Main Subraces

Post by **Ailander** » Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:55 pm

Always remember
You will find the typical NPC behavior described below, along with a brief description of their society and history. This does not mean that one can't deviate from these traits during the course of their adventure, nor that this is comprehensive of everything. If you seek more information, the Wiki is your friend!

Moon Elf
Moon elves, also known as Teu-tel-quessir in the elven language or as silver elves, were the most common of all the elven subraces. More tolerant of humans than other elves, moon elves were the ancestors of most half-elves.They were considered high elves sometimes also called eladrin.They were also called gray elves, although that was a derogatory term. To be called a "gray" by another elf was a huge insult.

The Teu-tel-quessir were tall, close to humans in height, but more slender and beautiful. Moon elf skin was pale, often with an icy blue hue. Moon elf hair was commonly black, blue, or silvery white, although human-like colors were heard of as well, though very rare. Moon elf eyes, like those of other elves, were very commonly green, although some were blue as well. All exhibited a characteristic best described as golden flecks speckled through the iris. Male moon elves were typically taller than females

Moon elves are the most impulsive, with a strong distaste for complacency or isolation. Moon elves longed to be on the road, traveling and exploring the untamed wilderness that lay between cities and nations. This extroverted quality was part of the reason why moon elves got along uncommonly well with other races and had come to the conclusion that the N-Tel-Quess were not necessarily as foolhardy or unworthy as their brethren might think. Moon elves, rather than feeling that interaction outside of their race diminished or weakened them, believed that interacting with other races, humans in particular, was the best way to spread the values of the Tel-quessir races, thereby strengthening their culture

Moon elven society was often loosely organized and few moon elves stayed in one place for more than a season or two, preferring a nomadic lifestyle. Moon elves were generally comfortable living amongst other elves, particularly sun elves, as well as gnomes, humans, or halflings. Most moon elves organized themselves into groups of a dozen extended families or so, each ruled democratically, although often with de facto leaders whose say held more weight than anyone else's, an individual most often respected for either their age or their martial skill. Wherever they lived, moon elves were unassuming, with homes that were humble, if comfortable

Skin color(s):
Fair, sometimes with blue tint
Hair color(s):
Black, blue, silvery white
Hairstyle(s):
Braids or ponytails held with wire or beads
Eye color(s):
Green or blue with golden flecks

BONUS
+2 dex -2 con
Sleeplessness: Immune to spells and effects of the 'Sleep' subtype.
Hardiness vs. Enchantments: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells.
Bonus Proficiencies (Longsword, Rapier, Shortbow, Longbow)
Skill Affinity (Listen): +2 racial bonus to listen checks.
Skill Affinity (Search): +2 racial bonus to Search checks.
Skill Affinity (Spot): +2 racial bonus to Spot checks.
Keen Senses: Elves make active Search checks automatically and with no movement penalties.
Low-light Vision: Allows them to see better than normal in the dark.

Free language:
Elven
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sun Elf

The sun elves, also sometimes known as gold elves, sometimes as high elves due to their stereotypically elitist ways, and Ar-tel-quessir in their own language are a subrace of high elves historically rare in Faerûn due to the Retreat, in which the majority abandoned the continent for Evermeet, although during the Era of Upheaval they began returning to the mainland. Haughty and arrogant, sun elves typically felt themselves superior to most other races, including other Tel-quessir

Like all of the Tel-quessir, the sun elves were close to the height of humans, but with notable differences. Sun elves had bronze-colored skin and hair most often of copper, golden blond, and black, with red more uncommon but not unheard of.Sun elves typically had green eyes, though golden ones were also common[8], often with a liquid appearance, and silver, black, hazel, or copper hues had also been heard of. Like their moon elven brethren, male sun elves were typically taller and heavier than females, sometimes by as much as five inches or twenty pounds.

