Thank you, Rhialto, and thank you, wolfpunk for expressing interest. I have no means to publish such a book myself, but I am publishing an unrelated book in Nautral 20 Press. It will include teasers from Tainted Avalon, both to drum up support and to demonstrate to Natural 20 Press that there IS a market for such a supplement. I would publish a Tainted Avalon sourcebook immediately, but I'm not sure how favorable Ryan Nock and Morrus would be to that idea...
I also submitted an article to Asgard magazine containing some Avalon - specific material, so watch for that when Asgard comes out.
In the meantime, however, Cultures and Locations - The Tor and the Elfinwoods (continued)
To the Northeast of Wearyall Hill, there is a marvelous wood, at the heart of which lies the Chalice Well, from whence the Holy Grail dwells. This the Elfinwood, home of the Tylwyth Teg (the Fey).
Among the Tylwyth Teg, there are two great sub-divisions, the Elves and the Gnomes. The Elves are decidedly the larger of the two peoples, but they both fall quite short of the height of the average human man or woman.
The Elves tend to be thin and wispy like birch trees. Both sexes wear their hair, which is generally flowing and silver, gold, or black in color, long. Their eyes are nigh on impossible to describe, tending to seem one thing at one moment and another thing at another. At best they can be described as resembling deep pools of hazel, green, and brown, shot through with streaks of silver, and glowing with a wild, fey light. Of their facial features, their most distinguishing mark is their ears, which are large and pointed. Elves have an air of magic about them, and their hair and skin colors sublty alter to match the season - greenish tinted in the spring, more golden in the summer, reddish in the fall, and blue tinted in the winter.
All Elves follow the ruling of the Immortal Queen of Faery, the Lady of the Lake, although she keeps but loose rein over them. They themselves live in clan groups throughout the Elfinwoods. They make their dwelling anywhere it appeals to them, usually in places of great beauty, such as a magnificent old oak, a clear spring, or a picturesque grotto. They like not to live underground (They are terrible claustrohpobes, and an Elf left too long underground will waste away and die.) They love music above all else, and it says that the least of their harpers can keep a mortal captivated for days. No mortal is ever the same after hearing elfin music, but afterwards they spend their days wandering, with a terrible longing in their heart to hear such music again, a privilege granted to nearly no one mortal, least of all twice, thinking of nothing else but the music, they forget family, friends, and lovers, and all they ever new just to hear one note of that sweet sound. Beautiful and perilous are the strains of elfin harps! The Elves protect their woods fiercely, and mortals straying by should have a care, for elf-arrows are swift and sure.
Elves do not understand human society and why humans kill each other over lumps of heartless metal. They hate iron above all, but they also place little value on metal in general. Their attitude about metal does not extend to silver and gems, however, which they hold to be light of the stars and the moon that became trapped in the earth when the earth was made.
Every Midsummer's night, the Elves hold a night long celebration, in a wild festival of dancing, music, and generally revellry, held in sacred hazel groves on beds of wild thyme. Few mortals have ever had the luck to see this revel.
GAME RULE INFO
Elves: +2 DEX, +2 WIS, +4 CHA, - 2 to CON
SQ: Low-Light Vision, Bardic Music, spell-like abilities, Immortal, Iron Vulnerability, Claustrophobia.
Skills: Perform(any instrument, dancing, or singing) +4, Wilderness Lore +6, Spellcraft +4, Attack(any bow) +2.
Favored Class: Bard
Low-Light Vision - Elves can see thre times as far as humans in low light conditions
Bardic Music - an Elf has the Bardic Music ability as a 1 st level bard or 1/2 their class level, whichever is higher.
Spell-like abilities - Dancing Lights and Ghost Sound 3x/day, Obscuring Mist and Change Self 1x/day
Immortal - Elves do not age, although they can be slain. They cannot be aged by magic, nor do they acquire either bonuses or penalties for aging. They mature at about 25 - 30 years and do not age thereafter, never dying unless they are slain.
Iron Vulnerability - iron weapons function as bane weapons (+2d6 damage) against Elves. Note that this applies only to pure iron, and not steel. Steel weapons deal 1 extra point of damage per hit to Elves, but do not function as Bane weapons.
Claustrophobia - An Elf underground for more than 1 day must make Will Saves every hour that he is underground or become panicked. Once panicked, an Elf always seeks what appears to be the fastest route to the surface.
Additionally, once an Elf fails a Will save vs. Claustrophobia, they lose one point of CON every day they are underground. This is restored when they reach the surface.
Thats all for now folks. Next Up, Gnomes: Culture & Game Stats