Landfall!; the elves

[kopout]

Discus the Elves and related concepts here.
Landfall!

[jagadaishio]

Right, so, I figure I'll start listing already decided information here too.

Back in the day, the elves lived graceful, noble lives. There were fourteen noble houses, each of which were always competing against each other in court politics while living in their glorious lowland woodland palaces. When the first rise came, there was much panic and chaos. In the process, the ruling bodies of two of the noble houses were destroyed, leaving two clans orphaned and forsaken.

The surviving clans committed what many of their race felt was a crime against nature, but one that was necessary. They chopped down their ancient forests to build a fleet of ships. After the final rises, the clans had lost everything; their forests were gone to build their fleets, their lands lost under the seas, and most of their wealth left behind, not enough room on their ships.

[jagadaishio]

The two forsaken clans adapted best to the changes. No longer having petty nobles deciding policy for them, they quickly organized into something of a federation. Their flotilla made the best they could of their new life, sailing far and wide as honest adventurers and merchants. It was a new golden age for the common elves of the forsaken houses.

[jagadaishio]

The next most successful were the five arcane houses of the elven houses. Rather than simply sitting and mourning their losses, they immediately went to work, designing and planning a new city designed to float above the city. 100 years after the world was flooded, Suriya was born.

For five centuries the city was grand. It was an oceanic trade hub, and largely ignored the surviving noble houses. Yes, it was a city of magic, enlightenment, and commerce. Then, one day, it sank. There was no creaking, no swaying, nothing at all to warn the doomed population who was ripped to the bottom of the sea with their ruined city.

The secret cause of this, something known only to a dozen or so elderly members of the elven noble houses, is that the sinking of Suriya was no accident. It was sabotage.

[jagadaishio]

The seven noble houses, of which three were Greater and four Lesser, had grown jealous of the success and happiness of the forsaken and arcane houses. For that reason, one small ship made a contract with a devil. It was intended as a prank, a slap in the face. The devil was to infiltrate the city and cancel out all of their magic. It was supposed to be a nuisance; the effect would end in a few hours, and they would then be able to cast again.

The devil did as asked. Exactly as asked. The magic of the city was canceled. All of the magic. And so the city sank. By the time the wizards could cast again, it was too late. Suriya was sunk.

[jagadaishio]

The noble ship realized too late what it had done, and mourned while keeping its guilt secret. If only fate were kind enough to allow all of Suriya to drown. During the sinking, huge numbers of the victims were captured by the orcs in the area, who shackled them with manacles enchanted for water breathing, intending for them to be slaves in their watery dominion. The orcs and their elven slaves interbred, and a few generations later the new race of underwater elf/orcs rebelled against their masters and fled to the ruins of Suriya, establishing a new culture.

Since then they have sought to destroy the surface elves that forsook them. They make occasional raids, leaving elven ghost ships floating the seas. All the while the brood and grow, biding their time until they have a population mass and the powers needed to destroy their surface brethren.

[jagadaishio]

The noble houses have not fared even close to as well as the forsaken ones. While the forsaken houses decided to make the best of a bad situation and flourish because of it, the noble houses remain trapped in the past. They have no real power any more, and yet they strut as if they had it. There is massive internal conflict in the Alfheim, the council of the elves, perpetuating petty conflicts as old as the elves themselves.

Their economy hasn't grown. They were so adapted to their carefree forest cities that they couldn't bring themselves to change. Instead they became pirates, taking what they needed and wanted (in their minds, what was rightfully theirs) from the forsaken elves.

Beyond that, the Great houses have lost what made them great. They had more land, more wealth, and because of that more power. They had tradition on their side. That's lost now, though, and the Lesser houses fight back politically, causing even more strife among the noble houses, weakening them further.

What have I missed?

[Owrtho]

The seven noble houses, of which three were Greater and three Lesser

I think atleast one of those numbers has to be wrong.

Owrtho

[jagadaishio]

I think atleast one of those numbers has to be wrong.

Owrtho

Nice catch, mate. Fixed it.

[puppyavenger]

just reading through the main thread there was an idea that elven spell-casters would be mainly conjurers (as in, summoning, not the wizard specialization) and warlocks, right? Well, since the Noble houses have lost most of their magical knowledge, perhaps almost all their spell-casters are "legacy cases" sorcerers whose power comes from the massive amount of magic in their blood due to their ancestors *ahem* "mingling" with the creatures they summoned. As well, any family or sub-faction within a house that had a history of magical talent would probably experience a massive surge in influence, since summoning and warlock magic is considered a sign of divine favor.


Also, maybe some conjuring-focused racial substitution levels for elven sorcerers?

[kopout]

Thats a good idea, lets see what the others think.

[Vadin]

I'm not doing the 3.5 stuff, but substitution levels sound ok.

Sorcerers sound quite acceptable for elves, especially those from the Greater Houses where they have more of a tradition of Summoning for fun and profit. Warlocks, however, are definitely more common than sorcerers for all the Elven Houses, especially as a means to gain power for what most elves see as 'no cost'- it's some hapless nobody's soul (or life) they're trading off to devil/genies/demons.

Yes, it isn't uncommon to have 'visitors' to their ships killed or worse to seal a deal with a powerful outsider. Many prisoners are carted off wholesale to other realms, sold into extraplanar slavery in exchange for gold, rare scrolls, information, or service.

[kopout]

I get the impression that elves aren't good.
Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
but Elves aren't good

[Vadin]

No, most elves are not good. By and large, they are not good at all.

[kopout]

But do you get the discworld reference?

[Vadin]

Yes?10 characters

[jagadaishio]

Unlike the rest of the elves, though, the members of the forsaken houses tend not to be bad.

[puppyavenger]

A nomenclature question, what exactly should the elven names/culture be based off of? Pre-revolution France? Casstilian Spain? Renaissance Italy? the Barbary Pirates?



anyway just a random, nameless, writ-up for a lesser house PEACH


[NAME]
a.k.a. Storm-callers, Storm-bringers, Daels children, demon-lords, demon-slaves

Current Leader [NAME] a powerful and relatively young demonic warlock, he's, to put it nicely, a psychopathic megalomaniac. One of the most "visible" of the House leaders, he personally commands many raids and enjoys attacking well-protected convoys.

The only thing close to authority he recognizes are his demonic debtors (whom he owes several hundred souls) and occasionally serving as the Aflems attack dog. CE Ml Wrlk 12


History Before the rise, the [NAME] were one of the most militaristic houses, seeking to expand their estates against the Humans and Gnomes.

Needles to say ,after the rise they had to change their habits somewhat. Always devout followers of Dael, they were not adverse to summoning demons to aid in finding or raiding other ships for supplies. Eventually this led to large numbers of them becoming warlocks and further increasing the demonic influence on the House

Religion They are overwhelmingly Daelite, any "heretics" among their ranks are given over to the demons as payment for some boon or another, and a shrine and priest are required on every ships flying their flag.

This has naturally led to some frosty relation to the "heretics" that hold the majority o the Greater Houses.

relations to Aflem: the [NAME] generally ignored the edicts of the Aflem, along with everyone else, unless they involve hunting something specific, in which case their happy to oblige.

Alignment CE

[Vadin]

Barbary Coast names? Yes, please.