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Acolyte Thirteen
Seeker

93 Posts

Posted - 11 Nov 2010 :  16:51:42  Show Profile  Visit Acolyte Thirteen's Homepage Send Acolyte Thirteen a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
As of 1372 DR, in your informed opinion, how many 11th+ level elven wizards/sorcerors of good alignment exist on Faerun?

Thank you for reading, and for your comments!

Bladewind
Master of Realmslore

Netherlands
1280 Posts

Posted - 11 Nov 2010 :  17:20:06  Show Profile Send Bladewind a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hmm, lets see.

Evermeet has a population of 1,7 million elves, of wich about 5% to 10% are wizards. This makes for a maximum total of 85,000 to 170,000 magi.

Lets say of these 10% are high level i.e. 11th+ level or higher, totalling in at 8500 to 17000 wizards and sorcerers capable of casting chain lightning/telekinesis.

Taking in account for the retreat is at its height around 1372 my guess would be that about the same number of elves are still roaming in Fearun proper. So the same amount of elven wizards (17000 max) roam the human dominated realms, wood elven forest cities and elven settlements.

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Knight of the Gate
Senior Scribe

USA
624 Posts

Posted - 11 Nov 2010 :  17:58:46  Show Profile Send Knight of the Gate a Private Message  Reply with Quote
So using BW's rough math (which is probably as close to 'accurate' as anyone is gonna get) and adding in the qualifier 'good alignment'- let's say 60% of all elves are good, with another 30% neutral and 10% evil- then you wind up with ~20,500 good elven arcanists of 11th level or better. This is probably a good 'rough estimate'.

If you want to get a *bit* more granular, you can take into account that, unlike humans, the elven population is (at any given time) comprised of FAR more individuals 'in their prime' than those that are adolescent or younger. (Since elves live so very long, at any given point, ~95% of the elf populace of Faerun is of an age to take up magical studies). Add to that the fact that dedicated elf arcanists need not divert precious time and resources in simply trying to live past the century mark, as must humans. What this leads to (IMO) is that the group of 'high-level' elf arcanists is a larger one in relation to the group of elf arcanists in general; i.e., while there are far more human mages, the average elf is undoubtedly of higher level than the average human mage, simply b/c the elf (on average) has been at it for a few centuries, already. Not to mention the availability of socially-acceptable undeath (as either a baelnorn or watchghost) for truly powerful archmagi amongst the elves. Add all of this up, and I'd say that the percentage of elf magi of higher than 11th level is likely more like 15% of all elf arcanists (or 1.5% of all elves).
Factoring all of that in (and using Bladewind's numbers for population and incidence of elven magi above) you come up with a *maximum* of ~31K good elf magi of >11th level.
Of course, this is all conjecture. If you need there to be <100 elves of such power in your game, make it so; if you need a few tens of thousands, run with it.

How can life be so bountiful, providing such sublime rewards for mediocrity? -Umberto Ecco

Edited by - Knight of the Gate on 11 Nov 2010 18:01:26
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 11 Nov 2010 :  18:26:39  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
'Good' and 'Elf' do not belong in the same sentence.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe

USA
379 Posts

Posted - 11 Nov 2010 :  18:38:02  Show Profile  Visit Lady Fellshot's Homepage Send Lady Fellshot a Private Message  Reply with Quote
How about "chaotic" and "elf"?

Rants and reviews that interest no one may be found here.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 11 Nov 2010 :  18:44:54  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Good enough.

Considering their history and attitudes towards others, even the best of them are barely 'liberal', and certainly NOT 'good'.

And the 'good' ones are liberal in a very condescending way.

Elves are jerks.

I find the Eldreth Veluthra refreshing in their honesty. Ergo, my definition of a 'good' elf is based on it's honesty, and I would have very different opinions then most here.

For instance, Queen Amluiral is one of the worst examples of a racist.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader

USA
3750 Posts

Posted - 12 Nov 2010 :  07:18:07  Show Profile Send Alystra Illianniis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
But being "good" does not necessarily preclude racist attitudes. There are plenty of racist humans who are otherwise "good", simply because they do not act violently or otherwise cause harm to others because of their biases. Yes, they make be jerks, but that doesn't mean they're not good.

The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.

"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491

"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs

Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469

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_Jarlaxle_
Senior Scribe

Germany
584 Posts

Posted - 12 Nov 2010 :  09:08:23  Show Profile Send _Jarlaxle_ a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The only good elves are drow because they don't try to hide their attitude
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore

Netherlands
1280 Posts

Posted - 12 Nov 2010 :  11:46:17  Show Profile Send Bladewind a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Alystra hits the nail on the head in my opinion. *high fives*

Amlaruil is a paragon of the Seldarine for good reason, she was an intelligent archmage and just ruler, but had to temper the mores of her mainly Durothilian court simmering with racists sensibilities. Her advisors were a much needed balance against this court too, and were mainly female and good friends of her. So the greatest nation of the elves was actually starting to become a matriarchy.

Her absense from Evermeet in the 15th century Realms bodes for a more openly chauvinistic ruling period. I don't see the elves moving against humans, as the Eldreth Veluuthra are still not able to gain support from the court of Evermeet.

Returning to the subject of magical might, I suspect that Vhoori Durothil (the young creator of the Accumulator) is soon to become a prominent member of the court. His considerable magical talent came from his moon elven mothers side, and his siblings are both from the Moonflower and Durothil clans (depending on their outlook). He can possibly bridge the differences of the two ruling clans and might even be the first Durothil to be able to be accepted by a moonblade.

The Accumulator makes Evermeet a very powerful magical nation, as it able to store huge amounts of magic. Even elven high magic can be stored in it, so this device could help Evermeets defence when assailed by a magical mighty nation by collecting larger and larger amounts of spells over the course of several days or weeks.

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Creature Feature: Giant Spiders
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore

Netherlands
1280 Posts

Posted - 12 Nov 2010 :  14:05:30  Show Profile Send Bladewind a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Oh, I just remembered Vhoori Durothil isn't alive anymore around 1370 so he definately wont be able to take up any position in any courts in the 15th century Realms. But his Moonflower and Durothil ofspring might still make for a good contender for a moonblade and subsequently the throne in Moonstone Palace.

My campaign sketches

Druidic Groves

Creature Feature: Giant Spiders
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