Candlekeep Forum
Candlekeep Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Active Polls | Members | Private Messages | Search | FAQ
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Forgotten Realms Journals
 Running the Realms
 How to fit night elves in the Realms

Note: You must be registered in order to post a reply.
To register, click here. Registration is FREE!

Screensize:
UserName:
Password:
Format Mode:
Format: BoldItalicizedUnderlineStrikethrough Align LeftCenteredAlign Right Horizontal Rule Insert HyperlinkInsert Email Insert CodeInsert QuoteInsert List
   
Message:

* HTML is OFF
* Forum Code is ON
Smilies
Smile [:)] Big Smile [:D] Cool [8D] Blush [:I]
Tongue [:P] Evil [):] Wink [;)] Clown [:o)]
Black Eye [B)] Eight Ball [8] Frown [:(] Shy [8)]
Shocked [:0] Angry [:(!] Dead [xx(] Sleepy [|)]
Kisses [:X] Approve [^] Disapprove [V] Question [?]
Rolling Eyes [8|] Confused [?!:] Help [?:] King [3|:]
Laughing [:OD] What [W] Oooohh [:H] Down [:E]

  Check here to include your profile signature.
Check here to subscribe to this topic.
    

T O P I C    R E V I E W
Zeromaru X Posted - 11 Dec 2018 : 10:29:55
My brother is a big fan of this Warcraft race, and he wants to play a night elf in my next campaign.

I don't to just want to import them into the campaign, I want to make them fit with the complicated (for me) elven Realmslore.

I would really appreciate any advice you can give me in this matter.
21   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
Markustay Posted - 11 Feb 2019 : 21:46:05
Make them Brown Elves from Anchoromé.

'Brown' Elves are actually a green-elf subtype I established in my Elven articles back when we did the Elven netbook project. They are green elves that live a more nomadic lifestyle. In Anchoromé we've established (mostly homebrew) that that continent is very similar to N.America pre-discovery, and that the elven tribes there are somewhat similar to Native Americans of Earth, including cultural distribution (so the Night Elves - being less 'nomadic' - would work along the eastern seaboard). For a more D&D take on something VERY similar, just look at Dragonlance's wood elves (the art) - the Kagonesti.

In this way, by putting the race off on another continent, you can use them practically whole-cloth, with nary a problem.

Cheers
sleyvas Posted - 05 Feb 2019 : 19:46:29
color me intrigued.
Zeromaru X Posted - 05 Feb 2019 : 18:36:12
I really appreciate all the input you've put into this pet project of mine. The character (a night elf druid) will be introduced in the next session. I'll let you know how this goes on.
Irennan Posted - 05 Feb 2019 : 17:52:20
Nudity and eroticism aren't the same, though. Eilistraee has nude ritual dances in her faith, but that was inspired by pagan traditions, and her followers wear whatever is the most practical choice in any other occasion. Their rituals could certainly be seen as sexualized, but they can also carry other meanings. For example, in Lolth's society the drow must always wear a mask, and live a life based on constructs; a nude dance in which the drow let out all their emotions is an act of spontaneity and freedom—“lay down the mask, lay down everything, and feel free to just be you and embrace life as you want”. In addition to that, to be free to dance in the nude with others, is the same as showing one own's vulnerability—it means that vulnerability is sometimes acceptable, forming a bond of trust, being accepted as a whole, etc...

In any case, the similarities are definitely there (and, that said, the Night Elves are quite sexualized in Warcraft, if you ask me--even though Elune herself isn't), so both Eilistraee and Selune could be fitting patron goddesses for a hypothetical FR Night Elf subrace.
LordofBones Posted - 05 Feb 2019 : 13:54:26
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan

They always looked like they were inspired by the followers of Eilistraee to me. Lovers of nature and beauty, live in huge forests, the priestesses act as leaders, their warriors are called huntresses/sentinels, etc...



They were actually meant to subvert the typical dark elf presentation. Note that they're basically reverse drow.

