Base Race Variants

[FaeFae]

These are the base races allowed on the server. Applications required where noted.

Avariel
Deep Gnome
Drow
Ghostwise Halfling
Gold Dwarf
Gray Dwarf
Half-Elf (Aquatic)
Half-Elf (Edited from standard NWN.)
Half-Elf (Drow)
Half-Orc (Edited from standard NWN.)
Moon Elf
Rock Gnome
Shield Dwarf
Sun Elf
Wild Elf
Wood Elf

[FaeFae]

Avariel
Requires Application - forums.cormyrdalelands.com/index.php?msg=20225

The avariels, or winged elves, are without a doubt the most reclusive and least numerous of the elven subraces on Faerûn. Many scholars have long dismissed them as creatures of myth. In truth, small numbers of avariels still dwell in Faerûn, concealed in hidden enclaves and remote regions.

The most striking feature of the avariels is their soft, feathered wings. These wings have spans of anywhere from twelve to sixteen feet and are usually white, but may also be gray, brown, black, or speckled. Avariels take great pride in their wings and spend long hours grooming them. Their skin is pale, often porcelain white, with tinges of blue or faint silver. They have silverwhite or black hair, with other shades being rare but not unheard of. The avariels' eyes are rather large and more expressive than those of other elves, and they tend to be brilliant shades of blue or green. A few avariel have scintillating violet eyes as pure as amethysts. Avariels stand 5'9" tall on average, with thin, graceful limbs and angular facial features. They are the most beautiful and striking of the elven races, although too often this beauty is marred by haughtiness and condescension toward their landbound kin, whom they often pity.

Avariels are even more delicate than other elves, and their movements are quick, calculated, and graceful. They prefer to wear loose fitting, diaphanous clothing that catches the wind in flight and ripples and weaves in the air. Armor is almost never worn, because it tends to weigh the avariels down and hinder their graceful motion. Avariels cannot fly while wearing heavy armor.

[FaeFae]

Deep Gnome
Requires Application - forums.cormyrdalelands.com/index.php?msg=26247

The deep gnomes are closest thing the gnome family has to "black sheep." Many surface dwellers count the deep gnomes along with their evil neighbors, the drow and the duergar, believing them to be little more than dark reflections of the friendly rock gnomes with whom they are more familiar. In fact, the svirfneblin are just as good-hearted as their sunnier kin. However, after centuries of dealing with the everyday perils of living in the Underdark, they have become understandably distrustful of all outsiders.

Compared to their better-known kin, the rock gnomes, the deep gnomes are as gray and lifeless as the subterranean caverns in which they choose to make their homes. They keep to themselves out of fear of outsiders—a fear born from numerous poor experiences with such people. To a deep gnome, the only people you can trust are other deep gnomes from your village, and preferably from your family. All others are best avoided.

With strangers, most deep gnomes are sullen, reserved, and suspicious, almost to a fault. However, when they are alone with their own kind, they are friendly and respectful to each other. Few people from outside a svirfneblin community have ever seen this more pleasant side of the deep gnomes. For their part, the deep gnomes would be horrified to find themselves observed by outsiders, and they find such a person staring at them—or even looking directly at them—quite rude. Deep gnomes are gnarled and callused folk, with little fat at all on their wiry bodies. Their skin is the color of the rocks among which they live, almost as if they sprang directly from the stones themselves. They have dark gray eyes, tending toward black. Their hair is of a similar color, although it's only seen on the woman, as the men are entirely bald and beardless.

[FaeFae]

Drow
Requires Application - forums.cormyrdalelands.com/index.php?msg=26241

Of the various elven subraces, none are more notorious than the drow. Descended from the original dark-skinned elven subrace called the Ssri-tel-quessir, the drow were cursed into their present appearance by the good elven deities for following the goddess Lolth down the path to evil and corruption.

Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have blood-red eyes, although pale eyes (so pale as to be
often mistaken for white) in shades of pale lilac, silver, pink, and blue are not unknown. They also tend to be smaller and thinner than most Faerûnian elves. Most drow on the surface are evil and worship Vhaeraun, but some outcasts and renegades have a more neutral attitude, and there are even groups of good drow who worship Eilistraee or other deities not of the traditional drow pantheon.

Though divided by endless feuds and schisms, the drow are united in one terrible desire: they seethe with a hatred for the surface elves. By their way of reckoning, they proved themselves the superior race in the Fourth Crown War, and the fact that the Seldarine (and Corellon in particular) punished them for their success is a poison that churns in their hearts and minds eternally. They burn with hatred for the Seldarine and their coddled children, and want nothing more than to return to the surface and bring to the elves there suffering a thousand times greater than that which the drow have been forced to endure over the past ten thousand years.

