Eilistraee.com

Being fans of Eilistraee, you are probably going to want to play in the Forgotten Realms (at least the 3rd edition or earlier versions of the Realms). But if you fancy a "holiday" from Toril, you may want to check out the "Underdark" mapping project being run by Dragonsfoot.

Encyclopedia Subterranica is taking the areas that are shown on maps in in Gary Gygax's D1-D3 modules (but not documented). These areas are being detailed by fans and then compiled into a sourcebook that, when combined with the original material, documents all of Oerth's Underdark (otherwise known as the Deep Oerth).

For more information see:
[list:1q3dqop3]
[*:1q3dqop3][url=http://melkot.com/locations/underdark/u ... l:1q3dqop3]Greyhawk's Underdark (at Maldin's Greyhawk)[/url:1q3dqop3][/*1q3dqop3]
[*:1q3dqop3][url=http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewt ... 8:1q3dqop3][1E] DF Collab. Project: Mapping the Depths of the Earth (at Dragonsfoot Forums)[/url:1q3dqop3][/*1q3dqop3][/list:u:1q3dqop3]

The current version of Encyclopedia Subterranica can be downloaded from the [url=http://dead.greyhawk.googlepages.com/ma ... s:1q3dqop3]Mapping the Depths[/url:1q3dqop3] page. Currently the PDF download has 147 pages.

Even if you don't want to roleplay Greyhawk drow, you might still enjoy the Encyclopedia Subterranica cover art. It features 3D artwork featuring two drow women. Both of whom have interesting tatoos.

Wow. That's a lot of info. Thanks.

Yes thank you. Those tattoos really are interesting... *nods*

cool map! it's always nice to see another drow city

Hey, cool, nice city of Khor. Btw, Khor is name of my first DnD Character. I didn't know, that it's occupied.
I am sure, that I can use some of these maps with my friends.

But in Greyhawk Eilistraee does not exist. *blink*

Thanks Bhaern for spoiling everything <wink>

[quote="Bhaern Quel":1ewakp9h]But in Greyhawk Eilistraee does not exist. *blink*[/quote:1ewakp9h]

Not true. Eilistraee exists in the outer planes and they connect to [b:1ewakp9h]all[/b:1ewakp9h] D&D worlds.

You should have said "in Greyhawk, Eilistraee is not worshipped".

It is a fine distinction, but what it effectively means is that Eilistraee does not have any clerics on Oerth. And Eilistraee is as blind to Oerth as Oerth is to her.

But that does not mean that she could never have clerics on Oerth. If you use Spelljammer in your D&D game, it links Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk and Dragonlance. And part of the rules are that clerics of gods who do not have an active local faith, have diminished power when they visit crystal spheres. So a cleric, druid, paladin, ranger or other divine servant of Eilistraee who travelled to Oerth (or anywhere else in Greyspace) would have a weak bond with their godess.

The weak bond mentioned in Spelljammer means that a divine servant of Eilistraee would be able to gain 1st and 2nd level divine spells, but would not be able to gain the higher spells. (The high-level spell slots, themselves, would not be lost - they could be used for 2nd or 1st level spells.)

On top of this the Spelljammer Campaign Setting provides divine spellcasters with a special spell called Contact Home Power. This 2nd level divine spell has a duration of one week and creates a link that allows Eilistraee to grant the 3rd level and above spells that are normally blocked.

(Even if you were playing a planewalking drow that went to Oerth's underdark, you could still ask your GM to import this SJ spell into your game.)

So a divine servant of Eilistraee who traveled to Oerth (via spelljamming or planewalking) would have less powerful spells and would be a lone worshiper of the goddess in a land of drow who had never heard of her. I think that might make for an interesting role playing challange. Preaching the joy of Eilistraee worship on Toril is one thing, but inventing the religion elsewhere would be an uphill struggle to free drow who are being kept in the dark* by the other drow gods.

[i:1ewakp9h]* = No pun intended.[/i:1ewakp9h]

And if you really want to get into taking Eilistraee to new worlds, you should check out a 2nd edition AD&D book called The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook. That has a section about how clerics (and presumably other divine servants) can spend a year building up a temple-stronghold that will allow their god to "enter" the crystal sphere. I think those rules would work on the ground (or even under the ground).

That was a most informative and interesting post Dostrealt.

We know that in order to exist, deities require folowers/belivers etc. We also know that deities have crossed over from differeing worlds/realities as this is clearly stated in FR Canon lore.

We also can conclude that a deity is nigh on omnipotent and is therefore quite able to be monitoring their faithful on more than one world/dimension/reality.

As Dostrealt has pointed out: [quote:2jko2gou]
If you use Spelljammer in your D&D game, it links Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk and Dragonlance. And part of the rules are that clerics of gods who do not have an active local faith, have diminished power when they visit crystal spheres. So a cleric, druid, paladin, ranger or other divine servant of Eilistraee who travelled to Oerth (or anywhere else in Greyspace) would have a weak bond with their godess.

The weak bond mentioned in Spelljammer means that a divine servant of Eilistraee would be able to gain 1st and 2nd level divine spells, but would not be able to gain the higher spells. (The high-level spell slots, themselves, would not be lost - they could be used for 2nd or 1st level spells.) [/quote:2jko2gou]

I think though, that after time and if there are enough worshippers of a specific deity, then, an avatar of the deity could come through to this new world and grant higher level spells to the clergy of it's religion. I'd envisage up to lv 5 spells being granted. If a greater number of followers are available, then it would be quite possible that the deity would be able to travel to that world etc, and grant the full range of divine spells to its clergy as there is a significant power base of faithful established on the new world.

By using the rules mentioned in 2nd edition AD&D book called "The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook", we now have the ability to have Eilistraeen cults and full blown churches on a myriad of worlds.

The way I see it, it is in a deities own survival interests to establish as many cults as possible, on as many worlds as possible. So, if a deity is ever "killed" on their home plane/world, they still have enough reseve "power" from other planes/worlds in which to sustain themselves until they can be restored on their own home plane/world. This would explain why long dead deities are able to return after being killed off.

In my novel that I'm currently writing, the drow of the world are fairly much the same as on FR's Toril. Lolth [who will be renamed due to copywrite] is the evil goddess who seeks to keep her "children" in servitude and seeks to overthrow and subjugate all races to her will. There will be a full range of gods which will represent all the major races pantheons. Since Eilistraee has suffered a major setback [due to moronism from the part of WoTC ] and that is considered canon lore" I intend that her power has been diminsihed but not destroyed and that instead, she will be restored and ascend to become a greater deity. [ "if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can imagine! ]

Anyway, I'm rambling now but the point is that its entirely possible that Eilistraee has established cults on other realms/worlds and that she is still alive and well on those planes of existence.