Sun elves had a reputation for being stronger but less durable than other elves.Sun elves were firmly of the belief that they stood as the sole protectors and inheritors of Corellon's legacy in the Prime. Patient and deliberate in most of what they did, they demonstrated an orderly nature uncommon to most elves, preferring to master a skill before applying it rather than learning as they go. Rushing was out of the nature of sun elves, who, while less versatile than most races, had a mastery of whatever they applied themselves to. The only true exception to this was martial combat, which nearly all sun elves had some training in, regardless of how much and which most were eager to finish as quickly as possible once engaged

Unlike most elves, sun elves organized their society along firm and hierarchical traditions. Communities were typically run by members of an esteemed nobility, some of whom could trace their ancestry all the way back to the First Crown War. There was a difference, however, between sun elven and human monarchy and where a human king typically accumulated influence through the ownership of land or command of soldiers, a sun elf noble commanded authority through the prestige of their family name or the magical power they held at their behest, a power they often demonstrated through the grandeur of their home.

BONUS
+ 2 int - 2 con
Sleeplessness: Immune to spells and effects of the 'Sleep' subtype.
Hardiness vs. Enchantments: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells.
Bonus Proficiencies (Longsword, Rapier, Shortbow, Longbow)
Skill Affinity (Listen): +2 racial bonus to listen checks.
Skill Affinity (Search): +2 racial bonus to Search checks.
Skill Affinity (Spot): +2 racial bonus to Spot checks.
Keen Senses: Elves make active Search checks automatically and with no movement penalties.
Low-light Vision: Allows them to see better than normal in the dark.

Free language:
Elven
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wood Elf

Wood elves, also known as copper elves, or Or-tel-quessir are the most populous of the elven races. Wood elves see themselves as guardians of the Tel-quessir forest homes that were largely abandoned after the Crown Wars and before the Retreat, but unlike most elves they do not view themselves as a people apart from the rest of Faerûn.Wood elves are easily identifiable by their coppery skin and green, brown, or hazel eyes. Wood elven hair was usually black or brown, although hues such as blond or copper red were also found. Wood elves tended to dress in simple clothes, similar to those of the moon elves but with fewer bold colors and a greater number of earth tones that blended into their natural surroundings. Accustomed to a harsh, naturalistic lifestyle, wood elves loved to wear leather armor, even when they were not under immediate threat. Wood elves are roughly identical to other elves in height and build, with males larger than females.

As a people, wood elves are largely seen as calm and level-headed. Arousing strong emotions in wood elves was not something that was easily done, although many did have a strong aversion for large cities, having lost the passion for urbanization after the fall of Earlann. To wood elves, the trappings of civilization, including the mightiest of fortresses or tallest walls, were transient and impermanent things that would eventually be overcome by the long processes of nature. To many, this attitude seemed condescending, weakening the bonds between wood elves and other races. Additionally, wood elves could sometimes seem off-putting compared to other Tel-quessir, with a gruff manner that made them less charismatic, despite their avowed compassion and humility.

Although a proud people, wood elves felt that compassion was a greater virtue than strength and wood elven realms were less concerned with expansion than they were with maintaining amiable relations with their neighbors. Wood elves were not nomadic, however, as was common amongst the wild elves and instead they were organized into scattered, carefully concealed villages united under a gerontocratic hierarchy composed of village councils consisting of the most distinguished families' eldest members. These councils were often advised by local druids, whose influence played no small part in wood elven politics and who frequently served as the webbing that bound any number of villages together as one realm

BONUS
+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, –2 Intelligence, –2 Constitution.
Sleeplessness: Immune to spells and effects of the 'Sleep' subtype.
Hardiness vs. Enchantments: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells.
Bonus Proficiencies (Longsword, Rapier, Shortbow, Longbow)
Skill Affinity (Listen): +2 racial bonus to listen checks.
Skill Affinity (Search): +2 racial bonus to Search checks.
Skill Affinity (Spot): +2 racial bonus to Spot checks.
Keen Senses: Elves make active Search checks automatically and with no movement penalties.
Low-light Vision: Allows them to see better than normal in the dark.

