Elf

"When you live this long, you must always capture new wind to fill your sails."

  The seafaring elves of the Montipalan Islands have a reputation for being swaggering, rakish, and dangerously sharp. They are descendants of elves from Haelona who shunned the haughty self-righteousness of their homeland and sailed south to Cantara for a new beginning. As you might expect, this led to a deeply ingrained culture of rebelliousness and fierce-independence.   Unlike their ancestors who are content to spend their long lives in temperance and reflection, sea elves are not precious with their time and seek to make the most of it. This also leads to them rarely dying of natural causes and having a shorter life-expectancy than other elves.  

You might...

• Carefully curate your relationships with people with shorter lifespans.
• Adopt specialized or obscure interests simply for the sake of mastering them.

 

Others probably

• Focus on your appearance, either admiring your grace or treating you as if you're physically fragile.
• Worry that you privately look down on them, or feel like you're condescending and aloof.

 

Elves of Cantara

There are three ethnicities of elves in Cantara: the swaggering Sea Elves of the Montipalan Islands, the banished Dark Elves, and the Woodland Elves of the Thelan Isles.  

Dark Elves

As a dark elf you have inherited the repercussions of your ancestors choices, not only physically, but magically as well. Traditionally, dark elves pass on the legend of their creation through story, as to remember who they are and how they came to exist. Centuries ago, a cult of elves who worshipped Lolth, Matron of Spiders, struck a bargain with the demon through depraved ritual. She was pleased with her followers and wished to shape them in her image, and so she corrupted not only the evil elves of the cult, but their families too, despite their innocence. The cult's secret courtship with Lolth could not be hidden after that, and all drow were banished from their homeland.   Sunlight Sensitivity It's a common misconception by those who haven't met many dark elves that their aversion to sunlight is harmful much like a vampire, which leads to surprise when they find one walking the streets on a cloudless day. Drow are not harmed by sunlight, but it does cause discomfort and can be painful to their eyes. While they are quite fine going about their business in daylight, you will find that they seek shade wherever possible, live in regions with reliable cover from the sun, prefer nocternal lifestyles, and favor hoods or wide brimmed hats.  

Sea Elves

These elves are the primary inhabitants of the jungled Montipalan Islands on the north end of Cantara. They hail from Lamitane, Breakstorm, Soritosi, and the countless ports and fishing villages dotting the smaller isles. They aren't known to put down roots elsewhere, but you're always likely to come across more of them the closer you get to the docks of any city. Sea elves are nortorious even amongst Cantarans for their blood-deep sea-fairing culture, and a large population of them would call nothing home but their ship.  

Woodland Elves

Less common than the Montipalan elves are the more reserved woodland elves. These are Thelan elves who, during the Consequence, retreated to the forests and jungles and reattuned themselves to their fey roots. Now you can find them in long established woodland communities, or as citizens of cities like Freshport, Arna Del Mor, Callista, and the Thelan Twins. Woodland elves are particularily spiritual and are both deeply affectionate of and fiercely protective of the natural world around them.  

Beliefs

 

Ancestry Feats

1st Level

 

Ancestral Longevity - Feat 1

Prerequisites at least 100 years old

You have accumulated a vast array of lived knowledge over the years. During your daily preparations, you can reflect upon your life experiences to gain the trained proficiency rank in one skill of your choice. This proficiency lasts until you prepare again. Since this proficiency is temporary, you can’t use it as a prerequisite for a skill increase or a permanent character option like a feat.

 

Ancestral Longevity leads to Expert Longevity

 

Elven Lore - Feat 1

You've studied traditional elven arts, learning about arcane magic and the world around you. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Arcana and Nature. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice.

 

Elven Weapon Familiarity - Feat 1

You favor bows and other elegant weapons. You gain access to all uncommon weapons with the elf trait. You have familiarity with weapons with the elf trait plus longbows, composite longbows, rapiers, shortbows, and composite shortbows—for the purposes of proficiency, you treat any of these that are martial weapons as simple weapons and any that are advanced weapons as martial weapons.

