Elves, whether scorned, misinterpreted
or eulogized, are a standard component in
the AD&D® game multiverse and as such
deserve a fuller description of how their
culture works. One of the major facets of
the elven culture is how they perform in
their interpretation of each of the prescribed
character classes. The elf?s outlook,
although alien, can generally be
reduced to feelings of liberality and fraternity,
and these traits characterize nearly
all aspects of their behavior. In the case in
hand, the elven cavalier performs a parallel
of the prescribed class functions, while
retaining those traits and characterizations
that are quintessentially elven. The
class should differ when applied to elves
simply because it is performed by a completely
different race; if you like, the class
has altered in the translation.

Ability scores
Elven cavaliers require minimum ability
scores of 10 intelligence, 10 wisdom, 15
strength, 15 constitution, and 16 dexterity.
A 16 dexterity is required (in contrast to
the human minimum of 15) due to the
class?s greater reliance on missile weapons
and because a dexterity score of 16 is the
elven equivalent of the human?s 15 due to
the + 1 racial ability modifier. Failure to
meet these standards at any time during
the character?s career reduces the individuals
status to that of a respected fighter.

Experience
The elf cavaliers, unlike their human
counterparts, always begin at one of the 0
class levels; -1500 or -500 experience
points, dependent on their initial social
status. Upper class individuals start at -
500 XP and all others that gain sponsorship
start at -1500 XP The elven cavalier
starts at below first level because of an
elf?s need to be impressed by the actions of
any individual to gain their respect; very
little such respect is conferred by general
background or the deeds performed by
forebearers. The cavalier elf is employed
in elven society primarily to lead, and
without the deference derived from the
respect of his fellows this role would be
impossible. This period at the start of a
character?s life is the most important for
those trying to gain the class of cavalier.
During this time his abilities, toughness
and spiritual mettle are rigorously tested.
Failure at any segment of this trial disallows
the character from further training
as a cavalier. Normally failure at this initiation
means that the character is given a
free choice of other classes to enter and
he retains those hit points gained from
their play at zero level.

Weaponry
At the start (zero level) the elf cavalier is
taught to use the short bow and gains
bonuses to hit and damage for this as the
first weapon of choice, as detailed below.
The bow is ?selected? to start because the
individual is expected to support the
greater cavaliers with missile fire until he
is experienced in handling combat situations
and thereby derives some of the
respect necessary for his promotion as a
cavalier. On attaining the first level of
experience, the cavalier is awarded his
long sword, and it is this weapon which
marks him as a trained warrior.

It is the long sword which is the prime
weapon of choice, and the elf gains bonuses
to hit and damage for it in place of
those gained for the lance. Because elves
typically reside in woodlands, lances and
horses are not normally employed at the
start, but can be mastered in the later
levels. As is the case for humans, some
weapons are preferred over others but
they differ in type to those listed in the
original class description. These weapons
in order of preference are:

    Short bow (first weapon of choice)
    Long sword (prime weapon of choice)
    Dagger or knife
    Short sword
    Spear or ranseur
    Javelin

As a note of explanation, the bow is
listed as the first weapon of preference
because it is the first weapon played. At
increasing levels the weapon is less commonly
used, being primarily reserved for
attack preparation, whereby extremely
tough or numerous opponents might be
softened up, as an ?opening gambit.? Commonly,
the middle-level elven cavalier
employs his bow only to instruct the characters
of lesser level and as a ?tracer? shot
(the arrow is tied with a brightly colored
ribbon or a piece of burning cloth) to
guide the arrows of his lesser-ranked
fellows.

It is possible for an elven cavalier to fire
a bow when mounted, but the following
restrictions are applied in almost all cases:

1. Normal rate of fire is halved (i.e. 2
arrows/round becomes 1/round, 3 arrows/
round becomes 3 arrows/2 rounds, etc.).

2. Maximum movement rate is reduced
by 25% for the duration.

3. Maneuverability is reduced by 25% or
by one class for aerial mounts.

The bow is not judged a dishonorable
weapon; in fact, most have the attitude
that it is the best way to fight, because it is
possible to discourage an opponent from
attacking with archery (thereby preserving
life), whereas when closing to hand-tohand
combat, death is usually the only
outcome ==? either the opponent?s or the
characters.

The long sword is the weapon of choice
for the elven cavalier, and it is most commonly
with this weapon that the individual
chooses to express his or her fighting
potential. The long sword defines everything
about the class?s attitudes; simplicity,
flexibility, quickness and formidability. The
character normally possesses one long
sword at all times and is bereft of this
weapon onIy in the rarest and strangest of
circumstances.

