Elves

[Polaris]

Elves are fey humanoids, and among the first of the modern races to settle in Faerun (the name itself is derived from elvish languages). The race has since split into several subraces, each with its own distinct culture. Elves are among the longest lived of mortal races, with deep ties to magic and the natural world.

The overwhelming majority of the elves venerate the Seldarine, who form the elven pantheon, which is led by Corellon Larethian, considered to be the creator of the elven races. However, elves also have great respect for Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, and Silvanus, the God of Wild nature, so elven followers of these major pantheon deities (primarily human deities) are not unheard of.

Elves count all evil aligned races such as goblinoids and orcs as their foes, as well as their subterranean cousins, the drow elves.

DM Expectations

Elven characters are expected to demonstrate basic understanding of canon elf culture and history, primarily of the elven subrace they belong to. Their longevity influences their personalities to a great extent. Elven characters also primarily venerate the elven pantheon, with the minor exceptions of Mystra and Silvanus.

The only primarily evil elven subrace are the drow. However, evil surface elves do exist in relatively small numbers, mainly fanatic zealots of Sheverash or the Eldreth Veluuthra, an elven organization committed to wiping out human influence in Faerun. For most evil elves, the main thing to keep in mind is that they genuinely believe they are committed to a good cause, but are simply blind to pain and misery they leave in their wake. Evil elves who embrace and revel in their evil nature are rare, but not unheard of.

Contents

Moon Elves
Sun Elves
Wood Elves
Wild Elves

These races require an application
Dark Elves
Fey'ri

[Polaris]

Moon Elves

Character Creation: Choose Elf, and leave the subrace blank

Favored Class: Wizard

General

The most common of the elven subraces on Faerûn are the moon elves. They have fair skin, sometimes tinged with blue, and hair of silver-white, black, or blue; humanlike colors are somewhat rare. Their eyes are blue or green, with gold flecks.

Moon elves prefer to dress in rustic clothes of simple cuts and fashions that are nevertheless of fine and exquisite make. They adorn their dress with embroidered patterns, beads, and similar trappings, preferring earthen colors for everyday wear, hues that make it easy to conceal themselves in foliage. In places of safety or in times of revelry, moon elves enjoy dressing in bold color - the more brightly colored, the better. Hair is worn in braids or ponytails, twined with wires or beads. Moon elves sometimes wear body paint or tattoos in mystic patterns, although not to extent the wild elves do.

History

Although the moon elves were not the first elves to migrate to Faerûn, they comprised the largest migration. Even in the ancient past their joy for travel seems to have been present, for they came to Faerun in great numbers indeed. The moon elves wanted to explore this new world rather than settle down, and so did not establish nations of their own for some time, preferring to settle in other elven nations, such as Othreier and Keltormir. The only one of the ancient elven nations that the moon elves could truly call their own was Orishaar, which was defeated in -11,200 DR by the Ilythiiri.

Following the Crown Wars, moon elves helped to raise many of the nations of the second generation of elven realms. Survivors of Orishaar, in conjunction with clans from other realms that had been destroyed during the Crown Wars, founded the secret refuge of Evereska in -8600 DR, and many moon elves populated the glorious realm of Cormanthyr, founded in -3983 DR in the woods of the Elven Court. One by one the old elven realms faded away, until the fall of Myth Drannor in 714 DR left Evereska as the last moon elf city in Faerun. Many nomadic moon elf bands still roamed the great forests of northern Faerûn, but no new elven kingdoms rose after the fall of the second-generation realms.

Despite the fact that only a single realm of moon elves has survived the ages since the Crown Wars, the moon elves have fared well compared to many of their elven kin. Content to gather in small, secretive, and relatively short-lived settlements or to simply wander across the wild lands of Faerun as their hearts call them, the moon elves have built few places worth destroying. When the Elven Retreat began, the moon elves were slow to heed its call, and even then answered the call in much smaller numbers than did the sun elves and other elven races.

