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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Sep 2005 : 15:33:37
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A good idea, Wooly...
So, here's what I am asking - In some sources, they say that the Lythari were one of the first elven races on Faerun, along with the Avariel. And, according to Ms. Cunningham, the Lythari dwell in a realm near Rashmen that keeps them save from the prying eyes of many creatures (smart enough). Ok, here's my question... are they as small of a race as the Star Elves, or the Avariel? Or do we know if there is a decent population of them?
Next question - Elven werewolves, or Elves with the ability to turn into wolves? I never knew that Lythari had a hybrid form until races, and as was pointed out in another thread, it depends on which 3E book you read. What's the general consensus?
C-Fb
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Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2005 : 15:42:31
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| I had a player that ran a lythari sorcerer (the Infamous Mourn Nine-Fingers), and I went with the "no hybrid" version of the lythari, as far as I could tell, since Elves of Evermeet and Demihumans of the Realms (both 2e) mention only the wolf form. Demihumans of the Realms also lists lythari as very rare in the book, the same rating that is given for Avariels. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2005 : 17:10:58
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| I still keep the no hybrid form myself even though the current lore states differently. :( As for how many there are, they are rare like the winged elves. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2005 : 17:32:03
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Lythari in 2E, which is, I believe, where they were introduced, didn't have a hybrid form.
Considering the fact that they didn't originally have that hybrid form, and the fact that their brand of shape-changing is only passed on by ritual or by reproduction, I'd say they are not lycanthropes, they are simply elves that can turn into wolves.
This is not unprecedented. Swanmays don't have a hybrid form, and I think selkies also only have the two forms. Neither critter is lycanthropic.
Anyway, I think that them being lumped in with werewolves was done purely for simplicity. The way their shapechanging is passed on very much speaks against their being lycanthropes. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2005 : 17:34:35
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| Um, a quick refresher for myself: Monsters of Faerūn, Races of Faerūn, Evermeet (the 2E sourcebook), and Elaine's novels: these are all the sources of lore on lythari, correct? |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2005 : 17:58:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Um, a quick refresher for myself: Monsters of Faerūn, Races of Faerūn, Evermeet (the 2E sourcebook), and Elaine's novels: these are all the sources of lore on lythari, correct?
And Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume 4 |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2005 : 20:03:23
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| And Demihumans of the Realms. |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2005 : 02:45:29
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So, since only the senior scribes of Candlekeep have answered here, I do tend to take their opinions. I agree with you scribes, to tell the truth. I think that they have no hybrid form (otherwise they are really no different from elven werewolves) and that they are quite rare indeed.
Now, is there a natural rivalry between lycanthropes and those such as Lythari/Swanmay, et al? I remember from 1st Ed, the werejackel hated the jackelwere, which is weird, but true.
C-Fb
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Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2005 : 03:55:15
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
So, since only the senior scribes of Candlekeep have answered here, I do tend to take their opinions. I agree with you scribes, to tell the truth. I think that they have no hybrid form (otherwise they are really no different from elven werewolves) and that they are quite rare indeed.
Now, is there a natural rivalry between lycanthropes and those such as Lythari/Swanmay, et al? I remember from 1st Ed, the werejackel hated the jackelwere, which is weird, but true.
C-Fb
Werewolves and evil wolves hate lythari, and will attack them. So I'd imagine that it's mutual. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2005 : 04:00:09
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Well, you know elves... they never seem to let any grudge go, no matter how many millenia happen to pass by in the mean time. Talk about some bitterness sometimes! :)
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Vangelor
Learned Scribe
USA
183 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2005 : 08:38:14
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Since my Forgotten Realms game is new, I began with the 3.5 stuff and am working my way back from there. So I didn't encounter the fact that lythari did not originally have a hybrid form until I dug a bit deeper... and had already brought them into play - where they fit well with my Wild Elves theme.
So here is how I settled this in my own game: Lythari are capable of assuming a hybrid form. But the tribes that have anything to do with other elves (the colony on Evermeet, for instance) tend to feel this form is inelegant, and seldom assume it, unless they are at war. Since the Lythari don't go to war often - if at all - no one has ever seen them in hybrid forms, and thus most assume they do not have one.
That is, as a rule, they don't use hybrid form. Not because they don't have one, but because they are elves and it is tacky.
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Edited by - Vangelor on 18 Sep 2005 08:42:17 |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2005 : 09:42:00
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So, what you're saying is - they have a hybrid form, but their elven passion for doing things right prevens them from assuming the form of a half-wolf?
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2005 : 18:48:31
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Well, I can accept that as well. 
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Lythari
