Elves
Appeareance
Elves generally resemble humans physically, although they tend to be shorter and slimmer. Elves have delicate chiseled features that are typically quite angular and beautiful. There is really no such thing as a naturally ugly elf, and if such a thing would occur, it would likely be due to something that occurred during their life.
All elves are very slim, hiding their natural strength under a veil of fragility. Their slight build belies a power seemingly drawn from the earth itself. Looking at them, one would never believe that these creatures were some of the most powerful ever created, or that they very nearly witnessed the birth of the world. Elves saw the rise of other races - the crawl of humanity from the primordial ooze. They are older than many trees and will live to see generations of trees and humans alike. Yet they hide this innate power beneath a delicate exterior; many thus assume they are harmless.
Elven hair and eye color vary by subrace. This is, in fact, how many people identify the separate types of elves at first glance, most especially moon and sun elves. With other elves, the differences are often immediately obvious. However, it is still useful for any character to be familiar with the various traits that distinguish the elf subraces.
One interesting elven characteristic that few are aware of is the elves' lack of canine teeth. Since they sprang full-fledged into the form they now occupy, they skipped the evolution process undergone by so many other races. Thus, although they are omnivores and their teeth are all strong, they have no pointed, canine incisors.
Physiology
Elves have certain abilities not accessible to most humans except through powerful magicks. They are aware that other races do not have these faculties, and they take great pride in knowing that they are the only mortal race blessed with them. However, most elves do not treat other races as inferior simply because they were born without these abilities; rather, they rejoice in their own uniqueness. The elves feel truly blessed.
Among the abilities all elves are born with are communion, low-light vision, the reverie, and a limited resistance to heat and cold.
Communion: All elves have the inborn ability to share their experiences, their feelings, and their lives with those elves they love or trust implicitly. This sharing, called communion, can only be undertaken by fully willing elves. It does not work with half-elves, nor does it function when one of those participating has even the slightest reservation. This includes those under the influence of charm-related spells, for they hold qualms deep in their hearts, even if told they do not.
Communion requires all elves involved (to a maximum of four) to be in a state of total relaxation. They must be in a place of peace, preferably where the world is not likely to intrude with its troubles and its cares. Natural surroundings work best for this operation.
Communion requires the participating elves to be totally serene, thinking only of the others in this most intimate bond. (Thus, communion is not an effective method of relaying messages of any urgency.) All the elves must free themselves of judgments and prejudices about the others, which may take some time. Indeed, some communions have been known to take a fortnight or more merely in preparation for the bonding.
The Reverie: Yet another difference between elves and the other humanoids of the worlds they share is that elves do not sleep in the typical sense, though they can enter that state if they desire. Instead, they gain their rest through a process known as the reverie. The reverie is akin to sleep, yet is very much unlike it. When elves enter this state, they vividly relive past memories, those both pleasant and painful. Like the dreaming of humans, elves have no control over which memories rise to the fore when they relinquish their bodies to the reverie. Occasionally, elves do actually dream, but this is not a frequent occurrence and mostly occurs only when they truly sleep. Elven dreams, when they happen, are sometimes prophetic. When they enter reverie, elves do not usually close their eyes unless there is a bright light present. They relax their bodies entirely, each muscle losing its rigidity, until they are absolutely calm. Their faces relax into a dazed and distant look as if they were seeing another land or another time.
During this time, they are aware of their surroundings, but they cannot act to influence them any more than a human can while asleep. Only by an act of will can an elf tear herself from reverie, and she will be confused for a short time, just as a human would be who has torn himself from sleep.
Although the reverie provides rest, it is primarily an important memory tool that helps the elf maintain a strong sense of identity. Since their lifespans are so great, elves must periodically recall the events in those hundreds of years that were integral to the making of their personality.
The fact that elves go into this reverie, rather than enter actual sleep, could help to explain their natural resistance to sleep spells. Since sleep is, for the most part, alien to their nature, they can ward off its effects easily.
Resistance to Heat and Cold: Elves are keenly attuned to the world and its meteorological cycles. As such, they are less affected by extremities of temperatures than are many other races. The blazing sun of the desert and the chill of the arctic cause elves discomfort, but not nearly as much as such extremes do others. The elves' immunity to a range of temperatures does not extend to fire or snow, or anything that simulates these conditions. For example, an elf could not stick his hand into a fire and be undamaged, nor could he walk through freezing rain without effect. Neither are elves immune to spells that rely on fire, ice, wind, and other weather-related effects. It is only to natural temperatures that elves have even the slightest resistance.
Aging
Elves have the longest known lifespans in the known worlds. The length of their lives often surpasses even the ancient trees, although the elves typically leave the lands known to humans before reaching 600 years. Some have been known to stay for as long as 750 years, but very few remain after that time. The siren call of the unknown beckons to them, and they leave the world in the capable hands of their successors.
