Phaetos: Elvin Traits

[Glade Riven]

A quick rundown of elves and elf-blooding ethnicities for my Ironbound: Chains of Phaetos campaign setting. I am particularly interested in opinions about the optional alternative racial traits.


Elf, Alfari: The alfari have a strongly organized social structure. Honor, manners, little daily rituals like the proper ceremony for tea, etc. Typically lawful aligned, often to the extreme. Alfari have physical traits as described in PFRPG, except their hair color has to be from a warm color pallet (browns, reds, blonds, etc).

• Alfari elves hate Telfari elves, and those with the Favorite Enemy class ability can choose Telfari as a favorite enemy.
• Alternative Racial Trait, Traditionalist: an Alfari may choose one additional knowledge skill as a bonus class skill. This replaces the racial trait Elvin Magic.

Elf, Telfari: Fairly curious, easily bored, and highly impatient. In other words, typically chaotically aligned. Telfari have physical traits as described in PFRPG, except their hair color has to be from a cool color pallet (black, blue, green, violet, etc).

• Telfari elves hate Alfari elves, and those with the Favorite Enemy class ability can choose Alfari as a favorite enemy.
• Alternative Racial Trait, Experimentalist: 1/day, A Telfari elf can reroll any skill check so long as it is before the results are known. The second roll must be taken, even if it is worse. This replaces the racial trait Elvin Magic.

Halfelf, Dunfari: Commonly known as groundlings (because all the other races call them it), these half-elves largely native to southern Zantier and have bred true for quite a few centuries.

• Alternative Racial Trait, Tunneling: Some groundlings can burrow through earth as a spell-like ability, at one half their movement speed. Entering or exiting the ground is a move action, and a groundling can only move once underground. A groundling can only stay underground for as long as they can hold their breath, at which time a groundling is automatically forced to the surface. Groundlings who have this ability suffer from aquaphobia, and take a -4 penalty to swim checks. This racial trait replaces adaptability and multitalented racial traits.

Kinfari: Half-elves, usually born from a telfari elf and a human (alfari elves are a little to prim and proper to debase themselves, although it does happen on occasion). These are half-elves as written in Pathfinder Core.

Shaifari: Drow. They have drow traits, and are from the icy cold dark side of Phaetos

Vanifari: A halfing by any other name. Moved to another continent, so they won't be in the first Phaetos book (other than a quick mention).

 

[Dingo333]

My only note is the type of ability tunneling is, Spell Like?

Most spell like abilities act exactly like one spell or another. I would reccomend Extraordinary or Supernatural for its type

Otherwise, this looks pretty good, no fluff to explain the differences, but the abilities seem to work out well

One afterthought, adding/altering weapon familiarity trait to provide a better distinction, Elven Afari Curved Blade, Elven Telfari Curved Blade. Depends on whether each has their own weapons sets or if you are keeping core weapons

 

[Glade Riven]

Keeping core weapons for now. I'm trying to have options but not bloat (hence, optional alternative racial traits instead of outright different races). Fluff is being tweaked, but essentially Alfari are Sun Elves, Telfari are Moon Elves, Groundlings are decended from Wood Elves, and regular half elves (Kinfari) are crazy tinkerers and meddling kids.

So switch Tunnelling to Supernatural. Got it.

 

[Glade Riven]

The fluff for the elves is a lot more detailed in this rough draft for the races, which has also been posted in the Phaetos compilation thread.