| Dark Elves Appearance: Height tends to be around 5 feet, with bodies that are thin and delicate. Dark elven skin tone is black or dark gray, while their visage is angular and attractive, with slanted eyes and pointed ears. Their hair is either white, blonde, platinum blonde, or golden blonde, while their eyes are vibrant green, red, or gold. Description: Dark elves tend towards lawful evil alignment, as they were magically created from ancient elves and made to be loyal to the elven mage-king and his goals. This means that dark elves feel an inherant drive to cause pain to the non-elven races, and also feel a need to conquer and subjugate the other races to elven rule. They are quite loyal to eachother and their cause, but they do occasionally have conflicts with eachother over how to execute their racial directive. They have no animosity towards jungle elves or aquatic elves, and see them as merely wayward cousins who have forgotten the glory and ways of their former kingdom. They will only reluctantly harm fellow elves, but will not allow them to stand in the way of their goals. Very few dark elves are born without this inherant directive guiding them, so few dark elves are ever of good or chaotic alignment, though there are plenty who are of neutral evil, true neutral, or lawful neutral alignment. Dark elves have an orderly culture settled underground, slowly but inexorably spreading out from under the center of the continent. They live in grand structures of stone and metal, and are skilled in both stonemasonry and metalworking. Dark elves are masterful wizards and sorcerers, and magic literally runs through their veins. Their rulers are all powerful mages, going by titles such as bey, sha'ir, shah, sultan, and so on. Their families are individually ruled over by patriarchs and matriarchs, while most dark elves belong to large and powerful guilds as well. Their culture and architecture may be likened somewhat to the ancient Arabs and Persians of Earth, but they prefer to use dark stone and metal in their construction, such as obsidian and blackened iron, with large buildings capped in domes of silver or platinum. Relations: Dark elves come to the surface for occasional raids on other races, often declaring war on them, but rarely staying out to fight during the daytime. Their wars are short and brutal, and end as soon as the dark elves accomplish some objective in crippling their victim. They even war with other underground races and creatures. They work to slowly weaken and conquer the other races, as their own numbers are somewhat small. Dark elves very rarely trade with jungle elves, sea elves, hobgoblins, or kobolds. Basic Stats: Medium Humanoid; Base Speed (30 feet); -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence (Dark elves are quick, nimble, and dexterous, and are also quite cunning, but are somewhat frail and feeble.); Darkvision (120 feet); Light Blindness (sudden bright light blinds for 1 round, any bright light imposes -1 on all saves, checks, and attack rolls); +2 Alchemy, +2 Knowledge-arcana, +2 Listen, +2 Search, +2 Spellcraft, +2 Spot, +2 Use Magic Device (whenever passing within 10 feet of a secret or concealed door, entitled to a Search check as though actively searching for it); -1 on all saving throws; Magic Affinity (add +2 to save DC of spell or magic ability they use, add +2 on caster level checks to beat Spell Resistance with any spell or magical ability they use); Innate Spells (may use the spell-like abilities of Chill Touch, Darkness, and Detect Magic, each once per day, as per a wizard of their character level, and each suffers arcane spell failure chances as though they were arcane spells, but must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the spell's level in order to use any given one of these); Automatic Language (Elven); Intelligence Bonus Languages (Draconic, Dwarven, Gilden, Goblin, Orcish, Rizan, Tashi, Terran, Tribal, Undercommon); Favored Class (Fighter or Rogue or Sorcerer or Wizard). Elven Religion The elves have never been terribly pious folks, but they do believe in a single creator deity whom their priests say created the world and its intelligent races, choosing elves as the most worthy of its creations and giving them divine right to rule the other races...............but then, their beliefs are likely tained by the period in which the vile mage-king ruled....... So their remaining religion may or may not be the same as it was before the rule of that particular lord, but in any case their priests do know that their kind has always believed in a creator deity. If it had a name before, though, they certainly do not remember it, for they only call this deity the Ineffable, the Creator, or the Spirit King. They also venerate the spirits of nature, believing them to be the minions and subjects of the Spirit King, maintaining the physical world and watching over mortals so that the Spirit King can pass adequate judgement upon death. The symbol of the Spirit King is a large, golden sun, surrounded in a halo of darkness, with a full, silvery moon overlaid upon the upper half of the sun, and a small, many-pointed, crystal-blue star overlaid upon the upper part of the moon. Various sects of elven religion use slight variations of this symbol, or add some creature, plant, or object to the symbol, such as a scimitar hanging from the bottom of the dark halo, for the dark elven Night Reavers sect. Dark Elf Religion Dark elves are, like