Elves live long enough to see the changes the world has to offer - to see things humans regard as permanent deteriorate into dust. One generation of elves can see the rise and fall of a mighty human empire, the birth and death of a forest, and the gradual eroding of a mountain range. The face of the earth can change dramatically during the time an elf spends in the world. This gives them a far broader range of values than humans are usually capable of understanding.
Elves do not feel the effects of age as humans know them. After an elf has grown to maturity, her features cease to change or, at least, change very slowly. There is very little difference between the way a 100-year-old elf and a 400-year-old elf appear. The only way to tell between young and old is the degree of exuberance, spontaneity, and enthusiasm each exhibit.
Individual Worth
Elves care very little for structured society, preferring instead to focus on the needs of the individual. There is nothing so important to elves as the feelings and the needs of the individual. This doesn't mean that one individual's needs outweigh those of the rest of the elves. Instead, the majority of elven society and law is geared so that the right of each elf is to become as happy as he or she may need to be. Elves don't interfere in the lives of other elves unless there are other elves who would be harmed by inaction.
More than any other single factor, an innate respect for individualism governs an elf’s behavior. Though elves do live in communities, each elf strives for self-sufficiency as well as harmony with the land and his fellow creatures. This attitude engenders an expectation that other beings are equally able to care for themselves unless ill or injured—which sometimes makes elves appear haughty, uncaring, and unhelpful to humans, dwarves, and other less chaotic races. In truth, elves are no less willing to help others in need than any other good-aligned race, but their respect for the boundaries of others often prevents them from offering aid to those who seem more or less capable and have not requested help.
The strong sense of individualism that pervades the elven nature also gives rise to a strong need for self-expression. Given an elf’s natural aptitude for the arts, such expression often manifests itself in sculpture, painting, textile art, music, architecture, landscaping, gourmet cooking, storytelling, acting, dance, or any of various kinds of crafts. It may also take the form of pointed disagreements with authority figures and even an occasional impassioned expression of opinion. The naturally reserved dwarves often see such outbursts as an inability to control one’s emotions, but to an elf, failure to express opinions represents a foolish abrogation of the self.
Elves consider the free expression of sorrow or joy as not only a personal right but also a societal necessity. No stigma is attached to an elf who laughs or cries in public, or who makes others do so by means of story or song.
Emotion and Logic
Elves are often seen as distant and self-serving creatures, probably because of their legendary haughtiness. Once one can get past their exterior, they find that elves are freely emotional, intuitive people.
On the other hand, elves do not let their emotions rule their lives. They have a finely developed logical system and use it daily. Since it is a logic that is based on their long lives and the elven mindset, it can freely incorporate all aspects of elven life. Logic naturally includes feelings. Humans and dwarves cannot seem to grasp that emotion is an important part of one's life, to be cut off only at risk of losing one's personality. Those who live solely by the word of heartless logic ignore fully half of their lives, to their detriment. Or so say the elves.
Although elves fear very little in this world, those things that they do fear they regard with utmost terror. They conceal their fears from the other races, not wishing to appear weak before them. Elves don't really fear death, but if closeted away from nature, that fear is likely to surround them. When they encounter a spirit-destroying creature (such as a wraith), they suffer mortality pangs of the worst kind, fearing as desperately for their lives as any human would.
Elves hate and fear the undead. They see them not only as perversions of nature but also as nearly immortal foes to be dreaded and loathed. Since undead can live even longer than elves, these creatures are a serious threat to the elven way of life. Their plans can span centuries, their machinations of purest evil.
Elves therefore often become hunters of the undead. The elves have set themselves as the natural adversaries of the undead. The undead are a blemish on the face of the world, an otherworldly perversion of the life force. Elves, embodying the life force, find the undead far more repugnant than most ordinary people do. (To become an undead elf is, to elves, truly a fate worse than death.) Only good- or neutral-aligned liches may even hope to escape elven hatred, and these are feared.
The elves' ability to hunt the undead is impressive, especially in older elves. Many adventuring elves have gained the experience necessary to fight monsters, and they bring this wealth of knowledge with them when they begin hunting undead. Elves somehow seem able to sense the very foulness in the air when undead are present, and this leads them to their prey.
Children
Elves have been known to produce children with beings of other races. Most of these are the offspring of a union between elves and humans. Elf females, extremely occasionally, find themselves drawn to human men for a brief while, but it is more common for human women to be unable to resist the charms of certain wanderlustful elf males.
The child of these unions is usually born and reared in the civilization of its mother; elf males rarely want humans in their lands, and most elf females don't want to bear a child outside the elven realms, nor abandon it to humans.
