One of the things I found unsettling was the fate of Alfheim. Destroying Alfheim is one thing, but what happened to the Alfheim Elves is another. I never liked what happened there and it led me to persue several different theories.
My first idea was to have Doriath establish a new elven kindgom in Athruagin. This kingdom, Doria, would be Doriaths new project for his path to immortality, which is hinted at in Gaz5. There is a writeup that I did for Doria athttp://dnd.starflung.com/doria.html
Then I had second thoughs about making such a serious alteration to an already defined Known World country, even if it was "just" Athruagin. So, I launched the idea of relocating Doria to the Adri Varma Plateau. Afterall, some of the elves (according to canon) travelled north to Wendar. Perhaps, instead of settling in that realm, they would found a new country of their own along the borders of their Wendar cousins?
Not entirely happy with that idea either, I am now considering a third option. This one will be even closer to canon: Resetling Alfheim in Karameikos. Originally, I didnt like this idea because it means destroying much of the Frontier feel of Karameikos. But then again, any country must develope, and this seems like the natural continuation of King Stefans project for modernizing this country.
One of the things I didnt like about the way canon dealt with the Alfheim refugees was that it split them into two groups. One travelling north to Wendar and the other south to Karameikos. I would have much preferred to keep them as one group so that most of the society descrived in Gaz 5 could be preserved. The way I am solving this is that in this scenario, the first group (3 clans...which ones?) enters Karameikos during WotI. The second group does indeed travel north, but eventually decides to join up with their fellows in Karameikos at a later point.
The problem with settling in the woodlands of Karameikos is ofcourse that they are heavily infested with evil nasties. Although it is painful to imagine the destruction of the things I have already developed for that region, it makes for quite an interesting campaign. Keep that word in mind. Campaign. Driving the evils out of Dymrak is going to take time. Time and blood.
The fact that only half of the Alfheim elves arrive in Karameikos at first isnt making the job easier. They will need help from any young adventurer they can find (Read: Major Adventure Hook)! OTOH, before the arrival of the elves, Karameikans will have little or no chance of getting rid of the evils of Dymrak. This gives them a chance to make a serious blow against the Unseelie court and the other evils residing within Karameikos.
In order to purge the forest of its evils, the elves will need to ally with Vyalians aswell as the Karameikan nobility. Also, convincing the Seer and Oberons servants that this is the time to strike back at the Hags of Dymrak would be a good idea. Like I said this could be an interesting campaign. Once things are in motion, the arrival of the Alfheim Elves from Wendar will be a welcome sight.
Still, getting rid of all evils is never possible. Some will escape, hiding in unexplored parts of the forest, or resettiling in other parts of the wilderness.
But then there is the reward. Karameikos will be a better place. The Alfheim Elves will have a new home. Also, perhaps Ilsundal will be pleased and manage to relocate the lost Trees of Life to Dymrak.
What do you think?
Havard
Anyways, a technical question: Is there enough space at the Dymrak for the whole Alfheim population?
Originally posted by Lost Woodrake
Well, I kinda liked the idea that the elves are split. Maybe it's my Jewish heritage, with concepts such as Exile and Diaspora being deeply rooted in my cultural consciousness... ;)
Anyways, a technical question: Is there enough space at the Dymrak for the whole Alfheim population?
I think the Shadow Elves fit better with the Excile/Diaspora/Lost Homeland concepts. Also, this doesnt work well for me because there are lots of other elven homelands, like Wendar. OTOH, what I presented is just an option.
As for room, someone mentioned to me that Alfheim always had a really low population. I cant remember the exact number right now, but I don't think it would be much of a problem. The population may also have been reduced due to deaths and scatterings during and after WotI, but I would like to see all clans represented in Dymrak.
I also see a great potential for conflict between the Dymrak Elves and the Karameikos Crown in the years following the Conquest of Dymrak, since the elves may have felt that King Stefan was using them, both as a buffer zone against Thyatis and as a way of getting rid of the nasties of the Karameikan wilderness.
Havard