The dagger or knife is ranked third in
the list of preference because one of these
is normally selected as a secondary
weapon for two-handed fighting. Cavaliers
who can effectively wield a weapon in
either hand are highly respected, not only
because of the high manual dexterity
required, but also because of the attitude
that opponents needing to be killed should
be dispatched quickly. The knife is included
as a preferred weapon because it
can easily be concealed and is relatively
easy to obtain or manufacture as a contingency.
Elves are generally very secretive,
and any creature which lives most of its
life in the wilderness would find great
difficulty in surviving hundreds of years
without at least a few contingencies.

The short sword is listed in the fourth
rank because of its association with untrained,
weak and/or undisciplined ?fighters,
? and is usually selected as a second
choice, or alternative main combat
weapon, after the long sword.

Spears and ranseurs are selected with
equal preference because of the type of
role the cavalier character envisions for
himself. If the character feels that a farwandering
life would be desirable and
best suited to his personality, then the
spear would normally be selected, not
only because of its general high utility and
flexibility, but also because it can double as
a light lance (at no penalty) when the
character is mounted. If, however, the
character tends to insularity and close
support of the elf band and its allies, a
short ranseur would normally be selected.
This weapon still offers the possibility of
greater damage versus large creatures (if
grounded) and allows the individual the
option of disarming and offering surrender
to an opponent instead of the usual
?kill or be killed? combat scenario. This
tactic is acceptable to elven cavaliers because
they respect their opponent (and its
right to life), they realize their opponent?s
weakness of judgement (in some cases) in
wanting to combat to the death against the
character cavalier, and because of the
cavalier?s predilection toward strategy. All
plans rely on information, and usually a
greater amount of information is to be
gained from a vying of tongues rather
than swords.

The javelin is included here as preferred
because it can be used without penalty by
the cavalier when they are mounted,
allowing the character full rate of fire,
movement allowance, and maneuverability
The relatively common occurrence of
specially enchanted javelins, compared to
other missile weapons, plays a part also in
this choice of weapon and it is pressed to
good service, at higher levels, in aerial
combat.

As weapons of choice the cavalier gains
the following bonuses to hit at each level
of advancement:
 

First level	+ 1 to hit when using a short bow
Second level	+ 1 to hit with the long sword
Fourth level	+ 1 to hit with knife or dagger or any of the other preferred weapons
Sixth level	+ 1 to hit with any other preferred weapon  +2 to hit with short bow and long sword
Eighth level	+2 to hit with dagger or knife or any other preerred weapon selected at fourth level
Tenth level	+2 to hit with the other preferred weapon selected at sixth level
Twelfth level	+3 to hit with short bow and long sword

From a comparison between elven and
human ?to hit? bonuses, it can be seen that
the elf increases in ability to hit at a
slightly quicker rate than its human peer.
This is caused by the elf?s attitude as an
artist. Humans tend to view combat as a
science, in which each action is performed
within a close tolerance of error, whereas
the elf views the contest as an artform in
which each action is reasoned and as near
to perfect as possible.

As in the case for humans, elven cavaliers
fight as if four levels higher with
weapons of choice in regard to the number
of attacks mounted per melee round.
At 3rd level, for example, the character is
allowed three attacks per two rounds with
the long sword, at 9th level two attacks
per round may be made, and starting at
16th level three attacks per round are
possible. In a similar manner the cavalier
gains + 1 damage with the long sword and
short bow for every three levels above
first that the character has attained; for
example, + 1 damage at 4th level, + 2
damage at 7th, + 3 damage at 10th, and so
forth.

Weapons restrictions
There are no hard and fast rules regarding
which weapons the elven cavalier may
not employ. There are, however, a number
of weapons whose use are excluded
through social mores. These are:

    All forms of crossbow
    Hammer
    Spiked buckler
    Garrote
    Morning star
    Club
    Pick
    Whip
    Most polearms +

Rank
Due to their generally non-elitist viewpoint,
elves do not assign titles to each and
every level of ability. This situation is in no
way extraordinary, however; most individuals
are ranked as merely greater or lesser
<missing text> fusing the name level as a datum), with
perhaps some mention given to the deeds,
accomplishments or place of origin of the
character concerned.

Riding ability
Starting at 3rd level, the elven cavalier
gains the ability to keep and employ various
types of mounts. These skills are acquired
in the following order.
 

