Desert Elf Alternate Racial Traits
Racial Variants
Blood Elf: Take the "Jungle Striders", "Tezcahuital Blood Hunter", and "Terror in the Shadows" Alternate Racial Traits.
Full Set Bonus: Gain proficiency with the "Sanguine Rippleblade" homebrew weapon. Gain a racial +1 to intimidate skill checks.
The Tezcahuital Elves of the Yudao Rainforest(And the rest of the world's Rainforests and deepest forest groves) are a barbaric and tribal lot, one more commonly called "Blood Elves" by those who know of them or who have lived through one of their attacks to tell the tale...painting their bodies in ritualistic lines of red paint and sometimes even actual blood, these Elves stalk the forests as silent hunters and keep it safe from outsiders with often brutal methods. They hide their towering temples well, and though their violence has earned them the enmity of many, the expertise with which they defend their borders and hide their true power centers has frustrated their attackers for centuries. Capturing those who dare defile their home forest and those who intrude upon their lands with lethal efficiency, these violent Elves drain the blood from their victims into massive offering bowls, where it is used to power rituals to keep the forest healthy and vibrant, and potentially for other purposes as well. Often, they range outside of their forest homes on expeditions as a right of passage into adulthood, to brave the perils of the outside world, accomplish some notable deed, and prove themselves mighty. In this way, they earn their ritualistic lines they paint upon their skin and become truly one of their people. They are notoriously lawful for Elvenkind, and have a strictly organized society with clear laws and ranks that make them foreign and odd to other Elves.
Winter Elf: Take the "Frozen Hunter", "Freezing Sight", and "Icebody" Alternate Racial Traits.
Full Set Bonus: You may see through blizzards and other cold-weather vision obstructions as if they weren't there(GM Discretion). You halve weather penalties for firing ranged weapons.
Hidden far away to the north of the continent in the world's most frozen reaches, The Øthir, or Winter Elves, are a conclave of brutal, cold, and unyielding but otherwise Good-Hearted survivalists that long ago broke off from the mainland elves and retreated to the north, where they live among the frozen forests and mountains of the Shenchuan Tundra and Hyeojin Island. Reclusive and violently protective of their Isolation, the Øthir are a people content to let those who desire to pass through their terrain do so unhindered, but will often make these travelers pay a toll to them for their passage. They respect shows of force and tend to only become violent once it is used against them, and are otherwise content to be left alone and leave others alone if they are allowed. They guard even their names from outsiders, so reclusive are they, and often give cryptic and vague titles or falsities in their place. They are a brusque and suspicious people who are highly xenophobic even in regards to other elves, and this has garnered them a reputation as phantoms in the snow, and deadly boogeymen who can freeze flesh on sight and who devour creatures whole as cannibals...though many of these rumors are false, the Øthir enjoy taking advantage of them when they deign to make contact with outsiders.
Alternate Racial Traits
Ancestral Form: Racial Ability scores become (+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength). Alters ability scores.
Though rare, some Sand Elves when they are born possess forms with less innate durability, but instead have some innate radiance and charisma that shines alongside their innate dexterity. Some say this magnetism is feyborn in nature, a calling to their ancient ancestors, but the truth of this is dubious at best.
Legacy of Martial Discipline: Racial ability bonuses become (+2 CON, +2 DEX, -2 CHA). May choose to receive one of the following as a bonus feat, even if you do not meet the requirements. Replaces Desert Elven Magic and Elven Immunities.
- Lightning Reflexes
- Dodge
Improved Initiative
Desert elves carry within them the blood of their mighty warriors, known for their quick wits, reflexes, and blindingly fast speed. These Elves are mighty warriors, and small glimpses into the power of the Desert Elven army that once was. They are known for being nimble, hard to hit, and prefer to strike their enemies before they can even realize what hit them.
Grey Immunities: Gain immunity to paralysis and a racial +4 to resist phantasms and poison. Replaces Elven Immunities.
Born as children on the Material Plane that in some way wandered too far from their homes into the caverns beneath their homes, some Sand Elves find themselves spirited away to a land of harsh, unending labor where grey-skinned dwarves toil unendingly far beneath the earth...raised by the Grey Dwarves who call such a brutal hellscape their home such that they even adopt some of their defenses, these Elves grow up as cruel and cold tyrants, returning to their home plane with desires to bring order and law to their people.
Cold Soul: Gain Cold Resistance 10 and a racial +4 to all spells and spell-like abilities with the [Emotion] descriptor. Replaces Elven Immunities.
An unfortunate but unavoidable fact of their history as a race that has been pushed around and taken advantage of, some Desert Elves become so fed up with their people and/or with other races pushing them around that they become cold and unfeeling, abandoning their emotions and caring hearts to harden them to become the cold, ruthless killers they think their people need to defend themselves. This coldness reflects in their very soul, and inures them to its touch.