Celebration of Birth and Naming
Since elf children are few (or at least far fewer than human children), the birth of an elf is a cause of great celebration. Births are always times of great joy. The village turns out in profusion, setting aside the day's work to celebrate with the infant's parents.
Following a two-year pregnancy, elf women are glad to celebrate the lightening of their burden. They happily join in the festivities honoring their newborn. Such celebrations typically last several days and conclude with the naming of the infant. Children are given a private name by their parents and then given a public name. The secret name is known only to the elf, his or her parents, and the priest presiding over the ceremony. While knowing the name gives no power over an elf, it is a sign of love and respect when an elf reveals his or her true name.
The intricate care involved in the structure of the elven language extends to naming children. Elven names, although they often sound somewhat similar, are all individual. No two elves have ever shared the same name, save as a matter of choice, for elves are far too individualistic to stoop to using identical names for their children.
Elves prefer names that flow off the tongue like wind through trees. Sibilants and "th" sounds are common, as are others of the softer consonants. Occasionally, to add interest to a name, elves will include a hard consonant, such as a "k" or a "t." Overall, they prefer to allow the name to remain fluid and melodic, much like their language.
Passage to Adulthood
Rites of adulthood are common in many cultures, and that of the elves is no exception. When elves reach the age of one hundred and ten, they are considered young adults, with all the freedoms and responsibilities that entails. They no longer live in the house of their parents, for it is time to make their own way in the world.
Elf families hold a ceremony to formally announce the young elf's passage into adulthood. New adults are given gifts-most often adventuring gear if they are so inclined. The older elves regale the family with tales of their pursuits, and they wish luck upon those who follow their steps.
If the new adult isn't inclined toward the adventuring life, they are given tools of their chosen trade and a house of their own. From this point on, they make their own way in life, working with other elves to make a life full of happiness and joy.
Marriage and Love
Elves idealize the concept of romantic love as much as humans do, if not more so. Nevertheless, to elves, love is more frightening than it is to humans because loving another enough to share one’s whole life means giving up a measure of the independence that elves so value. Thus, although the concept of love fascinates the ever-curious elves, most are in no particular hurry to find and embrace it for themselves. Courtships between elf couples are generally long, often lasting for decades before the partners commit to marriage, and even physical intimacy.
Marriage is an occasion for great joy among elves, for the union symbolizes the continuation of the elf race. Those who disrupt this ceremony to kill the betrothed earn the wrath of the elves forevermore, and they will hunt such marauders and their kin for eternity. Marriage is a rarer occurrence for elves than the short-lived races, and there are few things so dangerous as to profane the sanctity of this ritual. Elves almost never have arranged marriages because such a concept is diametrically opposed to their ideal of individual freedom. Very rarely weddings do occur to seal treaties and for other diplomatic purposes, but far more often it is through love that elves achieve a state of marriage.
An elven marriage ceremony can take many forms. Though it is often a ritual celebrated before the entire community, it can consist simply of two elves speaking the words that bind them forever with no witnesses except the trees and the grass.
Marriage between elves lasts until one partner dies. Elves rarely take a new partner after the death of a mate. Their vows bind more than honor; they bind the spirit and heart of each to the other. By taking this step, many elves give up some measure of their individualism.
In a true elven marriage of love, vows tie the spirits of the loved ones together, allowing them access to the other's inner self. This is a form of elven communion. Wedded elves become fully aware of their partner's needs and emotions, allowing them to anticipate and fulfill these needs. They are not aware of the other's exact thoughts.
Because elves relive their past through reverie, the circumstances attracting one elf to another are always fresh. Thus, elves seldom fall out of love. Only the gravest of tragedies and disloyalties can tear an elf couple apart. When this bond is broken, whether through betrayal or the death of one of the pair, it is a tremendous shock to the other member of the union. Elves can die from the grief caused by such partings.
Wedded elf couples usually establish a joint home, though some also maintain individual residences to which they can retreat whenever they want some distance from their spouses.
Unwedded couples sometimes establish joint homes, but they more often continue to maintain their own houses and cohabit in one or the other.
A pregnant elf is expected to limit her activities as much as necessary to ensure the birth of a healthy child. Because children are not common among elves, each new life is precious to the community. Thus, everyone pitches in to care for the expectant mother and her child after the child’s birth.
Children are always acknowledged by both parents and welcomed by the community in a celebration. Half-elf children born within the community are often welcomed with as much joy as full elves. Members of the community take turns watching over the children at play and ensuring their safety. Any adult may teach or discipline any child, and everyone in the community knows who every child’s parents are.
The Blood Oath
Elves are not always peaceful folk. If they or their friends have been grievously insulted or injured, they swear the sacred oath of vendetta - a ceremony carried out in the darkest hour before dawn. When they swear this terrible promise, they forsake all other pastimes to seek retribution. Elves understand this oath and will release the avenging elf from his or her tasks.