The eroticism associated with Eilistraee also isn't present in Elune.
sleyvas Posted - 04 Feb 2019 : 16:56:00
quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh

I'm not trying to rez this thread, but I'm just now seeing it and I wanted to thank everyone who contributed. I see potential in equating Elune with Eilistraee. I think sleyvas' recommendations for their appearance makes good sense - a liaison between Ilythiiri and star elves, long ago and perhaps deliberately exiled/forgotten by both parent races given their diverging worldviews, would help integrate the 'night elves' into the Realms without having to deal with "why have we never heard of these elves before?" The first night elves, small in numbers and in priestly power since their nascent patron deity was still coalescing, could logically have retreated to a remote forested island either in one of the large seas of Toril. Or perhaps somewhere on the moon Selune, since we don't want to just copy the concepts of Evermeet. I see no problem with adding a touch of Selune to Eilistraee, as their patron goddess - 'Selune' and 'Elune' almost beg for a connection. I do like the dark heresy Xeromaru mentioned. Lolth/Araushnee could be mapped to one of the Old Gods of Warcraft, adding another layer of mystery and some lurking horrors to the night elves' history in Faerun.



Wow, I'd totally forgotten all of this, and that was only 2 months back. That being said, to play with the concept of the Ilythiiri and star elf mixture, what if this mixture were in the far south. If they were exiled, having them on the moon does indeed make sense, and PERHAPS these elves have ties to Nimbrals old elven heritage (of which we know woefully little). Maybe they settled those lands when Nimbral was still part of Merrobouros, and the elven sundering separated them to their own island kingdom.

That being said, I have a LOT of different kinds of "elves" going to the moon now personally. Shadar-Kai and also an offshoot of the "Ellefolk" also known as the "Shadow Elves" or Arak from the Ravenloft Shadowrift, are already two kinds I was looking to put up there.
Irennan Posted - 04 Feb 2019 : 04:43:36
They always looked like they were inspired by the followers of Eilistraee to me. Lovers of nature and beauty, live in huge forests, the priestesses act as leaders, their warriors are called huntresses/sentinels, etc...
LordofBones Posted - 04 Feb 2019 : 04:32:59
I don't think Eilistraee fits the night elves. Elune is pretty much a purple Selune.
xaeyruudh Posted - 03 Feb 2019 : 09:57:43
I'm not trying to rez this thread, but I'm just now seeing it and I wanted to thank everyone who contributed. I see potential in equating Elune with Eilistraee. I think sleyvas' recommendations for their appearance makes good sense - a liaison between Ilythiiri and star elves, long ago and perhaps deliberately exiled/forgotten by both parent races given their diverging worldviews, would help integrate the 'night elves' into the Realms without having to deal with "why have we never heard of these elves before?" The first night elves, small in numbers and in priestly power since their nascent patron deity was still coalescing, could logically have retreated to a remote forested island either in one of the large seas of Toril. Or perhaps somewhere on the moon Selune, since we don't want to just copy the concepts of Evermeet. I see no problem with adding a touch of Selune to Eilistraee, as their patron goddess - 'Selune' and 'Elune' almost beg for a connection. I do like the dark heresy Xeromaru mentioned. Lolth/Araushnee could be mapped to one of the Old Gods of Warcraft, adding another layer of mystery and some lurking horrors to the night elves' history in Faerun.
sleyvas Posted - 13 Dec 2018 : 00:02:17
Hey, just a thought, but since you brought up that they are worshippers of a stag goddess related also to the moon, for something else I'd been thinking about other tribes of odd elves. Gonna throw something out there, and it may not fit, or it may be interesting to you.

Ilythiiri - a kind of wood/wild elf found down in the Shaar. They are kind of an outcast group from the other elves. During the crown wars they were changed into the drow.
Lythari - a kind of wood/wild elf found in Tethyr and the northern hordelands of ancient Raumathar. They are kind of an outcast group from the other elves, more feral, and follow Fenmarel Mestarine primarily.


I've half wondered if the Lythari and the Ilythiiri aren't from similar lands in the Feywild given the closeness of their names. What that made me think is "what if there's a third, but they shapechange into somethine else that's not a wolf".


