Homebrew Bosmer Species Details

"The clanfolk of the forests of Valenwood, also known as "Bosmer", wood elves make good scouts and thieves, and there are no finer archers in all of Tamriel. They can Command Animals to fight for them. Bosmer are mischievous, curious and nimble. Because their homeland of Valenwood is often attacked, Wood Elves are experts at the art of defense. They are incredibly intuned with nature and commands the respect of the creatures that dwell within it. A far cry from the magical prowess of other elves, Bosmer are seen as a barbaric people who abandoned civilization."

A Forest of Colors

While most elves are well-known for being magically talented, Bosmer do not fit that mold as well as their Altmer and Dunmer brethren do. Their magic tends to specialize more on the manipulation of nature, making Bosmer excellent Druids and Rangers. The Bosmer are one of the smallest races in Tamriel with males being smaller than females. They are born with skin colors ranging from light brown to pale tan to light green. Some Bosmer also may have horns. The Wood Elves lineage is less noble than that of the Altmer, but they have adapted well to Tamriel.

Forest Folk

Bosmer hail from the province of Valenwood. Rejecting the formalities of the civilized world, the Bosmer discarded lavish living for a life in the wilderness, among nature, the trees, and animals. In fact, their major cities are actually located in giant walking trees that roam the forest province of Valenwood. They decorate their bodies to resemble their forest surroundings. Because of this, many view them as barbarians. Despite their infamy, they are known to be extremely agile and quick. Their nimbleness serves them best in any art involving thievery. Many are well-respected archers, due to their inherent mastery of the bow.

Collectively, they are known as the "Wood Elves," but Bosmer or Tree Sap People are synonymous terms for this group of people. Tree Sap suggests the wild vitality and youthful energy of the Wood Elves, in contrast with their more dour cousins, the Altmer and Dunmer. In the Aldmeri Language "bos" means "forest" and "mer" means "people," so "Bosmer" translates to "Forest People."

Carnivorous Pact

The Bosmer allegedly made the Pact with Y'ffre, the Forest Deity. The Bosmer were religiously carnivorous and cannibalistic as a result of the Green Pact, a central portion of the Bosmer faith. The Green Pact is never explicitly shown, but in its simplest form, it sets these rules down: Bosmer may only consume meat-based products and are forbidden to harm any plant for their own betterment. As a result of these stipulations, Bosmer are dependent on either stone or imported timber for construction purposes.

The Green Pact has also heavily impacted Bosmeri cuisine, combat, and weaponry. They have developed methods of fermenting meat and milk to develop powerful alcoholic beverages and weapons such as bows are often made of treated and shaped bones. Most notable about Bosmeri combat is their stipulation that a combatant must consume an enemy's corpse within 3 days of killing them. Their families are allowed to help eat the kill. This has led to changes in approaches to combat, such as fasting and planning family feasts following a battle. They also cannot smoke anything of a vegetable nature. Bone pipes are common, however, and are filled with caterpillars or tree grubs.

Pure Beginnings

Writings describe the Bosmer's settling on the shores of Valenwood in a different way than most historical records describe. It says that the Bosmer, Almer at the time, wanted to be free of the main-stream way of life on the Summerset Isles and instead wanted to live a life of simplicity in the forest and, because of this, left their home of their own accord. However, some tomes describe the Altmer landing on the shores of the province in ancient times and leaving some of their own people behind so that they would have ties to the Tamrielic mainland when in a time of need. Regardless of the truth of this, the Bosmer have chosen to make their homes far from civilization.

Bosmer Names

The Bosmer greatly value diversity; even their names are so diverse that it's usually unnecessary to proffer family names. Most Bosmer names consist of 3 syllables. Many Male Bosmer names have an O near the end of their name, with a letter or two behind it. ex: -ol, -on, -oln, -os, -or, -orn, -oth, etc. For Female Bosmer, it is very much the same except with an A or I substituting for the O. There are cases with male/female having the other gender's common endings, but these are much less common.

Male Names: Anoriath, Beleval, Enthir, Elrindr, Malborn, Niruin

Female Names: Anuriel, Nimriel, Ungrien, Wylandriah 

Bosmer Traits

While they differ drastically from other elves, Bosmer share many traits in common with each other.

Magical Companion

Making their homes in the dense forests of Valenwood, Bosmer spend their entire lives with animals. You have managed to create a spirit-bond with one of these creatures, granting it the powers of a familiar. You may see through this creature's eyes and hear through its ears at will, but you lose the ability to do so with your own body while linked. If this creature is ever killed, it goes to a pocket dimension to recover its wounds, and may be returned to Nirn once per short rest. It may also be returned to this pocket dimension at will, in which case, it does not count against the one-per-short-rest restriction. This does not cost a spell slot or components. The form of this creature may branch from the species allowed by the Find Familiar spell, but must be lore-relevant based on your Wood Elf's backstory.

Eagle-Eyed

By far the most skilled group of archers in Tameriel, all Bosmer have an innate talent with ranged weapons. You have proficiency with all bows and crossbows.

Command Animal

It is said that Bosmer can tame even the most aggressive of animals. Starting at level 1, once per long rest as an action, you can completely calm a creature with an intelligence of 5 or less. It fails if the intelligence is 6 or higher. The animal has to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a successful throw, the target becomes docile and will not attack you or your party for 24 hours. On a failed throw, the target is placed under your control for 24 hours and will respond to commands. If the animal is harmed by anyone it sees as friendly during this time, the spell breaks and it will become aggressive again.

Any single creature can only be controlled for a max of 24 hours.

Nature's Bounty

All Bosmer have an innate connection to nature. At level one, you may choose a cantrip from the Druid spell list to learn. Wisdom is your spell modifier for this cantrip.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, they live to be far older. The oldest Bosmer can live to be 1000 years old.

Alignment

A carefree and easygoing race, Bosmer live in a world where freedom and expression are the law of the land and have very few rules to follow. They tend to favor a Chaotic alignment. While Bosmer society does have laws and governing systems, it is extremely lax and they find civilized society to be extremely restrictive. Bosmer can be Lawful, but it takes an extremely tolerant individual to conform to such an aliment for long. They are almost never evil outwardly, however, as their world is tied tightly to nature and they try to do right by it.

Size

The shortest of the races in Tamriel, Bosmer typically do not break 5 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You have a swimming speed of 15 and a climbing speed of 15.

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.

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.