My main toon is finally nearing level 50. Since that is the goal I require myself to meet before I can seriously role-play with him, I have decided to start working on his back-story. I already have a basic idea of the events that shaped him, but I want to make sure they are compatible with current lore before I flesh them out. I've skimmed a few of the lore sites that are out there, but none of them seem to have the information I am looking for. I apologize if this section of the forum is the incorrect place to ask these sorts of questions, just let me know and I will move the thread elsewhere. How are wood and high elves related? · Are the categories based solely on how/where they are raised or are there actual genetic differences? · Is it possible for a wood elf to have a high elf half-brother or would that sort of connection be possible solely through adoption? · If a wood elf and a high elf bore a child together, would that child be a wood or a high elf? How do Wardens (druids) and Mystics (shamans) view each other? (In the real world there are philosophical differences between druids and shamans even though they perform similar roles in their societies. I read on one site that druids are a specialized type of shaman, but that seemed so simplistic that it bordered on inaccuracy and even if it is technically true in some cases, it is clearly not the model the game is using). · Do they compete or get along? · Who trains wardens and mystics before they are controlled as toons? Lorewise, is there a school somewhere or is it usually family/friends/books that give them the information that makes them choose their class? · Related to the previous question: Would a typical warden trainer (if they exist) be able to recognize that one of his trainees had shamanic abilities? Or would the trainer assume that the trainee was simply not that powerful? Thank you in advance for any responses.
Wood Elves and High Elves were at one time the same race on the continent of Tunaria/Antonica which eventually split up to form the shattered lands you see today. The High Elves (Koada'Dal) are what i'd call the snooty righteous cousins of the Wood Elves (Feir'Dal) who are more wild and in my honest opinion more in tune with nature. The Elves were led by the royal Thex line ages past and were forced to flee from their capital of Takish'Hiz on Tunaria to the lands of Faywder ages past after Solusek Ro raised the serpent spine mountains and scorched their Elddar Forest. They set up the city of Kelethin (woodelves - a leaderless/heartwoodmaster city) and Felwithe (highelves - a patriarchal city with the thex's still in charge) in the Greater Faydark and have lived there ever since. There is some more history far back you can also delve into regarding their old cities on tunaria (see Tethelin & Fayspire). These days Felwithe has seperated itself from the other elves and you will explore some of that history as you progress beyond level 50 - it's quite interesting and i don't want to spoil it for you! So i guess just keep more in the mind that Kelethin has become the capital of the elves these days led by Queen Amree the Fae. The rest of the elves live in the northern area of Qeynos and are mostly made up of survivors picked up during the not so recent cataclysms that rocked norrath and the heavens. If you visit Ro on the travel bell that is pretty much where the Elddar forest used to stand when the elves were the forerunners of Norrath (although the land there is mostly what was Ahket Aken but you'll find more about that as you progress though the Ro timeline at 50-55!) I'm not sure of any examples of cross breeding between feir'dal and koada'dal but there might be some out there. I guess it would be the difference between choosing a surname of the mother or father in which would be born. You'd have to find examples of it to model around I imagine. Druids are followers of Nature and their lore will usually orient around Tunare where as Shamans (see the Spear of Fate quest) are more in touch with the spirit world similar to beastlords and channelers. I can't think of any examples of them not getting along but they differ so wildly. It was very uncommon to find a race that had shamans and druids in the old version of everquest which was more racially restrictive on which races could have which classes. I imagine you would have been trained by the local druid guild which I believe in Kelethin the guildmaster would be Amma Ilaari for wardens in the House of Falling Stars. Since they offer training they should be aware of what your current abilities are That was pretty generic but should be helpful for now
I thought it would be something like that. I'm sure I can find examples somewhere and if I can't, it will be easy enough to come up with some other reason for my toon's brother to be aloof and haughty. I think that quest will be what I do immediately when I get to level 50. Thank you. I noticed that and thought it was weird, but I guess it makes sense. I also thought it was weird that some races have shaman and others have mystic, rather than giving them the same name. Though I assume that's just to show differences in cultures. I guess that means I can be inventive with my interactions. I will look into that because it sounds like the kind of place I was thinking of for the back-story. Basically my toon came from a family that were mainly wardens and it was assumed that he would eventually grow to have abilities similar to his mother/father. Since everyone expected it of him, he was determined to make it so by studying healing spells (though he never managed to shape-shift to wolf form). Throughout his life he received hints that his destiny was elsewhere but disregarded them because he couldn't stand the thought of disappointing his family. He was sent to train with experts (in this case the druid guild), but despite his enthusiasm the druid masters could tell he would never be a powerful warden (I haven't decided how long I want him to train with them but at some point he and some other wardens in training were sent to Thundering Steppes for an exercise). That was when his shamanic abilities decide that they were tired of being ignored. He became ill, the illness getting progressively worse despite attempts to heal him. A passing gnoll mystic recognized the signs of the "Shamanic Sickness." I haven't decided quite what I will do to him after that, but I know I want him training with both the Gnoll Mystics and the Steelhoof Mystics, because the hostilities between those races will make for interesting story-telling. That was actually very helpful. As you can see from the paragraph of text that you probably didn't want to read, it inspired me.
