Elves

The Elves

The elves are a long-lived species, rather attuned to magic, altered by several repeated events throughout Dunia's history. Unlike most elves on other planes of existence, these elves were originally human, altered by the Thinning of the Veils and the bleedover of magic from the Feywilds and other planes of existence.
Elves are naturally dextrous, but also give off a rather alien air to them, having been changed by the events past. They are capable of obtaining the memories through absorption of the magical particulate that has bonded with the lifeforce or Ka of a being, echoing memories or emotions. Sometimes, this can be distilled through a ritual if the participant is willing, into Dream Ethers, a substance that allows the imbiber, if they are an elf, to gain a vivid and lucid vision of the participant's memories and emotions, sending the dream-drinker into a trance-like state. If an elf consumes raw flesh, they obtain sort of fragmented memories of whatever creature they consumed. Cooking the flesh causes the magical particulate to become inert and prevents what the elves refer to as "Visio Oscuras" or dark visions.
Consuming a sapient creatures' raw flesh repeatedly can very well drive an elf to madness, turning them Feral.
Elves, entering civilization at the same period as mankind, never became the dominant species on Dunia, unlike in so many other planes of existence, and are a measurable amount more humble and empathic, in no small part thanks to their abilities to gain memories and emotions through the Dream Ethers.
Species Features

