Dokkalfar

Little more than a legend to those who dwell on the surface, the Deep Elves emerge from below only at night. Nobody understands what they do or why. They are respected--perhaps even feared--by Alfar and Huldra alike. When they come, they steal odd trinkets, abduct people, leave mysterious symbols, and change plants and crops to a strange purple hue.
The wisest and most learned of human sages suspect that the Alfar and Huldra hold their deep kin in fearful reverence, as emissaries or keepers of some awful and sacred charge.
When Luminias fell and the First Minds had to choose permanent forms, those who wondered most about the secret workings and deep places of the Four Kingdoms became the Dokkalfar. As the Alfar represent Dawn, humans Noon and Huldra Dusk, the Dokkalfar represent Night. The Dokkalfar “Deep Watchers” are responsible for guardian the borders between the Mortal World and the Underworld, watching to ensure that evil does not pass between them. They are also the keepers of Dream, the Fifth Kingdom, a place they cannot go themselves, and so require dreaming mortals to act as windows.
The Dokkalfar are led by a figure known as The Sage, to whom secret knowledge is entrusted. The Sage is a prophetic figure who studies all the lore of the Dokkalfar and directs their bizarre actions on the surface, ordering them to capture specific mortals and bring them below, leave signs and symbols for mortals, and otherwise take mysterious action.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Bipedal/humanoid

Biological Traits

Dokkalfar reach middle age around 175, old around 263, venerable around 350, and usually die of old age between then and the age of 750.
Heights average between 4'7" and 6'4," with a great deal of variance, though as underground dwellers they are often shorter than Huldra and Alfar.
Dokkalfar can have any physical build.

Genetics and Reproduction

Mammalian. Sexual reproduction. Slow rate of birth.

Growth Rate & Stages

Physically mature by 25, emotionally mature around 125. Extremely long lived, up to 700 years old.

Ecology and Habitats

Subterranean. Sensitivity to light. Construct habitats/settlements in the Underdark.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Omnivorous. Diet consists largely of subterranean animals and harvested fungus, supplemented with game and stolen goods from the surface world.

Biological Cycle

No annual cycle; the Dokkalfar live away from the surface world and don't experience most of the seasonal changes other species experience.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Varies, as the Dokkalfar are not a cultural monolith, but generally they organize around elders and the learned.

Facial characteristics

High cheekbones, pointed ears, large eyes

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Underground throughout the world, concentrated in cave complexes that have natural water and heat sources to facilitate the production of food. The largest settlements--the Grottos--pop up in places featuring a large concentration of the mystical spores they require to watch over the Dream World. They also congregate around natural openings to the Underworld.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Darkvision, keen senses, sensitivity to Underworld and Dream magic.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Close relationship with the myconids, who often co-occupy their settlements. They rely on the myconids to produce the enchanted spores that let them open windows into Dream.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Family names often refer to an ancient memory, ancestor, deed or place.
Each Dokkalfar has a secret name, bestowed on them by their parents, as well as their own personal secret name, chosen at adulthood, along with ANOTHER name used by those around them.

Beauty Ideals

Art and fashion among the Dokkalfar involves spiral shapes, whorls. They value distinctiveness, uniqueness, art that makes one uncomfortable or challenges one's perceptions.

Gender Ideals

Leaders can be found both male and female among the Dokkalfar. The myconids they live with do not have gender, and this has influenced Dokkalfar society accordingly.
Because children are so rare, the Dokkalfar place a higher value on mothers.

Courtship Ideals

Secrecy and subtlety are highly valued. Dokkalfar courtship is full of intrigue, double meanings, concealment from one's peers. They do not marry; instead, two Dokkalfar may swear pacts to each other to confide their loyalty. Within these pacts, honesty is valued--anything outside the purview of the pact, however, is left to secrecy.

Relationship Ideals

Loyalty within a given pact, surprises every day, ingenuity and spontaneity.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Dokkalfar as a dialect is alien compared to the vast majority of Elven languages, and is difficult for outsiders (even other elves) to comprehend. Those who also understand Undercommon are more likely to comprehend.
In addition, the Dokkalfar have a strange musical language they share with the myconids, to convey simple concepts or relay emotional information so it is not misconstrued.

Common Etiquette Rules

The management and control of secrets is of great importance to the Dokkalfar. If you reveal your true name to them, it's treated as improper or overly intimate (or foolish).

Common Dress Code

In the wilds, the Dokkalfar dress for practicality--free moving, unobtrusive, camouflaged clothing.
Within their own enclaves, the Dokkalfar favor veils, hoods, masks, and other fashion items that play on the theme of knowledge and secrets. They customize their bodies with tattoos, piercings, and layers of dress, keeping some hidden except to specific individuals.

Historical Figures

The Sage

Common Myths and Legends

The greatest legend of all elvendom is the Fall of Luminias. When the great City of Light fell, the Four Sovereigns combined their efforts to split the world into Four Kingdoms, raising the Firmament against the incursions of the Hungry Dark.
The first Sage watched as some elves chose to cherish the light of Dawn, becoming the Alfar. Others went to live amongst the woods and waters of the mortal world, becoming the Huldra and the Murúch respectively. The Aurai became the people of brightest day, ascending to the Sky Kingdom.
But the sage saw threats to the new kingdoms, gnawing in the bowels of the underworld, churning in the Vision of the gods left behind. She led a great many of his people to become sentinels, living underground and watching over the Pools of Fire and the Fifth Kingdom. They became the Dokkalfar.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

The other elven species consider the Dokkalfar strange, sacred, and fearful. They respect the terrible burden the Dokkalfar have taken, but they are uneasy dealing with their erstwhile kin.
The Myconids live in symbiotic harmony with the Dokkalfar.
Humans treat Dokkalfar as bogeymen of legend, given their habits of abducting children and dying crops purple.

RPG Datasheet

As Drow PHB

Lifespan

~575 years

Average Height

5'4"

Average Physique

Slender and smaller than most elves, to better fit in underground passages. Quick and flexible as well to facilitate survival in their environment.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Skin ranges from deep blues, blacks and purples, to cave-creature pale white.