Outlook

Moon elves are more impulsive than the other elves, and dislike remaining in one place for any significant amount of time. Most moon elves are happiest when traveling, especially across the expanses of untrodden wilderness that still survive in Faerûn. This is probably the single greatest reason why they are so much more friendly and accommodating to other races than many other elves: They do not isolate themselves from the human lands behind impervious defenses. Moon elves have watched humankind for much longer than their sun or wood elf kin, and they know that nonelves aren't as foolish and unimportant as most other elves think. They feel that engaging promising human realms such as Silverymoon and instilling elven values and culture in these young lands is a better way for the elven race to survive and thrive than hiding away and avoiding all contact with ambitious, grasping humans.

Moon elves are drawn to adventure through sheer wanderlust. They desire to see and do everything possible during their long lives. Like their allies the Harpers, moon elves believe that a single person of good heart who stands up to injustice or evil can make a big difference. The typical moon elf adventurer tends to be a wandering protector of the common folk, not a dungeon-plundering slayer of monsters.

Moon Elf Characters

More so than other elves, moon elves are drawn to a variety of paths. They have a great love of music and make excellent bards. Moon elves do not possess the depth of reverence for the Seldarine the sun elves do, nor the bond with nature of the wood elves, but clerics and druids are not uncommon among the subrace. Many moon elves are skilled warriors and have at least some levels in the fighter class, as they have long made up the bulk of the elven armies. But moon elves prefer stealth over strength, and often choose to become rangers or rogues instead. Finally, like all elves, moon elves are enamored of magic, and a great number take up the wizard's arts.

Moon Elf Society

Moon elves are nomadic spirits who rarely settle down for long in one place. They are comfortable living among sun elves and wood elves, but just as often they live in areas dominated by humans, halflings, or even gnomes. Their homes tend to be simple, unassuming, and comfortable.

Moon elves are much less solemn and serious in their ways and actions than sun elves. Their songs and poems are lighter and often quite humorous; tragedies have their place but the moon elves prefer to balance such things with light-hearted and often bawdy tales and songs. They also enjoy a wide variety of art styles, including paintings and sculpture. Moon elves are fond of games of chance and gambling. Drinking, feasting, and reveling are all a strong part of their society.

A more serious side to the moon elves emerges in times of trouble. Moon elves are just as skilled with weapons and magic as their fellow elven subraces, and do not hesitate to act if a situation calls for violence as a solution. Even in warfare, they try to find hope and humor, for it is during these dark times that levity and joy are most valuable.

Moon elves gather in loose bands, composed of a dozen or so extended families. Leadership is democratic; all elves of the band have a say in important decisions, although the voices of one or two of the wiser and more experienced family heads tend to carry the day. In times of danger, the band chooses an elder or warleader to see them through the peril. Moon elves travel light and travel often, rarely staying in the same place for more than a season or two before moving on.

[Polaris]

Sun Elves

Character Creation: Select Elf and enter "Sun Elf" in the subrace.

Racial Abilities:
+2 Intelligence
-2 Constitution

Other racial abilities same as NWN standard elf.

Favored Class: Wizard

General

The majority of Faerûn's sun elves live on Evermeet, having abandoned what remained of their ancient realms during the centuries following the falls of Illefarn and Cormanthor. They are only now returning to the mainland to re-establish their presence there. The sun elves are famed for their command of both arcane and divine magic, which exceeds that of any other living race. Works of elven high magic thousands of years old still survive in the hidden refuges of the sun elves.

Sun elves are responsible for the majority of the great elven cities of legend, although other elven subraces aided the construction of many of these cities. Myth Drannor is perhaps their most famous creation, although probably not their most magnificent. Sun elf realms are the stuff legends are made of, an integral part of the history of Faerûn for thousands of years. The sun elves certainly know this, for they distance themselves from non-elf races and often won't let such "lesser beings" into their lands.

