Forest Elf
The elves of the sprawling forests, wardens of nature eternal
Base Racial Traits
Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, and –2 Constitution) Forest Elves are nimble, both in body and mind, but their form is frail. Size: Forest Elves are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size. Type: Forest Elves are Humanoids with the elf subtype. Elves do not sleep - they merely spend their nights in trance-like meditation, which achieves the same effect for them as sleep. So long as they are in a forest, jungle, or wooded area, Forest Elves can go without food and water for 3 days + 1hr per point of CON before beginning to succumb to starvation and thirst. Speed: Forest Elves have a base speed of 30 feet. Vision: Forest Elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light. Languages: Forest Elves begin play speaking The Regional Language that reflects their origins(See Languages of Zheng-Kitar), and either Old Elven or Baltairi. Forest Elves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: (Common, Old Druidic, Terran, Elderspeech, Aklo, Luxan, Ezdhûlian, and Sylvan). Elven Immunities: Forest Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects. Elven Paragons: Forest Elves receive a +4 racial bonus on Perception checks and a racial +2 on Knowledge Nature checks, which they can make untrained. One of these skills is always a class skill for them. Forest Elven Magic: Forest Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance, and any spell of the Abjuration school has +1 to all its DCs or Saves. In addition, elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft skill checks made to identify the properties of magic items. Animal Whisperer: Forest Elves can, as a standard action, project one of their senses into the body of a creature of the animal type within their line of sight(Ex: Seeing through the eyes of a hawk). Returning your senses to normal is a free action. Once your senses are transferred, they automatically return to normal if the animals moves more than a mile away from you. They cannot control the animal they are projecting their senses into, but can make diplomacy checks to influence them to go to certain directions or places. Wardens of the Green: Forest Elves gain Wood Shape as an at-will supernatural ability. By focusing as a standard action that does not provoke, they can replicate the effects of an entangle spell on plants within 40ft, with a CL equal to their HD. Plantsight: Forest Elves can see through plant matter as if it were transparent out to 60ft. Leaves, vinery, greenery, and undergrowth offer no concealment to their sight, though solid wood still blocks it. Master Archers: Forest Elves may use DEX instead of STR for the purposes of composite bows. Once per round, they may ignore any miss chances on one ranged attack(Or one attack made in a full attack), such as from concealment. This shot can be altered in flight, allowing you to change it's trajectory ONCE to hit targets you otherwise couldn't. Weapon Familiarity: Forest Elves are proficient with longbows (including composite longbows), longswords, rapiers, and shortbows (including composite shortbows), and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Forest Elves are similar to many humanoids, with two arms and two legs attached to a central torso with a head located atop the center...their muscle mass and bone density, however, is objectively less and weaker than those of other average humanoids such as Humans or Desert Elves, meaning that while their may be much quicker and smarter than others, their bodies are quite intrinsically frail and weak, and prone to easily damaging if struck.
Their bodies, additionally, are suffused with conduits and natural pathways to better conduct natural mana, the energy found in nature and counterpart that mana which arcane casters use - the mana that flows through the trees and plants - to sustain themselves should their food supply run out. This power can also bolster them in other unique ways, but is largely responsible for their legendary ephemeral beauty and timelessness - the power of nature that flows inside them literally filling their bodies out with beauty and stopping their aging.
Biological Traits
Forest Elven hair can vary in color, but generally tends to be more natural and earthen colors such as brown, black, and so on, with lighter and brighter colors rare but not unheard of. Likewise, their skin and facial features can vary between individuals, and while their skin is naturally inclined towards paler tones, the level of paleness can vary as well from a light but noticeable whiteness to almost bone white while their facial features are generally smooth and eastern in appearance, with long and elegant features cut with graceful curves that set them apart from their Desert Elven kin, with bodies capable of gaining graceful curves and alluring beauty thanks both to the natural energy welling up inside of them but thanks as well to the less hostile environments they live in.
Genetics and Reproduction
Forest Elves, like most all Elves, are incredibly asexual beings and while they are capable of feeling pleasure and the emotions that are normally associated with reproduction and sex in other races like humans, they almost never have sex and reproduce for the mere act of doing so. They have almost no sex drive and care little about such things, and generally only reproduce when they feel the need to continue their species, not for any simple act of pleasure or emotion.
Adding onto their low sex drives, Forest Elves, like most all elves, simply do not conceive in the same way as other races do - for a Forest Elf to come down with child, they have to make a conscious decision to do so and ingest a special natural and herbal remedial concoction designed to stimulate their bodies to allow for reliable conception. So when the times demand it or when they feel the need, Elves gather together with their chosen mates and decide to have children, but otherwise they are mostly incapable of having children otherwise...however, this also explains the origins of Half-Elves, as many Elves often fancy relationships with humans but rarely stop to consider the consequences of an unplanned spontaneous pregnancy without the influence of their herbal concoctions...without them, a full elf cannot be born and a half-elf is the result.
