The Island of Tir Thelandira
Added 2022-12-02 19:19:24 +0000 UTCPeople seem to like the wild elves, so I drew up a map of the island they'll be living on. The elves will occupy the left side of the island and their yet-to-be-decided neighbors will be on the right. I don't know what's going to be happening on that little island at the top, but we'll figure something out.
My wife has asked me to name the elven ruler after her and I told her I would. Don't worry, this doesn't mean we're getting a Queen Stacy or Queen Kathleen. My wife is named after Niamh of the Golden Hair, daughter of the Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, the lord of the Tuath Dé and ruler of Tír na nÓg. So I think her name should fit the theme pretty well here.
Anyway, I thought I'd post this to see if it inspires any more ideas on who the elves might be sharing the island with. There have been some excellent suggestions and I'm planning to compile them into a vote before too long, but I want to give everyone another chance to propose some more ideas. I feel like the other civilization will probably be relative newcomers to the island, but they don't have to be.
Anyway, if you've got any thoughts on the neighboring civilization, let me know in the comments or shoot me a message!
Comments
Celts and Romans would certainly be a classic theme! I like the idea of Saxon horsemen. I think a mix of cultures could be interesting as well, but I think that would be a good one to add to the mix.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-08 01:02:50 +0000 UTCHow about something Roman inspired? That would play well with the iron age British vibe of the elves- like there could be large populations of 'Romanized' half-elves living in villas alongside legionary forts and the like. You could even run a Hadrian's wall down the middle. Alternatively, go with the horse lords, but make them Saxons (it worked for Peter Jackson). I have long wanted to see what your take on Edoras would look like!
Shawn Stevenson
2022-12-06 21:08:33 +0000 UTCThat is very fair. I suppose in my mind I wanted to explore and highlight the ways they are not similar. How they shared common ancestry, but over a great deal of time the Wood Elves took so deeply to the earth that it influenced their culture this way. On the other hand, use a fully different architectural vocabulary for the Fey Elves, one that is more permanent in appearance (if not in substance), with just small similarities. But your point there is well taken. Maybe that is a wrong approach. There are some worlds and editions where Gnomes are also thought to be Fey in nature. I think we run into the same problem, it might be too similar, but I will let that seed germinate. Is there a Fey Gnome population? Small little tricksy nightmare devils who see what the elves are up to and are causing havoc all about it? The problem is I am not certain what their civilization would look like…
AN7
2022-12-04 16:20:49 +0000 UTCSo the question there becomes what primal and near mythical beast do the Orcs consider a threat, and also the greatest untamable mount? What untamable beast have they spent decades trying to best? This could in fact transcend simply “You PCs have arrived, and now you must prove your worth in a Ride of The Great Hunt!” I am actually thinking possibly 2 additional levels beyond “There is a Roc who lives somewhere and we would love to tame it.” First, once we know the Great Beast (Who could definitely not be a “beast” at all), what smaller creatures exist on the island because of it. Elementals who worship a great dragon? Cultists who think the Roc is really a Phoenix under some ritual that keeps its flames doused? There can be a faction opposed to the Orcs based around this, either organized intentionally or simply brought forth be the creature’s will. The other layer? I kind of like that the Elves are not directly opposed to the nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples. So long as they are doing no harm to the elves, let them to their plains, BUT is there a smaller secret faction within the elves who oppose this? Perhaps they take issue with the need to tame this great creature, and they work subtly to ensure those hunts do not succeed. Recently they have become more bold, and are looking to undermine that whole society.
AN7
2022-12-04 16:13:37 +0000 UTCI like the idea of orcish horse lords, although I think there needs to be a conflict somewhere on the island just to keep things interesting. It doesn't have to be with the orcs, but I'd need something else to be going on here. Hmm.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 20:28:08 +0000 UTCI suppose you could incorporate the horse lord idea and have them be emu riding people. Or emus that ride horses! Hahaha
J
2022-12-03 02:48:58 +0000 UTCI like the idea of horse lords, but i think they should be orcs or something like that. I like the idea of orcs having some sort of tangible culture, that culture being something similar to the nomads of mongolia. I imagine they'd have quite a friendly relationship with the elves, considering how due to their nomadic nature, they have no reason to clash with the elves who are protective of their forests. Having orcs and elves as friends intrigues me. They share the island and trade woth each other, coming together to fend off threats if that ever becomes a necessity.
