Additional Notes and Thoughts on Elves in Inzeladun
Elves are Different in Inzeladun
In Inzeladun, Elves are not humanoid. They are fey. As fey, they can have other abilities other than the few offered in the Core Rulebooks. However, for a PC elf, these abilities must be paid for. Similar to the Prestige Races presented in Dragon 304, a PC elf can spend experience points to gain these additional fey powers from Fantasy Flight Games' Monster's Handbook.
Aura of Beauty (Su): 1,600 XP
Aura of Wretched Horror (Su): 500 XP
Dreaming (Su): 11,980 XP
Life Stealer (Su): 11,980 XP
Song of Blood Dancing (Su): 1,800 XP
Song of Nature's Desire (Su): 1,600 XP
Tree Spirit (Ex): 11,980 XP
Woodland Allies (Su): 900 XP
Further, Elves can take the Seelie Court Fey or Unseelie Court Fey templates also found in Dragon 304, as well as various fey feats and prestige classes found in Wizard of the Coast's Fey Features.
Good-aligned Elves will not willingly kill another good-aligned fey.
Attitudes outside of Faerie
Humans consider Elves to be spirits (which is true, but not in the way humans perceive the term). Most humans consider Elves to be dangerous, stealing babies and other such activities. Some humans consider Elves to be holy. Nearly all humans are uncomfortable around Elves. Human priests that can cast spells are never made uncomfortable by Elves (often because they share the same ability to see, or sense at the least, the aura). Humans in Zakhara do not treat Elves any differently, however. They are the exceptions of the entire human race.
Drychtnothians tend to truly hate Elves, often enslaving those that they catch.Rarity
Elves are rare outside Faerie. Even in Faerie, the numbers of Elves do not approach even 2% of the total number of humans in the world. Most Elves that choose to venture into the lands of the Humans travel to Zakhara, for there they are not treated with prejudice. A few have ventured into the Western lands of Inzeladun, however. Tho'ef Sharpshooter was a prominent Elf of the Sixth and Seventh Ages. Sha'a is one who has been amongst humans for most of human history. Neria, a defender of the Elvish Way, ventured in amongst the humans in the Seventh Age. The radical mystic Elah, a grey elf, wandered into the Human lands to teach them to consciously evolve and learn, teaching them things most Elves feel only Elves could understand. Githoniel, an Elf who was taught to be human, existed during the Sixth and Seventh Ages, disappearing during the Eighth. Anzoshi was sent into the Human lands during the Eighth Age.Elves tend to give birth to females more often than males. Female elves outnumber the males three to one.
Physical Description
High Elves have slanted eyes and circular pupils. Gray elves have slanted eyes, but have slits (like a cat) for pupils and have slight fangs.
Reincarnation
Elves tend to believe all things are on an evolutionary path toward total enlightenment. The soul, or spirit, reincarnates over and over, moving up or down this evolutionary path, learning as it goes the things it needs to know for this enlightenment. A soul chooses its form as it knows what it lacks and what it needs to learn.A soul often begins its journey as an animal to learn to be in harmony with the natural forces of the planet. Some souls become magical creatures to learn harmony with the forces of magic that infuse the planet. Souls then progress toward human form, to learn many things. These things are often quickly learned, hence the short life span of humans. There are huge numbers of humans, indicating that a soul becomes human over and over, learning many lessons, especially learning skills of reasoning and self-awareness. The path of the soul then leads toward the halfling race, learning to integrate harmony with the planet with the skills of reasoning and self-awareness. Then the soul takes on the properties of a spirit and it becomes a gnome, learning to integrate harmony with magic with the natural harmonies gained and the skills of reasoning and self-awareness already learned. Then the path moves and the spirit-soul takes the physical shell of an Elf. The barbarian Elves are lowest on the path and Grey Elves the highest. It has been said that after an Elf dies, the spirit takes its own form and becomes a planetar or a solar.
Note that most Elves do not believe Humans are on the evolutionary path anymore, that they split from that after the Cataclysm. This is a point of contention among the Elves. Elah, a mystic who travels the Human lands, is one of the staunch supporters of the theory that humans are still on the path, just as they were prior to the Cataclysm that ended the Fourth Age. This attitude is definitely the minority opinion and it is believed among High Elves that Elah was cast from the Faeries for heresy. The Grey Elves claim Elah left on his own accord to prove his theories. Elah himself maintains the latter claim. Certainly no other Elves have been cast from Faerie for believing this minor "heresy".Dwarves are not on the evolutionary path. If Dwarves have souls, they seem to either not reincarnate, or only reincarnate as another Dwarf. Elves consider Dwarves to be unnecessary and out of tune with all things, outside the path of true souls. This seems to spur the animosity Elves feel toward Dwarves (and Giants, Ogres, and such).
A Half-Elf is an abomination to an Elf, a spirit that is forced to remain a soul, placed forever outside the path, for a half-elven soul becomes a Dark Spirit after death and reincarnates as a Dark Elf, for a half-elf learns hate and vengeance, prejudice and self-doubt.A Dark Elf is hated above all things, for it is a spirit that has chosen Evil as opposed to Enlightenment. A Dark Elven spirit is believed to pass on as demons, devils, and other lower planar denizens.
An Orc is a spirit that was twisted by Yogath Hob into something evil. Often evil humans who refuse to learn during their lives are permitted to become Orcs. Orc spirits pass on to become Dark Elves in time.Some humans, due to the short life span, intend not to allow their souls to evolve further. They choose to become Undead. These are Liches, Mummies, Vampires, and Ghosts. Their souls become dead and their bodies continue to be animated. Their souls leave the path of enlightenment forever, a choice of immortal sorrow, from the Elvish point of view. Those who make this choice become objects of extreme hatred by Elves. Some undead are the result of curses or other means not of the soul's choosing. These unfortunates are truly pitied by the Elves, for their souls are forever lost. The status of sentient golems is under much debate by Elvenkind (due to the inclusion of the flesh golem Lenore as an Elf). Most maintain that a Golem is a soul stolen from the course of enlightenment, unable to ever regain that path, doomed to eternal death, or to become a Dark Spirit after death. But a staunch few, including the radical Elah Baruch Thriah Asha Sindarin, maintain that proper training and learning can re-establish a soul, any soul, back on the true path toward enlightenment.
Some Elves are very in tune with the supernatural. Elvish priests are 100% likely to be able to cast priestly magic, for they are completely in tune with the supernatural forces they worship. (This is opposed to the human rate of less than 1% that can cast priestly spells, for few humans are that in tune with anything, much less a deity. Most Elves consider those few human priests that can cast spells to be on the last phase of the soul's human journey, skipping the Halfling and Gnomish phases upon death and joining the ranks of the Elves. As a result, Elves tend to have a lot of respect for the True Priests of any of the "lesser" races.An Elf is in tune with all things natural, and often with the supernatural. An Elf can sense the natural aura of all things. Most can see the aura surrounding things, for an Elf's eyes are more sensitive to light than a human's (hence the Elvish darkvision capabilities). This ability of the Elves gives them some slight ability to detect alignments and magic. Halflings, Gnomes, and other Elves are not bothered by this skill, but Humans seem to feel it is akin to peering into their very souls, leaving humans feeling very discomforted and nervous. Dwarves do not exude an aura noticeable by Elves, making Elves uncomfortable.