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Post by Alex Heartnet on May 29, 2010 0:48:06 GMT -5
As an experienced roleplayer with no knowledge of D&D lore, I would like a SHORT summary of what elven communities are out there. In the border office, Swordmaster Stone (or whatever his name is) presented me with a LONG list of communities that my character could of come from, and it won't be a good idea to just randomly pick one!
Basic character info for helping narrow down a point of origin:
Race: Elf
Main Class: Ranger
Planned Classes: Wizard, Arcane Archer. (Don't worry, I know what I am doing)
Partial specialization on stealth/detect, animal empathy (always useful!) and laying traps (<3 traps). Will have to put at least one point into most categories that require training to fit the elven lore, but that can wait until I reach level 2.
Bio: Aleccia is a wanderer and a ranger. Personality-wise, I got her all planned out. I will have to add to her roleplay once I get more familiar with game lore.
Additionaly, are there any more surprises waiting for me in the border office for D&D lore know-nothings?
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Post by Munroe on May 29, 2010 9:03:00 GMT -5
Standard "D&D Lore" for 3rd Edition D&D usually refers to the Greyhawk campaign setting as it is the default setting for D&D 3.x.
Forgotten Realms Cormyr uses the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting though so Greyhawk information doesn't really apply.
Sorry, I know that doesn't directly grant the information you asked, but it does help if you're searching the Internet for it.
Some popular regions for elves in Faerun (the principle continent in Forgotten Realms) are Evermeet, a western island nation of the elves where they retreated from the world, mostly composed of High Elves (Sun elves and Moon elves), Cormanthor (the traditional forest kingdom of the Elven Court, though many of the elves picked up and went to Evermeet--the forest of Cormanthor has more wood elves), and most other large forest areas. The Silver Marches and High Forest (both to the northwest) also have a high elven population.
Most of the regions you can select are outside of the module itself. They're other countries selectable for background only. If you want to have your character come from one of Cormyr's forests (the Hullack or the King's Forest, most notably) then select Cormyr as your starting region. Of course doing that may present its own challenges as saying your character is from Cormyr means your character might be expected to be familiar with regions that exist in the module. Cormyr is known as the Forest Kingdom and has its own elven population.
Some of our long-term players who play elves would be more knowledgable.
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Post by EDM Entori on May 29, 2010 9:09:27 GMT -5
*BUMP* see my link in the bottom you can also PM direct questions. But in short.. the dale lands cormanthyr is the generally the same area.. its mingled with humans and is the long lost area of the Comrthyr Empire, centered on the fabled Myth Drannor.. There is Silvermoon which is to the north near the high forest, where moon elves and humans pretty much mingle well.. Theres the high forest where there is isolated wood elven tribes, with some moon elves.. Then theres Evermeet.. the grand daddy of elfdom.. where the only gods are theseldarine, Sun elves primarily inhabbit evermeet and rarely leave, their the more arrogant types, then theres other minorities such as moon elves, wood elves, and wild elves from the greats percentage of the population to least in that order. high forest is a good all around bet for a ranger.. and how isolated the community she comes from is up to the player as it is HUGE.. however, I would suggest reading up on the seldarine.. while many feel that it would be ok for a ranger druid of the people, to follow silvanus or Melekki.. I personally don't think it would be a choice an elf would take without becoming somewhat alienated from their people.. thats a personal IMHO comment. It's just really hard to feign ingorance of the ways of elves, when you come from an elven community  that aside theres LOTS and LOTS of lovey rp outside of that elven range, but it is up to you the player.. there are more traditional groups and less traditional groups on the server each with their own flare, and individuality.. anyways Welcome to FRC |
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Post by Kelandros Armelis on May 29, 2010 9:40:58 GMT -5
Don´t forget Evereska near the Anauroch desert as a possible place of origin. An elven Stronghold where elves did not leave main continent Faerun to run off to some island but rather held the ground.
