Mongoose Publishing - The Quintessential Elf II - Advanced Tactics, RPG, D20
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The Quintessential
Elf II:
Advanced Tactics
Shannon Kalvar
Contents
2 Introduction
4 Racial Paths
Credits
Line Developer
Ian Belcher
Illustrations
Stephen Shepherd, Carlos Henry, Carlos Rodrigo,
Christophe Swal, Philip Renne
19 Multiclassed Elves
50 The Legendary Elf
67 Elven Ways and Means
Studio Manager
Ian Barstow
96 Elven Magic
113 Fey Tricks
Production Manager
Alex Fennell
118 Designer’s Notes
120 Index
Proofreading
Sarah Quinnell
124 Character Sheet
Playtesters
Jason Alexander, Ellen Barbara, Harvey Barker,
Antoine Buttigieg, John Cox, Simon Galea, William C
Garthright, Kenneth Gatt, Jeff Greiner, Leslie A Lock,
Christoph A Sahar, Joseph Singleton, Rob Udsin,
Brian D Weibeler, Nathan G Williams
128 License
Open Game Content & Copyright Information
The Quintessential Elf II: Advanced Tactics ©2004 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of
non-Open Game Content of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly
forbidden. The Quintessential Elf II: Advanced Tactics is presented under the Open Game and D20 Licences. See
page 128 for the text of the Open Game Licence. All text paragraphs and tables containing game mechanics and
statistics derivative of Open Game Content and the System Reference Document are considered to be Open Game
Content. All other significant characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose
Publishing. All rights reserved. If you have questions about the Open Game Content status of any material herein,
please contact Mongoose Publishing for clarification. ‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of
Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and are used according to the terms of the d20 System Licence version 6.0. A copy of this
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pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. Dungeons & Dragons® and Wizards of the Coast®
are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the United States and other countries and are used with permission.
Printed in China.
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Introduction
2
Quintessential Elf II: Advanced Tactics
Introduction
W
hat do we say about elves? What can we say
Rather,
Quintessential Elf II
focuses on trying to help
the reader get the most out of what he already knows
about elves. It starts off with basic rules for tailoring
elves to fit specific roles in a campaign or world. We
then move on to discuss building truly epic elves using
multiple classes and legendary career paths that lead
to the ultimate reaches of combined martial might and
elven magic.
that has not already been said? Elves delight
the readers of fantasy books and gamers
alike. Ephemeral beings of light and spirit, they dance
just on the edge of our awareness. They can be angels
and demons, the personification of otherworldly magic
or nature spirits depending on who does the telling. They
may be warriors, wizards, singers, poets, dreamers… or
nothing at all, just glimpses of movement at the corner
of our eyes.
We then turn our attention to the technology and
knowledge of the elves. Rather than presenting a single
possibility, the three chapters (Elven Ways and Means,
The Magical Elf and Fey Tricks) cover a wide variety
of elven types. How do elves that are effectively angels
differ from those who represent the spirits of nature?
What tricks does a wild spirit elf bring to the table
that a near divine immortal does not? By mixing and
matching elements from these chapters Games Masters
and Players will be able to portray elven cultures
without falling back on simple stereotypes.
It is this seemingly infinite well of possibilities that
causes us to come back to elves again, and again, and
yet again. Elves can embody the best of us, our purest
qualities unsullied by the decay of time or the grime of
compromise. Unlike the more pragmatic humans they
act on the epic scale, directly choosing good and evil
without flinching.
The Advanced Tactics
series
The Advanced Tactics series takes an advanced look at
the whole range of class and racial sourcebooks from
Mongoose Publishing, all designed to greatly widen
a Player’s options for his character within the d20
games. More than simple continuations, the second
series of Quintessential books slot seamlessly into any
fantasy-based campaign, giving advanced alternatives
for characters of one class or race within the game,
allowing both Players and Games Masters the chance to
give mid- and high-level characters new options without
overpowering or unbalancing the game as a whole.
