Xoti (zot-e)
Elves native to Skovasil, the Realm of Shadow, the xoti are pale skinned elves who excel at stealth and subterfuge. Able to see in the dark, and to turn invisible in the light of the new moon, many xoti become assassins or spies, able to strike at their enemies before they have even recognized they are in danger. The xoti are weakened by nights of the new moon or on lunar eclipses, losing their ability to hide and becoming sluggish and irritable.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Like normal elves, Xoti speak Elven and Common, but many pick up Alkan, Halfling, and even Chirat due to their homeland being in close proximity to those races.
Average technological level
The xoti prefer magic over technology, often utilizing illusion spells and one-time items to get into the perfect positions to strike their targets. The xoti are well practiced in the creation of concealable weapons, often having a multitude of different weapons hidden on their person at all times.
Common Etiquette rules
The xoti value patience, and thus have many formalities and rules, but they do recognize that moments to strike are key, and they don't waste time when action is finally needed.
Common Dress code
The xoti prefer simple and concealing robes, often black and green in color, to help conceal their movements.
Art & Architecture
The xoti carve their homes out of trees, using both natural architecture and illusion magic to help conceal their dwellings to the untrained eye.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Xoti newborn are left to lay in groves specifically cultivated to reflect moonlight, so that the child may be comforted by the shine of the moons glow. A xoti born on a night with no moon is considered cursed, and is often an outcast, and a xoti somehow born during the day or under the light of sun would most likely be abandoned at birth.
Coming of Age Rites
Xoti youth are often places into groups at a young age, and those groups often become the xoti's lifelong partners. Such groups must prove themselves by going on a lengthily hunting mission that requires great care and stealth. Such hunts are often of monstrous beasts, but are sometimes an assassination job of a lower tier.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Xoti bodies are buried around large pools that reflect moonlight. Such areas often grow beautiful white flowers known as Moonblossems. A xoti often visits a pool where their ancestors are buried before partaking in a mission, so that they may receive blessings and luck from the fallen.
Common Taboos
The xoti are the ancestral enemies of the Mori elves, viewing them as reckless and arrogant brutes who only use force to get their way. Any xoti who associates with one would be swiftly disowned and stripped of any ranks they possess.
Common Myths and Legends
Most xoti worship Giwathil, the elven god of the moon, but can sometimes be found worshipping other god from the elven pantheon, with the exception of Aurë, the elven god of the sun and the patron of the mori.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Like most elves, the xoti extol physical beauty, but the xoti tend to focus on ones aptitude towards magical power and precision rather than a focus on beauty. Permanent scars are a sign of direct conflict, and direct conflict is a sign of failure to end a battle in one precise strike, and thus those with scars are often seen as ugly and failures in the eyes of most xoti.
Gender Ideals
While not strict with their gender rolls, many female xoti become field agents and assassins, working in the field to protect the interests of their people, while male xoti tend towards more administrative leadership and training roles back in xoti encampments.
Courtship Ideals
Many xoti become enamored with the members of their assassin group, and often the group enters a sort of polyamorist relationship with each other. The xoti often surprise each other by playing games, sneaking up on each other and attempting to leave gifts for them without being noticed.
Relationship Ideals
Xoti are slow to trust outsiders and are always on guard, rarely making friends with those outside their groups, and even slower to trust those outside their race. The xoti are fiercely loyal to the ones they trust, and will often fight to the death for the few friends they have.
Major organizations
The xoti are reclusive and secular, prefering to remain hidden in the Lunaris Forest. Many xoti are hired by other organizations of the Free Lands to help combat the approach and machinations of the Necromantic Baronies.
Random Xoti Homelands
| % Rolled | Homeland | Trait Gained |
|---|---|---|
| 01-60 | Hidden Xoti Grotto | Child of the Moon |
| 61-80 | Dark Forest | Trap Savy |
| 81-90 | Non-elven Settlement | Forlorn |
| 91-96 | Crypt or Necropolis | Corpse Dodger |
| 97-00 | Unusual Homeland | (Roll on Unusual Homeland table) |
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