The avenging elves hunt down the offender to exact some form of vengeance, be it merely a sincere apology for an insult or something more severe. Typically, a time of service given to the injured elf is enough to satisfy this oath. However, there are occasions when nothing less than death will satisfy the demand of the blood oath.
Funereal Ceremonies
Since elves pass on to Arvandor, their passing is not mourned for long. Although it is unlikely that they will return to the earth in the same form as they had assumed before or even with the same personality, their spirit continues on. As such, death rituals are more often a celebration that the elf has achieved the joys of Arvandor. While the elf may be missed for a while, others know their companion has passed on to something better.
The ceremony surrounding each elf's funeral varies even from village to village. Some gather with great pomp to watch the body be interred in the ground, with speakers expounding on the merits of the deceased. Others bury the body with dispatch; they regard it as a mere husk from which the life force has departed. After ridding the shell, they celebrate the spirit of the elf who once resided there. Still, other elves believe that burning is the only way to truly rid the spirit of its earthly ties; not only does it free the spirit for Arvanaith, it prevents anyone from using the body for nefarious purposes. Each burial is typically related to the deceased elf's nature so that the burial is personalized and the point made that the spirit has left the body.
No matter how the remains are handled, loved ones create a shrine in memory of the dead elf in the ensuing months. The site is always some natural place—a tree hollow, a small cavern, or a quiet spot beside a rushing stream. Each member of the community who wishes to do so creates a piece of art—a small statue, a jewelry design, a poem, or some other artistic remembrance—and places it in the shrine. Particularly famous elves are often commemorated in murals or other artwork in the community at large, as well.
Clothing
Elves dress in simple, comfortable clothing, though their garb always has an elegance in keeping with their graceful bearing. Linen, silk, cotton, and wool are common fabrics for elven clothing, and elves have developed the skill to spin even the coarsest of natural fibers into incredibly fine thread that can be tightly woven to create a soft cloth of surprising strength.
Elves see adornment and elegance of style as marks of a highly civilized society as well as declarations of individuality. A tunic, cloak, or pair of trousers may be adorned with embroidery, encrusted with tiny gems, or decorated with bits of polished wood. Metallic threads are sometimes employed for such embellishments among wealthier elves, but the colors of nature are more commonly chosen as adornments.
All elven clothing, whether for important ceremonies or daily wear, is styled for ease of use and movement. To an elf, clothing that binds, restricts motion, fails to provide adequate warmth or protection in the situation for which it is intended, or in any way interferes with the business of life is worse than useless. Quietness is also a key consideration, so elves avoid garb that makes any more noise than the rustling of leaves.
Typical garb for a member of either gender consists of a tunic and trousers covered by a cloak. The tunic is usually made of light, tightly woven material such as fine linen, cotton, or silk, and the trousers are often made of wool spun fine and closely woven. Cloaks are made of sturdy cloth because they serve a variety of purposes. An elf may wear one for warmth, wrap himself in it for resting, or spread it on the ground to sit on. Cloaks for travel are usually dyed green, brown, or some combination of those shades to blend in with the forest.
Grooming
The much-vaunted elven individualism gives rise to a devotion to personal grooming unequaled in most other races. The elves’ strong respect for self engenders an inborn desire to care for their own bodies—particularly since their bodies must last for hundreds of years.
Thus, daily grooming has been raised to the level of a ritual in most elf communities. Elves bathe daily in natural waterways such as lakes, rivers, and ponds. They may bathe with others of their kind or alone, according to personal preference, and many often change their preferences based on the circumstances and their mood. Joining another elf in bathing without permission is considered particularly rude. No societal mores forbid bathing with the opposite sex, though doing so represents a degree of intimacy rarely found outside the bounds of the family.
Elves make various kinds of soap from vegetable materials that degrade naturally in the water. Thus, their penchant for thorough cleaning causes no harm to the plants or animals that live in the waterways in which they bathe. Unlike most other races, elves also take exceptional care of their teeth. Once or twice a day, elves chew green twigs, forcing the frayed ends between their teeth to clean out bits of food and shine their teeth. This level of care ensures that elves generally lose teeth only to injury or accident.
Diet
Elves can subsist on any food palatable to humans, although their tastes are generally more discerning. Their preferences are clearly toward delicate foods and wines, particularly those that possess a great degree of subtlety. Heavier foods, such as beef and coarse bread, distress the elf's stomach.
Humans usually find elven food unsatisfying, for the portions are too small. Elves, of course, require less food than humans. They very rarely hunt for or make more food than they can eat in a day. However small the portions, the food elves do make is such that the finest human chef blushes in shame at his inadequacy.