Sun Elf Characters

Sun Elves tend to be far less prevalent in the adventurer's role than their Moon Elf cousins. Sun Elves tend to follow Wizardly or Clerical pursuits, rather than focusing on the arts of the sword or stealth, though Sun Elven warriors are numerous. Unlike their Moon Elven cousins, Sun Elves rarely multiclass, preferring to perfect and specialize their talents along a single path rather than indulge their curiousity and dabble in various disciplines.

[Polaris]

Wood Elves

Character Creation: Choose Elf, and enter "Wood Elf" in the subrace.

Racial Abilities:
+2 Strength
+2 Dexterity
-2 Constitution
-2 Intelligence
-2 Charisma

Other racial abilities are the same as the NWN standard elf.

Favored Class: Ranger

General

The wood elves are among the most numerous of Faerûn's elven people, a young and confident folk who hold the old elven forest homelands in strength. Heirs to the second generation of elven nations, the wood elves see their realms as the natural successors to lands such as Eaerlann and Cormanthor. Where the old empires expanded with strength and pride, the realms of the wood elves hope to grow with compassion and humility. The wood elves do not view their homelands as a land apart from Faerûn; they understand better than their kindred that for better or worse, their fates are bound up with the fates of the humans, dwarves, and halflings around them.

Also known as copper elves or sylvan elves, these people have coppery skin tinged with green, and brown, green, or hazel eyes. Hair is usually brown or black, occasionally blond or copperyred. Wood elves prefer to dress in simple clothing, similar to the moon elves but not quite so colorful. They favor a simple cut to tunic or dress, set off by common embroidery in natural designs. They are particularly fond of leather armor, and they often wear lovingly tooled and well-crafted suits even when they do not feel endangered. Their clothing, leather armor or not, is usually in dark shades of green and earth tones to better blend with their natural surroundings. They are a humble race and only rarely do they enhance their appearance with jewelry or similar accessories.

History

The wood elves are the most recent addition to the various elven subraces of Faerûn, although the history of their civilization still exceeds that of many other races of Toril. They also have the unusual distinction (often thought of as an honor by copper elves) of being the only subrace of elves to be actual natives to Faerûn. The first copper elves did not appear at once; their race coalesced slowly over the course of several centuries after the last Crown War, blending several of the older elven kindreds.

The Crown Wars brought down most of the great nations of the First Flowering. In the wake of these terrible wars, thousands of elves were left bereaved and homeless. Families were torn apart, and for many centuries (a time known to the elves as the Wandering Years) these elves simply led the lives of nomads. Some of Faerûn's elves retreated to their ancestral homes and started to build anew, but on a smaller scale, raising the second generation of elven nations. But a significant portion of elves never felt the need to do so. These elves (mostly moon, sun, and green elves), vowed never again to let internal strife tear their kind apart, retreating to the deepest woodlands to seek shelter from the madness of the world.

Unlike the green elves, these self-imposed exiles did not slip into barbarism. Rather, they formed tightly knit societies that stayed in touch with other like-minded elven communities hidden away in other forests. Over time, these secluded elves grew closer to the natural world and further apart from the high magic and ancient lore the elves had brought from their first home, and became a new subrace of elves apart from their kin: the wood elves.

While the sun elves and moon elves founded realms such as Evermeet and Evereska after the Crown Wars, the great realm of the wood elves was ancient Eaerlann, a realm founded in the eastern High Forest around -4700 DR. The elves of Eaerlann engaged other young empires of the North in peaceful trade and diplomacy, befriending the dwarven realm of Delzoun soon after its establishment in -3900 DR, and tutoring the early Netherese in magic around -3830 DR.

The human empire of Netheril soon eclipsed its elven neighbors, growing in martial and magical might at an alarming pace. In -3533 DR the Netherese uncovered the Nether Scrolls in the ruins of Aryvandaar, eagerly exploiting magic so powerful and terrible that even the sun elves of the First Flowering had not dared to employ it. For centuries the wood elves of Eaerlann sought to quietly check Netheril's pride and expansionism, but in -339 DR, the Netherese destroyed themselves as Karsus sought godhood and instead brought cataclysmic destruction down on his people. The elves of Eaerlann took in many Netherese survivors, allowing them to settle in the city of Ascalhorn.