other elves, not nearly so pious as the shorter-lived races such as humans and dwarves, but nonetheless they are more religious than other elves. The dark elves believe, as jungle elves do, that a mysterious creator deity made the world and put elves in it to rule as the most beautiful and pure of his creations. Sea elves don't completely agree, but nonetheless all elves believe in this deity, whom they call the Ineffable, the Creator, or the Spirit King. Dark elves moreso than others think that their kind has a divine right, in fact a divine mandate, to rule the mortal world and be subserviant to no one but the Spirit King. The dark elf religion is most likely skewed by alterations made during the Elven Mage-King's rule centuries ago, but they steadfastly believe in what their Mage-King taught them of elven religion. Dark elves venerate the spirits of nature to an extent alongside the Creator, believing them to be the Spirit King's higher subjects and thus worthy of reverance. Nature spirits are worshipped as secondary to the Spirit King, as maintainers of the physical world and also as watchers of mortals, allowing the Ineffable to pass judgement on dead mortals. Dark elves believe in a divine order of spirits from greatest to least in the Spirit Kingdom, which other folk of Rhunaria call the Ghostlands. Animal spirits, insect spirits, and other beast spirits are held to be the least of the Spirit Kingdom's heirarchy, thought to be the souls of sinful mortals who are repenting by living in animal form, used as tools and food for mortals so that their sins can be torn away and their souls ascended to a higher rank eventually. The smaller or more disgusting the animal, the more sinful its soul is suspected of being, with few exceptions, so for instance rats are considered to be mortals waiting for reincarnation as dogs or badgers, on their way to reincarnation as horses or crocodiles, then onward to true spirit forms outside the mortal realm, as more of their sins are discarded with each new body. Of course, the dark elven concepts of sin are rather different from those of many other humanoids, and dark elves are a harsh people. Above beast spirits in the dark elven mythos are various kinds of greater creature such as dragons, griffons, and manticores. Such creatures are believed by dark elves to be empowered to enact divine justice and wrath in the mortal world, thus their ferocity and might, so dark elves are very polite and respectful to such creatures, offering them food and wealth as well as a small degree of worship. Dark elves sometimes attempt to form alliances with such mighty creatures, but often these alliances are declined. Further beyond beast spirits and greater spirits are those spirits who embody divine power, fiends and celestials and fey, so dark elves pay significant worship to these divine spirits. The dark elves sometimes presume to summon them for aid, but always offer many valuable items or services in return. The divine spirits handle the greatest tasks from the Spirit King, as the dark elves see it, and are close to final ascension. Elemental spirits are one of the highest orders of spiritkind in the dark elves' vision of the Spirit Kingdom, as their forms compose the physical world and hold it together, as well as serving the Spirit King in other tasks as needed. Dark elves respect nature's elements, and they ply their trades both proudly and reverently, taking care to waste little when crafting items. Dark elves respect the seas and the sky, the mountains and the volcanos, the sun and the moon, but do not believe any one is made up of just a single spirit. As far as they're concerned, even a pebble is composed of several stone spirits, a raindrop is a coven of water spirits, a stroke of lightning is many light spirits descending in a frenzy, and a hearth fire is many fiery spirits dancing together. The dark elves consider elemental spirits to be souls who have shed their sins and the pains of mortal life, given simple forms of pure matter to serve out the last of their conscription in the Spirit Kingdom. Dark elves have no qualms about summoning elemental spirits despite this reverence, no moreso than they would about forging a sword or drinking a flagon of water, as they believe the elemental spirits feel nothing and exist only to maintain the physical world, until their term of service to the Spirit King is finished and they move on towards ascension. Oddly enough, plant spirits are the most revered kinds amongst dark elves, for they are seen as the bodies of souls who have ascended so far that all they yet need is to contemplate the universe, after which they may ascend. Plants are semi-sacred to dark elves as the embodiment of wise and virtuous souls who spend all their time and energy on preparing for ascension by meditation, so they hardly have any reason to influence the world they are leaving behind. While plants are treated with care and devoted tending, the dark elves also believe that plants are in the world so that mortals may use them for food and raw material, allowing the plant spirit to move on to a new plant body or simply ascend if they have contemplated long enough. They do not take this transition lightly, but eat plant-based food when necessary, and do not begrudge others eating plants if they have not enough livestock or prey to feed upon. Consequently, dark elves favor eating meats over vegetables, grains, or fruits. They rarely drink any typical