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Post by lakhena on May 29, 2010 13:29:48 GMT -5
I would shy away from Evereska or Evermeet if you don't know much elf-lore, since there's a lot of history there (recent history) that might make things awkward if you're not familiar with them. That said, I don't think you need to read every elf-book out there (I haven't read any, tbh). For someone less familiar with elven lore, I would suggest Highmoon, which is mixed community of elves and humans, fairly close to Cormyr. I found this link with a description of Highmoon: bertball.com/wiki/index.php/HighmoonHere's an excerpt from that page: Highmoon Government: Meritocracy Population 3,505 Demographics: Human 70%, half-elf 20%, elf 9%, other 1% Highmoon is the largest population center in Deepingdale, and it is growing fast. Easygoing friendliness and tolerance is the daily tone of Highmoon. Most travelers who find trouble here go looking for it—or make their own. Travelers on the East Way find Highmoon a pleasant stop, and if they require mercenary guards or provisioning before or after a trip through Thunder Pass, Highmoon'’s supplies may well prove vital. |
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Post by EDM Entori on May 29, 2010 13:32:51 GMT -5
Don´t forget Evereska near the Anauroch desert as a possible place of origin. An elven Stronghold where elves did not leave main continent Faerun to run off to some island but rather held the ground. no the place is just a total secret, and if a human approaching it is not known, is either killed, or lead astray by magics Everseka is just as cut off as evermeet, its just on land.. |
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Post by soulfien on May 29, 2010 14:47:08 GMT -5
Evereska is more cut off than Evermeet is. Fewer know about it than know about Evermeet.
Also, far fewer humans have been welcome in Evereska than Evermeet.
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Post by soulfien on May 29, 2010 14:48:53 GMT -5
however, I would suggest reading up on the seldarine.. while many feel that it would be ok for a ranger druid of the people, to follow silvanus or Melekki.. I personally don't think it would be a choice an elf would take without becoming somewhat alienated from their people.. This is actually a view not shared by most moon-elves. This isn't the norm. |
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Post by EDM Entori on May 29, 2010 15:43:24 GMT -5
however, I would suggest reading up on the seldarine.. while many feel that it would be ok for a ranger druid of the people, to follow silvanus or Melekki.. I personally don't think it would be a choice an elf would take without becoming somewhat alienated from their people.. This is actually a view not shared by most moon-elves. This isn't the norm. personally disagree... BUT lol its a topic of hmmm.. *Agrees to disagree and continue* |
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Post by soulfien on May 29, 2010 16:28:55 GMT -5
well, since it is a thread of elven lore, I defer to the lore on Moon Elves which clearly states their overall tolerance of the other races over that of the sun elves.
So the Sun elves pretty much shun anyone who isn't a sun-elf and the moon-elves will generally accept those who do not move against their own kin. So if an elf worships a deity not of the seldarine yet continues to hold to the values and traditions of elven society while not forgetting about the seldarine, generally he won't be shunned.
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Post by EDM Entori on May 29, 2010 16:37:54 GMT -5
well, since it is a thread of elven lore, I defer to the lore on Moon Elves which clearly states their overall tolerance of the other races over that of the sun elves. So the Sun elves pretty much shun anyone who isn't a sun-elf and the moon-elves will generally accept those who do not move against their own kin. So if an elf worships a deity not of the seldarine yet continues to hold to the values and traditions of elven society while not forgetting about the seldarine, generally he won't be shunned. |
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Post by EDM Neo on May 29, 2010 16:51:36 GMT -5
My thought would be that the norm is indeed for moon elves to worship the Seldarine, but that they're individualistic enough that someone choosing to do otherwise (typically while still paying the Seldarine respects, at least, even if they do choose a different patron) is not unheard of, as long as their chosen patron isn't one actually opposed to them, like an evil deity.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that most do, or anything like that, but it probably wouldn't be looked at as anything too unusual.
