Running the Realms (3.5 D&D system)

Started by Tagan, April 03, 2010, 12:40:59 PM

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Milanthe

Ah, in that case...  I needs to change my character's age.  XP  She's only 20, so she's like 10 in elf years.  Don't think that's gunna fly.  I'll change it when I get home from work (About 5 hrs).
Back from the deadish...  I hope...  Is deadish a word?

sleepingferret

Actually despite the way most of the system rules are written, the novel authors which make up more of the depth for the D&D world especially for the existing campaign settings, tend to write elves as maturing at the same rate as humans just with an extremely long lifespan.  Meaning that for example, our famous or infamous drow ranger friend Drizzt Do'Urden had the experience of several decades long before seeing the sun, but had long since reached maturity while he was still pondering what it meant to be a "drow warrior" and just what it meant to be the Secondboy of House Do'Urden.  His later years in the drow academy would change his outlook and his life forever, and thus sent him on a life altering course that has since changed him into the drow ranger many of the people of Toril know (or have at least heard of" today.

But the point is, he like any other elf developed on essentially a 1:1 ratio both physically and mentally.  I won't say this is entirely true, as elf pregnancies are still cited as being two years in length and no one has really ever contradicted this.  But for the most part, a 20 year old elf would be essentially look the same and on average have the same mental and emotional capacity as a 20 year old human.  Elven society however, may be structured differently and thus the depiction to the outside world of an "adult" elf is much older.

ff

#127
Quote from: Tagan on April 10, 2010, 05:12:29 AM
Ff, from my own readings, your about right on elven ages, though I've also read that they are 'physically' mature at about 40, and emotionally mature around 100.  For a classic faerun example, Drizzt Du'Urden was only 70 when he left his family, and was already a powerful fighter, though in my opinion not yet fully emotionally mature.

I found where my group probably got the 110 number.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/description.htm#age

The SRD has age tables apparently; they say elven adulthood begins at 110 (vs 15 for humans!!), with 'middle age' at 175 (vs 35 for humans). That's about a 3.5 to 1 ratio between elves and humans in that range.

It also has rolled starting ages (i.e. 110 being the min), +4d6 or 6d6 or 10d6 for elves depending on class. (Not saying anyone should roll for age, just to give a sense of variability from elf to elf). For example the average starting age for a ranger would be 131 (+3x7 from the 6d6) and I made mine 134.

I would not be surprised if Drizzt were an outlier....my former bf's group loved to make fun of Drizzt, saying he was a Mary Sue and always too much of a superman / prodigy who got to break all the rules.  ::) Considering he's so epic as an adult, it might stand to reason he was acting like an adult really early - don't they say Joan of Arc did her big stuff at age 13?

Maybe it's like others said - they physically mature at (closer to) parity with humans, but elven culture / mindset is just that they rarely go off and act like adults for awhile. Sort of like how in modern society, we basically treat people like kids until they graduate college at 22-23, but hundreds of years ago girls were getting married off and boys sent to war (so that the older men could marry their coeds =P) at like 15.

I personally am fine with anything (just don't want my char to be 'inconsistent', although most likely the chars won't be directly talking about ages anyway). I'm not saying we have to use the SRD, just that it's probably where my understanding indirectly came from. I just sort of enjoy thinking bout the world and the Forgotten Realms....a lot of what I love about fantasy is that sense of the wider world. What's that quote from Gandalf to Bilbo? "It is a wide wide world, and you are just a little fellow, after all."

Tagan

I'm a Tolkien fan myself.

"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."

Or the gamer reply.  "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with katsup."


Cythieus

This is why I typically play Humans, I think I can play them more accurately and with more versatility.

sleepingferret

Quote from: Tagan on April 10, 2010, 06:29:40 PM
I'm a Tolkien fan myself.

"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."

Or the gamer reply.  "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with katsup."


Depends on the type of dragon.... a black dragon would pickle you first, but they're vile evil things and have no real "taste".

TheGlyphstone

and White dragons prefer you as a delicious humanoidsicle...

Milanthe

So...  Which are we using now?  o.O  Age to maturity by human standards or age to maturity by elven years?
Back from the deadish...  I hope...  Is deadish a word?

Tagan

Quote from: Milanthe on April 10, 2010, 07:52:47 PM
So...  Which are we using now?  o.O  Age to maturity by human standards or age to maturity by elven years?

Easiest to say by elven years, though I still hold to the physical maturity in 40 years theory.  If you want to play a precocious elf, that would be fine.

Milanthe

Mmmmk...  So I think...  For the maturity (mind and body) level I want, that would be about...  48?  Maybe.  Me thinks we'll hold with that unless otherwise instructed.
Back from the deadish...  I hope...  Is deadish a word?

Tagan

One day left to apply. Finish up your sheets if you're not done.

TheGlyphstone

#136
Oh yeah. I don't think I've submitted a formal character sheet yet... Working.

