Elves

Elves are not from this land, they had migrated here generations ago (by human standards) from the Land of the Fae. Home of such creatures as sprites and pixies, the elves claim this land is “beyond the horizon,” though whether that means it is simply beyond the reach of the Valadian Empire or it exists on a whole different plane of existence is unknown and the elves are not sharing. Elves live in the unsettled wilderness of the land, among the vast forests yet to be cleared by human expansion. How they live is a mystery, no non-fae has ever entered elven lands and lived to tell what they saw.

Elves retain much of their fae origins, they are immortal, no elf has ever succumbed to old age. Because of this, they are able to think in long terms, allowing plans and actions to play out over hundreds of years, something beyond the scope of shorter lived races (even those that live longer lives, such as the dwarves). They are not nearly overcome by emotion as other intelligent species, often coming across as cold and distant. They are not totally devoid of emotion, they just do not let short term events affect those emotions like other races do. Elves have an alien mindset, their sense of morality for creatures with finite lifespans is next to nothing, and most elves look upon the short lived races the same way a human would look upon an ant.

Physical Description: Elves are tall and lithe, with both males and females averaging over 6’6" yet weighing barely over 125 lbs. They have long, pointed ears and their skin is a smooth white, like porcelain. Elven hair ranges from stark white to a variety of shades of soft yellows (with rare light blues sometimes seen as well) and their eyes are often a similar light color. Elven eyes seem to twinkle in the softer glows of moonlight and fire at night, as if reflecting the stars above, even when they are not outdoors.

Why They Adventure: An elf that is adventuring with a party is often doing so for himself or his people, not for the sense of glory or to protect those in need. Their reasoning is not always explained to those in his party, but his prowess in both magic and martial abilities means few adventurers bother asking as long as he brings his skills to bear. Even those elves that do share their reasoning with the rest of the party may not always be telling the truth, but instead simply coming up with a reason to get the others to stop asking him questions.

Role-Playing Tips: Elves are not simply humans with pointy ears and faux haughty British accents. An elven player should really play up the alien mindset and sense of superiority elves have over “lesser creatures” (read: anything not fae). Elves have no problem using others to get what they want and are very dismissive of life (save for their own and those of other fae). While an elf may have no problem sacrificing an entire human village to facilitate a plan, they obviously find the adventurers they travel with useful and therefore are not so quick to sacrifice them. Adventurers are a rare breed and not to be so trivially wasted.

Elves tend to speak little, only when their is important information to get across. When an elf must debase itself to speak the Common tongue it is often quick and to the point, with no flourish, embellishment, or tact. They find little need to waste breath on idle chatter, which means they maintain a constant disdain for dwarves, who don’t have the common decency to shut up.

In combat, elves look to end things quickly and efficiently, just because they are immortal does not mean the cannot be killed. With the knowledge that death can only come from an outside source and not the passage of time, elves try to avoid it as much as possible (atleast until they get bored of living) and therefore look to end things quickly and not take needless risks.

Rule Changes: Elves retain all the features as presented in Labyrinth Lord with the follow exception: Languages: Elves speak Common and Elven only.