Ancestry Compendium

Elf

The elder elemental lineage. Each branch was shaped from the essence of a different fallen titan, and the differences held long after the dragons who made them went into hiding. Play an Elf when the branch matters less than the inheritance.

Humanoid Elemental medium Walk · 30 ft Free-placement abilities RA · +1

Features

  • Elemental Inheritance

    Every elven line was sculpted from the essence of one element, and the mark of it survives in the blood. Choose Sun, Ether, Earth, or Water at character creation. You gain resistance to one damage type associated with that School of Rifting, and you can read, write, and speak the tongue of the realm it belongs to.

  • Rift-Sensitive Blood

    Elves were made as instruments of the Rift before they were made as people. When you would gain your Rift Affinity at character creation, your starting Rift Affinity is increased by 1 (subject to the standard cap; see decisions D-002).

  • Keen Senses

    You gain proficiency in the Perception skill. If you are already proficient in Perception from another source, you gain proficiency in Arcana, History, or Insight instead.

  • The Long Quiet

    Elves do not sleep as other lineages do. You gain the benefit of a long rest from four hours of waking trance, and you remain aware of your surroundings throughout. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic cannot put you to sleep against your will.

  • Unbroken Memory

    Your line has held the same grievances since the Riftfire Rebellion and sees no reason to set them down. You have advantage on Intelligence (History) checks concerning events your own lineage witnessed, and you can recall the precise wording of any conversation you took part in within the last month.

Languages

Common, Elvish

Lifespan

Mature at 50 · Typical max 700 years

Elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans and then stop being measured that way. Most elven cultures count standing in generations rather than years, and treat anyone under their first century as provisional.

Sublineages