The elves and humans of the North lived in peace for a time, but Ascalhorn too was doomed to fall through the folly of mages. Careless summoning of powerful fiends led to a sudden, terrible assault by an army of devils who overthrew the proud city in 882 DR. This time, Eaerlann did not survive the destruction of the neighboring human realm. Already gravely weakened by a year of battling against ferocious orc hordes, Eaerlann fell soon after Ascalhorn became Hellgate Keep.

In the years since the fall of Eaerlann, the wood elves have not raised any more great realms, choosing to put their trust in stealth and vigilance instead of castles and cities. Although they felt the call of the Elven Retreat, the wood elves did not respond. With the end of the Retreat, the wood elves have emerged from their secret homes in the depths of Faerûn's woodlands as a strong and confident people whose wariness is tempered by compassion. The wood elves of the High Forest dream of reestablishing old Eaerlann, but this time their realm will be a realm of reclusive villages and watchful foresters, not walled cities and proud warriors.

Outlook

Wood elves are calm, serene, and difficult to surprise. Their patience is legendary. They are at one with the world of nature, and are not comfortable in areas of heavy civilization. They have lost the urge to build and replace nature with walls and palaces; even the cities built by their elven kin seem to be foolish to the wood elves. They have come to believe that buildings of stone are transitory in nature, and that in time, the forest returns to overgrow the greatest of cities. Other races interpret this attitude as fatalistic or condescending, and as a result wood elves find it hard to understand anyone who isn't a wood elf.

Wood Elf Characters

Of all the elven subraces, the copper elves have the least fascination with arcane magic. They understand its power and a number of their folk study its ways, but ultimately the artifice of arcane lore is simply one more way of expressing dominion over the natural order of things, and the wood elves view it in that light. Wood elves make excellent fighters, rangers, and rogues, relying on their natural strength and quickness to meet challenges. Wood elves from particularly remote forests sometimes become barbarians. Clerics are somewhat rare among this people, but druids are very common and are the most prominent spellcasters of the race.

Society

Wood elves live at ease with nature, using what naturally occurs in the world to shelter or defend themselves. They are not nomadic, and claim large territories in the deepest woodlands of Faerûn. Some wood elves choose to do without houses, furnishings, and any possessions they can't carry, using the high branches of great trees or natural caves in their roots for shelter and storage. Most wood elves instead prefer to dwell in small villages of permanent homes of natural field stone and lovingly carved wood, so carefully concealed among the surrounding wilderness that a human hunter might walk through the center of a wood elf village and not even notice that he had done so.

Wood elves adhere to a tradition of leadership by their oldest and most experienced druids, although most villages form a council of elders selected from the wisest and most experienced elves of each family to handle day-to-day affairs. The druidical hierarchy serves to unite wood elves of different villages and weld all the wood elves of a particular forest into a common realm. The druids do not presume to tell the elders how to run a village, but the elders generally give great weight to anything a druid chooses to say.

Wood elves excel in the hunt. They spend much of their time stalking their chosen territory on the search for food or intruders into their realm. The rest of their time is spent frolicking among the branches; in this regard, they are quite similar to moon and wild elves. With the end of the Retreat, wood elves are quickly coming back into contact with the civilized world. Although they are reluctant to allow others into their lands, wood elves understand that times are changing. If they are to survive as a people, it may be time to change for the copper elves to change as well.

[Polaris]

Wild Elves

Character Creation: Choose Elf and enter "Wild Elf" in the subrace.

Racial Abilities:
+2 Dexterity
-2 Intelligence

Other racial abilities are the same as the NWN standard elf.