So, working with the term "hind" for a doe, Lythindi, a group of wood/wild elves that gain the ability to shapechange into deer... or maybe something less "European" in concept that might fit the Shaar better. Thinking something like an impala, or if bigger is wanted a Kudu or an antelope. Don't do a hybrid shape (there's already hybsil). Just purely they can change into a deer or impala, etc... I'm not thinking to have this be what night elves are, but rather, have these night elves having some of these amongst their tribes. Since Corellon's Curse, theoretically all elves breed true, so sometimes night elves and these lythindi might crossbreed, and SOME of their offspring would end up trueblood lythindi. Maybe even there's something where the lythindi males try to breed with numerous night elven females in hopes of keeping their race going. Maybe they fight for breeding rights against night elves, but its considered an honor somehow. Anyway, just a thought.
sleyvas Posted - 12 Dec 2018 : 18:04:16
Good question, and I wish I could answer with certainty. Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves MAY go into it, but I haven't ever delved the work heavily. I know GHotR puts dates to a lot of it. Sidebar though in looking at the crown wars... seems like we've got another opportunity for drawing down another tear of selune from the sky. Granted, could also just be causing earthmotes or something akin to Netherese enclaves to crash, or even just "raining small rocks".

THE FOURTH CROWN WAR: THE DESCENT
The destruction of Miyeritar enraged the Ilythiiri, who rightfully blamed Aryvandaar for the Dark Disaster. In the wake of the killing storm, the Ilythiiri turned their high magic fully to the pursuits of war, and the result was devastation on an unparalleled scale. Within four decades after the Dark Disaster, the Ilythiiri utterly destroyed the realm of Shantel Othreier—the closest outpost of Vyshaantar power. In the words of the Song of the Sundered Crown, Ilythiiri high mages “called stones from the sky,” and “caused the earth to boil and the trees to scream.” Refugees from the doomed kingdom of Shantel Othreier told tales of Ilythiiri atrocities that made the actions of the Aryvandaar for the past several centuries seem tame by comparison.
Zeromaru X Posted - 12 Dec 2018 : 16:06:23
The stuff you have shared seems promising. I'll take a look at it when I'm home. Perhaps I'll work into something this weekend. I also think that they should have been different than normal dark elves, so the curse wouldn't transform them into drow. The star elf heritage can help me here. Also, kaldorei means "children of the stars".

Also, I've been reading about the Crown Wars in Lost Empires of Faerun, and seeing stuff like the Dark Disaster can explain why someone can become terrified of magic. Are there any other sources about the Crown Wars?
sleyvas Posted - 12 Dec 2018 : 15:51:54
BTW, just from a visual perspective of what they look like, I'd very much recommend a combination of Ilythiiri and Star Elves PRIOR to whatever occurred which made elves start breeding true (which I personally equate to Corellon's Curse).

[i]Star Elf Description
Physical Description: Of all the elven subraces, star elves most closely resemble moon elves. They have pale skin that sometimes takes on a pearly gray or faintly violet tinge, and hair of gold, red, or silver-white. Their eyes are gray or violet, sometimes with gold flecks. Like the sun elves or moon elves, star elves are tall and slender; men average between 5 1/2 and 6 feet in height and weigh around 140 pounds, while women are about half a foot shorter and weigh around 110 pounds. In their homes they favor elegant, embroidered tunics but dress in neutral colors with dappled gray-green cloaks to remain unseen in woodlands. Star elves are graceful and strikingly handsome by human standards.[/b]