juices or alcoholic beverages, instead preferring honey mead. Once a soul has ascended, the dark elves believe, it lives alongside the Spirit King in his infinitely vast palace, enjoying the afterlife until the end of time, when the Spirit King will remake all things with a new cycle. Specifics vary amongst dark elven sects, but as they are not a very religious people, they do not really debate theology much and rather agree to disagree, knowing that all souls will learn the truth in due time when they ascend. Mortals have an odd place in the dark elven mythos, as new souls from the Spirit King and placed in the world's spirit heirarchy somewhere between animals and great beasts. Dark elves believe that elvenkind is the highest order of mortal life, with other races beneath them to varying degrees, such that humans and halflings are only moderately below them in spiritual status, gnomes and dwarves next lowest, goblinoids beneath that, and reptilians further below elvenkind. Creatures created by the Elven Mage-King are considered the lowest of mortals, except that dark elves and sea elves are held to be on equal footing with other elves because they were truly elves before and only underwent limited transformation. Different varieties of giant or monstrous humanoid are regarded differently, as the dark elves see them as belonging to another order of the hierarchy, with ogres and such at the bottom (though still higher than the Mage-King's least creations) and the greatest giants at the top (though still lower than elvenkind). To a dark elf, the term 'mortal' describes humanoid creatures and those like them, while other creatures are considered to be amongst animals or great beasts. Dark Elven Religious Practices As elvenkind in general is not particularly pious, the dark elves only offer worship occasionally and provide small offerings on an infrequent basis. Those who live in dark elf cities attend religious gatherings at their local temple once every two weeks, which last only a few hours and vary from solemn funerals, to mild sermons, to fevered rallies inciting the dark elves to action against their enemies. Dark elves observe no holidays and no dread-days, unlike the other humanoids, and only celebrate when there's an immediate cause for celebration. A dark elf is expected to offer prayers once each day to the Spirit King, either upon waking or before their last meal of the day. The first day of each week is semi-sacred, a day for contemplation, remembrance, planning, relaxation, prayers, and family activities, but also the day for religious gatherings every other week. On the first day of each week a dark elf is expected, regardless of their location, to make some sort of offering to the Spirit King, be it a few drops of their blood, a valued item, or the life of an infidel. Food and drink are not considered appropriate offerings. Offered blood is to be spilt on the ground or in the water, and offered items are to be presented to a temple of the Spirit King, a priest of the Spirit King, or buried someplace where they are unlikely to be found. Priests of the Spirit King are to take such items to an appropriate temple at their earliest convenience, for the temple's use or sacrifice. Dark elven priests are accorded certain titles and terms of address, and hold a slightly higher position in dark elf society than other members of their social caste. An initiate of the priesthood is called zev, and wears some garment or ornamentation of gray and black. A priest who has undergone the rite of vas'ir and earned his or her ceremonial robes of black and blue, with gold and silver trim, is known as a vey. Vey who serve at least two years, and perform ten ritual sacrifices of live non-elven humanoids, are accorded the title vey'ir and wear a circlet or headdress, of black iron with gold wire and some mix of blue and white or silver ornamentation, such as blue and white feathers, or sapphire and silver inlays, or knucklebones and turquoise stones attached to the golden wire. Vey'ir who have served as such for twenty years become kes'amir, and are accorded a robe made with cloth-of-gold, bearing silver buttons and brooch, and a mantle of black velvet adorned by numerous blue quartz stones. A kes'amir who serves a further 200 years is given the new title vesh-masiib and wears a mask of ivory, with the Spirit King's symbol patterned at the forehead with sapphire, gold wire, and stones of jet. Various minor prefixes and suffixes are used to denote particular duties or sub-ranks within the dark elven clergy. The prefix for a temple leader is kel-, while that for a pilgrim is shedar-. Dark Elf Culture The virtues of the dark elves are loyalty, pride, boldness, cunning, respect, oath-keeping, and good manners. Dark elves are taught to be loyal to the faith of the Spirit King first, their family second, their community third, and their people lastly. Intertwined with this is their virtue of oath-keeping, that a man or woman should be held to their oaths and always seek to fulfill them, so an oathbreaker is someone to be ostracized and shunned, if not outright slain. The punishment for oathbreaking varies with the severity of the oath and the violation of it, but breaking an oath to the family's patriarch or matriarch, or to the community's leader, is punishable by death. Hosts are expected to treat their guests well, and the dark elves hold to the Linaerelesti taboo against a host harming anyone under their