Favored Class: Sorcerer

General

The wild elves of Faerûn are insular and savage, and as a result are rarely seen outside their
forest homes. In ages past the wild elves (or green elves, as they were more commonly known) raised great kingdoms in the forests and fielded armies to defend their homes, but with the march of time they have abandoned the trappings of civilization, becoming a furtive, reclusive race. The wild elves were always close to nature, even more so than other elves, but they have forgotten many of the high arts and lore of their people, choosing stealth and survival over building and book learning.

Wild elves are stocky and strongly built for elves. Their skin tends to be dark brown, and their hair ranges from black to light brown, lightening to silvery white with age. They are quiet around anyone except their own kind, and quickly become hostile in these uncomfortable situations. Clothing is kept to a minimum among the wild elves, although they make up for this with body decoration of all sorts of tattoos, war paint, feathers, and beaded jewelry that shows a surprising streak of complex and beautiful artistry.

History

The wild elves were not always the feral creatures they have become today. Ages ago the green elves, as they were then known, were the first elven explorers (along with the lythari and the avariels) to discover Abeir-Toril, and they quickly became entranced with the wondrous young world. Of this first migration of elves, the green elves were easily the most successful, and they established several territories destined to become great nations: Thearnytaar, Eiellûr, Syòpiir, Miyeritar, and Keltormir.

Unfortunately, with the coming of the Crown Wars, these nations were among the first to fall. Eiellûr fell to the Ilythiiri (the dark elves) in -11,400 DR, and Thearnytaar in -11,200 DR. The realm of Miyeritar, located where the High Moor now lies, was utterly consumed by the Dark Disaster in -10,500 DR, and the other green elf realms fared little better. The peaceful green elves proved to be relatively easy prey for the cruel dark elves, and by the time the Crown Wars ended in -9000 DR, the idyllic world of the green elves had been shattered. Their great nations razed in centuries of relentless warfare, the green elves began a time they refer to as the Wandering. They never recovered fully from the setbacks of twelve thousand years ago, and raised no more great cities in Faerûn.

The Wandering of the green elves lasted for many long elven generations. Forced to live for centuries as fugitives, slaves, or rootless vagabonds, the surviving green elves receded further and further from elven society, withdrawing to the deepest forests and mountains of Faerûn. While the other subraces races raised the second generation of elven realms in places like Evermeet and Cormanthyr, the green elves placed their trust in secrecy and stealth instead of walls and might, remaining hidden within their forest homes. By the time of Jhaamdath's rise around -5800 DR, the green elves had settled into several of the places that are still their ancient homelands: the Chondalwood, the Forest of Amtar, and other great old woodlands of southern Faerûn.

Over the course of many years, the green elves forgot more and more of their ancient lore and skill, focusing on the only skills that mattered: stealth, survival, hunting, and hiding. They became first a clannish folk, then a tribal culture, and finally a primitive people. They remained elves, of course, creatures of nobility and magic, but they lost the arts of crafting mighty spells and forging magic weapons. Their fleeting contacts with the rising human empires of the day reinforced the green elf reclusiveness, driving them deeper into the wilds and further from their old ways.
Today, the green elves are more widely known as the wild elves, a race lost in time in the sweltering forests of southern Faerûn.

Outlook

The tragic history of the wild elves has left them untrusting of outsiders. Their tactics for dealing with intruders vary from tribe to tribe. Some simply hide and allow the trespassers to go by unknowing, while others attack to capture such interlopers. They rarely kill those they capture, preferring to use magic to alter their memories and carry them far away before releasing them. They make friends slowly, and most nonelves simply don't have the lifespans required to gain the trust of a tribe of green elves. They excel in combat and often revel in its chaos and primal fury. Little can match the fury of an enraged tribe of green elves.

Wild Elf Characters

More so than any other elves, wild elves value the martial skills. Barbarians and rangers are very common among the wild elves. The wild elves do not feel close to the Seldarine and do not often become clerics, instead venerating nature itself as druids of Mielikki, Silvanus, or Rillifane Rallathil. Wild elves have no written tradition and little patience for hours of study in any event and so rarely become wizards. Unlike other elves, they prefer the sorcerer's arts.

