Wood Elves

^{Mistveil → Races → Wood Elves}
These "Elves", once native to the Feywilds according to their legends, are actually not Elves at all but have been named “Wood Elves” or “Wild Elves” because of physical traits they share with High Elves. Their actual name in Sylvian, translated to Common, means "One of the Forest" but the name Wood Elf has been used for so long that most even refer to themselves that way in Common.

The Wood Elves worship nature and have sculpted their culture around those beliefs by either focusing on surviving off the land or performing magical rituals to invoke its power. They see animals as emissaries of nature and have been known to form bonds with them, even though their predatory nature and carnivore diet would normally prevent such a thing. Physically, Wood Elves look similar to High Elves except their pointed ears are considerably longer, their features tend to be more intense, they are often shorter, and (seemly to adapt to their surroundings) their hair tends to brown like tree bark or white like the snow that blankets their forests, depending on the weather of where they live.

Wood Elves in Baylore

Wood Elves in the Divine Kingdom of Baylore have no native settlement in the country but take up residence in the city of Malfield, in the Canopy District. The Wood Elves came to the city as refugees from the north and were put into a slum recently emptied due to a plague that had ravaged the poor communities of the city. Although sold as a generous act of housing, it is mostly accepted that the officials hoped to use the remnant of the plague that still lingered to solve their refugee problem in a way that wouldn't put any blame on themselves. However the talented druids among the refugees were able to completely expel the plague and cure those who were still alive and affected by it. This gave the Wood Elves a lot of support among the residents of the city and, although the nobles may have disagreed, most of the city's residents were happy to consider the area the Wood Elves were thrown to be practically their own mini sovereign nation, and that arrangement mostly lasts to this day. The slum was renamed the Canopy District and now is a literal forest grown atop the remains of the old district, a stark contrast to the rest of the very modernized city.

Wood Elves in Parcël

The Wood Elves of the Eversnow Forest are not native to the land of Parcël, but have been there for so many generations that there are likely none alive that knew the land before their appearance. They reside in the settlement of Góra and mostly keep to themselves, being distrusting of other factions' possible ulterior motive for seeking entrance to their home. This is likely because, when melted down and used to make medicines, the snow of the forest has magical healing properties and the Wood Elves living there are suspicious that others would attempt to seize this magic for themselves if they were to find out about it. Although not outwardly hostile, the Wood Elves of the Eversnow Forest have pledged to not get involved in the matters of other groups and just seek to live peacefully, partaking in their traditions of ritualistic hunting and prayer.

Wood Elf Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: They gain +2 Dex, +2 Wis, and –2 Cha.
• Size: Wood Elves are Medium creatures.
• Type: Wood Elves are Humanoids with the elf subtype.
• Base Speed: Wood Elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Wood Elves' native language is Sylvan.
• Keen Senses: Wood Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks as well as a +2 racial bonus on Survival checks made to find or follow tracks.
• Weapon Familiarity: Wood Elves are proficient with longbows (including composite longbows), longswords, scimitars, and shortbows (including composite shortbows), and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in its name as a martial weapon.
• Low-Light Vision: Wood Elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
• Elven Naturalist: Wood Elves gain the Wild Empathy ability and can attempt to improve the initial attitude of an animal. A Wood Elf rolls 1d20 and adds his Wisdom bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. A Wood Elf who gains this ability from another source, such as levels in Druid or Ranger, gain a +2 racial bonus on wild empathy checks and may use his Wisdom bonus instead of Charisma for this check.
• Elven Fortitude: Wood Elves do not feel the effects of fatigue from lack of rest like normal races and can go long stretches of time without sleeping. If a Wood Elf forgoes rest, they do not need to make the fortitude save required to avoid fatigue or exhaustion however they also do not gain the benefits of taking a rest such as restoring lost hit points and removing fatigue from other sources.
• Age: Like most Elves, Wood Elves mature around the same time as humans, but are considered young until they reach adulthood.
  • Adulthood: 40 years
  • Middle Age: 125 years
  • Old: 188 years
  • Venerable: 250 years
  • Maximum Age: 450 years
    
    

Wood Elf Alternate Racial Traits

• Fey Magic: The character has a mystic connection to one terrain type, selected from the ranger’s favored terrain list. The character selects three 0-level druid spells and one 1st-level druid spell. If the character has a Wisdom score of 11 or higher, when in the selected terrain, she gains these spells as spell-like abilities that can be cast once per day. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user’s character level. The DC for the spell-like abilities is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Wisdom modifier. These spells are treated as being from a fey source for the purposes of the druid’s Resist Nature’s Lure class feature and similar abilities. This trait replaces Keen Senses.
• Fey-Sighted: You gain detect magic as a constant spell-like ability, with a caster level equal to your character level. This racial trait replaces Weapon Familiarity.
• Fey Thoughts: Select two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Fly, Knowledge (nature), Perception, Perform, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Swim, or Use Magic Device. The selected skills are always class skills for the character. This trait replaces racial Weapon Familiarity.
• Torn from Home: Wood Elves are built to live in the forests alongside nature but if they were taken away from their homeland at an early age they are forced to fight against their innate instincts and have to strengthen themselves or perish. Wood Elves with this racial trait gain the Toughness feat as a bonus feat and the bonus from Keen Senses changes to +2 to Perception and +2 on Sense Motive. This trait replaces Eleven Naturalist and modifies Keen Senses.
• Fey-Speak: Some Wood Elves are born closer to their natural roots than others but tend to be less sturdy than their brethren who have adapted well to their new surroundings. Elves with this ability act as if under the effect of the Speak with Animals spell at all times. This trait replaces the Elven Fortitude racial trait.