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<blockquote data-quote="Carpe DM" data-source="post: 1806148" data-attributes="member: 677">There's so much to tell, but I'll just do one aspect.&nbsp; This is how an elven character might begin in my world:&quot;You wake up, dressed in white, lying on a stone funereal slab.&nbsp; At the edge of the clearing, you see a beautiful woman, dressed in deep forest green and sunlit gold, her face ravaged with tears.&nbsp; She turns away from you and vanishes into the forest.&nbsp; Far away, you hear unearthly voices raised in lament and celebration.&quot;Elven society in my campaign is extraordinarily complex, but the most interesting part is how Elven society avoids stagnation. Elves are so long-lived that humans consider them effectively immortal.&nbsp; Although this permits elves to reach unprecedented heights of power, it also threatens society as a whole: imagine a King who would not die -- would he adopt new policies and tactics?&nbsp; Make allies out of old enemies?&nbsp; Stagnation threatens the entire species.The Ahashtic Ritual is therefore the centerpiece of Elven life.&nbsp; Every so often (usually every 150 years or so), an elf becomes an Ahashtyn.&nbsp; In so doing, he dies to himself: all memories of his previous lives are lost.&nbsp; He is mourned as dead.&nbsp; All contact with family, all alliances, all friendships are forgotten.&nbsp; All enemies, all crimes, all mistakes are forgotten.&nbsp; He is born anew.This permits the elf to learn new things, new ways of being, new ideas, to invest in new knowledge, and to undertake new things.&nbsp;&nbsp; As he grows in power, though, he begins to remember, and the new personality begins to become one of many.&nbsp; This is why the human races consider elves preternaturally strange and chaotic, speaking with first one voice, then another.There's lots more, but I'll do one thing at a time.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Carpe DM, post: 1806148, member: 677"] There's so much to tell, but I'll just do one aspect. This is how an elven character might begin in my world: "You wake up, dressed in white, lying on a stone funereal slab. At the edge of the clearing, you see a beautiful woman, dressed in deep forest green and sunlit gold, her face ravaged with tears. She turns away from you and vanishes into the forest. Far away, you hear unearthly voices raised in lament and celebration." Elven society in my campaign is extraordinarily complex, but the most interesting part is how Elven society avoids stagnation. Elves are so long-lived that humans consider them effectively immortal. Although this permits elves to reach unprecedented heights of power, it also threatens society as a whole: imagine a King who would not die -- would he adopt new policies and tactics? Make allies out of old enemies? Stagnation threatens the entire species. The Ahashtic Ritual is therefore the centerpiece of Elven life. Every so often (usually every 150 years or so), an elf becomes an Ahashtyn. In so doing, he dies to himself: all memories of his previous lives are lost. He is mourned as dead. All contact with family, all alliances, all friendships are forgotten. All enemies, all crimes, all mistakes are forgotten. He is born anew. This permits the elf to learn new things, new ways of being, new ideas, to invest in new knowledge, and to undertake new things. As he grows in power, though, he begins to remember, and the new personality begins to become one of many. This is why the human races consider elves preternaturally strange and chaotic, speaking with first one voice, then another. There's lots more, but I'll do one thing at a time. [/QUOTE]

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