Moriedhel

Also known as Dark Elves or Drow

Dark elves, desert elves, dhaerow, or drow; by any name the moriedhel have been fighting what has essentially been millenia of misinformation since their return to the surface of Torar. Thought to have comes from the black depth of N'Kai by other elves, the moriedhel are far from the infant-eating, Great Old One-worshipping monsters that folklore has painted them to be.

Basic Information

Dietary Needs and Habits

Moriedhel cuisine consists of very little meat. Most of their protein comes from beans and legumes, with some cooked arachnid thrown in for flavor. Many mori dishes are very spicy and a little sweet as they often grow hot pepper plants alongside fruiting cacti, both common ingredients in dark elf cooking.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Dark elves have adapted to their sun-baked homes in several ways. Their hair tends to be white, silver, or rarely whitish tones of blonde or red, to reflect sunlight away from their heads. Over the years they've also developed nictitating membranes, or 'second eyelids', that help keep sand out of their eyes. Moriedhel eyes tend to be very pale, often with irises and even pupils so pale they are indistinguishable from the sclera.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Moriedhel have been found in most desert and wasteland areas across the world, from northern Ashenthorn's Dragon Wastes to Amuan's Central Desert to Miratia in south Lados.

Civilization and Culture

Common Dress Code

Moriedhel fashion has developed to a 'minimalist' approach given the scarcity of materials available while sealed up in their ancient vaults. Historically only the wealthiest and most powerful mages could afford to have their whole bodies covered. In essence in dark elf society the more clothes you wear the higher your social status is, meaning that many moriedhel outfits are revealing in ways some cultures might call scandalous, without completely abandoning modesty and protection.
Among adventurous moriedhel it is not uncommon to have at least some skin exposed on the limbs and torso. More traditionally dressed moriedhel will frequently don full-body cloaks to cover their underwear-like cultural clothing while out among other species.

Common Taboos

Dark elves have long blamed the gods for the woes of the world, going back to the great moriedhel leader Starveil who rose to prominence during The Culling on his platform of 'mortals first'. Thus worshipping any god or goddess is seen as a sign of personal weakness or stupidity by most moriedhel. Entering into pacts with powerful entities for personal power is perfectly acceptable, though, through a weird quirk of belief.

History

During the Fourth Elder War, some of the Naledi fled to the mines and cities of their creators, the mi-go, and hid among the alien technology to survive. After the mi-go vanished, the proto-elves began to worship them and started to catalog their research, books, and notes while learning about their mystical ways. During this time they developed an affinity for the newly-discovered power: magic.
As the world changed outside, these ancient elves found safe havens to retreat to in times of trouble. They would record their observations and experiences, adding to the sacred books the Forbearers left. Eventually all this accumulated knowledge would be brought to the other Tribes in Meara where the moriedhel would become the kingdom's preeminent scholars and mages.
After the cataclysms of the Godswar, most of the moriedhel retreated to their ancestral homes in what were now arid wastelands, sealing themselves away. A few remained behind to act as caretakers... or zookeepers... to the dragons of Ashenthorn. The world moved on and dark elves largely passed into myth. Other elves eventually referred to them as 'dhaerow', traitor, as the stories of them soon twisted to make the missing subspecies complicit or even responsible for much of the destruction Meara faced. This word was then poorly adopted into the Common tongue of humans as 'drow'.
Today's dark elves retain some of their ancestral connection to the weave of magic, and though they still suffer distrust by most 'surfacers' they are no longer thought to be bogeymen and women. Even so they tend to stay in their isolated desert cities or work from the shadows in the lands of other species.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Elf

Scientific Name

Homo sophos caecus

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Dark elves are called that because of their skin, which ranges from ash gray to obsidian black. Some dark elves can also have a bronze complexion, though this usually indicates a mixed elven subspecies ancestry.

Moriedhel Traits

Ability Score Increase Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Size Medium

Speed

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Your dark elf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of thousands of years of refinement.
Provocateur. Moriedhel are widely known for their risqué fashion. Any moriedhel can modify any clothing they have to accentuate their natural beauty and grace, showing off as much of their dark skin as possible without being considered technically nude. By doing so, you can add your Charisma modifier to your AC. Any armor that has been modified in this way has its armor rating reduced by -2 (e.g. modified studded leather armor provides an AC of 10 + Dex + Cha, instead of 12 + Dex).

Hot Weather Adaptation. You are naturally adapted to hot climates, as defined on page 110 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. This means you do not need to make Constitution checks to avoid exhaustion when you have heavy clothes on or are without access to sufficient water while in extremely hot environments.

Ancient Knowledge. You gain proficiency in your choice of Arcana or History. In addition you gain the ability to cast one cantrip selected from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability score for this ability.