Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

I actually play a moon elven eilistraeen and have done so for two years. Lots of interesting RP.

Remember, even if you plan something like this, you can't 'live' on the surface as a good drow on this server, by the rules. So be prepared to be sent back to the underdark.

Eilistraee is unknown outside of elven circles, with the usual exceptions of people who collect all bits of obscure knowledge, like sages, bards, etc. The elves know about her but they don't really feel comfortable about it. It's much more likely for an elf to not believe a drow claiming to worship Eilistraee than to go "o ok I thought you were one of the evil drow, I almost killed you".

Triple that for black archers and clerics of Shavarash. Those two groups are huge fanatics.

Passiflora wrote:Remember, even if you plan something like this, you can't 'live' on the surface as a good drow on this server, by the rules. So be prepared to be sent back to the underdark.

I didn't know about that rule. Can't you play a drow on the surface at all even if you worship the "surface" drow gods?

Deathgrowl wrote:I personally think the "unknown-ness" of Eilistraee is grossly exaggerated here. She should be known by elves who have a bit of history knowledge. She should be known by elven priests - it's after all important to the relationships. Corellon and Sehanine both have quite good relations with Eilistraee after all.

Qilue Veladorn is a Chosen of both Mystra and Eilistraee and she is one of the Seven Sisters. I don't see how she would be unknown in the Church of Mystra, and perhaps even Azuth.

She has non-drow worshippers. Particularly moon elves, and some humans.

I would say that surfacers should not know about Eilistraee unless they have been in one of the mentioned areas with a temple or are some obscure knowledge fans or study history/religion.

Elves however... Wood elves and wild elves are far less likely to have knowledge of her than sun elves and moon elves. Partly due to the seclusion of the former but also because they do not revere the gods in the same way and thus do not have that tradition (druidic magic is more important than the arcane or clerical). Sun elves and moon elves are more civilized and far more likely to have been told of Eilistraee (I would say most sun & moon elves have at least -heard- of her).

Elves spend 100 years in tutelage of other elves. That is a lot of time to pick up on such information. While they may have heard of it, does not mean they accept it and are not suspicious.

((Normandy posted just as I was but I'll post this anyway =))

Normandy wrote:I didn't know about that rule. Can't you play a drow on the surface at all even if you worship the "surface" drow gods?

Nope. Though such role-played worship provides role-play reasons to head upwards and somehow build connections.

Simian wrote:

Normandy wrote:I didn't know about that rule. Can't you play a drow on the surface at all even if you worship the "surface" drow gods?

Nope. Though such role-played worship provides role-play reasons to head upwards and somehow build connections.

But the way Passiflora says it, it sounds like if you do that you'll get sent down the minute you're spotted by a DM.

Or am I misunderstanding the rule? I'm a little confused.

Normandy wrote:

Simian wrote:

Normandy wrote:I didn't know about that rule. Can't you play a drow on the surface at all even if you worship the "surface" drow gods?

Nope. Though such role-played worship provides role-play reasons to head upwards and somehow build connections.

But the way Passiflora says it, it sounds like if you do that you'll get sent down the minute you're spotted by a DM.

Or am I misunderstanding the rule? I'm a little confused.

Passiflora wrote:Remember, even if you plan something like this, you can't 'live' on the surface as a good drow on this server, by the rules. So be prepared to be sent back to the underdark.

Passi said you cannot live on the surface IE spend all your IG hours there. You need a specific RP reason to be there.

Like ALL other underdark races.

Nomster wrote:

Passiflora wrote:Remember, even if you plan something like this, you can't 'live' on the surface as a good drow on this server, by the rules. So be prepared to be sent back to the underdark.

Passi said you cannot live on the surface IE spend all your IG hours there. You need a specific RP reason to be there.

A "good" Drow would have all the RP reason it needs to want to live on the surface. As long as your RP reason is sound, and you stick to it while on the surface, the DM's won't have any reason to send you back to the underdark. We've had a few bad DM's in the past that picked on Drow while they were on the surface, but I don't think that any of the current DM staff are like that.

Just be prepared to get harassed and killed constantly by surfacers, and keep in mind that getting to the surface is major headache unless you befriend a powerful mage that can teleport there. But if a grey orc can manage to be accepted by the majority of the surface population, surely a Drow could have some success up there as well if they work really hard at it.

Passiflora wrote:Remember, even if you plan something like this, you can't 'live' on the surface as a good drow on this server, by the rules. So be prepared to be sent back to the underdark.

A rule that is simply detrimental to RP.

That's my opinion. I don't play a drow, though.

I believe it is there because of the abuse the surface suffers when it come to underdark toons hanging around everywhere and to prevent what apparently has happened on quite a few of the PWs in the hey days.

IE
Bikini clad eilistraeean drow happily gliding down the streets pouting fiercely at the mean surfacers trashing her awesome heritage. goodness and good looks.
OOCly whining a lot about being attacked by other players in PvP.


Out of curiosity on my part I made my pirate curse in undercommon once during the last halloween pirate party at FAI.
All the good guys seemed busy watching or beating each other up at some odd competition outside Baldur's Gate, so it went off well.
Want to loot the Duchal Palace blind?
Sponsor a knight's tournament I guess.
Anyway, it took roughly 30 seconds before he was approached by an Imaskari toon.

/M

From Faiths and Pantheons, this should sum up the question rather nicely.

That is a good find BlueHero, thank you

I think I saw some posts on Candlekeep of ed greenwood giving a small but appreciable percentage of drow as being ellistraeans, with those mainly being on the surface. That would suggest, as there is no evidence of some mass migration to drive them up (indeed the quote is not dated other than being given during 3ed times), that there would be SMALL numbers of them on the surface

Descriptions of Ellistraeean worship I have seen suggest she is virtually unknown by the general human populace, is known as an 'uncomfortable truth' by elves (one that doesn't come up as her worshippers are rare/hidden), but also makes clear established 'shrines' endeavour to forge links quietly with nearby communities (and it is not suggested this is 'auto fail') , so suggesting local variation is possible

I have certainly rped my characters (humans) as having no knowledge other than that gained IC, IG

Edit: blue hero's extract is what I was thinking of; more information is in the practices/rituals parts

Edit 2: this seems to be the second ed. entry? A mention of Ellistraeean worship regaining 'some' prominence in recent centuries. Suggests this limited hidden worship is appropriate for this timeline

http://www.nj-pbem.com/data/Gods/drowgo ... straee.htm

Yes, thanks VERY much BlueHero, that is the sort of thing I was hoping to find.

As far as the info from the site : ( http://www.nj-pbem.com/data/Gods/drowgo ... straee.htm ) I would suggest some caution when interpreting the info from that site. For most of the Gods it contains data up to and including the Time Of Troubles ( too far in the future for our server.)

Thus, when I read stuff from there like :

"Among the elven powers, Eilistraee is only close with Erevan Ilesere, and she has only recently worked out an uneasy truce with Shevarash."

It makes me question WHEN in the history this canon would be in effect. Without knowing even WHICH Edition the info comes from, we are left guessing or worse, making stuff up on the fly.