| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Formosus |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 20:39:05
Forgive me if this topic has been covered before, but is there any information about Star Elves out there other than what appears in Unapprochable East?
Specifically, I am looking for information regarding their homeland, the demiplane/city of Sildeyuir, and their government. For example, do they have Coronal, a council of elders, etc? Any other information would be welcome as well. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 01:46:48
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Going senile, my friend? 
Find that WOTC file yet?
Harsh! VERY HARSH! :)
Hey now, that's not my fault! The fact that they moved it years before I even knew of it cannot be blamed on me! (So let's blame The Sage!  ) |
| Kuje |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 01:14:17
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Maybe he needs to go find a Star Elf to help him. I hear they have light bulbs attached to their foreheads. He should be able to find a file real quick with one of them.
HAHAH. :) |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 00:37:45
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Harsh! VERY HARSH! :)
Maybe he needs to go find a Star Elf to help him. I hear they have light bulbs attached to their foreheads. He should be able to find a file real quick with one of them.
|
| Kuje |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 00:36:13
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Going senile, my friend?
Find that WOTC file yet?
Harsh! VERY HARSH! :) |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 00:19:26
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Going senile, my friend?
Find that WOTC file yet? |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 23:53:07
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by tauster
might it be that one?
http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/retreat.htm
Si, and mucho gracias. I couldn't recall if it was on this site or another. Thanks for finding it for me.
Going senile, my friend? |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 21:33:27
quote:
Originally posted by tauster
might it be that one?
http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/retreat.htm
Si, and mucho gracias. I couldn't recall if it was on this site or another. Thanks for finding it for me. |
| tauster |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 20:12:36
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlackThere was a piece of Realmslore a fan from the FR Mailing list posted several years back that hinted at the Retreat being nothing but a strategic manuever based on something the elves believed would happen in the future. I'm not sure it corresponds with recent Realms events, but it was interesting to read. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I recall at the end it mentioned humans perhaps playing the final card as to whether or not the elves triumphed over whatever they faced.
might it be that one?
http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/retreat.htm
|
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 18:03:46
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
That's actually not a bad idea... It makes more sense then the elves just deciding "Okay, we've Retreated enough. Let's go back!"
There was a piece of Realmslore a fan from the FR Mailing list posted several years back that hinted at the Retreat being nothing but a strategic manuever based on something the elves believed would happen in the future. I'm not sure it corresponds with recent Realms events, but it was interesting to read. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I recall at the end it mentioned humans perhaps playing the final card as to whether or not the elves triumphed over whatever they faced. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 17:45:24
quote:
Originally posted by tauster
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I remember reading about the Rockseers when Night Below came out... Something about the concept of them has never felt quite right to me, but I can't put my finger on it.
i once played with the idea of substituting them with the deep imaskari, as they share many similarities (gone into exile long ago, total isolation from the rest of faerun, powerful magicans, similar religious attitides,...) but decided not to do it.
my night below campaign centeres around mistledale (1371), and i plan to let the (re-)discovery of that long forgotten elven subrace be a catalyst for the end of the elven retreat. that way my players (who donīt know and donīt care what belongs to the campaign and what is canon realmslore) feel that they REALLY have an impact on faeruns history. 
That's actually not a bad idea... It makes more sense then the elves just deciding "Okay, we've Retreated enough. Let's go back!" |
| tauster |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 12:31:44
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I remember reading about the Rockseers when Night Below came out... Something about the concept of them has never felt quite right to me, but I can't put my finger on it.
i once played with the idea of substituting them with the deep imaskari, as they share many similarities (gone into exile long ago, total isolation from the rest of faerun, powerful magicans, similar religious attitides,...) but decided not to do it.