roof after inviting them. A dark elf is taught to respect others insofar as they deserve it, and to at least show some respect to other elves and creatures of higher order, such as fey and dragons. Dark elves are especially well-taught in good manners and politeness, to be civil and noble in countenance even when they are slaying or torturing lesser creatures. For without manners and civility, they would be like the pathetic savages they were created to rule over, as the dark elves see it. Elvenkind in general appreciates boldness and cunning, and pride in one's work or family, which is especially true for dark elves. They are supposed to be bold in word and action, cunning in their choice of words and deeds, witty in their execution, and charismatic in their dealings. Pride in one's achievements and projects is expected of a dark elf, and if they cannot be proud of it, they should not be pursuing it. Pride in one's family is also important to them, thus why betraying an oath to the patriarch or matriarch is punishable by death, to remove the stain, and why young dark elves seek constantly to please their family and accomplish things worthy of their family. It is also why dark elven parents are careful in choosing their children's duties, studies, and career paths, intending to make the children successful, not embarrassments. Dark elves have minimal technology in general, though they live very civilized lives. They have no paper, parchment, or papyrus, so they use thin stone tablets or metal plates, generally copper or tin, for writing or etching upon. Dark elf technology is generally no more advanced than the mechanisms for a portcullis or drawbridge. Crossbows, ballistas, and catapults are the most advanced mundane weapons they possess, and these are few in number anyway. Dark elves use the old elven calendar of the Illustrious Kingdom, called simply Elvish Reckoning, and it is based on the day of Linaerelesti's founding. Dates in ER are listed like 14-2-1-1803 ER, which would be the 14th day of the 2nd season in the 1st zodiac cycle, on the 1803rd year since Linaerelesti's founding, by Elvish Reckoning. Dark elves use traditional elven greetings, salutes, farewells, clothing, and other customs, with little change from the traditions of lost Linaerelesti. A common greeting is "cahalis ril danai," meaning "good fortunes today," and another oft used is "tilas ahal, nilasir," which means "respects to you, goodfellow." The traditional salute of Linaerelesti, still used by the dark elves, is a diagonal salute with the right hand, palm down and fingers pointed leftward-up. The traditional elvish word, ritually used to confirm a superior's order or to accompany a salute to someone admired or greatly respected, is "saehal." Their clothing is colorful and flamboyant, made to impress and to show off the individual's style, but dark elves also use a variety of formal, similar uniforms for various ceremonies and positions of influence. They often wear red, violet, blue, and yellow, with richer dark elves often using gold and silver in place of yellow. Their clothes tend to be somewhat baggy and designed for comfort, and often include cloth sashes in place of belts, while similar sashes and headbands are also favored. Sandals or soft shoes are commonly worn outside of domiciles, but indoors the dark elves tend to leave their footwear at the door and walk around on fine rugs and plush carpets. It is considered rude to wear shoes or sandals indoors, when in a dark elven structure at least. Dark elves like to adorn themselves with elaborate mantles, epaulets, chokers, rings, torcs, and bracers. Men tend to favor sleeveless, open vests, but only slightly moreso than fuller shirts. Women often favor fuller vests or assorted robes, sometimes with veils or scarves. Mages in dark elven society traditionally wear a turban wrapped about their head, often ornamented with some device that denotes their rank, specialty, honors, or other status. Dark elves accord great respect to accomplished mages, who drive their society forward towards their ultimate goal of conquering the other races and returning elven rule to the land. The specifics of the dark elven magocracy are unknown outside the upper echelons of the mages themselves, but they rule as some sort of council with various lesser positions in the bureaucracy, and apparently they hold some sort of competitions or duels to determine their ranks and positions. Small dark elf enclaves are presided over by a bey, with the largest enclave in an area governed by a shah who also nominally controls the local beys. All enclaves in a region are subject to the local sultan or sultana, who rules in a regional capitol and presides over a council of sha'ir, senior shahs who are in line for rulership and act as advisors, magistrates, and ministers of state. Lesser mages hold ranks such as pasha, padishah, beyir, sifu, or vizier. Dark Elf Organizations The chief organization amongst dark elves is the Order of Emirate Magi, the magocratic bureaucracy that rules over their people. They are secretive about their inner workings, but hold an austere and respected position in dark elven society. They wear turbans of white or golden cloth. Another mage organization is the Sons of Ishala, an all-male, quasi-religious order of sorcerers tracing their lineage back to the great dark elven sorceress Ishala, supposedly a consort of the tyrannical elven Mage-King. Though Ishala and other