In EQ1, the Elddar elves were one race. The king and queen were abducted by Innoruuk, and tortured and twisted, and the Teir'Dal (dark elves) were born. Thanks to centuries of torture, they hate everyone (especially their "innocent" cousins). When Solusek decided to dry up the Elddar forest and turn it into a desert, the remaining Elddar elves fled the continent of Tunaria, where they finally landed on Faydwer (that's why the water between the 2 continents is known as the Ocean of Tears, for the tears wept by the elves for their lost home). Once on Faydwer, the elves split up into different factions. One faction worked to maintain the beauty of the Faydark forest, and prevent a repeat of the loss of the Elddar forest. The other faction settled into seclusion in pursuit of knowledge. Over the ages, the elves who tended the forest changed to reflect their arboreal nature, and became a separate race known as the Feir'Dal (wood elves). The remaining elves, who do to their seclusion remained closest to the original Elddar elf race, became known as the Koada'Dal. Ages of seclusion and big egos mean many Koada'Dal tend to be xenophobic, not even trusting their Feir'Dal cousins. There was some more lore (although not necessarily compliant with EQ2 lore) that came out during EverQuest's "Prophecy of Ro" expansion, where players get to travel back in time to the elven city of Takish'Hiz that exists within the Elddar forest.
Also, some of the citizens of New Tunaria have started calling themselves Renda'Dal (Pure Elf) but they are essentially just really snobbish Koada'Dal.
the Koada'dal were more the upperclass/higher military/mages of the Elddar elves, that sought more to rebuild Takish-Hiz. they were proud, bordering on arrogant, believe they are the closest to the 'original' Elddar Elves, and thus Tunare's first children. the Fier'dal were more of the scouts/soldiers/druids and sought to maintain the Faydark forest, give it the glory of the Elddar Forest they lost. the Xenophobia didn't occur until after the Shattering/Rending and was highly due to the manipulations of Mayong, where they now have a rebuilt Felwithe(destroyed during the War of the Fay), called New Tunaria...and they call themselves the Renda'dal. wood elves and high elves having kids can probably happen, but the Wood elves think the high elves are too stuffy and uptight, and the high elves think of the wood elves are uncouth partiers are irresponsible.(think of the HEs as the wall street exec and the WE as thier cousin from alabama that makes a living selling moonshine..that how they tend to view eachother) most of the half elves are from woodelf/human interactions more then any others. as to the theme of the gnolls trainign him..there is a conflict there as the gnolls of the thundering steppes (for the most part) are hostile to the other races. especially humans. same with the centaurs. though I suppose you could use the Splitpaw gnolls from the splitpaw adventure pack. they were friendly.
Small correction--after the War of the Burning, the Wood Elves largely abandoned Kelethin due to the damage done in the fighting. When the Fae eventually came to be awakened by Tunare, they moved in, fixed the place up (to Fae specifications), and more or less made it their own, though the Wood Elves (and select other outsiders) were of course welcomed in their ancestral home. As for the Renda'Dal, Mayong Mistmoore has more than a little to do with how that came about...but that's a story of its own.