Elven Ethnicities

Espion
The Espion elves that presided in the Westlands of Jazirah gained notoriety as their ancient order, the Danse Macabre became the prime suspects in orchestrating the murder of Le Petit Marquis. While never publicly condemned by the Marquis' party, the Espion suffered quiet persecution in the Capitol, whispers of fear and hearsay that spread like a creeping death. They were never truly exonerated, either, when the Marquis' party declared war on the Shedari nations.
In the distant past, the Espion were court necromancers and spies for the ancient Verdoyant kings. They were always treated differently, with both fear and reverence.
Only after the Karithat-Aldawi did the Espion elves find some measure of peace amongst the Verdoyant humans, with the nations' dissolution and near-complete societal collapse driving needs for survival.
The Espion elves are rather lithe and slender, their skin somewhat pale compared to their other brethren, sporting eyes that seem to glimmer in the dark or when the light hits them a certain way, lending to an otherworldly, somewhat eerie appearance. It doesn't help that they are soft-spoken, too. Despite the fear surrounding their history and nature, they are quite intelligent, empathic, and kind.
Giullare
In sharp contrast to the Espion, the Giullare are talkative and charismatic, but also somewhat inscrutable in what they are thinking. When in the company of Giullare, they expect your full attention, especially in the event that they make a joke or prank. If they aren't the center of attention in the room, they are often found cavorting with others to liven up a place's 'energy' as they call it. They are highly sensitive to changes in a mood, and most Giullare can read people like an open book, sometimes even going so far as to predict their next moves if they are familiar.
Their favorite art is comedy, though, and they love a good joke or a prank. They hold sharp criticisms pointed like knives at the absurdity of life, wrapped up in a sardonic tone. The Giullare elves are mostly found among the Paraktians and the Turabi humans, with sun-kissed skin and dark wavy hair, on the Southern edge of Mudira-Karrah, but were otherwise broadly distributed across both continents. Despite all of this jovial veneer, they can still harbor resentment while still wearing the mask of a smile.
Sadly, many of the Giullare broke when the Cataclysm struck, the normality of life thrown out the window, and driven mad, wandering out into the wastes and turning to cannibalism, turning Feral from the unfiltered memories of the dead they had eaten.
Those that retain their sanity live in Cannaregio, Erimipoli, Port Helikones, and Volos. The remaining Giullare elves in the Westlands produce limited quantities of the Arma di Isotta firearms line at the coastal canal city of Cannaregio. Arma di Isotta is easily the oldest firearms manufacturer on Dunia, dating back 750 years when the kings of the Feudal era demanded arquebuses and muskets be built. The competing company, Vittori Ballistics also survives, but resides in Volos, where they made sporting goods and firearms.
Iluso
The Iluso are renowned artists and craftsmen among the elves. One famous Iluso resides in Manosque, Pablo Barcelo, known for his surrealist murals depicting the Cataclysm's events as recounted from the dream ethers that he has imbibed. His work has been said to have revitalized the once-drab city's residential sector. They are known to be dreamers and have lofty ideals. They tend to enjoy psychedelics and hallucinogens, often making fast friends with the local Chiral populations.
There aren't many Iluso left after the Cataclysm, as their populations were spread throughout areas which were heavily impacted by the Second Fallout. They tend to ask travellers to allow them to perform a distilling ritual that grants them visions of one's memory, turning the realm of ideas, memories, and thoughts into a vapor, collected in a bottle. This does not remove the memories from the host but allows the one who imbibes the distilled Dream Ethers to experience lucid recollection of those memories, creating a sort of special, shared vision.
Mostly, the Iluso live in the Westlands, but they wander far and wide like their ancestors who explored much of Dunia. Unsurprisingly, living alongside the Verdoyant, they have a cultural melting pot, with a very wide range of apperances, ranging from rather lightly tanned to quite dark. A good number of them boast vibrant green or blue eyes and a range of hair colors similar to humans. Because of their near-constant contact with humans and somewhat common interspecies relationships, some of their more elven features softened over time. By hominid standards, they are almost all considered classically beautiful.
The Iluso tend to daydream a lot, thinking of ways to make the world a better place, but their lofty ideals often vanish into the harsh reality that is a post-cataclysm world.
Mirar
The Mirar are largely the most serious of the elves, adhering onto their ancient traditions with rigid dogma. The Mirar are also the most long-lived among all of the elves. They built the Emperor of the Dunes as a means of keeping watch over much of Karrah after the Khadisar and Reng Shue empires rose and fell. Sometimes derisively nicknamed 'Watchdogs' by other peoples, the Mirar, though few of them still exist, are often found protecting ancient locations that once held tremendous religious significance to their people. They regard using more modern technology as somewhat blasphemous, at odds with the Muruwari and other elven ethnicities.
Muruwari
The Muruwari elves have long traded with the Aphorini, exchanging food, language, and culture, but also with the Eadwellian humans that made their way to the interior of Karrah. They mostly reside in the Southern Expanse of The Dust now, with trade extending all the way down through the Coral Wastes to Malabar.
They live dual lives, both on the surface and in The Deep. They often joke that they come from a land down under. They have a peculiar accent, seemingly influenced by the Eadwellian dialects through trade. Their access to deep iron deposits made them a key producer of firearms all the way from the Feudal era right up to the Great War. Not too much unlike the Tangata, the Muruwari have had an ongoing internal schism between traditionalists that would choose preservation of the old ways and those that try to engineer their way into modern times.
Their unconventional approach to firearms in The Last Century earned them wide renown across Dunia. They were the key designers of the Straya weapons lines, with Koa Straya being the chief engineer at the company for the past 200 years. If it's a modern Straya weapon, it's a Koa original. Koa has sort of an auteur approach to firearms design, heading the projects and ultimately deciding if a product is up to snuff or not. Koa did survive the Karithat-Aldawi, thanks to the Muruwari's close relationship with the Aphorini.
Nguni
The sheltered Nguni live amongst the Vertebra alongside the Kikongo, nested in the three massive inland tropical rainforests. They are intelligent, brave, and have protected their forests with tremendous care and respect for generations. They are a proud warrior culture, adhering to strict military doctrine and often attack in overwhelming numbers using pincer attacks.
The Nguni have a long history of environmental stewardship, tied to their warrior culture. They seek balance and harmony with the lands they tend to, and have a borderline xenophobia of those that come from outside the nested mountains, given that there are many that remember previous attempts by other species to colonize and pillage their homelands in previous centuries.
Orun
The Orun elves have lived among the Tallgrass regions for quite a long time. Their connection to Dunia is profound, knowing which paths to walk to find medicinal plants, or which methods best to avoid predators, or signs of where to gather food. They prefer a simpler lifestyle, to be more connected with the Spirit World and in tune with their ancestors and refuse prolific use of firearms or other methods of killing. Many take up druidic practices or take on the profession of seasoned guides and explorers, while some become chaplains of natural domains.
The Orun elves themselves are quite tall and have longer strides than most, which aids them in covering greater distances than many others. They also invented the Sailwalker landships which use undulating sail motions to power a driveshaft, which in turn operates a series of eight-bar mechanical legs, all built from natural materials. While the Sailwalkers don't move very fast with a maximum cruising speed of 30mph, they can use multiple types of propulsion, including magecraft flywheels, saving the amount of effort and work it takes to get somewhere.
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Adaptations

