I while ago I wrote a class about being an elves stuck between the worlds of the Sun and the Moon. This class assumed assumed the standard GLOG magic paradigm of spells being a kind of spirit that are domesticated and shoved into one's brain. On a whim I decided to rewrite this class for a varient on the classic GLOG mage while keeping the same core idea.
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They say that when the world was young and magic filled the land, elves worked miracles and wonders. They were tall and beautiful and at harmony with the world. Spells that modern sorcerors and hedge witches would not dream to control played at the fingertips, for elves have spells in thier souls. That they could with their hands wieve such enchantments, castles of shimmering light, carriages pulled by moths. But this was long ago and untrue.
By some quirk of fate, children are born nowadays with a spark of that elvish art in their souls. Many live their lives being none the wiser to this, aside from a nagging feeling in the back of their head. If only you could be so fortunate. You do not know quite what you are, but they call you an elf, the dwindling rustic folk of dell and cave. The children of the day see you as wild child, a disruption to the proper way of things. The children of the night see as corrupted, a slave that clings to their shackles. They want to seperate what they like about you from what they don't, but it doesn't work like that you are both your halves. So you wander the world, child of the twilight hours, not wild, not domesticated but feral.
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Feral Elf
While this is a racial class, you don't have to take it at first level. If you cast aside the trappings of civilization to cavort under the Moon one night, you may discover that you were an elf all along.
Starting Items and Skills: Roll on your preferred peasant table.
A: Heartspell, Moondancer, Changeling, Light of Day
Heartspell:
Your body is of a human, but there is a Word in the center of your soul, no force can take it away from you. You know it as intimately as fish know water or birds know the sky and can explain it about as well. At character creation choose or randomly select a noun to be your Word.
To work wonders, combine your Word with up to [template] Gift, one of which can be substituted with an Implement. You may not work wonders if you are touching Cold Iron, defined as iron which is currently cold.
Moondancer:
You have up to 4 Moon Dice that you can only use to cast spells that use your Word, aside from that they are identical to Magic Dice. Your MD returns to you when you frolic for at least an hour under the moonlight.
Each Tether that connects you with the Sun’s world suppressed one maximum Moon Die. You can increase your maximum MD back by casting aside any amount of these Tethers before the Moon and cavorting for a full night.
Tools: To cast aside tools requires you not to use crafted instruments. Rocks and sticks on the ground are fine, but not sharpened ones.
Shelter: To cast aside shelter requires you don’t wear clothes or rest in buildings. Making a nest of old rags in an abandoned ruin may be fine, at the GM’s discretion.
Language: To cast aside language requires you not read and tune out profane speech. You can get by fine with non-verbal communication especially with those you know well.
Culture: To cast aside culture requires you to ignore your vocation, social standing and obligations. Hanging around with vagrants is fine.
No matter how many times you come back from the Sun’s world, she always accepts your pledge, that this time you're truly casting it aside. She is always laughing.
Changeling:
You are a creature of three natures. The human, the inconnu and what lies between. Your current nature is based on how much MD (counting both Moon Dice and Magic Dice), and will change if those change.
Half-Elf: (0-1 MD) You count as a human with all that entails, maybe your ears are slightly pointy or the distance between your eyes is a little off. As long as you're not touching Cold Iron, you can intuitively but imprecisely sense magic and spirits, expressed in goosebumps, illusionary scents and vague premonitions.
If you are open about your nature get -1 reaction with most humans, if you conceal it then reroll your reaction with -2 if it’s uncovered.
Elf: (2-3 MD) You count as both a human and a fae, both the benefits and the drawbacks. Your sense for magic and spirits is visible and unambiguous, wizard crowns are directly seen, ghosts are visible, at a glance you can tell if something is magic and with 10 minutes of observation what words are imbued in it. You no longer need to sleep as long as you cavort under the Moon and can see under her light clear as day. Cold Iron is twice as encumbering however.
You have -1 reaction with both humans and fae and it’s no use trying to hide what you are.
Inconnu: (4+ MD) You count as a spirit, but unlike a true one, you're still reliant on your flesh. You can physically touch and be touched by the incorporeal, your skin is as light armour, your limbs are as light weapons and there is one favored environment your body is perfectly adapted to surviving without any of Sun’s Tethers. However, roll an additional die for damage from Cold Iron, the sunlight blinds you and your diet becomes one of a beast. You may communicate with Fae without language, meaning emotions and intentions but not taxes or whatever.
