Basic History
It is said that elves were all once of a singular type. They worked together and achieved great things until one day they decided that they were greater than the gods. It was then, legends say, that the gods divided them, separating the elves into various types with different relationships with each other and different abilities. From the singular elf race came forth the Yerk or Wood Elf, the Ascia or Spirit Elf, the Rover or Plains Elf, the Dweller or Dark Elf, and the Xeno or Rune Elf. While some of these elven sub-types will work together, there remains a deeply ingrained prejudice for any elf that is not of their own kind.
The Rover Elf left the forests and took to the plains. There they developed a symbiosis with the creatures of the plains not too dissimilar to the connection Yerk Elves have to their familiar, yet at the same time a bond more similar as the Rover Elf believes in a shared spirit. They have foregone the way of civilization as well, and never do they lay any roots. This nomadic lifestyle started out as a necessity. First it was to escape persecution and when the world fell to ruin due to the Great Magic War it was to find safety, food, and clean water. After many centuries of this the nomadic lifestyle became a part of their very identity.
Rover Elf Positives and Negatives
Rover Elf are excellent hunters bearing keen eye sight that allows them to see a mile away under good conditions, and keen hearing that allows them to hear the slightest whisper. Rover Elf also have a good sense of smell. By using their sense of smell, and knowing the difference between smells, they are able to ‘sniff-out’ what is coming, out to ‘sniff-out’ their prey.
Rover Elves are one of the faster races on land, faster than other elves at the very least - at least when they are in the open plains. In any other environment they slow down to normal elf speed. Rover Elves tend to become claustrophobic in tight or crowded places, requiring them to make Normal Mental Balance Checks or be inflicted with anxiety until they are in the wide open again. Their sense of smell can also hinder them as what would be a bad smell to most might overpower the Rover inflicting them with momentary nausea.
Rover Elf Skills & Talents
Rover Elf have the skills shared by all elf races as well as have the following skills:
| Skill | Stat Cost | Range & Area | Duration | Check Roll | Effects | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Life Shared | Stats traded | by touch | instant | Normal Spirit |
During the shared soul of the skill "One Soul" the rover elf may trade stats with the mount. The stats that can be traded are Vitality, Soul, and Power. The Rover elf can give the mount those stats if the mount needs them or can take them from the mount. Only one stat at a time can be traded and the limit is half the current stat. After all, neither the rover nor the mount will want the other to die. |
can only be used during the duration of One Soul |
| Keen Sight | Soul Spent | self | instant | Normal Insight |
Plains Elves have amazing sight when they focus. They can see a mile away under the right conditions. With this skill, the plains elf can spend Soul to improve both their Perceive or their Evade Penalty to targets at a cost of 2 Soul for 1 bonus point. |
be a rover elf |
| Navigation | N/A | self | instant | Easy Perceive |
Can find where you are and nearest town based on what you see. |
N/A |
| One Soul | 1 Soul | self and bonded mount | 1 hour | Easy Nature |
The Rover Elf has a spiritual bond with their mount, sharing a singular soul. During the hour the rover elf will see, hear, smell, and feel what the mount experiences. The mount will also see, hear, smell, and feel what the rover experiences. Once the bond is made the distance does not matter, but to activate the skill the rover elf must touch the mount. |
be a rover elf |
| Primal Scent | N/A | 1-mile radius | instant | Easy Nature |
Identify the direction and general type of creature (beast, humanoid, etc.) by scent alone. |
be a rover elf |
| Unnatural Speed | 2 Power | self | 1 hour | Easy Stamina |
With this skill the plains elf can gain a bonus in movement. This skill grants a +1 to movement at base cost. But for every additional Power spent, you get another +1. |
N/A |
They also have the following talents:
| Talent | Effects | Requirements | Handicap Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Born on a Mount |
The rover elf probably learned how to ride before the elf could even walk. Because of this the rover not only needs no saddle (and prefers no saddle), but also will likely not fall from his or her mount. While riding a beast, the rover gets a +1d8 to Brace checks against being knocked off or falling off. The Rover also increases the mount's Move and Acrobatics by his or her own. |
