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igorlevchenko-blog · 3 days

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Morrowind: Praying at the Shrine of Pride. Ghost Gate, vicinity of Red Mountain.. Year: early 3E 400s.

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lunastrophe · 18 hours

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Drow Lore 🕷️ Drow And Sunlight

🕷️ Sun: The Searing Horror - young drow often hear that drow are not meant to live on the surface. During several decades of their education, their teachers, instructors and priestesses of Lolth tell them that surface sun is "the searing horror" that instantly blinds the drow, weakens their magic and makes their weapons, armor and clothing crumble to dust, leaving them completely defenseless. In some stories, drow are even supposed to fall victim to strange diseases due to sunlight exposure.

Many of these stories are deliberately exaggerated, of course - to discourage young drow from leaving Underdark and travelling to the surface on their own.

More worldly-wise drow, though, know that dark elves are perfectly able to survive on the surface, and the ones who regularly visit the World Above can get accustomed to sunlight... well, after some time, at least. And not without some difficulties.

🕷️ Blinded And Sunburned - according to Drow of the Underdark (2e): "Initial daytime exposure to the surface world usually blinds drow. (...) Initial dayligth surface exposure is also likely to give a drow horrific sunburn. After initial attack, this burning quickly lessens, but drow will always prefer to keep their skin and heads covered during daylight hours."

(sounds like a strong incentive to invent drow sunscreen and sunglasses)

🕷️ Too Hot - Underdark is not exactly cold - in most regions, the temperature is moderate and fairly stable - but still, being in the sun can make a drow uncomforably hot after some time. In Sacrifice of the Widow, drow wizard Q'arlynd spent his first days on the surface "sheltering under his piwafwi (drow cloak) and fanning himself", complaining about the heat, and it was not even summer.

🕷️ Concentration Problems - "the presence of strong light hampers drow concentration". In consequence, sunlight exposure can affect the drow's combat and spellcasting abilities, especially in case of young and untrained drow.

🕷️ Adaptation - "drow can, through training, experience, and repeated exposure, become accustomed to light (…) This process takes about ten years." It is best for a drow to start with short periods of sunlight exposure and gradually increase the duration over time.

"The detrimental effects of light on drow fade slowly (...) for every year of continuous surface-dwelling, until they cease. If the drow remains on the surface for at least one year after all negative effects cease, they will never return, and the individual can thereafter operate freely both underground and aboveground." To achieve this, though, the drow cannot avoid sunlight exposure while living on the surface.

🕷️ "Drow who adapt to the surface always remain comfortable in darkness, and able to see at night as well as a cat does. They also retain a lithe agility, a dislike of bright lights, open sky and loud noises. They also have an unparalleled viciousness in battle."

For more of my drow lore ramblings, feel free to check my pinned post 🕷️

#drow #drow lore #dnd lore #lolth sworn drow #dark elves

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koyoriin · 8 months

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i mean is this the right time

https://twitter.com/koyoriin https://patreon.com/koyorin https://instagram.com/koyori_n https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/12576068

#baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 #shadowheart #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate iii #fanart #fan art #video games #videogames #gaming #drow #yuri #dark elf #dark elves #baldur's gate #baldurs gate

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goodolreliablejake · 5 months

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Fantasy races are an uncomfortable concept, because they present a world that literally works the way racists think that it works. The attempts to mitigate this problem often fail to address the core concern, merely making the idea more palatable.

A big example is trying to correct by changing the language from "races" to "species." This attempt fails for two reasons:

1) Exactly! Racists think that people of other races are a different species. That's the foundation of "race science," phrenology, all of it.

2) Are demihumans different species, though? Like, the interactions between elves and dwarves don't resemble the interactions between different species in our world. They don't act like snakes and lemurs, or whales and krill, or even cats and dogs. More often we've got different groups of people, who may speak different languages and have different cultural practices, engaging in diplomacy or war and struggling to coexist. In practice, they are treated as nations: ethnicities. Except they're ethnicities who are biologically distinct enough to have objective differences in ability.

This is something that puts me on edge in Mass Effect, otherwise one of my favorite games. True, the game ultimately lands on condemning the genophage, and it's not subtle about that. I mean just look at the name... But it's still considered debatable, morally grey, and Mordin Solus remains one of the most charming and enduring heroes of the series. The setting has bent over backwards to make every racist stereotype and talking point as legitimate as possible. In this setting, it is objectively true, scientifically proven that it is in the DNA of Krogans to naturally be violent, warmongering killing machines whose explosively rapid breeding poses an existential threat to the galaxy. That in turn is meant to make us think that maybe forced sterilization is something worth considering. It's hard to ignore the parallels to real life racist propaganda. I don't think it's malicious, just ungrounded and thoughtless; the result of creators to whom these ideals are abstract thought experiments, rather than reflections of real history.

