Background:
Elves are one of the oldest races on Telandron. During the Time of Creation, they were the first race created, formed from the essence of the goddess Vitae (or Alae as the Elves themselves call her). Thus they inherited some of her natural characteristics - art, music, poetry, and probably most importantly, magic.
Today the numbers of Elves are few. Where once they ruled all of the known world, now they simply rule their forests. These they guard with what appears to be jealousy, but in fact they simply protect the forest - its animals and plants from more brutal folk such as humans who would cut it down. Any lumberers entering the vicinity of the forests with cruel intentions are swiftly met with some arrows to send it on its ways.
But normally the Elves use far less mundane means to dissuade barbarians from entering. Expert spellweavers inside Elven tribes shroud their forests in mist and even spells of the Spirit sphere that inspire fear in the hearts of intruders. More about Elven magic is covered below.
Elves are naturally skilled at certain arts, probably due to the relationship they have with their Goddess. While they acknowledge the other gods, they revere Alae far above the other deities of the Pantheon. Namely these gifts are art, music, poetry and magic. Elves are naturally skilled Bards, and if one could possibly be persuaded to leave its forest home a Lord's hearth would be well valued. Even Half-Elven bards are gifted.
As for magic, that should be obvious when you ask a man whether he has seen an Elven forest village. Unless he is lying, of course, the answer would be no. Even small Elven villages boast a sufficiently skilled magus to shield the village from intruders. Thus an adventurer could stumble around and even through an Elven village for hours without finding it. Powerful magi might sense some magical residue in the air, but could not tell what the source or the point of the spell is.
The last great Elven skill is archery. Although probably not derived from their goddess, Elves surpass all other races at archery. Crafted expertly using alternate layers of wood, Elven bows are superior in range and accuracy. Yet part of the skill comes from the mind of the Elf him or herself. The ability to concentrate and release the arrow on target is unique to Elves.
Elves are slender in build, and generally stand at anything between 5'6" to 6'. They generally have pale skin colour and can have any colour hair. Their most noticable feature is of course their sharply pointed ears. They generally dress in neutral, drab colours, often in camoflauge to blend in with forest scenery.
The majority of pure-blood Elves never venture beyond their forest homes. This is in direct contrast to Half-Elves, who have a strange urge to wander. The first case means that any adventurers who are seen among the cities of Kaylon and Tan Kthol are likely to be renegades from their own tribe, who have become bored with ordinary tribal life and go out to seek fame.
As with Dwarves, there are many different types and colonies of Elves. The most populous of course are the Wood Elves, but other early offshoots of the generic race include Mountain Elves and the Desert Elves of Tan Kthol. Each live in a similar way, and each are aware of the others, and once a century there are Elven Council meetings between the leaders of all the colonies. There are even rumours of the Sea Elves - underwater dwelling creatures. It is unlikely whether such Elves exist, but very few boundaries are beyond Elven magic.
Unfortunately, because of their superior status (in their eyes, at least) as the primary race, this tends to make them a little haughty and contemptuous towards other races, such as humans and Dwarfs. This particularly irritates Dwarven-folk, as they regard themselves to be at least equal to Elves.
Elves have long lifespans. Some live to be 200 years old, yet most tend to pass away at the age of 140 or so. Certainly most adventurers retire by the time their century comes up, as peace must be made with their tribe before Death comes for them.
Role-playing:
Slightly haughty and superior air to most Elven adventurers. Proficient in above skills, but not enough naturally to grant starting skills in any. Skilled in woods.
Advantages - Increased dexterity and agility. Skilled in woodlands. Naturally skilled at art, music, poetry, archery and magic.
Disadvantages - Reduced stamina and constitution. Do not always work well with other races.
Specialized Racial Class - Magus.
