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: 2001/Feb/18
Water Elves
The water elves of Minrothad have developed into a distinctive subculture,
and are recognized as a group separate from the mainstream elven race
of Mystara. In this regard, they are similar to the shadow elves of the
Broken Lands, to whom they bear a physical resemblance that many other
elves find unsettling.
Personality: A
water elf's first love is the sea. He is fascinated by its ever-changing
moods and excited by the challenges it constantly presents to the seafarer.
His curiosity is piqued by its water mysteries; a water elf loves to travel
on the ocean and learn about the creatures in it, and often masters magic
which deals specifically with the sea and weather.
Water elves were the first inhabitants of the Minrothad
Isles to explore the local waters thoroughly. They were the first to develop
moveable rigging on sailing craft so that a vessel could sail close to
the wind and maneuver with ease. They continue to innovate and improve
their sailing vessels, giving the merchant fleet of the Minrothad Guilds
its justly-deserved reputation as the finest and swiftest in the known
world.
This avid interest in the ocean and ways to travel
upon it have made the water elves one of the driving forces of the Minrothad
Guilds. It was their seafaring knowledge and wanderlust combined with
the human interest in trade that enabled the Minrothad Guilds to expand
and dominate sea-going commerce.
Always anxious to travel, water elves are excited
by new sights, new lands, and new prospects for trade. They are happy
to arrive at a destination, and are equally happy to leave it for some
place new, providing the traveling is done by sea or river. More than
half of the Minrothad traders encountered in continental ports are water
elves, as are many of the merchant-prince ship captains, but these elves
do not care to be factors or guild representatives permanently posted
in a foreign city.
Physical Description: Water
elves are towed-headed or have light blond hair that bleaches almost white
in the sun. Their eyes are blue-gray and their complexions are pale in
spite of constant exposure to weather and sun. They have a faint resemblance
to the Alfheim elves, but look even more like shadow elves because of
their coloration.
Relations: {first
relations paragraph}
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Alignment: {first
alignment paragraph}
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Water Elven
Lands: Virtually all water elves hail
from Seahome on Alfeisle in the Minrothad Guilds, and the greatest majority
of them are members of the Elsan Family Guild, though there are a few
found among the other Guilds of Minrothad.
{racial lands extra paragraphs}
Religion: The
primary religion of the water elf clans is known as "Elendaen",
which means "The Ocean Path". This philosophy honors Calitha
Starbrow, a water elf from ancient times who ascended to immortality in
the sphere of Time. She is especial fond of the water. She taught water
elves the art of seafaring and led them to their home in Minrothad.
Adherents of Elendaen believe the ocean is the cradle
of all life, for even trees thrive on the rain from storms that form over
the sea. Elendaen followers desire to exploit the land and sea wisely
so they may continue to prosper.
Keepers and others dedicated to Elendaen wear only
garments and accessories derived from products of the sea.
Language: {First
language paragraph}
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Names: {first
names paragraph}
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Adventurers: {first
adventurers paragraph}
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Elven Racial Traits
- +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution: Water
elves, slighter of build than other elves,
favour intellectual elegance and physical agility over brute strength.
- Medium size: As Medium-size creatures, elves have no special bonuses
or penalties due to their size.
- Elven base speed is 30 feet.
- Low-light Vision: Water elves can see twice as far as a human in starlight,
moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.
The retain the ability to distinguish colour and detail under these
conditions.
- +2 racial saving throw bonus against all Enchantment spells or effects.
(Note the lack of an immunity to magic
sleep spells and effects. Mystaran
water elves also lack the ability to trance for only four hours
and must sleep a full eight hours like all other common races.)
- +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot checks. Any water elf who
merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled
to a Search check to notice it as if he were actively looking for the
door. And elf's senses are so keen that he practically has a sixth sense
about hidden portals.
- +2 racial bonus on Swim checks. Water elves spend so much of their
time near, in and on the water, they gained additional competency with
this skill as a means of survival.
- Navigation Sense: Water elves have developed an uncanny natural sense
of direction. As a result, a water elf is able to know in what direction
a destination lies in relation to his current position, providing he
has been to that place at least once before. For this reason it is said
that once a water elf has been to a port, he can always find his way
back again. Navigation Sense works in conjunction with the Intuit Direction
skill, which all water elves are also assumed to be trained in even
if they have put no extra ranks into it. To use this ability, the water
elf must first use Intuit Direction to to fix the direction of north
in relation to his current position in his mind. If successful, there
is then a 75% chance that he can correctly identify the direction of
the destination in question. If this percentage roll fails, the water
elf is simply unable to get a "fix" on the direction to the
destination. Navigation Sense can only be used once per destination.
- Proficient with either longsword, rapier or sabre.
Despite their shift from the woodlands to the seas, water elves still
esteem the art of swordplay, so all water elves are familiar with at
least one "respectable" bladed weapon. However, they no longer
place any great emphasis on the so-called "art of archery"
and, unlike members of the mainstream elven race, do not spend extra
effort on learning to use long bows and short bows.
- Water elves with Intelligence scores of 10 or higher may cast the
0-level spells (cantrips) detect magic, prestidigitation,
and sea legs each once per
day. These are arcane spells, and as such the elf suffers spell failure
penalties for wearing armour. Treat the elf as a 1st-level caster for
all spell effects dependent on level. For detect magic and prestidigitation,
see the spell descriptions in the Player's Handbook for more
details. For sea legs, see
the Spells File for details.
- Automatic Languages: Local Regional Language, Local Common (if different
from Local Regional Language) and Elven. Bonus Languages: Additional
Regional Languages, {etc... }
- Favoured Class: Wizard. A multiclass water elf's wizard class does
not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing
(see "Experience for Multiclass Characters", Player's Handbook,
page 56). Wizardry comes as naturally to water elves as to regular elves,
although they are far more interested in weather and water magic than
other elves. As with other elves, Fighter/Wizards
are a common combination among water elves, although Rogue/Wizards are
also popular because of their natural inclination to follow the carefree
life of the sailor.
Vital Statistics [Age,
Height and Weight]
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Notes
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