 

Forlorn - Feat 1

Watching your friends age and die fills you with moroseness that protects you against harmful emotions. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against emotion effects. If you roll a success on a saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a critical success instead.

 

Nimble Elf - Feat 1

Your muscles are tightly honed. Your Speed increases by 5 feet.

 

Otherworldly Magic - Feat 1

Your elven magic manifests as a simple arcane spell, even if you aren't formally trained in magic. Choose one cantrip from the arcane spell list. You can cast this cantrip as an arcane innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up.

 

Unwavering Mien - Feat 1

Your mystic control and meditations allow you to resist external influences upon your consciousness. Whenever you are affected by a mental effect that lasts at least 2 rounds, you can reduce the duration by 1 round.

 

5th Level

Ageless Patience - Feat 5

You work at a pace born from longevity that enhances your thoroughness. You can voluntarily spend twice as much time as normal on a Perception check or skill check that takes 1 action or longer. If you do, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the check and don't automatically reduce your degree of success on a natural 1 (you get a critical failure only if your result is 10 lower than the DC). For example, you could get these benefits if you spent 2 actions to Seek, which normally takes 1 action. You can get these benefits during exploration by taking twice as long exploring as normal, or in downtime by spending twice as much downtime.

 

Ancestral Suspicion - Feat 5

Long-lived elves have seen civilizations rise and fall, often at the hands of outside forces. As a result, they have developed a wariness of others who might seek to influence or control them. You've been trained to resist such manipulation, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against effects that would make you controlled, such as dominate, and to Perception checks to Sense Motive when trying to determine if a creature is under the influence of such an effect. When you roll a success on a saving throw against such an effect, you get a critical success instead.

 

Martial Experience - Feat 5

You've crossed blades with a wide variety of foes wielding a wide variety of weapons, and you've learned the basics of fighting with nearly any of them. When wielding a weapon you aren't proficient with, treat your level as your proficiency bonus.  

 

9th Level

Elf Step - Feat 9

You move in a graceful dance, and even your steps are broad. You Step 5 feet twice.  

Expert Longevity - Feat 9

Prerequisites Ancestral Longevity

You've continued to refine the knowledge and skills you've gained through your life. When you choose a skill in which to become trained with Ancestral Longevity, you can also choose a skill in which you are already trained and become an expert in that skill. This lasts until your Ancestral Longevity expires.

Expert Longevity leads to Universal Longevity

 

Otherworldly Acumen - Feat 9

Prerequisites at least one innate spell gained from an elf ancestry feat

The arcane magic you possess grows in power and complexity. Choose one common 2nd-rank spell from the same tradition as an innate spell you previously gained from another elf ancestry feat (from the arcane list if you have Otherworldly Magic, for example). You can cast that spell as an innate spell once per day, using the same tradition as the list you chose the spell from.

 

Tree Climber - Feat 9

You've spent much of your life among the treetops and have become an expert at quickly and safely climbing them. You gain a climb Speed of 10 feet.  

Level 13

Avenge Ally - Feat 13

Frequency once every 10 minutes

Requirements You are within 30 feet of an ally with the dying condition

Though you know that you will eventually outlive your companions, seeing them at death's door brings clarity to your attacks. Make a Strike. Roll twice on the attack roll and use the higher result.

 

Universal Longevity - Feat 13

Frequency once per day

Prerequisites Expert Longevity

You’ve perfected your ability to keep up with all the skills you’ve learned over your long life, so you’re almost never truly untrained at a skill. You reflect on your life experiences, changing the skill you selected with Ancestral Longevity (and the skill you selected with Expert Longevity if you have that feat).

 

Level 17

Magic Rider - Feat 17

Your people used powerful magic to travel between distant worlds in the distant past, and the remnants of that magic make such transportation easier for you. When you are the target of a teleportation spell that transports more than one person, it can affect an additional person beyond the normal limit, chosen by the caster. Additionally, when you're the target of a teleport spell, you and the other targets arrive no farther than 1 mile off target, regardless of distance traveled.