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Back in the days, when Drizzt was introduce, he was quite the unique character (sure his full-blooded sister and his father had similar inclination, but not to the same level and were unable to break free unlike him) and it was great, this uniqueness made his story that much more compelling.
Now a unique character will often lead to clone, people like it and seek to recreate it. It's not a bad thing, but when it become "too much of a good thing", that can be a problem.
So I started working on a "what-if" scenario: "What if Good Drow were not Drow at all? What if they were a distinct but related elven subrace?". Pondering this idea and daring to slip into the Heresy, I came up with this:
Deep underground, hidden in the uppermost cave of the Darkland, there reside a virtually unknown even race. Seen fairly regularly in the Darkland, and impose rarely aboveground, they can easily pass for a drow at first glance and only closer scrutiny would allow to see the telltale of a different subrace.
Descendant of elven and drow scholars, merchants, explorers, rogues and other malcontents who found a deeper kinship with each other than with their own people, these elves and drows created small communities where they could met, exchange and spend time together. Over the slow course of decades and centuries, this kinship lead to the stronger bond of blood-kinship; creating a race that held to ideas and belief of both parents but with a more balance view.
After comparing both race, I've worked out a first draft (Don't have it handy for now, but will post it later) for this subrace. It currently sits roughly on par with Dhampir and tiefling, so a bit stronger than regular elf, but slightly weaker than a drow. And like the drow, they would have a noble bloodline too (descendant of Noble Drow) and this bloodline is roughly on par with the svirfneblin. So powerful, but nowhere as powerful as Noble Drow.
Obviously, it needs to be refine, but could potentially offer a nice alternative to what is considered by some to be a problem or overused trope.
"A rose by any other name." I wouldn't see people happy with this kind of solution, but as a GM it is your world and your rules.
For those who like the lore of Drizzt and want to copycat the idea, they want the drow proper, not the dollar store knockoff. For the power gamer, making it weaker makes it not appealing.
Reading further through R.A.'s stories, and the offshoots from other authors many drow eventually broke the mold. The same type of mentality has come into the main core of PF2, where core Goblins are described as "the atypical goblins not prone to their normal nature".
Moving that all aside, as a GM and player of 5e games where Drizzt is cannon, I often use him as somewhat of an icon to atypical Drow. His exploits while taboo to the society, are known by all the families. He's an example and it began the seeds of rebellion. Troupes of good Drow try to escape to the surface all the time, though the underdark is a dangerous place, often many fall, and the communities closest to underdark entrances tend to respond to Drow on the outskirts unkindly thinning their numbers further.
In the Pathfinder world of Golarian, there is no Drizzt, so a lore solution is not so eloquent. However as with Goblins these Drow are still atypical. I have played one such Drow, and I gave her very good reason to have escaped, playing off her class choice of Arachnid Wildsoul Vigilante, as well as researching the various Drow houses in Golarian.
Perhaps I'm simply not your target audience. I find no issue with people taking inspiration from material, and I tend to put a tonne of effort into making unique stories regardless of the campaign I'm running or character I'm playing.
EDIT: As a final note, remember that your PCs represent, if we massively lowball it, 4-6 people out of a few million. Even if they were all Drizzt, they represent such a small offshoot of society as to be less than a fraction of a percent point.
I agree with you that the PC represent a very small portion of the overall population and thus are exceptional, breaking the mold in more than one way, both statistically and socially. And yes this idea will not appeal to everyone and there nothing wrong with this and
What I'm presenting is something I'm working on (and the reasoning behind) and offering it as a possible option for those who feel the same way or those who are looking for a drow alternate, an elf-drow hybrid, a new elf option or a new type of opponent for their player to name but a few of the possible reasons to introduce it in your game.
And worse case it give something to think about and might get people to think of their own variant of the concept that works better for their home game.
According to the Adventure Path Second Darkness, an elf who becomes evil enough is actually transformed into a Drow. Perhaps have one who is good enough is transported away from the drow and transformed into a base elf?