Another big example is Dark Elves. They try to make it okay, to mitigate the message by fleshing them out as characters, by scapegoating an abusive deity rather than an ingrained nature, by erasing the monster manual description that reads "Always Chaotic Evil," by trending skin tone away from black and towards purple, or gray, even pale white. But none of it really changes the core issue, does it? The idea of drow is to equate dark skin with evil, to fetishize that idea, and to tell a story about a subsect of people cast into darkness as a result of sin in a direct parallel to racist Christian beliefs about dark skin being a curse or punishment from God.

So, do I think we need to cancel Mass Effect and stop playing D&D or telling stories about drow? No, not really. I mean... I do all these things. Truth is, I don't have an actionable solution, for myself or anyone. But the dynamic is clearly present and worth describing. And the attempts to challenge it are often insufficient, more about making ourselves feel better about what we're already doing than enacting real change.

#mordin solus #drow #dark elves #fantasy races #fantasy #mass effect #krogan

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rule-tarlaevski · 4 months

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"Queen Barenziah at Riften" by me

#skyrim #skyrim art #elder scrolls #the elder scrolls #tes #tes fanart #drawings #illustration #fantasy #fantasy art #elf #elves #dark elf #dark elves #barenziah #morrowind #tes morrowind

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drowsyana · 7 months

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#dnd #dnd memes #dnd art #fantasy art #dnd character #drow #dark elves #demisexual #asexual #ace umbrella #ace #gray umbrella

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ylieke · 7 months

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My Baldur's Gate playthrough in a nutshell

#my art #bg3 #bg3 oc #baldurs gate fanart #baldur's gate 3 #drow #half elf #elves #dark elves

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vidvana · 9 months

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I know that nobody asked, but here's some Telvanni lore for all the foodies.

Before you begin this culinary journey, check out this post about ash yams it's essential.

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Telvanni Cuisine

It’s obvious that Telvanni have an extensive knowledge of fungi. After all, they live in huge mushrooms and collect and plant numerous species from all across the Tamriel to use them in their potions. It goes without saying that their cuisine is also quite fungal. The commonfolk at Telvanni settlements as most of the Dunmer source their protein both from fungi* and insect meat. But Telvanni nobles love nurturing peculiar worldviews and traditions that differentiate them from other races - or even other Dunmer. One of them is their distaste for anything that doesn’t grow in soil. They frown upon hunter traditions of Ashlanders and stock-raising of house Redoran and regard them as “primitive” in contrast to the delicate art of growing fungi. The alchemy ingredients are an obvious exception from this rule, but in general as their occupations don’t usually include menial work, their light and low-calorie cuisine perfectly matches their lifestyle. This resulted in traditional cuisine of the nobility being solely plant-, or more specifically, mushroom-based**, that contrasts sharply with the cuisine of Skyrim that is rich in venison and other animal-based foods***. Noble Telvanni shun debilitating ingredients such as alcohol and moon sugar in their everyday cuisine, as keeping their minds sharp is their main priority. In order to get an indulgent sweet taste marshmerrow is used instead. Telvanni rarely import vast quantities of vegetables from other provinces as house Hlaalu does. They use commonly grown foods like saltrice, ash yams or mushrooms as the base ingredients of the dishes. In some aspects they prefer to stick to the Dunmer traditions. The nobles, though, indulge themselves in expensive imported berries - not only because of their magic-enhancing abilities but also because of their extravagant taste. As the Telvanni ranks feature numerous alchemists the import of alchemical ingredients is obviously very common. Telvanni chefs gradually incorporated some of the exotic spices into traditional cuisine. Especially valued are the most characterful of them that fancy up the bland taste of mushrooms, such as juniper, ginseng or garlic****. * In real life mushrooms are a rather poor source of protein compared to legumes like beans and lentil. But since there are no legumes in TES universe (at least as far as I know) let's suppose there are some protein-rich mushrooms Telvanni can plant. ** It’s also worth mentioning that I’m a Telvanni-fixated vegan ass myself so that’s a more probable reason why I made my beloved house also vegan xD *** A lovely example of that contrast you can encounter in @thana-topsy ‘s fanfic “Breathing Water”. This would nicely explain Neloth’s preference for apple cabbage stew. **** This recipe for example resembles Telvanni cuisine, it was one of the inspirations from my imaginary dishes above.

Above I’ve come up with some examples of what noble Telvanni would eat on a daily basis.

Thanks for reading that and take care :3

#house telvanni #telvanni #dunmer #dark elf #dark elves #tes morrowind #tes lore #tes #tesblr #my-posts #darkelf #ash yams #morrowind

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blueteller · 1 month

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So, Dark Elf Tasha...

...more like Tanned Elf Tasha!! 😂

For goodness' sake, man! That is NOT! DARK! SKIN!! 🤣 RIP "black pearl beauty" elves, I guess you're only gonna get proper characterization by the fanbase...

