Elves

Caeda wandered into the Cruinniú Daoine Forrochtainana hesitantly, with little Soliana at her side. She’d never even learned to read elvish, but a sun elf on the street outside had said it meant “Elven Community Outreach” and if there was anything Caeda needed now, it was any help she could get.

“Can I help you?” asked a man’s voice, pleasant and well meaning enough but when Caeda turned to see him she recoiled before she thought better of it. An elf of the stars, the right side of his void-black face bore terrible scars and a loose, cloth bandana for an eyepatch that left only his left, obsidian eye revealed. Even at her instinctual revulsion, the man smiled warmly. “I just didn’t recognize your face, is all.” he explained calmly, and with every word he spoke, she felt more comfortable in his presence, “And new faces are usually the ones that need the most assistance.”

Caeda shrugged, abashed, “We-” she stammered, “We lost our apartment after they doubled the rent for elvish tenants. Claimed it was because we were a bad influence on the community.”

The star elf nodded, reaching in his pocket. “A familiar story, I’m afraid.” he confessed, holding up a small bit of candy on a stick and waiting for Caeda’s nod of approval before offering it to Soliana who unwrapped the tiny thing and stuck it in her mouth with a greedy lack of hesitation.

“We have temporary accommodations in the back where the both of you can stay for awhile while you get back on your feet.” He gestured towards a sun elf in a black bandana, “Arlen can show you the way. And if you need help finding work, you can always come talk to me. There’s always something that needs doing around Paradise Square.”

From slavery to drudgery, the lives of the elves outside of the Leawood have been marked with prejudice for more than a millennium. Elves may live profoundly long lives, but none still walk who remember a time before humanity conquered the world from beneath elven feet and transformed Emeriss’ only native race into its most tragically subjugated.

Servants and Slums

Even in modern Ruelle, where the God-King himself has declared all people to be free and equal, the elves labor under human authority - most especially in Tyris. Those willing to bow to human will and sell their dignity make up the bulk of house servants in Uptown, but the vast majority who find themselves either temperamentally unsuited to such constraints or deliberately unwilling to bow to any human master invariably find themselves buried and forgotten in the slums of Paradise.

The Cocytus itself is a large territory, and as safe a place as any elf can find herself in desperate times, but there’s always the subtle pressure to make better for themselves. The sun elf who stops by to check in on the single mother, just to see if she needs any help and conveniently offers a small, probably not even illegal job she can do to make a little more money for her family. Or the moon elf who shows up at just the right time to stop a mugging and offers even greater protections if only the would-be victim will accept the sear. Or even the star elf, whose magic cures the child of a deadly infection and asks, as payment, only that the mother accept the Long Knives into her heart and home.

Even if they manage to resist the Long Knives, most elven neighborhoods have at least one no-name gang of four or five citizens who make certain the blocks are safe at night.

Exotic and Invisible

For all that the rest of society looks down its collective nose at elves, there is something about the elven appearance that makes them often irresistible to certain humans with particular tastes. At the same time, most humans are so used to seeing elvish servants and drudges around the streets of Uptown Tyris that they ignore their presence altogether.

Between these two extremes, most elves live their lives - constantly perturbed by the lack of notice and equally uncomfortable with the possibility of it. A few, however, such as those of Paradise Square have learned to use this gray area as a cloak to hide their real intentions and accomplish things no human would believe an elf capable of. As always, there is the venue of adventuring to consider, but while the rewards may be incredible on a long enough timeline, it’s usually just easier to rob a bank.

Heirs to Secrets

Many, many elves take “pilgrimages” of sorts to the Hollows, searching for pieces of their long lost heritage among the ruins. Most aren’t looking for incredibly powerful magical artifacts or tomes of arcane lore thought lost for centuries, but that is just the sort of thing that sometimes crops up in the ruins of a once great elven city. When that happens, a few might sell it and make the money to get out of Paradise, but most bring it home to their family or even their gang as a piece of their lost heritage.

Moreover, many elves have an extremely dim view of other, non-elves either winding up in possession of such relics, or go delving for them, themselves. The elves of the stars are particularly upset by this ever growing trend and, given that the pale elves seem less inclined to eat other elves, have even begun organizing patrols to enter and intentionally prevent any looting parties they catch wind of.