my night below campaign centeres around mistledale (1371), and i plan to let the (re-)discovery of that long forgotten elven subrace be a catalyst for the end of the elven retreat. that way my players (who donīt know and donīt care what belongs to the campaign and what is canon realmslore) feel that they REALLY have an impact on faeruns history. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 11:22:24
I remember reading about the Rockseers when Night Below came out... Something about the concept of them has never felt quite right to me, but I can't put my finger on it. |
| tauster |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 10:43:37
i know itīs off topic (as it has nothing to do with star elves) and not even realms- canon (because night below was a generic setting), but nontheless iīd like to mention the rockseer elves, a subrace that was introduced in the night below- boxed set. they were reprinted in the monstrous compendium annual 3, page 40-41.
i find their "racial personality" fascinating, and would like to know how you would integrate them into the realmsī history and timeline.
googeling leads you to that page, which has essentially the same information as mc annual 3:
http://www.livinginafantasy.com/rpgfantasy/elf_rockseer.html
Rockseer elves are the rarest of all elvenkind. They are far taller than most of their kin, with a few reaching almost to eight feet in height. An average weight for a Rockseer is between 120 and 140 pounds, with little gender difference. Rockseers are very pale skinned, and they have no body hair. Head hair is extraordinarily fine, always worn long, with the appearance and texture of exquisitely fine silk. The hair is silver, and eye color is a pale, almost ice-blue. They are androgenous in appearance, making it difficult for outsiders to tell males and females apart.
Rockseers have been separated from the rest of elvenkind since mythic times. Their own history tells that they were cowards at the great battle of Corellon Larethian and Lolth, fleeing the combat and taking refuge far below ground. They have no knowledge of surface elves. They know of the Drow and hate them, avoiding them whenever possible. They are extremely seclusive and shun the company of all other races, including the Svirfneblin. The only exception to this are pech, with whom Rockseers sometimes form friendships.
Rockseers dress very plainly in cloaks and garments which blend in with their surroundings, brown and gray being the favored colors. These garments are woven from tough fungal fibers, but such is their craftsmanship that they appear almost to be normal clothing. Treatment with plant extracts renders them waterproof and relatively fire resistant. In contrast with this plain garb, they wear rich jewelry, usually of gold and silver and always set with gems.
Combat: Rockseers eschew fighting whenever possible. They are too few in number to risk pointless deaths. Their underground special skills are so great that they can generally escape combats when they wish to; they are rarely even seen by potential aggressors. If forced to fight, Rockseers are unflinching. They always fight to the death to defend others of their own kind. They rarely possess bows (suitable bowstrings are difficult to come by in the Underdark) and prize such items, but they employ swords, spears, and stone quarterstaves which are hard as any steel.
The special attacks and defenses of these elves are formidable. They gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with long swords (but not with bows). They are 90% resistant to sleep, charm, hold, and web spells and wholly immune to petrification. They have 50% magic resistance against all Elemental Earth spells but suffer a -1 penalty on saving throws against Elemental Air spells.
Rockseers are armed with long swords (50%), long sword and dagger (25%), or long sword and short sword (25%). Weapon possession is also variable depending on class type. Missile weapons, save for the rarely employed staff-sling or bow, are not favored by Rockseers. If they have enough distance to use missile attacks, they have enough distance to use spells or simply to meld into stone and escape.
Every Rockseer has the ability to meld into stone from childhood. This talent is usable thrice per day until the Rockseer reaches maturity (at the age of 60 to 70 years), after which time it is usable at will. Rockseers who are of 3rd or higher level can stone walk (walking through stone as if through air) for a total distance of 100 yards once per day; this distance increases by 100 yards for each additional level gained. A Rockseer of 9th level can take one additional human-sized creature with him or her on such a stone walk; this number increases at the rate of one passenger per level beyond 9th (thus at 10th level the Rockseer could take two companions). Rockseers intuitively sense distances between passages and caverns separated by walls, so that they always know whether a stone walk can take them to a safe place or whether they might be trapped in solid stone at the end of the walk. Rockseers of 5th and higher levels can stone shape once per day, and those of 9th or higher level can employ stone tell once per day.