Level	Skill gained
3rd	Ride and handle horses
4th	Ride and handle unicorns (females only)
5th	Speed bonus (as per UA 5th-level cavalier)
7th	Ride and handle giant eagles (specially bred mounts)
8th	Ride and handle pegasi
10th	Ride and handle griffons  and/or hippogriffs
12th	Ride and handle dragons

Armor and identification
The elven cavalier is marked by his
armor -- which is not the plate, plate mail
or other heavy armor usu. worn by this
class. Elves, in most situations, prefer
armor of a lighter and more flexible sort,
for instance leather, studded, ring, scale or
chain mail, preferably of elven manufacture
and (of even greater preference) in
some way enchanted or enhanced. The
lowly cavaliers, therefore, wear no
particular armor to mark their station but the
majority of those of higher rank sport
elven mail (enchanted as per UNEARTHED ARCANA page 104, if at all possible) and elaborately worked,
bejeweled, or englamored. These specially
designed suits are both the mark of an
elven cavalier's status and the means of his
identification. Some shield design is not
uncommon, but most of the info
normally found on an <>escutcheon can be
"read" from subtle variations of color,
form or embellishment. Indeed, in some
cases, the initiated eye can glean a greater
volume of info from the elven
cavalier's appearance alone than from that
contained within the close parameters of
the simple shield face born by his human
counterpart.

Examples of the signs and marks found
in a typical elven cavalier's armor and
dress are:

Wings painted or worked on the heels:
These denote some great feat of successful
strategy or planning that has been acknowledged
by a respected noble or high-level
knight.

Dress/armor design: Specific styles of
armor and surcoats, indeed specific armorers
are exclusively used by "orders,"
bands, families and sects and these distinctive
styles usually indicate allegiance to
those particular groupings.

Bejewelment: At the simplest level, gives
some indication of the character's level
and/or current wealth.

General adornment: The character's
ornamentation lends most to identifying
that particular individual and usu. the
cavalier carries several such distinguishing
adornments. Additional embellishments
can be used to allow his or her peers to
classify <f>at the least) standing, service, <typo>
outlook, and origins. The highly adorned
knights, it should be noted, lose their
ability of full invisibility in vegetation for
the duration of the display. To overcome
this problem, they sometimes employ
enveloping cloaks or magick to mask their
glamor. Alternatively, they may simply
decide to forego disguise, to divert their
opponent's attention or for any other
reason which the individual views as beneficial
to the cause.

The arrow: THe arrow is the signature
of most elven cavaliers, and consequently
most are finely worked and characteristically
styled to ease identification. In addition
to the character's normal arrows, he
might possess a number of other flights
that have been gained through merit. The
type of arrow awarded a knight range
from "normal" magickally enchanted shafts,
which are usu. given in return for
service to the highly prized crystal flights,
knows as hellic arrows, which are
awarded for specific acts of heroism ||
achievment. A hellic arrow is usu.
composed of a highly decorated || finely
crafted shaft, tipped with a specially
worked gemstone head and flighted with
the same shade of feather as the head.
These special arrows are normally enchanted
at varying strengths and the
number of different types of arrow produced
is restricted only by the limit of the
elves' craft. Examples of the different
tyypes of hellic arrows found, and the
cause of their award, are as follows:

Ruby Head: Victoriously lead a band of
elves against warring enemies (+2 "Heartseeker").

Opal Head: Good achievement, normally
deemed impossible (+3 "Whiteleaf").

Sapphire Head: Peace pact with a powerful
race or tribe (Arrow of SLAYING).

Moonstone Head: Extended or exceptional
service to a deity (+3 "Whisperer").

These powerful prizes are almost never
willingly used by their owners for fear of
their destruction or loss. A notable exception
to this rule is the sapphire pactmaker
?s shaft, which the cavalier is honor
bound to use on the leader of the other
race or tribe if the pact is broken.

Common class abilities
The unaltered abilities common to the
translated cavalier class are:
Parrying: includes elven bonus to hit
with long/shortsword.
Ability score increase: strength, dexterity
& constitution.
Training: after attaining fifth level it is
unnecessary to specifically train for each
succeeding level increase.
Fear immunity: including protection
from fear 1? radius if aligned to good.
90% resistance to mental attacks: +2 vs
illusion.
Conscious on negative hit points: gained
at first level.
Rest-healing hit point bonus: for characters
possessing a good alignment; 1d4 hp/
week.

Class attitudes
Cavaliers, as described in UNEARTHED ARCANA,
are required to be honorable,
brave, outstanding in personal deeds, and
committed to serve some deity, noble,
order or special cause. The following
describes how these class functions are
revised when applied to the cavalier of
elven extraction.