Elves were at one point human, with the same genetic makeup and common ancestor as humans, but this changed very rapidly during the Thinning of the Veils, some odd 60,000-30,000 years prior to the Cataclysm. The feywilds' influence bled over to Dunia's plane of existence and altered humans that were in close proximity to it. It magically altered their telomeres, practically stopping the deterioration from aging. The rate at which they reached adulthood also slowed by a measurable amount.
Their bodies appearances also changed a bit, with overall muscular volume reductions, but not decreasing in density, leading to a slender appearance. Their muscles are fast-twitch muscles, lending to their enhanced dexterity. Their ears also, for some reason, elongated and ended in pointed tips. Their faces were slightly narrowed as well. Lastly, their canines and incisors sharpened to have pointed tips through these changes.
One other major side effect from the Thinning of the Veils was also the addition of their ability to read the imprints left by emotions on magical particulate, through ingestion. Cooking nullifies this process, so to feel the 'raw emotions' they must ingest flesh raw or use a distilling process where they draw out the magical particulate through a ritual, leaving the memories, thoughts, and feelings intact. Unfiltered emotions consumed can lead to a form of mild psychosis, but combined with stress and repeat consumption, the elven mind can break.
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Culture

Elves, above all, place a strong emphasis on art, craftsmanship, design, and woodworking. They are attached to these things in a way that is not often experienced by other races due to the permanence of what they create and how long it stays with them, often outlasting anyone they know. There is a great deal of sorrow amongst the older generations, with how much has been lost through wars, destruction, and the Karithat-Aldawi itself.
Elves are a strange people, with the elders often using anachronistic slang that would sound out of place in a modern era thanks to their slow aging and experience of many cultural changes over a long period of time, holding onto dialects that they once preferred or spent the most time using.
There are numerous stories and myths surrounding the elves' history, but one story of a famous bloodline of Giullare elves, the Isotta, is frequently retold, much like how Romeo and Juliet is back on Earth. La Tragedia di Isotta, otherwise translated as: The Tragedy of Isolde, is one such story that frequently gets told. The elves at large adore tragic stories from their history.
While it is not confirmed to be more than mere myth, there is a story revolving around the Isotta's origins. It is said that the first of the Isotta elves was to marry a human king in antiquity, and Isolde, the elf in question, was told to drink the Dream Ethers of the king so that he may profess his love and adoration for her, but it turned out that the dream ethers were those of another human, a warrior, as they had gotten mixed up during their transportation to Isolde's villa by chance of a Fey creature wishing to steal the dreams of the King.
The warrior's visions and desires for Isolde were so strong in the Dream Ethers that Isolde fell in love with the warrior and married him secretly instead, and they had a child. The king, fraught with grief upon discovery of this secret marriage, threw himself out of the highest tower in his palace, for he was deeply in love with Isolde and could not bear to live without her. The king's advisors blamed the warrior and punished him so severely, that he appeared dead. Isolde discovered him in his state of near death, and without being able to accurately confirm whether or not he was dead, slit her own throat. The child was then raised by the warrior, and later became the Queen of the land in the South of Jazirah, and thus was established the Isotta bloodline.
There are many stories like this, with partial truths embedded in each of them. The elves often tell such stories to their children and younger generations to provide an allegorical lesson or some other metaphor for a circumstance.
Elves, like the humans, are otherwise quite varied in their beliefs and demeanors.
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Architecture

