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.
Wood Elf Favored Class Bonuses
- Barbarian: Add +1 to the barbarian’s base speed. In combat this option has no effect unless the barbarian has selected it five times (or another increment of five). This bonus stacks with the barbarian’s fast movement feature and applies under the same conditions as that feature.
- Bard: Add +1 to the bard’s CMD when resisting a disarm or sunder attempt.
- Beast Dancer: Increase the maximum rounds per day the Beast Dancers can spend in Beast Dance by 1/3.
- Bloodrager: Add 1 foot to the bloodrager’s base speed. In combat, this only has an effect for every five increases in base speed. This bonus stacks with the bloodrager’s fast movement class feature, and applies under the same conditions and that feature.
- Brawler: Add 1 foot to the brawler’s base speed. In combat, this has an effect only for every five increases in the brawler’s base speed.
- Cavalier: Add +1 hit point to the cavalier’s mount. If the cavalier ever replaces his mount, the new mount gains these bonus hit points.
- Druid: Add +1/3 to the druid’s natural armor bonus when using wild shape.
- Fighter: Add +1 to the Fighter’s CMD when resisting a disarm or sunder attempt.
- Hunter: Choose a weapon from the following list: longbow, longsword, rapier, short sword, shortbow, or any weapon with “elven” in its name. Gain a +1/2 bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls made while using that type of weapon (maximum bonus +4). This bonus does not stack with those gained through Critical Focus and similar effects.
- Investigator: Increase the total number of points in the investigator’s inspiration pool by 1/3.
- Magus: The magus gains 1/6 of a new magus arcana.
- Monk: Add +1 to the monk’s base speed. In combat this option has no effect unless the monk has selected it five times (or another increment of five). This bonus stacks with the monk’s fast movement class feature and applies under the same conditions as that feature.
- Oracle: Add +1/6 to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of one revelation.
- Ranger: Choose a weapon from the following list: longbow, longsword, rapier, shortbow, short sword, or any weapon with “elven” in its name. Add +1/2 on critical hit confirmation rolls made while using that weapon (maximum bonus of +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.
- Rogue: Add +1 to the number of times per day the rogue can cast a cantrip or 1st-level spell gained from the minor magic or major magic talent. The number of times this bonus is selected for the major magic talent cannot exceed the number of times it is selected for the minor magic talent. The rogue must possess the associated rogue talent to select these options.
- Shaman: Add 5 feet to the range of a chosen shaman hex. Multiple bonuses from this ability can apply to the same hex, to a maximum of an additional 30 feet for any single hex.
- Skald: Increase the bonus granted by the well-versed class feature by 1/4 (maximum +8).
- Slayer: Increase the studied target bonus on Perception and Survival checks by 1/4. When the slayer gains the stalker class feature, he also gains this increase to the studied target bonus on Stealth checks.
- Sorcerer: Select one bloodline power at 1st level that is normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3 + the sorcerer’s Charisma modifier. The sorcerer adds +1/2 to the number of uses per day of that bloodline power.
- Summoner: The amount of time the summoner must spend to summon his eidolon is reduced by 1 round, to a minimum of 1 round.
- Swashbuckler: Increase the total number of points in the swashbuckler’s panache pool by 1/4.
- Vigilante: Gain +1/3 on all Acrobatics, Climb, and Stealth checks in forested areas.
- Warpriest: Add 1/2 to the number of times per day the warpriest can use blessings, but he can use these additional blessings on only those from the Air, Animal, Charm, Magic, Plant, or Sun domains.
- Witch: Add one spell from the witch spell list to the witch’s familiar. This spell must be at least one level lower than the highest-level spell she can cast. If the witch ever replaces her familiar, the new familiar knows these bonus spells.
- Wizard: Select one arcane school power at 1st level that is normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3 + the wizard’s Intelligence modifier. The wizard adds +1/2 to the number of uses per day of that arcane school power.