Honor: Elves can be honorable, for instance
possessing a high reputation, glory
and good respect in the eyes of other
members of the character?s race. Elves
deviate from humans where honor is
concerned because they will honor and
respect all individuals, not just those of
powerful or noble mien.

Bravery: This is also a common trait, but
in this case it is more reasoned. Even acts
that appear brave usually have an underlying
tactical and strategic advantage
apparent to the individual involved. No
foolhardy heroics are expected of the
elven cavalier; in fact, application of good
fighting sense and prudence (allied to
positive action) are the class requisites in
all combative situations. These requisites
do not impair the character?s requirement
to be outstanding in personal deeds, indeed
when it comes to a fight he or she
should be the paragon of all those engaged.
For example, the cavalier should
ideally be the first to engage, the most
effective individual in the combat, and the
last to disengage, wherever this is practicable.

Service: The elven cavalier differs most
greatly from the human where service is
concerned, due to his rejection of service
for service?s sake and blind obedience to
rule. Elves will certainly serve the requirements
of their band and its leaders, but
will serve no cause to the complete neglect
of these duties. Rather, they try to divide
their loyalty and most times succeed in
serving all of their interests. The type of
service a cavalier elf will bear, in addition
to that rendered to his clan, is to a ?loose
cause?: for instance, to serve the cause of
the general defense of the elven nation.
Service to deities is acceptable, and the
clerics of such deities are respected for
their wisdom and example. A cleric?s advice
is usually followed unless it is considered
unreasonable by the individual
concerned.

There are no orders or organizations of
the classical (human) type in the elven
culture, but there are good reasons why
the surface elves (like their subterranean
relatives, the drow) should form themselves
into societies and loose organizations
for individuals of like interests. The
elven cavalier is principally allied to such
organizations and responds to their specific
interests, so long as this does not
compromise his requirement to maintain
the general weal.

All cavaliers must attempt to conform to
some form of chivalry, and again these
ideals alter in the elven application.

The Elven Chivalric Code
    Noble service cheerfully rendered
    Defense of any charge unto death
    Courage and enterprise in the cause of worthy goal
    Respect for all
    Respect from others when deserved
    Disdain for those who serve woe
    Military prowess exercised to good cause
    Courtesy to all
    Archery is the finest point of honor
    Single combat is the flowering of chivalry
    Defense is the greatest test
    Contest is glory
    Make enemies and allies solely of those most worthy
    Misdeeds are measured in lives
    Defeat to all who contest
    Dissolution before dishonor

To elaborate on these precepts of chivalry:
 

Defense of any charge until death: This
rule applies only for as long as the charge
still lives. If, for instance, the charge is
killed, in spite of its defense by the cavalier,
this is the point at which the service
would end. No grand gestures, impossible
heroics, or blind vengeance is called for by
the elf, but the error would be noted and
action taken to stop a recurrence of such a
situation in the future.

Courage and enterprise in the cause of
worthy goal: Courage and enterprise is
ideally displayed in the service of any goal
that the character feels is beneficial either
to his band or to any other grouping that
the cavalier may be allied to. If, however,
the elf has not been convinced of the
benefit of the goal, or believes that it is
only marginally wealful, or even thinks
that some other goal is of greater worth,
then no honor is lost if the individual
doesn?t employ courage or enterprise in
order to achieve it.

Respect for all: The cavalier character is
obliged to respect all creatures, but this
respect may take a number of forms. This
respect ranges from granting honor to
respecting the subject only as another
living creature. Each individual is viewed
in a biased manner, but this is a positive
bias due to the elf?s ability to empathize
with most types of creatures. Simply put,
the cavalier sees both the good and ill
qualities in a creature but will in most
cases ignore the bad and respect it for the
good, not forgetting also their right to life
as an individual.

Respect from others when deserved:
Contrary to the above, the cavalier elf
should feel that regardless of his strengths
or abilities, respect should only be reciprocated
for good or worthy acts ? not for
that which the character is only capable
of.

Disdain for those who serve woe: If
there is one type for which the good cavalier
elf feels the minimum of respect, it is
for those who are the creatures of woe.
Evil, in all of its forms, is not empathized
by the character and contact or cooperation
with such is avoided where possible.
This tenet does not restrict the individual
cavalier from discoursing with evil creatures,
but wherever such contact occurs
the cavalier should have some benefit to
good provisioned as the result. Although
most evil entities are disdained, there are a
select few that elven cavaliers are particularly
biased against. These creatures, in
order of greatest to least disapproval, are:
the drow and evil elf cavaliers (equally),
evil human cavaliers and their ilk, those
who set themselves against elves (and their
habitat), and all other creatures who
knowingly serve woe.

