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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe
USA
666 Posts |
 Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 02:22:35
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I've wondered for so long now: How could D&D let such an epic race fall through the cracks? I'd say the Ghost Elves have the most potential of any new race introduced in 3e.
There could have been so much for them; it would have been so easy to implement them in 4e's Shadowfell (seeing as how they got rid of the Ethereal Plane, unfortunately) instead of these Dusk Elves or Gloaming Hearts.
It's an interesting thing that I've found out when reading things written by people who know of the Ghost Elves or have played them, they are usually one of the funnest characters to play or are one of their favourite races, even making people who usually dislike Elves like them.
How do you all feel about this wonderful race that went unnoticed? Do you all keep them alive in homebrew campaigns? Do you actively or have played one? Do you write about them? Have you even introduced them to FR in some way?
Let's give this race some love..
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 02:52:50
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| I've never even heard of them. What's the source? |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe
USA
666 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 03:59:37
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Yes, what Sage said.
Here is a rough description of them. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to actually post what the whole Dragon article says, but I will if I can.
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Elves,_Ghost_(3.5e_Race) |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 04:08:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Aryalómë
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to actually post what the whole Dragon article says, but I will if I can.
You can freely post an extract description from the article [quoting the source], or just a brief summary. But you can't post the entire content of the original article here. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 06:17:20
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Looks like someone erased the body of the article after you linked it.
'Big Brother' is watching. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 22 Dec 2012 06:18:00 |
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 06:58:39
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Aside from the overly-complicated back-story (which I've seen dozens of times before) wherein they are forced to be slaves for a malignant culture in the distant past (in this case devils), they are basically 'spooky' elves with a natural ability to slip in and out of the ethereal (so folks only think they are ghosts).
I like the concept, but I can just turn the ability into a tribe-specific feat, without the rest of the mumbo-jumbo (flowing clothes, white/grey hair, etc). They look down on everyone and hate Drow the most... I pretty-much just call that an elf.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 22 Dec 2012 06:59:05 |
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Chosen of Asmodeus
Master of Realmslore
1221 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 10:33:47
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So, essentially, gith/duergar, only instead of midflayers they're using devils?
Gotcha. |
"Then I saw there was a way to Hell even from the gates of Heaven"
- John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress
Fatum Iustum Stultorum. Righteous is the destiny of fools.
The Roleplayer's Gazebo;
http://theroleplayersgazebo.yuku.com/directory#.Ub4hvvlJOAY |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 14:25:02
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There's also the Kaasta and Shadow Elves, amongst so many others. Big-Evil subjugates them, and during their enslavement they gain new abilities. The break free, and now they live 'out of sight' and have their own vengeful agenda.
Rinse and repeat. In fact, the Ghost-Elves back-story sounds like they simply merged the back-stories of the Kaasta and the Shadow Elves.
The basic concept is cool - its similar to the Lythari's Faerie-specific worldwalk ability. Since I've already tweaked my elves, I can just merge this with the rest (its a high-level racial feat). It could even be part of a fey-touched template or some such (although I wouldn't go that route). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 22 Dec 2012 14:27:54 |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2012 : 22:27:04
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| I am not only familiar with them, but I've got an entire tribe of them in my HB campaign world. Even had a player who had one for a PC. It became a running joke in our game that he was the party's "night-light". Ghost elves have, among their other racial traits, an at-will ability to glow with as much light as a candle flame. We jokingly refferred to his PC by making cracks about an elven "Clapper"..... ("Clap on, clap off,....") |
The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2012 : 01:57:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
I am not only familiar with them, but I've got an entire tribe of them in my HB campaign world.
Are they a nomadic tribe, Alystra, or have you set them up with a permanent settlement in your campaign? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2012 : 22:07:33
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They have a semi-permament outpost near a portal to the Ethereal Plane, in a region that lies between the borders of a dense jungle kingdom similar to Maztica, and a forest empire populated by wood elves with a distinctly Feudal Japanese culture. (They have mingled with a nearby human Oriental empire for millenia, and have taken to heart many of the ideals of that land's culture- ie, family honor, the bushido code, extreme politeness and formality, etc...) The ghost elves themselves are somewhat primitive, reflecting the jungle lands they live near, but they have also acquired some of the traditions and beliefs of their wood elf neighbors, sort of blending the Oriental and Mezo-American cultures into something completely unique. (Imagine a tribal samurai with an animal totem spirit, or a ninja-esque scout/hunter in war paint....) Their settlement is isolated, on a small island near the center of a large lake, and is well-hidden. They also keep an outpost on the ethereal side of the portal, and they go back and forth fairly regularly. That's about as detailed as I ever got with them, but I hope you like it!
