Elves

[Wolf]

One of the most popular races by far.  The descriptions in the books evokes images of anime-ish Tolkien style elves.

 

The following is from ED 40:

 

"Our great Queen's bright, terrible beauty shines like a beacon.  Her whole court reflects that beauty, and reflects the choices made by the elves of Blood Wood.  I think we must soon choose again, this time for ourselves.  I think we should choose a different path."

     - Elven Elementalist Furnithann, in a letter to his friend, the Nethermancer Mestoph

 

Elves grow to an average height of 6 feet and 3 inches, and weigh an average 150 pounds.  Elven facial features appear completely symmetrical, often flawless, and many of the other races of Barsaive find elves attractive.  Elven skin color varies wildly by tribe and region, but the most common are pure white, pink, tan, brown, and midnight black.  Elves with skin of a pale green or iridescent, pearly color called cetharel exist, but remain rare.  Elves produce sparse body hair, but grow luxuriant facial and head hair, often in uncommon colors.  In addition to white, blond, brown, and black, naturally occurring violet, blue, and even metallic colors have been seen (I believe metallic refers to bronze, copper, gold, silver, etc.).  Elves have elongated, sharply pointed ears and move with unmatched grace, but the slight build that makes that gracefulness possible also makes them vulnerable to injury.  They have long legs for their height.  Elves reach physical maturity in their twenties, and enjoy a natural lifespan of 300 years.  Some records show individuals living up to 400 years.  Legends speak of some elves rumored to live even longer.

     Elves give their primary loyalty to their family, rather than the tribe or nation, and consider blood ties the most binding relationship of their lives.  Elves prefer to establish and live in small communities, and elven cities generally consist of villages grouped into neighborhoods.  Elves may also live in human or dwarf settlements, but rarely feel anything more than aq congenial friendship for such a settlement.

     Elves prefer living in wilderness areas.  They construct dwellings and other structures from living plants, integrating their community with the surrounding natural world.  They find underground settings uncomfortable, and may experience a kind of claustrophobia in human or dwarf settlements if unable to visit a wilderness area two or three times a year.

 

My apologies for any typos.  Hopefully you get the gist.

 

Passions' Blessings,

 

Wolf

"Wait-a-minute! Just how many people are back there following me anyway?"
        - Sorata, Windling Shaman as he discovers that his companions followed him on his hunch about a Theran spy

 

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[Wolf]

The following is from ED2 32 and picks up basically where the First Edition description stops:

 

     Elves see all life as a journey of discovery, change, growth, and ascendancy.  Throughout his life, the elf treads a metaphysical pathway represented by the Wheel of Life.  The Wheel contains five paths, each corresponding to different stage of life.  As an elf ages, his journey along the Wheel leads him until he reaches the Wheel's heart.  At this still center of being, he prepares for ascension into the metaplanes, to the mystical place known as the Citadel of the Shining Ones.

     Each Path represents ever-greater spiritual maturity.  Though a few elves disagree, most accept the following five paths:  the Path of Warriors, the Path of Scholars, the Path of Travelers, the Path of Sages, and the Path of Lords.  Each Path has certain regalia and rituals associated with it that mark its followers.

 

Again, if there are typos, my apologies.

 

Passions' Blessings,

 

Wolf

"We want to get rid of the cursed rug, but it's the only thing keeping us alive!"
        - Group of adventurers with no rations

 

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[Wolf]

The following is from Denizens of Earthdawn Volume One pages 117 to 118:

 

     The elves hold a unique spiritual belief they call The Journey and the Wheel, which states that as an elf ages, his spirit must follow five Paths before ascending into the metaplanes.  Most elves believe in the growth process represented by The Journey and Wheel, though since the Scourge, fewer observe all the traditions associated with those beliefs.

     If a player chooses for his elven character to follow the Paths, he must also choose the view he embraces, that of the Sa'mistisha (strict followers), or that of the Dae'mistishsa (loose followers).  This distinction makes an important difference in the growth and advancement of the character.

 

Sa'mistishsa

     Those who embrace the view of the strict followers believe that as an elf ages and travels alonog the Paths, he must follow a new Discipline on each Path.

     When a character who follows this view chooses a new Discipline as he moves onto the next Path, he must abandon the talents and skills of his old Discipline and all the ranks and advantages it conveyed and begin again with the new Discipline.  The experience of the old Discipline still exists as part of the character's knowledge and background, but until he reaches the Path of Lords, it remains unavailable to him.

     Players may create First Circle elven characters and choose to place them on a Path further along the Wheel, such as the Paths of the Traveler or the Sage.  In this case, the player may completely flesh out the Disciplines the character would have followed while journeying on earlier Paths so that all those talents and skills become available when the character reaches the Path of Lords.

     Needless to say, most people do not choose the view of the Sa'mistishsa because it is so strict.  Elves with pedigree bloodlines or conservative families would normally choose this view.

     When a character begins his journey on the Path of Lords, he may once again use the talents and skills of his previous Disciplines at the same Circle and rank as when he changed Paths and can now begin to increase the ranks of those talents and skills as normal.

 

Dae'mistishsa

     Elves who embrace the spiritual view of the loose followers suffer no game restrictions, but we do suggest a consideration for roleplaying the character.  As the character travels on each new Path, his view of the world should change slightly to reflect the foucs of his current Path.  For example, an elven elementalist who follows the Path of Warriors would certainly act differently than one who follows the Path of Sages.  In addition to allowing the player to stretch his roleplaying abilities, this adjustment in world view makes it plausible for the character to change the way he treats his fellow adventurers and alter his role in the group.

