[Race] The Dark Elves

Dark Elves



The Dark elves are a desperate race who are believed to have once been fair like their Sylvanian cousins. Ruthless and tough, the Dark elves consider themselves superior than their forest-dwelling cousins. Some say that this was a punishment of Artemis, others speak of a Nightmare that tempered the dark elves to seek the light.

Society

Dark elf society is brutal and merciless. A strong chieftain rules all drow settlements with an iron fist. Most of the time, advancement in society is met through a show of force or political subversion. Dark elves believe in might and the survival of the strongest, always looking for ways to upstage and outmaneuver each other.

Dark elves have simple rules for social situations. They are not worried about what fork or what spoon is used or if one shakes hands or bows. Loud voices are considered rude at best, however, and spitting is considered the most dire insult. Age and experience are generally given precedence over youth, though the impression of resting on one's laurels bumps them down a bit.

Dark Elves offer a nod or half-bow, depending on the reverence due the person they are facing. The degree of deference is based on the accomplishments and wisdom of the parties. On some occasions an elf will offer his hand as a sign of comradeship - hands clasped at the wrist, and never palm to palm. This gesture is often seen among neighbors or greeting a social equal. This is not only for resepct, but also the more practical effect of checking one's sleeve for hidden weapons.

Pragmatic to a fault, dark elves do not generally place a huge emphasis on wealth, as money isn't food, nor can one really build anything out of coin itself. However, dark elves do understand and appreciate the power and availability of materials money can buy, and so dark elves can respect money, for it can buy power in the long run. Materialism is a vice among dark elves, despite the emphasis on personal power and survival. One should not make himself a slave to his own belongings.

Dark Elves enjoy things of beauty and grace and many have a keen eye for aesthetic sensibilities, despite the ruggedness and pragmatism of their lives. They enjoy goods that are rich in material and delicacy and detail, yet strong and hardy, in spite of appearances.
Dark Elves love music, almost to the point of distraction. A dark elf may be drawn from almost any mood by good music.

Personality

Dark elves are a curiously industrious group. All dark elves hunt. If not for food, clothing, or shelter, then for power within their society. Only through a combination of hard work, shrewd decision making, good fortune, and the will to dominate will they be able to achieve. They are so industrious, in fact, that they enjoy making others do their work as well as their own to progress as fast as possible.

Dark elves tend to trust what they can see with their eyes and feel with their hands moreso than the abstract concepts of magic. If there is anything that technology can do for a dark elf, that dark elf will usually try to understand it as best as he can before "adopting" it. Dark Elves assimilate what they can as long as it does not create a weakness for them.

At about 25-30 years of age, dark elves are considered adults. By this time, they should have completed various training and physically matured into adulthood. During the Ascendancy, the Trial of Adulthood, the dark elf begins a journey that includes a test of survival, proof of education, and the fulfilment of a requirement to his clan.

Sex is a game of wits and maneuvering for most dark elves. It is a competition of dominance among dark elves, and most often times nonconsent and rape can occur. There are few taboos in Dark Elf sex - no taboos against what other cultures would refer to as "deviant sexual behavior" such same sex couplings or even incestuous couplings - although it is unheard of for purely consentual intercourse in a culture where only the strong thrive.

Physical Description

While the majority of dark elves are dark-skinned with silvery white hair, there is a sizable minority of those who were kept in even darker places who have pale skin and dark or light hair. No dark elf has the emerald hues or violet tones of their eyes, nor the lush red hair or the blonde sand in their hair. The Dark has robbed them of their color and only the harsh light of the sun gives them any hue they now possess.

Overall, they stand a little under human height - 4'6 to 5'7 - but give the impression of being taller. This is partly accounted for by their very upright posture and slenderness of frame, though some people claim this illusion of height is caused by their great vitality.

Dark Elves dress practically for the weather. In Xalambe, Dark Elves often wear a keffiyeh or turban - a head scarf made of cotton, and folded and wrapped around the head to provide protection from direct sun exposure, as well as for use in protecting the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand. Matching robes and light clothing is the norm, ranging from western Imperial-style dusters to more durable trenchcoats.

In the city, however, dark elves will adopt whatever the current fashion is, though in everyday wear, they may hark back to their village origins.

Relations with Others

Dark elves have varying views of other races, few, if any, of whom they consider equals. Humans and orcs and gnomes and dwarves and any of the mortal races are cattle for labor and power. Even the mighty Remian Empire is thought of as a pawn in the Dark Elf race for survival, but are kept with a begrudging respect for the Empire for their power and military might. Dark Elves are real beings, who've beaten the elements, beaten back the tide of destruction and the Nightmare, and no race, not even the treehugging Wood Elf Cousins or the magical High Elves, can compare to the hardiness and steadfast survival of the Dark Elves.

Alignment

Dark elves live under a repressive doctrine and are always buckling and shifting beneath it, trying to get as much advantage as they can, standing neutral between the rule of law and anarchy. They believe in the rule of the strong, and have no regard for the welfare of those weaker than themeselves, learning to be cut-throat from the cradle.

Dark Elf Lands

Xalambe in the South is the land of the dark elves - a harsh, desolate wasteland with little life under the burning rays of the Sun. Dark Elves tend to travel through the desert wastes, moving from water to water to follow the packs of animals that they derive their food and shelter from.

There are a few cities in Xalambe, along rivers or near the oases that dot the desert. Usually they are found within the shade of mountains or valleys near these watering spots in an effort to keep cool.

The Capital, Sunthrone, on the other hand, is built on the top of a mountain, as close to the Sun and Apollo as the Dark Elves dare. Up in the high areas of this mountain, the air is thinner and cooler, allowing the Dark Elves here to thrive in relative comfort.

Religion

The dark elves worship Apollo in the way that they both revere and fear the light of the Sun. The light of the Sun.

Magic is almost nonexistent within the dark elves. Whatever happend in the Nightmare had taken away the connection to the magical ley lines, lifestream, mana tap, or whatever magical energies that have been given to other elves. Very few ever find their way to magic, certainly none are born with the gift these days, and those few who find a fount of divine or even arcane ability are expected to bring themselves and their individual clans to greatnesss.

That is to say, there are almost no sorcerors or druids among the dark elves. Instead the few are clerics of certain deities like Apollo, or a rare Sage.

Language

Dark elves speak Elven, like their cousins. However, their pronunciation is often harsh and guttural. Their writing is rugged, their use of the written word short and succinct, bereft of the elegance of Sylvan.

Adventurers

When a dark elf sets out alone, it is because they wish to test their strength or grow out from under the shadow of their superiors. Dark elves look upon adventuring as a chance to gain a measure of respect in their society, or as their only opportunity to stretch their legs and abuse other creatures. Rare is a dark elf who is not like their brethren and tired of the constant Darwinian struggle of the rule of the strongest and choose to exile themselves for a better way to live, or even redeem their kin in the eyes of their cousins.

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Mechanical Information

* +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma.
* Medium size.
* A dark elf’s base land speed is 30 feet.
* Immunity to sleep spells and effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects. (Not reflected in the saving throw modifiers given here.)
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* +2 Natural Armor bonus.
* Spell-Like Abilities: dark elf can use the following spell-like abilities once per day: dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire. Caster level equals the dark elf’s class levels.
* Spell resistance equal to 11 + class levels.
* Weapon Proficiency: A dark elf is automatically proficient with the hand crossbow, the rapier, and the short sword.
* Automatic Languages: Common, Elven, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Draconic, dark elf Sign Language, Gnome, Goblin. This trait replaces the high elf’s automatic and bonus languages.
* +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
* Level adjustment +2.