Craig Greeson
03-18-1998, 01:49 PM
Greetings,
Someone mentioned the topic of elves in the Shadow World. I just recently
joined the Ravenloft list. I've seen several posts there in the last
couple of days regarding Shadow Elves. Could someone that uses RL (or a
variant of RL) as the Shadow World fill us in on who/what these Shadow
Elves are? My understanding is that they will probably be fairly well
outlined in the upcoming RL product "The Shadow Rift". They appear to be
something different than Drow, from what I've read so far.
In my first post on this subject, I didn't mention the difference between
Dark Elves and the elves loyal to the Manslayer IMC. The reason the Dark
Elves (or Sidhesheghlien, as someone dubbed them months ago) were shunned
by their elven brethren was because they were loyal enough to Azrai's side
that they fought against and killed other elves at Mt. Deismaar. Rhuobhe,
on the other hand, only wanted to see the humans destroyed. He and his
followers continued fighting on Azrai's side, but they would only raise
their swords against humans. Once the battle was over, both Rhuobhe's
forces and the elves that fought against Azrai were appalled by the fact
the Sidhesheghlien had attacked and killed their kindred. Rhuobhe could
still be accepted by the other Sidhelien, but the Dark Elves could not.
With no safe haven to retreat to, the Sidhesheghlien were forced
underground.
The Dark Elves I envision in Cerilia are not standard AD&D Drow. It's not
a matriarchal society, they don't all have +11 weapons and armor, they are
not black skinned, they don't use magic as frequently as we flip a light
switch, and they don't have a load of magic items. Also, unlike in FR,
there are not dozens of Dark Elf cities in the Underdark. I've placed two
- - one under the Mhoried/Cariele border, the other beneath the mountains of
southern Massenmarch. They hate their kindred who shunned them after Mt.
Deismaar, but they still hate the humans just as much or more.
The people who don't want Drow in their campaigns certainly have firm
ground to stand on. They're not mentioned in any of the major
accessories. My players and I like the concept well enough that we want
them around, but our campaign is not as humanocentric as most probably are.
Regards
Craig
Phil Burge wrote:
>
> LordSchmit wrote:
>
> > That doesn't explain Rhoubhe Manslayer. He stayed loyal to Azrai, and he is
> > still, in a sense, an elf. The other elves that stayed loyal to Azrai simply
> > stayed with Rhoubhe. The other elves, while they don't totally accept these
> > elves, don't totally shun them either. Rhoubhe and his followers could be
> > considered "dark elves" in a sense. But Drow, as they appear in Greyhawk or
> > FR, simply don't fit into the Birthright world. The normal elves are dangerous
> > enough.
>
> Rhoubhe Manslayer did not remain loyal to Azari as such but fought on
> his side as Azari was, like Rhoubhe, intent on destroying humanity. I am
> inclined to think that Rhoubhe felt (and feels) no loyalty to Azari at
> all, they were simply two beings with the same goals working together.
Someone mentioned the topic of elves in the Shadow World. I just recently
joined the Ravenloft list. I've seen several posts there in the last
couple of days regarding Shadow Elves. Could someone that uses RL (or a
variant of RL) as the Shadow World fill us in on who/what these Shadow
Elves are? My understanding is that they will probably be fairly well
outlined in the upcoming RL product "The Shadow Rift". They appear to be
something different than Drow, from what I've read so far.
In my first post on this subject, I didn't mention the difference between
Dark Elves and the elves loyal to the Manslayer IMC. The reason the Dark
Elves (or Sidhesheghlien, as someone dubbed them months ago) were shunned
by their elven brethren was because they were loyal enough to Azrai's side
that they fought against and killed other elves at Mt. Deismaar. Rhuobhe,
on the other hand, only wanted to see the humans destroyed. He and his
followers continued fighting on Azrai's side, but they would only raise
their swords against humans. Once the battle was over, both Rhuobhe's
forces and the elves that fought against Azrai were appalled by the fact
the Sidhesheghlien had attacked and killed their kindred. Rhuobhe could
still be accepted by the other Sidhelien, but the Dark Elves could not.
With no safe haven to retreat to, the Sidhesheghlien were forced
underground.
The Dark Elves I envision in Cerilia are not standard AD&D Drow. It's not
a matriarchal society, they don't all have +11 weapons and armor, they are
not black skinned, they don't use magic as frequently as we flip a light
switch, and they don't have a load of magic items. Also, unlike in FR,
there are not dozens of Dark Elf cities in the Underdark. I've placed two
- - one under the Mhoried/Cariele border, the other beneath the mountains of
southern Massenmarch. They hate their kindred who shunned them after Mt.
Deismaar, but they still hate the humans just as much or more.
The people who don't want Drow in their campaigns certainly have firm
ground to stand on. They're not mentioned in any of the major
accessories. My players and I like the concept well enough that we want
them around, but our campaign is not as humanocentric as most probably are.
Regards
Craig
Phil Burge wrote:
>
> LordSchmit wrote:
>
> > That doesn't explain Rhoubhe Manslayer. He stayed loyal to Azrai, and he is
> > still, in a sense, an elf. The other elves that stayed loyal to Azrai simply
> > stayed with Rhoubhe. The other elves, while they don't totally accept these
> > elves, don't totally shun them either. Rhoubhe and his followers could be
> > considered "dark elves" in a sense. But Drow, as they appear in Greyhawk or
> > FR, simply don't fit into the Birthright world. The normal elves are dangerous
> > enough.
>
> Rhoubhe Manslayer did not remain loyal to Azari as such but fought on
> his side as Azari was, like Rhoubhe, intent on destroying humanity. I am
> inclined to think that Rhoubhe felt (and feels) no loyalty to Azari at
> all, they were simply two beings with the same goals working together.