has deep, brooding eyes. Tanis is usually calm and honest. He seldom lies, only when imperative to his survival. Caramon Majere respects him greatly. Tanis has never completed the elven rite of adulthood. The languages he can speak are Camptalk, Qualinesti and Silvanesti elven, a little dwarven, and even goblin. Of course, he also speaks Common. His red beard is a cause, initially, of enmity between him and Gilthanas Kanan, who claims Tanis is "flaunting his human heritage". Tanis is a half-elf, a curse and a blessing. He can grow his beard and hide his ears in order to pass off as human, or shave and allow his ears to be seen to pass as an elf. However, those elves that know the truth about him call him "half-breed" and believe him to be less. A few elves do not care, among them Laurana. Humans who know of the half-elf heritage (few outside of the companions) seem to care much less than elves. Tanis states, "According to humans, half an elf is but part of a whole being. Half a man is a cripple." Role amongst the companions Tanis is extremely skilled at fighting. However, he has taken on the elven state of mind that killing is wrong. He detests fighting, but whereas the elves believe that life should be preserved, Tanis believes that there are times when killing is needed, such as the battle with Verminaard. Also, Laurana, his bride, takes on a similar hardened stance even though she is a pure-blooded elf. This may have emerged from the sudden shock that she was given after she chased Tanis into the Sla-Mori. She went from elf-maiden to warrior in a matter of hours. Gilthanas, Tanis's cousin to some extent, seems also to have this state of mind, as does Porthios. Tanis is commonly mistaken for a ranger due to his lightly armored appearance and weapons of choice, though second edition Dragonlance game materials list him as a fighter (as his constitution score does not meet the ranger's minimum). He is an accomplished swordsman and a skilled archer. A notable weapon of his, the Wyrmslayer, was given to him by the dead Elven King Kith-Kanan. Tanis is a brilliant leader and tactician. His human companions often looked to him for advice, making him the reluctant leader of the group which became the Heroes of the Lance. Other media Video games