Races and Classes--I has it!

[Clavis]

Personaly, on that account, I 'shadowruned' a bit and cut the lifespan of the longer-living races... One milenium for an elf, nah...

Personally, I always thought anything less than 1000 years for an elf was too short.

An truly interesting idea (IMHO) for elves would be to make them actually be immortal, but only able to remember the last 20 years or so of their life. It would explain why every elf isn't epic-level (because they are constantly forgetting their old skills and identities). Something in me likes the idea of elves as immortal adolescents, aware that they are going to live forever, but never becoming any wiser for it.

 

[The Ubbergeek]

Personally, I always thought anything less than 1000 years for an elf was too short.

An truly interesting idea (IMHO) for elves would be to make them actually be immortal, but only able to remember the last 20 years or so of their life. It would explain why every elf isn't epic-level (because they are constantly forgetting their old skills and identities). Something in me likes the idea of elves as immortal adolescents, aware that they are going to live forever, but never becoming any wiser for it.

I am not so attached to the tolkienesque vision, so I want to divorce them a bit more - plus, hugely long lifespan are kind of... for me, they should be reserved for entities like dragons.

 

[Plane Sailing]

In my first 3e campaign, Bards were all elves and all elves were bards. It was "their" magic. The bardic knowledge skill then became a reflection of how long they had lived, because in the last 200-400 years they had picked up all kinds of interesting information.

I'd got quite a detailed world history worked out too, so parties would often come across ruins and the elf would remember being at the siege which had destroyed the castle 200 years earlier.

It gave a nice 'feel' to that game.

 

[Clavis]

I am not so attached to the tolkienesque vision, so I want to divorce them a bit more - plus, hugely long lifespan are kind of... for me, they should be reserved for entities like dragons.

I agree with you as far as elves being Tolkien-like. I don't personally like his chaste, self-righteous take on them. I like my elves more like the fay of medieval stories: lusty, petty, irresponsible, tricky, arrogant and drug-addled.

 

[Rechan]

I agree with you as far as elves being Tolkien-like. I don't personally like his chaste, self-righteous take on them. I like my elves more like the fay of medieval stories: lusty, petty, irresponsible, tricky, arrogant and drug-addled.

So, elves are the celebrities of the D&D world?

I can see an elven Cortney Love. And Tommy Chong makes a perfect wood elf.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

Originator of the Ioun stones, I guess? I was surprised that in the text they refer to Ioun as feminine though - I've always imagined Ioun as masculine (latterly influenced by Congenio Ioun from Piratecats storyhour, naturally)

I thought Ioun was the god that got cut in half by the primordials, and who's halves rose again Tiamat and Bahamut?

 

[Rechan]

I thought Ioun was the god that got cut in half by the primordials, and who's halves rose again Tiamat and Bahamut?

I think you're thinking of Iuz?

 

[UndeadScottsman]

I think you're thinking of Iuz?

Possibly. The story was mentioned in the Dragonborn section, IIRC.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Raven Queen?? (lame name) Half the gods sound like good choices, other half....

I think it's a great name. I've already decided that the deities of my Fourth Edition homebrew aren't going to have names, but rather titles. "The Raven Queen" or "The Broken Tomb" are much cooler names than "Sehanine" or "Corellon".

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Io, I think. Io's a draconic deity with a long pedigree, but it has been mentioned that Bahamut and Tiamat arose from Io's death.