The Advanced Tactics series will not necessarily allow
Players to make their characters even better, but they
will be able to do a lot more than they ever thought
possible before.
Elven Ways and Means bears the heaviest burden of
the three knowledge chapters. It lays out four potential
‘elven technologies’, each with unique flavour and
use. Elfin crafts allow the elves to imbue relatively
crude items with beauty and magical power. Grown
crystals give the elves access to an infinitely deep well
of physical material to work with, so that they can avoid
grubbing for metal. Living magic twists the standard
d20 rules for wondrous items so that elves can create
trees with sap of steel and a thousand fruits. Woven
light allows elves to reach out and forge a blade of
moonlight, or weave a cloak of starlight. Taking these
as bases for elven society allows both the Players and
Games Masters to create elves who truly live in a very
different way to their mortal kin.
The other two chapters, The Magical Elf and Fey
Tricks, try to give Players practical uses for the ethereal
concepts discussed in the rest of the book. Saying that
the elves embody spirits of light does not necessarily
give the Player a host of new options for customising
his character’s presence in the game world. The
Magical Elf solves this problem by providing Charm
feats that represent the character’s powers in a discrete,
mechanically clear way. Fey Tricks continues the trend
by outlining various feats related to the character’s
innate connection to the world of essential forces.
The Quintessential
Elf II: Ways of the
Sprits
Quintessential Elf II
does not aim to revolutionise the
portrayal of elves that already exists in the literature of
fantasy gaming. Elves are the single most commonly
written about race; trying to change the accumulated
perceptions created by such a mass would take a work
of rare genius.
Through it all we will keep to the theme of elves
as essential spirits. Each elf expresses something
fundamental, something primal about his world. This
purity gives him strength even as it blinds him to the
concerns of lesser mortals.
Introduction
3
Quintessential Elf II: Advanced Tactics
Holly smoothed back the wild tangle of her black hair with a golden comb. The wide teeth caught in a bit of mud,
worrying at it just wound it deeper into the mass. She gritted her teeth as she applied more pressure. Sharp pain flashed
though her scalp as something came free at the roots.
‘Tsk, Miss.’ A soft hand gripped her wrist. ‘So hard, and no mirror. You’ll ruin your hair if you do this.’ The hand shifted
up hers, taking the comb. ‘Let me do it. Miss has been out too long.’ She heard the familiar sound of bare feet treading
across the carpet of her room. ‘Miss just made it back in time. Mum was not sure she would make it. No she wasn’t.’
‘I am back, aren’t I?’ Holly folded her hands in her lap. Bits of moss from her boots stained the carpet at her feet. ‘She
told me to be here and I am. What more does she want?’ She felt the gentle pull of the comb running though her hair.
After the first hundred strokes the maid shifted from the comb to a fine brush. Quiet descended on the room as shadows
gathered in the corners. The next hundred came and went without event.
As the third hundred started, Holly found her voice again. ‘Maggie?’
‘Yes, Miss?’
‘What should I wear tonight?’
‘Well, Miss. Your mother had the green dress, the one with the cloth of gold and those pretty sunstones from last winter,
aired out for you. They match the sunlight’s kiss in your hair.’
‘Isn’t there something,’ she kicked her boots away from the chair, ‘a little less, well, much? I mean, that one feels like a
shroud…’
The long strokes of the brush paused for a moment. ‘Well. Miss might like the blue instead? The velvet and
diamonds?’
‘Still too much.’ Holly picked at the base of her thumbnail. ‘How about the red and white?’
‘Stop that Miss. The red and white?’ The strokes slowed. ‘The one Miss’s Mum had made for the opening of last year’s
Season?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘It might be not right for tonight. Tonight is for meeting and greeting, not coming out.’
Holly closed her eyes. ‘Maggie?’ she whispered.
‘Yes Miss?’
‘How do they sing so beautifully?’
The brush stopped. Holly felt the comforting weight of it pull away from her hair. ‘Ah. You saw the fair folk on their
way in? The fair folk with their graceful ladies,’ the soft padding feet headed towards the closet, ‘and their pretty lads.’
