Homebrew Draconic Elf Species Details

"I HAVE NEVER IMAGINED THE TALES WERE TRUE",  Rurik thought. The battle has been happening for way too long now, and the small dwarf couldn't remember how many enemies he killed. Even after their effort, the Alliance was losing yet another battle against the Empire. And suddenly, everything changed.






The creature landed in front of him, spreading her leather wings so the dwarf could retreat. As the enemy warriors closed in, she dodged every single blow, her silver hair shaped in a ponytail bouncing around, her wings and limbs moving exactly when needed to avoid the enemies' weapons. And just like that, she counter-attacked with such fury and precision that her enemies couldn't answer. One... Two... Three minions slayed later, she looked up, her ponity ears and black horns perfectly visible at the cloudy night. Her hand was raised, and fire covered all her figure. The flames exploded and suddenly the small draconic elf was no more.


In her place, a giantic white dragon appeared and started flying, ready to show the battlefield why draconic was their name.





- Unknown, Scroll at Moon's Queen Temple

 

Draconic elves are magical people created from a god's blessing and called to arms as soon as they could. Destined to end the Old Wars, those elves fought to find their place in the world and escape the violence spiral they were thrown into. They live all over the Alliance's lands, but favor the places of ethereal beauty common elves call home, and love nature, magic, art, music and any good things the world has to offer. They favor diplomacy but are not afraid to fight, using all unnatural skills gave to them through the Blessing to bring their enemies to justice and end the evil spread arousing all over Alberon's lands.

Bahamut's Gifts

Draconic elves combine the beauty and grace of an elf with the mighty sight of a dragon. They are slightly higher than elves on average, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. They still are more slender than humans, but their wings and horns give the creatures an extra weight, ranging totally from 130 to 180 pounds. Males and females are about the same height, and males are only marginally heavier than females.

Draconic elves' coloration encompasses the normal elven range and also includes skin in shades of their elements' colors. Their hair range to almost any color, their eyes are always as blue as Bahamut's eyes, and their wings follow their skin's colors. Draconic elves' horns coloration usually includes shades of brown or black, and can have natural or hand-made white formations that many find artistic and beautiful. They still have no facial and little body hair, and find elegancy in simple but well-made clothing.

When morphed into dragons, the elves' scales assume their element's color and their hair, eyes and horns keep their original colors.

Blood Blessing

Seeing humans grow more and more greedy, and chaotic dragons starting to forge alliances with mortals, Bahamut felt in need to break his own dogma and help his followers overcome the enemy's forces. Created as a swift response to Tiamat's machinations, Bahamut gave a blessed vial of his blood to the most lawful good elven family alive amongst his followers. During a cerimony at Bahamut's Castle, all members of the chosen family received the blessed blood as the ritual began. For several days, they were assisted by Bahamut's healers to overcome the unbearable pain from the mutations and alterations that the blood has given them. As the ritual ended, the chosen elves found themselves changed forever.

As some of them live well over 1000 years, draconic elves relate mostly between their own and elves, their blood-brothers. They have the same broad perspective of problems as the common elves, and are usually amused by shorter-lived races and their view of the world. They are likeyly to be curious and humble, and live to know more about life itself, travelling, adventuring and learning everything they see fit. They can be focused and relentless, and won't ever forget a friend or an enemy.

After some time, the romantic relationships stablished between draconic elves and common elves lead to the discovery that Bahamut's blessing is final and dominant, and in the rare occasions they could breed with their original race, a draconic elf was born out of it. Pregnancy does not occur as expected though, as their child can only be born out of true love and the egg that protects it is magically made of a piece of both parent's heart. Its structure is indestructible and only the child can decide when it will come out of the egg, resulting in an event called The Hatch.

The Hatch

 Of the few that still know the draconic elves, no one really knows what conditions could they impose to hatch their eggs and join the fight one last time. Are they waiting for the right companions? Or do they want to be brought to their family's temple to be reunited during the hatch? What reason could they have to wait for so long?
 
You can define what was the turning point at your draconic elf's incubation that made he or she finally leave the egg. Has it's chosen one come? Was it placed at the proper site? Was the right item offered to it? Whatever answer you find, your character will be forever bond to it, so choose carefully as losing your unique bond can be quite troublesome.

