New article - Elves, Eladrin and Drow. Oh, my!

[Rechan]

Will any of this fluff be in the core books, though?

I mean, this is a Dragon article. Dragon articles during 3E provided all sorts of fluff as well.

Read the Elf entry in Ampersand. That is the Elf Entry in the PHB. It's got lots of fluff.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

The goddess of the new moon thing is cool, but it makes her transformation into demon queen of spiders (rather than darkness, betrayal, or some creature that embodies those traits) a bit of a non-sequitur...

It's the title she picked, for some reason (maybe Sehanine really, really hates spiders?), but Lolth's field of influence will surely contain darkness, betrayal and backstabbing galore!

 

[Wormwood]

That's not improving the game in any way - it's there merely for the shock factor.

And I think retconning away 'racial gods' is a huge improvement.

Nothing quite like diversity of opinion, is there?

 

[Lurks-no-More]

That's not exactly "New game. New philosophy." That's "being controversial for the sake of controversy." That's not improving the game in any way - it's there merely for the shock factor.

I think both "controversy" and "shock factor" are slightly overblown terms to use here.

 

[Rechan]

It's the title she picked, for some reason (maybe Sehanine really, really hates spiders?), but Lolth's field of influence will surely contain darkness, betrayal and backstabbing galore!

Sounds like the goddess of the Moon from Scarred Lands.

 

[Sammael]

And I think retconning away 'racial gods' is a huge improvement.

Nothing quite like diversity of opinion, is there?

Alright. Please tell me why you think that Gruumsh makes a better god of fury than, say, Talos the Destroyer, a well-known FR god of storms, fury, and destruction.

 

[Rechan]

I think both "controversy" and "shock factor" are slightly overblown terms to use here.

Yeah. "Controversy and shock factor" would be reserved for something like Drow now are topless bikers who worshiped Fire, Wind, and the Need for Speed, and drove around in packs looking to cause destruction and mayhem. All in the name of their eye-patch wearin', Topless Goddess of Badassery.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Alright. Please tell me why you think that Gruumsh makes a better god of fury than, say, Talos the Destroyer, a well-known FR god of storms, fury, and destruction.

Hmm. Never heard of Talos. Gruumsh I know from the PHB. Liked him.

 

[Wormwood]

Alright. Please tell me why you think that Gruumsh makes a better god of fury than, say, Talos the Destroyer, a well-known FR god of storms, fury, and destruction.

Both Talos and Gruumsh sound pretty metal, so it's a push on the names.

It really looks like 4e is backing away from 'each race gets a pantheon' thinking---and once you strip out the needless racial divide, Gruumsh and Talos are pretty much the same guy.

 

[Shroomy]

While I thought that elves worshipping Gruumsh was kind of weird sounding at first, I have to say that I love this article and its implications for 4e. In particular, I liked the strengthening of the connection between elves and fey, and I especially liked how the eladrins of earlier editions have been incorporated into the 4e eladrin backstory. Personally, I have a feeling that the Celestial Paragons like Queen Morwel and her court will still exist, perhaps in the Feywild, but more likely in Arborea with Corellon either as demigods, advanced versions of the eladrin, or 30th level eldarins with specific epic destinies.