Name: Cordale Founderson
Race: Human
Class(es): Cloistered Cleric 3
Appearance: Tall and slightly pudgy, with straw-blond hair that sticks out in all directions. His dark brown eyes are hidden behind a pair of extremely thick glass spectacles, which he needs to see anything beyond the reach of his hand. He wears neatly kept grey robes, and frequently has his nose buried in one of the heavy books that he travels with.

Background: Cordale's earliest years were spent being cared for by his grandfather, a retired warrior in the Chondathan army who took up the raising of his grandson after the infant's parents were killed by a monster raid on their village. Unfortunately for both of them, he only lasted a few years before dying peacefully in his sleep of a heart attack, and the foundling child ended up in the care of the local priests. The priests in question were a small, somewhat esoteric branch of the Church of Kelemvor, who called themselves Reclaimers. They held it in their doctrine that the best way to honor their lord was not in direct combat, but reviving the mortal remains of the souls who now rested in Kelemvor's care and employ them in the destruction of sentient undead and other creatures who sought to defy the God of the Dead.

Cordale was raised and brought up by the priests. He was not a physically adept individual by nature, and easily took on the bookish, studious lifestyle that most of the cloister's residents followed, but he still had a hunger to put the teachings he was given daily into practice. It took some time, but finally the clerics deemed him ready to explore the outside world, and so he went - but not alone. He needed a companion, in accordance with the ethos of the Reclaimers...and Cordale knew exactly who he would choose. Grandpa Jasper had been buried in his armor, which solved the need of finding a suit for him to wear in his new, extremely trim form, but Cordale was certain Grandpa wouldn't mind; he had spent his life killing monsters, or at least practicing to kill monsters, and this way he could keep on doing it even after he was dead.

Sheet link: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=198023

Opheliac

I think Im going to drop from this game, as I no longer know whats going on, other than "characters are due tuesday"

ff

Quote from: Opheliac on April 12, 2010, 11:36:52 PM
I think Im going to drop from this game, as I no longer know whats going on, other than "characters are due tuesday"

There's not too much to know, other than it's L3 and in the Dalelands. I don't think we've been given opening scenario details yet.

Cythieus

Most of what's going on is just chatter back and forth. But part of the reason why I never played FR is because I never got the references to stuff people spoke of. I've never read the novels and I have barely used the campaign book except for materials out of some for items.

ff

I've got read any of the novels either (maybe it was b/c of my old group always making fun of Drizzt, and sometimes Elminster too). I got into it though - and at this point it's a snowball for me (more special b/c of the nostalgia of knowing my other chars are part of that same world). Mostly I just grab stuff I need as I go along - like googling for a map, or for a list of the gods for my characters. That's another thing - I like the pantheon for some reason.

Cythieus

I like Golarion and Eberron most out of the settings, mostly because there is a distinct history  but its all back story and non-canonical.

And everyone makes fun of Drizzt, but for some reason every male Drow I see made is basically modeled after him. Also, there's living Grey Hawk and even living Eberron and other setting campaigns, so you can actually effect that world and leave a mark on it that will be shared with other players country wide, I think the real living grey hawk ended, Pathfinder is doing the same thing now I think

ff

Ah yeah, that was something else t hey made fun of - all the Drizzt clones they said were out there. I remember there was even some dual-scimitar-wielding prestige class - Dervish or something? - that someone described as "become Drizzt in 10 levels" and said seemed wildly popular with drow PCs (google would be a good way to assess that too...).

Cythieus

The Dervish is a dancing based class.

Tagan

Quote from: Opheliac on April 12, 2010, 11:36:52 PM
I think Im going to drop from this game, as I no longer know whats going on, other than "characters are due tuesday"
How odd.  If you had questions, why didn't you ask them?

Anyway, I'm in the middle of selecting the players, will send each of those in the Game a PM with the Thread links.

Thanks to all who applied!

RubySlippers

I'm still in the mix I just felt if I'm not accepted why do more than the framework of my character doing a history and all that plus finding a picture seems a great deal of work for no assured game going on.

Opheliac

Im kinda in the same boat as Ruby here. We dont know how many people are going to be chosen for the party here, and there have been many issues over party roles and whos doing what. For the sake of less headache, I decided to drop from this one. I dont mean to be rude Tagan, and I was looking foreward to playing, but Im just kinda confused right now as to how much effort I should put into this.

Cythieus

I would help you as much as I could really, mechanic wise I am on the up and up (running a 3.5 game on PbP for over a year now.

swordwind

*raises hand* So selections take place today or were they on some other day? Based on how people are talking I can't figure it out.

ff

Quote from: Opheliac on April 13, 2010, 10:57:41 AM
Im kinda in the same boat as Ruby here. We dont know how many people are going to be chosen for the party here, and there have been many issues over party roles and whos doing what. For the sake of less headache, I decided to drop from this one. I dont mean to be rude Tagan, and I was looking foreward to playing, but Im just kinda confused right now as to how much effort I should put into this.

In the new OOC thread Tagan had stated that no one who wants to join will be cut (as there is almost always attrition later anyway). So you and RubySlippers should not been discouraged from applying.