Rockseers also have communal powers. A group of three or more Rockseers with a total of 10 or more experience levels can create a wall of stone at will, and a group of five or more with a total of 20 or more experience levels can conjure a huge earth elemental once per day (that is, any Rockseer who participates in such a conjuration cannot do so again until the next day). This elemental has 20 HD and at least 5 hp per die, and it cannot be turned back against its summoners. Spell effects are considered to be at the aggregate experience level of the Rockseer group for the purposes of dispelling the elemental.
Rockseers can be warriors, wizards, thieves, warrior-thieves, or warrior-wizards. There is no priest class (the elves believe themselves to be shunned by the elven Powers for their cowardice, and tales of the Powers are all but forgotten by these people). As warriors, they can attain 11th experience level maximum. As thieves, they can attain 13th level maximum. As wizards, Rockseers can attain 18th level maximum. Rockseer wizards (single-classed only) gain special bonus spells as they gain experience levels. At 5th level, they can memorize Melfs acid arrow as an additional spell. At 9th level, Maximilian's stony grasp* is the bonus spell. At 15th level, a Rockseer wizard gains a bonus acid storm* spell (*these latter two spells are found in the Tome of Magic). Rockseer wizards also add 1% per level to their magic resistance against Elemental Earth spells, and if they cast such spells at others not of their own kind, the target incurs a saving throw penalty of -1 per five levels of the Rockseer (round fractions above one-half upwards). Rockseer wizards can cast all priest Elemental Earth spells as if wizard spells of the same level.
Rockseer wizards of 11th and higher level know the secrets of creating magical "familiars" (more correctly, golem-like constructs) called stone dragonets. These incredibly intricate slender stone statuettes are 12" long plus an additional 9" to 12" of tail; they move as if perfectly articulated, and the finest of them have gems of extraordinary kind as eyes. A stone dragonet has AC -2, HD 2, hp 16, and attacks three times per round for ld3/ld3/ld4 (claw/claw/bite). It has 25% general magic resistance, 75% resistance to Elemental Earth spells, and complete immunity to petrification (obviously), illusions, gaseous attacks, poison, paralyzation, and spells which affect corporeal bodies generally. A wizard with such a familiar gains a -2 bonus to his or her own Armor Class and cannot be surprised. If the gem-eyes of the statuette are each of value not less than 5,000 gp, the eyes of the dragonet can cast a brilliant eyebite glare once per day if the correct spells are cast during the creation of the familiar.
Rockseer elves have 240' infravision. They do not, as a rule, possess many magic items. Nonwizards have but a 5% chance per level of owning a magical weapon. Wizards have a 10% chance per level of owning a magic item of appropriate kind, but these are often powerful indeed. The greatest wizards are reputed to possess special wands of steam and vapor which create acrid clouds of burning, blinding acid (6d6 points of damage the first round, 4d6 the second, and 2d6 the third and final).
On account of their longevity (they have a natural lifespan of over 1,400 years), groups of Rockseers are almost always led by an experienced veteran, a warrior or warrior-wizard of at least 5th (or 4th/4th) level. A sizeable group (30 or more) will have at least one warrior of 7th to 10th level (6+ld4) and also a wizard of 7th to 12th level (6+ld6). In the central lair of a Rockseer clan, where up to a hundred may be gathered together, the clan chieftain is usually a wizard of surpassing skill (level 12+ld6) and has ld3+2 advisors/bodyguards who are either (50%) warriors of 10th to 11th level or wizards of 11th to 14th level (but not of higher level than the chieftain).
Rockseer elves have a -1 penalty to their initial Strength, Constitution, and Charisma scores, but they gain +1 bonuses to Wisdom, Intelligence, and Dexterity.
Habitat/Society: Rockseers believe that all they have is themselves and the riches of the earth. They are powerfully cohesive socially. Chieftains are generally elected by a conclave of the most powerful warriors and wizards on the death of the previous leader. A wise Rockseer leader does not give orders without consulting his or her advisors. Rockseers do not tolerate tyrannical leadership, nor do they suffer fools.