Elves tend to be more vegetarian than humans, for this has less of an impact on their environment. When they do eat meat, it is carefully culled from the excess animal population of their area and done in such a way that it doesn't disrupt the land.
Elves almost never keep herd animals. Not only do these creatures take up space that could more properly be forest, but animals require almost constant maintenance and feeding. No elf wants to be saddled with the joyless burden of watching animals eat all day long.
Let the humans rake in the profits to be had from ranching; elves can survive on the fruits of the forest. Besides, elves don't believe in raising animals simply to kill them. That is not nature's way and therefore not the elves' way.
For drink, elves mostly subsist on sparkling waters from cold mountain springs. However, they are not averse to wine and beverages of a similar nature, and many elf cities and towns cultivate the grapes and grains necessary for the making of such refreshments. Elves enjoy drinking mead, or fermented honey. This delicate drink agrees well with the elven palate and gives them a pleasant feeling. Greater quantities act on elves much as alcohol does on humans. Fortunately, elves feel none of the ill effects humans do when drinking this beverage. However, elves are susceptible to human brews such as ale and beer.
The elves' favorite drink, however, is a nectar created from the juice of flowers, mixed with honey and an additional, secret ingredient. This nectar is of ancient origin and is called feywine. What its secret ingredient might be has long been a mystery to humans, dwarves, and the demihumans, as well as most elves. Feywine is used liberally at elven festivals. It induces frivolous behavior, lasting for days or even weeks.
Elven Values and Laws
Many long-lived races become bored with their lengthy lives, but elves rarely do. Their love of the natural world allows them to take pleasure in each new sunrise, hearing the songs of the birds and feeling the morning dew on their feet as if for the very first time. Long separations from boon companions who have gone adventuring or worked on lengthy projects make for days and nights of renewed companionship afterward. In addition, there is always something new to learn, some new avenue to explore, or some new companion with whom to spend a few years. Boredom is nearly unknown to elves—they consider themselves responsible for their own enjoyment as much as for their own meals.
The lack of greed that most elves display stems from their self-sufficiency as well as their respect for other beings and the natural world. Taught from birth that their communities must be sustainable, they take only what they need for their personal livelihood and projects.
All elves have the same rights to support themselves, and taking more than one’s share interferes with that right. In the same manner, elves replant trees that have been cut and ensure that the resources their communities use are continually renewed and replenished. To do otherwise would be to doom their own race as well as others, and elves have little patience with other races that cannot see this particular truth. When a community’s size becomes unwieldy and threatens the sustainability of the surrounding resources, a contingent of young adults often splits off to find new territory.
Each elf largely takes care of himself, though all contribute to the community in one way or another. Disputes happen less frequently than they do in other humanoid communities because elves are generally mindful of the rights and boundaries of others and try to get along with everyone. Thus, though laws do exist, they are more lightly enforced than they are in human settlements because every situation is considered unique. Anyone who is not happy with the resolution of a dispute in an elf community is free to leave. No stigma is attached to those who do so, though an elf who enters a new community is often treated with a certain reserve for a few decades until his neighbors get to know him well.
The highest virtues for an elf are the ability to take care of himself, skill with magic and art, and a high degree of personal creativity. Members of less “civilized” races are looked upon with smug amusement by elves.
Similarly, an elf who is considered frivolous by other races may be revered as a creative genius by his own people. While most elves value freedom of expression and creativity, others find a degree of comfort in a less chaotic lifestyle. In particular, elves who wish to devote their entire lives to the pursuit of a single art may seek out human communities in which they can purchase the products of others’ skills rather than devoting even a short time to becoming completely self-sufficient. Such elves usually retain their generally pleasant attitude, but many are so focused on their own art that they neglect the social interactions necessary to a specialized community. Even so, elves tend to fit more easily into non-elf communities than other races do. In particular, bridging the worlds of elves and humans is not terribly difficult, though fitting into a highly ordered community of dwarves is a trial for almost any elf.
When a dispute arises among elves that the participants cannot resolve, they may bring the matter to any three or more elders whom they can convince to gather in the same place. All parties to the dispute must agree on the elders chosen.
Arts and Crafts
Unlike dwarves, elves value art for its own sake. An object of art need not be anything but beautiful to be prized in an elf community. The elves also find joy in turning mundane objects into things of beauty. Strictly utilitarian objects are fine in an emergency, but in the minds of elves, there is no reason for them to not be beautiful as well. To create a functional object with no beauty is considered unforgivably lazy and wasteful of both time and resources.
The visual arts are highly valued in elf society, and examples abound in every household. Painting, sculpture, textiles, fashion design, metalwork, weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, jewelry making, pottery, and all manner of crafts are considered forms of self-expression with which every elf should be proficient. Translating one’s feelings into an enduring object of beauty is considered a high achievement in elven culture.
