Jungle Elves of Davania

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Physical description: 

Jungle elves are darker skinned than elves of Brun and a bit shorter. Their hair is naturally black or dark brown but they sometimes either dye or bleach it. They tend to wear deep green leather and cotton as camouflage while hunting but can wear bright colours while relaxing or for ceremonies. Their equipment is nearly always made from materials found in the forest, so metal items are few and treasured.

Characters: 

Jungle Elf NPCs are mostly elven rangers (60%), some are spellswords (30%), and more elven druids than in Brun (10%) since jungle elves don’t have many metal items so forsaking metal equipment for druid spells is less of a sacrifice. 

The spellswords (standard elf class from B/X rules) are more like sorcerers than wizards - their magic seems more intuitive than learned and their spell preparation involves ritualistic chanting. 

Language is basically the same elvish as used in Brun but with an accent and some new words for things in the jungle. There are no game-rules changes between jungle elves and elves from other lands. 

Villages and Society

Jungle Elves often dwell in the extensive boughs and canopies of massive jungle trees where it is safer than on the ground. Such tree houses need to be at least 30ft up, away from the reach of the tallest dinosaurs. Their villages will typically consist of several large treehouses  connected by rope bridges. Village populations typically range from 50 to 200 elves. 

Villages known to the Thyatians in Cittinova include

• Macaw Roost
• Verdant Horizon
• Gray Moon
• Raptor Watch
• Hollow Trunk
• Mahogany Fort
• Ivory Bow

The jungle elves of the Davanian jungle do not form a coherent nation but more of a network of villages, a loose coalition, with large stretches of harsh rainforests separating them. Conflict between elven villages is very rare - most of the time they are aware that other elves are the least of their problems and although contact between villages is infrequent, they also realise that other jungle elves are their most reliable allies. 

Source

 Jungle elves have a Neutral attitude towards foreigners including humans, perhaps a bit better towards foreign elves. They are wary of rakastas but most of the time they leave each other alone. Jungle elves are hostile towards minotaurs, bugbears and araneas who have always treated the elves as at best competition and at worst as food. 

Economy

Food is either hunted or gathered from the canopy - Davania does not lend itself to conventional agriculture. Nonetheless there are often favoured fruit trees that each village will guard, and since different jungle trees produce fruit or nuts at different times of the year, a range of selected trees should provide a village with enough food year round. Hunted animals are usually the smaller vertebrates such as iguanas, babirusa (treat as wild boar) and small deer (herd animals, 1HD). However, every now and then the elves will take on a more dangerous prey such as the large herbivorous dinosaurs such as stegosaurus or brontosaurus (see X1: Isle of Dread for stats). Such a kill can feed a village for a week, unless the elves are driven off from the carcass by a large scavenging dinosaur such as an Allosaurus or a pack of Deinonychuses. 

Trading is generally a matter of barter. Trade between elven villages is infrequent usually because of the dangers of travelling through the jungle from one village to another, but some trades are worth the risk. Recently the elves around the Thyatian settlements have started trade with the humans there. Again they generally barter and often are not interested in silver or gold. The elves provide jungle fruits, high quality longbows, dinosaur hide and other goods gathered from the forest, and in return they enjoy the range of fabrics and clothing the Thyatians offer, and also metal weapons which are more durable and stay sharper than the bone and hardwood weapons made by the elves.