I am working on a home brewed campaign setting and wanted to make a few tweaks to elves to help them be more unique and special in my game. As a result I shuffled around some abilities and added a few others. My elves are more chaotic neutral and aligned with the fey of my setting. In addition, they have a special connection to dreams which makes the trance ability kinda odd and so I have removed it. Please see below for the details of my home brew. I would love to hear your opinions good or bad.
ELF
Elves are a mystical race that dwells in the great forests of the world they inhabit. As humans and other races expand and intrude on their territory the elves have separated into two political camps.
The Sidhe follow their elders into pocket dream worlds called Tirs and are slowly giving up their connections to the material plane. These dream worlds have many connections to the prime material plane and the feywild and often have several portals to both. These portals will have stone or mushroom rings as markers and the access to them is guarded by different types of fey. The Sidhe rarely allow outsiders to visit these realms and even more rarely allow them to leave without paying some price. The rewards can often be great for those who seek a elven dream realm because they are steeped in unknown magics.
The second camp is the Bane-Sidhe who make war upon strangers in ever more bloodier battles. Bane-Sidhe call their pocket dream realms Dris and these are often darky beautiful worlds. Entrances to Dris are often caves or the darkest places in a forest or swamp. Surprisingly the Bane-Sidhe will often allow outsiders to enter a Dris but will either hunt the interlopers for sport, play cruel games with them, or unleash various beasts on the would be adventure seekers. This tendency for dark magics will sometimes cause a Dris to grow beyond control and the Bane-Sidhe will be forced to abandon them. An abandoned elven realm will often be a wild, untamable, and dangerous place.
Elves differ widely in appearance but are always pleasing to look upon. One trait all elves share is a deep connection to magic and the most powerful bards and wizards come from this race.
Elf Traits
Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of thousands of years of elven refinement.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven perspective is based on a life which can last thousands of years. To rejuvenate themselves an elf will journey to a Tir or Dris and enter a dream like trance that can last a century or more. A player may choose the Eldar background to represent an elf newly arisen from this torpor. Most elves start around the same age as humans but there is no effective limit to their age (although there are few elves beyond a thousand years old).
Alignment. Elves love freedom, variety, and self-expression, so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. The bitterness they experience through the encroachment into their territory makes them lean toward a neutral attitude.
Size. Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it w ere dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Elven Step. You are impossibly sure footed and may ignore penalties for non-magical difficult terrain.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Fey Friend. Creatures of the Fey type initially regard you in either a neutral or friendly manner. In a conflict they may avoid physically attacking or even offer to parley.
Oath. Elves may be very temperamental but their word is their bond. If you give an oath to accomplish a goal or deed then you are affected as if by a geas spell. Break enchantment and similar magic cannot end this affect. An elf can never be tricked into giving their oath and are always aware that they are initiating one. Elves often use oaths as a form of payment between each other. Elven nobles can require an oath as a form of punishment.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires.
Sidereal Elf
Sometimes called high elves or star elves, these elves are leaders in Faerie Courts and often have connections with other fey. In appearance the sidereal elves lean toward lighter skin, hair and eyes and often favor bright colors for clothes.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Read the Stars. While you sleep during a long rest you may gain temporary insight into the future. You may take advantage on one attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. Once used you can’t use this ability until taking another long rest.
Sidereal Magic. You know the Minor Illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Comprehend Languages spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Suggestion spell once per day. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Penumbral Elf
Sometimes called dark elves or shadow elves, this folk often dwell in the deepest of wilds and can be very suspicious of outsiders. These elves tend toward darker tones of dress with skin tones ranging from pale white to ashen to sometimes almost coal black skin.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Mask of Shadow. You may attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured.
Penumbral Magic. You know the Minor Illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Faerie Fire spell once per day. When you reach 5 level you can cast Misty Step once per day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Some info on the elven fey realms (Tirs and Dris)...The idea behind these realms is that they would serve in part as dungeons for the PC's to adventure in.
