Ancestry - Elf

## Primary Features

* The Primary Features of an Elf is informed by their society.
* Elves come from a range of different environments, and in adapting to these they have gained a range of powerful magical abilities.
* Pick one of the following sets of Primary Features: High Elf, Nature Elf, Dark Elf

### Creation Elf (or High Elf)

* Perceptive
	+ When you have Disadvantage on a Focus Skill Check you may ignore the effects of Disadvantage on the Check (i.e. roll just one d20 to determine the Result)
* Eye for Beauty
	+ You gain become Skilled in one of the following sets of Tools: Calligraphy Supplies, a Musical Instrument or Painter's Tools.
* At One with Magic
	+ You learn the Spells described in the below Table as you level up. These Spells do not count against the number of Spells you may know.
	+ You may Cast the Levelled Spells once without expending Mana or Pact Power, and you regain the ability to Cast these Spells in this way when you complete a Long Rest.
	+ Choose the Spellcasting Ability for these Spells from Intelligence, Awareness or Charisma when you gain this feature. These Spells are all considered to come from the Creation Tradition of Magic for you.

At One with Magic Spells
 3
 5

### Nature Elf

* Perceptive
	+ When you have Disadvantage on a Focus Skill Check you may ignore the effects of Disadvantage on the Check (i.e. roll just one d20 to determine the Result)
* Sure Footed
	+ You have a Climbing Speed equal to your Movement Speed
	+ Your Movement Speed is unaffected by Difficult Terrain.

* At One with Nature
	+ You learn the Spells described in the below Table as you level up. These Spells do not count against the number of Spells you may know.
	+ You may Cast the Levelled Spells once without expending Mana or Pact Power, and you regain the ability to Cast these Spells in this way when you complete a Long Rest.
	+ Choose the Spellcasting Ability for these Spells from Intelligence, Awareness or Charisma when you gain this feature. These Spells are all considered to come from the Nature Tradition of Magic for you.

At One with Nature Spells
 3
 5

### Dark Elf

* Perceptive
	+ When you have Disadvantage on a Focus Skill Check you may ignore the effects of Disadvantage on the Check (i.e. roll just one d20 to determine the Result)
* Improved Darkvision
	+ Your Darkvision range is increased by a further 60ft (to a maximum of 120ft).
		- If you lack Darkvision from your Secondary Feature, because you have a combined Ancestry, this feature instead grants the Darkvision ability, allowing you to see well in Dim Light and poorly in Darkness up to 60ft.
* At One with Darkness
	+ You learn the Spells described in the below Table as you level up. These Spells do not count against the number of Spells you may know.
	+ You may Cast the Levelled Spells once without expending Mana or Pact Power, and you regain the ability to Cast these Spells in this way when you complete a Long Rest.
	+ Choose the Spellcasting Ability for these Spells from Intelligence, Awareness or Charisma when you gain this feature. These Spells are all considered to come from the Supernatural Tradition of Magic for you.

At One with Darkness Spells
 3
 5

### Sea Elf

* Perceptive
	+ When you have Disadvantage on a Focus Skill Check you may ignore the effects of Disadvantage on the Check (i.e. roll just one d20 to determine the Result)
* Aquatic Adaptation Swimming
	+ You have a Swimming Speed equal to your Movement Speed.
	+ You are able to breathe underwater.
* At One with the Sea
	+ You learn the Spells described in the below Table as you level up. These Spells do not count against the number of Spells you may know.
	+ You may Cast the Levelled Spells once without expending Mana or Pact Power, and you regain the ability to Cast these Spells in this way when you complete a Long Rest.
	+ Choose the Spellcasting Ability for these Spells from Intelligence, Awareness or Charisma when you gain this feature. These Spells are all considered to come from the Nature Tradition of Magic for you.

At One with the Sea Spells
 3
 5

## Secondary Features

* Darkvision
	+ You have the ability to see well in Dim Light and poorly in Darkness up to 60ft.
* Fey Origins
	+ You have Advantage on Checks to prevent or end the Charmed condition.
* Sleepless Trance
	+ Rather than sleep, you enter a meditative Trance state where they recall and study old memories.
	+ You gain the benefits of a Long Rest after 4 hours meditation. During this meditation you are considered to be unaware of your surroundings.
	+ You are also immune to magic which would put you to Sleep.

## Background - Elf

### Skills and Languages

* You learn one Skill, become Skilled in one Set of Tools, learn the Common language and one other Language of your choice.

