Introduction to Storyline
Deep in the darkest wooded area in the Forest near the Blackmoor castle, dwell a race of Dark Elves. The village, Vadimonian, a Scottish Dark Elf community with strong ties with the past. The village of Vadimonian is a peaceful community who welcomes all dark elves/drows, as long as they follow the simple laws.
Hierarchy
Leaders / Royalty
The Dark Elves ruler is Caith Cearnach, his second in command is his sister/wife Caylpso.
Royal Family
- Caith (King)
- Caylpso (Younger Sister/Wife)
- Jhaamdath (Caith's Father)
- Elvanshalee (Caith's Mother)
- G'eldriia (sister)
- Nyloth (brother)
- Durdyn (Younger brother)
- Rilrae (Younger sister)
- Sorn (Youngest brother)
Vizier
Advisor/high officer
- Nyloth (Caith's brother)
Governor of the Military Knights
- Jhaamdath (Caith's Father)
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Members of the Military Knights
Warriors/Paladins/Rangers
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Druids
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High royal Cleric
This is the official healer of the community; Caylpso
Royal Clerics
Healers appointed by the High Royal Cleric
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High royal Wizard
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Royal Wizards
(Appointed by Ruler)
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Royal Bard
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Royal Council of Elders
- Jhaamdath
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Seer
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Members of Middle Class
(In order of class position)
- Rogues
- Gentlemen at Arms (similar to police)
- Field Officer
- Blacksmith
- Master of the Horse
- Tavern/Inn Keeper
- Shoppe Keeper
- Farmer
- Worker
Members of Lower Class
(In order of class position)
- Messenger
- Stable persun
- Worker
- Begger
Laws
The laws are determined by the Elders and the King. They are in place for the good of all of the elves.
History of the Dark Elves
Elves: An elf is a mythical creature of Norse mythology which survived in northern European folklore. Originally a race of minor gods of nature and fertility, elves are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and other natural places, underground, or in wells and springs. They have been portrayed to be long-lived or immortal and they have magical powers attributed to them. Following the success of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Ringswherein a wise, angelic people named elves play a significant rolethey have become staple characters of modern fantasy. (Information obtained from Wikipedia.)
Dark Elves: In Norse mythology, Svartálfar ("Swartelves" or "black elves"), sometimes considered synonymous with duergar ("dwarves"), are subterranean creatures who dwell in the world of Svartálfheim. They may be either benevolent or malevolent. The original Svartalfar worked the forges on the lowest level of the world tree. These beings were not considered evil to begin with, and the Black or Dark skin was a result of working at the forge.
The Dökkálfar ("Darkelves") are male ancestral spirits who may protect the people, although some can be menacing, especially when one is rude to them. They are generally light-avoiding, though not necessarily subterranean.
Snorri Sturluson, author of among other things the Younger Edda, distinguishes them from the ljósálfar ("Lightelves") of Álfheim, in most sources simply known as elves.
In the Celtic language, the Daoi-Sith are "dark elves", while the Du-Sith are "black elves". Both terms are obscure, and the latter seems to have been used as a proper name. Apart from an ambiguous folktale of uncertain origin involving one Sir Lachlan Mor M'Clean, there are no known surviving myths or stories associated with these creatures in Celtic mythology, so it is impossible to tell whether they were thought to be elf-like, troll-like, or something completely different, or if they were even similar to each other, if they were good, evil, or either, etc.
While the terms exist and were apparently used for something, it is currently impossible to tell exactly what. However, it seems possible that they are related to the Trowe and Drow of Scottish folklore, if not direct precursors.
In the Orkney Islands, the Trow or the black elves are similar to the Svartalfar or to Scandinavian trolls or dwarves, and inhabit mines and caves. They may be either good or evil, but the evil variety are more common.