The Espion, living amongst the Verdoyant, have melded their architectural styles with the human designs and vice versa, though it is not clear whose influence on whom is greater. Older Espion designs, at least the ones that could afford to own land, feature tall windows, stone walls and somewhat muted facades, decorated by stone embellishments and statues that resemble gargoyles, each of them fitting the family's guardian or crest, perhaps somewhat akin to Earth's gothic architecture that sprang up in the 1100's but perhaps designed to last longer. Upkeep by the Espion that still reside in the Verdoyant cities have been dealt an arduous task, so many of these buildings sit abandoned and overgrown with greenery, inundated with monsters taking over their once-lively and decorated halls.
Elven architecture on Jazirah is often a blend of Eastern and Western influence, with classical structure motifs from antiquity having a strong presence, but for the most part, it matches the regional cultures.
For the Giullare and the Iluso, this is quite the norm.
Cannaregio's canal district features highly ornate structures with repeating arches, columns and domes in more traditional or traduzione designs, but mainland Cannaregio has much more modern designs, as much of the old money and older elven generations resided in the canal district before the Cataclysm. Much of the water receded and so the canals became streets, exposing centuries-old support structures to the air for the first time in a long time, as the district itself was built on somewhat silty clay sediments. These old support structures became a rather dangerous place to travel through, as many literal lowlifes and monsters took residence below. Mainland Cannaregio also featured a pretty robust tram system powered by magecraft devices, entering sweeping, bright structures covered in reflective glass designed by famous architects who have since perished. The city itself, thanks to geographical isolation, is largely intact but there have been some extreme measures taken to preserve it.
The Mirar were purported to have adopted Shedari architecture, but the Mirar often see it as the other way around, with domed structures, highly detailed mosaics, and somewhat plain exterior stucco walls that conceal a much more ornate interior, the philosophy of which may have been borrowed from the Khadisar empire of antiquity. They were also the first in Karrah to standardize indoor plumbing and irrigation. The high walls and fountains also keep the interior courtyards cool during the day as they circulate the water upwards, often fed by an aquifer. The highly polished, geometric stone inlaid in the floor also is used to imply wealth. Their pride often comes forth through their designs, meant to be inviting and tranquil, sharply contrasted against the harsh deserts and arid landscapes they preside in.
Nguni architecture is also fascinating as it incorporates the old growth into its Green-minded, almost solarpunk designs, fitting in as naturally with the landscape as the trees themselves. Some advanced materials science allows for them to have very daring designs that seem to float in the canopy of the rainforests of Ukuvuleka, Ngasese, and Imbiza, sitting comfortably with the human Kikongo structures at the bases of the trees. The isolated Kikongo and Nguni communities that coexist have fed into each other's development, though this likely would have not been the case if other outside forces could have invaded effectively. They still have to contend with monsters like the Reanimator Colonies and the Binding Feeders, so automated, high intensity UV defenses have been set up to ward off the creatures.
The nomadic Oruni tribes prefer to stay on the move, following the seasons almost pastorally, while using their windwalker landships and vehicles to move about the tallgrass regions and savannah flatlands. Their magecraft ingenuity was, and still is regarded, some of the most intelligently designed technology and structures that still walk the lands. Most of the decks of the Oruni landships are shaded and cooled naturally by shade sails, with colorful geometric patterns woven into the handcrafted textiles. Comfort is prioritized while also maintaining airflow over the deck, so numerous hammocks are strung up on the larger sailwalkers to maintain aeration at night. They often have the constellations etched into the canopies that shade the decks as well.
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Technology

Elves were responsible for a good number of magecraft inventions throughout history thanks to their affinity for magic, but many of them were not built for war, but rather for solving practical day-to-day problems. While Tieflings were responsible for magecraft repulsor engines and flywheel drives, the elves designed magecraft automata, sailwalkers, and other types of windpowered devices. They also designed the first vertical axis and horizontal axis wind turbines.
Before the Machinist Revolution, the elves contributed quite a bit to architecture, astronomy, and mathematics as well. They established the first banking system after the Khadisar Empire dissolved, the barometer to help tell the weather, and telescopes to gaze at the stars.
During The Last Century, they also devised the first induction motors and the first electrochemical battery, along with the multi-mirror telescope, allowing the denizens of Dunia to view the stars beyond Phoebus-632's influence. In a rare occasion of scientific cooperation, they also developed the first Nuclear reactors along with the dwarves and humans.
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Unique Vehicles