[FaeFae]

Ghostwise Halfling
Requires Application - forums.cormyrdalelands.com/index.php?msg=45391

The ghostwise are easily the most uncommon of the three sub-races of halfling living in Faerûn. They are elusive and do not welcome strangers to their lands. Instead, they prefer to pursue a nomadic way of life within their adopted homeland, the Chon-dalwood, associating mainly with those of their own clan. Those who seek out the ghostwise most often fail to achieve their goal; the fortunate among them live to regret their intrusion into hin territory.

[FaeFae]

Gold Dwarf

+2 CON -2 DEX

Found largely in the South in the immediate vicinity of them Great Rift, gold dwarves are the dominant southern branch of the Stout Folk. Renowned not only for their smithwork and craftsmanship but also for their military prowess and legendary wealth, gold dwarves have maintained their empire for millennia, unbowed by the passage of time. For generations, the Deep Kingdom of the gold dwarves has stood unconquered, dominating the surface lands and subterranean caverns that surround the Great Rift. As their numbers never declined in the face of endless warfare like their northern cousins, the Thunder Blessing has actually filled the great caverns of the Deep Kingdom beyond their capacity. As a result, for the first time in many years, large numbers of gold dwarves are setting out to establish new strongholds across the South and the rest of Faerûn, including the Smoking Mountains of Unther and the Giant's Run Mountains of the Shining Plains.

Averaging 4 feet tall and weighing as much as an adult human, gold dwarves are stocky and muscular. The skin of a gold dwarf is light brown or deeply tanned, and her eyes are usually brown or hazel. Both genders wear their hair long, and males (and some females) have long, carefully groomed beards and mustaches. Hair color ranges from black to gray or brown, with all shades fading to light gray as time progresses. Like their northern kin, gold dwarves harbor a great deal of pride, both in their own accomplishments and those of their ancestors. They also share the philosophy that anything worth doing is worth doing well, and that the natural world is but raw material to be worked into objects of great beauty. Unlike the long-beleaguered shield dwarves, gold dwarves have not faced a serious challenge to their way of life for thousands of years. Confident and secure in their isolated realm, gold dwarves do not share the pessimism or fatalism of their shield dwarven brethren. To the contrary, having seen the rise and fall of countless elven, human, and shield dwarven empires, their endurance has fostered a deep-seated belief that their traditions and culture are superior to those of all other races.

[FaeFae]

Duergar (Gray Dwarf)
Requires Application - forums.cormyrdalelands.com/index.php?msg=23878

Dwelling in great subterranean cities of the Underdark, the gray dwarves are deep-dwelling cousins of shield dwarves, known for their cruelty and bitterness. Like their surface-dwelling kin, gray dwarves are famed for their smithwork and craftsmanship, but unlike their brethren in the Realms Above, the duergar are grim and cheerless, living lives of endless toil. Like their gold and shield dwarf kin, the duergar have forged great empires, founding such realms as the Deepkingdom of Gracklstugh and the Steel Kingdom of Dunspeirrin in the endless darkness of the Realms Below.

Averaging 4 feet tall, gray dwarves weigh nearly as much asan adult human. While other dwarves tend to be round-bodied and stoutly muscled, duergar are wide of shoulder but wiry and lean, their limbs corded with tough muscle. The skin of a gray dwarf is light or dark gray, and his eyes are dull black. Both genders are usually bald, with males having long gray beards and mustaches.

Gray dwarves are consumed with bitterness, feeling their race has forever been denied what was rightfully theirs. The duergar expect and live lives of never-ending drudgery. While their work rivals that of shield and gold dwarves, they are relentless perfectionists who take no pleasure in their craftsmanship. Only cruel jokes and petty torments bring a moment's smile to most gray dwarves, and they delight in tormenting the weak and the helpless.

[FaeFae]

Half-Aquatic Elf
Requires Application - forums.cormyrdalelands.com/index.php?board=22/

Sea Longing: A half-aquatic elf who remains out of sight of the sea for more than a tenday longs for the sea, suffering a —1 penalty on Wisdom-based checks until she returns to the shore. (Roleplayed)

Half-aquatic elves have no real society of their own. Born of human and sea elf blood, they are extremely rare, since sea elves rarely venture into human lands. Normally they live alone or in small groups along the shore, or they simply take up life in a human coastal community.

Half-aquatic elves have pale green skin. Their hair can be any human color, but it usually has a faint green or blue cast to it. As they age, their hair becomes blue-silver. They have slight webbing between their fingers and toes, making them excellent swimmers.

Although they cannot breathe water like their aquatic elf ancestors, half-aquatic elves feel drawn to the sea. If they seem distant or aloof, it's not because they're ignoring someone on purpose. They're always listening to the roar of the nearby surf, or imagining its sound if they travel far from the sea.