[Polaris]

Dark Elves

This subrace requires an application. Please note the drow have an extremely sinister reputation in the realms.

Racial Abilities:
+2 Dexterity
+2 Intelligence
+2 Charisma
-2 Constitution
+2 Will Saves
Spell Resistance 11 + level
Light Sensitivity
All NWN Standard Elven racial abilities

Light 1/day
See Invisibility 1/day
Darkness 1/day

Favored Class: Wizard (Male), Cleric (Female)

General

Of the various elven subraces, none are more notorious than the drow. Descended from the original dark-skinned elven subrace called the Ssri-tel-quessir, the drow were cursed into their present appearance by the good elven deities for following the goddess Lolth down the path to evil and corruption. Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have blood-red eyes, although pale eyes (so pale as to be often mistaken for white) in shades of pale lilac, silver, pink, and blue are not unknown. They also tend to be smaller and thinner than most Faeunian elves. Most drow on the surface are evil and worship Vhaeraun, but some outcasts and renegades have a more neutral attitude, and there are even groups of good drow who worship Eilistraee or other deities not of the traditional drow pantheon.

Though divided by endless feuds and schisms, the drow are united in one terrible desire: they seethe with a hatred for the surface elves. By their way of reckoning, they proved themselves the superior race in the Fourth Crown War, and the fact that the Seldarine (and Corellon in particular) punished them for their success is a poison that churns in their hearts and minds eternally. They burn with hatred for the Seldarine and their coddled children, and want nothing more than to return to the surface and bring to the elves there suffering a thousand times greater than that which the drow have been forced to endure over the past ten thousand years.

History

In the beginning, the Ssri-tel-quessir were the most successful of the elven colonists to the new world of Faerun. The nation of Ilythiir quickly became one of the most powerful of the early elven nations. But the Ssri-tel-quessir were not only the most successful of the elves of their time, they were also the most cruel and jealous. Despite their own accomplishments, they envied those of their neighbors all the same. While the First Crown War raged to the north, the dark elves waged their own war against their neighbors, seeking to dominate the elven realms of southern Faerun.

Unsuccessful in three attempts to subjugate the neighboring realms, the dark elves of Ilythiir turned to a new and secret patron at the opening of the Fourth Crown War. The dark elves pledged their loyalties to the outcast Seldarine of the Demonweb Pits, and to Lolth in particular. The Spider Queen and her fellow exiles (with the notable exception of Eilistraee) granted the dark elves of Ilythiir great magical powers, fiendish allies, and support in return for their allegiance, and the Ilythiiri wreaked great havoc among the other elven realms. But their success and victory were short-lived, for Corellon was shocked and deeply enraged by the traitorous acts of the dark elves. By his decree, the Ilythiiri elves were cursed, transformed into drow and banished from the surface world into the Underdark. They became known as the Dhaeraow (the elven word for traitor), and over the centuries this word has since given them the name by which they are known: Drow.

After their exile below ground, the drow lived as nomads, scavengers, and feral beasts. Eventually, through the guidance of Lolth, they drew themselves together as a race and began to make the best of their situation, colonizing large portions of the Underdark. The first underground drow civilizations were established in southern Faerun around -9600 DR. In -9000 DR, the drow seized the great cavern of Bhaerynden from the gold dwarves and established the first great drow kingdom, Telantiwar. Unfortunately, the drow of Telantiwar quickly fell into terrible civil wars, the eventual result of which were several massive magical explosions that collapsed the caverns of their nation and formed the Great Rift in southern Faerun.

The few drow survivors of this cataclysm scattered throughout the Underdark, slowly settling regions farther and farther away from their original homelands in the South. In time, the drow built dozens of magnificent, terrifying cities deep underground, quite an achievement for a people so predisposed toward treachery, infighting, and civil war. Sshamath, the City of Dark
Weavings, was founded beneath the Far Hills in -4973 DR. Menzoberra the Kinless, a high priestess of Lolth, established the city of Menzoberranzan in -3917 DR. House Nasadra, exiled from Menzoberranzan, founded Ched Nasad in -3843 DR. Many other cities lie beneath other parts of Faerun, sometimes exerting their baleful influence on the lands above, such as the
conquest of the human realm of Dambrath by the drow of Ta'lindhet in 804 DR, or the centuries-long rule of Maerimydra over Shadowdale hundreds of years ago.

