Ancient Arcane Elves (3.5e Race)

Ancient Arcane Elves

“	Our connection to the deep Magic flows in our blood and gives us strength. We were here before any other race and we will be here when you people fade into dust. Our myth, our lengends and magics are all true, you can see this whenever you see Corellon Larethian. The god of the elves is our brother and we their kin. You human are nothing but the offspring of our passion and like our passions you destroyed us. Now, feel our pain.	”
—Deep magic, Ancient Arcane Elf, Grand mage of the lost citadel

Near the dawn of early civilization, magic grew in abundance as the ancient Elves of myth harnessed the laws of the old magic. It was the time before the gods, before the age of man and the beginning of the oldest dragons. In life they used their magics to shape the world around them into a perfect paradise, a whole of every continent and island into one large landmass. Here they existed as unity, a utopia that expanded the planet in a peaceful empire of magic and order. Dragons and Elves lived as one body, sharing their knowledge, their wisdom and their power as happily as family. It was a time of peace and a power beyond any reckoning.

Then the dwarves came. From the ground they rose, becoming a group that nearly rivaled the population of the Arcane Elves. Enticed by their magics the Dwarves bowed down and worshipped the Elves as gods and it wasn’t long before the Elves themselves began to grow arrogant with their powers.

The elves used the Dwarves as servants, second rate citizens used solely to advance the needs of the unity. They suffered greatly under the now dark reign of the elves as their people were slowly worked to death, tortured with experimental magic, and forced to work in the mines of the mountains to capture rare crystals that furthered the Arcane Elves’ power. It wasn’t long before the dwarves, realizing that their species were slowly dying, took up arms to overthrow their Elven masters. Taking the gems they dug from the mines they too learned of a primal magic that they could use, pushing their bodies to their utmost physical prowess.

But it wasn’t enough, Legions of god-like Arcane warriors swept over the dwarves with their magical and arcane might. Assisted by the dragons, they overwhelmed and drove the Dwarves back into the mountain and the tunnels below, sealing them underground through arcane rituals of power. Thus the Elves’ corruption was complete. They grew careless of their magic and envious of one another. They fought amongst themselves for the right to rule, the power of the whole.

The dragons had retreated, their connection with the elves broken through the infighting. They took with them a large island with the magic they had learned from the elves and retreated to the other side of the planet, away from the war. It was nearly ten thousand years before the wars had stopped. The arcane Elves were a weak and broken people. In the fighting, many of the lower caste of sorcerers and wizards were lost, leaving only a few of their most prominent spell casters to guard the tunnels of the dwarves, in hopes of avoiding another invasion. They saw the horror they had reaped upon themselves with disgust. With their people dying and the dragons they had befriended gone, they turned to find a suitable replacement.

They knew that they could not recreate themselves anymore; they had lost that privilege during the war with the many magical diseases they had created, it was then they turned to create another race, a race that perhaps unlike the Dwarves would not rebel against them. Using some of the deeper magics they raised such a race from clay, breathing fire into its body they gave it a shape much similar to their own. Within days the beings opened their eyes, breathed the cold air, and stood upon their feet. Thus the first Humans were created.

Unfortunately the Elves had given too much of their habits to their creation. Driven by their lust for power the humans had done just what the Dwarves had done, they took the power of magic from the Elves and bred with surprising potency. Within fifty years they out numbered the elves ten to one. With outnumbering force, the early humans waged a bloody war of both magic and might against the Elves, driving them back into their citadel in the center of the content. There they lasted for nearly one hundred years, kept safe through their magical wards and defenses.

However, over the years their defenses slowly began to weaken; the toll of magic had drained almost half of the ancient elves’ remaining population’s immortality. As a result the affected died as the magical backlash consumed their bodies. The magical wards that had so long held their great citadel together were slowly fading, allowing surges of human warriors to break through and charge the main temple of the Ancient Elves, obliterating all opposing resistance.

In a desperate attempt to save their culture the remaining elders, the oldest of the Ancient Arcane Elves, flocked together and using their magic, gave up their immortality, their power, and their magic to the wisest and most powerful of their own. And Corellon Larethian rose past any mortal means of life; he achieved that of the greatest and most powerful, ascending into godhood.

The doors of the temple fell seconds later and an onslaught of humans raced into the chamber to find the elders dead and a glowing being standing in the center of an altar. Charging forward they had hoped that their numbers would crush the being before them, but the new god struck them aside with one hand. Corellon rose from the ground and hovered over his city and with his new found powers expelled the humans from his sight.