Emperor of the Dunes
Description
The largest walker-class landship, the Emperor of the Dunes is aptly-named. This landstrider is a one-of-a-kind and carries its own oasis in its middle with a magically-filled spring. The Mirar elves that command it prefer peaceful interactions with those that come to visit it. The Emperor itself is lavishly decorated, designed with comfort and religious reverence in mind. It is propelled by wind and magic, and has its own, sentient crystal heart which powers its movement and its shield that protects it from outside hostilities. This crystal heart also emits a field of tranquility that soothes anger and hostile thoughts, though it is still protected by an ancient order of elvish folk who had survived the cataclysm. Some say that there is a sinister corruption of the minds of the old guard that inhabit the Emperor, but other outsiders claim these rumors to be simply prejudiced.
Magecraft Skiff
Description
A small, skiff-sized vehicle that uses magic repulsor engines to float effortlessly above the ground. Some are outfitted with different types of propulsion such as magecraft propeller engines or sails. They are quite diverse in terms of their shapes and designs, but the Giullare and Mirar variants sport more filigree or ornate, flowing lines built into the structure of the craft itself.
Windstrider
Description
The Windstrider is a true landship in its function and purpose. It is an Oruni design that has propagated throughout Mudira-Karrah's Eastern edge, and is popular for its ability to travel over rather difficult terrain and seemingly stride effortlessly over large swathes of grassland vegetation. It, like its smaller brethren, does not move very fast, but being elevated above the land allows for great surveying distance as well as safety as it trundles along. When there is wind, its sails are extended to undulate and provide movement along a rotating drive shaft that powers twelve sets of eight-bar leg mechanisms. Most of the weaponry is situated at the outer edges, away from the legs, and the legs themselves are well-protected. Some of the lighter variants opt for speed and acceleration instead of protection, however, and leave the joints and support structures exposed.
Windwalker Skiff
Description
This skiff doesn't go very fast by any means but requires no fuel. It walks using an eight-bar leg mechanism operated by a rotating axle, with steering handled by the front and rear legs. The axles themselves are on independent suspension systems and allow for inverse kinematics, along with the feet of the vehicle. It can be operated by a magecraft flywheel, pedaling, or by its undulating sails. It handles rough terrain and dunes very well. Its legs are susceptible to damage but it's incredibly effort-efficient for what it is. Walker skiffs have greater carrying capacity than other skiff types. It walks on three sets of legs.
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Unique Weaponry