Icebody: You gain Cold resistance 5, and gain a racial +2 on Perception checks. Survival is always a class skill for you(If it is already due to your class, gain a +2 on it instead). Replaces Sandy Drifters.
Having grown up in the blistering cold most or all of their lives, the skin of these exotic 'Snow Elves' tends to take on a pale white color, and they grow inured to the cold compared to others of their kind. Additionally, this adaptation has allowed them to excel in hunting and foraging in those same locales.
Terror in the Shadows: You gain a racial +2 on Intimidate checks and Stealth checks, and one is always a class skill for you. Replaces Sandy Drifters.
You are an expert with the inner workings of other's minds, and know how to perfectly act and position yourself to elicit maximum terror from your targets.
Ancestor-Touched: Gain Knowledge Planes as class skill, gain +2 to Knowledge Planes checks, and gain the ability to cast Blur 1/day as a spell like ability. The caster level of the spell is equal to your HD(Minimum 1). Replaces Sandy Drifters.
In hushed voices and quiet whispers, the Desert Elves speak of those amongst them who peer too closely into the realm of the unnatural or try to glimpse the realm beyond before it is their time. These Elves are unnatural, and barely belong in the mortal coil, for they carry within them innate knowledge of the realms beyond the mortal, and carry a spark of it within them, which they can use to make themselves tougher to hit.
Cave-Born: Gain Darkvision out to 60ft. Gain a climb speed equal to your base land speed. You gain a +2 bonus on Perception checks to notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking. Replaces Desert Elven Magic.
Having lived most of their lives underground in their sheltered subterranean fortresses and ancestral cities, many Desert Elves become much more used to the ways of underground life than some of their fellows are to life aboveground beneath the blistering sun. Their eyes adapt to the stonework and the darkness, and they become almost dwarflike in underground survivability.
Planar Orphan: Gain Undercommon as a starting language, and gain Telepathy(120ft). Gain a racial +2 to all saves made to resist Enchantment effects. Aberrations start one step friendlier to you than normal. You automatically detect planar portals to The World Below when you come within 250ft of them. Replaces Desert Elven Magic.
Spirited away as infants through the natural planar portals that dwell within the caverns of their home, some Desert Elves are whisked away to the city of Zct'Thysk, the eponymous City of a Million Eyes...raised by the city's monstrous and terrifying eldritch monstrosities they often return to their home different, and alien...their skin is tinged purple and they are cold and calculating, thinking in terms of collectives and the whole and putting little emphasis on the self. Their minds are terrifyingly powerful, and they all yearn to return to their adoptive home.
Frozen Hunter: You gain a +4 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when you are in the Cold terrain. Additionally, when traveling normally you leave no trail and cannot be tracked (though you may leave a trail if you so choose). This functions as Favored Terrain for the Cold Terrain. If you would get Favored Terrain from a class ability, it replaces this one once the bonus to these terrains rises higher than listed here. Replaces Nimble Striders.
Having grown up in the freezing cold of the tundra and the northern mountains, the Snow Elves have become more adept at darting unseen through fields of snow and ice than through forest underbrush.
Jungle Striders: You gain a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when you are in the Jungle or Forest terrains. Additionally, when traveling normally you leave no trail and cannot be tracked (though you may leave a trail if you so choose). This functions as Favored Terrain for the Jungle and Forest terrains. If you would get Favored Terrain from a class ability, it replaces this one once the bonus to these terrains rises higher than listed here. Replaces Nimble Striders.
Having grown up in dense jungles instead of verdant forests, some Elves are more accustomed to swinging from jungle vines and darting from one titanic tree to another than they are moving through the thick underbrush of a forest.
Free Spirits, to the End: Gain racial +2 to Acrobatics and Escape Artist checks, one is always a class skill; Replaces Nimble Striders.
True to their origin, the Desert Elves yet keep a part of their freer, more chaotic selves within. Even after so much they have endured, some among them embody the truest values that the Desert Elves strive to live for, and are wild, free beings as unpredictable, chaotic, and wild as a typhoon. These such Desert Elves are are nimble, athletic, and quiet adept at escaping any situation they find themselves in, their free, wild spirits unable to be contained or restrained by anyone. They are flighty, carefree, and unpredictable, and treasure their personal freedoms above all else.
Freezing Sight: As a standard action that does not provoke AoO, you can force any creature within your line of sight to make a fortitude save(DC 10 + 1/2HD + INTMOD) or have their movement speed reduced by half and any cold resistance they have dropped by 10(If they have immunity, it lowers it to Resistance 20) to a minimum of Resistance 0. This effect lasts for 1d4+1 rounds, and on a successful save the target ignores the lowered cold resistance, and the speed reduction lasts for only 1 round. Replaces Die with weapon in hand.