The Drow or the dark elves are the Shetland Isle equivalent of the Trow, but unlike the trow, they are thought of as exclusively evil. They are tiny elves known for their mining and metal-working, not unlike dwarves. A useful way to envision them may be as evil, subterranean counterparts to tiny shoemaker elves.
In Irish mythology, a drow is a stone monster of the Fomori, similar to the Scandinavian troll. (Information obtained from Wikipedia.)
Drow: Drow are a species of elf in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Etymologically, term is probably derived from the Shetland Isles Drow (Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1970) states: "Drow, n., [scot.] A tiny elf which lived in caves and forged magical metal work."). The word's origin is identical to the origin of the word "troll," which both go back further to the Scottish Gaelic word spelled "trow." The original Scottish Gaelic word is pronounced "dtrow" with a soft "dt" sound, and the original pronunciation sounds similar to "troll." The word is also found in Cornish and Welsh, with slight pronunciation differences. The race itself seems based on another dark elf, specifically the Dokkalfar of Norse mythology.
Drow, or "dark elves" as they are called by most surface dwellers, are an offshoot of the elven race. Drow are characterized by white or silver hair, obsidian black skin, and red (or rarely gray, violet, or yellow) eyes, as well as innate spell powers and spell resistance. This is balanced by their weakness in daylight. Also, drow weapons and armor (usually made of adamantite or another metal unique to the Underdark) slowly lose their magical properties if exposed to the sun. In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition, adamantite disintegrated upon exposure to sunlight unless specifically treated. Drow also employ the unusual dart-firing hand crossbow. Half-drow are the result of crossbreeding between humans and drow, and share characteristics of both.
Drow characters are extremely intelligent, charismatic and dextrous, but share surface elves' comparative frailty and slight frames. As a race they are usually evil. Drow males are commonly wizards or fighters. Females are almost always clerics and almost never wizards.
Drow hate elves, but wage war with almost any surface and subterranean races, such as mind flayers, svirfneblin, duergar, and kuo-toa for spoils and territory. Their society is matriarchal, with priestesses of the goddess Lolth (Lloth in the drow tongue) in the highest seats of power. Males are either enslaved or (rarely) respected if they are powerful wizards, but never allowed to rule. The drow sometimes use their dark arts to turn human slaves into living sculptures. (Information obtained from Wikipedia.)
Darl Elf/Drow Guideline
To bring all of these things together, this is the guideline for these Dark Elves/Drow: The Dark Elf race is a tribe, as much the Cherokee are a tribe of American Indians. They carry much the same skills and powers of the light elves. They are distinguished by their darker features- dark hair, tanned/bronzed skin, dark looks (eyes, etc.). Dark elves are generally considered attractive, some more than others however. Like light elves, they are youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and other natural places. Type of hair, length, and its appearance is usually long; the men may go ungroomed, while the women prefer to keep themselves well groomed, this is dependant upon each character. They generally live in heavily wooded forests, or cave communities. They rarely live among other races of any creature. And while they are formed of communities, they tend to be very solitary families. However, the community is always stronger together, than seperate. Unlike Drows in the above refernce, males can and do hold positions of high regard. And rarely are human slaves turned into living sculptures. Any slaves are few, if common, and are usually household slaves or community slaves working for the community they live within.
Dark elves are long lived, as all elves are. Their immortality is up to some debate. Only they know their true life span, and in which form their life span will include. This seems to indicate that elves are more than just the visable living creatures seen.
Dark elves have innate spell powers and spell resistance. This is balanced by their dislike of daylight, they are generally light-avoiding, though not necessarily subterranean; they are able to tolerate it, and live within it. Extremely intelligent, charismatic and dextrous are a few qualities of Dark Elves. These beings were not considered evil to begin with, but as a race they have been known to start evil wars, and are more prone to have evil intentions when it comes to gaining power. Their evil is intellegent, and caluclating. Males are commonly wizards or fighters. Females are commonly clerics, and almost never wizards.
