The Elfin

The Elfin are a diverse people, that easily adapt to their environment and the people around them. Most of the Elfin found on the planet today live in underground burrows in the area of Hillshire, right between the borders of the North and the South. Elfin are diplomatic creatures that crave stability and peace, and thus the ongoing hostilities between the Ibirian empire and the Northern Alliance have made them wary and cut-off from the world outside of their safe burrows. The second major group of the Elfin are those who call the deepest parts of the forest and the feywilds their home. These Elfin are very shy, and are an extremely rare sight outside of their forest homes.

Traits

Ability Score Increase:
Elfin of Hillshire: Your Intelligence increases by 2, your Wisdom increases by 1. You have minus 1 in Strength due to your small size.
Elfin of the Forest: Your Wisdom increases by 2. Your Intelligence increases by 1. You have minus 1 in Strength due to your small size.
Age: Smallfolk reach physical maturity at around the age of 10 because of their metabolism, slightly faster than humans and elves. This does not mean the Smallfolk in question is in any way considered adult from this point forward however. Young Elfin are usually considered «officially» adult from the age of 20, and they typically live to be at least 150 years old.
Alignment: Elfin are most often good, even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious. They tend to gravitate towards chaos rather than order, because of their free-spirited, minimalistic culture, though this is not always the case. The Elfin of Hillshire tend to be less chaotic than their wilder brethren.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Languages: Based on your background you can speak, read and write common and one additional language of either Sylvan og Gnomish/Gnim:

If you are an Elfin of the Hillshire, Gnomish/Gnim is your mother tongue. The Gnim language, which uses the Dwarvish script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge about the natural world. (Gnim dictionary: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Gnome_dictionary)

If you are an Elfin of the deep woods, or if you are an Elfin druid, your mother tongue is Sylvan. (Sylvan equals Skottich Gaelic, use google translate). Due to your people’s reclusive nature; your common is quite bad. You struggle somewhat with reading and writing common.

Vision: Normal
Favored Time of Day: Elfin generally prefer the daylight, but many of the forest dwelling Elfin are out and about during the night nevertheless.
Favored Climate: Temperate
Favored Terrain: Plains, Forests

Bonus Proficiencies (pick 2)

Animal Friend: You have proficiency in the Animal Handling skill. One With Nature: You have proficiency in the Nature skill. Nimble Fingers: You have proficiency in the Sleight of hand skill. Smooth Talker: You have proficiency in the Persuasion skill. Born Performer: You have proficiency in the Performance skill.

Elfin Weapon Training⁠:

Most Elfin are unfamiliar with the arts of warfare, but many, especially those who are adventuring, have still picked up some simple tricks over the years. You have proficency with the simple weapons: the shortbow, dagger, sickle and quarterstaff.

Elfin of Hillshire / Halflings:

Smallfolk Cunning:

The Hillshire Smallfolk, despite their humble natures, are known to be crafty and insightful. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma Saving Throws against magic.

Artificer’s Lore:

Many of your people are hoarders by heart, and you have a natural inclination to collect rare items. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to magic items, alchemical objects, or technological devices, you can add twice your proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you normally apply.

Feytouched:

Some rare individuals of your race, which your people call the «feytouched», can sprout pixie-like wings from small slits on their backs and use these to glide some distance, as well as soften falls. If you are a druid you gain this ability at level 1, if not, you gain this ability at level 4.

Elfin of the Forest:

Animal Friend:

Becaus of your people’s deep connection with the feywilds and life itself, you posess the ability to speak with animals similar to the «speak with animals» spell, this can be used at will.

Forest Camouflage:

Your people are adept at hiding in the forest regions which they call home. You have advantage on Dexterity (stealth) checks to hide in forest terrain. Small and Nimble: Forest Gnomes have a natural affinity for hiding. You have the ability to move about without leaving any footprints or scent similar to the «pass without trace» spell. You can use this ability at will.

Feytouched:

Some rare individuals of your race, which your people call the «feytouched», can sprout pixie-like wings from small slits on their backs and use these to glide some distance, as well as soften falls. If you are a druid you gain this ability at level 1, if not, you gain this ability at level 4.

