Eilistraee LIVES!

This is the place where the leaders of the Chosen post news. News about the Chosen, news about drow/Eilistraee, news about NWN/NWN2 and news generally considered interesting to us. This is also the place where you can comment on those news items. :rss:

Moderators: Shir'le E. Illios, Bhaern Quel

Bhaern Quel
Demigod
Posts: 2103
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:32 pm

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Bhaern Quel »

[quote="Irennan":2wecsuug]On a side note, the part about them being "scantily clad beautiful women", combined with the fact that they are described as weak in power (in battle, they mostly try to turn undead, and cast weak healing spells), does make them look like damsels in distress, and makes no sense within their lore (priestesses of Eilistraee use whatever practial gear that thet can get). That's rather annoying[/quote:2wecsuug]

Yes that bother me a little along with them being Sword Dancers. It did not feel correct as to lore that I recall. There again lore can change at a drop of ink.
Leonides02
Maid
Maid
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:08 am

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Leonides02 »

You know, I'm sorry the changedance is no longer necessary. I thought that was such a neat, unique, and very [i:3qfp0fbg]pagan[/i:3qfp0fbg] feature of the goddess. I think I'll keep it in my game. :)
User avatar
Irennan
Champion
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:13 pm
Location: Italy

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Irennan »

[quote="Leonides02":3k1sbxid]You know, I'm sorry the changedance is no longer necessary. I thought that was such a neat, unique, and very [i:3k1sbxid]pagan[/i:3k1sbxid] feature of the goddess. I think I'll keep it in my game. :)[/quote:3k1sbxid]

No longer necessary, but not necessarily abolished. The fact that it is no longer necessary is good IMO, because that means that Eilistraee can now more easily bond with males too, while those who want it (be it for personal reasons, or in order to feel closer to Eilistraee) can still undergo the changedance. It leaves more room to choice, which really fits Eilistraee, since she's so big on freedom of expression.
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
User avatar
Irennan
Champion
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:13 pm
Location: Italy

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Irennan »

More news about Eilistraee (and all the drow pantheon) coming soon with the Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. According to Jeremy Crawford, one of the authors, the book will include in-depth info on all the drow pantheon. Now I'm actually excited to see this (despite his over-emphasizing Drizzt in the first part of the video, he says: "The book goes into a lot of depth about the drow pantheon" at about 6:35).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgP6JnWh4Ig&feature=youtu.be
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
User avatar
Irennan
Champion
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:13 pm
Location: Italy

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Irennan »

Also, Jeremy Crawford's confirmation (I was going to ask him, but someone preceded me):

https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/sta ... 2083945472

Eilistraee will get a nice section just for her, so will the rest (the Vulkoor mentioned in the tweet is the main god of the drow in Eberron).
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
Bhaern Quel
Demigod
Posts: 2103
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:32 pm

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Bhaern Quel »

Change Dance a Blessing?

It might be a take away, however I would not hope for much. The book clearly is multi-verse and by such nature offers everything and nothing. What works in Grey Hawk does not always work in Forgotten Realms.
User avatar
Irennan
Champion
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:13 pm
Location: Italy

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Irennan »

Bhaern Quel wrote:Change Dance a Blessing?

It might be a take away, however I would not hope for much. The book clearly is multi-verse and by such nature offers everything and nothing. What works in Grey Hawk does not always work in Forgotten Realms.
The ChangeDance has never really been implemented by WotC as published lore. It's only Ed's lore, and he has now clarified that in the current era the ChangeDance is no longer needed, and only optional. I find that new divine blessing quite interesting, tho.

Yes, the book is Multiverse, but they explicitly said that it will include sections regarding each race in the various worlds. The fact that he said in-depth info also makes me think that each deity will receive at least a decent amount of into. As for me, I'm only happy that new D&D/FR fans will get to Eilistraee and how wonderful she is, and that we'll get some updates (and that she's now established as part of the 5e pantheon, without much risk of getting forgotten and swept away, or that her return will be revised).