If you are open about your nature, get -1 reaction with most spirits, if you conceal it then reroll your reaction with -2 if it’s uncovered.
For each MD you have, you manifest one of your Gifts, which hides away if you lose that MD. At character creation you choose or roll four Gifts that represent your unique nature. When you die, your corpse stays in the form it was because all three are your true nature. An Artisan Wizard can extract the Gifts you had manifest when you died, and defile them to make an Implement that can do one of the things the Gift did, and you decide what curse the Implement has.
Light of Day:
The Moon will always welcome you back, but the Sun is not fond of indecision.
When you roll doubles on a magic roll, a Mishap happens. If you love the Sun more, then the mishap is themed around the temporary loss of your Word. If you love the Moon more, then it’s caused by an excess.
When you roll a triple on a magic roll, a Doom happens. The first time the Sun forces you to choose between him and her, you suffer the first step. From then on, advance the Doom you committed to each time a triple is rolled.
Doom of the Sun:
Choose a Tether you may never cast aside.
Lose the ability to become an Inconnu, regardless of your current MD.
Forget your Word, and the ability to use magic forever. The surviving person is changed so irrevocably that you may no longer play them.
Doom of the Moon:
Choose a Tether you forever reject.
Lose the ability to become a Half-Elf, regardless of your current MD.
Forgot your humanity and all it entails forever. The surviving creature is changed so irrevocably that you may no longer play them.
Gifts:
Each Gift has one passive effect and one or two distinct effects they apply. If an effect grants the benefit of a light weapon or armour, it upgrades to medium if you're Inconnu.
- Claws: As duel wielding light weapons. They may be used to tear through [Word] or grapple with [Word].
- Teeth: As a medium weapon. You may eat [Word], either digesting it as food or storing 1 instance of it to regurgitate it later.
- Sting: As a light weapon, that feels like a mosquito bite if the target is relaxed. You may inflict a poison or medicine of [Word].
- Antlers: A large weapon. You may make a strike charged with [Word] and adding 2 to [sum] or inspire [Word] to all who can see you.
- Skin: You are undetectable when hiding in your favored environment. You may wreathe yourself in a cloak of [Word].
- Fur: As light armour. You may pluck out your hairs and transform them into stupid copies of you, which pop into [Word] if damaged.
- Scales: As heavy armour, but do not impede you. You may reflect or deflect [Word].
- Eyes: Your sight is never obscured by [Word]. You may inflict [Word] on someone but only as long as you look upon them or look out of [Word] that you have looked at up to a day ago.
- Tail: Gives a fifth appendage that can hold your body weight. You may swoosh it over yourself to be disguised as [Word] or a thing of [Word] and it involuntarily starts wagging when [Word] is nearby.
- Wings: Allow you to glide or fly if you're Inconnu. You may get a vision of [Word] within a day’s flight and directions towards it if it’s under the sky.
- Gills: You breathe water but not air. While underwater increase [sum] by 3.
- Liver: You're immune to all poisons you have survived. You may divine a question related to [Word] and receive an answer of “yes/no/maybe” or tamper with divinations on a specific question for [dice] days.
- Voice: You can throw your voice within the distance you can show. You may issue a command of [Word] or sing to make [Word] dance.
- Hooves: You are immune to detrimental terrain and being tracked in your favored environment. You may walk on [Word] as if it were solid or charge at great speeds leaving a trail of [Word] behind you.
- Paws: Your footsteps are completely silent. Increase [sum] by 2 if you target someone who does not know you're there.
- Gut: You're able to eat anything organic. You may fire a cone-shaped blast of [Word] from your mouth or fart a noxious cloud of [Word].
- Small: You are the size of a child and the size of a mouse if Inconnu. You may use d4s for MD, still keeping them on a 1-3.
- Large: You are the size of an ogre and the size of a house if Inconnu. You may use d8s for MD, still keeping them on a 1-3.
- Thumbs: Select a craft, this craft does not count for Tethering you. You may craft magical items out of [Word], that last for [sum] days and fade in the Sun.
- Warts: Are not Tethered by language if you're insulting someone. You may curse someone with [Word].
Several Elves:
Size changing scorpian which causes you to hallucinate shit, obviously lives in the desert and generally seen by those delious with dehydration.
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