Elves do not regard material acquisitions as anything important, instead preferring to cultivate art and architecture that will outlive the years and the treasured possessions of others. Elves do not therefore try to accumulate gold or other treasures, except as a means to acquire the things that they truly treasure.
Architecture is among the most valued of the elven arts, and designing structures of grace and style is a dream to which many young elves aspire. In most cases, the loveliest elven “buildings” are those that fit seamlessly into the natural environment: houses built into tree branches, crystal-carved caverns, and flower-festooned arbors in the wilderness.
Ornamentation on such buildings is generally simple yet elegant and done in a manner that enhances rather than overwhelms the basic lines of the structure.
Music is also a well-loved form of artistic expression, and elf bards have refined their art to a high level. Elven music can be lilting and cheerful, sorrowful and deep, or any style in between. Elves make more use of flutes, lutes, harps, and exotic stringed instruments than most other cultures and less use of loud horns and percussion instruments.
Technology and Magic
Though many outsiders assume that elves have little or no technology, the opposite is true. The elves’ traditional love for learning, art, and magic has led them to delve deeply into many crafts, especially those that result in the creation of necessary objects that are strong, durable, and beautiful.
Elves prefer magic to machinery and would rather develop a spell or alchemical substance than a mechanical device to perform a particular function.
Magically powered constructs, such as golems, are rare but not unknown among elves. The elves see little purpose in time- or labor-saving devices because they have plenty of time to achieve their goals. However, they do appreciate devices that can protect loved ones and possessions when they are away for long periods.
Although they are not often the inventors of new technologies, adoption of new magical or technological advances often happens quickly among elves once they learn about them due to elves' innate curiosity. They are generally fascinated with new developments and eager to try them.
Magic is as necessary to most elves as breathing. Even those who do not become wizards, sorcerers, or bards usually consider magic part of their daily lives and use it in the form of magic items. To an elf’s way of thinking, there is almost nothing that cannot be done wholly or partially by magic. Because of their highly individualistic nature, elves frequently develop new spells and create new magic items. Their aptitude for wielding magic is legendary; if magic can make life easier or richer in any way, the elves have thought of it.
Communities
Unlike the communities of almost any other humanoid race, elf communities are for the most part nonspecialized. That is, no one pursues a profession to the exclusion of all others. There is no butcher, no baker, no weaponsmith, and no armorer. Rather, every citizen finds or makes what he needs on his own. Every elf learns how to cook a passable meal, how to make serviceable clothing and weapons, how to gather food from the forest, how to care for wounds, and how to build a shelter.
Should an elf fall ill or be disabled, his friends and family pitch in to provide for his needs until he recovers. He is expected to repay that debt by performing services to those in need within the community, but no set requirements exist. Should he fail to satisfy his debt in the eyes of the community, however, he can expect no aid in future times of trouble.
Elves are expected to acquire the raw materials for their work on their own. However, when a particular material is in short supply, communal stores are gathered. Any elf in the community has free access to these stores and may take what he needs. Should a community’s supplies be exhausted, the last individual known to have accessed the stores is tasked with replenishing them, no matter how far afield he might need to go to do so. Because of their nearly complete self-sufficiency, elves rarely need to buy anything from anyone else. Thus, there is little need for money in elf society. Most elves have a few coins that they have gained through adventuring or by selling their wares to other races, but an elf can get along perfectly well with no money at all inside his own community. To an elf, there is far more value in beauty than in currency.
Despite the fact that anyone can take care of his or her basic needs within an elf community, a degree of specialization does creep in simply because certain elves prefer certain activities and become better at them than other elves.
Each elf prefers to perform all tasks related to basic living himself—no matter how long it takes. This desire for complete self-sufficiency—or, as some say, self-indulgence—means that most elves in any given community begin their careers with ranks in many different skills because they have spent considerable time working in a variety of trades. Some, however, fall into partial specialization merely because they spend more time performing activities they enjoy than those they do not. For instance, one elf may enjoy making paintings, while another derives great pleasure from preparing gourmet meals. Although the cook’s food may be more palatable than the artist’s, either can produce a perfectly edible meal.
Though elves often seem carefree and self-indulgent, they can be focused and relentless while involved in particular projects. An elf building a house may forget everything else, losing contact with family and friends, stopping to gather food only when hunger threatens his focus and his well-being.
Elves rarely worry about family members who “disappear” into their work for long periods, knowing that they will return with tales to tell and new works to show when they have completed their projects.
Leadership
Though elven royalty does exist, leadership is not necessarily passed down from parent to child, as is often the case in human lands. The leaders of an elf community are usually chosen by acclamation; they are the people who the residents go to with disputes or issues that affect the community at large. Many famous kings and queens attained their positions through the effective use of magic or strategy in times of war, but some were chosen for their wisdom in resolving disputes and their ability to take charge when trouble strikes.