contemporaries of the Mage-King have since passed away or disappeared, the Sons of Ishala continue their ancestral matriarch's work. They are a strange ascetic order, living almost like monks, and for centuries they have studied magic and worked to strengthen the power in their sorcerous blood. They often serve as emissaries between dark elf enclaves, and between dark elves and other races in the few instances where an alliance or trade is necessary. The Sons of Ishala supposedly cavort with demons, devils, dragons, fey, and anything else from amongst the great beasts of dark elven religion, trying to strengthen their sorcerous bloodlines. They are reviled and feared, yet respected for their power and force of personality, and only fools provoke a Son of Ishala, though plenty of dark elves will whisper vile rumors about them behind their backs. The only other significant mage's order in dark elven enclaves is the Hand of Malikal, a sagely order of bards and wizards who seek knowledge far and wide. They seek to find greater arcane powers and lore, trying to discover the secrets of Rhunaria, the Ghostlands, and the Great Rift. In secret, they also try to subvert the actions of the Order of Emirate Magi and reduce the people's trust in the Emirates, hoping to eventually take control of the dark elven populus or at least become the power behind the throne. In the meantime, the Hand of Malikal maintains dark elven histories and records, including the paperwork of the Emirate magistrates for their judicial cases. The Hand of Malikal is much more open and social with the public compared to the Order of Emirate Magi, all the while keeping its true purpose hidden. Slowly it works to indoctrinate the public to its veiled slander against the Emirates and subvert their control. Malikal himself was an infamous dark elven bard long ago, but little more than dust now, and legends of his exploits and charisma are well-known, though only the Hand itself knows the truth behind his facade and subtle manipulations. There is no single dark elven religious order, but rather a variety of splinter groups from the original acolytes of the elven Mage-King. Each follows its own version of the elven scriptures and myths, and they generally disagree about a few key points, but mostly avoid fighting amongst themselves. Some of the larger cults are the Night Reavers of the Ineffable (chiefly warriors, fighters, rangers, and evil druids), the Creator's Scourge (mostly evil clerics and laypeople), the Crystal Star (shamans, sorcerers, and wizards), and the First Acolytes of the Spirit King (clerics and laypeople). Prominant guilds include the Ebon Striders, Graycloaks, Trade Merchant Union, Deep Miner's Cooperative, Allied Jewelers' Guild, Shadow Delvers, and the Iron Guard. Most of these are trade and craft guilds, but the Iron Guard serves as a crack mercenary unit, and the Shadow Delvers are an exploratory group that serves as scouts and resource-finders, while the Graycloaks are a sort of legitimized crime ring, and the Ebon Striders are reputed to be assassins and surface-raiders. Common Dark Elven Armaments: Scimitars, kukri, falchions, whips, shuriken, daggers, punching daggers, spears, shortbows, slings, studded leather, chain shirts, chainmail, lamellar, small shields, bucklers. Sample Male Dark Elf Names: Jiaern, Savael, Galdirax, Sinethar, Zataar, Vessarin, Destuvian, Azikal, Ristaal, Valistir, Razinax, Shaheel, Mevistis, Tareval, Suvaein, Hurabi. Sample Female Dark Elf Names: Alzira, Kivestri, Zathiriel, Zuvale, Tirishaan, Gezira, Valeira, Ziira, Jinaeral, Sebina, Fianae, Daenera, Sorinaiel, Shallia, Hasirae, Zuna, Tiune. Sample Dark Elf Surnames (Common Professions): Vishial (prominent stoneworkers), Hishkaal (often farmers and herders), Zubaran (respected Iron Guard warriors and smiths), Zoluvaean (generally minor merchants and traders), Tiranith (feared mages and macabre artists), Zastaire (often warriors, architects, or carpenters), Suvaal (chiefly shipwrights, sailors, and raiders), Razienth (often raiders or clergy of the Night Reavers), Estaviar (generally shady characters, founders of the Shadow Delvers), Daviaer (many are bards and entertainers). Dark Elf PC Class Choices: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Shaman, Sorcerer, Wizard. Dark Elf Cleric Domain Choices: Air, Animal, Artifice, Community, Creation, Darkness, Earth, Evil, Fire, Knowledge, Law, Magic, Nobility, Plant, War, Water. Dark Elf Shaman Domain Choices: Ancestor, Community, Divination, Flame, Knowledge, Metal, Nature, River, Stone, War, Wood. Dark Elf Prestige Domain Choices: Beastmaster, Community, Creation, Divination, Domination, Mind, Mysticism, Summoning. |
| Rhunarian Dark Elves |
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| Disclaimer: 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, Oriental Adventures, class names, domain names, domains, prestige domains, Yuan-Ti, ability scores, darkvision, light blindness, celestials, skill names, saves, DCs, saving throws, Spell Resistance, spell names, spell-like abilities, caster level, arcane spell failure, and Undercommon, so far as I know, are property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., which is a division of Hasbro Corporation. All other content on this webpage is copyright (c) 2004-2005, property of John J. Korsog, Jr., internet aliases Arkhandus and Mist Phantom. This material free for personal use but not for commercial distribution. |