When Elven Females come down with children, they carry the children inside of them for between a year to a year and a half, after which the child is born shortly thereafter.
Growth Rate & Stages
Forest Elves are slow grow to maturation once born and on average, reach adulthood by the age of 50. Once they hit adulthood, Forest Elves generally reach middle age around age 500, become old around age 750, and reach venerable around the ancient age of 1,000, at which point they die some years afterward.
Ecology and Habitats
Forest Elves are creatures born within the dense greenery of the forest, and as such Forests, Jungles, and other dense natural areas are the optimal environment for them to live within. Unlike many other species, Forest Elves live absolutely in tune with their environment and work alongside it, making their homes within the trunks and atop the boughs of massive trees and working and living alongside the natural world they living within. They live in harmony with the world around them, and fit naturally into the ecological niches of the area, seamlessly fitting into the natural ecosystem so as to not disrupt the natural order.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Forest Elves are almost exclusively vegetarians due to their innate connections to nature and the forest, though they are not opposed to meat and similar foods that come from animals, they see the consumption levels of other races as wasteful and unnatural. Thus, unless provided with the opportunity to hunt and take their own meals to ensure nothing goes to waste, Forest Elves are generally vegetarians.
Biological Cycle
As they age, Forest Elves show no outward signs of it until they reach venerable age near age 1,000 - nearly the end of their life. The Natural Energy that sustains them and flows through their bodies keeps them looking for all intents and purposes looking as if they were in their prime right up until the end, when they begin to outwardly age incredibly rapidly until they die. This timelessness makes it hard for other non-elves to tell what age a given elf is, and has thus lended itself to the air of supernatural beauty they possess.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Forest Elves have long, elegant features as well as an overall near-supernatural, hauntingly ephemeral beauty to their facial features and overall physique, and are considered the epitome of Elegance and Grace. Their features are never sharp or jagged, and are instead smooth and possessing of rounded, aesthetically pleasing contours.
Occasionally, some forest Elves can have Antler or Horn-esque growths on their heads as well as hair that more closely resembles vines or plant material.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Forest Elves are almost exclusively found in the forests, jungles, and dense greenery of Zheng-Kitar.
Average Intelligence
Forest Elves are naturally a great deal more intelligent and quick-witted than other humanoids, and are naturally quite smart and gifted. Their minds are more naturally capable of feats of intellect and logic than baseline humanity, and lends them even more of a natural air of mystery.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Thanks to their Elven Heritage, Forest Elves can see twice as far as normal in conditions of low-light and are said to possess all around sharper senses than baseline Humans.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Woodland Elves have graceful, elegant names full of 's', 'l', and other soft syllables, their names a gentle whisper on the breeze muttered between the lips. Just like the great oaken trees, green ferns, and beautiful bluegrass of their forest home, their names are carefully crafted masterpieces that are a pleasure to hear and speak.
Forest Elven names are tradtionally consisted of a long three-part structure, with three distinct sections. The first section is generally a family name, the middle usually a given name, the last section being of variable length and generally a title of some kind, or a word that describes the Forest Elf or was given to them as a reward for distinction or valor. This third section can change over the course of their lifetime, growing shorter, longer, or changing altogether as they themselves grow and achieve new heights or shames.
Typically, these names are shortened to 'Common Names' by taking the last syllable of the first section and first syllable of the last section and combining them with the middle section to create a normal name(For example, a Forest Elf named Nars'egisi'maiqos would take 'Segisima' as a common name).
Male: Bachor'ion'easton(Orionea), Dûrben'dir'aunor(Endiraun), Gwedhron'aun'miriion(Naunmi), Echad'laer'caumen(Dlaerca), Ûron'olve'narthon(Nolven)
Female: Olthri'eith'andis(Ieitha), Gaerhel'osta'distra(Lostradi), Olthrea'istri'gollorneth(Aistrigo), Delien'abel'braignith(Nabelbra), Edlen'wen'arthrien(Nwenar)
Beauty Ideals
Forest Elves see beauty in harmony, and in being at peace with one's surroundings and with the world around them. Elegant, smooth curves are preferred to jagged or rocky features, and intellect and quickness of wit is prized as great beauty over strength of body or glibness of tongue, as Forest Elves love quick and witty conversational partners who can go toe to toe with them discussing many interesting and complicated topics over a brutish warlord with unmatched strength or agility.
Courtship Ideals
Forest Elves are creatures that are naturally quite slow to court others, and considering their long lifespans it is hard for them to get with humans and other short lived races, who they see as flighty and inattentive things that often fail to commit to something for life. They prefer to enjoy time with their prospective partner at long, length intervals, and enjoy intricate and intelligent conversation moreso than any physical pleasure such as sex or meals.