 

The above is of course only a small part of the information revealed in Denizens of Earthdawn Volume One.  This sourcebook is an excellent source for roleplaying tips and ideas as well as more information on the culture of the elves as well as other races.

 

Passions' Blessings,

 

Wolf

GM:  You cleave your opponent in half and ...

Player:  Wait, that was the wrong dice, can I roll again?

 

 

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[Wolf]

Sperethiel Glossary (Denizens of Earthdawn Volume 1 118-119)

    The Elven language, called Sperethiel, is commonly used in most elven settlements and serves as the official language for all elven rituals.  In Sperethiel, context and intonation give words a wide range of subtle meanings and implications.  Conventions of speech and address allow further shadings of meaning that reflect the relative status of the speaker and the listener.  A person speaking Sperethiel would not say the same thing to a social superior in the same way as he or she would speak to someone of equal or inferior status.

 

Before I detail the glossary listed on those pages, here's a good link for some extra info on Sperethiel: http://ancientfiles.dumpshock.com/Sperethiel_Dictionary.htm

 

Now on to the glossary!

 

adj. = adjective
adv. = adverb
conj. = conjunction
(for) = formal
(inf) = informal
(ins) = insulting
interj. = interjection
mod. = modifier
n. = noun
prep. = preposition
v. = verb
a	conj.	Or
belet	adj.	Passionate
Beletre	n.	The Passionate
carronasto	n.	Stillness; non-motion
celé	n.	A non-elf
celénit	n.	Insulting form of celé
cirolle	v.	To travel
co	prep.	To. Shifts to con before a vowel
dae	adj.	Loose
daron	v.	To die
draesis	n.	Wheel
Eoerin	n.	Wise; scholars of elven spiritualism
faskit	n.	Legal code; law
goro	n.	Outsider, one who is not a subject of the elven court; a stranger
goronagee	n.	One apart, especially an elf not part of an elven group
goronagit	n.	Insulting form of goronagee
goronit	n. (ins)	Barbarian
-ha	adj.	Suffix indicating emphatic repetition
heng	v.	To speak or understand a language
heron	v.	To be alive; to exist
im	v.	To be
imiri	n.	Memory of something, memorial
-it		Derisive suffix, becomes -nit after a vowel
ke		"of the", changes to k' before a vowel
li	(for)	Interrogative affix
li-ha		"Isn't that so?"
llayah	adv.	Literally, "I agree with you" or "I will do it"
makkaherinit	n.	A young and foolish person
makkalos	n.	Stupidity
makkanagee	adj.	Willfully stupid
medaron	n.	Death
meleg	v.	To feel in a physical manner
Mellakabal	n.	"Shining Ones"; used exclusively in the context of Tesrae ke'Mellakabal (Citadel of the Shining Ones)
meraerth	n.	Warrior
mes	n.	Path
milessaratish	n.	Servant-soldier
mis	v.	To follow
mistish	n.	Follower
morel	n.	Life
nagé	adj.	Willful
-nagee	adv.	Willfully
od	conj.	And
ozidan	v.	To leave behind
pechet	prep.	Except for
perest	v.	To have
perritaesa	n.	Scholar
qua	(inf)	Interrogative affix
raé	n. (inf)	An elf
raegh	n.	Lord (non-specific)
raén	n. (for)	One who is of the people, an elf
resp	v.	To listen
reth	n.	Elf.  Literally, "listener of harmony"
reth'im	n.	Elven culture.  Literally, to be elven
-ri		Interrogative suffix, also used rhetorically "Is that not so?"
rillabothien	n.	An unresolved chord in music.  Poetically, an unresolved situation in a relationship
rinellé	n.	Rebel; deserter
sa	adj.	Strict
sallah	n.	Silence, non-speech
samriel	n.	Discomfort, implying necessary discomfort as in medical treatment
se		Positive beneficial prefix
serathilion	n.	Attraction that cannot be denied.  Demanding desire.
serulos	n.	Machismo; childish masculinity
se'seterin		"Bright morning" or the equivalent of "good morning"
shay	n.	Forest
sielle	adv.	Yes.  Literally, "it is the way of things"
speren	n.	Harmony; peacefulness
sperethiel	n.	1. Speech  2. Sperethiel.  Elvish; the elven language
teheron	n.	Life; existence
téch	interj.	Common curse word equivalent to "damn"
teleg	v.	Maintain a condition for example telego carronasto means "keep still"
telene	v.	To learn
tesrae	n.	Citadel or holding
thelem	n.	Law of nature
thiel	n.	Music.  Poetically, a pleasant sound
ti	prep.	Of.  Shifts to t' before a vowel
-tish	adj.	Suffix.  One who, as in one who (verbs) or one who is a (noun).  Often an i is inserted between a consonant and the suffix, as in telegitish, "keeper"
vereso	v.	To reply, to answer
versakhan	n.	An enemy
wineg	n.	An ork or troll (insulting, as troglodyte)
-ya	mod.	A negator suffix

Passions' Blessings,

 

Wolf

"There's been a change of plans, now you're going to pretend to be slaves.."
"Oh yeah, this isn't a trap."
        - Sorata, Windling Shaman comments on the 'new' plan to infiltrate the Theran Behemoth

 

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