This gives them paler skin and with a violet tinge at times, whereas the Ilythiiri are noted as being more brown in skin. I don't believe we actually have a description for the Ilythiiri for hair, etc.. and many of us would assume it would only be white or silver... but I'd propose if they were kind of like wood elves, then having green, blue, and purple as options for the Ilythiiri might equate some of the options we see on night elves. This opens up all the options of hair color (red, gold, white, silver, purple, blue, and green).
sleyvas Posted - 12 Dec 2018 : 15:08:51
IF you go with the stag concept, it MIGHT be interesting to work with some of the homebrew I've done for the witches of Rashemen. Basically, they have Bhalla, Khelliara, and the Hidden One. The Faerunian Pantheon says that these are the gods Chauntea, Mielikki, and Mystra (later Selune takes over as the Hidden One). I hold that the Faerunian Pantheon is biased and that these are actually different individuals. In addition, they also hold to spirit worship as well, and some outsiders might think calling upon these "spirits" is something like calling upon outer planar entities (i.e. a river spirit might seem like some kind of water elemental, and a fire spirit might appear demonic or like an efreeti).

Bhalla is a mother/agriculture/animal husbandry deity in my stuff with imagery of a cow goddess. Some of the Rus people of Rashemen call her Audumbla/Audumbhala (see Norse Mythology). Others equate her to the Mulhorandi Hathor (the Mulan folk say this, and some say the Mulan goddess is in fact Bhalla... semantics....).

Khelliara is a forest and hunting goddess with imagery of a stag / hart goddess, and I have her served by the "hart maidens", or powerful spirits/angels.

The Hidden One is a power of magic born of Annam off of Bhalla. Exactly what/who she is, I keep unclear, and I actually have her having a child born of Nanna-Sin of the Untheric Pantheon, and that one of the secrets kept/protected by the Vremyonni is how to find this fledgling immortal (which "fledgling" has been alive almost 3 millenia, but in the feywild, so time has passed differently).


IF you are interested in using this, here's some of what I wrote up for it.

