The Elves of Lakeport

So this is another expansion of the work i have been doing on my Lakeport setting.  Today i’m going to talk about the Elves of this world, and how they were shaped by it. Once the Elves are finished, we'll cover the Half Elves, and then it's off to another group of interesting people.  Let’s dig into the Elves.

The History of the Elves

The world of Lakeport began in darkness and slowly took on form of its own.  In this time, the sun and stars didn’t burn, and it was a formless mass of rock and water.  Two divine sparks found this nascent world and bent and shaped it into their home.  They made a hospitable land that life could grow out of.  They ignited the stars and brought light into this world of their design.  These two beings planted a great seed of energy that blossomed into the Fey.  These original Fey took on aspects of the world around them, and for every plant and animal that grew or walked, a Fey claimed it as their own.  Some Fey took ideas and nature as their own, and the Fey of the elements were born.  They built a great city to live in, and worshipped their makers as Gods.  these two deities coalesced into Grandfather Oak and Grandmother Lion, and they ruled over their people with kindness and wonder.

Ages passed (time mattered little to the immortal Fey) and others emerged in the world.  The great Wyrms of Dragonkind and the Giants appeared on the edges of the Fey’s forest home.  The first Orcs migrated into the world, taking a corner of the forest as their own.  The first humans were encountered by a party of Fey nobles, and the ones that survived the hunting trip were brought back to Feyhome.  The Fey even met the first of the Walkers and the Watchmen during this time, but they were the undisputed masters of the world...for a time.

 

During this grand summer, the Fey took possession of the humans, and utilized them as servants, hosts, and soldiers in their armies.  However, the Fey had no concept of mortality, and found their human servants poorly adjusting to the rigors of time, illness, and war.  The greatest fleshcrafters of the Fey came together and decided that something had to be done.  

 

Combining a very tiny amount of fey energy with human stock, the Fleshcrafters spent ages warping the two incompatible elements into a functional being.  Finally pleased with their results, the Fey welcomed the Elves into their service.  The elves filled the gap between the timeless Fey and the mortality of the humans.

 

Elves filled a necessary niche for the Fey, and became the primary administrators of the domains and cities of their immortal masters.  Their deep connection to the Fey (and their Gods) granted the elves greater divine powers than most other creatures, and to this day, the Elves are extremely well versed in divine magic and the ways of the gods.  

The Fey War

The war that crippled the fey as a dominant power was an ugly brutal affair that damaged the world.  Mountains were shattered, sections of the great forest burnt to ashes, and the rivers and lakes were unmade and reshaped to suit another purpose.  Eventually, with the intervention of the new deities, the Fey War ended with a narrow victory for the world.  The Me’Ah’Chin were destroyed and their factories removed from reality.  The Elves fared better than their creators and ended up one of the most dominant groups in the world after the war ended.    

Modern Elves

Elves have situated themselves in most communities throughout the Great Forest.  They have two primary ethnic groups, the Crown elves and the Scepter Elves.  The Crown elves claim kinship to the elves that ruled the cities of the Fey, while the Scepter Elves lay claim to the lost places of the wild world.  They are quick to make friends with their neighbors and are easy to get along with.

Appearance

Crown and Scepter Elves have interesting color patterns.  Crown elves have dark skin the color of chocolate and straight, dark hair in a variety of colors.  Scepter elves are lighter in coloration, but have frizzy, curly hair.  Both ethnic groups have giant (almost comically large) ears.  They average six feet tall and weigh 140 to 160 lbs.  

 

Personality

Both ethnicities of Elves have a tinge of melancholy to their existence.  The empire they were created to support has fallen, and there are no signs that it will rise again ever.  This has left an emptiness in their collective hearts, and elves go out of their way to build communities and help their neighbors.  They are reverential towards ancient fey and the remnants of their empire.  

Society

Elves have a few small societies of their own.  These are organized with an eldest first policy, and the oldest of the elves serve as leaders and teachers to younger elves and others who come to live in their societies.  It’s more likely to find elves living in other communities as teachers and advisers to the leaders of those communities.  Elves have excellent memories, and often tell stories or epic poems as a means of teaching and entertaining their neighbors.  

Adventurers

Elves are not drawn to the adventuring life easily.  They are extremely happy in their communities organizing and helping others.  The few that are drawn to adventure usually are pulled by ancient stirrings or unearthly desires to seek out something or to help right an ancient wrong.  They are stalwart companions and often know many things about the ancient world.  

Religion

Elves follow one of the four surviving Archfey.  Grandfather Oak, Grandmother Lion, The North Wind, or the Black Ocean.  The Grandparents are the progenitor gods of most living things, and have much in common with other nature gods.  The North Wind is a champion of virtue and honorable conduct who seeks to elevate the culture of his worshippers.  The Black Ocean is a dark deity who seeks to remake the world into a more pleasing version for the Fey, consequences be damned.  Elves are one of the few races in the world that don’t have a god of their own, but Grandfather Oak watches over them just like they were pure fey.  

Rules addendums

Elves from this setting have the following changes:

Ability Scores:

Elves have a +2 Wisdom.  This replaces the Elf racial ability score bonuses.  

Subraces:

Crown Elves

 

Crown Elves have the following Racial Traits

 

Ability Score Increase:  Crown Elves increase their Dexterity by 1.

 

Elf Weapon Training: (as High Elves)

Cantrip:  Crown Elves know one cantrip of choice from the Cleric spell list.  Wisdom is their spellcasting ability for it.  

Scepter Elves

 

Scepter Elves have the following Racial Traits

 

Ability Score Increase:  Scepter Elves increase their Constitution by 1.

 

Elf Weapon Training: (as High Elves)

Cantrip:  Crown Elves know one cantrip of choice from the Druid spell list.  Wisdom is their spellcasting ability for it.