Free language:
Elven
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Elf
Aquatic elves, also referred to as sea elves, water elves,and Alu'Tel'Quessir in their own tongue, were a subrace of elves adapted to living in and breathing water.Although they are of the same subrace, aquatic elves from the Great Sea had a different appearance to those from the Sea of Fallen Stars. The former had deep green skin, mottled and striped with brown. The latter had blue skin with white stripes and patches.Some other aquatic elves had pale silver-green skin. Both groups were robust and tall with long limbs. Their thick skin gave them protection from the cold of deep water, keeping them comfortable at just above freezing temperatures. Their fingers and toes were generally about twice as long as a human's and had thick webbing between them. Their most distinctive feature was the gills visible in their necks and over their ribs.Compared to other elves, aquatic elves had deep voices and were larger and heavier.

Aquatic elves can have eye colors including turquoise, white, black, blue, green, and rarely silver.Their hair was usually thick and somewhat stringy, and some aquatic elves had a rough hair texture. It could be blue-green, emerald green, blue, black, silver, or even occasionally red. Warriors clipped their hair short, but other aquatic elves wore it long and flowing. Females in particular sometimes grew their hair up to 4 feet long.Aquatic elves are isolationist by both their nature and the physical location of their settlements, although they were not quite as reclusive as the wild elves. Their trust did not extend far beyond their clan and others of their kind, and their communities were very tightly-knit. They couldn't understand why the surface elves did not realize that community and alliances meant survival, whereas rivalry, individualism, and factionalism meant death. However, despite being extremely cautious, they were also extremely curious, and aquatic elves near the shore would often spend a significant amount time secretly observing the land-bound races.In the Trackless Sea, a number of small villages could be found off the coast of Tethyr, as well as the kingdom of Aluchambolsunvae and its capital city of Thunderfoam north of Evermeet. A great city known as Iumathiashae with a population of several thousand aquatic elves lay off the shores of Evermeet, as did several smaller settlements, and these served as an underwater army for the island.The aquatic elves of the Deepwater Harbor served a similar purpose for the city of Waterdeep

Aquatic elves held promises sacred and would rather die than fail to complete something they had sworn to do. If they died in the process, their kin took over the responsibility to complete it. The slightest implication that an aquatic elf wouldn't keep his word was deeply offensive. However, promises received from non-elves were highly suspect, both because aquatic elves knew that other races won't honor the promises of their dead and because only other elves had the lifespan to complete any serious task

BONUS
+2 dex -2 intelligence
Underwater the sea elves movement speed is normal and they do not suffocate, on land they move a bit slower except when crossing river, lakes and other water filled terrain
Sleeplessness: Immune to spells and effects of the 'Sleep' subtype.
Hardiness vs. Enchantments: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells.
Bonus Proficiencies (Longsword, Rapier, Shortbow, Longbow)
Skill Affinity (Listen): +2 racial bonus to listen checks.
Skill Affinity (Search): +2 racial bonus to Search checks.
Skill Affinity (Spot): +2 racial bonus to Spot checks.
Keen Senses: Elves make active Search checks automatically and with no movement penalties.
Low-light Vision: Allows them to see better than normal in the dark.

Free language:
Elven
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Avariel

The avariel (aril-tel-quessir, or "winged folk", in Elven) were among the first of the elf races to migrate to Faerûn.However, conflict with dragons almost wiped them out before the First Flowering and while they survived since that time, they were considered by most to be myths or legends.Avariel were more delicate than their earth-bound cousins, with hollow bones to aid their flight. They had pale skin, often porcelain white. An avariel's wings were usually white, but could be black, brown, or speckled. Their eyes were slightly larger than normal and ranged in color from brilliant blues to green or purple. Their hair color was normally a silver-white or black

Avariel society was split into two groups that coexisted together, labeled "warlike" and "peaceful". Young avariel spent time immersed in both cultures (this could last over a decade), so that no matter what sect they came from, they had a deep understanding and respect of how the other half lived.
Warlike
Avariel warriors were geared towards war and power, answering to war chiefs who governed avariel society equally with the religious leaders. They lived by a complex code of honor and spent their lives defending their race. In combat, these avariel showed no mercy, often using ranged attacks from above and believing that others should know better than to create an enemy of a superior foe such as themselves. They also viewed surrender to be dishonorable (for both themselves as well as their enemies), holding the idea that when a warrior drew blood, it was a promise to honor them with their combat skill, and slaying them was fulfilling that promise. To leave a defeated foe alive was to humiliate them.