Because of the loss of strength that the intermingling (light) Elves have done with other races, Dark Elves have an extreme dislike for (Light) elves dispite familar ancestors. Female Dark Elves usually hold positions of power, though unike some legends, the males do hold positions of power as well. The Dark Elves may be either benevolent or malevolent. Early on, after their parting from the world with light Elves (or simply what is considered High elves), they often married close relatives to preserve power, and in most cases increase magical powers in their offspring. A practice that is usually shunned now, and not tolerated amongst the High Dark Elves.
Dark elven names are usually exotic, and may be difficult to pronounce.
Dark Elves/Drows: Celtic Religion
Because of the Celt's overwhelming belief in Elves, and mythical creatures, it stands to reason that the basic principles of the Celtic religion are followed by Elves. When trying to imagine what this religion was like, think back on King Arthur and the part that the mystical and magical situations that were encountered; Avalon for instance, the Lady of the Lake, Excalibur and Merlin. While magic was less prevalent in the Human existence, it seemed to be strong in those that may have been considered apart of the Far populace (Morgan le Fay, Merlin, etc.).
Mostly remember that this religion was tribal, sacrifices and festivals were common. Attempting to live together in peace, was also very much apart of this. However, the Celts didn't lay down and die-- they fought for what they believed in, and though the religion is nearly non-existent today, it does continue. Which lends to an idea that the core values fo the Celts were instinct, and as instinct would naturally be revisited and thrive amongst followers.
We have provided a resource from Wikipedia to help with any understanding you may need of this culture and religion. Please visit Celtic Religion, Polytheism, and Deities for more information.
The Celts, like other ancient Indo-European peoples, practiced a form of polytheism which reached the apogee of its influence and territorial expansion during the 4th century BC, extending across the length of Europe from Great Britain to Asia Minor.
The locus classicus for the Celtic gods of Gaul is the passage in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico (52–51 BC; The Gallic War) in which he names five of them together with their functions. Mercury was the most honoured of all the gods and many images of him were to be found. Mercury was regarded as the inventor of all the arts, the patron of travelers and of merchants, and the most powerful god in matters of commerce and gain. After him the Gauls honored Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Of these gods they held almost the same opinions as other peoples did: Apollo drives away diseases, Minerva promotes handicrafts, Jupiter rules the heavens, and Mars controls wars. In characteristic Roman fashion, however, Caesar does not refer to these figures by their native names but by the names of the Roman gods with which he equated them, a procedure that greatly complicates the task of identifying his Gaulish deities with their counterparts in the insular literatures. As has been noted, Caesar's commentary and the iconography refer to quite different stages in the history of Gaulish religion; the iconography of the Roman period belongs to an environment of profound cultural and political change, and the religion it represents may in fact have been less clearly structured than that maintained by the druids (the priestly order) in the time of Gaulish independence. On the other hand, the lack of structure is sometimes more apparent than real. It has, for instance, been noted that of the several hundred names containing a Celtic element attested in Gaul the majority occur only once, which has led some scholars to conclude that the Celtic gods and their cults were local and tribal rather than national. Supporters of this view cite Lucan's mention of a god Teutates, which they interpret as "god of the tribe" (it is thought that teuta meant "tribe" in Celtic). The seeming multiplicity of deity names may, however, be explained otherwise—for example, many are simply epithets applied to major deities by widely extended cults.
Little is known about the religious beliefs of the Celts of Gaul. They believed in a life after death, as they buried food, weapons, and ornaments with the dead. The druids, the early Celtic priesthood, taught the doctrine of transmigration of souls and discussed the nature and power of the gods.