Successors are often members of the current leader’s family or inner circle because they learn early how to manage a community of highly independent individuals. When the queen is busy, it’s natural for her to ask her son or consort if he can help. The current ruler may also suggest a successor to the community. Though it is rare for the residents to refuse a named successor, they are under no obligation to accept him or her.
Disputes over leadership are rare; when they do occur, they are almost never resolved through violent means. Leaders are not as important to the highly independent elves as they are to members of more lawful races, and disputes over such positions are not worth the risk of life. In cases where multiple candidates want a leadership position, the candidates present their qualifications to the community in a large gathering, and the residents choose between them.
An elf king or queen typically rules over only one community. No overking, emperor, or other such ruler exists, because central authority is foreign to the chaotic elven soul.
Each community is self-contained, but it may trade with other elf cities and even the settlements of other races. Still, should it become necessary, each community can survive on its own. An elf ruler may make alliances on behalf of his own community but not on behalf of others. Such a decentralized structure often confounds other races; to the elves, it seems merely practical.
Economy
The elven economy is driven primarily by mutual gifting and barter. Though gold and silver are just as rare in an elf society as they are in any other surface realm, elves rarely need currency to buy anything; they make almost everything they need themselves. Since one elf may prefer one kind of work to another and thus develop more skill with it, they do sometimes barter their skills with other elves so that all can pursue their own passions to the greatest extent possible.
Gold, silver, and precious gems are valued for their beauty, though elves do understand the lure that such materials have for other races and sometimes present them as gifts to cement alliances or thank benefactors outside their race.
In addition to trading goods and services with one another, elves frequently present each other with gifts. There is no requirement that an elf who receives a valuable gift must reciprocate with one of equal value, but one of equal beauty and workmanship is the norm.
Elves do not pay taxes, but they are all equally responsible for maintaining the community stores. They rarely amass personal fortunes in gold, silver, and other materials of value to others, regardless of their status within the community.
Most elf communities do mint some coins for use in trading with other races, though they are equally willing to barter finished goods with other folk. Elf communities maintain no central treasury since no elf wants the responsibility of protecting it from those who would covet its contents. Instead, they create coinage only when they require it.
A few elves become interested in numismatic art and produce exceptionally beautiful coins, but most see little point in making and hoarding gold in the form of coins when it could be worked into beautiful jewelry instead. Elves know how much gold is in any coin they make, but they accept the valuation of other cultures rather than imposing their own.
Racial Relations
Because of their physical beauty and their generally mild temperaments, elves are welcomed by almost all other sentient beings. They can find something in common with most beings they encounter, and they tend to accentuate the positive in their dealings with other races.
Elf communities often form alliances with nearby humans to the benefit of all involved. With any neighboring community, elves always try negotiation first in hopes of avoiding open conflict. Though they do not negotiate away any of their rights, they do attempt to find a solution that will benefit both parties. Only in rare cases do they fail to come to agreement with their enemies.
Dwarves: Given the widely disparate outlooks of elves and dwarves, it is no wonder that their diplomatic relations tend to be difficult. Dwarves subjugate the individual in favor of the group, and elves do the opposite. Both ways of life work for the races that embrace them, but this difference in emphasis makes it difficult for the two groups to agree on specific plans. Elves tend to see dwarves as dour and lacking in humor, whereas dwarves find elves to be flighty, fickle, and irresponsible, given their apparent lack of focus on family.
Despite their differences, the two races agree on most issues of importance because both are basically good. Though they may shout, pout, and hurl insults at one another in the heat of negotiations, they stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of outside threats.
Gnomes: Though many gnomes are skilled with arcane magic, few seem to be serious in pursuit of its secrets. Gnomes tend to treat magic as nothing more than parlor tricks with which to confound and amuse companions instead of studying it in depth and wresting its secrets from the cosmos the way elves do. Of course, gnomes are somewhat shorter-lived than elves, so they cannot be expected to delve as deeply as an elf can into any subject. Still, even humans treat magic with more respect than gnomes do.
Though elves may consider gnomes trivial and somewhat frivolous, they recognize in them a love of music equal to their own. Though the music of gnomes varies more in style than the haunting refrains that characterize elven tunes, gnomes have developed a degree of artistry with sound unrivaled by any other race. Gnome bards are always welcome in elf communities, and some even compete in festivals of the arts alongside elves.