Conrad Staier
2022-12-03 02:05:30 +0000 UTCBut now that I think about it, maybe firbolgs do have a place on the island. Not necessarily as the second civilization, but they could definitely have a settlement there. They do fit really well with the theme.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 01:20:41 +0000 UTCI feel like wild elves and firbolgs are both such nature hippies that they'd have a really hard time not immediately becoming bros, haha.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 01:15:19 +0000 UTCWhat if we make it emus and base the lore around the Great Emu War? We could make the entire thing a giant joke about Australia.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 01:01:41 +0000 UTCThose are good suggestions, although I'm hesitant to create a third civilization here. Since this island is going to be part of a larger world, if I make an outpost from another country, I'm committing to drawing the rest of that country later. So I'd want to be absolutely sure that it's a country I had a plan for and wanted to draw.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 00:58:42 +0000 UTCMy thought was that they were never really gone, just hidden away in large burial mounds or dens that were considered taboo or haunted by the wood elves, so left undisturbed in their druidic stasis for a couple thousand years. Now they're awake, confused at the state of the world, and angry at these elf "invaders" that have tamed their once-primeval forests...makes the wild elves seem positively metropolitan by comparison!
jondowner
2022-12-03 00:44:24 +0000 UTCI like the idea, but I think Eladrin and High Elves are both fairly similar to wild elves and it'd be good to have a bit more contrast between the two. I know a lot of stuff in the Feywild tends to be kind of "elf-like," but is there anything with a different sort of flavor that might work well instead?
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 00:43:41 +0000 UTCNot that I know of. I was just throwing out ideas. Ha!
J
2022-12-03 00:35:43 +0000 UTCFirbolgs would definitely be leaning into the Celtic theme (they're from Irish mythology). Do you have any ideas on what might have kept them away for all that time?
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 00:28:16 +0000 UTCAre ostrich-folk a thing now? I may have missed that memo, haha.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-03 00:22:01 +0000 UTCReptilians or amphibians. Or ostritch-folk.
J
2022-12-03 00:09:54 +0000 UTCWhat about an Eladrin (4e version maybe) or High Elf city? Something that has historically jumped between here and they Feywild, but for some reason has stopped transitioning. Faced with this fact they are now expanding, coming into conflict with the others who millennia ago shared a history. The reunion……it didn’t go well. Wonder if actually it was the entire north island that used to shift, and now that it stopped the fey travelers have started building small settlements on the main island. Or even better, that small island in the bay.
AN7
2022-12-02 22:28:45 +0000 UTCAnother thought for the second faction here (apart from the missionaries one from earlier)...the wood elves are actually the newcomers, at least relatively speaking. The second group is way older, and has only recently woken up/returned from a millennia-long absence. Perhaps a group of ancient druids (firbolgs?) that intended to hibernate through an ice age and accidentally hit the "snooze" button one too many times on their magical alarm clock?
jondowner
2022-12-02 20:06:12 +0000 UTCOne idea could be to have the two civilisations on the island, but with a presence on the island of a third more technologically advanced one, connecting it into the wider world. So you could have the wood elves in the west, the horse lords in the open east, and a single fort from an outside power on the island in the bay. As for the bigger island to the north? That feels like a natural spot for something big and scary. Be it a villain lair, a dungeon complex, or you go traditional and stick a dragon on it.
Silas
2022-12-02 19:44:16 +0000 UTCCool, I think that could work.
Milby's Maps
2022-12-02 19:38:45 +0000 UTCYeah, I should have been more clear. I was more referring to worked stone or well constructed wood. I'd do hide tents, maybe buildings in the style of barrows made by just piling stone, etc.
Philip Mayhew
2022-12-02 19:37:13 +0000 UTCI like the idea of horse lords, but I think they'd have to be builders to a certain extent, otherwise I'm not going to have much to draw maps of. There might be a trade port, yurt villages, possibly a temple of some kind?
Milby's Maps
2022-12-02 19:33:41 +0000 UTCNow that we see how much less forested the other half of the island is, I'm thinking horse lords of some kind. Still a strong preference for them to be nomadic/not builders. Quite like the early civilized elves as the more civilized group.
Philip Mayhew
2022-12-02 19:25:17 +0000 UTC