Relationship Ideals
The ideal Forest Elven relationship is one that lasts until the death of one of the partners, though they have no qualms about having multiple partners. To the Forest Elves, what matters is the dedication and unbreakable love for each other, and they fully believe that any given creature can have as many partners as they can truly dedicate themselves to and keep happy throughout the decades. To break off one's partnership before such a tragedy is seen as a shame and a disgrace, and is one of the main reasons why they tend to look down on Humans and other shorter-lived races.
Common Dress Code
Forest Elves prefer to dress in long, flowing robes of natural, earthen colors that accentuate their natural beauty and their elegant curves. Even their armor is elegant, fanciful, gilded, and beautiful due to the Forest Elven belief that even protective gear should be aesthetically pleasing to one's eye in addition to its natural durability and function.
Alternate Racial Trait List: Forest Elf Alternate Racial Traits
Racial Feat List: Forest Elf Racial Feats
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
1000 Years
Conservation Status
As the most numerous of all the Elves, the Forest Elves can be found nearly everywhere across Zheng-Kitar, from the densest forests to the smallest groves - they are the most populous Elves and are what most others think of when the word 'Elf' is mentioned - all other Elves are exotic variants of the Forest Elves, in the eyes of others.
Average Height
4.5ft - 6.6ft (1.4m - 2.0m)
Average Weight
110lbs - 200lbs (50 - 90kg)
Average Physique
Forest Elven bodies are lithe and quick, and while their muscle mass and bodily constitution may be lacking in regards to other races, their thinness and quickness of body more than makes up for it. They are often slender beings, with thin bodies built for nimbleness and agility.
However, unlike the Desert Elven, Forest Elven bodies can develop some more variety in their shapes, gaining some curves that can range from subtle to imposing and unmissable - and while it is rare for them to become obese or fat, the environment in which they live and the less brutal lifestyles they lead allow them more variety in their physiques - females might be curvy or lithe, and males might be lean and muscular or thick and imposing - though again, obesity is almost unheard of, though mostly because of their diets and not out of any special metabolic reason - though their timeless bodies do make it difficult to overeat.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Forest Elves are often somewhat pale-skinned, but those that spend time outdoors can develop a healthy tan on their skin while others can sometimes, rarely, be born with black or charcoal skin.
Forest Elven hair can vary in color, but generally tends to be more natural and earthen colors such as brown, black, and so on, with brighter colors such as Crimson and Fiery Orange not unheard of. Bright red is an especially rare hair color, but one seen as a blessing and sign of a life to be lived full of blessings and mirth.
Related Myths
Related Materials
The world's best hunters
As the foremost denizens of the forests, jungles, and greenlands of Zheng-Kitar, it is a widely accepted fact that there are none better than the Forest Elves when it comes to matters of the hunt. They possess unmatched vision and senses when compared to most other races, and these extremely heightened senses allow them to pick out targets from vast distances that others would not even see across - their control over their bows and swords is said to be so perfect as to be an artform, and with but one arrow a Forest Elf is said to be able to deliver a killing blow. No Forest Elf, it is said, can miss a target with a bow and arrow. Their hunters prowling the forests with unmatched speed and grace, the Forest Elves natural ability to hunt, hide, and wait in pursuit of prey has also lended them a fearsome reputation as guerilla warfare specialists - few dare to intrude upon the forests of the beautiful forest elves, for to do so is to invite destruction upon oneself as a hail of arrows is liable to emerge from the trees when one least expects it. Their talent with ranged weaponry and hunting is not the only thing which lends them their fearsome reputation, however - it is also their innate control over nature and the skill with which they control the plants, trees, and vines which contributes to their reputation as fearsome hunters of legendary renown and rangers to be treated with respect. With but a flick of their wrist and a bit of focus, a Forest Elf can shape the very wood that makes up the trees and control the vines on the forest floor to grasp and entangle their foes, leaving them vulnerable and open for a well-placed arrow.
A race most beautiful
For good reason are Elves traditionally associated with beauty - their bodies are things of supernatural beauty and timeless class thanks to the natural mana that flows through their bodies, and while to the discerning eye one might be able to pick out Elven men from women, to most the race stands as one of unnatural, gender-neutral beauty that makes even the most traveled of playboys nervous in their presence, their beauty perfect to the point of being unnerving. This does not mean that Forest Elven men and women are indistinguishable - it simply means that to most who gaze upon them, they would be hard pressed to tell a difference, as the race lacks the more clearly defined biological signs of gender that other races such as humans have, with lowered testosterone and estrogren levels respectively, though exceptions exist. Both Forest Elven men and women alike are creatures of unmatched beauty, such that even at their worst, dirtiest, sweat-caked form, a Forest Elf's beauty still shines brightly through it all. But while many might desire elves as mates for their beauty, the Forest Elves themselves are asexual creatures for the most part - they hold little interest or desire as humans do, and will unfortunately rarely respond to outward advances or displays of affection - though in rare cases some Forest Elves do understand the power their beauty holds, and may use it as yet another weapon in their arsenal.
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