Races of Wild

CHAPTER 1ELVES36Elves are familiar to anyone who has played in a fantasysetting, and everyone knows how they generally look andact. Nevertheless, they can be as individual as you wish,based on their classes and personal histories. The elves’ racialtendency toward chaos means that each elf in unique. Theelf wizard is a classic type, as are the ranger/archer and thebard. Elf paladins and barbarians are rare, but rogues arequite common.No matter what class you choose, consider spending someskill points in Search even if that’s a cross-class skill for yourcharacter. Because of the elf’s racial ability to make a Searchcheck to find secret doors whenever she passes within 5 feetof one, an elf with a high Search modifier can be invaluable inan adventuring party. Spot and Listen are also good options,because the racial bonus your character receives alreadyaugments those skills.As an elf, you qualify for some specific feats and prestigeclasses (described in this book) that are unavailable to PCsof other races.Feats: Elf Dilettante, Focused Mind, Lightfeet.Prestige Classes: Champion of Corellon Larethian,wildrunner.ELVES AS CHARACTERSDue to their racial abilities and cultural predilections, elvesmake superb wizards. However, the elf’s bonus to Dexterityalso stands him in good stead as an archer and a rogue, openinga wide array of class options.Barbarian: Elf barbarians are somewhat rare, because theelf’s Constitution penalty makes melee fighting somewhatproblematical and because elves are known for their highdegree of culture. Still, the Constitution bonus from theclass’s rage ability can make up for that penalty on a temporarybasis. Elf barbarians usually come from isolated tribes thathave regressed from their previous level of civilization overthe course of eons.Bard: Elf bards are well respected in their communities,and many have long and impressive adventuring careers. Thegreat beauty for which elves are justly famous makes themwelcome in almost any community, as do the ballads theywrite in their own lyrical tongue. Elves are quite proficientat raising the courage of their companions in combat, as wellas increasing their competence at various skills.Cleric: Elf clerics often use divine favor, entropic shield,and shield of faith in combat. Spiritual weapon makes a nicecompanion to ranged attacks. Searing light is also good forelf clerics because they generally have good ranged attackbonuses. As clerics, elves can play exceptionally strong supportingroles for their parties.Druid: Many elves choose the path of the druid simplybecause their race is close to nature. With their racial bowand sword proficiencies, elves can be exceptionally effectiveas druids.Fighter: Elf fighters generally prefer ranged weapons,particularly the longbow. Their racial bonus to Dexteritymakes them exceptional archers, though they can holdtheir own in melee combat. Their apparent physical frailtydoes not translate into a penalty to Strength, so they can beeffective with nearly any martial weapon. Their penalty toConstitution, however, means they don’t have the hit pointsto endure melee combat as well as most other fighters, so theyare wise to stay out of melee range as long as possible.Monk: Most elves are chaotic, so very few of them pursuethe path of monk. Still, those few elves who take pleasurein order find that their racial proficiency with the bow andtheir bonus to Dexterity makes them more effective thanmost monks with ranged weapons, and the Dexterity bonusimproves their Armor Class and their effectiveness withcertain monk abilities.Paladin: As with monks, few elves become paladins becauseof the alignment requirement. Those who do choose this pathoften worship a deity associated with some other race, becausethe elven gods include no lawful good deities. Some followVandria Gilmadrith, even though she is a lawful neutral deity,since many aspects of her dogma appeal to the paladin’s nature.Such a career choice often effectively severs an elf paladinfrom his community because he tends to seem rather staid.Like elf fighters, elf paladins are most effective with rangedweapons, and they tend to avoid melee combat.For alternative options for the elf paladin, see the elf racialsubstitution levels on page 155.Ranger: The path of the ranger is a common choice forelves, who glory in the woodlands. Elf rangers protect theircommunities as well as the surrounding forest, and theymake good use of the ranger’s archery specialty. Two-weaponfighting is a less effective choice for elf rangers becausetheir Constitution penalty makes them less effective inmelee combat.For alternative options for the elf ranger, see the elf racialsubstitution levels on page 155.Rogue: Rogue is a good choice for elves because theirracial bonus to Dexterity improves both their Armor Classand most of their skill modifiers. Their racial bonuses onListen, Search, and Spot checks also stand them in goodstead as rogues. In addition, elf rogues can infiltrate almostany society because elves are welcomed by most races.Sorcerer: Elf sorcerers often gravitate toward weaponlikespells and weapon-enhancing spells such as Melf’s acid arrow,true strike, and ray spells. Cat’s grace adds to an elf sorcerer’snatural Dexterity bonus to make him even more effective.Wizard: Wizard is the favored class of elves, and for goodreason—they train in the use of magic almost from birth.Their long lives lend themselves well to wizardry, whichinvolves lengthy study and book learning. Most elf wizardsaccumulate a significant number of spells for their spellbooksover their lifetimes. Those who take item creation feats maymanufacture a large number of magic items for their ownuse and for sale outside the community. Many elf wizardsresearch new spells and create new items, taking decades toperfect their techniques.For alternative options for the elf wizard, see the elf racialsubstitution levels on page 157.