Elf Traits

Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities as a result of their affiliation with the celestial bodies.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age. Although elves mature at a rate similar to humans, the traditional elven view on adulthood is much longer than that of humanity. Even so, on the streets of Paradise it’s rare that any elf lives to their once average adult age of 100, let alone their potential, ripe old age of nearly a millennium. More likely, if you spot an elf in Paradise Square who looks 20, she probably is.
Alignment. Elves, like most of the inhabitants of Paradise have a tendency towards neutral alignments over good or evil. After all, it’s a world where your first priority should always be keeping yourself and those you care about alive over virtually any other concern. That said, elves do have a bit of a wild streak to them after centuries of oppression and many lean chaotic over lawful.
Size. Elves range from under 5 feet to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency with the Perception skill.
Trance. A most useful trait for their former masters, elves do not need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious for 4 hours per day. After resting in this way you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Short Blades, Long Knives. For generations, the only thing even remotely like a weapon most elves were allowed to carry was a simple kitchen knife. As such, all elves are proficient in the use of daggers.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varies, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. That said, there is little use for Elvish in modern day and many elves have forgotten their ancestral language. If you opt not to speak elvish, you can speak, read, and write two of the following languages instead of one: Durasian, Vennican, Siegenthalen, Ruellen.
Subrace. Ancient blessings from the celestial bodies of Emeriss have resulted in three separate races of elves: Elves of the Sun, Elves of the Moon, and Elves of the Stars - and an elven traditionalist will be quite irritable if you were to call them Sun Elves, Moon Elves, and Star Elves. Most people do anyways. Your character is one of these three types of elf.

Elves of the Sun

Blessed by the great, golden sun in the ages before the Olympian gods arose on Emeriss, Elves of the Sun are beautiful to behold with tanned skin, golden or copper hair, and flecks of gold in their softly glowing eyes.

Once the elves of the sun were great providers of their people. Now freed, they have taken on a more martial role, adopting a warrior’s insight and problem solving inclinations into their lives. An elf of the sun is unlikely to stand aside when confronted with a challenge and while still clever, may pursue the most direct route to the most valuable result.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1, your Strength score increases by 1.
Elven Weapons Training. You are proficient with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and pistols. You may double your proficiency bonus when attacking with daggers or knives.
Sun’s Light. The Elves of the Sun carry the light of their patron with them at all times and may cast the “Light” cantrip at will. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this effect.
Sunfire. You hold in your heart the very heartbeat of the sun itself. You may cast the “Firebolt” cantrip at will. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this effect. Alternatively, you may forsake this feature and select a feat.

Elves of the Moon

Granted the gift of silent beauty and vanishing shadows by the moon herself, Elves of the Moon have skin ranging from pale white to pale blue and their eyes sparkle with moonstone, reflecting a pale blue-green when caught by a light in the dark.
Ability Score Improvement. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Low-Light Vision. Accustomed to operating in the light of the moon, you have superior vision in dim circumstances. In dim light, you can see within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light.
Born into Shadows. Elves of the moon have a gift for wrapping themselves in shadows and vanishing from view when they do not wish to be seen. You have proficiency in the Stealth skill.
Borealis Effect. Elves of the Moon can change the color or colors of their hair at will. Many around Paradise wear it in glaringly bright, unnatural colors and patterns so that they can shift it to something completely different when they need to make an escape, granting any followers disadvantage on following them for sight based rolls.
Moon’s Dance. The elves of the moon carry all the phases of the moon in their blood, allowing them to cast the “Dancing Lights” cantrip at will. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this effect.
Moon’s Fury. Vessels of the Moon’s quiet wrath, elves of the moon may cast the “Ray of Frost” cantrip at will. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this effect. Alternatively, you may forsake this ability and select a feat.

Elves of the Stars

Born with the ancient wisdom of the stars singing softly through every fiber of their being, Elves of the Stars were the lore keepers and sages of their people before humanity stamped out every trace of elven culture they could. The skin of an elf of the stars is a deep blue-black like the void between their namesake and their hair is the deep silver of starlight. Most unnervingly, perhaps, is that the eyes of an elf of the stars resemble orbs of obsidian glass, with rings of dimly lit starlettes for irises.
Ability Score Improvement. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Darkvision. Born of the endless, sprawling void, you are well accustomed to the shadows and as such can see in dimly lit conditions within 120ft as if it were bright light and darkness, even magical darkness, as if it were low light. You cannot discern colors in darkness, only shades of gray.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You were simply not built for functioning in bright light - it pains your eyes and burns your skin. You have disadvantage on all rolls involving sight (including attack rolls) when in bright light.
Wisdom of the Stars. The stars themselves sing in the thrum of your heartbeat, and you can share their wisdom with others. You gain the “Guidance” cantrip and may cast it at will. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this effect.
Ancient Spellkeepers. Your family has passed down an actual spell from one generation to the next since the rise of Man - always secret and always small. You may select any one cantrip to cast at will. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this effect. Alternatively, you may forsake this ability and select a feat.

Origin/Ancestry

Emerissian