Feral Elf

The Feral Elves are a deadly offshoot of the more common Elves who dwell throughout the Known World. They do not enjoy crafts, or the pursuit of magic. Instead they prefer the glory of combat and the defence of their homelands, the fog shrouded Misty Jungle. The Feral Elves are experts in guerrilla tactics, and horrible tales of a single elf slaying entire parties of armed warriors without being seen are told in Brookmere to scare curious children. The Feral Elves are rightly feared when in their native land, and their reputation serves them well when they choose to adventure.

Personality: Feral Elves are quiet and cruel, preferring to remain silent unless the need to speak arises. This almost mute personality makes them hard to relate to, and very little is known about their society. Feral Elves prize trophies over all other things, and have a gruesome habit of collecting the skulls of those they slay. They only ever take practical items, such as weapons and potions, and do not see the point in ‘cowardly’ things such as armour, scrolls and wands. In battle a Feral Elf is ferocious, never giving any quarter unless the time is right. They are masters of single combat, but know the advantage of a well placed dagger or a cunningly set trap. A Feral Elf’s way of thinking is totally alien to that of most other races, to them nature and the good of their tribe is infinitely more important than wealth, power or personal glory.

Physical Appearance: The Feral Elves share the handsome appearance of their more civilized kin, although it is difficult to recognise beneath their barbaric war paint and caked dirt. All Feral Elves wear warpaint when outside the village, and see it as a mark of shame to be seen without their warpaint by outsiders. Their hair is generally long but well kept, and females like to bead their hair with colourful jewels and rocks. Most Feral Elves wear minimal clothes, as they do not see the shame in their bodies. Males typically wear a tight fitting animal skin around their waists, whilst women wear long skirts and loose fitting robes. Their skin ranges from a pale olive to a more ‘normal’ pink, but warpaint usually disguises this quite well. Their eyes come in all colours, but their hair is usually black or brown. Feral Elves share the long lifetimes of the Elves, and can live to be seven hundred years.

Relations: Feral Elves shun the company of others, and see intruders as a threat to their way of life. It is their natural territorial aggression which keeps the Misty Jungle safe from greedy lumber merchants. Feral Elves despise Lizardfolk, with whom they must compete for food and land. They are wary of Elves, and believe themselves to be the only ‘true’ Elves. Unlike Wild Elves, they do not dislike Elves for straying from a path, rather because they are arrogant and reliant on magic. Feral Elves have had little contact with Dwarves and Gnomes, but have a general contempt for humans, who constantly seek to enter their jungle lands. Half-Orcs and Feral Elves hold each other in respect, although the Feral Elves do not trust the Orcs. Halflings are in awe of the Feral Elf battle prowess, and treat these mysterious Elves as gods. The Wannith know of the Feral Elves, and see them as kindred spirits.

Alignment: Feral Elves tend towards neutrality, and do not understand the concepts of good and evil. To them, the good of the tribe is the most important thing, and they would die if it would save their home. For this reason, Feral Elves tend to be Chaotic Neutral. Several tribes tend towards good, and these are the tribes most likely to spawn adventurers. The only evil tribe, known as Bleak, is hidden somewhere in the misty recesses of the jungle, and has been known to raid coastal villages.

Feral Elf Lands: The Feral Elves possess no empire, but do hold sway over one of the most richly fertile regions in the Known World. They generally live in semi-nomadic tribes, and only communicate with rival tribes to trade or in times of dire need. They do not mine the land, preferring to live off its bounty. When they do cut a tree down, they are quick to replace it.

Religion: Feral Elves worship Elhonna, which is unusual amongst Elven societies. They believe Elhonna to be the rightful creator of all things, including Elves, and see Corellon as a threat to their proud goddess. Clerics of Elhonna are generally the leaders of tribes.

Languages: All Feral Elves speak Elven, and a few in each tribe (2%) speak Common, which they learn from merchants or people they have kidnapped. Feral Elves have no literature, and none of their kind can read or write. Instead, they have a rich oral history, much like that of the Wannith and also tell the history of their people with elaborate paintings and detailed sculpture. The quality of this art is such that many rich merchants hire adventuring parties to steal it from its Elven creators. Feral Elf Clerics (Shamans) also learn the language of the creatures they share their territory with, including Bullywugs, Lizardfolk and more rare jungle dwellers.

Names: Feral Elves are not overly fussed about names, and drew names from the first creature or thing they see upon birth, as well as the day of the week on which they were born. Feral Elves treasure their names, and will never reveal their names to those they do not trust. It is a true sign of friendship when a Feral Elf reveals his name to a companion. Note: the Feral Elf calender has twenty days in each week. Names also dictate a Feral Elf’s place in life. Those who ‘warrior’ names are trained as warriors whilst most others are either trained as Clerics, hunters or builders. Craftsmen are also trained.

Names: Six Hissing Cobra, Three Bending Palm, Five Striking Leopard, Thirteen Grim Bear, Twelve Sparkling Waterfall and Ten Slain Raider.

Adventurers: Feral Elves are reluctant adventurers, but there are a number of reasons why a Feral Elf would leave his forest home. All warriors must prove themselves as an adult (at the age of 150) by completing a quest to the Oasis of the Sun, where they must find something beautiful to show the leader of their tribe. Beauty, of course, is in the eyes of the beholder, and most Feral Elves see weaponry as the most beautiful things in the world. Members of good aligned tribes also see the importance of defeating evil, and often leave on personal quests to right wrongs. The final reason for a Feral Elf to adventure is to avenge some wrong done, and Feral Elves see a great many things as wrong...

Feral Elf Racial Traits

•+2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence: Feral Elves possess the natural dexterity of their more civilised ancestors, but rarely study and do not see the value in scholarly knowledge.

•Medium Size: As a medium sized creature, Feral Elves have no special benefits or penalties due to their size.

•Feral Elves have a speed of thirty feet.

•Immunity to magic charm spells and effects, and a +2 racial bonus to saves against sleep spells and effects. This immunity to charm comes from their strict adherence to their warrior code.

•Low Light Vision: Feral Elves can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to recognise colour and detail in these conditions.

•Proficient with any one of the following weapons automatically;

-Hatchet (Handaxe)

-Dire Flail

-Kama

-Mouth Darts

-Bolas

-Longbow or Composite Longbow

-Manti

-Spinning Javelin

-Falchion

-Greatclub

This arises from the extensive military training that each Feral Elf endures during his youth. The weapons listed above are typical of a Feral Elf tribe, and are favoured for their swift brutality. Feral Elves do use other weapons, but prefer the above.

•+2 racial bonus to Listen, Search and Wilderness Lore checks. Feral Elves also receive a +4 bonus to Spot checks when in any area of jungle or forest.

•Expert Traps: A Feral Elf can construct tracks of varying levels of danger. See the separate traps document for rules on this or design your own.

•Automatic Languages: Elven. Bonus Languages: Common, Trader, Bullywug, Lizardfolk, Wannith and Sylvan. Feral Elves do not see the value in learning the languages of other races, but occasionally pick up snatches of the tongue with use.