Deep in the most remote parts of Oerth can be found a rare race of elves who call themselves the Grugach. These elves have chosen to isolate themselves from the rest of the world, preferring the seclusion of the woodlands' heart to rough and tumble dealings with the more civilized folk of the world. When first met many mistake them for the more common, if still seldom seen, sylvan elves. A mistake they enjoy promoting, if only because it grants them greater privacy and allows for any "problems" that might erupt to be directed at the other branch of elves. After all the fool in question is convinced it was a mere sylvan elf, not one of the Wilding Ones. This secrecy has served them well. Never very numerous, the grugach use their talents for remaining hidden and their dislike for strangers to keep themselves apart from a world that they neither respect nore desire. It is in this attitude alone that they match the Grey Elves who stay locked away in their own stone fortresses.

       Grugach divide themselves up into tribes number as few as 50 and seldom more than 500. The wild elves fear a single leader for each of their tribes. All feel that such an individual would be likely to show favoritism to one faction over the others, such things could threaten the whole tribe in times of crisis. Instead, they prefer to allow a council of five elders to choose all that needs to be done. Each elder represents one important group within the community and is responsible for overseeing that the tasks charged to their sect be completed in a proper and timely fashion whenever the tribe deems it necessary.

       The first of the council is called the Elder of the Hunt. This seasoned elf is charged with making certain there is enough meat to eat and enough skins gathered for the making of garments, blankets, and shelters. These huntsmen also serve as the militia and defense of the tribe. When the enemy is near it is their duty to see that none are taken or fall prey to the evils that still linger in the deepest parts of the forest. The elder who represents this group is frequently one of the youngest on the council, and also the one most prone to pride and vain-glory when given the opportunity. Few who lead the Hunt survive to die at the hand of time. Most consider it the worst possible way to go.

       The second on the council is called the Elder of Crafts. The vast majority of all items of lasting value that are made by the grugach are actually built by members of this sect. The Crafts build the homes used by all, the intricate traps used by the hunters, the symbols held by the clerics, the thick tomes that hold the esoteric arcana of the wizards, even the baskets used by the harvesters to hold the bounty of nature itself. While generally thought to be the largest of the four sects, it is seldom the most influential. Those who choose the life of Crafts are respected and honored, though seldom sought out for advice or wisdom. It is simply not the image the grugach hold of these master smiths.

       Next on the council is the Elder of Harvests. To the untrained eye, the Wilding Elves live the simple life of hunter-gatherers. While made to look simplistic and minor in its way, there is far more to harvesting food for the grugach than merely foraging for nuts and berries. These elves have adopted a form of agriculture that does not directly interfere with the design nature has for the forest. Crops are sewn along woodland paths, in the shadows of trees, along the edge of open fields; all placed to look natural and blend in with the weeds and grasses of the wild. Harvesters take great care though with their plants, tending their needs, working closely with the druids of the faith to ensure that the much needed food survives and matures in a proper manner. The harvesters are some of the most skilled woodsmen and herbal sages to be found in the Flanaess; the highest of their calling have a skill matched by few in any of the many civilized lands.

Fourth on the council sits the Elder of Faith. This sect is formed by all who service the spiritual needs of the grugach. Both clerics and druids can be found within this sect. There is a fairly complex, if informal, structure to their religious heirarchy. It details which clerics are allowed to command the druids, and which druids rule over the various sects of clerics. The elves themselves have never seen a need to count the actual numbers of their various religious sects, but it is well known that the druids easily outnumber the more mundane priests by at least 3 to 1. The druids do not actively use this to their advantage, but at times you can tell that the clerics are aware of it, and of its possible complications for their own faiths. While they produce little beyond the aid of divine magic and spiritual guidance, this sect is easily tied with the Hunt for most powerful group within any given tribe. It is fortunate that the two sects seldom have cause to argue with one another.

       Last on the council is the Elder of Arcana. By far the smallest of the five sects, there is seldom more than a handfull of these elves found in any tribe. Still the power they wield and the insights they offer make them far to important to simply overlook or lump in with the other crafts, or so the wizards would have you believe. This sect most likely causes the most friction of all five groups within a tribe. They seek items and knowledge of the outside world that the rest of the elves have no desire to learn. The mystics also frequently ask the brave or foolish to go on quests into the darkest parts of the forest, those places where sun and light dare not tread too long, lest the cruelty that lives within the shadow corrupts the purity of the day. Members of the arcane sect count not only the book learned wizards among their numbers, but also the blood-gifted sorcerers and the children of the mind. By combining the interests and influence of these three diverse groups of elves, the members of the Arcana sect have learned to steer the tribe in the directions that further their own ends. Unfortnuately though, these three lesser groups within the sect also all have very different ultimate goals of their own, and because of this, the bicker far more among themselves than with the others outside their own inner circle.

       Surival of the tribe is by far the most important facet facing the council of elders at any given time. Each group is charged with an important task that allows all to survive. Because of this, the elders of the council pool together all the resources developed by the various sects. Then through a long process of bartering, gifting, and haggling the resources of any given sect is divided among the other four so that all may benefit equally. Then, once the division among the sects is complete, the Elder of each sect doles out an amount equal to what he feels each member earned for themselves; be it through active work, study to advance their chosen field, aiding others, or simply tending to the fallen or elderly of their groups. Once this is done, the elves are then free to trade and barter among themselves to get more of something they wanted that they were unable to acquire, or to trade away something that the elf in question finds little use for. The Great Trade happens only after each full and new moon. to acquire anything beyond that time, the members of the sect must barter among themselves for items they want, and even then there are frequently restrictions on certain rare or valuable items that may not be allowed to be quite so easily swapped out. But lesser items and common goods are easily traded back and forth as needed by the various groups.

