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Mist Elves

By August Malmström - Nationalmuseum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52134425, Mist Elves
August Malmström: Älvalek. NM 1223

Mist elves call themselves ‘the daoine’ and, like grey and wild elves, point to themselves as the first true elves.

The Quintessential Elf

Author Alejandro Melchor
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2002

They are a mystery even to their brethren, combining the arts and traits of most of the subraces to lend credence to their claims about their origin. Describing themselves as warrior-poets, the daoine are proud and passionate, but there is an almost imperceptible jaded edge to them, as if they were as old as they claim and know that the Age of Elf is soon to give way to the Age of Man. They pursue knowledge with the determination of a grey elf, enjoy song and dance with the abandon of a high elf, ponder their own nature with the depth of a sea elf and respect nature and privacy with the zeal of wood and wild elves. They can even be as sinister as drow, when they set their minds to it.

Society

Mist elves are a mystical warrior race, and choose a king or queen from their most able fighters. The monarchs are advised by a Master of Lore, usually a high-level bard; a Master of Mysteries, usually a wizard or sorcerer, and a Master of Faith, usually a druid, but this can be a cleric instead. Below them, ranks and hierarchy blur as respect is awarded by feats of war, skill and wits in equal measure. Daoine nobles are undistinguishable from their subjects, as they must prove they are fit to rule while complying with the wishes of the monarch.

Tales and poetry are the backbone of the mist elves’ culture, with legends about heroes and wars taking precedence among all others. They value talent and potential as much as accomplishments, and strive to meet that potential throughout their long lives. The daoine also love riddles, believing their own existence to be the greatest riddle of all. This passion for enigmas brings them closer to the dark things of the world, where other elves fear to tread, but the daoine step forth undaunted by the warnings, and many have lost their lives and souls in this pursuit. The rest of the mist elves mourn these fallen brethren and thank them for the way they paved for others to learn from their mistakes.

Mist elves are few, and fewer children are born decade after decade. This has forced them to adopt half-elves more closely than any other subrace, considering them full members of daoine society and allowed to marry pure-blooded mist elves. Their blood is thinning because of this, but they trust that the strength of their heritage will last until they find a solution.

Player Character Information

Mist elf characters have the following characteristics:

  • Personality: A daoine’s eyes burn with purpose and determination, and they tackle any challenge they meet with the same energy and enthusiasm. Their bravado hides some sadness that expresses itself when the elf gets drunk or just awakens from trance. A mist elf knows that his people have their days counted, and the only thing to do is enjoy the centuries they have left.
  • Physical Description: Under poor lighting conditions, a mist elf could be confused with a human, as their frames are taller and broader than those of other elves. Even their ears are not as pointed and their faces not as angular. Grey elves declare this is a sign of their blood’s corruption, but the daoine answer with a formal challenge to hand-to-hand combat, which tends to silence the offender quickly. They dress in vivid greens and blues, favouring short tunics and capes that tie at one shoulder. Warriors and sorcerers practice ritual scarring over their arms, and war paint gives them a ferocious aspect when charging into combat. Their blood remains the most potent among the elves, and they can live even longer than grey elves.
  • Relations: The lack of contact with the daoine is more a result of their rarity than of their hospitality. The doors to their cairns are open to anyone who can find them, for they are hidden by enchantments that test all the virtues the mist elves value. They are close friends to humans and dwarves, and gracious hosts to Halflings and Gnomes. The daoine enjoy annoying grey elves, while sharing songs and art with high elves.
    • They maintain a respectful distance from grugach and sylvan elves, though they will never turn them away. Rumours speak that they even accept drow as guests, but no one has found definite proof of this.
  • Alignment: Mist elves enjoy their freedom and chase after their own dreams with abandon, believing in the strength of the individual, much like the chaos the high elves follow. They hold the banner of good in their belief that material and spiritual wealth should be shared with those less fortunate, and that the weak deserve protection by the strong.
  • Mist Elf Lands: The daoine used to live in forests like high elves, but their diminishing numbers forced them to seek homes easier to defend.
    • They now live in cairns built under hills, close to the surface but still hidden from view. Daoine hills are further protected by enchantments that misguide uninvited guests. If the potential intruder actively searches for the entrance to a cairn, the magical barrier will provide three tests: one of strength, one of skill and the last of Wisdom. He will receive a warm welcome if he passes all three, but may die if he fails.
  • Religion: Mist elves’ faith does not differ much from that of high elves, with the exception that they hold fey creatures in high regard as unwitting divine messengers and the gods’ true firstborn.
  • Language: The Elvish spoken in daoine halls is a bit simpler and more concise than the normal language, but their bards and magicians can work miracles of literacy and poetry with them.
  • Adventurers: Daoine become adventurers as part of their quest for fulfilment. They join any party that follows their ideals and do their best to become an indispensable part of the group. Mist elves fall in love with humans during these journeys, and do their best to take them to their cairn to meet the rest of their clan.

Racial Traits

Mist elves have the same traits as high elves with the following differences.

  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, +2 Charisma.
  • Spell Resistance 5 + class level.
  • Darkvision: Daoine can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and mist elves can function just fine
    with no light at all.
  • Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day-Detect Magic, read magic. These abilities are as the spells cast by a sorcerer of the daoine’s character level.
  • Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan and Undercommon.
  • Favoured Class: bard.
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