Peaceful Avariel
The other side of avariel society included scholars, philosophers, and artists. Intellectuals who believed in solving problems through reason and diplomacy, these avariels spent much time researching magic and history, contemplating religion, worshiping Aerdrie Faenya, and producing art for the sheer joy of creation.

At one time, the center of avariel worship of Aerdrie was in the Aerie, a temple-city located in the Star Mounts within the High Forest. The ruins of the Aerie were said to be inhabited either by the red dragon Imvaernarhro or the green dragon Elaacrimalicros. Some legends stated that survivors from the Aerie could still be found in lands west of Faerûn.The last known shelter for the avariels was the Aerie of the Snow Eagles, located on the eastern edge of the Great Glacier.

ECL PENALTY
2

BONUS
+2 Wisdom, +4 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, –2 Constitution.
Wings: They can go faster on the ground than other races
Sleeplessness: Immune to spells and effects of the 'Sleep' subtype.
Hardiness vs. Enchantments: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells.
Bonus Proficiencies (Longsword, Rapier, Shortbow, Longbow)
Skill Affinity (Listen): +2 racial bonus to listen checks.
Skill Affinity (Search): +2 racial bonus to Search checks.
Skill Affinity (Spot): +2 racial bonus to Spot checks.
Keen Senses: Elves make active Search checks automatically and with no movement penalties.
Low-light Vision: Allows them to see better than normal in the dark.

Free language:
Elven
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drow

Drow also known as dark elves, deep elves, night elves, under-elves, and the Dark Ones among orcs,were a dark-skinned sub-race of elves that predominantly lived in the Underdark.They were hated and feared due to their cruelty,though some non-evil and an even smaller number of good drow existed
In many ways, the drow resembled other elves[ or eladrin. Their bodies were wiry and athletic, while their faces were chiseled and attractive, though they were shorter and thinner than other elven sub-races. Due to a process of selective breeding that lasted for several generations, the drow (especially nobles) looked attractive[ even in comparison to other elven subraces. Though their alluring appearance could be used for seduction, it was more often utilized to instill fear

The moral code of the average drow was informed by the teachings of Lolth. From birth, the drow were taught that they were superior to other races, and as such they believed themselves to be the ultimate beings. This mindset created an arrogance so strong that drow could be incapable of viewing other creatures as their equals,including members of their own kind; almost every drow believed themselves to be the epitome of their superior species. The treatment reserved for non-drow ran the entire gamut from pets, to slaves, to grudgingly respected partners if they proved themselves a military match for them, though never equals.

As one might expect, this atmosphere of utter condescension meant that most drow generally felt entitled to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to do it. If a drow was not where they believed they should be, their pride demanded they blame someone else (sometimes everyone else) for their incorrect position. They were also taught that they should crush those beneath them,[38] for cruelty was seen as a method of self-validation. If someone could not defend themselves, as the logic went, they deserved to have cruelty inflicted on them, which would prove the superiority of the drow performing the torment. They were a vengeful people by necessity, as not answering to slights with punishment was easily perceived as weakness by other drow, and was essentially the same as inviting exploitation, abuse, or even death.

Unlike creatures such as orcs, drow had no innate inclination towards evil, with their morality having been colored by their society."Good drow" made up about 15% of the entire race, although most of them weren't actually of the good alignment, being merely chaotic neutral or lawful neutral. Within Lolthite societies, even drow with a disposition towards what was considered good generally had problems developing a strong personal sense of morality. They generally behaved the same way as evil drow due to social pressure, as being soft in any way was lethal in drow society and often resulted in the death of such drow.