       Once traded or given to a particular elf though, that item becomes theirs. The common grugach do not amass a great many personal possessions. Those they do acquire they either feel they need for survival or it has merited some form of sentimental attachment. This close need they feel for their possessions leads the grugach to hate thieves as much as murderers. After all, in harsh seasons or bitter times, theft of needed items can easily result in the death of the victim. Elves are reluctant to kill for such crimes though. It is not the way of the Wilding Elves to simply slaughter without a greater cause, be it personal or tribal, at stake. Thieves are stripped down to only the few things they need to survive a fortnight in the wilderness and are then exiled from the tribe. These elves must then forever fend for themselves or find another tribe willing to take them in, this seldom happens though, as lone grugach are normally viewed as criminals or bad luck by other tribes.

       There are few among this subrace of elves who travel the world at large. Those who do frequently cloak themselves in the lie that they are common sylvan elves, revealing their true blood is done only when mystery or fear is the goal of the elf in quest. Most grugach found living in the outside world typically fall into one of three likely groups. Commonly referred to as the Exiled, the Lost, and the Questing. Each has their own reason for travelling in the worlds of men and dwarves, and they seldom wish to shaire them with others. It is said that the greatest sign of friendship a grugach can show to a member of a different race is to reveal the true reason they travel the outer world that they so distrust.

The first are the Exiles. Criminals who were cast out of the tribe for commits such heinous acts as theft, violent abuse, sloth, wanton destruction of nature, extreme greed or overly grievous revenge. These elves, while rare, are seldom a friendly, and normally callous in their attitudes towards the suffering of other races; provided they don't take outright pleasure in the pain of others. Wilding Elves who come from this sad group are to be treated with care. Insanity is common among their numbers and they many of these elves see no reason not to take advantage of the exotic races they are forced to meet. Be it through theft, lies, or murder, these elves will find a way to survive and prosper in their own way among those they were raised to avoid. These elves can make some of the most challenging enemies a group of adventurers could ever fear to face. They have after all lost all they hold dear, and there is little in the human world offers them that would make kindness and truth their first choice.

       The other highly likely cause of a grugach to be travelling the paths of the world is that they have become Lost. The lost are those who are the sole survivor of an orc or gnoll attack, the last member of a family after a vicious inner-tribal feud, or the unlucky elf to be born bearing the strange mark of Astheneia, Goddess of the Living Rot. These elves feel that there is no tribe out there for them to join. So their choice becomes that of hermitage or travel among the strange folk of civilized lands. many find their way to the sanctuaries of the grey elves, and some even take refuge among the sylvan elves; but most still prefer to fight their own way in the world. Attempting to become a living tribute to those they cared for that have been lost to the world at large. After all, if a deed of truly epic quality can be achieved, the human bards will sing its praise until the end of time. In this way the memory of their tribe can live on forever.

       The least likely of the three wanderers to be met is the Questor. These are the grugach that have been entrusted or challenged to bring back a rare item that the tribe feels it must have. It could be something that was lost long ago, stolen by orcs, or even something abstract as a secret that the Wilding Ones feel no other intelligent creature should know. Whatever their reason, these elves travel the dangerous paths made by man and his minion races in their forests of stone and mortar. There is little they will not do for the recovery of the item or completion of a task. These elves know well that when the mission has been completed, there is glory and a safe haven awaiting them. This belief in return and sanctuary make them reluctant to interact with the other races anymore than they have to. Still, when they make friends, they make them well and for a long time. Questing elves seldom forget those who aided their quest and frequently share their names with those of the tribe so that if the person should ever find themselves too close to the elf's tribe, he will be treated as a friend instead of a possible thief from the outside world.

 

       There is much more to the elves who call themselves grugach, but this small amount of information that has been gleamed from the scrolls of the ancient times provide some small amoung of insight into what makes them the way they were and how they lived their lives. It is only with the most sincere hopes that this has proven useful to you.

 

• +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence
• Medium: As medium creatures wild elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: A wild elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlifht, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Wild elves receive the Simple Weapon Proficiency feats for shortspear, spear, and longspear. They also receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for longbow and shortbow (including composite versions).
• +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. A wild elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if he were actively looking for it.
• +4 racial bonus on Craft(Trapmaking) and it is considered a class skill for wild elves.
• -2 racial penalty on all Diplomacy checks because of limited interaction with other races.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus languages include Gnoll, Gnome, Orc, Sylvan, and Treant. Wild elves learn the languages of their enemies as well as their few friends.
• Favored Class: Ranger. A wild elf's ranger class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. The ways of the woodlands hunter comes naturally to the wild elf's psyche. Ranger/druids are especially common among them.

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In the Forest of Tears

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LoG

Unusual items of the Wild Elves

Crafters' Sap	10G
Ent Wine	90G
Flicker Moth      Lantern	50G
Maiden's      Armor	Gift only
Riding Stag	Self train
Staff-Spear	4G

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LoG