Arma di Isotta AR-X-20
Description
After the Cataclysm, Arma di Isotta developed an ambidextrous, select-fire battle rifle with a gas operated, rotating bolt design, which also functions as a DMR. It uses a polymer frame. It fires full size rifle cartridges and is extremely lightweight for what it is. It also comes with an integrated angled foregrip in front of the magwell to accommodate a more comfortable shooting style for some users. It was built for longer engagement ranges up to 800 meters.
Arma di Isotta 'Puma' X-4 PDW
Description
One of Arma di Isotta's later attempts at modernizing their weapons catalogue in the Post-Cataclysm world, the Puma is a short range personal defense weapon that was quickly adopted by Giullare defense forces during an incursion of monsters invading Cannaregio. Originally it was built to accept pistol cartridges, but was later redesigned to utilize an intermediate cartridge for higher penetration vs. armored opponents. It was built with the Fulgore elite troops in mind, lightweight and easy to operate in close quarters. It boasts armor piercing capabilities.
Arma di Isotta MG-90 Light Machine Gun
Description
During a weapons bid for providing the Eadwellian-Verdoyant armed forces with a Light Machine Gun platform during the late Cold War period, Arma Di Isotta created the MG-90, a gas-operated, rotating bolt, select-fire LMG. The weapon was ultimately not adopted thanks to the brutal trials it went through but still saw use in limited quantities otherwise. A fairly respectable attempt at maintaining intelligent logistics during protracted operations, the weapon used intermediate ammunition and shared magazines with other rifles and squad automatic weapons in service.
Arma di Isotta R9 Handgun
Description
The Arma di Isotta R9 is a short recoil, semi-automatic, single/double action pistol that uses a staggered 15-round box magazine. Its early versions developed pre-cataclysm had some slide fracture issues that raised some safety concerns but ultimately were resolved, just a few months before the cataclysm occurred. The Verdoyant alliance was using this weapon as a sidearm for their infantry, and they dubbed it the "pizza blaster" for some reason.
Arma di Isotta R93 Machine Pistol
Description
The Arma di Isotta R93 is a fully automatic conversion of the well-regarded and well-known R9 pistol. This particular version has a small folding handgrip that makes it much easier to handle the muzzle flip when using both hands. There is also the option to attach a folding brace to the weapon to improve controllability.
Khonto Industries MGL-40 Multi-Launcher
Description
The Khonto Industries MGL-40 Multi-Launcher is a 6-shot revolving cylinder grenade launcher similar to the RG-6, but was designed later than the RG-6 and is generally easier to use. It is a versatile weapon, allowing multiple types of grenade cartridges to be used.
Khonto Industries Mini-77
Description
The Khonto Industries Mini-77 is quite heavy for being called 'Mini' but was built to be a lighter, smaller version of the already-cumbersome general purpose machine gun, the S-77 by the same company. The development of the weapon was a reaction to several embargos limiting firearms import to an Nguni nation in the south of Karrah. It fires a rifle cartridge at a moderately slow rate of fire, but is fairly controllable.
Khonto Industries SA-P3R Multi-Launcher
Description
The SA-P3R is a Smart Airburst Proximity Round launcher that fires 25mm explosive grenade cartridges. Compared to other grenade launchers, the explosive payload is smaller, but the fuse uses a smart proximity system that enables airbursts near opponents without the requisite IFFs on their person, bypassing cover or simply preventing the opponents from reacting in time.
Straya AG-3 Assault Rifle
Description
The Straya AG-3 is a rare, futuristic-looking bullpup assault rifle with a lightweight polymer body and a moderately high rate of fire. Its Muruwari manufacturers didn't produce too many of these so they're a prized possession if found. Uses advanced materials science to shave weight and the magazine placement makes the weapon more easily maneuvered in tight spaces, such as the cavern network of The Deep.
Straya ATS-2000 Anti-Materiel Rifle
Description
Straya went through an experimental phase in their weapons development and came up with the ATS-2000 (Anti-Tank System Model 2000) as an export Anti-Materiel Rifle. This particular weapon is a single-shot bolt-action rifle that utilizes a fin-stabilized, discarding sabot armor piercing projectile, acronymized as APFSDS. This projectile was designed to be used in tandem with the ATS-2000's smoothbore barrel, leading to higher chamber pressure and therefore muzzle velocity since pressure is not lost from the barrel's rifling. A normal projectile fired from this weapon will not have the aerodynamic stability that the APFSDS round does.
Straya iXG-56 Smart Gun
Description
A post-cataclysm Koa original, the iXG-56 or intelligent experimental gun, model 56, is a very recent design that uses an array of sensors and motorized, gyroscopic stabilizers to guide the operator's aim almost magnetically at targets in range. It uses an older Volkner machine gun model with updated components and an assist harness to address recoil concerns. The weapon also features an IR sight atop its frame. It was co-developed with Morgrim Energy Concerns as they needed a high fire rate weapon that could respond to agile monsters and ambush predators. It has a unique report that sounds almost like a motor whirring over the individual shots firing, which the weapon's cyclic rate reaches close to 1350 RPM. It is easy to 'walk' the weapon towards targets.
Straya 'Labundi' Marksman Rifle
Description
Built and designed by Straya during the Interwar period, shortly before the Cataclysm, the 'Labundi' is a simple and respectable bolt-action marksman rifle that accepts a wide range of larger calibers, with a lightweight, highly customizable polymer frame.
Straya RP-12 Machine Pistol
Description
The earliest example of a fully automatic pistol, the Straya RP-12's design has somehow survived ten generations. While very few original examples exist, makeshift copies of the weapon are ubiquitous and are dangerous to both the wielder and whatever's on the business end of the weapon. It was actually Koa Straya's father, Djalu, who designed this weapon while raising Koa.
Straya RP-9 Machine Pistol
Description
The RP-9 is a late Cold War era design from The Last Century, a Koa original. The RP-9 is a pistol-caliber personal defense weapon that has a collapsible stock and foregrip, and uses a short recoil operation. It is a select-fire weapon that was quickly adopted by Dwarven, Eadwellian, and Straya defense forces. Its detachable box magazine is easy to swap out and follows similar designs to the KDI Uziel and the Morgan Arms ACM-10, but bosts a fairly controllable rate of fire.
Straya RP-12 Machine Pistol
Description
The earliest example of a fully automatic pistol, the Straya RP-12's design has somehow survived ten generations. While very few original examples exist, makeshift copies of the weapon are ubiquitous and are dangerous to both the wielder and whatever's on the business end of the weapon. It was actually Koa Straya's father, Djalu, who designed this weapon while raising Koa.
Straya SPR-40 'Cyclone' PDW
Description
A Post-Cataclysm design, the SPR-40 is a 40-round weapon featuring an exotic design with superposed ammunition encased in a block magazine. Its name means SuperPosed Repeater, 40 rounds personal defense weapon. It has five barrels and fires pistol-caliber rounds, but the volume of fire allows it to pierce armor without needing the muzzle energy that most armor piercing rounds would use. Turns out if you fire enough mass at something, the mechanical stress on the target will force it to yield. The magazine sits behind the weapon's trigger action, firing the rounds electronically using a repeating signal. The weapon does not accept magazine modifications, but the whole magazine is assembled all in one go. It is possible to use a sort of 'magdump' mode on it, firing all the rounds in the span of half a second, achieving a cyclic rate of 4,800 rpm.
Straya X-ACR Flechette Rifle
Description
During weapons trials in the late Interwar period, Koa Straya sought to garner several military contracts with an unconventional bullpup design that fires tiny arrows called Flechettes. It uses saboted ammunition with fin-stabilized tungsten arrows, that sat in a telescoped casing. It used a downwards ejection system once the spent casing was fired. While the weapon wasn't chosen over the venerable A-15 or D-74, it still had several manufactured prototypes, and the blueprints for the weapon are still kept in Koa's archives. The advantage of the weapon's unconventional ammunition is the higher overall armor piercing performance with the elongated flechettes, but they were prone to deviation at longer ranges, which is why it wasn't adopted.
Vittori Ballistics ASG-12
Description
A weapon produced in limited quantities that accepts either box magazines or drum magazines, with special ammunition and rugged durability in mind, the ASG-12 was built to be an export weapon in the Cold War period while the Giullare were a neutral faction outside of the Shedari-Verdoyant conflict. It went through five brutal trials and was eventually adopted by law enforcement units and limited special forces on both sides shortly before the Cataclysm. It is a select-fire, blowback-operated automatic shotgun that has a durable, simple firing mechanism.
Vittori Ballistics Tripla Corona Shotgun
Description
The Vittori Ballistics-designed Tripla Corona, or Triple Crown in Common, is a break-action, breech-loading shotgun. They were expensive collectors' pieces when they were first introduced but there have been a lot of replicas produced since, as they are very reliable and can load 3 different shells with ease. The design may remain the same but an original Tripla Corona is exceedingly rare.
Vittori Ballistics U-8 Auto Revolver
Description
A collector's piece even before the Cataclysm, the Vittori Ballistics U-8 was a limited production automatic revolver that used a unique blowback method vs. your typical double action method to cycle its rounds. Its barrel is aligned to the bottom cylinder of the magazine so as to reduce muzzle flip which gives it a very nice handling characteristic when trying to re-acquire a target after firing.
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Species Features