Recently, the drow have begun to extend their influence to the surface in greater numbers than ever before, moving into abandoned elven cities and homes. They have begun training and conditioning to allow them to function in the brilliant surface world. Much to their surprise and delight, they have found that due to the Elven Retreat the presence of surface elves is much smaller and more poorly organized than they anticipated. Small bands of drow opposed to this return to the surface have made efforts to alert the surface world of this new threat, but so far no organized resistance to the drow invasion of the surface world has appeared.

Outlook

Drow are, on the whole, sadistic, destructive, and treacherous. They view themselves as the rightful heirs to Faerun and still remember the perceived injustice of their exile to the Underdark. They hate other races and either wish to make war upon them or view those others with contempt and tolerate them only as necessary for trade or temporary military alliances. Even among their own kind, drow are cruel and suspicious. There is little room for love and friendship in drow society. They may value alliances with other family members or acquaintances, but no drow truly trusts another. Drow forge alliances only when convenient for the moment.

[Polaris]

Fey'ri

This race requires an application. Please note that Fey'ri are widely despised and hated by all elves save drow, who have no real experience of or opinion on them.

Racial Abilities:
+2 Dexterity
+2 Intelligence
-2 Constitution
+2 Bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Search and Spot checks
Damage Reduction +1/10
Fire Resistance 10/-
Darkvision
Limited Flight, Dive Attack
Alter Self: Fey'ri can assume normal elven form for an indefinite period of time

Favored Class: Sorcerer, Warlock

General

The result of four noble houses of sun elves breeding with demons in an attempt to strengthen their bloodline, fey'ri are a type of planetouched that breeds true among their own kind. Marked by their fiendish blood, fey'ri are unique among most planetouched in that they have a self-sustaining community, so they are raised among their own kind. Because of this, young fey'ri do not suffer the feelings of ostracism that other planetouched do despite growing up among creatures with strong fiendish blood. Most fey'ri are evil, but a few are able to shrug off the fiendish taint's influence on their behavior and emulate some small part of the
innate good nature of the elves.

Fey'ri are the descendants of sun elves and demons (usually succubi in male or female form). Having bred with these demons and among their own kind, fey'ri are a distinct race and share the same common fiendish traits. In general form they resemble sun elves, although all have large batlike wings. They all have one or more unusual features reflecting their fiendish heritage, such as:

• Fiery red eyes

• Fine scales all over the skin

• Long pointed tails

• Batlike ears

• Deep red skin

Fey'ri are obviously different from normal elves and would quickly be killed by most other elves if discovered. Luckily for them, their demonic bloodline gives them several abilities, including the ability to change their shape. Thus they can pass freely among other creatures without causing an alarm. There may be other fey'ri in Faerun other than those allied with House Dlardrageth, but since the likelihood of an elf breeding with a demon is very small, such an individual would be essentially unique outside these four elven houses. The rest of this section assumes Dlardrageth fey'ri are the subject matter.

Fey'ri have the same life expectancy and age categories as a sun elf.

History

Thousands of years ago, the sun elves of House Dlardrageth (in what is now the forest of Cormanthor) secretly bred with succubi to strengthen their bloodline. Although they were eventually discovered and imprisoned in a series of caverns, before their confinement they allied with three minor noble houses of the elven nation of Siluvanede in the High Forest. These nobles acquired caches of Dlardrageth magic items and bred with demons as well, using these items and their fiendish powers to strike out at their enemies. These nobles were defeated and magically imprisoned in the Dlardrageth cache sites.