Shaman is the "generic" term, mystic being a shaman's "specialization" There's two kind of - playable - shaman : Mystic (who use powers willingly given by spirits) and Defiler (who coerce spirits to get their powers) plus a few others in the non-playable races.
Wow, you guys are awesome and far more helpful than I was expecting. I think based on the fact that the Koada'Dal are secluded I might simply make my character's family all wood elves. While I want drama with his family I think the races sound too incompatible (culture-wise, not genetic-wise) to make a family together. It sounds like it would be fun to see how quickly my character could anger those types of people. Yeah, from the sound of things they can have kids, but from what has been said it seems like they wouldn't be interested in settling down together. I'm thinking that I'll make all of them wood elves and find some other reason for the half-brother and step-mother to be a bit arrogant. I knew the gnolls didn't like people for the most part, but I always felt like those little guys weren't as bad as they seemed. I will have to look into the adventure pack as it will hopefully give me a better idea of their culture. Thanks. Ah, that's sad. Wood elves are a guest in the place that is supposed to be their home. Thank you all for your quick answers, I'll definitely be coming back here if I have more questions. For now I have a few quests to do in order to get information and then writing to get done.
well the Gnolls have a long standing blood feud with Qeynos due to issues revolving around the Bone Bladed Claymore and Opalla. they are a realtively territorial and tribal society, shamanism is the big thing. they seem to teach via oral history. In Splitpaw, we find the splitpaw gnolls more trusting of us due to a larger offshoot canabalizing them. so a kind of enemy of my enemy is my friend scenario, as well as Splitpaw being a little more detached from the issues that make the Blackburrow and most the rest of the TS gnolls so hostile. As to Kelethin, well the wood elves abandoned it. it was mostly burned and destroyed during the war of the fay...the fae rebuilt it and when the wood elves came back, the fae welcomed them in with open arms for the most part.
The Feir'dal didn't abandon Kelethin, the population was devastated in the War of the Fey. After the Koada'dal withdrew into Felwith and severed contact with the outside world the people of Kelethin were left with a leadership vacuum. When the Fey started to move in the people of Kelethin recognized Queen Amree and made her the ruler of the city, officially ending all ties with the Thex line of rule.
Mixed races are less common in EQ than you would suspect. Still, if wood and high elves mixed the children could take after either race. Half Elves are a mixture of human, elf (any) and/or half elves. It is technically possible for elves and halflings to bear children according to at least one quest in EQ1 that is old enough to be canon here. What that union would produce is a mystery. Considering that Barbarians and Dwarves shared one rowdy and drunken village in Qeynos for centuries the Nameless only knows if there are any half-dwarves around. The Drafling is a half Halfling, half Dragon. Let your mind wrap around that one. The entire Kera race are a mixture of the Kerran and Vah Shir from EQ1. They share attributes from both and look like neither.
Druids in EQ are centered around the power of Growth. It is different than deity worship. They manipulate the power of Growth directly and encourage it in living things. They also have abilities to manipulate the weather and nature in general. While their lore includes tending to the balance of nature, they don't deal with spirits on a regular basis. Shaman in EQ are attuned to the spirit world. They gain their powers by manipulating and interacting with various spirits. Some of those spirits are the dead, others take form from nature or even arrive from another plane of existence. Most of the True Spirits come from the last category. The True Spirits watch over our world and concern themselves with the flow of spirits in and out of Norrath. Some True Spirits are defilers in nature and encourage Shaman to enslave weaker spirits to server them. Some of the stronger defiling spirits attempt to enslave Shaman. Other True Spirits (the vast majority from what I've seen) attempt to keep the natural order going and maintain a balance in the spirit realm. Shaman that follow this teaching are known as mystics. The True Spirits have been known to communicate with druids in the past, but rarely and only when their interests happen to coincide. Generally in cases where "corruption" affects both the land and the spirits. Mostly the spirits are only visible to Shaman and those born to become Shaman (or Beastlords as they are also spirit touched). FYI: there is no one way to become a priest, druid or shaman. There are places where the teachings of each are handed down. Blessed individuals have spontaneously used abilities for each of these. There is no "wrong" way to be touched by the divine. I would argue that the same does not apply to the arcane studies...but that goes beyond our discussion here.
