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Cosmar
Seeker
89 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Jan 2024 : 09:15:36
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Hi all,
I'm just looking for pointers for where to look for any and all official lore about elvendom in the Realms in the 5e era. I still play and mostly prefer 3.5 and it's timeline, but a friend wants to start a 5e Realms game. I prefer playing elves, but am not nearly as knowledgeable about the status of elves in general, other than that Evermeet has returned and Myth Drannor was (mostly) destroyed (again).
What are the elves up to? Is Cormanthyr still a kingdom? Are they trying to rebuild Myth Drannor again?
Where should I read for this stuff?
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2024 : 16:18:12
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| The only elven focused book so far in 5e is Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
971 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2024 : 16:20:39
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| Tome of Foes is largely generic, though it touches on Evermeet. SCAG also has a little, but really, you've pretty much covered the bases. You can use 3.5e era info. |
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Cosmar
Seeker
89 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2024 : 18:47:00
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OK cool, that's both kind of a relief and a disappointment, haha. I've read MToF and SCAG.
One question I have is about Evermeet. The way it's described "currently" is kind of weird. So, elves apparently still live there full-time, given that there's a ruling council in place of the queen who disappeared, etc. Did the elves who were already living there when the 4e stuff happened (e.g. the island becoming part of the Feywild) die, or disappear, or did they just kind of emerge from trance in their houses one day, look outside, and go like, "Hmm, that's odd. I guess we're in the Feywild now and cut off from Faerun?"
Previous editions made it seem like, yes, a heaven-on-earth kind of place for elves, but still a mostly mundane location (though highly magically-protected) where a bunch of elves lived. A lot of my elven characters are members of an old elven family I made up who established residency on Evermeet after the Crown Wars, with some members traveling back to Faerun on and off over the millennia, but always with a large cohort remaining on Evermeet. Would that still track with 5e lore, do you think? |
Edited by - Cosmar on 02 Jan 2024 18:54:30 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2024 : 21:09:18
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Yeah, they did a bit of handwavium regarding Evermeet. They didn't exactly say HOW it affected the people there, and honestly most of the people that would have been there would likely still be there (because a hundred years is only a generation amongst elves). So, those same people may have been in Faerun, then the feywild, then back to Faerun, and it would seem like "20 years" passes to us... or the time it takes for us to have a family and have the kids grow up.
I personally like the idea that some of the other fey of the feywild married into the elven familial lines during that century.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4441 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jan 2024 : 15:46:49
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| I've always held the notion that the Feywild and Evermeet still maintain a strong connection, to a point where in parts you can pass from one to another like walking through a gossamer curtain into a vibrant woodland paradise. |
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DoveArrow
Learned Scribe
105 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jan 2024 : 16:06:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I've always held the notion that the Feywild and Evermeet still maintain a strong connection, to a point where in parts you can pass from one to another like walking through a gossamer curtain into a vibrant woodland paradise.
Sir, this is a message board. Flowery prose is not allowed.  |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jan 2024 : 16:40:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I've always held the notion that the Feywild and Evermeet still maintain a strong connection, to a point where in parts you can pass from one to another like walking through a gossamer curtain into a vibrant woodland paradise.
While I don't disagree with this statement... its a big difference between "I'm on Toril and I can get to the feywild by passing through here" and "I'm in the feywild and I can get to Toril by passing through here". They might not have realized it immediately mind you, as their surroundings didn't change.... but when your neighbors all suddenly change when you send out your ships... they would have had to make some adjustments. It would be an interesting thing to explore what might have happened as a result. For instance, were they neighbors to Astrazalian, the City of Starlight, which was an island that was said to traverse between the feywild and somewhere else? |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Cosmar
Seeker
89 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jan 2024 : 22:02:30
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I imagine some of the more conservative, "screw Faerun" elves on the isle were overjoyed to learn they were no longer in Faerun. I also like the idea of some of the fey marrying into some of the elven families. If that happened, would it be too much of a stretch that an eladrin+elf coupling could produce an eladrin, or would the offspring just be a regular elf?
I imagine some (especially sun) elf houses would welcome the chance to add fey blood to their line, especially Eladrin blood (even though I'm still kind of "meh" about the whole thing re: Eladrin being "fey super elves" instead of more like angelic outsiders).
The old sun elf house my elf characters are part of probably would have been happy about the whole situation, since most of them who stay on Evermeet are usually of the "let's just stay here forever and let Faerun handle itself" mentality, with adventurous "let's go to Faerun and make our mark" members being seen as rebellious and naive. The members who were already on Faerun during that time might have been a bit consternated about suddenly being cut off from their homeland, while others who had decided to settle permanently in Faerun would have been like, "oh, that's strange. Oh well I guess."
But from what it sounds like, it wasn't a big or long enough thing to make THAT much of an impact, so I can probably safely ignore it for backstory purposes. |
Edited by - Cosmar on 03 Jan 2024 22:03:57 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jan 2024 : 15:29:14
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Well one thing to consider as well is that it went to the feywild... if they had new neighbors, do we know that those neighbors were friendly? I mentioned Astrazalian, and that would be a likely friendly neighbor... but.... According to the 4e Heroes of the Feywild, the isle of dread traversed to the feywild and then to other worlds. Did all the defenses of Evermeet go with it to the feywild successfully? Did they return with it successfully? Were there undersea colonies that were less than friendly nearby in the feywild?