The lairs of Rockseers are supremely well disguised and warded. Multiple spells are always cunningly placed to prevent other creatures even suspecting the existence of such a network of cavems and passages, let alone entering them. Spies (usually thieves melding into stone) are always placed to watch out over areas close to the entry points of caverns. Some Rockseers live in caverns accessible only by stone walking or similar magic, where hundreds of feet of solid rock separate them from the outside world, with only small fissures to provide air.
Rockseers are highly unusual among elves in that they have little curiosity. Few among them have any desire to learn the ways of other folk. This is largely the legacy of a long historical sense of shame at their mythic history; they consider themselves tainted and instinctively avoid those who they think would conderrm them. Once awakened, however, their Curiosity can lead them to act in uncharacteristic ways, as those who stumble upon them will soon discover.
Rockseers are gem cutters and craftsmen almost without equal; even gnomes and dwarves would hesitate to claim they could better Rockseer work. They can almost scent gerrdodes deep in the Underdark and think nothing of spending ten years crafting and sculpting a single gem. The truly great Rockseer wizard-artisans are able to sculpt a gem with magic into forms of almost painfully exquisite beauty, generating fractal patterns of brilliant color and radiance within the heart of the gem as it grows. A handful of such perfectly crafted gems can be used to create a helm of brilliance (divide all gem numbers required by five, and each gem can fulfil its function five times before becoming nonmagical).
Rockseers are strange, alien, and fey people even by the standards of elvenkind. They are a serious people with little of the light-hearted, frolicking, bantering ways of most elves. They speak their own dialect of Elvish, which high or gray elves can understand 50% of the time and Drow 30% of the time. They also know fragments of Svirfneblin, and most can speak pech. A few have a smattering of underdark-dwarven and can communicate with Derro or Duergar (not that they would wish to do so, but it is useful for intelligence-gathering).
Above all, they are totally isolated. They know nothing of what has transpired above ground for thousands of years. Their attitudes to surface elves are very ambivalent. Rockseers feel a deep sense of shame for the deeds of their far-distant ancestors and assume that any surface elf they meet would automatically despise them; it will be very difficult for a visitor to convince them otherwise. On the other hand, they long to know what their brethren, lost for so many lifetimes, do, how they live, what they believe in, what they consider beautiful.
Ecology: Rockseers hardly interact with anyone else in the underdark. They eat fungi, moss, lichens, and cave creatures such as lizards and eels. They avoid violence and the endless struggle between different factions in the Underdark and keep to themselves. They are calm, enigmatic, and extraordinarily hard for outsiders to understand. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 19:25:40
quote:
Originally posted by Gaealiege
I would imagine that the split between wood elves and wild elves was derived from all content of many of the fantasy video games populating the market now, especially the MMORPGs. May also be a biased offshoot from MTG.
Oh, how so? Which such games have different elves like wood and wild?
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| Gaealiege |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 19:00:48
I would imagine that the split between wood elves and wild elves was derived from all content of many of the fantasy video games populating the market now, especially the MMORPGs. May also be a biased offshoot from MTG. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 17:30:36
quote:
Originally posted by khorne
Interesting. I only knew about Gold elves, Moon elves, Sea elves, Wood elves, Wild elves(if there is a difference between them and forest elves in FR) drow, avariel, lythari and ghost elves. How many other elven subraces are there?
Wood and Wild elves were the same race until 3e, at least in FR. For some reason WOTC decided to split them in half and make them two different races. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 16:13:51
quote:
Originally posted by khorne
Are there ghost elves in FR?
I don't recall them reaching FR yet. I thought they were just mentioned in a Dragon magazine. Still, there are some things that I like to block out. And the fact that there are almost as many possible subraces of elves as possible toppings for a pizza is one. Can another scribe help out here via the source for ghost elves and their current FR or non-FR state?
quote:
(If Evermeet was so shaken up by the return of the deamonfey, how are they going to react to elves worshipping Moradin?)