#tcf #trash of the count's family #lcf #lout of the count’s family #humor #tcf humor #meme #tcf meme #tasha #tcf tasha #dark elves #make our elves actually black like in the book darn it!!!#i'll be fair i actually like the design aside from the skin shade #but i am serious why are they freaking bleaching our dark elves #someone hand that girl some potassium or something

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vlepkaaday · 9 months

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To celebrate the release of Baldurs Gate 3 (I haven’t played it as I am a console gamer) here’s my favourite character from Baldurs Gate series: Viconia, in a modernised style as if she was a skater in Venice Beach, California. I took the background colours from the Tony Hawk PS 2 remaster;)

Do you like Forgotten Realms and DND or do you prefer Pathfinder?

______

#digital art #art #fanart #baldur's gate 3 #dnd art #dnd5e #viconia devir #dnd drow #dark elves

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igorlevchenko-blog · 6 days

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Lloros Sarano interrogates Varvur Sarethi, accused of murdering Bralen Carvaren.

Digital painting. Made in Photoshop. Year 2015.

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lunastrophe · 1 month

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BG3 Drow Lore 🕷️ Minthara's alurlssrin

Alurlssrin is a drow term Minthara uses to describe the bond she shares with Tav - but what does it precisely mean?

🕷️ Alurlssrin In BG3 - alurlssrin appears in some specific Minthara’s lines, when the player character romances her. According to Narrator, it is …a word used rarely, describing the deepest bonds of trust and love.

When asked about it, Minthara says simply that alurlssrin means “love” and confesses that she never really expected to use it. In another line, she seems to be convinced that alurlssrin is the kind of bond that can be life-lasting.

When Tav tries to reciprocate, saying: I alurlssrin you too, Minthara – with a hint of amusement – explains that alurlssrin is a noun.

The alurl- part may suggest that this word means “the best” kind of an emotional bond, or something close to it (alurl – “best, foremost” in Drowic).

🕷️ Alurlssrin And Ssinssrigg - in R. A. Salvatore’s The Legacy, it is stated that …there is no word in the drow language for love. The closest word (...) is ssinssrigg, but that is a term better equated with physical lust or selfish greed.

Ssinssrigg is another term that appears in one of Minthara’s lines, when the player character romances her, but does not have her high approval. She says then: What we share is no more than ssinssrigg, a passion that burns fierce, but has no foundation.

But... since according to drow lore, there is no word for “true” love in Drowic – and the closest term is ssinssrigg - where did alurlssrin come from?

🕷️ Drow Words For Love - alurlssrin was first mentioned by Ed Greenwood in his post (TheEdVerse, Twitter, Jan. 2023) about Eilistraee and drow words for love:

Eilistraee knows all the drow words for love, and the elvish ones, too. The Drow words are: alurlssrin = unselfish, deep love, raggath = act of love (lovemaking), lurraggath = act of love (sacrificial or noble deed), ssinssrigg = passion, lust, greed, longing, love.

(Among elvish words for love, apparently also known to Eilistraee, there is nor = love, essence of passion. It also appears in one of Minthara's lines, when she calls her lover ust-nor - thank you to @vspin for messaging me about this!)

It seems, then, that alurlssrin is a drow word that is known to Eilistraee and most likely to her followers...

...but Lolth-sworn drow – or at least Menzoberranyr drow – do not know / use it. 🤔 So how is it possible that Minthara, a (former) paladin of Lolth from Menzoberranzan, is familiar with it?

🕷️ Alurlssrin In Minthara's Vocabulary

I have a feeling that alurlssrin appears in Minthara’s lines simply because a drow word for deep, true love was needed for the dialogue. Still, I tried to come up with some more lore-adequate explanations:

🕷️ Some Very Old Word – perhaps in Menzoberranzan, alurlssrin is a half-forgotten archaism that is no longer regularly used, but an educated (or bookwormish) drow can still stumble across it in centuries-old books and figure out its meaning.

🕷️ Language Of Heretics – as a paladin of Lolth, it is possible that Minthara came to contact with Eilistraeans – or with their culture – at some point. She might be even trained to recognize this particular kind of “heresy”, learning symbols and words popularly used among the followers of Eilistraee... alurlssrin included.

🕷️ Not So Unknown Anymore – language tends to change over time, and between the quote from The Legacy and the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, there is a gap of over 130 years. Maybe during this time, alurlssrin term became less unknown in Menzoberranzan? Although considering its connection to Eilistraee and her cult, this may be the least likely explanation.

Regardless of everything, the fact that Minthara calls the bond between her and Tav alurlssrin is certainly meaningful. Typically, many drow like her might not be exactly (or at all) familiar with a sheer concept of deep, unselfish, lasting love...

For more of my drow lore ramblings, feel free to check my pinned post 🕷️

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #minthara #minthara baenre #lolth sworn drow #drow lore #drow culture #dnd lore #dark elves #drow #bg3 drow lore #bg3 drow

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arun0fdringz · 4 months

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