Military prowess exercised to good
cause: The cavalier elf could easily be
described as a martial juggernaut; a formidable
opponent, highly gifted with skills
and reserves. It is important, therefore,
that these skills are not squandered or
flaunted for the sake of existence alone.
This way leads to selfish and individualistic
tendencies, and thence to evil. The
cavalier is taught that a skill unknown is
one of double worth, and hence does not
make open and extensive play of his arts.
Rather, he tends to concentrate such activity
in those situations where it is expedient
to fight and where this will serve ultimate
good.

Archery is the finest point of honor:
Elves, perhaps because of their different
make-up, view honor differently than
humans do, and inherent in this code of
honor is the use of the bow. No true elf
would describe deities such as Corellon
Larethian or Solonor Thelandira as dishonorable
because they employ bows. The
aversion among human cavaliers for missile
weapons is institutionalized, but is
based on the reasoning that weapons that
deliver damage without endangering the
wielder are craven and hence dishonorable.
Indeed, when the human cavalier is
confronted by archers in a typical battle
situation, loses his mount, and is peppered
with armor piercing arrows to boot, it is
easy to understand why such attitudes
persist.

A ?simple? elf would explain that the
bow is the weapon of the elves; that all
who attempt to threaten or attack his
kindred should expect to feel its sting. In
fact, it dishonors their opponent if they
select any other than their best weapon
with which to combat these enemies. If
pressed, an elf might even go on to say
that human cavaliers are probably more
dishonorable in the use of the lance,
which is almost guaranteed to kill an opponent
and at such a range as to almost
negate any chance for the opponent to
return this compliment before expiring.
The cavalier elf, however, is more mindful
of fairness and the fact that archery might
be construed as dishonorable by their
opponent in certain situations, and hence
will not employ the bow except in the
following circumstances:

Imbalance: the opponents outnumber or
greatly exceed the toughness of the cavalier
?s party, or the opponents are grossly
weaker and/or fewer in number. The
cavalier can use the bow in the latter
situation in order to discourage or reprimand
the targets and if they are particularly
weak. In such cases, the elven
cavalier might not even bother to use
heads on the arrows (see preferred
weapon: bow above).

Similarly armed: Their opponents are
similarly armed with missile weapons (e.g.,
crossbows, slings, javelins or bows).

Lack of fairness: the enemy employs
dishonorable tactics, for instance, poison,
fire or demons or utilizes overwhelmingly
strong magic, for instance, artifacts or
relics.

No other recourse: this category encompasses
situations where the cavalier can
only hit the opponent using the bow; for
example, if a magical weapon is needed to
hit and the cavalier has only magical arrows,
or if an impassable ravine divides
the combatants and the opponent is able
to attack over this divide.

Defense is the greatest test: Defense is
viewed as the greatest test because of the
variety of threats, both open and covert,
posed by the forces which intend ill to the
silvan men. Not only must a great array of
dangers be countered, but also this must
be achieved with little or no loss. This is
partly due to the fact that any elven band
cannot regenerate its numbers, except at
the slowest of rates, and partly because of
the overbearingly strong forces that might
need to be combatted. In such instances,
the cavalier is put in a position of tough
responsibility and is beholden to produce
or implement the strategies to ensure
mutual survival.

The knightly virtues
The knightly virtues of Liberality, Honor,
Good Faith, Glory, Unselfishness, Pride,
Courtesy, Bravery are essentially unchanged

in the case of the knight-errant
elves. The cavalier class, it can be seen, is
altered to a large degree when applied to
elves or half-elves raised in the elven society.
These changes, however, deal mainly
with the presentation, equipment, and
tactics employed by such individuals. The
class function to protect and promote the
character?s society still holds true.

As presented, the class is a powerful
variant of the original cavalier, but it is
important to bear in mind certain inherent
drawbacks to this class with regards to its
use by a player character. The foremost
consideration for play of the cavalier elf is
his or her context and role in the campaign.
The character class is a product of
elven society, and it is this culture in
which the character will almost exclusively
be encountered. To realistically
allow a player-character elven cavalier, the
DM should first establish a working ?elfcentric
? campaign milieu (as opposed to
the humanocentric setting most commonly
used) and give the character both place
and function in its midst. Admittedly,
there are some numbers of cavaliers who,
for a variety of reasons, decide to ?wander,
? but these eccentrics simply tend to
travel the ways between one elven community
and another, and usually take long
sojourns at both. Taking all of this into
account, an elven cavalier should have a
very good and specific reason to undergo
any form of adventure.