Serfrar (5e Race)

Serfrar (Dwelf)

When a dwarf and an elf copulate from thirteen billion attempts at conception, only one will succeed. From that one birth, serfrar children have a mortality rate of 90%. The odds of a child that is half-elf and half-dwarf is nigh impossible, and nature sees that any child of that heritage will not reach maturity. The few lucky, or unlucky depending on how you see them, dwelf that reach adulthood are not beautiful by any means. Akin to a walking skeleton, all dwelf (or serfrar as they’ve come to be known) are hated almost on sight, they are seen as a cursed aberration, set upon by bad luck and destined to curse all around them with the same fortune. An unlucky serfrar will be murdered on sight, especially by those who are of “pure” or noble blood or those who are at right-standing with the gods. serfrar are seen as monstrosities and abominations against nature.

An Abominable Sight

Their skin is pale and tight, their frame gaunt. They have hollow eyes, often a shade of yellow or red. From their elvish side, they have their thin figure and their pointed ears. From their dwarven side they have their short height and abundant facial hair. However, the incompatible blood within them corrupts the aspects of both races. The points on the ears are curved, drooping or poking out in an odd direction. Their muscle structure is lacking immensely, making them appear to be merely skin and bone. Their bone structure is fragile, susceptible to cracking and breakages, leading to awful posture and arms and legs that simply just don’t work right. Their beards and patchy, the hair scraggly. Both the hair on their head and the nails on their fingers and toes grow at an extraordinary rate, leaving them looking like a walking corpse. They are generally taller than dwarves, but shorter than humans, standing somewhere between four to six feet. Their skin is always the color of a waxing moon, but their hair does differ in color depending on their parents. The child of a high-elf or a drow will have white or brown hair, the child of a wood-elf will have brown or black. The child of a hill-dwarf or duergar will have white or brown hair and the child of a mountain-dwarf will have brown or black hair. As mentioned before, a serfrar will have yellow or red eyes, most commonly, their eyes will be somewhere on the spectrum between yellow and red and will have other shades within.

Hated Histories

History, much like society, is not kind to the serfrar. The name “Serfrar” actually comes from the elvish words for “filthy blood” and the dwarven words for “wooden blood”, these terms were used as derogatory names for half-bloods, whether or not they were both half-elf and half-dwarf. The terms became melded together when more serfrars were encountered. Natural “pure” serfrars, serfrars that are half-elf and half-dwarf are very uncommon, the most likely way a serfrar was born is that one of their parents was half-elf, half-human and the other was half-dwarf, half-human. It is these pairings that have proven more effective at baring serfrars.

The Hunted Homeless

Serfrars are the most hated race on the face of the material plane. They aren’t even used as slaves because their bodies are so weak and frail. They are seen as an affront to nature, disgusting aberrations and abominations. Unholy and disgraceful in all forms. Most serfrar are killed on sight, because of this they develop little communities with any others of their kind that they can find, or really anyone who can stand to be near them. Whether they are alone or in a group they live in the sewers and dark places no one goes, only coming out at night where they are hidden by the natural darkness. Some serfrar live out in the wilderness as hermits and outlanders, denying civilization and leaving society behind in search of peace and safety. Serfrar communities are xenophobic, secretive and overly protective, every moment they fear they will be discovered and massacred by the masses. Serfrar that live in their communities often develop their own combination of common elvish and dwarven, so they can speak in ways no one else can understand, a form of thieves’ cant. This cant is hard to decipher because it mixes grammar and syntax as well as word from all three languages. Each community has its own version of this cant, mostly because there is only one community per city. The communities themselves are never any bigger than 20 people, but this varies depending on the size of the city and density of the populous. Because of the combination of the blood within them, many serfrar are born with innate magical abilities, making them natural sorcerers and great warlocks. Those who are not so attuned to the magic inside of them become rogues or rangers, using the tricks of the trade to steal food and supplies.

Serfrar Names

If a sefrar is given a name at birth, it is usually of dwarven or elvish origin. More often then not, a serfrar will choose a completely different name for themselves, a virtue or meaning that they wish to embody.

Serfrar Traits

The child of a dwarven and elvish heritage.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increase by 2 and your Intelligence or Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Serfrar reach maturity at the same age as humans, but despite their dwarven and elfish ancestry do not usually live past their second or third century.
Alignment. Because of the way they are treated by the world, Serfrar are very selfish and are most commonly found in the chaotic and evil alignments.
Size. You are shorter than a human but taller than a dwarf. And though you fit within the height parameters of a medium creature, your wieght and frail body are not like others of the medium category. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Inferior Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 30 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.
Poisoned Blood. Your elvish and dwarven blood mixes in your veins, it fights within itself. It is basically poisonous to you. Because of this you have disadvantage on saving throws against being poisoned.
Trance. You don’t need to sleep. Instead, you meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 6 hours a day. (The Common word for this meditation is “trance”.) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dream are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Diluted Fey Ancestry. Your elvish heritage gives you advantage on saving throws against being charmed.
Innate Spellcasting. You know the dancing lights cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the charm person spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the darkness spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish and Dwarven.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 8″	+1d12	75 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a Serfrar character, you can use the following table of traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws to help flesh out your character. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background's characteristics.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I hate all elves and dwarves.
2	I never go out in sunlight.
3	I feel I can never trust anyone.
4	My heritage must be kept a secret. I tell everyone I am diseased as an excuse for my appearance.
5	I can never enter a place of royalty, I am an insult to their ancestors.
6	I have abandoned all ties to my elvish and dwarven sides. I have become obsessed with a different races' way of life.
7	I do not care for pureblood or mixed blood. I have found my higher calling, it is above the trials of the body.
8	Anyone who calls me anything but my name will be stabbed in their sleep.

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