical might enhanced threefold by the lineage they carry. However, they soon discover that though their powers may be greater than their kin, the magic the High Elves once wielded was drastically different than the magic of today. Acting as conduits, they served as mere pathways for magic, and allowed it to rampage in its purest, most wild form. Some Forest elves today find that trying to control such forces can sometimes lead to wild, disastrous results.

Ancient Elven Craftsmanship: 3/day, can cast Wood Shape as a spell like ability, with a higher degree of control allowing for precise shaping. The chance for failure of moving parts is reduced to 15%. Gain +4 to a Craft() skill of your choosing. You can innately sense the location of natural deposits of special materials that are organic(Ironbark, Worldbark, etc.) that are within 400ft of your location. Replaces Elven Magic.
Said to be amongst the greatest creators of natural beauty in the world, the Ancient Forest Elves were said to have carved the branches, boughs, houses, and stores of the forest elven city of Shae’lenn from the very trees themselves, with naught but willpower. Some elves today are evidence these rumors are fact, and find themselves able to shape the wood of their forest as easily as they breathe..such forest elves frequently pursue the arts, using their gifts to create amazing sculptures, works of art, and countless other inventions and creations. While others still use it to shape the wood of the Elvenwood into battlements and engines of war, the Forest Elves universally regard those of their kind who possess such an ability to be living expressions of Elven Creativity.

Cragtop Travelers: You gain a +4 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when you are in the Mountain terrain. Additionally, when traveling normally you leave no trail and cannot be tracked (though you may leave a trail if you so choose). This functions as Favored Terrain for the Mountain Terrain. If you would get Favored Terrain from a class ability, it replaces this one once the bonus to these terrains rises higher than listed here. Replaces Protectors of the Elvenwood.
Whether you were raised among them or perhaps simply spent a majority of your long life in the mountains and rocky locales of the world, you are more at home on the highest peaks than you ever were in the forest.

Fleet-footed: You gain Run as a bonus feat and gain a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. Replaces Eyes of the Green.
As fast as lightning and twice as reactive, you are so incredibly nimble and light of foot that others of your kin cannot hope to match your speed.

Monastic Scholar: Gain two Knowledge skills of your choice as class skills, instead gaining a +2 bonus on two if you have all Knowledge skills as class skills. You gain darkvision 120ft. Replaces Keen Senses.
Having studied with the Zelthuro in their grand mountaintop monasteries, you gained an appreciation for the vast amounts of knowledge they have collected, and took much of it to heart.

Member of the Timberfell Conclave: Gain a +2 Dodge bonus to AC, and gain a +2 racial bonus to saves against fear effects. Replaces Guiding Light and Well-Stocked.
Special: You are treated as a member of the Organization known as ‘The Timberfell Conclave’ for all RP and gameplay purposes. See the world bible for more information.
Perhaps the only other bastion of Elvenkind in both the continents of Ea, east and west, aside from the mighty Elvenwood, the Timberfell Conclave is a gathering of elves who have since shorn free of the restrictive, oppressively stifling nature of those of their kind that dwell within the Elvenwood. Making their home within the lush, verdant forests that surround the mountains of the coalition and living in secret amidst the catfolk of the forest, the Elves of the Timberfell conclave believe in what their kin do not: of an Elven society, unrestrained by fear, by cowardice, and striving to rebuild everything that millenia of isolation has wrought upon them. Though still a secret to many outside nations and even some member species of the Coalition, they nonetheless live peacefully amidst the forests of the Coalition, which the Coalition Council has allowed them to rename ‘The Timberwode’. Perhaps because of their memories of the Elvenwood, these Elves fear nothing and have trained their bodies and minds to a razor’s edge...to them, nothing is as terrifying as the current state of their species, who shun the outside world out of fear and sorrow...and they have learned from such failures to become mighty, aloof warriors that stride amidst the branches of the Timberfell Forest.

Four-Clover Initiate: +2 to mind-affecting effects against all humanoids without the 'elf' subtype, +2 to damage against all humanoids without the 'elf' subtype. Replaces Well-Stocked and Guiding Light.
Special: You are treated as a member of the Organization known as ‘The Four-Clover Lodge’ for all RP and gameplay purposes. See the world bible for more information.
An utter black-spot on the history of all Elvenkind, both Desert and Forest alike, the Four-Clover Lodge is an organization that resides in many places, none of which are publicly known...said to have been formed by Forest Elves of the Elvenwood who, unlike those of their kin who sought to free themselves and formed the Timberfell Conclave, saw the races that existed outside their forest and saw nothing but insects. Utterly convinced of their own objective perfection and of the ‘lesser races’ having no use aside from cattle and slaves, the Elves of the Four-Clover lodge are slavers of the most despicable, horrible kind. For them, so long as their victim is not of the Elves, no crime is too horrid, no act of butchery too far, nor any barrier too thick nor unappealing in the pursuit of chasing their never-ending goal of reminding the ‘lesser races’ of their place. They relish in the pained screams of those not of their kind, and even the twisted likes of the mysterious ‘Organization’, a group said to comprise the most twisted of assassins, thieves, and murderers, actively refuse contact with them. Even their underworld sibling organizations like the eponymous ‘Organization’ revile them, some of which maintain active bounties on the heads, guts, and corpses of any being proven to work for it. Quick, silent, and deadly in their work, the Elves of the Four-Clover conclave are all-but immune to fear and terror from those they consider inferior...and, it is rumored, study their anatomies in great detail so as to better slaughter them in the most painful ways possible.