Their eyes frozen and icy blue, the Winter Elves are legendary in the north as cannibalistic boogeymen who eat eyes for sport...the truth of that is dubious, but regardless, their eyes are filled with potent magic and are capable of freezing the veins and bones of those they focus on...meaning that for those who earn their trust or who manage to kill one and take their eyes, learning the secrets of this technique can be incredibly beneficial.
Tezcahuital Blood Hunter: You gain scent out to 100ft against living creatures, which increases to 200ft against injured creatures(Below Max HP). Whenever you deal bleed damage, you deal an amount of extra bleed damage equal to 1/3 your total HD(Minimum 1). Replaces Die with Weapon in Hand OR Animalistic Mind.
Having grown up, lived near, or been trained by one of the notoriously tribal and brutal Blood Elves, some elves are masters of the secret techniques of the Tezcahuital, daubing their bodies with dark red paint in ritualistic lines and symbols as they learn to smell blood as the Blood Hunters do...and how to draw forth more blood from each strike as they do.
Second Skin: You treat a piece of armor or shield you attune to as if it had the 'Called' weapon special ability, even if it could not normally have it. This allows you to teleport your armor onto your person no matter where it might be just as 'Die with weapon in hand' works with weapons, and requires attunement and functions the same way. Replaces Die with Weapon in Hand.
A common application of the time-honored ritual that binds a Desert Elf to his weapon, this ritual instead binds him to his armor, allowing him to call it just as others might their weapons.
Wandering Warrior: Gain a racial +4 to your CMD. Gain the "Weapon Familiarity" racial trait of another race in place of the base Sand Elven version.(Example: Replace Weapon Familiarity with the Goliath Race's Weapon Familiarity). Replaces Weapon Familiarity.
Leaving their villages behind to travel the world, many Sand Elves, being natural warriors themselves, frequently travel across the land learning the fighting techniques of those they encounter to both learn more about the world and add to their own formidable array of battle skills.
Slip Between Worlds: 3/day, you may vanish from your square as a swift action and reappear in an unoccupied square within 30ft as per dimension door. This is a supernatural ability, and does not provoke AoO. Replaces Weapon Familiarity.
A blessing given to select Desert Elves by their ancestor-spirits, this shamanistic blessing allows these Desert Elves to slip between dimensions momentarily to appear elsewhere in the blink of an eye.
Maelstrom Vision: You gain mistsight out to 120ft, and mist, stormy conditions, or inclement weather no longer offer concealment from your sight. Replaces Weapon Familiarity.
Living lives near the coast or out on the ocean, the Elves who grow up near the coast or on the ocean find their eyes growing accustomed to storm conditions, and misty environs.
Wendigo-Walker: Gain Wind Walk as an at-will spell-like ability, except you may only take yourself and WILLING targets along, and the duration is 1 minute + 1 minute/level instead of 1 hour/level. The speed is reduced from up to 600ft per round to 100ft per round. Replaces Navarran Skinwalkers.
Born with sunken and pallid flesh that pulls tight against their skeleton, giving them the appearance of ghastly half-dead beings, these Desert Elves are treated with suspicion and are often outcast from Desert Elven society, for fear of spreading the deadly Wendigo Psychosis to their fellows...
Sandshaper: Gain ability to cast Gaseous Form as a spell-like ability 3/day, but instead of mist/gas you become a cloud of sand. The caster level of the spell is equal to your HD(Minimum 1). Replaces Animalistic Mind.
Some Desert Elves are so in tune with the sand they can even adopt its form, and become a swirling mass of sand. They are less adept at navigating the difficult desert environs, and instead navigate it by becoming one with it. Though it isn’t quite known how these strange elves have become so in tune with their native habitat, they are nonetheless strange individuals, and most are treated with suspicion and wariness by both their brethren and others alike...though, they are undoubtedly in possession of odd, yet useful, abilities.
Spirit Animal Infusion: Choose from one of the below animals and gain a bonus based on that infusion. Replaces Animalistic Mind.
- Bear: Gain a +10 racial bonus on all checks made to break objects. Your attacks ignore 10 points of hardness.
- Coyote: Gain Discern lies as a 1/day spell-like ability with a CL equal to your HD. Your base land speed increases by 10ft.
- Hawk: You may stop time as per time-stop for 1 round per day. Gain message as an at-will spell-like ability.
- Armadillo: Gain a racial +2 natural armor bonus.
- Buffalo: Treat your CON score as 10 higher for determining the threshold for death. Gain a +4 on all checks made to stabilize when bleeding out or otherwise below 0HP.
Born with the power of one of the Desert Elves sacred spirits flushing through their bodies, these rare Desert Elves are gifted with extraordinary power and are often given appearances resembling their animals in some way - those blessed by the bear are often hulking, muscular, with shaggy hair while those blessed by the coyote are often lithe quick, with animal ears atop their head, and so on.
Comments