Tir na nOg. An eternal realm consisting of the dreams of the Summer Queen Titania herself. This land is a magical forest where features can change dramatically from day to day. One morning can dawn with a perfect summer day only for night to bring a chill winter snow. The landscape can change as well as flowing rivers become dry riverbeds and tremendous oaks sprout from acorns overnight. The changes never seem to perturb the fey and elven inhabitants as they enjoy the variety and celebrate the chaos as if a new holiday.
PCs could journey to Tir na nOg in order to garner long forgotten magic or knowledge from Titania. Her price will often be an extreme deed or test. Pluck a flower from a mountain peak or host a magnificent dinner. The connection to chaos means that Tir na nOg can harbor many dangers and the fey can be a fractious lot constantly vying for the attentions of the Queen.
Scath Dris. A dark and dangerous realm long abandoned by the Bane-Sidhe. A long ago the black dragon Sinach drove out most of the fey within and claimed the Dris for itself. Scath Dris is now a great eldritch swamp filled with all the horrors a sleeping dragon can dream of. The few fey still inhabiting Scath Dris are a bent and twisted lot. They can be convinced by PCs to provide information but will likely led the unwary to a nasty fate.
PCs could travel to Scath Dris in order to retrieve a lost heirloom for a Bane-Sidhe prince or they may be here with the intention of slaying the dragon and possibly claiming the Dris for themselves as a base of operations.
Thanks a bunch. I've found that the oaths can be a bit tricky to implement. Players tend to avoid them even if it's something fairly benign and mostly role play.
When I run this again I may have to just make it a social thing rather than the actual geas spell.
Hello folks,
I am working on a home brewed campaign setting and wanted to make a few tweaks to elves to help them be more unique and special in my game. As a result I shuffled around some abilities and added a few others. My elves are more chaotic neutral and aligned with the fey of my setting. In addition, they have a special connection to dreams which makes the trance ability kinda odd and so I have removed it. Please see below for the details of my home brew. I would love to hear your opinions good or bad.
ELF
Elves are a mystical race that dwells in the great forests of the world they inhabit. As humans and other races expand and intrude on their territory the elves have separated into two political camps.
The Sidhe follow their elders into pocket dream worlds called Tirs and are slowly giving up their connections to the material plane. These dream worlds have many connections to the prime material plane and the feywild and often have several portals to both. These portals will have stone or mushroom rings as markers and the access to them is guarded by different types of fey. The Sidhe rarely allow outsiders to visit these realms and even more rarely allow them to leave without paying some price. The rewards can often be great for those who seek a elven dream realm because they are steeped in unknown magics.
The second camp is the Bane-Sidhe who make war upon strangers in ever more bloodier battles. Bane-Sidhe call their pocket dream realms Dris and these are often darky beautiful worlds. Entrances to Dris are often caves or the darkest places in a forest or swamp. Surprisingly the Bane-Sidhe will often allow outsiders to enter a Dris but will either hunt the interlopers for sport, play cruel games with them, or unleash various beasts on the would be adventure seekers. This tendency for dark magics will sometimes cause a Dris to grow beyond control and the Bane-Sidhe will be forced to abandon them. An abandoned elven realm will often be a wild, untamable, and dangerous place.
Elves differ widely in appearance but are always pleasing to look upon. One trait all elves share is a deep connection to magic and the most powerful bards and wizards come from this race.
Elf Traits
Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of thousands of years of elven refinement.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven perspective is based on a life which can last thousands of years. To rejuvenate themselves an elf will journey to a Tir or Dris and enter a dream like trance that can last a century or more. A player may choose the Eldar background to represent an elf newly arisen from this torpor. Most elves start around the same age as humans but there is no effective limit to their age (although there are few elves beyond a thousand years old).
Alignment. Elves love freedom, variety, and self-expression, so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. The bitterness they experience through the encroachment into their territory makes them lean toward a neutral attitude.