Half-aquatic elves reach the age of majority at 20 years old and can live over to be over 180 years in age. Since aquatic elves are larger and heavier than most elves, half-aquatic elves have the same height and weight characteristics as a full-blooded human.

[FaeFae]

Half-Elf

Half Moon Elf and Half Wild Elf: +1 DEX +1 CHA
Half Wood Elf: +1 STR +1 CHA
Half Sun Elf: +1 INT +1 CHA

Common half-elves are descended from humans and moon elves, sun elves, wild elves, or wood elves. While these people can be found all over Faerûn, this section describes the half-elf culture of Aglarond, the land where the largest number of common half-elves live.

Common half-elves blend human and elven features, influenced by the subrace of their elven parent and the ethnicity of their human parent. Moon half-elves have pale skin tinged bluish around the ears and chin, framing their lower faces. Sun half-elves have bronzed skin, and hair of gold. Wild half-elves have brown skin. Wood half-elves have coppery skin tinged with green highlights.

Most common half-elves are a bit distant, used to being cast in the role of outsiders. In the Yuirwood, this isn't so: The half-elves make up the majority and have a long and proud history. Many half-elves come to the Yuirwood once they are old enough to leave home. Here, at last, is a place in which they can hope to be accepted.

Half-Elf parentage is selected by talking to our Subrace Setter in the new character creation area, "In The Beginning".

Half-elves with a non-standard parentage require an approved Unusual Character Concept application.

[FaeFae]

Half-Drow

Requires Application - forums.cormyrdalelands.com/index.php?topic=2979?page=4&scrollTo=83254

+1 INT +1 CHA

Darkvision
Loses Low-Light Vision

In most lands, half-drow are rare. Since so many drow are irredeemably evil, they only mate with humans by way of rape or slavery. The only exception are the half-drow of the land of Dambrath in the Shining South, who arise from the centuries-old drow subjugation of the human folk of that land.

Half-drow have dusky skin, silver or white hair, and a broad range of eye colors. They are often just as dark-hearted as their elven parents, but with a bitter resentment that comes from knowing that they are considered second-class members of drow society. In human society, half-drow are distrusted nearly as much as their full-blooded cousins. Despite this, good half-drow are much less rare than good drow. Whether this has to do with the influence of their human blood, or the desire to rebel against the drow who treat them so poorly, is difficult to tell.

[FaeFae]

Moon Elf
This is your standard Elf.

The most common of the elven subraces on Faerûn are the moon elves. They have fair skin, sometimes tinged with blue, and hair of silver-white, black, or blue; humanlike colors are somewhat rare. Their eyes are blue or green, with gold flecks. As far as the elves of Faerûn go, moon elves are most like the elves presented in the Player's Handbook.

Moon elves prefer to dress in rustic clothes of simple cuts and fashions that are nevertheless of fine and exquisite make. They adorn their dress with embroidered patterns, beads, and similar trappings, preferring earthen colors for everyday wear, hues that make it easy to conceal themselves in foliage. In places of safety or in times of revelry, moon elves enjoy dressing in bold colors— the more brightly colored, the better. Hair is worn in braids or ponytails, twined with wires or beads. Moon elves sometimes wear body paint or tattoos in mystic patterns, although not to extent the wild elves do.

[FaeFae]

Rock Gnome
This is your standard Gnome.

Rock gnomes are the gnomes that most people are familiar with, so much so that when someone says "a gnome," he or she is almost always speaking of a rock gnome. Unlike their reclusive cousins, the deep gnomes and the forest gnomes, the rock gnomes are an inquisitive and loquacious people. They are renowned throughout Faerûn as technicians, alchemists, and inventors, as well as illusionists of the highest order. They do not care much for living in larger cities, where their talents are in high demand, and prefer the rolling hills of the countryside. But anywhere they find themselves, they display an amazing zest for life and all the pleasures it holds.

Rock gnomes are far friendlier and more outgoing than the other gnome kindreds. They are well known for their love of jokes and pranks, as well as their fondness for finely made things. As with all gnomes, they adore gems of all kinds, but rock gnomes have a particular passion for the purity and perfection of the diamond.

Rock gnomes average between 3 and 3 1/2 feet tall, and weigh between 40 and 45 pounds. Their skin comes in many different shades of brown, but is unaffected by exposure to the sun. The hair of young gnomes can vary greatly in color, but in adulthood they all tend toward gray or white. The males wear their beards neatly trimmed.

From a rock gnome's point of view, life is meant to be enjoyed in all its facets: work, play, and otherwise. Again, it's the process that's important, not the goal, even if those goals—like, say, finely cut gems—do end up being valuable on their own. This shows in just about everything a rock gnome does, from making a meal to working a mine to playing a practical joke. The care they put into their actions always shines through.

