Wednesday, September 25, 2024

The Snow Elves of Eisengraz

Illustration by Alexis Flower
from the comic I Roved Out

The populace of Eisengraz is mostly comprised of snow elves. Snow elves are immediately recognizable due to their alabaster skin and blizzard-white hair. Snow elves share the sharp features and ethereal presence of their kin, but they have the appearance of elves who have had all color leeched from their flesh.

Despite the way their culture endorses rugged survival, the snow elves are not necessarily rabid individualists. They celebrate the power of strong communal ties that enable the survival of the many rather than praising self-concerned individuals whose ascent endangers their fellows. 

To that end, the snow elves count a number of other peoples as members of their confederacy in Eisengraz. They employ urska servants as hunters, trackers, and as the honor guard of Lady Eriandel. In the mines beneath Eisengraz, allied clans of duergar excavate darkiron and craft the fearsome jagged blades prized by the snow elves as weapons of war.

Here are the stats for snow elves in my Savage Worlds game:

ALL THUMBS: Snow elves stick to the tried and true technology of a bygone age.  They have a −2 penalty when using mechanical devices. If they roll a Critical Failure while using such a device, it’s broken.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESISTANCE: Snow elves receive a +4 bonus to resist cold. Damage from cold is also reduced by 4.

ENVIRONMENTAL WEAKNESS: Snow elves suffer a –4 penalty to resist heat. The penalty also acts as a bonus to damage.

LOW LIGHT VISION: Elven eyes amplify light. They ignore penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination.

TOUGH: Snow elves are toughened by the harsh clime in which they live. They start with a d6 in Vigor instead of a d4. This increases maximum Vigor to d12+1.

OUTSIDER: Snow elves are distrusted by most residents of Krevborna. They subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls made to influence those who aren’t their own kind and they have few or no legal rights outside of Eisengraz.

WARLIKE: Snow elves start with a d6 in either the Fighting or Shooting skills due to their culture's emphasis on martial training.