Elven Physiology
Elves, regardless of ethnicity, gain +2 to their Dexterity scores. Some of the elven ethnicities gain bonuses to their ability scores dependent on their upbringing.
Age
Elves, with their altered genes, age much more slowly than humans, reaching adulthood at around 50, and living to be around 500 years old.
Size
Elven bodies are branched from the same common ancestor as humans, and while their appearance is slightly different, they are roughly the same height as humans, if slightly taller, ranging from 5' to 7' on average. Your size is medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Your eyes were modified through millennia of exposure by your ancestors to the feywilds' magic, altering them to see in the dark without issue. you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light.
Keen Senses
Thanks to your elven physiology, you have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Fey Influence
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Magic Aptitude
The influence of the Feywilds on your genetics has granted you the ability to cast minor magic. Choose any one cantrip from the Arcanist's or Druid's spell list. Your casting ability with this cantrip is determined by the score increase granted by your ethnicity.
Ritual of the Dreamers
Once per long rest, you can cast a ritual to extract the Dream Ethers of a willing target. The Dream Ethers grant you either up to one week of the target's most recent memories or a specific chosen memory from a day. Casting the ritual takes 10 minutes and only elves may drink the Dream Ethers.
Memory Eater
Once per short or long rest, you may consume the raw flesh of a creature, as long as it has not been dead for more than 1 hour, to gain a fragmented understanding of its emotions, memories, sights, or senses. These fragments may be as far back as a week ago. You may choose what to focus on when you consume the creature's flesh, and up to the DM's discretion they may disclose what its emotions were, memories, or senses detected. Biting into living creatures might flood your senses with pain or other sharp emotions that the creature might be experiencing.
If you do this more than once in a given day, you run the risk of temporary Psychosis. Each time you consume the flesh of a creature, you must make a Wisdom saving throw against a DC check that starts off as DC5, and goes up by 5 each time you consume flesh. If you fail the save, you suffer psychosis for that day.
You do not gain the benefits from this feature if the creature is an undead, an ooze, a plant, or other nonliving things.
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Ethnic Features

Espion

As an Espion elf, you may choose to increase your Intelligence score or Charisma score by 1.
Espion Weapon Training
You are proficient with Rapiers and Finesse weapons.
Espion Magic
Espion frequently learn spycraft or evasion and are quite adept at moving stealthily. Starting at 1st level, you know the Chill Touch cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Diguise Self spell twice per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Invisibility spell once per long rest. You use either your Charisma or Intelligence modifier when casting these spells, whichever is higher.