Young rock gnomes have carefree childhoods. During their adolescence, rock gnomes are expected to learn the basics of a useful trade and to master the basics of self-defense. They are encouraged to dabble in all sorts of pastimes until they find something that perfectly fits their temperaments. They come of age at 40, an occasion for the largest party of their lives. From there, the average life expectancy is about 350 years, although some have been known to reach 500 years in age.

[FaeFae]

Shield Dwarf
This is your standard Dwarf.

Found largely in the northern reaches of western and central Faerûn, shield dwarves are the dominant northern branch of the Stout Folk. Renowned for their smithwork and craftsmanship, shield dwarves have endured a centuries-long decline in the face of never-ending wars with orcs, goblins, giants, and trolls.

Shield dwarves are descended from the founders of Shanatar, a legendary dwarven empire that once ruled the caverns beneath modern-day Amn, Tethyr, and Calimshan. After Shanatar fell, the shield dwarves migrated north, founding kingdoms such as Ammarindar, Delzoun, Gharraghaur, Haunghdannar, Oghrann, and Sarbreen. Although those kingdoms have also largely fallen, the Stout Folk of the North endure. The Thunder Blessing has served as a welcome reprieve for the beleaguered shield dwarves, giving hope that the descendants of ancient Shanatar may one day reclaim the glory of their forebears.

Taller by half a foot than their gold dwarf cousins, shield dwarves average 4 1/2 feet tall and weigh as much as an adult human. The skin of a shield dwarf is fair or lightly tanned, and her eyes are usually green or silvered blue. Both genders wear their hair long, and males (and a very few females) have long, carefully groomed beards and mustaches. Hair color ranges from light brown to red, with all shades fading to silver or white as time progresses.

Shield dwarves keep to their word, whatever the cost, and are incredibly stubborn, unwilling to concede an inch unless there is absolutely no alternative. Such intransigence has enabled dwindling shield dwarf populations to hold on to ancient strongholds with just a fraction of their original defenders. However, it has also led to clan feuds and long-standing misunderstandings with other races that have sapped the strength of the Stout Folk. Shield dwarves love worked beauty, seeing the world as raw material to be forged and shaped into something more than the original.

[FaeFae]

Sun Elf

+2 INT -2 CON

The majority of Faerûn's sun elves live on Evermeet, having abandoned what remained of their ancient realms during the centuries following the falls of Illefarn and Cormanthyr. They are only now returning to the mainland to reestablish their presence there. The sun elves are famed for their command of both arcane and divine magic, which exceeds that of any other living race. Works of elven high magic thousands of years old still survive in the hidden refuges of the sun elves.

Sun elves are responsible for the majority of the great elven cities of legend, although other elven subraces aided the construction of many of these cities. Myth Drannor is perhaps their most famous creation, although probably not their most magnificent. Sun elf realms are the stuff legends are made of, an integral part of the history of Faerûn for thousands of years. The sun elves certainly know this, for they distance themselves from nonelf races and often won't let such "lesser beings" into their lands.

Sun elves have bronze skin, hair of golden blond, copper, or black, and eyes of green or gold. They favor contemplation, lore, and study over the quick games and light-hearted songs of other elves, but seem to embody the unearthly beauty, grace, and presence of the elven folk.

Sun elves dress in clothing that is at the same time magnificent and understated, favoring cool colors such as blue and green. They decorate their clothes with intricate gold- or mithral-thread embroidery in exacting patterns whose subtle designs are easy to miss at first. Jewelry is simple but painstakingly crafted. Of all the elven subraces, sun elves are the most arrogant and haughty—even more so than the avariels, whose haughtiness is rooted in pity for the landbound races. Sun elves believe that they are the true elven race, the builders and the leaders of the elven realms, and that the other elven subraces fail to live up to the solemnity and dignity of their ancient stock.

[FaeFae]

Wild Elf

-2 INT +2 DEX

The wild elves of Faerûn are insular and savage, and as a result are rarely seen outside their forest homes. In ages past the wild elves (or green elves, as they were more commonly known) raised great kingdoms in the forests and fielded armies to defend their homes, but with the march of time they have abandoned the trappings of civilization, becoming a furtive, reclusive race. The wild elves were always close to nature, even more so than other elves, but they have forgotten many of the high arts and lore of their people, choosing stealth and survival over building and book learning.

Wild elves are stocky and strongly built for elves. Their skin tends to be dark brown, and their hair ranges from black to light brown, lightening to silvery white with age. They are quiet around anyone except their own kind, and quickly become hostile in these uncomfortable situations. Clothing is kept to a minimum among the wild elves, although they make up for this with body decoration of all sorts—tattoos, war paint, feathers, and beaded jewelry that shows a surprising streak of complex
and beautiful artistry.