Aquatic Elf
( Races of Faerûn, p. 28)Attributes
| Size: | Medium |
|---|---|
| Base speed: | Swim 40 , Land 30 |
| Strength: | +0 |
| Intelligence: | −2 |
| Dexterity: | +2 |
| Wisdom: | +0 |
| Constitution: | +0 |
| Charisma: | +0 |
| Level adjustment: | +1 |
| Space: | 5 feet |
| Reach: | 5 feet |
| Automatic languages: | Common , Elven , Home Region |
| Bonus Languages: | Aquan , Draconic , Giant |
Description
Rarely encountered by the landbound races, the aquatic elves are a civilized and good-hearted people who inhabit the seas surrounding Faerûn. Most aquatic elves hail from underwater cities in the Sea of Fallen Stars or in the Great Sea south of Faerûn, but small settlements of this race can be found in the seas along Faerûn's western coasts as well.
The aquatic elves are tall, standing 6 feet or more in height. They have long limbs with strong swimming muscles, and their fingers and toes are long with thick webbing. Their most striking features are sets of gills along the collarbone and ribcage. Aquatic elves are nowhere near as thin as their landbound cousins, and their hair is usually stringy and thick, cut short for warriors but otherwise worn long. Great Sea aquatic elves have radiant skin of deep green with irregular thin brown stripes and patches. Aquatic elves from the Sea of Fallen Stars have skin in many shades of blue with white patches and stripes. Eye colors for both types of aquatic elf come in every shade seen among gold, moon, or wild elves. Their clothing is made of various undersea plants in shades of green, black, and brown, although aquatic elves usually go about lightly clad, if dressed at all, while underwater.
Aquatic elves have the life expectancy and age categories defined for elves in Tables 6—4 and 6—5 of the Player's Handbook, but use the following random height and weight characteristics instead of those described on Table 6—6:
| Gender | Height | Weight | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquatic elf, male | 4'10" | +2d10 | 100 lb. | x (2d4) lb. |
| Aquatic elf, male | 4'5" | +2d10 | 80 lb. | x (2d4) lb. |
Regions: Aglarond, Dragon Coast, Impiltur, Sembia, Vilhon Reach, Aquatic elf.
Racial Feats: Breathing Link, Landwalker, Rapid Swimming.
Combat
Racial Traits
Aquatic elves have all the elven racial traits listed in the Player's Handbook, except as follows:
- +2 Dexterity, —2 Intelligence. This replaces the standard bonuses and penalties most elves receive. Aquatic elves are as fleet of foot and coordinated as their land-based kin, and while they are more sturdily built than most of the other elven subraces, they have little use for study.
- Proficient with trident, longspear, and net. This replaces the standard elven proficiency with longsword, rapier, and bow.
- Swim speed 40 feet. An aquatic elf gains a +8 racial bonus on all Swim checks and can always choose to take 10 with Swim checks, even if rushed or threatened. Aquatic elves can use the run action while swimming, as long as they swim in a straight line.
- Improved Low-Light Vision (Ex): An aquatic elf can see four times as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
- Gills (Ex): Aquatic elves breathe salt water with ease. They can also breathe fresh water, but most find the experience to be very uncomfortable and are treated as fatigued while doing so and for 10 minutes afterward. Aquatic elves can survive out of the water for 1 hour per point of Constitution (after that, refer to the suffocation rule in Chapter 3 of the DUNGEON MASTER'S Guide).
- Automatic Languages: Common, Elven, home region. Bonus Languages: Aquan, Draconic, Giant.
- Favored Class: Fighter.
- Level Adjustment: +1. Aquatic elves are more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other common races of Faerûn.