Size. Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it w ere dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Elven Step. You are impossibly sure footed and may ignore penalties for non-magical difficult terrain.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Fey Friend. Creatures of the Fey type initially regard you in either a neutral or friendly manner. In a conflict they may avoid physically attacking or even offer to parley.
Oath. Elves may be very temperamental but their word is their bond. If you give an oath to accomplish a goal or deed then you are affected as if by a geas spell. Break enchantment and similar magic cannot end this affect. An elf can never be tricked into giving their oath and are always aware that they are initiating one. Elves often use oaths as a form of payment between each other. Elven nobles can require an oath as a form of punishment.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires.
Sidereal Elf
Sometimes called high elves or star elves, these elves are leaders in Faerie Courts and often have connections with other fey. In appearance the sidereal elves lean toward lighter skin, hair and eyes and often favor bright colors for clothes.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Read the Stars. While you sleep during a long rest you may gain temporary insight into the future. You may take advantage on one attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. Once used you can’t use this ability until taking another long rest.
Sidereal Magic. You know the Minor Illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Comprehend Languages spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Suggestion spell once per day. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Penumbral Elf
Sometimes called dark elves or shadow elves, this folk often dwell in the deepest of wilds and can be very suspicious of outsiders. These elves tend toward darker tones of dress with skin tones ranging from pale white to ashen to sometimes almost coal black skin.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Mask of Shadow. You may attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured.
Penumbral Magic. You know the Minor Illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Faerie Fire spell once per day. When you reach 5 level you can cast Misty Step once per day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Current Characters I am playing: Dr Konstantin van Wulf | Taegen Willowrun | Mad Magnar
Check out my homebrew: Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Feats
Giving this race a bump.
Some info on the elven fey realms (Tirs and Dris)...The idea behind these realms is that they would serve in part as dungeons for the PC's to adventure in.
Tir na nOg. An eternal realm consisting of the dreams of the Summer Queen Titania herself. This land is a magical forest where features can change dramatically from day to day. One morning can dawn with a perfect summer day only for night to bring a chill winter snow. The landscape can change as well as flowing rivers become dry riverbeds and tremendous oaks sprout from acorns overnight. The changes never seem to perturb the fey and elven inhabitants as they enjoy the variety and celebrate the chaos as if a new holiday.
PCs could journey to Tir na nOg in order to garner long forgotten magic or knowledge from Titania. Her price will often be an extreme deed or test. Pluck a flower from a mountain peak or host a magnificent dinner. The connection to chaos means that Tir na nOg can harbor many dangers and the fey can be a fractious lot constantly vying for the attentions of the Queen.
Scath Dris. A dark and dangerous realm long abandoned by the Bane-Sidhe. A long ago the black dragon Sinach drove out most of the fey within and claimed the Dris for itself. Scath Dris is now a great eldritch swamp filled with all the horrors a sleeping dragon can dream of. The few fey still inhabiting Scath Dris are a bent and twisted lot. They can be convinced by PCs to provide information but will likely led the unwary to a nasty fate.
PCs could travel to Scath Dris in order to retrieve a lost heirloom for a Bane-Sidhe prince or they may be here with the intention of slaying the dragon and possibly claiming the Dris for themselves as a base of operations.
Current Characters I am playing: Dr Konstantin van Wulf | Taegen Willowrun | Mad Magnar
Check out my homebrew: Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Feats
I really dig it. The oath is a great idea reminds me of iron sworn in that it's baked in motivation that's always a plus. Cool concept overall.
Thanks a bunch. I've found that the oaths can be a bit tricky to implement. Players tend to avoid them even if it's something fairly benign and mostly role play.
When I run this again I may have to just make it a social thing rather than the actual geas spell.
Current Characters I am playing: Dr Konstantin van Wulf | Taegen Willowrun | Mad Magnar
Check out my homebrew: Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Feats