Over at another board, there is a big discussion on how perhaps Drow should be changed big time. Dark skinned, underdark dwelling elves who have a BDSM culture that should have imploded long ago and are ruled by a demon queen who likes poking them with sticks is very problematic and should go the way of stupid rampaging orcs who exist only to be killed and the varasian gypsies that are offensive stereotypes.
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I once rolled up a Drow Ranger (I had never heard of Drizz't at this point) and I made him Neutral Good. My DM killed him immediately because he was vehemently opposed to Drow having even a hint of good in them.
The old 2nd edition D&D adventure path, "Night Below" actually introduced this elven subrace for you; the Rockseer Elves. Might give you a little lore you may want to draw on.
Additionally, for what it's worth, the underdark described in Night Below fits so well in Golarion lore that it's my guess that James Jacobs ran the adventure path in his personal game back in the day.
@Val'bryn2
That could potentially work in Golarion, or a setting with a similar premises. Some setting however went a different route, so it could not work.
But The idea has potential.
@Phillip Gastone
I don't know. That's one way to see it, I admit. However, on the other hand you have a society that it built on a precept of the "Survival of the fittest" and where cunning and stealth are admired and the weak is either killed or enslaved. Their religion is also built around that idea of removing the weak and the dull-witted ones. That idea is baked-in also in their view of enslaving lesser races, focusing that predatory inclination outward as oppose as inward, reducing the worse of the infighting and allowing their society to march on.
But this view could just be holdover from my experience in 1st and 2nd ed.
@DungeonmasterCal
Exactly. It sucks for you, but It's a knee-jerk section for many people. Hopefully this could offer an alternative.
@Gulthor
The Rockseer are a possibility, the Dusk Elve alternate kind of fit that role, but not exactly.
Here is the breakdown, after a bit of work. The base Bloodline is on par with surface elves and the Noble bloodline is on par with Svirfneblin.
built with the idea of Balance between Light and Darkness, Surface and Darkland. They mix and match elements of both culture and have a few cities (mainly on the upper level of the Darkland) as well as several small semi-permanent settlement both above and underground.
Society-wise, they are divided in Houses, which are matrilineal clans, in which male and female are equal and the House is usually run by the oldest member (either female or Unmarried male). Slavery is non-existant and they tend to rule their settlement through a council (usually) composed of the oldest Houses of that settlement. Houses are, in theory, on equal footing, however some may be deemed more or less prestigious based on their deeds. Being a member of the "noble bloodline" is not indicative of higher social status, it is only indicative who were their foremothers.
Penumbra Elf (Better name pending)
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution: As all elves, they are nimble but frail. They tend also to be more even tempered.
Medium: Elves are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision: like their drow foremother, they can see in the dark however only up to 60 feet.
Low-Light Vision: like their elven foremother, they can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Elven Immunities: Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Keen Senses: Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
Light Sensitive They are dazzled as long as they remain in an area of bright light
Spell-Like Abilities: They can cast dancing lights and
faerie fire, once each per day, using her total character level as her caster level.
Weapon Familiarity: Elves are proficient with hand crosbows, longswords, shortbows (including composite shortbows) and shortspears
Languages: Elves begin play speaking Common, Undercommon and Elven. Elves with high Intelligence scores can choose
from the following: Aklo, Drow Sign language, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan.
The Noble bloodline differ from the base thusly:
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma,-2 Constitution: As all elves, they are nimble but frail. They tend also to be more even tempered and quite charismatic.
Spell Resistance: Drow possess spell resistance equal to 6 plus their caster level.
Spell-Like Abilities: They can cast dancing lights, Detect Magic and faerie fire at will, and Feather Fall and Levitate once each per day, using her total character level as her caster level.
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber
A group I have been running in the Lost Lands came up with an underdark group. There was good reason at the time. Two were Drow and a couple of dark gnomes and a hobgoblin I believe.
