Elves -> Sidhe

[iblis]

I am looking toward mutilating elves as many know them (I can hear the bloodthirsty cheers already, but hang on - not like that) and basically making them something a little more like 'the sidhe'.

Any links/experiences/advice? I didn't post this in House Rules, because I don't know if anyone's done this here already, and I didn't post it in the d20 3rd-party forum either, because again I don't know who's done it, in what, or how well. So I posted here. :\

I've started work on them, going through a few RPG sources, a couple of 'reference' books etc., but I definitely need a bit more help.

TIA.

-- oops, that's for D&D 3.5, btw. --

 

[Desdichado]

That depends on what your concept of the Sidhe is, though, doesn't it? Other than making them fey rather than humanoids, and giving them an extremely mercurial temperament and vulnerability to "cold iron" what more needs to be done anyhow?

 

[Carpe DM]

I did a campaign along this theme a while back. I took out demons and archons, and put in the Unseelie and Seelie courts.

Of course, either court was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." Elves were just humans (no pointy ears) that had a significant concentration of Sidhe blood. Each had a different "witchmark" characteristic that the character made up, to show the character's otherworldly influence.

Half-Elves were more human yet, with just a touch of the strange. And so on.

From this experience:

1. Maintain the mystery. The Courts should never completely make sense. These people are immortal, alien, and insane. Mortals that get swept up in their politics are likely to never be heard of again. For this reason, don't let PCs play full Sidhe, just humans with enough Old Blood to be affiliated with the Houses.

2. But let the Players learn. There's nothing like beating an elf at its own game. Games become the central plot devices: what else to immortal, insane, alien, and *bored* people do with their time?

Reading:

1. Palimpsest (the old Dragon short story, if you can still find it).

2. Lords and Ladies (by Terry Pratchett)

3. Tam Lin (by Pamela Dean)

4. Books of Magic (graphic novels -- the parts about Faerie)

5. Summer Knight (Jim Butcher)

These will get you started.

best,

Carpe

 

[iblis]

1. Maintain the mystery. The Courts should never completely make sense. These people are immortal, alien, and insane. Mortals that get swept up in their politics are likely to never be heard of again. For this reason, don't let PCs play full Sidhe, just humans with enough Old Blood to be affiliated with the Houses.

Good advice. I was considering the last bit there, and still will, but am also toying with the idea of a 'pure exiled sidhe bloodline' with much reduced powers and insanities, due to being removed from the Realm of Faerie (which I'll have as a plane unto itself) for so many generations.

2. But let the Players learn. There's nothing like beating an elf at its own game. Games become the central plot devices: what else to immortal, insane, alien, and *bored* people do with their time?

Heh, I wonder why gamers game then?

Reading:

1. Palimpsest (the old Dragon short story, if you can still find it).

2. Lords and Ladies (by Terry Pratchett)

3. Tam Lin (by Pamela Dean)

4. Books of Magic (graphic novels -- the parts about Faerie)

5. Summer Knight (Jim Butcher)

These will get you started.

I've only read Lords and Ladies out of these, but I think I'll head to the library sometime (just for something different) and see what of the others I can find.

Thanks!

 

[Carpe DM]

I should add:

Those editions of Hellboy that deal with the Fair Folk give that kind of creepy "low-Fae" feel -- changeling children and the like. Good for starting plots in low-level adventures.

Also, you can probably buy some of the "Changeling" books -- the old ones -- on the cheap. Most of it's bunk, but some of it is good source material.

Finally, if you want straight-up old-school mythology, check out "The Mabinogion," -- it's not expressly about the fair folk, but the language is so evocative, it'll color what you do.

best,

Carpe

 

[Wombat]

And now for something completely Celtic

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cmt/cmteng.htm

An old Irish tale involving the Sidhe and their attempts to control Ireland.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Mercedes Lackey has a number of takes on the Fae. IIRC, Fiddler Faire has a very fickle Fae court, Born to Run is a modern take on Fae, and I know she's got others. I'd also recommend the "Wiz Biz" series by Rick Cooke.

The fae should be dangerous, fickle, and proud beyond all sense or reason. They should seem sociopathically cold 99% of the time and their rare displays of emotions should be histrionics of biblical proportion. Different stories have music being a way to defeat the fae since it can make them emotional and prone to making mistakes.

Realize that the grigs, pixies, dryands, nymphs, etc are lesser fae compared to the Sidhe, much like a goblin is to a hobgoblin, and the Sidhe nobles should be comparable to forces of nature.

I actually posted an idea for a similar campaign t'other day where "the elven people" are the human changelings raised Underhill by the Seelie and not true Sidhe and orcs are the descendants of corrupted human servants of the Seelie court. This helped explain the elves/orcs/humans interbreeding issues since they're all humans. Orcs have forgotten this, but retain the Unseelie hatred of all things Seelie while the elves have tried to keep it a secret.

 

[ScottDM]

The campaign setting Dawnforge handled this to some extent, Gnomes and Elves were both from a fey realm. Though Elves are still humanoids, and not fey.

 

[Teflon Billy]

I did a campaign along this theme a while back. I took out demons and archons, and put in the Unseelie and Seelie courts.

Of course, either court was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." Elves were just humans (no pointy ears) that had a significant concentration of Sidhe blood. Each had a different "witchmark" characteristic that the character made up, to show the character's otherworldly influence.

Half-Elves were more human yet, with just a touch of the strange. And so on.

From this experience:

1. Maintain the mystery. The Courts should never completely make sense. These people are immortal, alien, and insane. Mortals that get swept up in their politics are likely to never be heard of again. For this reason, don't let PCs play full Sidhe, just humans with enough Old Blood to be affiliated with the Houses.

2. But let the Players learn. There's nothing like beating an elf at its own game. Games become the central plot devices: what else to immortal, insane, alien, and *bored* people do with their time?...

Love it

Nice to see you back too. Someone was asking about "Favorite Screen names" in a thread awhile back, and I got to thinking you had dropped off

 

[Carpe DM]

Heh, thanks.

Had to re-register my moniker, and I lost my lovely post-count in the changeover.

But we all make sacrifices! Especially ones involving altars!

best,

Carpe