Avariel (Winged Elf)
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Temperate to subtropical mountains, forests
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Bands
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: High to Supra- (14–20)
TREASURE: N (G, S, T)
ALIGNMENT: Neutral or chaotic good
NO. APPEARING: 5–20
ARMOR CLASS: 8 (10)
MOVEMENT: 9, Fl 18 (C)
HIT DICE: 1+1
THAC0: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS: +1 with lasso, bolo, or sword, wing buffet
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (5'+ tall)
MORALE: Champion (15)
XP VALUE: 650
The avariel, or winged elves, is a rare race of reclusive elves that dwells
high in the mountains or forests away from other civilizations. They appear even
more delicate than their landbound brethren, their facial features even more
chiseled and angular. The characteristic of the avariel that is most stunning,
however, is their beautiful, soft wings. Although these wings are generally
white, avariel have been seen with wings whose colors range to black. The wings are
their pride and joy, and an avariel who has lost his wings is intensely pitied
by the other avariel. Since elves do not generally accept the pity of others, a
wingless avariel often leaves the community to find a life elsewhere.
Avariel eyes tend to be a little larger than most elves', although they are
the same color that most grey and high elves possess. Their hair is most often
white or black, but there have been numerous exceptions. The avariel have a
tendency to adopt a far-off look in their eyes when their immediate attention is not
required. They are very much at home in the outdoors, and they appear out of
place indoors or underground.
Avariel clothing is most reminiscent of togas, for other types of clothing
often snag on their wings. Togas and their like wrap easily around the avariel's
body and wings.
Combat: To those not bred to aerial combat, the avariel are a confusing opponent.
While most humanoids tend to think two-dimensionally in combat, the avariel think
in a third dimension, which they utilize to devastating effect.
They have incredible eyesight. Not only do they have the standard elven
infravision, when flying or outdoors they can focus their vision to notice details at
over a mile away or those obscured by underlying forest. They use this
incredible perception to maximum advantage and thus are excellent scouts.
From a distance, avariel in flight appear as large birds. Thus, while
opponents may notice their silhouettes, they usually disregard them. This has, more
than once, resulted in the nearly total elimination of enemy forces. Since the
avariel are efficient hunters, they ruthlessly stalk those who have escaped the
battlefield, more often than not finding and destroying those who would report
their presence.
In combat, avariel prefer to use light weapons, for heavier ones inhibit their
flight. The lasso, bola, and sword are their weapons of choice, and they gain
a +1 to attack rolls and damage when using these weapons. Note that the
momentum generated by any sword longer than a long sword interferes with flying. For
this reason, they use bastard swords and two-handed swords only in foot combat;
they do not gain the +1 bonus. Avariel, unlike other elves, have a difficult
time using ordinary bows. Their wings interfere with the smooth movements
required to fire a bow, and they therefore do not gain the +1 bonus other elves have
when using bows.
The strength of the avariel is also their downfall. If they lose more than 50%
of their hit points in damage, they become too weak to fly and must continue
their battle on ground. Until they lose 75% of their hit points, however, they
can still glide for short distances. They can also jump to a height of 10 feet.
Their wings are susceptible to fire, and they burn quickly once set ablaze.
Only several weeks of recuperation will restore wings to flying condition. A
favorite tactic of their enemies is to launch a fireball into the midst of a group of high-flying avariel and watch them plummet to
their deaths. Because of this, avariel are highly suspicious of fire-using mages.
The winged elves will never fully trust these individuals, even if they are
elves.
Another weakness avariel have is claustrophobia. They cannot bear to be in
closed places, most especially under the earth. If confined in such a place,
avariel must make a Wisdom check every day they are so confined. Failure spells
temporary insanity, and the avariel will become violent, catatonic, or panicked.
Such insanity lasts until the avariel reaches open air. If the winged elf failed
more than four Wisdom checks, he or she has gone permanently insane. This can
only be cured by a heal or remove disease spell.
Winged elves can carry a mass equal to their own body weight before their
wings will not support them. Each half of their body weight that they carry reduces
their maneuverability class by 1; if they carry more than light encumbrance,
their maneuverability becomes Class D.
Avariel can become fighters (not rangers or paladins), mages, and clerics, as
well as the multiclass combinations available to these three. There are no
recorded instances of avariel rogues. For every five avariel in a group, there will
be at least one fighter of at least 3rd level. For every 10, there will be a
mage of equal level to the fighter. Groups of 20 have a 7th-level
warrior/7th-level mage leading them, as well as a 6th-level fighter, a 5th-level mage, and a
6th-level cleric. This roster also includes the four groups of 5 and the two
groups of 10.
Habitat/Society: In some areas, the avariel are known as "Al Karak Elam," and non-elf races
have built mythologies around glimpses of these reclusive beings. To propagate
this foolishness, certain mischievous avariel have contacted humans, pretending
to be agents of a higher power. The older avariel object to this because it
leads the humans to search for them, but this ban has not yet stopped any of the
younger winged elves. However, as the avariel become more common, the instances
of this activity have lessened dramatically.