They were not greeted with love where ever then went. As a matter of fact due to some unfortunate events Drow were banned from Bard's Gate by law due to some of their exploits.
The Lost Lands is rough on characters, and they are down to one Drow, and one dark gnome.
And they stay away from large cities these days.
Depending on the campaign (not even the setting) a Drow character (or multiple ones) can be quite fitting, however it comes with its share of baggages...without even starting to include the antics of players.
And that's pretty much true for every races. Fantasy societies, like all societies, have preconceptions and stereotypes (both racial/cultural ones and class-based one) which makes them believable (but not always likable). It's up to the GM to decide how much or how little of these views to include.
Also, to bring it back to the reason behind this thread, any feedback on my racial breakdown would be appreciated.
Andre Roy wrote: @DungeonmasterCal
Exactly. It sucks for you, but It's a knee-jerk section for many people. Hopefully this could offer an alternative.
Thanks, Andre. It's no biggie, even wasn't 33 years ago when it happened. Sure, I was a little put out by it, but we're still friends to this day.. lol
Phillip Gastone wrote: Over at another board, there is a big discussion on how perhaps Drow should be changed big time. Dark skinned, underdark dwelling elves who have a BDSM culture that should have imploded long ago and are ruled by a demon queen who likes poking them with sticks is very problematic and should go the way of stupid rampaging orcs who exist only to be killed and the varasian gypsies that are offensive stereotypes. Isn’t that why Pathfinder drow are purple? Going by the art in the monster codex, they aren’t all dark skinned, either. And there are actual black elves living in the Mwangi.
I’ll admit that you have very valid points about their ... culture. If you can call it that. They seem to have been designed for PCs to kill guiltlessly, rather than designed to make any figgin’ sense.
Asmodeus' Advocate wrote: Phillip Gastone wrote: Over at another board, there is a big discussion on how perhaps Drow should be changed big time. Dark skinned, underdark dwelling elves who have a BDSM culture that should have imploded long ago and are ruled by a demon queen who likes poking them with sticks is very problematic and should go the way of stupid rampaging orcs who exist only to be killed and the varasian gypsies that are offensive stereotypes. Isn’t that why Pathfinder drow are purple? Going by the art in the monster codex, they aren’t all dark skinned, either. And there are actual black elves living in the Mwangi.
I’ll admit that you have very valid points about their ... culture. If you can call it that. They seem to have been designed for PCs to kill guiltlessly, rather than designed to make any figgin’ sense. Their culture isn't that bad (and is not BDSM, I actually take great offense to that as someone involved in that culture). Take their point of view, in both D&D's world, and Pathfinder.
In Faerun, they retreated underground when the surface elves warred with dragons. They were deemed cowards and their gods abandoned them. They found salvation in Lloth, who corrupted them but saved their lives. They owe Lloth everything, and for that everything she offers them power.
In Golarian, there was an exodus and the Drow refused to abandon Golarian. They hid underground and got too close to Rovagug, who corrupted them. Their society built off of this isolation and a hatred of those who abandoned their world. They've made pacts with various demon lords for the power to take back the world they believe to be theirs, and each of those demons ask different things of their followers.
In both cases though, they're simply devoutly religious, in a world and setting where such things matter. Gods are real and they offer real power to those that venerate them.
It's quite interesting and all, but it's somewhat derailing from the main point of this post: Which is to present a homebrewed elven subrace which could be used as an alternative to the "Good Drow" (or simply on it's own) and hopefully get feedback on it (Especially since it has now been posted in detail).
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If I came across as tacitly approving the use of BDSM as a derogative, you have my sincere apologies!
I still maintain that their society makes no sense. A nation of complexity-addicted backstabbers who all have good reason to mistrust each other wouldn’t get very far in life, let alone become the dominant power under the earth.
EDIT
Posted at the same time as the OP.
