Dehll (3.5e Race)

Dehll
Summary::The rare offspring of an elf and dwarf, known for their heightened senses, artistic talent, and hardiness versus spellcraft.

Personality
Dehll are a headstrong and curious bunch, most content to sit and watch others go about their day. When forced into a social confrontation, a dehll will normally maintain a polite distance between himself and any others, answering curtly when spoken to and rarely explaining themselves. Perhaps because of this, the quiet dehll have gained a reputation as being arrogant. Their long lives and heightened perceptions also give dehll a unique insight, and they rarely act without first weighing all alternatives and variables. Occasionally their innate curiosity will cripple them, as they ponder over and over which would be the best or most interesting course of action. Once a course of action has been decided, however, changing a dehll's mind is a feat worthy of song.

Dehll normally try to stay out of the way of others, but when confronted by elves or dwarves, they will often vanish without a trace, often leaving town and lying low for several months. Dwarves and elves typically harbor little love for each other, and so both societies consider dehll abominations. While the appearance of a dehll rarely results in violence or bloodshed, the dehll is sure to end up the target of tireless harassment until they take their leave.

Physical Description
Dehll stand between three and four-and-a-half feet tall, weighing in at roughly half that of the average human, with men and women showing little difference in height and weight. Their frames are normally strong and stocky, resembling large, well-muscled halflings. While a dehll's movements are scarcely more graceful than those of a human, dehll tend to move with unconscious precision, every gesture using only minimal energy.

Characteristic of their sires, dehll possess hard, chiseled facial features, often described as "stony." They possess two small, almond-shaped eyes whose color seems to share the same spectrum as topaz: wine, yellow, gold, gray, ruddy orange, blue, brown, blue, and rarely, pink. Men typically do not grow more than a thin covering of facial hair, owing to their elven parentage.

Most dehll show a tendency towards gray or brown skin, though their parentage can cause fantastic colors varying from vibrant reds to lusterless blacks to ethereal silvers to green-tinted blues. Their hair is likewise variable with browns, blacks, and deep reds being the most common. Like elves, dehll are incapable of growing body hair, though they do display a thick, rapidly-growing mane. While most dehll allow their hair to do as it pleases, a few ambitious souls tame their hair into fantastic displays of braids and beadwork.

Complex dress is preferred amongst the artistically-inclined dehll. Their clothing is often high-quality, extravagant, and intricate; so intricate, in fact, that some say no two dehll dress alike. They often spend their free time tailoring new outfits, and those with spellcasting ability have been known to cycle through many styles throughout the day.

The dehlls' unique ancestry also grants them several physical attributes not readily apparent. They have incredibly fine senses, more sensitive than even that of an elf, and so dehll often seem distracted as they focus on something imperceptible to those around them. More surprisingly is an unforeseen resistance to magic, possibly a side effect of mingling the sturdiness of the dwarves with the arcane grace of the elves. There are rumors of dehll who can dodge the magical bolts of wizards and withstand eldritch conflagrations without so much as a grimace.

Should two dehll have the fortune to meet one another and fall in love, the offspring produced will invariably be dehll, though the unpredictable nature of their blood may cause the child to bear little resemblance to its parents.

Relations
Dehll find humans infinitely fascinating, and the greatest concentration of their race can be found in human settlements, living behind the scenes or on the edges of society. Gnomes and dehll get along well, finding great joy in their love of intricate and beautiful craftsmanship. Dehll also fit in well with halflings, both races possessing nimble minds and a somewhat opportunistic streak. In general, dehll respect for those who show great mastery of craftsmanship, with the exception of the dwarves and elves. In those cultures, dehll are seen as abominations, living insults that sully their proud ways with reminders of those not typically loved. Dehll avoid dwarves and elves like a plague, while most of the latter two will harass the former at every turn. Despite their animosity, dehll still show a grudging respect for their progenitors' mastery of song, spell, and smith.

Alignment
Neutrality seems to be common in at least one axis of the average dehll's alignment. Neutral good weighs in as the most commonly-encountered alignment, with true neutral and chaotic neutral ranking second. Dehll rarely show evil or lawful tendencies, not caring much for order or harm.

Lands
Dehll colonies are exceedingly rare and hardly boast more than a few dozen individuals. Most dehll can be found in human lands, filling a variety of roles, while others can be found roaming with halflings or tinkering with gnomes. A few all-dehll bands exist, traveling the world as treasure hunters and merchants. Dehll seen in the provinces of dwarves and elves rarely stay more than a few days.

Religion
Deities embodying curiosity, eccentricity, crafts, and freedom all appeal to dehll, though no deity is more common than any other. Rather than worshipping a god as an all-powerful being, dehll view these divine figures as paragons, hoping that by embodying a deity's ideals they may live a fulfilling life.

Language
Dehll speak Common almost universally. Draconic, Sylvan, Giant, and even Elven and Dwarven are also common among dehll.

Names
Whether a dehll is given a name by his parents is a variable issue. Regardless, most dehll choose names for themselves eventually. These names can be a mix of many different self-given names and earned nicknames and titles in many different languages, and some dehll have names comprised of dozens of syllables in a half-dozen tongues. Often a dehll's name can be traced as a vague journal of their lives.

Racial Traits

 * ,, , . Dehll possess keen senses, sharp wits, and strong wills, but are physically weak, and their eccentricities and standoffish behavior often makes them hard to approach.
 * Type::Humanoid (Subtype::Elf, Subtype::Dwarf): Dehll are humanoids with the elf and dwarf subtypes.
 * Dehll base land speed is 20 feet.
 * +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. Dehll are incredibly astute.
 * +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Craft checks. The dwarven craft affinity and elven ingenuity grant a dehll an instinctive understanding of artistry.
 * +2 dodge bonus to AC and +2 racial bonus on saves against spells and spell-like abilities.
 * Stability: A dehll has a +4 racial bonus on ability checks to resist being tripped or bull rushed while standing on the ground.
 * Astounding Senses: Dehll have a sensuous acuity far and behind that of either parent. A dehll merely passing within 10 feet of a secret or concealed door, sliding wall, trap, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe surface, shaky ceiling, material disguised as another, and the like is entitled to a Search check as if actively searching for it. A dehll can locate hidden nonmagical traps with a DC of 20 or more as a rogue can. Dehll can also instinctively intuit height and depth, sensing their approximate distance above or below the ground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
 * Automatic Languages: Common.
 * Bonus Languages: Any (except secret languages such as Druidic).
 * Favored Class: and Artificer.
 * Level Adjustment: +0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1
 * Favored Class: and Artificer.
 * Level Adjustment: +0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1