After all, what's ten or twenty years spent as a devotee of Silvanus to an elf with a natural life span measured in centuries? I don't imagine most of them would see anything wrong with a little harmless experimentation. Some might think it's a little strange, but certainly no grievous crime worthy of shunning over (in most cases, anyway).
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Post by soulfien on May 29, 2010 16:52:33 GMT -5
well, since it is a thread of elven lore, I defer to the lore on Moon Elves which clearly states their overall tolerance of the other races over that of the sun elves. So the Sun elves pretty much shun anyone who isn't a sun-elf and the moon-elves will generally accept those who do not move against their own kin. So if an elf worships a deity not of the seldarine yet continues to hold to the values and traditions of elven society while not forgetting about the seldarine, generally he won't be shunned. Indeed. Which means they won't shun their own kind anymore than they'd shun another race. It's elementary, my dear Watson. |
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Post by lakhena on May 29, 2010 18:16:54 GMT -5
Evereska is more cut off than Evermeet is. Fewer know about it than know about Evermeet. Also, far fewer humans have been welcome in Evereska than Evermeet. I thought it was the reverse... since the phaerimm attack on Evereska, Evereska's been more open to outsiders because Silverymoon and other settlements with humans sent aid to help Evereska. I also thought Evereska had always been open to Harpers as well, pre-phaerimm? I don't claim to be an elf lore specialist, so... do clarify... |
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Post by soulfien on May 29, 2010 18:33:15 GMT -5
well, before the war, Evereska had a Mythal that prevented anyone from finding the elven stronghold. You would simply veer off aimlessly if you tried to get too close and you'd have no knowledge of what you almost saw.
After the war the mythal was put back in place and the reason they had the war in the first place was because the mythal failed... or so I read.
Everything I've read on it (which isn't much) indicates people don't even know about Evereska unless the elves want them to. Aside from the war. I do know that a few humans have been allowed in, but actual common knowledge of Evereska due to the Mythal is highly limited compared to that of Evermeet where the elves retreat to.
I don't know much about the war itself so I don't know about Silverymoon coming to their aid. That's interesting
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Post by EDM Entori on May 29, 2010 18:40:49 GMT -5
Evereska is more cut off than Evermeet is. Fewer know about it than know about Evermeet. Also, far fewer humans have been welcome in Evereska than Evermeet. I thought it was the reverse... since the phaerimm attack on Evereska, Evereska's been more open to outsiders because Silverymoon and other settlements with humans sent aid to help Evereska. I also thought Evereska had always been open to Harpers as well, pre-phaerimm? I don't claim to be an elf lore specialist, so... do clarify... The phaerium were drawn to magic,.. they aid it so a mythal was lunch and they almost lost it, but it was remade in the last battle.. you also have to look at WHO aided Everseka.. namely many of the chosen, who as harpers, and the chosen.. actually know about this place, and are welcomed there... But theres a good scene where a high mage has come to blackstaff tower, and a priestess comes from evermeet, and she tries to stop the high mage from telling elminster and blackstaff about what was going on.. great defensive elf moment. So yes they went to fight the phaerium, but I really don't think the armies marched inside the streets of everseka themselves.. those that did were like those who would keep their mouths shut.. Many other countless. "red shirt NPC's " in those battled died at hte hands of the phaerium.. a grunt doesn't get told where hes going or whats going on, only what his job is... so I doubt many would understand that theres an elven settlement there.. good short story from the last mythal anothology about a blade singer and a half elf.. emphasizes a few thoughts there.. I agree that evermeet is the more cut off one, but the number of people/humans.. allowed on evermeet is like.. countable on 2 hands and a foot.. |
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Post by EDM Entori on May 29, 2010 18:42:03 GMT -5
Everseka is not the only place to have these magical enchantments to trick travelers..
Semberholme, and other elven strong holds have all sorts of magic to get people lost, or guide them into death traps.. sneaky blood thirsty elves.
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