I've seen examples of drow with clothing that can only be attached via magic who have bred special drow who have their pain/pleasure senses reversed. So a nice snuggle is agony. Plus prostitute themed drow and this is from official Wizards sourcebooks. Needless to say, they have a lot of baggage.
As for orc bandits, perhaps this offers opportunities to (carefully) start a dialogue and the PCs can discover they raid out of desperation because a bullete has moved in and wrecked their fields and hunting grounds. Deal with the bullete, and even a mid-level druid could repair their fields.
Of course the drow were originally designed to be gutted mercilessly. EVERYTHING was designed to be gutted mercilessly. Except the gnomes. Those were meant for punting contests.
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If I understand correctly, the solution to races not being morally pure is to separate them into different races that are morally pure?
Seriously, the "Drizzt Problem" isn't that there are good drow; it's that nearly all good drow coalesce into clones of Drizzt. There's little reason for that to be the case--there are abundant examples of characters* from violent or morally horrifying cultures who believe that, gosh, maybe there's a better way to live. They don't all have to be angst-ridden Mary Sues.
*to say nothing of actual people, historical and contemporary
Once again, this thread was created to present a new elven subrace and maybe get some feedback on it, especially if there are balance issues, and refine it.
The genesis and a bit of the background was provided to help people see where this idea came from and the origin of this subrace to give a better picture of it and put the it in context.
So far, I have yet to receive any feedback on the racial write-up.
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Andre Roy wrote: Once again, this thread was created to present a new elven subrace and maybe get some feedback on it, especially if there are balance issues, and refine it.
The genesis and a bit of the background was provided to help people see where this idea came from and the origin of this subrace to give a better picture of it and put the it in context.
So far, I have yet to receive any feedback on the racial write-up.
Feedback: What is the level adjustment on the Noble version? You're giving them a lot of caster stats easy for abuse.
The issue though why you aren't getting feedback is that you framed the whole thing as "there's something wrong with the Drow". Between the charged title and the opening saying that a character concept is a problem. You also didn't open with the statistics you had in mind, just the concept.
In making a race competing with the Drow, one of the races most delved into with backstory and lore, saying there's a problem with a character type is going to poke a hornets nest. Like I said originally, those who like the Drow don't see a problem and don't want a knockoff, and those that see them as overpowerful are not the type to accept options of lesser power.
The Common bloodline comes to 10RP, the same as regular elves (Common drow are at 14RP). The Noble bloodline sits at 25RP, one more than svirfneblin (Noble Drow are at 41RP). So they are powerful, and more appropriate for higher level game. That being said, at lower levels if only 1 is included, you are looking at probably APL+1 for level 1-5.
And both bloodline are roughly halfway between both their Elven and their Drow ancestors in regards to their ability, so they are leaning toward mental attribute and caster class.
In regards to your second point. Not everyone enjoys the drow as is. There is a segment of gamers who think there is a problem with Drow or who had enough of Good Drow/Drizzt Clone and who may find the inclusion of such character in an adventure or a campaign troublesome. And presenting alternative to drow is nothing new: the Dusk Elf can be seen as one such attempt and there is even a sixtet of Forgotten Realms Novels, that leads to some drow reverting to their non-evil, pre-exile Dark Elf subrace and setting out to reclaim their surface ancestral land.
Now, for those gamers who love drow as is or for gamers who love powerful options, my homebrewed subrace is very likely not for them. And that's perfectly ok. But for the segment of gamers who feel that there is a problem, this homebrewed subrace could be something that would be of interest to them, an alternative that might be more to their taste.
And yes Saturday, when I did my original post, I did not present the write-up as it was drafted on paper, mostly ideas jolted down, but it was presented on Sunday in early afternoon after I cleaned it up a bit.
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Ability wise it's balanced; slightly stronger than elf and slightly less so than drow, exactly as advertised.
It's not appreciably different from what I could play by just taking alternate racial options for either, since pathfinder assumes some interbreeding.