Appearance

Compared with the gnomish smallfolk, Elfin are even more diminutive than is typical of the stunted race. Typically, males are slightly larger than females. Unlike the Elfin of the Hillshire, Forest Elfin generally grow their hair long and free, feeling neither the need nor desire to shave or trim their hair substantially, though males often do take careful care of their beards if they have any.
Size and build: Elfin are the smallest of the two Smallfolk subspecies, averaging at about 80 cm, while weighing around 14 kg on average.
Skintones: Elfin skin is usually light or medium tan with earthy undertones like green, brown or yellow. Freckles are common.
Haircolor: Haircolors typically comes in shades of brown, blonde, red or green, though it grays with old age, sometimes to a pure white.
Eye color: Elfin typically have green eyes, often with yellow or hazel specks. Brown eyes also exist but are slightly less common while blue eyes are rare.
Ears: Elfin have big pointy ears.
Clothes and adornments: Elfin society is a curious mix of luxury and hard work. The Forest dwelling Elfin spend most of their days working for the benefit of the community but after returning home from the woods, they are usually treated to a relaxed lifestyle with few causes of stress. The same also applies to the Hillshire Elfin, although they tend to be even more focused on relaxation and community. Hillshire Elfin are a people fond of delicious food, good friends and the little joys in life like collecting artifacts and gemstones. Both subraces of Elfin devote themselves to a variety of humble but impressive artistic practices. Among these are gemcutting and jewelry-making, which most Elfin have a deep fondness for. Typically, however, the items the Elfin make reflect the natural world, and are often humble in design. Elfin also forge a wide variety of tools, and are generally skilled craftsmen. The clothes of Elfin vary drastically from where they dwell. The Forest Elfin clothes are usually made to be practical and easy to move around in, as well as being good camouflage with leaves and branches attached to their armour. The Hillshire Elfin have a more varied but also down-to-earth style, with designs borrowed and traded from other races.
Forest Elfin architecture is quite unique. Like many of the Wood Elves, the Elfin traverse the woods in such a way as to disturb the local environment as little as possible. However, unlike the nomadic clanspeople of the Wood Elves, the Forest Elfin build their homes within trees, carving them in a careful manner devised by druids that does as little harm to the living plant as possible. Each tree hovel is usually a few hundred feet away from every other one, allowing each family the privacy that forest gnomes as a whole crave.
The Hillshire Elfin’s living habits are drastically different. They live in cozy burrows just below ground, with tunnels that are interconnected with the rest of their society. The Hillshire Elfin favour practicality over beauty, with a far more rustic design. Despite sleeping and eating underground however, Elfin spend most of their days on the surface, enjoying the sunlight and the beautiful grassy hills and meadows where they make their homes.

Diet

Elfin lives are generally comfortable and idyllic, despite being quite primitive, which is true for both the Forest dwellers and the Hillshire Elfin. Both groups are largely hunter-gatherers, but they eat very little meat. This is due to their bodies having trouble with absorbing the nutrients from the meat of living creatures, and many are also lactose intolerant. Due to this they have learned to enjoy fruits, nuts, roots, mushrooms, berries, grain and eggs, sometimes supplementing their diet with various kinds of bugs. Some Elfin eat meat in small doses because they, as most other races, enjoy the taste, but they tend to be careful as to not ingest too much. The Forest Elfin are particularily averse to keeping livestock and pets. However, Elfin of both biomes are fond of wild animals and will sometimes forge bonds with them. Of the forest's wildlife, they most prefer the company of creatures close to their own size, such as foxes, squirrels, birds and bunnies.

History

Elfin are direct descendants now extinct pixie-like feycreatures that wandered over from the Feywilds many thousands of years ago. Elfin are among the oldest of the races on Gaea, and they tend to have a natural, almost spiritual connection to the planet and its inhabitants due to this. Forest Elfin are the subrace of Smallfolk that most resemble these ancient fey creatures in both appearance and way of living, this is apparent in their considerably larger percentage of children born with the pixie-like wings that their race once had. The individuals whom possess these wings are called «feytouched» and they are often led towards becoming druids because of their connection to their ancient pixie roots. Most Elfin never sprout wings, and some sprout them after years, but being born feytouch is a great honor, especially in Forest Fey society, and is quite rare overall.
During the Wild Elf War in the later parts of the first age, the Elfin people were greatly reduced in number. This is when the Forest Elfin and the Hillshire Elfin parted ways, as well as when the Goblins as a subrace were born. During this time the Elfin were solely forest dwellers whom lived in complete harmony with nature, when the Wild Elves, later known as Orcs, infringed upon their lands, many Elfin were driven out of the comfort of the forest. These would eventually settle in several places in Northern Antreia, and would adapt to a lifestyle underground in their burrows as to hide from the other races. This did not go unnoticed by the Orcs however, and they would capture and enslave many of these Elfin. Some, later known as the Goblins, were turned demonic by the Orcs and their fiendish powers, and would be driven crazy as a result.
Today, there are far more Goblins in the world than there are Elfin, with the Forest Elfin being especially rare. Only a handful or family groups still exist, and these groups have had little contact with other races, most only know sylvan and gnim and many have never encountered members of other humanoid races. The Hillshire Elfin have done fairly well for themselves in recent years due to trading and a general acceptance of the customs of other races, but they too have no real political or military power in the world.

