Homebrew Christmas Elf Species Details

 

The life of a Christmas Elf is scheduled and consistent. Hard working little buggers, they chip away at an ever growing and ever complex challenge of crafting every child's Christmas dreams each year. Enjoying one peaceful day of rest a year, they get right back to work on December 26th. They don't generally mind this lifestyle, there isn't much else to do in the North Pole anyways, but every once in a while you'll find one who breaks the mold in one way or another.

Small and Practical

The diminutive elves survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense. Standing about 3 feet tall, they appear relatively harmless. They are inclined to be stout, weighing between 40 and 45 pounds.

Christmas Elves skin ranges from tan to pale with a ruddy cast, and their hair is usually brown or sandy brown and wavy. They have brown or hazel eyes. The men often sport long sideburns, but beards are rare among them and mustaches even more so. They like to wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes, favoring bright colors.

Their practicality extends beyond their clothing. They’re concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. After working all day, they hope to relax in the quiet and simplicity of their homes, with no need for grand displays. Even the wealthiest of Christmas Elves keep their treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering.

Kind and Curious

Christmas Elves are an affable and cheerful people. They cherish the bonds of family and friendship as well as the comforts of hearth and home, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually venture into the world for reasons of community, friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. They love discovering new things, even simple things, such as an exotic food or an unfamiliar style of clothing.

Christmas Elves are easily moved to pity and hate to see any living thing suffer. They are generous, happily sharing what they have even in lean times.

Blend into the Crowd

Christmas Elves are adept at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, or elves, making themselves valuable and welcome. The combination of their inherent stealth and their unassuming nature helps them to avoid unwanted attention. They work readily with others, and they are loyal to their friends, whether Christmas Elf or otherwise. They can display remarkable ferocity when their friends, families, or communities are threatened.

AFFABLE AND POSITIVE

Christmas Elves try to get along with everyone else and are loath to make sweeping generalizations—especially negative ones.

Dwarves. “Dwarves make loyal friends, and you can count on them to keep their word. But would it hurt them to smile once in a while?”

Elves. “They’re so beautiful! Their faces, their music, their grace and all. It’s like they stepped out of a wonderful dream. But there’s no telling what’s going on behind their smiling faces—surely more than they ever let on.”

Humans. “Humans are a lot like us, really. At least some of them are. Step out of the castles and keeps, go talk to the farmers and herders and you’ll find good, solid folk. Not that there’s anything wrong with the barons and soldiers—you have to admire their conviction. And by protecting their own lands, they protect us as well.”

Exploring Opportunities

Christmas Elves usually don't have any desire to leave home or set out on an 'adventure', but those who do set out on the adventurer’s path do so to defend their communities, support their friends, or explore a wide and wonder-filled world. For them, adventuring is less a career than an opportunity or sometimes a necessity.

Christmas Elf Names

A Christmas Elf has a given name, a family name, and possibly a nickname. Family names are often nicknames that stuck so tenaciously they have been passed down through the generations.

Male Names: Alton, Ander, Cade, Corrin, Eldon, Errich, Finnan, Garret, Lindal, Lyle, Merric, Milo, Osborn, Perrin, Reed, Roscoe, Wellby

Female Names: Andry, Bree, Callie, Cora, Euphemia, Jillian, Kithri, Lavinia, Lidda, Merla, Nedda, Paela, Portia, Seraphina, Shaena, Trym, Vani, Verna

Family Names: Brushgather, Goodbarrel, Greenbottle, High-hill, Hilltopple, Leagallow, Tealeaf, Thorngage, Tosscobble, Underbough

 

Christmas Elf Traits

Your Christmas Elf character has a number of traits in common with all other Christmas Elves.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age

A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of 20 and generally lives into the middle of his or her second century.

Size

Halflings average about 3 feet tall and weigh about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Lucky

When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Brave

You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Elven Nimbleness

You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and a special North Pole dialect of Elvish. The Elvish language isn’t secret, but Christmas Elves are loath to share their dialect and special words and phrases with others. They write very little, so they don’t have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all Elves speak Common to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which they are traveling.