Shattered Kingdoms

I don't mean stuff like "slay that deepelf!!!!11!!", but if anyone could provide me with some very general Elf RP background basics it would help a ton with fleshing a character concept of mine.

I mean, an elf is young at 101, but would still have experiences from those years. So as a new player I'm not familiar with what, in fact, has happened in the last 100 mud-years. No problem RPing my way around being a newbie, but if I could get a quick run down on the really earth-shaking events that've happened in that time that even a kiddo elf in Sith'a'niel would've heard about and been affected by, it'd be very very helpful.

My first character suffered amnesia. Cliche, perhaps, but saved me a lot of bluffing.

You could also have had a very sheltered upbringing, cloistered somewhere to study, or to train, depending on your character's preference. There are a lot of cliches - hiding from some villain, kept imprisoned in some deep dark place, aforementioned amnesia - and cliches exist because they work. Don't be afraid to use one.

What matters most isn't that you know what's happened in the world in those 101 years, but what's happened in your life. Nobody really expects an initiate elf of whatever class to know about the demon portal in ayamao last year, or the politics surrounding the brief empress of zhenshi, or how Slayne became emperor. You may start out at 101, but it just took that long for your character to be mature enough, or sufficiently prepared, to go out into the world.

Keep in mind the various sorts of elves, to help guide your story, although they are guidelines, not ironclad. Also, ask older elves for their stories - most elves DO like to hear themselves talk.

Have fun with it.

hah, sound advice, thanks for the quick response

Think of the first hundred years for an elf as the first 16 years for a human.

You're probably doing junk like studying, training, whatever kids do. Living at home, etc...

rofl at your list of the stuff kids do until they turn 16

Playing in the mud, smoking weed? Damn rascals.

Yeah, wasn't under any other perception, if I was doing a different race I would've been asking for a different number of years' history. Also--you were a boring and clueless kid, or what?

edit: damn, slow poster alert

Nah, I was just trying to generalize what a pyrathian kid might do for those first 3-101 years.

When I started at SK, I learned a few very interesting things about elves.

Take into consideration that 1 RL week is considered 1 IC year. One RL hour is about 2 IC days. Man does that make jail boring.

For me, I always pictured elves growing up slower, maturing over that ageless time. I don't picture them growing up to their full heights and weights by 16 years old and then taking 85 more years to mature emotionally and mentally. That's just insane.

One thing you can do, if you started in Ayamao, is go find the local noteboard and read the notes posted. This is true for any kingdom because all the major cities have a noteboard. You can learn a little bit about current situations and policies.

No good player is going to fault a newbie for not knowing a whole lot. My forum_id matches my character's name, you can always ask me questions if you are Ayamao started character.

Thunder plays a Taslamar character and would be good to contact if you need a brief 100 year history.

There are a few who players whose characters have lived for 100 IC years and could really, as players, give you some of the basic history your character might have lived through in their nation. (Basic being broad people)

Erevan plays a Zhensh based character and could give you Zhensh events.

Give shy, vague details about your character's background at first and learn a bit more. You could always answer, 'But my mother/father said...' until you begin to understand the history more for yourself.

Most of all, Hi! Good Luck! Feel free to always ask for help!

You should talk to Faer. He'll tell you stories until they're flowing out of your ears.