But also, in regards fey blood being added to the family lines... yes, Eladrin are an obvious example... but what about other fey as well which might have been KIND of common on Toril but are VERY common in the feywild (sylphs, nymphs, etc....). Might there be another "subrace" of elves as a result that considers themselves "more fey" and thereby are haughtier about themselves. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Cosmar
Seeker
89 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jan 2024 : 16:06:58
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Those initial questions pose fascinating possibilities for campaigns on Evermeet during that time. And possibilities for adding to the lore in 5e and beyond. Maybe some of the magical defenses got warped and started producing unpredictable or undesirable effects. Maybe Evermeet got caught up in Feywild factional discord between seelie/unseelie fey and had to take sides. For as powerful as Evermeet was, being IN the fey realm, they would at some point be the mercy of its denizens. Or maybe Evermeet was strong enough to fortify itself against fey incursions.
Re: mingling with fey, maybe some elves of a more nefarious bent got drawn into trysts with unseelie fey not entirely dissimilar to how the Dlardrageths mingled with demons. Maybe shadar-kai (back when they were their own fey beings rather than an elf subrace) or verdant princes (3.5 MM4), etc.
I could see that happening with sun elves purposely mingling with fey like sylphs and nymphs, like you said, and becoming even haughtier. At least, I could see sun elves on Evermeet being more purposeful about it (a la a less nefarious House Dlardrageth). Though I could see other elves (especially wood elves) having it happen perhaps unintentionally. Maybe certain fey did it on purpose.
It would be kind of cool if some new subrace emerged that was a type of planetouched (or, I guess, feytouched) elf. If it were 3.5, they'd probably be like fey'ri in that they'd gain some spell-like abilities and other features of fey at the expense of a level adjustment. Not sure how they'd manifest in later editions (especially with Eladrin already being a playable race). |
Edited by - Cosmar on 04 Jan 2024 16:08:18 |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4441 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jan 2024 : 19:55:46
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quote:
Originally posted by DoveArrow
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I've always held the notion that the Feywild and Evermeet still maintain a strong connection, to a point where in parts you can pass from one to another like walking through a gossamer curtain into a vibrant woodland paradise.
Sir, this is a message board. Flowery prose is not allowed.
My sincerest and deeply professed apologies. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4441 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jan 2024 : 20:01:31
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
While I don't disagree with this statement... its a big difference between "I'm on Toril and I can get to the feywild by passing through here" and "I'm in the feywild and I can get to Toril by passing through here". They might not have realized it immediately mind you, as their surroundings didn't change.... but when your neighbors all suddenly change when you send out your ships... they would have had to make some adjustments. It would be an interesting thing to explore what might have happened as a result. For instance, were they neighbors to Astrazalian, the City of Starlight, which was an island that was said to traverse between the feywild and somewhere else?
I can't speak directly to the lore of how the Feywild was handled in relation to Toril/Forgotten Realms on an official level, however the Shadowfell/Plane of Shadow is a direct 'darker' version of the Realms.
So based on that knowledge of the planes for my campaigns, I treat the Feywild in a very similar way. So who's to say that in the Feywild, Astrazalian isn't just Feywild version of a city in what Ruathym is in Abeir-Toril or even parts of the Moonshae Isles? |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2024 : 18:41:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
While I don't disagree with this statement... its a big difference between "I'm on Toril and I can get to the feywild by passing through here" and "I'm in the feywild and I can get to Toril by passing through here". They might not have realized it immediately mind you, as their surroundings didn't change.... but when your neighbors all suddenly change when you send out your ships... they would have had to make some adjustments. It would be an interesting thing to explore what might have happened as a result. For instance, were they neighbors to Astrazalian, the City of Starlight, which was an island that was said to traverse between the feywild and somewhere else?
I can't speak directly to the lore of how the Feywild was handled in relation to Toril/Forgotten Realms on an official level, however the Shadowfell/Plane of Shadow is a direct 'darker' version of the Realms.
So based on that knowledge of the planes for my campaigns, I treat the Feywild in a very similar way. So who's to say that in the Feywild, Astrazalian isn't just Feywild version of a city in what Ruathym is in Abeir-Toril or even parts of the Moonshae Isles?
Indeed. Given that another island that was decidedly LESS magical appeared in Evermeet's place, it does make one wonder if THAT island was originally a piece of Toril that the Elven High Magic transferred to the feywild. Perhaps the "portals" on the pre-spellplague Toril Evermeet that went to the feywild went to this decidedly "normal" island. Worth exploring as a concept and I hadn't thought about it. It occurs to me though that if that were the case, the residents of the feywild may have considered THAT island to have been something like a cursed land. This might also be why it was relatively empty. Just a thought. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 08 Jan 2024 18:42:56 |
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General elven lore in 5e era