Besides, FR is now their core world, so there's also that.
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
User avatar
Shir'le E. Illios
High Priestess
High Priestess
Posts: 2352
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:51 pm
Location: Eilistraee.com
Contact:

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Shir'le E. Illios »

Sounds like it could be quite promising. Thank you. :)

And it does sound like this blessing is something separate from the Change Dance, but quite interesting.


Love -x-x-x-

Shir'le
F'sarn natha tithaur wun l'su'aco.

-= Shir'le E. Illios =-
Chosen of Eilistraee
User avatar
Irennan
Champion
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:13 pm
Location: Italy

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Irennan »

I've noticed 1 particular thing. That is, in their new lore, the drow weren't cursed. When all the elves lost their connection to Arvandor and lost their shapeshifting abilities, they were crystallized into w/e form they were wearing (or into w/e form was their favorite), that means that the drow have always looked like drow ever since they lost their shapeshifting ability.

I honestly welcome this change, even tho I don't like seeing previous lore being disregarded like this. The idea of a such a curse has always been incredibly lame IMHO, and--most importantly--that BS about brown elves (that has never had anything to do with Eilistraee and cheapened all that she stands for) has now been entirely and unmistakably retconned into oblivion.
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
User avatar
Irennan
Champion
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:13 pm
Location: Italy

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Irennan »

Some news by Ed, about Qilué, the Promenade, and the new temple in Waterdeep (called the "Dancing Haven").

First, Qilué is confirmed as a Weave Ghost now, like her "dead" sisters Dove and Syluné. A Weave Ghost is a soul of a chosen who resides in the Weave, waiting for Mystra to create a new body. A chosen is bound to go through this process at some point in their life, be it by violent death or not. In fact, chosen are known to change their bodies because they can be worn out by all the magical energies they're exposed to: when this happens, they "shed" their old body and their soul rests in the Weave while Mystra prepares a new one. It's kinda creepy, if you ask me, but it is what it is. While they're Weave Ghosts, chosen can still interact with people, talk to them, or even temporarily manifest, but only from dedicated items or places (like altars). Dove and Syluné do this with Laeral in Death Masks.

Ed tells us that Qilué is largely removed from mortal affairs (for now), but she still speaks through altars and the likes (which is the final confirmation that her soul survived).

As for the Promenade, it has been quietly reclaimed and repopulated since the return of Eilistraée. Right now, the Promenade has only a dozen priestesses, four novices, and nine lay guardians (warriors who venerate the Dark Dancer above all, and obey the priestesses). The priestess in daily charge, Trelasarra Zuind, has taken no formal title indicating that she’s the supreme cleric of the Promenade yet, and the temple remains a secret to most who don’t worship Eilistraée before all others, though there are (conflicting) rumors about its refounding in Skullport.

Finally, the Dancing Haven was meant to be created in the Field Ward, but due to chaotic developments, it was moved to the Northern Ward. It's "a grove of trees" that "exists in the roofless shell of an existing building in North Ward". It "has served as a base for expeditions to cleanse, rebuild, and resupply the Promenade". The Dancing Haven is currently a sister temple to the Promenade, providing the Eilistraeens with a foothold both on the surface of Waterdeep, and in the Underdark.

I updated the various pages about Eilistraee, her followers, and her temples on the Wiki, and added a page about the new temple: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki ... cing_Haven

Source: Death Masks, and Ed's answer: https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1 ... 0543811585
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
User avatar
Shir'le E. Illios
High Priestess
High Priestess
Posts: 2352
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:51 pm
Location: Eilistraee.com
Contact:

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Shir'le E. Illios »

Thank Irennan. That's quite informative.


Love -x-x-x-

Shir'le
F'sarn natha tithaur wun l'su'aco.

-= Shir'le E. Illios =-
Chosen of Eilistraee
User avatar
Irennan
Champion
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:13 pm
Location: Italy

Re: Eilistraee LIVES!

Post by Irennan »

More info about a Weaveghost here: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Weaveghost
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
Post Reply