Interestingly, the "Oriental" wood elf empire is one of only two elven cultures in my HB world that have NEVER used the "rite of banishing" that I used as the basis for my drow. I blended Krynn's method of using a magical circle to determine whether a particular individual is a "dark" elf, and their protocals for dealing with those who are shown to be "dark" elves(ie- striking their names from all records, and publicly banishing them while announcing their crimes to all who see them along the way), with the FR version of the curse laid by the Seldarine via their clergy. So basically, ANY elf who grossly violates elven mores and codes (ie, by commiting acts of treason against the elven rulers, or murdering other elves, especially their own kin) can become a drow if found guilty, although the original drow in my campaign were created (from the three main elven sub-races: high, wood, and gray) en mass after a bloody civil war in which they had commited various heinous acts in their attempts to gain power. The Oriental branch of wood elves stayed out of the conflict, so they never had any reason to use the curse. Given their strict codes of honor and behavior, most of those who are discovered to have committed such acts in that land would rather commit suicide (hari-kari) than face the shame of being banished as a drow (suicide is considered an honorable option by them) and have their family name be dishonored. The few who don't, end up fleeing and becoming self-imposed exiles rather than face the prospect of being cursed as a drow. (Mostly because they know it means any elf who should see them would slay them on sight if they were!). Also, NO drow is permitted to set foot in ANY elven lands, on pain of death. In other words, once they have been cursed, that's it. They have no name, no home, and no family. Though there ARE legends that those who prove worthy may be redeemed and have the curse removed- but so far, none has ever done so.....
And for those wondering, the other elven culture that never had an elf banished are my sea elves. They simply have no interest in the affairs of all the others, and live too far removed for any of it to affect them. (Of course, there are tales of drow kidnapping a few of them for breeding experiments, and even the avariels and lythari in my campaign have occasionally produced a dark elf, though it's VERY rare...) |
The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 25 Dec 2012 : 04:16:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
Which part? And thanks for the compliments!
I particularly liked the section with the Oriental Elves.
I've read many interpretations of the basic concept, but yours is the first I would consider adapting for my own use. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 25 Dec 2012 : 07:17:22
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Borrow away! I'm particularly fond of the work I've done with that region, as it allowed me to have some real fun with different cultures, and it also gave me an excuse to let my hubby play an elven ninja. When he fisrt suggested it, I had not yet detailed anything on that particular kingdom, and I started looking at my maps and realized that the answer had been staring at me all along- the human China/Mongolia analog right next door! So it made sense to have a more Japanese-style culture for the elves. And then I sarted envisioning pagoda-style tree-homes, with rice-paper walls, little ancestral shrines, and elves wearing silk kimonos and tabis, using katanas instead of normal long swords, etc. It also made for some interesting conflicts and history in that area. I've now sketched out the basic Shogunates, political rivalries of several clans, and even a few ancestral artifacts for his PC's clan. He wanted the fox as his clan totem, so I made a sword and mask set that, when used together, can summon a guardian fox-spirit. (I used Renamon from Digimon as inspiration...) Then there was the rat clan, the monkey clan, and a few others I never got around to finishing.
The ghost elves I had were tribal, and used more Mezo-American type totems (jaguar, snake, eagle, crocodile, etc) but have a primitive version of the bushido code, and a few other touches. I wanted something truly different with them, since they are not "canon" for any setting or sourcebooks. I liked their abilities, but I worked out their backstory as a simple retreat from the wars of the other elves, especially agaisnt the very aggressive human tribes near the Oriental group, and instead of being enslaved by lower planar beings, they basically just "got lost" in the Ethereal Plane for a few millenia, and forgot they had ever lived anywhere else. Then they found the portal again, and rediscovered their kin... |
The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 26 Dec 2012 : 16:18:14
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Wow thats good stuff.
I wouldnt mind reading a novel with these guys, it will be a welcome change from the usual elven bladesinger and wizards and what not. |
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Ghost Elves