The Irish believed in an otherworld, imagined sometimes as underground and sometimes as islands in the sea. The otherworld was variously called "the Land of the Living," "Delightful Plain," and Tír na nÓg "Land of the Young" and was believed to be a country where there was no sickness, old age, or death, where happiness lasted forever, and a hundred years was as one day. It was similar to the Elysium of the Greek mythology and may have belonged to ancient Indo-European tradition. In Celtic eschatology, as noted in Irish vision or voyage tales, a beautiful girl approaches the hero and sings to him of this happy land. He follows her, and they sail away in a boat of glass and are seen no more; or else he returns after a short time to find that all his companions are dead, for he has really been away for hundreds of years. Sometimes the hero sets out on a quest, and a magic mist descends upon him. He finds himself before a palace and enters to find a warrior and a beautiful girl who make him welcome. The warrior may be Manannán mac Lir, or Lugh himself may be the one who receives him, and after strange adventures the hero returns successfully. These Irish tales, some of which date from the 8th century, are infused with the magic quality that is found 400 years later in the Arthurian romances.
Something of this quality is preserved, too, in the Welsh story of Branwen, daughter of Llyr, which ends with the survivors of the great battle feasting in the presence of the severed head of Bran the Blessed, having forgotten all their suffering and sorrow. But this "delightful plain" was not accessible to all. Donn, god of the dead and ancestor of all the Irish, reigned over Tech Duinn, which was imagined as on or under Bull Island off the Beare Peninsula, and to him all men returned except the happy few. This appears in Welsh mythology as Annwfn (from *Andubnion, very deep level) and ruled by seemingly different gods Arawn (*Ariomans) and Gwyn ap Nudd (*Vindos).
According to Poseidonius and later classical authors Gaulish religion and culture were the concern of three professional classes—the druid, the bards, and between them an order closely associated with the druids that seems to have been best known by the Gaulish term vates, cognate with the Latin vates ("seers"). This threefold hierarchy had its reflection among the two main branches of Celts in Ireland and Wales, but is best represented in early Irish tradition with its druids, filidh (singular fili), and bards; the filidh evidently correspond to the Gaulish vates.
The word "druid" is often cited as meaning means "knowing the oak tree" and may derive from druidic ritual, which seems to have been performed in the forest. Caesar stated that the druids avoided manual labour and paid no taxes, so that many were attracted by these privileges to join the order. They learned great numbers of verses by heart, and some studied for as long as 20 years; they thought it wrong to commit their learning to writing but used the Greek alphabet for other purposes.
Classical sources claimed that the Celts had no temples (before the Gallo-Roman period) and that their ceremonies took place in forest sanctuaries. Archaeology demonstrates this to be incorrect, with a large number of temple sites excavated. In the Gallo-Roman period, more permanent stone temples were erected, and many of them have been discovered by archaeologists in Britain as well as in Gaul.
Celtic polytheism was evidently sacrificial, performing various sacrifices in their interactions with the gods. Human sacrifice was supposedly practiced in Gaul: Cicero, Julius Caesar, Suetonius, and Lucan all refer to it, and Pliny the Elder says that it occurred in Britain, too. It was forbidden under Tiberius and Claudius. However there is also the possibility that these claims may have been false, and used as a sort of propaganda to justify the Roman conquest of these territories. There is some circumstantial evidence that human sacrifice was known in Ireland and was later forbidden by St. Patrick, This claim is also disputed. There is much archaeological evidence that sacrifice involving the menstrual blood of prominent female members of the Druidic class was an integral part of Celtic worship across the British Isles. As women held a place of high esteem in Celtic society, this was probably performed as a ritual to ensure the fertility of crops during the festivals of Beltane and Lughnasadh.
Insular sources provide important information about Celtic religious festivals. In Ireland the year was divided into two periods of six months by the feasts of Beltane (May 1) and Samhain (Samain; November 1), and each of these periods was equally divided by the feasts of Imbolc (February 1), and Lughnasadh (August 1). Samhain seems originally to have meant "summer," but by the early Irish period it had come to mark summer's end. Beltine is also called Cetsamain ("First Samhain"). Imbolc has been compared by the French scholar Joseph Vendryes to the Roman lustrations and apparently was a feast of purification for the farmers. It was sometimes called oímelc ("sheep milk") with reference to the lambing season. Beltane ("Fire of Bel") was the summer festival, and there is a tradition that on that day the druids drove cattle between two fires as a protection against disease. Lughnasadh was the feast of the god Lugh and a celebration of the sun. Ritual bread was also baked as a tradition on Lughnasadh. (Information obtained from Wikipedia.)