* Recommended Skills
	+ Lore (High Elves), Creativity (High Elves), Survival (Nature and Sea Elves), Trickery (Dark Elves)
* Recommended Tool Skills
	+ Blacksmith's Tools, Calligraphy Supplies, Painter's Tools or a Musical Instrument
* Recommended Language
	+ Elvish

### Basic Training

* You may Train one Ability or choose one Basic Feat from the Basic Feats Section.
	+ You may not increase an Ability Bonus above 3 with this feature.
* Recommended Feats for Elves include: Magic Student, Sprinter and Fighting Style: Ranged Weapon Specialism

## Lore and Description

* The Lore of an Elf will vary by their society, but have the following commonalities:

### Appearance

* Elves share many similar characteristics, including elongated, pointed ears, are typically of medium stature and are generally more slender than humanoids.
* Notably they also are frequently more androgynous in their appearance than other humanoids.

### History

* The Elves of the Material World have a very distant origin in the lands of Faerie (sometimes called Fey), a land where magic flows freely and easily.
* In passing to the Material World, these Elves over time would lose much of this magic, but what little they retained would also became shaped by the lands of the Material World they would come to settle in.

### Creation Elf (or High Elf) Lore

* High Elves are distinguished from other Elves by their tendency to build great civilizations (or integrate into other civilisations), putting themselves at a distance from the natural forces of the world.
* Perhaps because of this, the environment a High Elf holds little swat over their appearance, which varies far more than that of the other Elves. They have a great range of skin tones, hair types, eye colours and body types.
* High Elves are at home in civilised society, and their minds are often turned towards deeper magical studies and how this knowledge can be used to advance their civilizations. They are also known as fine crafters and enchanters.
* Additionally, the term "High Elf" can also be used to describe any Elf who identifies as such within other Elven societies by forgoing their connection to the world to instead focus on a deeper connection with their Fey Origins, and may appear among other groups of Elves as crafters, scholars and teachers.

### Nature Elves

* Nature Elves are much more at home in the wild, untamed parts of the world. Though usually associated with forests, there are many who range into deep jungles, frozen arctic wastes or arid deserts.
* They are at home in any such Natural environments and their appearance will often reflect adaptations to these environments (e.g. ruddy brown, green or yellow tinged skin in forests, darker skin tones in areas of harsh sunlight etc).
* Nature Elves have attuned to the Nature of the Natural World, gifting them the ability to communicate with creatures and pass through natural terrain unseen and unheard.
* Some forms of Nature Elves, such as Dark Elves and Sea Elves, have a greater degree of adaptation to their environment, especially where those environments are typically inhospitable to most humanoids. These Elves are referred to by their Environment.

### Dark Elves

* Dark Elves are Elves who have adapted to living in the dark realms of the world, often below ground or on sunless planets.
* Their skin tones tend to reflect their adaptation to being unseen in such environments, although some will often exhibit colorful undertones, such as umbral hues. These undertones are believed to be further adaptations to avoid the notice of specific creatures, who are unable to perceive certain colors.
* Dark Elves have historically attracted suspicion due to their affinity for the dangerous and mysterious realms they inhabit, but any inherent evil within them is entirely unfounded.
* That being said, some societies of Dark Elves are closely aligned with deities representative of darkness or of trickery, and their magical powers originate from tapping into the Supernatural forces connected with Darkness, as opposed to that of Nature, due to Darkness being an absence of Natural phenomena like Light.
* The Dark Elves' environment has granted them the ability to perceive things in darkness far beyond the ability of most creatures, and their ability to illuminate or create impenetrable darkness makes them both great hunters or protectors within the dangerous environments they inhabit.
* Unlike other Nature Elves, Dark Elves are unable to inherently speak with the animals of their environment. Dialogue with the predatory animals of the darkness is usually fruitless.

### Sea Elves

* Sea Elves are Elves who have adapted to living in the depths of the seas of the world.
* Sea Elves are incredibly varied in their appearances, reflecting the vast range of environments hidden from the view of those on the surface.
* Some have skin cones in shades of grey, blue and green with silvery sheen of scales, while other have vibrantly colored skins which emulate the reefs that they call home. Their hair similarly can vary from flowing waves of brown and green that emulate seaweed, to brightly coloured plaits that may appear at home amongst the coral and anemones.
* Their environment has also granted them physical adaptations to the sea, such as webbed hands and feet, and gills capable of allowing them to breathe beneath water. Their magic exhibits as the ability to shroud themselves in a veil of water, to better disguise their movements from the predators of the deep.
* Little is known of the society of Sea Elves due to the seclusion they enjoy from many of the other creatures of the surface. They can sometimes appear aloof from the concerns of people of the surface, given that their concerns go no deeper than the surface. There are tales of vast hidden empires, and rumors of smaller schools that inhabit the shallow waters of port towns.
* There are also variants of Sea Elves who have adopted fresh water environments, such as great lakes and pools. Sea Elves adapted to salt water are able to swim within fresh water, however they find the experience uncomfortable and may become sick after prolonged exposure. The same is true of "Lake Elves" swimming in Sea Water. There are many a sad tales of ill fated romances between Sea and Lake Elves.

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## Copyright Notice

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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This work includes material taken from "7e” by Peter Rees and materials taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC. Both "7e" and the "SRD5.1" are Licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode