Dark Elf

Optional Player Character

No fear. No hesitation.

No doubt. No remorse.

They're the perfect killers.

--Quote of an Elven King as he looked upon the Dark

No empire is built without spilling blood. This holds true for the Elven Empire as well. Building an empire is no easy task, and in doing so the soon to be elven kings employed assassins. Rivals, dissidents, and any other threats were put down with swift and deadly force. Carrying out these tasks in secret were the elite killers known as the Dark. Best known as assassins who struck under the cover of darkness, the Dark were also capable spies and thieves. These skills made them highly valuable to the kings during the formative years of the Elven Empire.

The Dark was made up of elves, but elves unlike any other. These elves were both blessed by the gods, and cursed by them. In an attempt to remove all weakness, removing all hesitation, fear, ambition, personal desires, those in power called out to the gods to grant them this request and create the perfect killer. Granting this request, the gods reached out and ripped out the souls of every last member of the Dark. Their skin went pale and cold to the touch, but their eyes went as dark as the blackest night. With their souls removed the Dark lost all emotion, letting nothing stand in their way. They operated only on cold, calculating logic.

Starting their service to the Elven Empire even before its creation, their service lasted to the kings into for the first 2,000 years of the Age of Elves. With the empire stable and growing stronger, the elves continued to advance and triumph. A call of enlightenment sounded throughout the empire. The elves created a council to rule them, the position of king reduced to a mere figurehead to help with the transition (before eventually being removed all together), and the Dark was abolished.

To help turn from the old ways the elves needed a symbol to unify against. The Dark served as the perfect scapegoats for people to turn their hate. Members of the Dark were hunted down and slaughtered as abominations of a darker time. Before execution some of those caught would be paraded around the city, not only restrained but often beaten and bloodied. Those paraded around the cities were first branded with hot irons, burning into sizzling flesh the words: Dark Elf. These brands were always prominently displayed for all to see and put words to their hatred.

Those skilled to move unseen are not so easily killed though. Groups of the Dark eluded capture and escaped. While some remained in the Elven Empire and joined servitude to a noble house who offered refuge, most survivors separated from the Elven Empire to never return. The Dark bore the elves no ill will, for that would require emotion, but even without hatred they understood betrayal. Even if they were accepted back, elves could not be trusted. Return would only mean further betrayal.

Outcasts to the world, they embraced the name Dark Elves. This served as a constant reminder to the betrayal of elves, and they no longer wished to share the same name as their betrayers. Even today dark elves continue to exist, and their name still strikes fear as cold-blooded killers. Those uneducated don't know the story of their tragic past, and they don't care. Dark elves are seen as monsters to be destroyed on sight. For this reason dark elves almost always travel in pairs or larger groups, so they have another to watch their back.

Survival

Without a master to guide their hand, the dark elves had no purpose in this world. Still they needed to survive. Survival instinct is more than emotion or soul; it's logic at its most basic level. Staying out of sight and hiding in the shadows came natural to them. Some chose to live on the outskirts of society, hiding during the day but coming out at night. They steal what they need to survive and then slink back into darkness. Others chose to find isolation in the hopes they'd never be found again.

Many, however, gathered together in larger groups and formed communities of dark elves. There is safety in numbers, and the more they have gathered the more options they have available. These communities often formed underground and in dark caves where they could go unnoticed, giving them similar habits to subterranean races.

Skills of the Dark are all that dark elves have ever known. So when a new child is born, the dark elves train the child in these skills. How these skills are used is another matter. Some communities only use the skills to scout their surroundings, spot potential threats and eliminate them, locate resources and steal them, and in general track their surrounding environment. Those who know what's around them can always be prepared for whatever comes next.

Assassination and spying is all they know, so some communities have continued to apply this trade as best they can. Since dark elves have no personal motivation for killing strangers, they hire themselves out to potential employers. While they are little more than mercenaries in this regard, they are very good at what they do. Contacts are made with proxies and/or through messages. The client likely never even knows he/she hired a dark elf to do the job. If the job is done right, no one ever will. Regardless of how they apply their trade the main objective to any dark elf is simple: Survival.

Religion

The original religion of the Dark remains a mystery. To remove their souls, any god would have had to first go to Utu, Lord of the Dead, to receive his blessing. Whether or not Utu removed the souls personally or not is unknown, though it is agreed upon that Utu is not the god to which the Dark prayed. Many suspect that the Dark worshipped Aco. This belief is based not only on her mastery of darkness, but also on the fact the Dark never attacked children or those physically (or mentally) incapable of defending themselves. This is of course just speculation, and the truth may never be known.

Original tales of the Dark have them ill anyone, regardless of age and ability. Later tales of the Dark suggest they had limits. If a child was ever a designated target, the Dark would always wait until the child grew old enough to defend him or herself. When exactly their legend changed is unclear, or if the original tales may have simply been misinformed. Of course, during the persecution of the Dark, the tales reverted to them being killers without any code. This only makes the timeline all the harder to determine.

Modern day Dark Elves can worship any god; and most will make offerings to whichever god is most fitting for the present task at hand. Still, even ten thousand years later and regardless of religion, Dark Elves do not kill children. As a result people tend to think that elves have some special affinity with children, but this isn't the case at all. This restriction towards children or other invalids is something special to dark elves, and their reasons seem to be their own. The best explanation anyone has ever gotten is that it goes against their code, though the specifics of this code are never revealed.

When a new dark elf is born, the child also lacks a soul. There are two main theories on this fact. The first is that Utu, or some other god with the blessing of Utu, continues to take their souls the moment of birth. The second theory is that when a new life is formed, the child is formed from a small piece of the souls from each parent. These pieces then combine to form a new soul for the child. Since dark elves have no soul the child has no souls to draw from and is left soulless, same as the parents. Note: Traditional elves and dark elves cannot have a child together. The two races are no longer compatible.

Dark Elves

Alignments: Special! Dark elves are neither good nor bad. If they had to fit a category, it would likely be Selfish. They never lie and they have a code of honor they will not break, yet there is little else they won't do which includes torture and killing innocents (though never a child). Without emotions to guide them to right or wrong and without any personal ambitions they do not fit neatly into any category.

Attributes: I.Q. 3D6+1, M.E. 2D6, M.A. 2D6, P.S. 3D6, P.P. 5D6, P.B. 5D6, Spd. 3D6

Hit Points: P.E. +1D6 per each level of experience.

S.D.C.: 10 plus those gained from O.C.C.'s and/or physical skills.

Average P.P.E.: 1D6, regardless of age they have very little P.P.E. and is believed to be related to their lack of a soul.

O.C.C.s Available to Dark Elves: Any, but most are taught from an early age one of the arts of the Dark.

Horror Factor: None, though the name Dark Elf may still send many civilians into a panic (role-play only).

Physical Appearance: Tall, slender humanoids with pale yet handsome, distinguished youthful features. Black hair, pointed ears, and all black eyes.

Height: Six to six feet, ten inches (1.8 to 2.9 m).

Weight: 100 to 250 pounds (45-112 kg).

Average Life Span: 1000 years. This has caused some to speculate that the soul is too powerful to be contained within a mortal body for long. With the removal of their souls, the dark elves are one stop closer to immortality.

Natural Abilities: Good intelligence, creative, resourceful, and adaptable. Dark elves also display a reasonably high percentage of psychic ability (see determining psionics); nightvision 120 feet (36.6 m), and see in total darkness.

No Emotions: Without their souls and emotions, dark elves are immune to horror factor, empathy, empathic transmission, and similar emotional based attacks. No saving throw required.

Bonuses: +2 on initiative and one additional attack per melee round.

Vulnerabilities: Their low M.E. makes them vulnerable to psionic attacks (as long as it doesn't attack their emotions). This provides no penalties, but makes it difficult for them to save.

Openness to Magic: -4 to save vs. magic. Their lack of a soul seems to make them more vulnerable to magic. Dark elves do not receive a bonus to save vs. magic from an exceptional P.E. attribute (e.g. A P.E. of 24 provides Hit Points, +18% to save vs. coma/death, but no bonus to save vs. magic). Bonuses gained from O.C.C. still apply, but help to offset the -4 penalty first.

Sunlight: Dark elves don't go into the sun. While the sun impairs no physical damage, they are effectively blinded and recoil instinctively from the light. This is believed to be a side effect of no longer having a soul. Moonlight, bright campfires, and artificial light have no negative affect on a dark elf, but the spell Globe of Daylight will make them recoil same as the sun.

Magic: By O.C.C. only.

Psionics: Standard, see psionics section.

Enemies: Dark elves are generally hated by the rest of the world. This makes it hard for one to ever fit in with other races and they're generally attacked on sight. Dark elves don't hold grudges, but they're not fools either and know to be careful around others. They learn from past mistakes, and view traditional elves with extra suspicion.

Allies: Other dark elves only. Also, while not true allies, dark elves understand the plight of changelings. While they have no sympathy, as that would be an emotion, they know false persecution first hand. Since changelings view elves as the closest things to an ally, dark elves are a natural extension. While there is no official alliance between the two races, both can accept the other and even find uses, working towards mutual self-interest.

Habitat: Can be found anywhere, but often found around caves where they can hide during the day. Regardless of where they're found, it's rare to ever find a solitary dark elf. They're almost always found traveling in pairs or larger groups.

Favorite Weapons: Any, but knives, swords, blunt weapons, the long bow, and magic weapons are among their favorites.

Other Notes:

1. No soul or emotions. They act only intelligence and survival instincts (this seems to transcend their lack of a soul).

2. Never lie or harm children. Even though dark elves do not lie, they can refuse to answer a question.

3. Wears all types of armor.

4. Best known for being assassins, but also skilled spies and thieves. Even though they're scattered about the world, dark elves pass down the trade skills of the Dark through the generations leaving most with relatively the same abilities.

5. Travel in pairs for safety.

Designer Note: Dark elves can be a difficult challenge for most players. Playing a character without emotions isn't easy. Before a G.M. allows it he/she should feel the player is up to the task at hand. They are designed, primarily, for added flavor to the world and as potential NPC villains. Still, I know many people like the idea of playing a dark elf, and there shouldn't be anything stopping that fact. While they are different than most races, they are capable of action and thought like anyone else.