The Witches and people of Rashemen do not worship the standard Faerunian Pantheon. The people of Rashemen mainly worship a collective of three main female goddesses, though they also give reverence to special spirit beings local only to Rashemen. These spirits (known locally as Telthors, see new monster template in the new monster section) are ghostlike beings, being either beasts which seem to spontaneously appear or humanoids who died in service to the land of Rashemen. The people of Rashemen also hold the members of the various Fey Courts in high reverence as well (such as the Courts of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, the Unseelie Court, the Court of Green Fey, the court of Gloaming Fey <sometimes referred to as the Court of the Moon>). Of these courts, both the Prince of Frost and the Queen of Air & Darkness (whom some say is Auril) have become popular amongst the Bheur hags and certain rogue Wychlaran factions. The elemental lords, Kossuth, Akadi, Grumbar, and Istishia have also always enjoyed some reverence in the region, mostly due to their influence on the former empire of Raumathar. In addition, certain Faerunian gods have begun to make significan inroads, including Lurue and Nobanion, as well as the goddess Leira (whom some say is a daughter of “The Hidden One” though who can tell the truth of such matters). Other deities have minor followings, for instance amongst the males, Gond, Helm, Hoar “the Doombringer”, and Tempus all have limited followers. Amongst the hags of the region, deities such as Beshaba, Cegilune, Kiaransalee, Shar, and Talona all have followers, as well as those who follow the Queen of Air and Darkness.
The true nature of “the Three”, Bhalla, Khelliara, and “The Hidden One”, is a mystery. Westerners believe them simply to be aspects of Chauntea, Mielikki, and Mystra. Some others have posited that they are remnants of the ancient Yuir deities once worshipped by humans in the region. Others believe they are some form of Archfey, Primordial, or simply powerful Spirit being leftover from the early days of Toril. Still others claim that Bhalla, with her cow representation, is related to the being that giant mythology claims nursed the original giant deities, and that Khelliara, with her deer representation, is related to an ancient being of Shaundalar mythology known as Flidais. Some say that the earthmother of the Moonshaes and Bhalla are one and the same, and that Chauntea is attempting to usurp them both. Still others believe that Bhalla and Khelliara were racial deities of the Hybsil and Minotaurs who were adopted by the humans of the region, much as Felidae, the cat goddess, had been before being subsumed by Bast.
Rashemi doctrine says that Bhalla is a mother goddess who it is said was around at the founding of the world as a great cow amidst a sea of icy rime. From the elemental chaos, heat slowly came to the darkness, causing the salty rime in which she found herself to begin to melt. It is said that this icy salt did melt enough at one point that it became a sea around her, and in the process somehow the salty sea did make her become pregnant. Bhalla then gave birth to a set of twins, Khelliarr and Khelliara. Khelliarr was a power of great light and love, but he did not survive these early times. Khelliara would go on to become a wild power of nature and hunting, with a particular affinity for snow and skiing. Bhalla has given birth to other children by other powerful beings (such as Magnar the Bear, Relkath of the Infinite Branches, Skerrit the Forester, Talisid the Celestial Lion) but the names of most of these children have been lost to history for the most part, though some are still called upon as powerful spirits within Rashemen. She has even given birth to some unusual races, such as the small, singing mushrooms known as Campestri, said to have been birthed upon her by the Carrion King of the Feywild in return for a favor. The Rashemi truly believe that the Mulhorandi goddess Hathor is simply an aspect of Bhalla, and that this is why the other Mulhorandi gods look down upon her. The Mulhorandi of course consider this sacrilege. The original Rus who arrived in Rashemen referred to Bhalla by the name Audumbla and were surprised by the reverence given her by the local populace, but as they bred with the Raumviran population and learned their ways, proper reverence for Bhalla was soon as natural to them as breathing.
Khelliara is seen as a similar goddess, though she is seen more often as a huntress and master of Forests. She is known to take the shape of a red deer, and some suspect that PindalPau-Pau, the Reindeer Mother of the people of the Great Glacier is actually an aspect of Khelliara. However, she is also known to take on the shape of wild red mares, red falcons, red foxes, and wily reddish-brown rabbits. Many believe that Mielikki and Khelliara are one and the same, and perhaps over time this exchange has occurred, but the Rashemi steadfastly refuse to believe such. It is said that Khelliara is served by “the Hart Maidens” or women spirit warriors who can and do take on the forms of female deer to provide spiritual guidance to the people of Rashemen. Some believe these Hart Maidens also choose which heroes of Rashemen will become the spirit beings known as telthors. The original Rus who arrived in Rashemen referred to Khelliara by the name Freyja and named her Hart Maidens to be Disir (of course, they also referred to the outlander deity Lathander by the name Freyj).
It is also whispered that Bhalla nursed Annam, All-Father of the giant pantheon, at her teats when he was young and weak, and she was rewarded for her kindness later when he was stronger by being raped by him. Annam did announce that he would return to collect his child upon its birth. It is said that Bhalla did curse Annam for this, calling upon great powers of the fey for their protection. When the child was born, it was a misshapen and ugly female child, and Annam did appear, and in his fury he threatened to throw the child into the Pit at the bottom of the Elemental Chaos. Bhalla did call upon the Queen of Summer, Khelliara did beseech the Queen of Winter, and the child did innately call upon the Queen of the Hags. These three beings appeared to provide their blessings and protections upon the child, and they did tie the child's spirit to all the lands of Northeastern Faerun, the land of Arvandor, and the Feywild and did tie all this magic to the movement of the moon such that it is constantly changing. This prevented Annam from hurling the child into the yawning Abyss emerging from the Elemental Chaos. The frustrated Annam left, cursing all women as meddlers, but the child was kept safe. This child, it is said, is “The Hidden One”. Her true name is unknown to mortal men.
What is known of “The Hidden One” is that she appears to be a great Telthor Spirit able to draw upon the many ley lines that cross through the land of Rashemen, as well as the magic of the moon as its movement causes these magical lines to ebb and flow. She has substantial power over Glamour Magic (illusions), elemental based magics and what is known as coven magic, or cooperative spellcasting. It is whispered that she taught the Raumvirans some of their original magic, though it is known that they also sought out other great elemental powers such as Grumbar, Kossuth, and other local spirits. It is also whispered that she once fell in love with the terrestrial bound Nanna-Sin of the Untheric Pantheon just a short time before Nanna-Sin's death in the Orcgate wars, and that she became pregnant by him, but she never revealed this to the Untheric Pantheon for fear that they would mount an invasion to take the child. It is said that this child is protected as a ward of one of the Faerie Courts, and that the Vremyonni protect a gateway to this realm.