A gerontocracal autocracy also feels generic to either individual race, as presented in various D&D settings. I guess that's what you're going for though? If so, good job. For me, that sort of elven societal structure setting is boring and as done to death as Drizzt player-characters. As a player and GM I would probably just run published elf organizations that run counter to the mainstream (the moon-worshipping drow followers of Eilistraee for example), or create my own such.
I also don't see how it 'fixes the good drow/drizzt' problem. It pretty much reads as 'now you have a homeland for your good drow/drizzt clone; play away.' Are you trying to 'fix' the trope, or play into it?
I'll admit, the society elements might get modified a bit. I still want to keep the idea of a Houses (essentially clans) that is Matrilinial (for the same reasons as here on Earth) and where both genders are on the same footing (with potentially different role). I went with a council to avoid Magocracy,Theocracy or Aristocracy, but I'm also considering a Confederacy, which is a similar idea but at a higher level.
I'm debating whether to push the semi-nomadic aspect a bit more and have them roam Above and Underground in a fairly regular pattern over a large area, with only a small number of permanent settlement (A bit like wild/wood elf, but not limited to forest). Making them seen a bit more often, but rarely interacting with non-elves, with the possible exception of some Dwarven settlements.
As to whether I'm trying to 'fix' the top or playing into it, which is a good question, I think the answer is a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.
The idea is rooted in the Black and White aspect of the Elf-Drow dichotomy. Elf is mostly a good race, Drow is mostly an Evil race. In both societies you always have a number of members with atypical outlook/alignment, but overall they are a minority, and essentially both are set in this status quo. This subrace is in the grey area between the two.
This race was born in the shadow of both of these society, mainly from these member that did not conformed to either social norms as well as rogues, merchants and Scholars (and other free-thinkers) who are more likely to overlook the Party-line. It eventually created a subrace/society that embraces elements of both as well as forged their own identity (with variance, as for shades of grey, some may lean closer to one edge or the other) that can be act as a buffer or as a go-between, some might be content with the status quo, other may seek the lofty goal of reunification (preferably a peaceful one). But ultimately, It's a race that thrive in this "gap" between both society and who enjoys live both under the moon and underground.
Hope it make sense.
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Point of interest, surface elves are nit generally good, they are generally chaotic. They're xenophobic almost to an extreme and so long lived as to almost have a static culture.
It's interesting how Starfinder expanded on these two things. In Starfinder the elves trust no one to the point they wear masks whenever they have to sully themselves with speaking to outsiders. The Drow are a major player in the Pact Worlds, veing the dominant race on Apostae and being more or less arms dealers, putting business first over moral concerns.
To the point I was going to go for though, the RP system is kinda garbage for actually measuring the power of a race. A handful of ability modifiers is an extreme power boost, and just doubling up on negatives doesn't change that. It's why Aasimar are considered the most overpowered race since the release of their Player Companion book.
Personally, rather than ride the middle line between Drow and Elf (unless the lore you're making is that of a true hybrid half-breed of both), make something entirely unique. If that's not an option, then do away with the Noble entry and its stat boost (except for making monsters) and bar the additional abilities you want to give them behind feats, same as the Drow Nobility feats.
In regards to the elves general alignment, according to the corebook :
Corebook p.22 wrote: Alignment and Religion: Elves are emotional and capricious, yet value kindness and beauty. Most elves are chaotic good. They prefer deities that share their love of the mystic qualities of the world—Desna and Nethys are particular favorites, the former for her wonder and love of the wild places, and the latter for his mastery of magic. Calistria is perhaps the most notorious of elven deities, for she represents elven ideals taken to an extreme. In regards to the RP system, sure, it may not be perfect, but it is still a tool that can help gauge power level for race creation. At the end, the creator, myself in this case still needs to make a few judgement calls and, maybe fudge the number a bit. And when comparing races, if they already have an official breakdown, you can compare apple with apple so to speak.