Halflings: Most elves don’t quite know what to make of halflings. The little folk seem incredibly charming, and most elves greatly enjoy their company. On the other hand, elves often have the sense that halflings are holding back somehow—which they often are. Halflings are somewhat in awe of elves and tend to be on their best behavior around them. This reticence on the part of halflings to be fully themselves often leads elves to consider them somewhat stodgy, but this impression couldn’t be farther from the truth. When halflings spend long periods in the realms of the elves, they tend to come out of their shells and reveal their fun-loving nature. However, most halflings limit their visits to such places because of their natural desire to see and do a variety of things.
Elves value halflings’ ability to fit into almost any group and to charm others into seeing things their way with honeyed words. They also realize, however, that honeyed words and sticky fingers frequently go together, so elves rarely invite halflings to visit places that shelter valuable artifacts. Elves also respect the halflings’ desire to avoid conflict—an attitude they share, though not for the same reasons. Because of their charming nature, the interesting tales they tell, and the trade goods they bring, halflings are always welcome in elf communities. Occasionally, elves even seek the aid of halflings for ventures in which their particular skills would be useful.
Half-Elves: Elves look at half-elves as relatives who are deserving of welcome in their communities, but not necessarily of belonging there. Many view them with a touch of pity because their elf blood gives them such promise, but their human blood condemns them to early death. Others perceive in them a vibrancy and a zest for life rarely seen in elves.
Given the elven penchant for individuality, it would be incorrect to assume that all elves feel the same way about anything. There are always some who have difficulty looking past a half-elf’s heritage, seeing it as impure, inferior, or repugnant depending on the circumstances of the child’s birth. Even for those untroubled by a child’s non-elf parentage, it can be difficult to deny the physical differences between half-elf and elf children. On that basis alone, some elf adults have difficulty hiding their disdain and pity for a child who cannot compete with his peers—a heavy burden for a child of any race to bear.
Beyond those considerations, elves refuse to categorize half-elves, attributing to each the respect as an individual that would be the birthright of any full elf. In particular, elves realize that some half-elves do not share their chaotic viewpoint, though half-elves often understand it better than members of other races do. For that reason, elves may find half-elves to be valuable go-betweens in negotiations with some lawful-aligned races.
Half-Orcs: The racial enmity between elves and orcs goes back to the creation of the races and the legendary battle between Corellon Larethian and Gruumsh, the orc deity. According to the legend, elves sprang from the drops of Corellon’s blood that was shed while the two fought. Because the Creator of the Elves bested Gruumsh, taking out his enemy’s eye with a flick of his longsword, elves are convinced of their innate superiority over the bestial orcs.
Nevertheless, orcs have waged war against elves more than any other race, and rarely does a confrontation end without bloody conflict. Given this history, most elves harbor neither trust nor affection for the brutish humanoids, and they regard the half-breed spawn of their enemies with barely concealed suspicion. An elf may greet a half-orc pleasantly enough, but her hand is usually on her sword hilt when she does so.
Because elves believe strongly in the power of the individual to overcome any obstacle, an individual elf is generally inclined to give an individual half-orc the benefit of the doubt. Few true friendships arise between these races, but a certain camaraderie is possible.
Humans: The high degree of variety in human culture fascinates elves, who prize individuality for its own sake. Of all the humanoid races, humans display the greatest adaptability and flexibility as well as a zest for life not seen in most elven realms. Indeed, these qualities attract elves to humans so strongly that a relatively large amount of crossbreeding occurs between the two races compared to other races.
On the other hand, elves find humans somewhat unrefined because they simply do not live long enough to acquire the elves’ appreciation of the arts. Humans do not have the long-term perspective that elves possess, a fact that frustrates elves to no end. Humans often do not care whether the land can support the spread of their civilization in the long term because they personally will not be around to witness the results. Their children or grandchildren may witness the decline in fertility of overused land or the gradual alteration of a lake once teeming with fish into a dry hole from overfishing and pollution, but those responsible for it will be long gone. However, such changes can happen within a single elf’s lifetime, and thus elves feel responsible for being good stewards of the land.
Humans show a tendency to fight among themselves that elves find unsettling at best. A race that preys upon itself to the extent that humans do is almost beyond comprehension to the elves; humans seem nearly as bad as orcs in their capacity for destroying each other over petty issues. Most races have a long-standing enmity for some other race, but of all the civilized races only humans slay each other with abandon. Human laws are also often a mystery to elves, akin to being trapped in an invisible cage of their own making.
Nevertheless, whatever humanity’s weak points may be, it is still a young race with great potential. Many elves consider it their duty to guide humans toward a higher degree of civilization just as they would guide their own children in the acquisition of knowledge. Thus, many elf communities treat humans with a degree of indulgence often reserved for children. Others, recognizing in humans a great strength and martial prowess, seek to ally with them on an equal footing, melding the wisdom of elf war leaders with the skill and ferocity of human troops to create a nearly unbeatable combination.