Zeromaru X Posted - 12 Dec 2018 : 01:13:45
Thanks for the ideas! I can really work with this.

I like sleyvas' idea to relate them to drow, because night elves are basically an inverted version of drow: night elves are a highly theocratic matriarchal society that worship a goddess related with a half-elf/half-animal figure (the half-stag demigod Cenarius, in the case of the night elves). Like the drow, only females can be part of the priesthood (at least, that was true before the third game), who are also the leaders of their community. Females are also a majority in the army. While males are scholars and the only ones allowed to practice druidism.

Their differences is that drow are evil, are ok with demons and arcane magic, and males are second-class citicens; while the night elves are good, hate demons and distrust arcane magic, and males are good standing members of the society that just happen to have different duties than women (night elven society is an egalitarian matriarchy).

So, yeah, I'm going with them being an off-shot of the Ilythiiri. I also going to tie them with the Sundering, for the obvious pararelysm. At least, their anti-arcane magic views would've started there, while the whole sub-race would have separated from the other elves after the Crown Wars.

As for their racial goddess, Elune, maybe she can be related to Selune (both are moon goddesses with pacific religions). Perhaps some sort of racial take or even heresy (as Elune has been revealed to have a "dark side" in the current Warcraft story).

quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

For instance, the night elves came from "dark trolls".



Ah, this is because in Warcraft all elves are evolved trolls. In Warcraft, trolls are one of the few indigenous races of Azeroth, that evolved on their own, while humans and dwarves and others were created later, by the titan-gods of Warcraft lore.

The trolls evolved into many sub-species and later evolved into night elves when they made contact with the Well of Eternity, a powerful source of both arcane and natural magic.

My brother is ok with following the standard D&D lore regarding the origins of elves.
Divinity Posted - 11 Dec 2018 : 20:26:20
Warcraft Night Elves are highly theocratic. Their leader is the high priestess of Elune (Moon Goddess). I like the simple idea that the Warcraft Sundering is similar to the Crown Wars. In Warcraft, Queen Azshara and her Highborne become the naga and in Forgotten Realms the Ilythiir became the drow. Sargeras would be similar to Lloth, probably.

(In FR) After the Crown Wars, at the shock of the use of High Magic, the Night Elves would form from a group of elves that broke off into solidarity, focusing, nearly exclusively, on worship of Sehanine Moonbow and Rillifane Rallathil. The head of their realm being the high priestess of Sehanine. For thousands of years the Nigh Elves (as in Warcraft with the Long Vigil) kept to themselves, very rarely seen unless protecting their lands.

Where is this land? In Warcraft it's the island of Teldrassil which is the second World Tree, after Nordrassil, the first one, which was itself grown from G'Hanir, the Mother Tree. This could go various ways and in various places, but one idea is Nordrassil could be equivalent to Yggdrasil's Child which was grown from Yggdrasil (which is outer worldly, similar to G'Hanir). When these elves go into seclusion, they take a branch from Yggdrasil's Child and head off to someplace to grow it and live there.
sleyvas Posted - 11 Dec 2018 : 15:35:06
Hmmm, and just to throw in a little bit more "options" to fit with 5e's path, maybe the "star elves" and shadar-kai are also involved with these "night elves". For instance, star elf and Ilythiiri cross breeding. Maybe the "drow that were cast out of the Yuirwood" were some star elf/Ilythiiri mixture. This might be before Corellon's curse which maybe is what made elves start to "breed true" in the realms.

So, to throw out some ideas building on the above...

These "night elves" maybe came to worship the Raven Queen long ago. Some of their community consists of Shadar-kai. Some of consisted of Star Elves. Some of it consisted of Ilythiiri. This would seem to fit with the imagery of the night elves doing a lot of tattooing (i.e. shadar-kai). This would allow for the odd hair colors (which wouldn't match shadar-kai, who are typically white haired). Since the Raven Queen is a goddess of the Night, it would fit them being night elves. However, some of these elves went on the shadowfell to follow the Raven Queen, but others stayed here on Toril.

