Elves

The Elves are the second most populous humanoid species on the continent of Parvolon, and one of the five Major Species of Parvolon. Their design mirrors that of other elven species from high fantasy, although there are no analogues for dark elves in the species. Elves are defined by their high affinity for magic, but at the cost of fragile bodies.

## Abilities

*All Elven Characters have the following abilities:*

***Ability Score Modifiers.*** Elves are nimble and flighty, and gain a *+2* bonus to their Dexterity score. They also gain a *+1* bonus to any other ability score.

***Speed.*** Elves have a land movement speed of 30 feet.

***Size.*** Elves are Medium creatures. They range in height considerably, with some as short as 4 feet tall and others at nearly 7 feet, and have a weight similar to a human for their size.

***Low Light Vision.*** Elves have eyes that are more attuned to darkness than humans. With low-light vision, you can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. You retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

***Trance.*** Elves do not rest in a way like humans. Instead of falling fully unconscious, Elves remain in a state of partial awareness known as a *trance*. During a trance, your character is somewhat aware of what is going on around them, although strenuous activity will still end your long rest.

*Additionally, all Elves have an Elven subtype, a natural magic that they possess. Choose one of the types below:*

### Standard

***Feat of Nature.*** You may choose one feat to add to your character, reflecting the flexible nature of Standard Elves.

***Elven Cantrip.*** Standard Elves from a young age learn they can manifest a weak form of magic. Add one cantrip to your character; this cantrip cannot be changed later.

***Versatile.*** The magic of Standard Elves also manifests in their abilities. You receive an additional skill proficiency in any skill.

### High

***Magical Awareness.*** You have a sense of magical presence that you can trigger at will momentarily. Once per day, you can use the spell *Detect Magic* as a spell-like ability.

***Extinguish.*** The raw magical energy that High Elves possess allows them to snuff out some weak forms of magic. Once per day, choose one creature, object, or magical effect within 120 feet. Any spell of 1st level or lower on the target ends. This functions like *Dispel Magic*.

***Rock Climbing.*** High Elves have a long history in the mountains that has adapted them to more rugged terrain. You have a climb speed of 20 feet.

### Wood

***Extricate.*** Wood Elves have especially mobile bodies, able to move in ways others find hard to read. You can use the *Disengage* feature as a bonus action rather than an action.

***Extra Movement.*** You are faster on your feet than other kinds of Elves, both at short and long distance. Your land movement speed is increased to 40 feet.

***Camouflage.*** Wood Elves have a natural magic to alter their appearance in a way like a chameleon. Your character's skin and hair can shift into new hues and textures of an environment, allowing you to attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

## History

### Outline (early ideas)

The Elven species developed more insulated from the rest of the world, having their roots in the south of the Archipelago. Elves have remained in their little corner of the world for most of their history, and there is little evidence of prehistoric expansion onto the mainland.

Beginning in the Early Classical Period, however, Elven society became deeply intertwined with both Evolvi and Orcish society. The Elven Channel, the body of water separating the Big Island and the Greater Straits region, became one of the most active centers of trade and migration in the world, as it still remains to this day. Wars over outlying islands in the archipelago, such as the Seaswept Isles in the far south and the Crescent Island, began to heat up during this period.

During this period, the Elven Empire began to form as well. This loose union of Elven states across the Archipelago was motivated by a desire to protect the islands from invasion and to reduce internal conflict. The Elven Empire during the Classical Period expanded its membership to include most of the Archipelago, but alongside expansion came internal tension. The Empire at its shining moments functioned as an elective monarchy that highly valued the autonomy of states. At its darker times, though, it was either an oppressive influence on Elves or a dysfunctional bureaucratic nightmare.

In the Late Classical Period, the first and only successful invasion of a major Elven island occurred, with a major Evolvi civilization successfully conquering the northern quarter of the Big Island. This venture was unsustainable for the Evolvi, though, and led to the most unified period in all of Elven history. The resulting War of Northern Reconquest is currently the only war in history where the Emperor has successfully called every single state within the Empire to the same side in war, leading to an overwhelming victory over the Evolvi.

### Society and Culture

Elven society has always had a close attachment to tradition, a theme throughout history that has been both to the benefit and detriment of Elves. Members of minority groups have been fiercely protective of their unique cultural ideas, creating a collective society with a complex marketplace of ideas and rich in philosophy. In contrast, major social change in the Elven world has occurred slowly, and often has been the result of a deep-rooted systemic problem that forced the Elves to pursue a new way.

Another feature across Elven society throughout history has been the idea of the greater family unit and the importance of given names. For most Elven societies, the idea of a *family* has been interwoven with ideas we would call a *clan* or a *tribe*; family was not just the bloodline. In Classical Elven, these would be expressed as the *kainé* (those who you are closely related to by blood) and the *maraté* (those who share your name but may have little blood relation to you). Elven families would usually be quite large because of honor naming, or the act of a powerful member of a family bestowing their name upon someone outside of their bloodline. This practice occurred for a variety of reasons, including royal marriage, knighthood, emancipation, naturalization, and simply political gain; all of these interactions, however, boiled down to the receiver gaining *prestige* in society and the giver legitimizing this earned social power by granting them the name of their socially powerful family.

Elves are also generally innovative in social and academic ideas, but not always on the cutting-edge of physical technology. The prime reason behind this boils down to geography. For most of Elven history, Elves have been isolated from the other major species of Parvolon. This lack of competition other than themselves has reduced the need for advanced land weaponry, although the emergence of Elven grand navies in recent times is beginning to shake up Elven military structure. A relative shortage of iron has also led to a stagnation in Elven industrial technology, a gap that has shrunk some with the discovery of *mithral* and *arcanite* in the mountains.

### Agriculture and the Tin Road

Agriculture in the Elven world began at around 2000 g.f., with the domestication of cereal plants in middle of the Big Island by Elven ranchhands. Domesticated wheat and barley spread quickly throughout the archipelago, with many prehistoric settlements on the neighbouring islands and the Pasdalles Islands showing evidence of grain farming not long after.

Ethnically, Elves along the Big Island and the neighbouring Near Island belonged primarily to three groups: the *Ifari*, *Mezzoreans*, and the *Inner Elves*. The Ifari were a mostly Wood Elven ethnic group in the north of the Big Island comprised of tribal councils with warlord-style states. Occupying most of the eastern coast of the Big Island would be the Mezzoreans, a group that dominated much of the Bronze Age Elven world. Along the Inner Elven Sea would be the Inner Elven peoples, who had early agriculture states but could not challenge the empire to their north. Other Elven groups that had begun to form included the Kashti, the people of the far south of Elven expansion; the Ancient Pasdalic peoples, who occupied the Pasdalles Islands to the West; and the Ancient Albonic peoples, or the Elves who had cohabitated with Evolvi in the Archipelago and on the mainland.

Elves were a dominant force in the early metals industry in Western Parvolon because of access to *tin*. The Mezzorean Empire, which straddled both early major tin mines in the Archipelago, was a dominant Bronze Age power as the supplier of this precious metal to both Elven and Northern Evolvi nations for most of the period. This would lead to a trade route known as the *Tin Road*, which pushed tin outward to Evolvi in the north and Inner Elves in the south, and brought various trade goods from these groups inward towards Mezzorean lands.

Alternative tin routes, the collapse of the Mezzorean Empire, and the production of iron would cause major social upheaval in the region, which provided a small political union between two Inner Elven kingdoms - Topos and Lagios - a golden opportunity to change the trajectory of Elven history forever. The Kingdoms of Topos and Lagios would be the first predecessor to the modern Elven Empire.