Fabric rustled as Maggie began to lay something out on the great bed.
‘Do you know them Maggie? Do you know about them?’
‘Oh yes, Miss. I know about them.’ Maggie’s voice grew fainter as she retreated into the bathing chamber. ‘I know their
tricks and their ways. I know what secrets they want to keep. Maggie’s been everywhere, she has.’ The sound of rushing
water drowned out her words for a moment. Holly kept her head down, her hair hiding her face.
‘Would Miss like to know what Maggie knows?’ She felt strong, soft hands loosening the ties of her leather jacket.
‘Yes Maggie. Tell me everything.’
Racial Paths
4
Quintessential Elf II: Advanced Tactics
Racial Paths
E
lves are creatures of essential power. Their very
time he gains a level, or else fall from the path. Again,
these ritual actions will be specified in the Restrictions
section.
presence in an area causes it to come alive with
magic. Theoretically, the more an elf evolves,
the more this aspect of his nature expresses itself. He
should glow with inner power, causing lesser beings to
tremble in his aura. Unfortunately the standard d20
class progression does not include abilities that simulate
this effect.
A character may only follow
one
path (Racial or
Career) at any time. In addition, the Racial Path he has
chosen must be maintained. Every time the character
advances a character level, he must do at least one of
the following:
For
Quintessential Elf II
we have adapted the concept
of Career Paths to meet this need. The core concept
of Career Paths allows a character to construct a group
of skills and feats that, if he holds to them, give him an
advantage and disadvantage appropriate to the choices.
This creates a systemic benefit and penalty for particular
skill and feat paths, not unlike the concept of martial arts
mastery presented in other books.
Select a new feat from the career path’s advancement
options (only available if his level advancement
grants a feat).
Increase the ability listed as the minimum ability for
that path (only available if his level advancement
grants an ability increase and if the path has a
minimum ability score requirement).
The concept of a Racial Path for the elf is represented
by their differing spirits – this grows directly out of the
concept of elves as beings only partially belonging to
physical reality. If the elf strongly aligns with a specific
primal force, that alignment should have some direct
impact on his character. Once he makes this choice he
must take steps to maintain it or it falls into decay.
Increase a skill from that path’s advancement options.
The character need only spend 1 skill point in this
fashion.
When a character selects a path he gains one benefit and
one disadvantage form the accompanying list. He is free
to choose which advantage and disadvantage he prefers.
Each of these advantages and disadvantages persists as
long as the character qualifies for the path. If he ever
falls from the path, he loses both aspects of the path.
Following a Elf’s
Racial Path
When an elf (or half-elf) character gains any character
level he may choose a Racial Path that he qualifies for.
The character
must
be an elf or half-elf to follow an elven
Racial Path. In each path’s description, the advancement
options section describes a number of skills, feats or
other choices that serve both as a route map and a list of
prerequisites for that path. The character must possess
the following requirements:
Characters can abandon or lose a Racial Path by either
failing to meet requirements or by breaking one of
the restrictions listed on the path. In either case the
character immediately loses both the benefits and the
disadvantages associated with his path. Once he lapses,
the elf may restart the path the next time he gains a
character level.
Unlike many Career Paths, a character becomes
more and more powerful as he advances on his
Racial Path. For every five character levels that the
character maintains his path without failing, he gains
one additional advantage and disadvantage from the
proposed list. However, if he ever falls from his path,
he must start over again at the beginning. A character
may
never
select a new Racial Path if he has already
abandoned another, though they are still eligible for a
Career Path (though whilst following a Career Path, the
character will not be able to restart his old Racial Path).
One skill at the requisite rank from that path’s
advancement options.
One feat from that path’s advancement options.
The minimum ability requirement (if any) for that
path.
There may also be additional restrictions for those
attempting to follow a particular Racial Path; these will
be detailed in the Restrictions section for each path.
Each Racial Path also requires a specific ritual action
on the character’s part; he must perform this action each
Note that skills and feats do not change their status
regarding the character. Cross-class skills do not become
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