Eccentric

The Quintessential Elf

Author Alejandro Melchor
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2002

While keeping their secrets protected from others, elves do establish friendly relationships with their neighbours, and prolonged contact gives rise to a few eccentric elves that prefer the company of the young races instead of that of their own kind. They have not been appointed as ambassadors, but take the path of the wanderer for their own purposes. When, and if, they return to their homeland, they bring with them new allies, proving to the rest of the elves that humans, dwarves and even half-orcs have things of value to contribute to the elven way of life. They are open and eager to learn from their friends, and quite capable of giving their lives for those they care about, without a care to how long they live or what size they grow to.

Adventuring: Eccentric elves gladly join adventuring parties composed of members of different races, and are quite happy to help their new companions in any personal quest, as long as they get something in return. This can be pay in gold, an equal share of any treasure found or simply the chance to experience new thrills and adventures. The eccentric does not understand his fellows’ reservations with the young races, as he finds them fascinating and well worth keeping an eye on. These elves are the most likely to fall in love with a human and bear a half-elf, something that does not endear them much to the rest of elvenkind.

Role-Playing: An eccentric elf may have an odd mannerism, even for an elf, as he tries to imitate his companions for the sheer fun of it. This is a good example of their character; having set out in Search of excitement and adventure, they tend to be joyful and whimsical. Drow eccentrics are, on the contrary, shy and insecure, yearning for the others’ acceptance and knowing full well how his people are seen by the rest of the world. These elves might seem foolish, but they are far from it, they just want to fill their long lives with wonderful memories, and reach a better understanding of the rest of the races that they share a world with.

Bonuses: Eccentrics are likeable, with their eagerness to help endearing them to their fellows. An eccentric can cast Charm Person as a spell-like ability once per day, sometimes doing this unconsciously. They use this ability as a caster of their level, with the DC equal to 11 plus Charisma modifier.

Penalties: Other elves see eccentrics as lost causes. All elf Non-Player Characters they meet start as Unfriendly, and will dismiss anything the eccentric says as just another of his quirks. In addition, their eagerness makes them somewhat naïve, imposing on them a -2 inherent penalty to Sense Motive checks and saving throws against Enchantment spells and effects, thus negating their racial bonus against them.