Giullare

As a Giullare elf, your Charisma score increases by 1.
Giullare Firearms Aptitude
You are proficient with Simple firearms and Marksman Rifles.
Giullare Magic
Starting at 1st level, you know the Vicious Mockery cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Hideous Laughter spell once per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Calm Emotions spell once per long rest. You use your Charisma modifier when casting these spells.

Iluso

As an Iluso elf, your Charisma score increases by 1.
Iluso Artistry
You are capable of communicating complex concepts magically through your artistry. Any time you paint something, you can make it so the image can move as if it would in real life, but on a two dimensional surface, or if it's a landscape, the image can be panned around as if the viewer were at the location from which it was painted. Any time you play music, you can evoke mental images of your choice or visions for your audience. If you dance, they gather your meaning from it, creating strong visions of the story being told. The meaning is intuitively understood by your audience.
As part of this feature, you are proficient with the Performance skill and one instrument of your choice.
Iluso Magic
Starting at 1st level, you know the Minor Illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Sleep spell once per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Mirror Image spell once per long rest. You use your Charisma modifier when casting these spells.

Mirar

As a Mirar elf, your Constitution score increases by 1.
Mirar Weapons Training
You are proficient with Bows, Crossbows, the Dueling Sabre, Kilij, Longsword, Pike, Partizan, Sabre, and Shortsword.
Mirar War Magic
Starting at 1st level, you know the Sacred Flame cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Guiding Bolt spell once per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Branding Smite spell once per long rest. You use your Wisdom or Charisma modifier when casting these spells, whichever is higher. Additionally, you can cast spells while holding an object, weapon, or shield in both hands.

Muruwari

As a Muruwari elf, you may choose to increase either your Intelligence score or Wisdom score by 1.
Muruwari Firearms Aptitude
You are proficient with all Firearms, both Martial and Simple.
Muruwari Cultural Divide
There are two schools of thought within Muruwari culture, the traditionalists, or the engineers. It is mostly the younger generations of Muruwari elves that choose to pursue engineering, whereas the traditionalists often choose a more shamanistic approach.
If you chose Intelligence as your ability score increase, you become a Muruwari Engineer, learning 3 schematics at the specified levels. If you chose Wisdom as your ability score increase, you become a Muruwari Khadji, learning a cantrip, a 1st level spell, and a 2nd level spell at the specified levels.
Muruwari Engineer Schematics
Straya 'Labundi' Marksman Rifle 3rd Level, Straya X-ACR Flechette Rifle 5th Level, Straya AG-3 Assault Rifle 9th Level
Muruwari Khadji Magic
If you chose to be a Muruwari Khadji, starting at 1st level, you know the Produce Flame cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Detect Poison & Disease spell once per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Spike Growth spell once per long rest. You use your Wisdom modifier when casting these spells.

Nguni

As an Nguni elf, your Strength score increases by 1.
Natural Climber
You have a climbing speed equal to your movement speed.
Nguni Warrior Training
You are proficient with Assegai, Launchers, Light Machine Guns, Marksman Rifles, and Shields.
Nguni War Magic
Starting at 1st level, you know the Shocking Grasp cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Thunderwave spell once per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Flame Blade spell once per long rest. You use your Charisma or Wisdom modifier when casting these spells, whichever is higher.

Orun

As an Orun elf, you may choose to increase either your Intelligence or Wisdom score by 1.
Great Strides
Your base movement speed is increased to 35 feet.
Orun Magecraft
Starting at 3rd level, you learn the schematic for the Oruni Windwalker Skiff, and at 9th level you know how to craft a Windstrider Landship. You are Proficient with Land Vehicles.
Orun Magic
Starting at 1st level, you know the Mending cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Cure Wounds spell once per long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Heat Metal spell once per long rest. You use your Intelligence or Wisdom modifier when casting these spells, whichever is higher. Additionally, you can recharge magecraft devices and vehicles by raising your Volatility by 1.
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