must be a rover elf |
Thalassophobia: The rover elf has a very unnatural fear of the sea. The elf will not willingly go where he or she can't take their mount, and if forced on a ship the rover elf will have to make Normal Mental Balance -3 checks per hour against anxiety, berserk, and panic-induced dazed. |
| Child of the Plains |
The rover elf grew up on the plains and calls the plains home. While on the plains the rover will experience no movement penalties nor will the rover experience power loss from sprinting. Furthermore the rover gains a + 1d4 to initiative while on the plains. Furthermore the rover elf gets a +3 to survival for looking for clean water and food. |
must be a rover elf |
Not for the City: When in towns or cities the rover elf will feel claustrophobic and have a reduction of 1d6 to movement. |
| Shaman of the Plains |
Rover Elves have developed a greater skill for healing, especially out in the plains. In the plains they can get a free Easy Medicine check to locate a needed herb to heal basic status effects such as low level poisons, dazed, fear, nausea, and sickness. If the rover elf is female they have had even more training in this and can add double their medicine trait score to any healing potions effects. |
must be a rover elf |
Wanderlust: If the rover elf stays in one settlement for more than 3 months, they suffer a cumulative -1 penalty to all mental checks per week. |
Rover Elf Mounts
A Rover Elf forms a life-long relationship with his or her mount and indeed they see and feel what their mount feels, and vice versa. They start with one of several mounts: Chalcedonian Charger, Campherian Lynx, or the Auster Grinder.
Should something happen to either the Rover or the Mount they would feel it. If the mount dies, the Rover will be depressed and half loss of self for no less than 1d12+2 days. The Rover will not bond with another mount for at least a month. If the Rover dies, the Mount will lay there and not eat until it too passes.
Appearance
Rover Elf are tall and skinny. Their skin is tanned and slightly red, and have ears that measure to be about 2” long. Their hair color is black, and eye color is black as well. They have narrow eyes that help to keep the glare of the Nor'Ovan sun from affecting them. They are all typically toned body wise. All rover elves keep their hair long and tied behind them.
Living Habitat
Rover Elf are nomadic and can be found roaming the plains of Nor’Ova. It is common to see a Rover Elf travel. What is uncommon is to see any settled in any place for longer than a season, although there have been times were a Rover clan might stay for half a year. Every Rover Elf begins to feel wanderlust if they stay put for too long. The plains call to them and it is almost impossible for the Rover Elf not to comply.
Rover Elf Culture
Rover Elf are very nomadic. They celebrate the hunt and life itself but usually do not stay in one place to long. Because they are always on the move their celebrations are short but meaningful.
Rover Elf do not use last names. Instead, when referring to themselves, they will often give you their first name followed by “son of” and their father's name. First names typically reflect nature in some way or form.
Rover Societies are a patriarchy with a chief at its helm. The men hunt and provide while the women care for the camp, the sick, the young, and the old. Because of this women rover elves tend to be healers while men tend to be rangers or warriors. This reaches all the way to their courting ritual in which the woman rover must persuade the man rover that she is the right life-mate for him. She may do this in any number of ways, from wearing brightly colored hides that she made herself, to cooking, to even challenging the man in a dual.
Rovers are polytheistic in belief. They worship nature, the winds, and Ova and Norvus. They forsake the structured religions of the world. Rovers also believe that all souls are shared. The clan is one soul that they are all a part of, and that include their mount. The world is another soul, the trees and wildlife share the soul with the world. They also believe in using all of the beast that they kill and that nothing belongs to any one person but can be used by who needs it the most.
"A Rover Elf is quick to tolerate but his trust can never be won" is a saying said by any who know of the Rover Elves. They will tolerate anyone who is respectful to them, their tribe, and to nature, but they trust no one but their tribe and their mount. If you hurt one Rover Elf, the whole tribe becomes your enemy.