As among the other elves, the avariel have adapted themselves and their
communities to their environments. There is no exclusion based on gender; females
often hold as many, if not more, positions of power within an avariel community.
There are two types of avariel society that are especially common no matter
what the environment. Both have drawn on aspects of their elven heritage, to the
exclusion of others. However, these two types of society are never found far
from one another, so that they may more easily communicate.
It seems that many of the avariel have bred themselves for combat. Much of
avariel society is based on a warrior code of honor, seeking greater glory for
themselves and their allies. Their lives are geared around war and battle, and
they answer to their war chiefs. These are the avariel that are feared by the
humanoid nations, for they are a deadly foe. They have little of the respect for
lives of others that landbound elves have; instead, the avariel live for the
fight and the destruction of their opponents. They are a proud, hearty group, and
they form eternal friendships with those who earn their trust. Though they care
little for the lives of their enemies, they try to live theirs to the fullest.
The other half of avariel society knows little of war. These avariel have
focused mainly on the arts and the intellectual aspects of life rather than the
warlike facets. Where the other avariel make much of war and manhood ritual, these
avariel rely solely on their brains and diplomatic ability to get by. They are
a population of artists and philosophers, creating for the sheer joy of
creation.
The relations between the two halves of avariel community are perfectly
harmonious, and they stay in constant communication. Both respect the other greatly,
often trading their youths in cultural exchange programs. Since their children
are often curious about the other aspect of their culture, they are given the
chance to participate in that feature for a time, leading to a well-balanced
elf. Strangely, after experiencing the other side of life for a few decades, most
avariel are eager to return to their original homes and lead the lives to which
they were born.
Of course, there are more than just these two avariel societies; these are
just the most common. There are others that have a more equal footing between the
aspects of their societies, others that are better balanced. However, none of
these seems to have flourished so well as the warrior/thinker combination. These
two have somehow achieved a harmony that makes their civilizations greater
than others. The creative and destructive impulses, when paired, make the avariel
a formidable opponent.
The avariel are a particularly religious sect of elves, although they are not
fanatical about promoting their beliefs. They worship Aerdrie Faenya, the elven
goddess of air and weather, almost exclusively. They believe that it is due to
her intervention that they are able to survive at all, and they make their
obeisance to her accordingly. They also believe that she takes a more direct
involvement in their lives than the gods of other elves. It is due to worship of her
that the warrior avariel do not become enamored of law and thus remain elves
at heart.
The weapons crafted by avariel are usually of glass or obsidian. The open
forges used by other races to shape metal can singe their wingfeathers; the avariel
tend to avoid these. Thus, they use furnaces to shape glass into workable,
durable weapons. Avariel glassmiths are master crafters. Any metal weapons that
the avariel have are the result of trade with other races or other elves. Glass
weapons designed by avariel may occasionally break in combat. (On a natural roll
of 1, roll 1d6; the weapon shatters on a roll of 1–3.)
Ecology: No one knows whether the avariel are a natural offshoot of the elven line or
the result of powerful magicks. There are those who claim that the avariel are
the original elves and that the other elves have fallen from this high state.
Most, however, maintain that the avariel are the result of magic that combined
elves with their beloved giant eagles. Some few think the avariel are simply the
offspring of elves who had wings of flying permanently attached to their backs.
The avariel keep in contact with other elves, but the winged elves tend to be
somewhat above the affairs of the world. Nothing concerns them overmuch, unless
it impinges upon them. They usually try to avoid contact with other races,
despite the fact that some insist on seeing the world.
Avariel do not lay eggs, contrary to popular speculation. However, like birds
they do have hollow bones, making them more fragile than a typical elf. This is
the price they pay for their wings for, without hollow bones, they could not
fly. Even flying causes some discomfort because it is strenuous exercise to keep
so much weight aloft. However, they find the pain a minor inconvenience, for
the sheer joy of flight is so intoxicating. Each hour of flight, the avariel
must make a successful Constitution check. If they fail, they cannot continue to
fly for at least half an hour for each two hours of flight previous to the check.
Avariel wings are sought after by mages and evil giants. The mages prefer to
use these wings in creating potions and wings of flying, and they will pay huge amounts for any brought to them. The giants, on the
other hand, use the avariel's wings as decorations for headgear. They think it
looks particularly fine to have a beautiful pair of wings on their war helmets.
Avariel do not remain in the world as long as most elves. Their typical
lifespan is only 300 years because they feel the call of the unknown so much more
clearly than other elves. Thus, they tend to act more human than other elves
because they know that they have less time than other elves. They take things more
seriously and try to fit as much living in as possible. This is not to say that
they are as frantic as humans, but they do try to accomplish many things before
their departure.
With the DM's permission, the avariel may be used as a PC race. Their ability
adjustments are -2 Con, due to their hollow bones, and +2 Dex for their speed.
The Avariel originally appeared in DRAGON® Magazine, issue #51, as "The Winged Folk." The race has been modified here.
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