Only truly exceptional "good drow", such as Drizzt Do'Urden, were capable of freeing themselves from a Lolthite society. The majority were found out and sacrificed to Lolth, and those who managed to leave their settlements would often die in the dangerous wilderness of the Underdark. Furthermore, even those who escaped the cruelties of the Underdark found it more difficult to form long-term friendships than most races did[ and had to constantly be on the lookout for pursuers who could kill them

NOTE: due to the nature of the server, is possible to make an evil drow on the surface, just take in consideration that will be hunted on all sides since they will be considered renegades from lolthites society and undercover agent (true or otherwise) from surface forces and in waterdeep spells like "detect alignment" are as common as breathing. Tread with care

ECL PENALTY
2

BONUS
+2 int +2 dex -2 con +2 cha
Sleeplessness: Immune to spells and effects of the 'Sleep' subtype.
Spell resistance: Drows possess spell resistance equals to 11 + lvl
Hardiness vs. Enchantments: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells.
Bonus Proficiencies (Shortsword, Rapier, Longbow, Crossbow)
Skill Affinity (Listen): +2 racial bonus to listen checks.
Skill Affinity (Search): +2 racial bonus to Search checks.
Skill Affinity (Spot): +2 racial bonus to Spot checks.
Keen Senses: Elves make active Search checks automatically and with no movement penalties.
Low-light Vision: Allows them to see better than normal in the dark.

Free language:
Drow
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Half-elf
Half-elves (also called Cha'Tel'Quessir in Elven) were humanoids born through the union of an elf and a human. Whether a half-elf was raised by their human parent or their elven parent, they often felt isolated and alone. Because they took around twenty years to reach adulthood, they matured quickly when raised by elves (who think they look like humans), making them feel like an outsider in either place.
Most half-elves were descended from moon elves. Pairings of elves and other races also existed, though they were rare

Half-elves stood roughly around 5 feet and 5 inches to 6 feet and 2 inches (1.7 to 1.9 meters), making them only slightly shorter overall than humans, and weighed in at 130 to 190 pounds (59 to 86 kilograms), making them heavier than elves but still considerably lighter than humans. Like humans, half-elves had a wide variety of complexions, some of which were inherited from the elven half of their heritage, such as a tendency for metallic-hued skin and inhuman hair colors. For example, half-moon elves typically exhibited a pale, bluish tint around the ears and chin, while half-sun elves had a color more reminiscent of bronze, with hair of gold.Unlike true Tel'Quessir, however, male half-elves were capable of growing facial hair and often did so to distinguish themselves, in part, from their elven parents. Half-elven ears were about the size of human ones, but like elves, they were pointed on the ends. Half-elves were also notably more durable and passionate than either elves or humans, a unique result of the two races' blending

Half-elves, as a result of their unique heritage, exhibited a confidence and strength of personality uncommon amongst both humans and elves, a result of the blending between elven perceptiveness and human passion and drive. Half-elves were natural leaders and negotiators, and, perhaps because of their reality of living in two worlds, were unusually open-minded. Some half-elves manifested this leadership through confidence and bravery, but others were cordial and polite, manifesting their force of personality in a subtler but no less effective manner.Like elves, half-elves were curious and inventive creatures, though this was coupled with the powerful ambition of their human parents. Half-elves also shared a love of the natural world and art with their fey parents.

BONUS
Sleeplessness: Immune to spells and effects of the 'Sleep' subtype.
Hardiness vs. Enchantments: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells.
Partial Skill Affinity (Listen): +1 racial bonus to listen checks.
Partial Skill Affinity (Search): +1 racial bonus to Search checks.
Partial Skill Affinity (Spot): +1 racial bonus to Spot checks.
Low-light Vision: Allows them to see better than normal in the dark.