High Elf

Personality

High Elves are more often amused than excited, and more likely to be curious than greedy. With such a long life span, they tend to keep a broad perspective on events, remaining aloof and unfazed by petty happenstance. When pursuing a goal, however, whether an adventurous mission or learning a new skill or art, they can be focused and relentless. They are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. They reply to petty insults with disdain and to serious insults with vengeance.

Physical Description

They are short and slim, standing about 4' 6" to 5' 6" tall and typically weighing 95 to 135 pounds, with the men the same height as and only marginally heavier than the women. They are graceful but frail and tend to be pale-skinned and dark-haired, with deep green eyes. Elves have no facial or body hair. They prefer simple, comfortable clothes, especially in pastel blues and greens, and they enjoy simple yet elegant jewelry. The lathlani possess unearthly grace and fine features. Many humans and members of other races find them hauntingly beautiful. An elf reaches adulthood at about 110 years of age and can live to be more than 700 years old.

Relations

The High Elf have the best relations with those humanoid races that live close to and respect nature: halflings, gnomes (forest gnomes in particular), half-elves, and other elves. While they respect the power and integrity of dwarves, they cannot understand their culture or the ways, and prefer to leave them alone. They are generally distrustful of humans, as they seem too eager to make and break promises, but tend to evaluate each one as an individual case. They look on half-hobgoblins and half-orcs as wretched creatures, only one step away from reverting to their barbaric nature. To the High Elves, hobgoblins are more like a destructive force of nature, such as an earthquake, than a sentient race, and treat them as such.

Alignment

High Elves have a free spirit and tend to be normally Chaotic Good. Their emotional standing of being at liberty but distant leans them to a chaotic background, but also beings so dedicated their tendencies are of the good side.

High Elf Lands

High elves live all across Tellene, but their largest numbers are in Cilorealon, the Kalokopeli Forest and the Brindonwood. High Elves are content to remain within their lands and let the other races fight over the rest of the continent. They have grown weary of dealing with the short-lived races, especially the humans, and now prefer to let them run their course. However, should any race encroach on what the high elves perceive to be their domain, they will quickly learn what force has made the high elves one of the longest lasting races on Tellene.

Religion

In terms of religion, it is very personal to the elves. High Elves favor worship of Raconteur, The Guardian, The Riftmaster, The Pure One, The Shimmering One and the Lord of Silver Linings. To a lesser extent, they also revere the Eye Opener, The Great Huntress and The Raiser.

Languages

They speak High Elven among themselves, but they use Low Elven when speaking to non-elves. They are adept linguists and usually understand Merchant’s Tongue as well (they consider it a rather simple tongue) but rarely speak it, forcing their trade partners to use Low Elven (the “original” merchant’s tongue).

Adventures

High elf adventurers are members of every class, but their natural affinity for magic makes them skilled wizards, and to a lesser extent, sorcerers. Their closeness to nature makes them ideal rangers and druids, and elven fighters display unparalleled skill with the longsword and longbow. High elves also make capable rogues and bards. High Elven paladins and monks are rare, but not unheard of. A High Elven barbarian would be a unique sight, and would have been the result of unusual circumstances.