He looked down at the ruins of his people, few survived, and it was then that he shed tears that fell upon the ground. He could not raise his people up anymore, fearing that they would once more cause the damage that happened over millennia, and thus he created a race without the powers of his own and called them the first Woodland Elves, they were not immortal, they had no connection to the deepest magic and they would never be like the humans that his race created. It was then that Corellon separated the magical binds that connected the content together and let his once proud citadel float away with the remains of his people as its own island. Thus ending the age of the Ancient Arcane Elves, or so it’s believed.

Personality

The Ancient Arcane Elves are the oldest and rarest of the Elven race. Mellenium old, harldy any of the new generation know, much less have met, an Ancient Arcane Elf. They tend to secrecy due to their last encounter with the outside world leading to their near demise at the hands of their own creation.

Physical Description

The Ancient Arcane Elves are similar to their next generation offspring in size and build. Ancient Arcane Elves do not have facial or body hair on any part of their bodies. They mostly have white or blue hair and full blue eyes. With their connection to the deep magic, they are often seen with magical blue veins that course underneath their skin. Because of their age, they were born around the age of public magic and therefore each Ancient Arcane Elf can read and see magical auras as spell-like abilities

Relations

Ancient Arcane Elves don't trust humans, and often hate and attack them when they are alone only behaving in public where there are large groups of humans. They treat Elves like honored brothers and the next generation of their offspring. Ancient Arcane Elves treat half-elves as the corruption of their elven blood mixed with humans and therefore take honest pity on them but often treat them as disease carriers.

Alignment

Ancient Arcane Elves, old and new, are mostly Neutrally aligned though a far flung few lean towards the moral battles of Good and Evil.

Lands

Ancient Arcane Elves live in isolated and magically hidden villages, littered on islands and inland great lakes. Few remaining older Ancient Arcane Elves live in the Citadel of their old empire floating somewhere on the ocean. The name of this city was lost over the thousands of years as humans forgot after the elves' disappearence.These powerful mages and warriors, steeped in the old magics, plot revenge and hope of a magical way to produce offspring to recreate what they believe to be their superior race.

Religion

Ancient Arcane Elves are older than most of the other races, even some have been around since the birth of Dragons! They worship the god Corellon Larethian seeing as he was actually one of them that rose to godhood.

Language

Ancient Arcane Elves speak Ancient Elven, a harder and more magical speech. It is said that their words hold magic that no spell could ever amount and are closer to the truest magic. Ancient Elven cannot be taught to any non-ancient Elf and if it is attempted the words magically fade from the person's memory. They also speak the newest form of Elven and Draconic seeing how they were ancient friends with the first true dragons.

Names

Lastnames are the only names used, for example: Moonshadow, Magic heart, Hidden truth

Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +2 dexterity, -2 constitution, +2 charisma
• Humanoid (Elf).
• Medium: As Medium creatures, ancient arcane elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Ancient Arcane Elves base land speed is 30feet
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +6 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: A Ancient Arcane elf can see three times as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• unlike elves, Ancient Arcane elves need only to spend 2 hours meditation to regain the same amount of health as a human sleeping eight.
• Unearthly Grace (su): as long as a Ancient Arcane Elf wears light or no armor, they may add their Charisma bonus to their AC.
• Weapon Proficiency: Ancient Arcane elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword and longbow (including composite longbow),
• Arcane affluency (always has the knowledge of the arcane arts)+2 bonus
• Spell-Like Ability: Read Magic, Arcane sight this acts as a constantly active ability, the elf can subress and resume this ability at will.
• Spell resistance equal to 7 + class levels.
• Automatic Languages: Ancient Elven, elven, draconic, Common. Bonus Languages:secret Druidic
• Favored Class: Ninja of the Hidden Waters, wizard, warlock (basically anything magical)
• level adjustment: +2

Vital Statistics

Table: Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
4000 years	+1d6 times 100	+2d6 times 100	+1d4 times 100

Table: Aging Effects

Middle Age^1	Old^2	Venerable^3	Maximum Age
immortal	immortal	immortal	immortal
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	4' 10"	+2d6	100lb.	× 1d4lb.
Female	4' 5"	+1d6, +1d4	85lb.	× 1d4lb.

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