Why would those two events be comparable? |
| khorne |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 15:09:25
Are there ghost elves in FR?(If Evermeet was so shaken up by the return of the deamonfey, how are they going to react to elves worshipping Moradin?) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 11:26:21
quote:
Originally posted by khorne
Interesting. I only knew about Gold elves, Moon elves, Sea elves, Wood elves, Wild elves(if there is a difference between them and forest elves in FR) drow, avariel, lythari and ghost elves. How many other elven subraces are there?
One per sourcebook.
Nah, I think that your list covers it. |
| khorne |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 10:03:16
Interesting. I only knew about Gold elves, Moon elves, Sea elves, Wood elves, Wild elves(if there is a difference between them and forest elves in FR) drow, avariel, lythari and ghost elves. How many other elven subraces are there? |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 04:34:17
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
That shall not be named. :)
Gracias. Isn't his trilogy crowded enough as it is? He better include another player roster in the back of the second novel.  |
| Kuje |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 04:01:49
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Rich has said that he plans to include more in book 2 and or 3 of his trilogy though.
Did he say that in his thread here or over on that which shall not be named?
That shall not be named. :) |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 03:29:53
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Rich has said that he plans to include more in book 2 and or 3 of his trilogy though.
Did he say that in his thread here or over on that which shall not be named? |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 01:58:08
As star elves are a 'recent addition' to one of my favourite FR locales (the East), I'm eagerly awaiting the end of this novel trilogy. At the least it will allow me to sort out my "East Timeline".
-- George Krashos
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| Kuje |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 23:57:00
quote:
Originally posted by elven_songstress
I am going to be blonde for a moment (as I am) and ask which trilogy his Mythal one ?
Yes his Mythal trilogy. :) |
| elven_songstress |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 23:13:13
Thanks Wooly I missed that ^_^ |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 23:07:06
One of the characters in Windwalker was a star elf...
Elaine Cunningham said:
quote:
Careful readers of the recently-released game supplement The Unapproachable East picked up on the clues about Sharlarra's identity: she is a "star elf," a subrace of elves originally from the Rashemen area who long ago retreated from the world into a demi-plane. These elves now face some sort of unspecified danger in their adopted home, and have been tentatively exploring a reentry into the Prime Material Plane. They are characterized by their gold-flecked violet eyes, a nighttime increase of their powers, and a certain affinity with spirits. (This is a vastly simplified summary: see the game product for more detail.)
Here's a bit about Sharlarra's history: during one forray into the the Prime Material Plane, her family was slaughtered by slave hunters and she was captured and sold. She eventually ended up in Skullport, where she was rescued from slavery by Qilue's followers. Sharlarra made her way as a thief until she met Laerel Silverhand, who took her to Waterdeep as an apprentice wizard. Sharlarra's experience with drow made her inclined to help Liriel, whom she quickly recognized as a kindred spirit.
There is something in Sharlarra calling her back to her ancestral home, which is another reason she so quickly decided to follow Liriel and Fyodor to Rashemen. Indeed, Fyodor, who knows the old tales of his homeland, had heard tales of star elves, and he invited Sharlarra to return home with them. (Did anyone catch that passage? When he commented to Sharlarra that she would find a welcome in Rashemen, where tales are told of elven maidens with violet eyes?)
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| elven_songstress |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 22:58:05
I am going to be blonde for a moment (as I am) and ask which trilogy his Mythal one ? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 21:19:44
They were created for that book, so there is no old lore on them. Rich has said that he plans to include more in book 2 and or 3 of his trilogy though. |
| Formosus |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 20:49:37
Star Elves are an Elven subrace introduced (I believe) in Unapproachable East, and are native to the Yuirwood in Aglarond. They are even more reclusive than Sun Elves, and, if I recall correctly, created a demiplane that is coterminous with the Yuirwood to live in considerably before the Elven retreat began. They did this to escape the growing power of Humans and other non-elven races.
They tend to have pale or slightly grayish skin and eyes, and often have red or silver hair.
They are as normal elves except for:
Extraplanar subtype
+2 Cha, -2 Con
When under direct starlight, items they use gain the ghost touch special ability
Favored Class: Bard
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