The "aarakocra" mentioned above that were killed out in the Riders to the Sky mountains could actually be a Nagpa with say Kenku servants (or aarakocra servants). Or you could place a Nagpa in the ruins of an aarakocra civilization and its looting aearee lore. Meanwhile, its now wanting to loot old Untheric ruins.


In the nearby realm of Veldorn (The Beastlands), there's a noted group of Kenku (presumably descendants of the Aearee-Quor from -31000 DR), and maybe its from them that they acquired the worship of the Raven Queen. Granted we're talking thousands of years ago, so this isn't a major thing.


Since they now worship "the adama", this might be correlated to them worshipping "nature". It might also be a misunderstanding as to what they actually worship as well, but possibly after Corellon's Curse and Lolth's Betrayal, etc... maybe they've turned their back on the Seldarine. Also, the Adama itself sounds very much like spirit worship, and perhaps these elves are doing exactly that.

Hmmm, and both the Warcraft night elves and the Warcraft "trolls" have these insanely long ears. Perhaps another fallout of things is that the Taerow (maybe a better term for these "trolls") are the cursed night elves. Maybe they were cursed by Corellon. Maybe they were cursed by the Raven Queen. Maybe they were cursed by Lolth. Maybe they're the result of breeding with demons. Maybe they were a creation of the fey creator race to protect them from something else. But I would definitely have the elves first and the "trolls"/Taerow second, and there could be a relation between the two.
sleyvas Posted - 11 Dec 2018 : 13:25:25
by the way, in the above, the reference to troll "villages" always made me wonder about those trolls being much more civilized and intelligent.
sleyvas Posted - 11 Dec 2018 : 13:17:16
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Night_elf

NOTE: I'm reading it myself, as I wasn't a Warcraft online player for more than a couple months (I was one of the few playing everquest 2 instead). I did play the strategy games though.

My first thoughts for placement would be a little known elven tribe in southeastern Faerun's Ajmer Forest

There's this about the Ajmer Forest
Ajmer Forest
Home of the only sizable group of elves in Durpar, the Ajmer Forest is a tropical rain forest. The elves there have adapted to a rough style of life, with only such luxuries as they can trade for with
Flyndagol.

The elves embrace the way of the Adama, with special care for the forest. Trees are not cut down wantonly. Loggers are expected to show some thought in exactly which trees are cut down. In return, the elves condone limited logging. Mahogany, in particular, is a frequent bone of contention between the loggers and the elves. It is the most valuable wood that the loggers can take, but it takes the longest to regrow. The southern forest is home to many monsters. The forest is home to thousands of monkeys, tigers, ocelots, jaguars, and a couatl that lives on the southeastern edge of the forest. There is even a rumor that a rakshasa noble has
headquarters within the Ajmer.


So, how in depth do you want to keep this information in line? For instance, the night elves came from "dark trolls". I personally wouldn't adapt that, and given the history of the night elves to seeking out demons, I'd definitely link them to the Ilythiiri. They are more "pale" in skin color from the imagery that I see than the Ilythiiri (who were more "nut" colored), but the images I see also has them having a purplish tone to their skin. Given that the Ajmer forest literally touches the Raurin Desert/"Plains of Purple Dust", I would play up this link for their purple skin tone. I would also play up the idea that all these "drow" references are human confusion, and they're meant to be Ilythiir references (Dhaerow)… or the people who become the drow. This group however should be something like a splinter group that didn't get pushed into the underdark via Corellon's curse (maybe a mythal over the Ajmer Forest provided their race protection or somesuch).

