Defenders of the Forest - Liber Fanatica

Chapter I: Playing Wood
Elf Characters
rumored that an ancient city from a time before Man lies at the
heart of the forest. Only the Laurëlorn Asrai truly know if the
city exists, but humans in the region speak of the Witch’s Wood
and a fabled City of Glass where the Elf Queen resides.
Elves who live within the Laurëlorn appear more refined than
their kin from Athel Loren. Many of the Laurëlorn Elves dwell
in settlements within the tree canopy, although there are also
those who live a nomadic lifestyle, moving from glade to glade
according to the availability of forage.
Hi n t e r g l a d e s
Scattered throughout the forests of the Old World are numerous
smaller Asrai settlements. The most notable ones are located in
the Great Forest and Reikwald Forest within the Empire, but
many others have been documented in places such as Kharnos
Forest in the Border Princes and Pina Wood in Estalia. The
Wood Elves from these smaller settlements are perhaps the most
likely to be found mingling with other races, either because their
settlements have been destroyed by deforestation or because
declining populations have rendered them unsustainable.
Displaced Hinterglade elves often adopt human characteristics,
taking on careers not usually found within Asrai culture and
dressing in styles to emulate the humans they regularly interact
with. At the opposite extreme, some Hinterglade elves are even
more isolated than even their Athel Loren kin. Some of these
reclusive ones worship sinister spirits, suggesting to humans that
they might be related to the “Dark Ones” from across the Great
Ocean.
Ro l e p l a y Tip: Pr i d e a n d Passion
Wood Elves appear cold and aloof to outside observers. Their
culture is sophisticated and challenging for outsiders to comprehend.
Most Wood Elves would prefer not to communicate at all
than to explain their way of life to strangers. At heart though,
they are an intensely passionate and emotional people, subject
to love, mirth, deep introspection as well as incendiary rage.
People are often surprised by the Wood Elves’ sudden change of
demeanour in the company of kindred spirits.
Wa y o f t h e Bo w
Wood Elves are outstanding archers, capable of feats well beyond
the abilities of their Ulthuan kin. Almost all Wood Elves train
with the bow allowing them to defend their forest homes at a
safe distance. PC Wood Elves may choose to begin with a bow
instead of a Hand Weapon (see WFRP pg. 20). At the GM’s
discretion, PCs that choose to train as archers by selecting
Specialist Weapon – Longbow are gifted by their lord with an
Elfbow (WFRP pg. 107).
The fabled elfbows are brought forth from the heart of a tree
with a magical song and are stronger than a normal longbow.
The string of an elfbow is often woven from the fine hair of an
Elf (usually a lover or sibling of the archer) making it resilient
to the effects of weather. Although the majority of elfbows are
made from ash or yew trees, just like the longbow, Elves also
seek out mythical trees, such as the fabled Wythel tree, which no
longer grows in Athel Loren. Wythels are said to make the finest
bows of all.
Op t i o n a l Ru l e : Ar c h e r y
The following optional rules can be used to make archery feel
more realistic.
Weather: Wet conditions can have a detrimental effect on the
elasticity of bowstrings. Unless a string is shielded from the
weather, there is a 25% chance that it loses some of its draw
strength, reducing ranges by 10 yards (this rule does not apply
to a bow strung with hair from an Elf).
Range: The further an arrow flies the more momentum it loses.
To represent this, all shots at long range suffer a -1 penalty to
base Damage. Shots made at point blank range gain a +1 Damage
bonus however.
Retrieval: Arrows are retrievable to be used again. An archer
searching for his arrow is able to spot it on a Challenging (-10)
Perception Test. Once found, the archer must roll 1d10: 1-2 =
arrow intact, 3-7 = damaged but repairable, and 8-10 = arrow
broken. The Perception Test can be modified according to terrain,
at GM’s discretion.
El t h a r i n
The Asrai rarely use the written word. Reading and writing are
reserved primarily for ritualistic liturgies. The Elven Rangertongue,
and the forest’s own mystical voice, has heavily influenced
their rustic dialect of Elthárin. Typical Wood Elf conversation
is much more brief and terse than the flowery and overly
verbose discourses favoured by High Elves. In more relaxed
circumstances, however, Asrai speech becomes more lyrical in
tone, almost like a whispered song.
Certain terms and phrases hold greater meaning to Wood
Elves than to their Ulthuan kin. The Asrai have come to attach
deeper symbolism to certain words; Athel means only “Noble”
to a High Elf, whereas Wood Elves associate the word with the
noblest of birds, the Phoenix, who is also the herald of Asuryan,
God of Creation. To a Wood Elf, therefore, Athel means
rebirth, a new creation, the dawning of a world. Therefore the
name Athel Loren has a much more nuanced translation in the
Wood Elf dialect, and means “Wood of the Dawning of the
World”, instead of “Noble Wood” as the High Elves know it.
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