The Elves' Next Move

[charbidge]

Andorallan enjoys the elves' company, and, their enemies provide quite a bit of entertainment. If they have a space for him in the ranks, he could put the spear they gave him to good use.

[David]

I believe that Andorallan is going to be requisitioned by the Greeks for their assault on the frost giants. Kari? Party make-up please? And are you confirmed for target #3 (the "home base" of the frost giant leadership)?

[charbidge]

Not a problem. Andorallan is agreeable. All he wants to know is...

[charbidge]

Not a problem. Andorallan is agreeable. All he wants to know is...

[David]

...how not to stutter?

[charbidge]

Okay. Pick on me because I'm tech-savvy. Easy target!

[charbidge]

Andorallan wouldn't mind pulling double shifts. He LIKES the elves. But, if that won't fly, could I build the nice Drow I had in mind?

[David]

I've a feeling that the next Elf Game will be in the context of protecting the forests of Fangoria. So, I don't think Andorallan will be "called" to help. That said, a drow would be cool, but would DEFINITELY need a GREAT backstory/justicification for joining the surface elves instead of being shot by them. If there's anywhere on Oerth that drow might be heard out, however, it's in Fangoria. The founder of Fangoria's best friend is the drow high-priestess, Mirkquin. That said, she's generally distrustful of other drow who haven't proven themselves -- in other words, evil drow die and neutral drow don't get trusted.

What about Kennibrae, Faeleen, and Glaesha? Kennibrae is a priestess of Eilistraee (goddess of good drow) and she and Faeleen were both rescued from the sacrificial altar of Lolth. Glaesha worships Aerdrie Faenya (elven goddess of the sky and winds) and has been on MANY missions to aid Elvenkind. If Dotri were still in play today, she would NOT be welcome (since she in CN and worships Frey, I believe). And for those in the peanut gallery, Malok is NOT a drow -- he's a half-drow raised among humans with no real knowledge of his heritage (from a drow perspective at least).

[charbidge]

K. Back story, eh? How about "Bonnie Prince Charlie" type, fleeing loser of a gut-deep revolt against Lolth herself that recently tore the Hellfunaces Underdark to shreds in a brief spasm (sort of a combination of the Japanese pre-Sejikahara revolt called "the Nine-day Shogunate" and the three-year last final chapter Chinese Civil war that ended in 1948 with an estimated 30 million dead).

[Stephanous]

I would highly suggest having a G in your alignment. If you don't they probably won't trust you, and yes, they will use magic to check your alignment.

Paul

[David]

Well, that's a good start, Craig. Early in the year 608, Lolth's avatar on Oerth was killed. As a result, her priestesses in the Underdark were cut off from all spells above 2nd level, then recovered spells to 4th, then (MUCH LATER) regained 5th lvl spells. As a result, there was complete and total chaos and pandemonium, as other faiths and males-in-general paid the followers of Lolth back for cneturies of oppression. Even now, eight years later, things are somewhat dicey for her followers -- they have NOT regained their highest level of spells and many cities now openly venerate other deities (Vaerun, Ghaunadaur, Kiransalee, Grazz't, etc). Heck, a few cities now even BAN the worship of the Spider Queen.

Your drow could have his background in this time of turmoil. Perhaps he was from Menzoberranzan (a city still in Lolth's clutches) and he fled as a result. Or, he could be a follower of Eilistraee from Erel-hui Cinlu or some other city. He could even be a drow, who, with the fall of Lolth, decided to look into the legends and there found out about Frey. Honestly, however, unless he has decided to follow some GOOD god, the surface elves won't give him the time to explain himself -- for most the only good drow (clerical spells not-withstanding!), is a dead drow.

For example, even though Kennibrae is a priestess of Eilistraee (CG), has been on several missions for the cause of good, and was rescued from Lolth's sacrificial altar (leading to the confrontation and battle which surprised everyone with her demise), very few surface elves will trust Kennibrae. The only group which would reasonable hear her out are the elves of Fangoria, thanks to the influence of Mirkquin, herself a drow priestess from Erel-hui Cinlu.

The only thing that keep Glaesha alive is that she can see in the daylight and cause wings to appear on her back, causing other to pause before fighting. And honestly, she made enough of a name for herself and has enough allies that she gets a chance to make her case.

Even Faeleen, another refuge from Lolth's cages, has to be VERY careful. She's stayed alive mostly by adventuring in regions that don't have elves, much less drow.

Hope that helps.
David

[charbidge]

A "G," huh? okay, how about CG: "Me first " (because I'm clearly the only one who can understand and DO what needs to be done). and "opposed to Evil" (Lolth must be removeded so my people can evolve socially and rid their culture of the suicida hatred of outsiders,or, in other words, stop being Iran).

A rebel can't BE lawful, since his cause, no matter how noble, is by definition opposed to the laws of his society. It can also explain why successfu revolutionaries don't usually survive thier victories (see Hamilton, Robepierre, Trotsky, and Che Guevera), while failures (see Bonny Prince Charles) often live to a ripe old age... in exile.

[David]

Given that we're talking about drow, I would totally agree with a CG rebel.

Heck, I've held for some time "David's Theory of Social Alignment Shifts" -- to sum it up, it says rebellions are usually started by CG idealists with support from CN anarchists (who quickly find themselves either out of place if successful or dead if not). As the social order congeals more, the society finds value in rules and laws, becoming NG (usually thought of as a golden era). Over time, law supercedes justice for the benefit of all, and you get LG for some time (and good old days which last quite some time). Then corruption moves in and lawyers and politicians hide behind the law to protect themselves from justice, and society becomes LN (and static, but long-lasting). As society decays, if you don't have another rebellion of CGs and CNs, your society becomes LE, although such societies really don't last long (Nazis, the Roman Dark Ages, Aztecs, etc). It seems to me this pattern has played out cross-culturally for millenia (China, Europe, Mesopotamia, America [now at LN], etc).

Now, in a magical world like Dnd, I would posit that a very chaotic society like an elven or drow one COULD have LAWFUL rebels, bent on establishing and instilling a social order. But now I'm just splitting hairs...

[charbidge]

So... back to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Not there yet. I can get the drow fleeing an unsusseful revolt and up to the surface, but dealing with surface folks is something I haven't solved. I don't want to play "yet another tame drow," but it seems like no fun to be near folks who shoot first and then skip the "ask questions later" part. Maybe it won't fly with elves.

[Stephanous]

It is true that most elves will shoot first and speak with dead later. Since there are so few good drow, they are known pretty much as an evil race. If you're a typical elf, then they are only seen as an evil race. There are very few exceptions to this rule and they invovlve a handful of PC's and NPC's. It is hard to play a true drow in this world. David's world used to have a lot more evil characters, but they seemed to be fighting and killing each other off all the time which made for rivalries between players and a not very fun playing atmosphere for many people. Since we play mostly good characters, and neutral, but few evil ones, the players work together much better and there is less conflict. So, in order to play an inherantly evil race, you really have to change them in order for them to be a viable playing option. If you have any doubts about this just talk to Ray about playing a Werelord and how tough that is.

Paul