Lore-wise they are a genuine Elf-Drow hybrid, thus why I try to stay close to both. I did look at different route, either something similar tothe Rockseer as indicated above by Gulthor or a totally different subrace or race, but ultimately, the hybrid was closer to what I was looking to create. The plan for the Noble bloodline is to bar it from Player at low level, keeping it for NPCs only (I'm not seeing myself allowing it until around 6-8th level). And I looked at the Drow Noble Feat Chain and decided not to go that route, preferring to detail both bloodline as distinct, you're either one or the other...A change of station, will not alter your abilities.
I will say if you want to play into the negative space a bit, there's room to make this race more lawful, as a counterpoint to both surface elves and drow. Some form of confederacy/oligarchy would complement that fairly well. Regardless of how you feel about that, I think the race would feel a lot more distinct if it included some counterpoint to 'surface elf society' in the same way that it pushes drow society towards a more middle ground.
That's an interesting idea. I had already considered shifting the alignment to Neutral/True Neutral, so less focus on personal freedom, but shifting them completely to a lawful bend would work well and help create stronger community ties.
A few more counterpoint to surface elf society would help yes. A more lawful outlook would help the, maybe modifying the weapon familiarity to something more unique to them could help too.that's something too look into. Thank you.
I don't think the answer is a new subrace, you're basically saying "yes, there's a problem with the drow, let's fix it by letting you play totally-not-a-drow.". It doesn't really address the problem. After all, a drow is a subrace of elf. Another subrace is, by default, not a drow
The other bit I recalled was that the Lantern Bearers in Golarian lore literally have an entire section devoted to offering Drow redemption. So the "good Drow" is something that happens often enough in Golarian that there's an entire faction that promotes it.
Moving that aside though, it creates a niche pocket for a hybrid race to make some sense. From a lore perspective, consider them the children of redeemed Drow and generally xenophobic surface elves. Their numbers have been in decline (elven population stagnation due to their long lifespans) however they refuse to accept breeding with other races and making half-elves, but were still willing to accept the the Drow were elves.
So the hybrid elves are their children, their community is likely within its first few generation and developing its own culture. Probably 15% Drow, 10% Elves, 75% the new Hybrids, though I wouldn't imagine the population more than a few hundred in the early days. From there I'd put the race together like follows.
Drow-Elf Hybrid
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution: Hybrids are nimble and frail, their mixed heritage though has left them more even tempered.
Medium: Hybrids are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Hybrids have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Growing up on the surface has adapted Hybrids to see in the light, allowing them to see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Hybrid Immunities: Hybrids are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Keen Senses: Hybrids receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
Envoy: Hybrids often have trouble relating to neighbors of other races, even the two of their heritage. Hybrids gain the following spell-like abilities once per day: comprehend languages, detect magic, detect poison, and read magic. The caster level for these effects is equal to the Hybrid's level.
Spell Resistance: Hybrids possess spell resistance equal to 6 plus their class levels.
Weapon Familiarity: Hybrids are proficient with hand crosbows, longbows (including composite longbows), longswords, rapiers, shortbows (including composite shortbows) and shortswords.
Languages: Elves begin play speaking Common, Undercommon and Elven. Hybrids with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Drow Sign language, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan.
This is a combination of elven and drow abilities not normally achievable, plays to the idea, and of course has the Wis mod which is really the only draw of this race compared to taking an elf or a drow raw. The Advanced Race Guide already had the alternate choices to do half-drow both ways in terms of their vision, spell-likes, etc. Here's the entry from Elves:
From Advanced Race Guide wrote: Dusk Elf: Rather than being tied to the terrain around them, some elves are linked to the night itself. Though not tied to demon worship and evil as drow are, these elves are similarly attuned to the magical concepts of darkness and shadow. These elves have the arcane focus, darkvision, dreamspeaker, and silent hunter alternate racial traits.
