ELF Help?

[GoblinSapper]

Don't forget that in FR, humans are one of the five creator races (as in, oldest native races), whereas the Tel'Quessir only came about springing from Corellon's blood or something. So humans do predate elves.

HUMAN PROPOGANDA!
 
All the better then, that means every Elf is of the blood divine, and humans are just misshapen monkies u_u. And even if Humans predate elves, Elven CULTURE is far older.

[Porkolt]

How can there be like a few thousand years of a race existing without a culture, exactly? I mean, Elven culture is probably -better-, yes, because someone who got to practice stonehewing for 800 years is probably a bit better at it than someone who goes into retirement at 60.

[Barehander]

High culture, then.

After the rule of the monstrous creator races, there were giants and dragons. Then there were the elves. Humans didn't really come into the equation for millenia until Imaskar, Netheril etc. And at that point, the first generation of great elven empires had already dwindled. It was the time of Eaerlann, Siluvanede, Sharrven, Cormanthyr and Illefarn, most of which came after the Crown Wars.

Humans did exist, and of course they had culture, but they hadn't systematically developed any advanced societies on their own. Netheril came to be when the elves of Sharrven (or was it Illefarn?) taught them magic.

[TheImpossibleDream]

HUMAN PROPOGANDA!
 
All the better then, that means every Elf is of the blood divine, and humans are just misshapen monkies u_u. And even if Humans predate elves, Elven CULTURE is far older.

Moon elves rival gnomes in their jovial friendliness and welcoming attitude. They're as we would say here in ireland "common as muck" a lot of people confuse moon elves and SUN elves in the way they carry themselves.

[Capricious]

Elves aren't actually native to Faerun (or even Toril for that matter), which is why they're not one of the Creator Races. They arrived from other realms.

[BrittanyPanthas]

Elves actually came from another plane of existence called 'Faerie' which underwent some catastrophe about thirty thousand years prior to our current date.  They came during a time when Dragons actually ruled Faerun, and were under their thumb for a short while until some High Mages came up with the King Killer Star.  While the plan worked in a sense, it also has screwed up civilizations time and time again.

Once the Dragon Empires fell, Elves ruled until the end of the Crown Wars, when they began their slow decline.

Humans have indeed been around longer than them, but it has not been until the time of Netheril where humans ever achieved anything close to dominance.  They've served as slaves to many empires along the way, and were disorganized tribes most of the rest of the time.

Granted, none of this information should be known to any but the most learned of Elven Scholars, and perhaps not even to them!

To shape a decent Elf, I would truly recommend this sourcebook right here: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1165.zip

Its an old edition TSR book on one of the most recent Elven Empires, Cormanthyr, which fell as of six hundred years ago, however the sourcebook is not exclusive merely to that.  It covers almost every aspect of Elven culture, and is a definite must read to research an Elven character.

After you've read up on Elven culture, its a good idea to choose a contemporary homeland from where your Elf came from.  Evermeet, Evereska, Silverymoon, The High Forest and the Dalelands would be amongst the most common homelands for Elves, but obviously they can be from anywhere.  Was your Elf raised in a human city?  Was the culture they raised on Elven?  How would they feel growing up in a human dominated region where they'd be looked upon with derision?  Or, was your Elf raised in an Elven homeland?  Are they a little shell-shocked now experiencing the other races for the first time?  Do they look at them with wonderment and amusement, or a quiet air of contempt?

What truly defines a good Elven character though, is a great set of goals that are distinctly Elven, but involve the server as a whole.  And admittedly I never accomplished this with many of my Elven characters.  Its tricky.  Elven goals are distinctly Elven, and thus tend to seperate themselves from the affairs of a human culture.  It is best to form a group of Elves who share a bond of kin-ship, and come into conflicts with other PC and NPC groups due to their beliefs.

[Barehander]

Moon elves rival gnomes in their jovial friendliness and welcoming attitude. They're as we would say here in ireland "common as muck" a lot of people confuse moon elves and SUN elves in the way they carry themselves.

Well, I'd say some moon elves are like that, and it's more typical than among sun elves. Many novel depictions and other canon NPCs do keep a certain haughty distance, even if they're social. I wouldn't say that Elaith Craulnober, Keryth Blackhelm, the Starym mage who hunted Elminster, or the royal family of Evermeet, are particularly jovial among humans. I guess you could roughly divide moon elves into two: those who live or travel with humans and those who live with elves. The latter are probably just as distant and proud of their culture as the average sun elf.

But that goes both ways: only some sun elves are dead-serious, arrogant and xenophobic. They're also said to be deeply passionate, emotional and caring. These are charicatures whereas real characters tend to be more diverse. Just look at Seiveril Miritar or Araevin Teshurr. Hells, or even more obviously: Coronal Eltargrim and Srinshee, probably the most lovable elves in history, were both sun elves.

I'd say the race most unlikely to be haughy, arrogant and self-righteous are the wood elves. That isn't to say they're overly social. They may keep to themselves, but they're nonetheless friendly towards most races and have chosen to live in the same world as them.

[Deathly Return]

Thanks for the information on this thread, it was very useful to me.

[GoblinSapper]

THREAD NECROMANNNCYYY!
 
Really sorry, but I need help myself now. There was a link somewhere that provided a free wizards of the coast download of The Call of Cormanthor (Myth Drannor), does anyone know where it is?

[Decimate_The_Weak]

6

[GoblinSapper]

Righ, found the fall of cormanthyr, there was also a source book that detailed the Crownswar, does anyone remember what it was called?
 
EDIT: Nevermind found that too

[Barehander]

By the way: the WotC page with free downloads has disappeared, which I had feared for a long time now, but the direct download links still function. So if you haven't, you can get Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves, and The Fall of Myth Drannor, through the links in my first post. Unfortunately I don't have the links for the rest of the stuff that was there.