Three Dlardrageth half-fiends were accidentally released when Hellgate Keep was destroyed in 1369 DR. When they broke through the magical seals on their armories they were surprised to find the descendants of their allies from Siluvanede within. Now freed, the planetouched elves joined with their old allies and began to enact their long-awaited plans. The fey'ri associated with House Dlardrageth originally numbered less than 60. Since their release, some of these fey'ri have broken from their families, trying to find a place in the world after centuries of magical imprisonment.

Outlook

Most fey'ri live for revenge. They feel wronged by other elves, particularly moon elves, and superior to all other races (as befits their lineage, which ties them to the ancient elven kingdoms that predate human civilization). While their plans for revenge unfold, they wish to restore the glory of the elven empires with themselves at their head, not realizing that their fiendish taint has corrupted the sun elf qualities that they prize the most. Individual fey'ri comply with these goals, knowing that their half-fiend rulers are too powerful to challenge and feeling that they themselves have been punished unfairly by the moon elves with their too-long magical imprisonment.

The fey'ri also suffer from unfamiliarity with the changes to the world and are still learning about its current state. A fey'ri is patient, calculating, and suspicious, but her fiendish blood makes her prone to undeserved acts of cruelty and rage.

Of special note are the fey'ri who have chosen to leave the banner of House Dlardrageth. The members of the house considered these renegade fey'ri a great risk to their plans, for the Dlardrageth nobles know their numbers are too small to survive a concerted effort to eradicate them. They must act in secrecy, or risk discovery and death. This makes any renegade fey'ri a creature marked for death by the entire house. Since Countess Sarya Dlardrageth, the head of the House, is a powerful spellcaster, these renegades must be even more cautious than their isolated kin, or they could be discovered and destroyed.

Fey'ri are usually chaotic evil. Some hear an echo of their elven heritage and are chaotic neutral, and a few may be entirely neutral. None have yet been found who are lawful or good.

Fey'ri Characters

Fey'ri blood practically overflows with sorcerous power, so many fey'ri characters become sorcerers. Those who don't become rogues or fighters. Due to their innate nature, they make excellent warlocks as well.

Fey'ri Society

Fey'ri society is very close-knit. They are all close relations, and so each fey'ri has a very good idea how each of his or her family members would react to a situation. Yet they have a subtle loathing for each other, both because their elven nature rejects the taint of their kin and because their demonic ancestors are so chaotic and rebellious that they find it difficult to work together.

As a result, fey'ri society is based on power and fear, the ability to make your commands obeyed, fear that your superiors could destroy you if you fail to comply. House Dlardrageth is a house that cannot stand the test of time, and the only reason it has lasted as long as it has is the magic that imprisoned its members for centuries. In the next hundred years, it is likely that the fey'ri will scatter across Faerun, creating their own pockets of evil, possibly accompanied by near-adult offspring. Until that time, this group of evil-tainted but magically powerful elves has the potential to incite a great slaughter of their enemies.

Fey'ri Deities

Because of their taint and their alignment change, most fey'ri no longer worship the good elven deities of the Seldarine. However, unlike tieflings, they rarely worship demons, preferring true deities rather than powerful agents of their own fiendish bloodlines. The foul creature known as Ghaunadaur manifested to one of the elders of House Floshin nearly a century ago, and since that time the worship of Ghaunadaur has grown to encompass most of the fey'ri associated with House Dlardrageth. The fact that most of these sun elves now worship a drow deity is evidence of how corrupt they have become.

Fenmarel Mestarine lives on the outskirts of the elven pantheon and, as the god of elven outcasts and those who live away from others, he appeals to the rare neutral fey'ri. A few have started to worship him in secret, hoping to learn the secrets of survival in modern Faerun but not wishing to draw the ire of their family members who worship Ghaunadaur.

Shevarash, an elven deity consumed by bitterness and a thirst for revenge against the drow, also has some small appeal to the fey'ri. While some fey'ri whisper his name in secret, he considers them as vile as the drow and does not reward them for their worship.