Personality and Reputation

Although Elfin are a fairly shy, private and conservative people they are not particularly resentful or untrusting of outsiders. Usually, it's more the case that Elfin simply don't care about other races and, when they meet outsiders they're often friendly, if painfully timid in the Forest Elfin's case. When given the chance, Elfin can be extremely close and loyal friends.
Of the other humanoid races, most Elfin have no particular preferences. The Hillshire Elfin generally prefer the Northern races to the Southern ones however. The Forest Elfin get along particularly well with the Wood Elves thanks to the race sharing similar homes to the Elfin of the forest.

Society

When the planet was young and the first races started emmerging on Gaea, a group of small pixie-like fey would step out of the feywilds, into the material plane to make their homes in the forests and jungles of the planet. Centuries passed, and these creatures would evolve with the land, becoming the Elfin we know today. Of all the Elfin, Forest Elfin have retained their feylike-qualities the most, both when it comes to natural abilities and outlook on life. Their fey-ancestry make them skillfull illusionists, and their mentality ecnompasses a respect and veneration for all things natural.
Forest Elfin villages are usually composed of less than a hundred members, who are often all a part of an extended family. Their homes are generally small, reclusive, and so well-hidden that a human might well walk within a few feet of an Elfin home and not even realize it. Part of this is because of the unique manner in which the race construct their homes, which are typically located within trees. The Elfin spend the majority of their day tending to the forest and gathering food to feed the rest of the village, although a few search underground for gems in a manner unusual for most hunter-gatherers. The children who are too young to contribute are generally allowed to do as they like, although they are prevented from wandering far from their protective parents. These children learn how to behave primarily by example, watching their elders, acquiring a reverence for the forest and appreciation for their society gradually. Forest Elfin society is generally organized in a loose gerontocracy, with the eldest member of the community serving an advisory role to the rest of the community, who generally only make decisions by consensus. Outside of their homes, this ethic carries on, though the Elfin rarely gather in groups of more than two or three beyond their secluded villages.
When it comes to the Elfin of the Hillshire and those who live togheter with other races, they have adapted to living life outside of the forests which they once called their home. The Elfin of the Hillshire live life in small communities, where their houses are scattered accross the green meadows of the area.

Religion:

Of all the gods, most Forest Elfin feel the closest to Eyr, the goddess of life, and her companion the Skinwalker, who is often associated with the wild places where the race reside. According to Forest Elfin tradition, Eyr has personally entrusted the care of the wilderness to her followers, a burden these Elfin are happy to accept, and druids of the goddess often serve as caretakers of the forest. Selune is another popular goddess, who venerate her teachings to treat with respect and friendship the animals of the wild. As a way of showing their veneration for the moon goddess, the warriors among both the Hillshire Elfin and the Forest Elfi who follow Selune’s teaching, often wear moonstones or symbols of the moon as part of their armor. Other Elfin, especially those of the Hillshire Elfin who pursue magic, might do as their Gnome cousins and revere the god of knowledge and wisdom; Vathyre, or simply just follow The Fate.

Forest Elfin:

SHY AND RECLUSIVE

The Elfin of the forests are painfully shy creatures who neither feel the need nor want to interact with other races. For the most part they would simply like to be ignored as they have been for millennia. This comes less out of a general mistrust of outsiders and more out of an extreme sense of privacy and affinity for the natural world, combined with a general ambivalence about things that are outside of their experience. Among their own kind, Forest Elfin are quite friendly, if not particularly lively.