New Player Info.
New Player Application
- Player Name:
- Character Name:
- Character Race: Dark Elf/Drow
- Character Level:
- Character Class (level 20 or higher can have dual classes):
- Barbarian
- Single Class Barbarian's: Can read/write? (Yes/No)
- Bard
- Cleric
- Choose two or three domains: Air, Animal, Chaos, Death, Destruction, Earth, Evil, Fire, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Luck, Magic, Plant, Protection, Strength, Sun, Travel, Trickery, War, Water.
- Energy type: Positive/Healing, Negative/Harmful, Neutral.
- Druid
- Fighter
- Monk
- Level 6 or above, Choose three: Improved Grapple, Stunning Fist, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip
- Paladin
- Ranger
- Combat track (Choose one): Archery or Two-weapon fighting
- Ranger favored enemies (choose up to 7, higher the level the higher the amount): Aberration, Animal, Construct, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Giant, Humanoid (aquatic), Humanoid (dwarf), Humanoid (elf), Humanoid (goblinoid), Humanoid (gnoll), Humanoid (gnome), Humanoid (halfling), Humanoid (human), Humanoid (orc), Humanoid (reptilian), Magical Beast, Monstrous Humanoid, Ooze, Outsider (air), Outsider (chaotic), Outsider (earth), Outsider (evil), Outsider (fire), Outsider (good), Outsider (lawful), Outsider (native), Outsider (water), Plant, Undead, Vermin
- Rogue
- Sorcerer
- Choose familiar: None, Bat, Cat, Hawk, Lizard, Owl, Rat, Raven, Snake, Toad, Weasel.
- Specialization: Generalist, Abjurer, Conjuror, Diviner, Enchanter, Evoker, Illusionist, Necromancer, Transmuter.
- Wizard
- Choose familiar: None, Bat, Cat, Hawk, Lizard, Owl, Rat, Raven, Snake, Toad, Weasel.
- Specialization: Generalist, Abjurer, Conjuror, Diviner, Enchanter, Evoker, Illusionist, Necromancer, Transmuter.
- Prestige (Royal class. By default abilities include two classes (see above classes). Higher level may specialize in more than two classes)
- Barbarian
- Skills
- General skills.
- Character Class specialized skills.
- Weapons (if any)
- Simple Weapons
- Martial Weapons (Throwing axes, War Hammer, Guisarme, Longbow, etc.)
- Exotic Weapons (Dire Flail, Gnome Hooked Hammer, Two-bladed Sword, Dwarven Urgrosh, etc.)
- Defense
- Shield
- Armor
- Other
- Other languages spoken
- Other skills
- Essential equipment
- Character background:
- Sample Post:
Please email the above information to [pandorathewise@gmail.com RavenMun].
Paraphernalia
Items: None known.
Vehicles: None known.
Weapons: None known.
Notes
- No special notes.
Recommended Reading
- No material listed
Links and References
- None.
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Hostess Note (Do not remove): All Rules for Gotham and Beyond, and the WBS AuP must be followed. Variations on guidelines in this storyline have been approved by the Gotham and Beyond Staff exclusively for this storyline, and do not effect or apply to other user created storylines in the room. The person running this storyline has full discretion on how to run this storyline, within the rules of Gotham and Beyond and WBS. For help or advice on running this storyline, or for help creating your own user created storyline, questions can be addressed to the Gotham and Beyond Staff. (-RavenMun / Pandora the Wise; aka Christine 20:18, 16 August 2009 (UTC))