Log into EQ1 one of these days and go chat with the residents of Felwithe. While they aren't as fanatical as the Renda'Dal, the Koada'dal at best tolerate the other races, including wood elves. That's one of the reasons that if High Elven half elves exist, they aren't welcome to live in Felwithe. In EQ1, Half Elves can choose to start in Qeynos, Kelethin, Freeport, or Surefall Glade.
that's not Xenophobia though. that's just arrogance and pride. yes, the tolerate the other races, but you are, very much, inferior to them. the wood elves are backwood country cousins, the gnomes are annoyances, the dwarves know thier stonework but are far too rowdy...and most everyone else is on the 'oh fine, you may bask in my glory but keep your mouth shut' list and the 'evil' races are on the 'kill it with fire lest it taint the air I breathe' list.
I wonder if wood elves mix more with humans than high elves, mainly because high elves might look down on such a short lived species. Considering the amount of facial hair both races have.... how would we be able to tell anyways? The height might give it away, but they could just be a stocky barbarian. *Shudders* My brother used to own a dog that was half chihuahua and half great pyrenees. At first I felt really bad because of the size difference, then I found out that the father was the chihuahua and a really tiny, ambitious dog. Good to know. I don't think I'll be having spirits speak to the druids, just to my character who is training as a druid but is meant to be a shaman. Ohh, I will have to read about the defiler True Spirits, because that sparked some inspiration for a scene/part of my back-story. Thank you. New question: Is there any text on the differences between warden shape-shifting and mystics using avatars or spirits to appear in animal form? Sorry if my questions are annoying to you guys. You all are just so awesome at answering and giving additional information that inspires me further.
I don't think there's really be any mention of a 'defiler' Truespirt other the Sellok, who was a Defiler looking to 'gain' dietyhood/True Spirit status, and he did succeed, and thus the Channeler was born to combat him. he became the Spiritual representaive I think of Greed/Gluttony kind of issue. or Aggression perhaps. something along those lines. as to the shape shifting, I think the only real difference is that the druid version is more about the animal and it's physical prowess and the Shaman is more in connection the 'Truespirit' animal totem.
Probably not, it'd be dangerous if there were many of them out there. The main idea I have is to make his spirit animal (the wolf spirit that mystics can summon) test him by trying to see if he will enslave a weaker spirit. That way she would know that he was worthy after he refused to do it.
There were a few quests in EQ1 that dealt with the anti-True Spirit faction corrupting both spirits and the living. It has been a long time and my main wasn't a shaman so I'm afraid I don't remember the details. These corrupting spirits formed the basis of the Defiler class in this game. I don't think any lore specifically addresses the druid or shaman abilities to shape shift. It isn't common practice to explain class abilities. Only a few abilities have gotten that treatment and most of them are the epic abilities.
Oh, and as for half-elves: it takes all types. Some humans are closer to High Elves than their cousins. Humans can be just as haughty, petty, noble, beautiful and inspiring as the greatest elven royalty. Others are just as rustic, druidic, graceful and simple as any Wood Elf. Still others share every trait that the Teir'dal excel at. The parents can be both joyful at the union or ashamed in every case. Not too surprisingly half elves tend to look similar, and can generally pass themselves off as having any kind of elf as one of their parents. In EQ2 the largest population of High Elves live in Qeynos. They traveled to Qeynos to oppose the Second Rallosian Army and stayed to help with the rebuilding effort afterward. They became trapped on Antonica when the Rending occurred. During this 200 year period in time the remaining High Elves in Felwith underwent a transformation that lead to them becoming the Ren'dal (pure elves) which actually bear very little in common with the High Elves. To an outside observer the Ren'dal are actually inferior to High Elves in every aspect, but that will make more sense as you learn about the origin of the Ren'dal and how the transformation occurred.