The first contact to the outter world is made in dragon form, and it takes 9 (1d6 + 5) months so the draconic elf can metamorph for the first time.

War and Peace

Draconic elves live all over Alberon, but tend not to be in the same place for too long. Bahamut's blessing gave them wings, and this particular feature stimulated a new sense of freedom for the race, allowing them to spread easily all over their allies' lands.

Although Bahamut despised battle, their children were born as the world urged for help to defeat the evil forces that overcame the land. Swift and precise, not only draconic elves were built to do virtually anything, they also could do almost everything with excellence. Fierce fighters, precise rangers and powerful wizards, those who fought the Old Wars turned impossible battles into quick skirmishes. Even so, conscient of their godly powers, Draconic elves usually use violence as a last resort, relying on their diplomatic skills and frightening look to stop aggressions before they start.

It didn't take long before mortals around them started seeing the draconic elves as demigods of sorts, and those who could not fight started new faiths and built new temples for the best and bravest warriors of their time. Even so, most draconic elves saw this behaviour as a simple reaction to the unknown, and behaved as common and humble creatures who wanted nothing but peace for Alberon, even if they had to fight for it.

Child of the Apocalypse

As the Old Wars ended and all Alberon was left deformed and destroyed, the draconic elves vanished from the land, consumed by the fabric of magic as a price for the five thousand years of ferocious battle. Just as magic and the old faith, their race was gradually forgotten by the survivors of Alberon.

Nowadays, the temples built for the draconic elves are lost and invaded by evil creatures, and the faith in them completelly destroyed and abandoned. No words are said about the brave race that was born and destroyed by the Old Wars, and not even the elves, their distant blood-brothers, remember their existance.

Even though the fabric of magic claimed its price for the Old Wars, a few draconic elves remain, as the ones still inside their indestructible eggs while their race vanished survived the purge. And as the golden age of heroes rise once more at Alberon, those eggs survive, scattered accross the lands and waiting for a proper environment so they can be born once more.

Draconic Elf Names

Draconic elves are considered children until they declare themselves adults, some time after the hundreth birthday, and before this period they are called by child names.

On declaring adulthood, an draconic elf selects an adult name, although those who knew him or her as a youngster might continue to use the child name. Both their child and adult name are decided by the elf itself, not their parents, during the egg incubation and when they reach adulthood. Draconic elves usually have names from common elves or dragonborns.

Draconic 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

Bahamut's blood had several effects to the elven lineage it was presented. Even though draconic elves reach physical adulthood after only 10 years, the elven uderstanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. A draconic elf claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100, and can live well beyond 1000 years.

Alignment

Living for a long time amongst common elves, draconic elves also learned to love freedom variety and self-expression, creating for many an inclination to the gentle chaotic. They value and protect others' freedom as well as their own, and they are almost always good.

Size

Draconic elves are slightly higher than the common elf, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Flight

You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To use this speed, you can't be wearing medium or heavy armor.

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 were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Senses

You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Draconic Form

You have a draconic form. Choose one type of dragom from the Dragon Type table. Once a day, you can perform an action to change to your draconic or elfic form.

At 1st level, morphing between forms takes 3 rounds of concentration and when the process is finished, you toggle to the other form (if you are elfic, you become draconic, or vice-versa). The age of your draconic form is defined by your total level, according to the Dragon Age table. Your draconic form possess your Abilities and Hit Points, but its Armor Class, Speed, Saving Throws, Skills, Damage Immunities, Senses, and Actions are defined by the form itself.

At 10th level, morphing between forms becomes an instant action. At 20th level, you can morph between forms as an bonus action during battle.

 

Unique Bond

During the Hatch, your character bonded with whatever reason made it come out of the egg.
If the bond target is destroyed (if the target is a place or item) or if it is killed (if the target is a living being), your Hit Points are permanently cut by half.

At 1st level, if the bond target is a living being, your thoughts are shared involuntarily and you have mutual knowledge. At 10th level, your character can define when and what thoughts and knowledge are shared with its bond target.

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.