That's a good point. I had forgotten about that faction of the Lightbearer and the write-up you provide is an interesting one and fits well with the idea I have.
Thank you.
I've mulled it over, looked at Isaac Zephyr's suggestion and reworked it a bit
1) I've maintained the Darkvision. Although unusual, they both work differently and it is fitting for a race that spends as much time above as underground.
2) For similar reason, I've reworked the weapon familiarity to take into accound the more confined environment they may find themselves into.
3) I've switch Envoy for Enclave Protector. Envoy was nice and thematically fitting, but so does Enclave Protector (and the idea of Defence and protection seems to work better). I've included an alternate trait for Magical Linguist to offer some variaton in this spell like power.
4) Consider making Envoy available as a Feat (see below), let me know if it looks fair or not. I've also encluded another Racial feat considered for this race.
Drow-Elf Hybrid
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution: Hybrids are nimble and frail, their mixed heritage though has left them more even tempered.
Medium: Hybrids are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Hybrids have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Growing up on the surface has adapted Hybrids to see in the light, allowing them to see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Darkvision: The Hybrid Darkland heritage is still strong and they can see in complete darkness however only up to 60 feet.
Hybrid Immunities: Hybrids are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Keen Senses: Hybrids receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
Enclave Protector: Hybrids have to defend their home and loved one from the retribution of others, they add +1 to the caster level of any abjuration spells they cast. Members of this race also gain the following spell-like abilities: constant—nondetection; 1/day—faerie fire, obscure object, sanctuary. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user’s character level
Spell Resistance: Hybrids possess spell resistance equal to 6 plus their class levels.
Weapon Familiarity: Hybrids are proficient with light crossbow, falcata, short sword, Elven branched spear.
Languages: Elves begin play speaking Common, Undercommon and Elven. Hybrids with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Drow Sign language, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan.
Alternate Racial Trait
Magical Linguist: Knowledge and language are astrong element in the Hybrids making and some members of this race gain a +1 bonus to the DC of spells they cast that have the language-dependent descriptor or that create glyphs, symbols, or other magical
writings. They also gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against such spells. Members of this race with a Charisma score of 11 or higher also gain the following spelllike abilities: 1/day—arcane mark, comprehend languages, message, read magic. The caster level for these spell-like abilities is equal to the user’s character level. This Replaces Enclave Protector.
Racial Feat
Hybrid Diplomat
Hybrids often have trouble relating to neighbors of other races, even the two of their heritage. Some are better prepared to bridge that gap
Prerequisite: Hybrid, 11 Intelligence and 13 Charisma, Rank 5 in Diplomacy and Sense Motive
Benefit: You gain the Racial Trait Envoy, If your intellifence is higher then 11 you gain the following spell-like abilities once per day: comprehend languages, detect magic, detect poison, and read magic. The caster level for these effects is equal to the Hybrid's leve
Scion of the [Goddess]
You can trace your lineage up to the Demigoddess herself through the children she had before her Ascension. Although not Divine you are Graced by her.
Prerequisite: [Race], must be taken at 1st level.
Benefits: you gain a +2 racial bonus on all Charisma-base verbal skill check when dealing with members of your own race or members of [Goddess] Church. You are also proficient in the Goddess favored weapon: The Elven Curved Blade.
Give them Darkvision, OR Low-Light Vison. Having both was an old 3.0 trait and there's not much reason to have both.
Giving them Darkvision without the Sunlight Sensitivity is a viable choice, but it removes a weakness, so keep that in mind.
Edit: I lied, apparently Dhampir have both, but under a "senses" bit rather than their own entries. I would make the elf hybrid choose one only because that is the standard for elves.
There are a few indeed: Dhampir, Fetchling, Wyvaran, Svirfneblin; however I admit it's not a usual combination.
I was considering having both due to their dual heritage and the fact that they split their lives both above and underground. But you do bring a fair point that Elves only have one such sense improvement. It brings up to a fairly tricky choice of which one to choose.
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