Elves of the Lunar Lands

It is the deepest and darkest of the forest that the mysterious and inscrutable elves call their home. Ageless and ethereal beings, they are held as creatures of bewitching beauty and great wisdom. However, they are held just as much with fear. Travelers passing through the forest are wise to beware the elves as much as they fear orcs, bandits, and wild beasts, if not more - for it is the elves who know the wilds, and who will fight with an undying fervor to defend it against incursions.

Tradition holds that elves and humans were made in the same vein, but while humans were created by the gods, elves were created by the whim of the fair folk. They still regard the fairies as their forebearers and their masters - and they have abided by the same traditions their ancestors had for untold generations. While humans settled, tilled the land, and built great cities and empires, under the provenance of the gods, the elves stayed in the woods, hunting and gathering. To this day, most still subsist in scattered woodland villages, living off the land. This is not to say they are primitive - they have strong literary traditions, told in poetry and song, with their elders chronicling the tales of bygone ancestors in meticulously memorized verse, and as they grow bored with daily toil over the course of their long lives, they often turn to contemplation of the universe; it is not uncommon for clans to meet to discuss philosophy, often in heated debates.

Art by Terese Nielsen

Elves do not view themselves as something greater than the natural world, but as a part of it. They feel that humans, dwarves, orcs, and other races have abandoned their calling in seeking to defy nature. In the elvish perspective, not only are they nothing more than particularly clever animals, this is not an insult, but a compliment. Humans, the elves hold, are pretentious and cowardly, refusing to accept their destiny as a part of the natural world - their short lifespans have made them short-sighted, and they have no appreciation for the big picture. It is the elves who are more honest and true to themselves. They subsist largely off of hunting, dress in furs, use arrows of bone and antler, and spurn the higher learning of men.

Still, elves are not without spiritual traditions. In fact, they are attuned to the mystic energies of the land - so much so that they are shaped by their environs, taking on the qualities of their homes. Their hair, for instance, may take on the color of leaves, changing with the seasons, and their personalities change with the weather - those in stormy climes are mercurial, while those in more mild regions are placid. They know the languages of beasts and of the earth itself, and their druids hold communion with trees and rivers to determine what the earth wants and to guide themselves in accordance with its whims. So too, they may call upon wild animals to aid them in hunts or in battle as freely as they might call a friend or cousin. Their belief system is most similar to the Old Faith, and indeed, they hold that the druidic ways are a corruption of their own, though obfuscated by the interpretations of meddlesome gods and foolish mortals who do not grasp the truth.

Art by iromonik

In particular, many elven tribes worship the earth as the communal body of their ancestors. As the body decays, they claim, its life force is absorbed into the greater ecosystem, and thus, every tree and beast and blade of grass contains the spirits of all the bygone elders of the elven race. When the druids consult with the spirits of the land, they are also communicating with their forefathers, who watch over the clans. One peculiar way this belief shapes customs is that elves view plants with great reverence, seeing them as living flesh, and it is a great taboo to harm them. Most do not consume vegetable matter or chop down trees unless it is necessary, instead subsisting off of meat. Fruits and berries, however, are okay, as being eaten is a part of their life cycle, as is harvesting materials from dead trees. To an elf, uprooting an herb from the ground and eating it is akin to tearing off a creature's limb and devouring it in front of them as they sputter and die. They do not place as much of a taboo on the consumption of animals, as the animal is killed before it is harvested - and "animals," in this case, includes humanoids, which plays into their burial rituals. Many elves will devour a share of the flesh of slain kinsmen to help sustain themselves, using the rest to fertilize the trees, and hanging their bones from their branches.

The elves are a reclusive people, and fiercely protective of their forest homes. They especially detest settled folk, who they view as threatening the natural order by their presence. Many an unfortunate logger has unknowingly chopped down the trees of an elven grove, and their mutilated corpses have been found hung from the trees as a warning to their people afterward. Humans often regard elves with wonder and fear - they are the creatures lurking in the dark that they warn their children of. And elves, in turn, spurn humans as clumsy, oafish, greedy, and blind to their own nature.

However, occasionally, an elf will be grasped by wanderlust and leave the confines of their tribal lands, perhaps driven by the sense of boredom that comes with immortality. If everyday life becomes too mundane and routine, they may seek out new experiences elsewhere. In human lands, elves are often treated with fear and suspicion. People suspect they will eat them, or steal their children, or place curses upon them - and this is not entirely untrue, but most elves that grow old enough to wish to seek out new lands are wise enough to know that their traditions will not always be welcomed.

In fact, most large cities have an elven quarter of some size, where elves have settled and established communities of their own. Often, these elves strictly do business with one another - humans want little to do with them, and they want little to do with the humans either. Their districts exist as self-sufficient enclaves; a city within a city. But as much as they are cut off from humans, they also share little kinship with their cousins in the woods, who usually view them as having strayed away from their true nature and been blinded by the foolish ways of mankind.

Background: Elven Tribesman

Prerequisites: Must be an elf or half-elf. Optionally, a DM may allow PCs of other races to take this background if they have, for whatever reason, been raised among elves, but this is rare.

Suggested Names: Finnish or Welsh surnames or place names. Some elven societies have a custom of renaming someone after their most shameful deed, in order to remind them to remain humble.

Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Survival

Tool Proficiencies: One type of musical instrument of your choice.

Languages: Elvish, one other language of your choice, plus see below.

Equipment: A hunting trap, a set of fur clothes, a musical instrument of your choice, and a beast of no greater than Small size.

Feature: Attuned to the Wild. Choose one class of animals or plants. This should be fairly broad, but not so broad as to be overly permissive - "songbirds," "conifers," and "even-toed ungulates" are acceptable; "mammals" and "yellow-bellied sapsuckers" are not. You know the language of these beings and can communicate with them. Whenever you have the option of taking a feat on leveling up, you may instead choose to learn the language of one other category of animal or plant. Additionally, if another member of your party has the option of taking a feat, they may instead learn one language that you know if you spend the time to teach them.