CONSERVATIVE AND CONTENT

Forest Elfin rarely leave their remote homes. As a general rule, they lack the curiosity that is typical of most smallfolk and will only leave their homelands under intense pressure, such as a threat that they alone cannot overcome. For the most part, Forest Elfin prefer to stick to what they know, caring for the wood around them.

MASTERS OF ILLUSION

Because of their reclusive nature, the Elfin of the forests are experts at illusion. When an intruder walks too close to a Forest Elfin settlement, the magicians of their people create complicated illusions to lure them away. This has proven quite effective, as very few people can say that they have seen a Forest Elfin village with their own eyes.

Hillshire Elfin:

KIND AND CURIOUS

Elfin are an affable and cheerful people. They cherish the bonds of family and friendship as well as the comforts of hearth and home, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually venture into the world for reasons of community, friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. They love discovering new things, even simple things, such as an exotic food or an unfamiliar style of clothing. The Elfin are easily moved to pity and hate to see any living thing suffer. They are generous, happily sharing what they have even in lean times.

BLEND INTO THE CROWD

The Elfin who ventured outside of their forest homes thousands of years ago have adepted well, and are masters at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, or elves, making themselves valuable and welcome. Their unassuming nature helps the Elfin to avoid unwanted attention. Elfin work readily with others, and they are loyal to their friends, whether Elfin or otherwise. They can display remarkable ferocity when their friends, families, or communities are threatened.

PASTORAL PLESANTRIES

Most Elfin live in the Hillshire, where small, peaceful communities with large farms and well-kept groves are the norm. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much land beyond their quiet shires. They typically don’t recognize any sort of Elfin nobility or royalty, instead looking to family elders to guide them. Families preserve their traditional ways despite the rise and fall of empires. Many of Gaea’s Elfin also live among other races, where the Elfin’s hard work and loyal outlook offer them abundant rewards and comforts. Some few Elfin communities travel as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place and maintaining no permanent home.

Classes

Elfin are curious by nature, but due to their conservative nature, be it if they are Forest born or of the Hillshire, Elfin only rarely become adventurers. If they choose to venture outside of the comfort of their hovels, this is usually due to some kind of threat to their home or other need that requires them to leave. Those who do leave take on a variety of different roles.
Magic: Many Elfin show a propensity for the arcane arts and become, like so many of their kin, illusionists, this is especially true of the Forest Elfin. Several Elfin also become clerics or druids, and many Hillshire Elfin, or those Elfin whom are born in human cities, choose to learn the art of the wizard.
Mix: The Elfin love art, music and the better things in live. Due to this, they make excellent bards.
Non-Magic: Very few Elfin would consider themselves warriors. Some Elfin pick up the sword and become fighters, but this is quite unusual due to their small size and frail bodies. On the other hand, Elfin are extremely wellsuited to the life of a rogue, and many become excellent assassins and thieves.

Forest Elfin Names

Forest Elfin tend to be less eccentric when it comes to names than their Hillshire and Gnome cousins. They are given a name from their parents or in some cases a clan elder, when they are born, and they most often use a family name as surname. Forest Elfin family names are typically more similar to Wood Elven names, while their first names follow the same kind of structure as what you would typically see among the other smallfolk, but still carry sylvan characteristics.
Male Names: Alvyn, Dimble, Eldon, Glim, Kellen, Orryn, Seebo, Sindri, Warryn, Wrenn, Liliar
Female Names: Breena, Caramip, Carlin, Donella, Ella, Lilli, Lorilla, Nissa, Nyx, Oda, Orla, Roywyn, Shamil, Tana,
Forest Elfin Clan Names: Coille, Cridhe, Biadh, Dhuilleagan, Duilleag, Iteach

Hillshire Elfin Names

An Elfin has a given name, a family name, and possibly a nickname. Family names are often nicknames that stuck so tenaciously they have been passed down through the generations.
Male Names: Alton, Ander, Cade, Corrin, Eldon, Errich, Finnan, Garret, Lindal, Lyle, Merric, Milo, Osborn, Perrin, Reed, Roscoe, Wellby
Female Names: Andry, Bree, Callie, Cora, Euphemia, Jillian, Kithri, Lavinia, Lidda, Merla, Nedda, Paela, Portia, Seraphina, Shaena, Trym, Vani, Verna
Family Names: Brushgather, Goodbarrel, Greenbottle, High-hill, Hilltopple, Leagallow, Tealeaf, Thorngage, Tosscobble, Underbough

Related Organizations

• The Fate