Given the idea that these elves came from Troll stock, I'd definitely recommend using a more traditional "troll" akin to that found in warcraft as well.... that is IF you were going to continue using that piece. I wouldn't have them have any relationship to the common troll or even the forest troll. I'd eliminate their ability to regenerate limbs, etc... and include the "weird hair" common to the non-D&D trolls we see nowadays. I'd stay away from the "rock troll" concept. One could also build upon this concept from the 2e Shining South about the nearby country of Ulgarth

The current general of the Ulgarth forces is Sinveri Trollkin, a renegade female elf from Dambrath. Although she is one-quarter drow, she is a devout worshiper of Tyr, the god of war and justice. She is an intelligent and able leader.

Regarding the "Trollkin" reference as well, one person referenced the closeness of the term drow and troll in our cultures. They were using a term "Trow", and I'd recommend adopting it for these "warcraft troll" imports. Over time the term Trowkin may have been changed to Trollkin. The fact that these "Trow" are also lanky and green skinned with tusks might lead people to believe that they are related to trolls (and perhaps they are some kind of crossbreed of trolls and ogres or trolls and orcs). Personally, I wouldn't have the night elves come from the "Trow", but more have something like Ilythiiri mated with demons and the "Trow" are an offshoot race of Ilythiiri.


We actually somewhat talked about some of this in this thread last year (Sinveri Trollkin), when we were discussing having the half-drow within the Riders to the Sky Mountains of Unther/Threskel riding the "pteranadon" creatures mentioned in Old Empires.

http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?whichpage=1&TOPIC_ID=21984#502228


Also, you can build on THIS from Old Empires to have these night elves have been in Unther and the Yuirwood, as well as these "Trow" making another reference alongside some "half-drow".

The Riders to the Sky
This mountain chain is on the southeastern border of Chessenta. These are mostly hills ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 feet in height. On the southern end are a number of cliffs that are home to the tuuru, a race of giant birdlike lizards (pteranodons). Legends exist that in ancient days these huge birds were used as mounts by the warriors of Unther. Given the size, weight, and strength of the pteranodons, it is doubtful that they
could support a human rider; either larger varieties once existed or the legend is a hoax.

There are also the ruins of an ancient aarakocra civilization on the slopes, but this tribe was hunted to extinction a century ago for sport by mercenaries from Chessenta.

The eastern portions of the Riders to the Sky have mostly been cleared, though some bandit and outlaw tribes use them as bases to wage raids on Unther and Chessenta. The western portions, along the edge of the Winding
River, are much wilder. There are troll villages, and duergar inhabit underground caverns. Half-drow who were exiled from Yuirwood long ago are rumored to live among the trolls.


JohnLynch Posted - 11 Dec 2018 : 12:45:43
Alright. I googled night elves. What I got from them is they were once powerful arcanists, but have since abandoned it in favor of natural magic.

Below is my take on them:
When the Sundering occurred some elves reacted with complete horror at what the Elven High Magic had been used to do. A movement began to occur among the surface elves where a philosophy arose whose followers adopted the name "People Who Inherit the Night" which is inevitably translated to Night Elves.

This philosophy saw a complete moral bankruptcy among the Elven people's, and it blamed this failing on the over reliance of arcane magic. The elves who adopted this philosophy shunned arcane magic completely and ceased worship of the Elven gods. Instead they formed their own communities in remote areas (many in mountainous areas) and adopted the worship of nature spirits and Druidic magic.

Today night elves are some of the rarest elves. Their remote communities keep in touch as much as they can and typically shun most other races (including other elves). Most who meet a night elf assume they are either wood elves or wild elves, a misconception most night elves rarely correct.

Upon reaching adolescence night elves are given leave to wander the world and live among other communities and races. This helps night elves keep an eye on what happens in the greater world, it also gives night elf youths a chance to see what life is like outside of their small community. Most elves return within a hundred years, seeing the wisdom in the teachings of the night elf philosophy. Those who fail to return are remembered fondly as if they had passed away.
JohnLynch Posted - 11 Dec 2018 : 11:51:40
What information do you have on night elves? I know nothing about World of Warcraft lore.

Candlekeep Forum © 1999-2024 Candlekeep.com Go To Top Of Page
Snitz Forums 2000