#[Official] Half-Elves

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

half galleon
half galleon
inland belfry
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For example -- OBSERVE <creature> As you closely observe <target> you ponder years of rejection and consider taking out all your frustrations on the sorry creature. Seems like a legitimate time to maybe reconsider the lore behind and applicable to half-elves. I reject the description of half-elves on the main wiki page...

gritty rose
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As mentioned before in other areas, we're doing a bit of a reshuffle/reorg and half-elves will have a named guru here soon. Until then, definitely fine to brainstorm ideas and desires, but I wanted to let you know why you may not get any firm responses right away.

inland belfry
gritty rose
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Excitation is good! And these are good suggestions, so keep 'em coming.

fleet solstice
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I just wish it wasn't a FIRM human/elf to be a half/elf. 😦 Opalina is going to continue to be halfling elf forever! raises fist

half galleon
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But its a sylvan elf, right?

queen fractal
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Yeah. Along with this, their cultural options of ‘pariah’ are pretty wildly determinative.

inland belfry
fossil vine
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The 'pariah of' has long since been removed in game (fortunately) and the play.net documentation is a wee bit... out of date. But yeah, harsh.

inland belfry
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Will relegate it back to the recesses of my forgotten memories… 🙂

nova venture
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Yes, please don't rely on play.net docs as up-to-date.

queen fractal
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It was on the wiki like that too

torn orchid
sly rain
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I didn't realize Gyres is our guru! I demand extensive custom messaging for all verbs!

fossil vine
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It was juuuust announced.

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I have extensive feelings about half-elves.

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And I do like to write things. I'll expound on some of my thoughts once I'm no longer at day job, but I also absolutely invite all the conversation about the current state of half-elves and what people would like to see.

inland belfry
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Hi Gyres! I’m glad to hear it’s you and you’re interested in moving half-elves forward.

toxic canopy
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Gyres is fantastic and I look forward to everything they do with half-elves.

fossil vine
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Pardon the wall of text to come, but I figure it will probably be good to share where I'm at on the half-elf spectrum and where I currently plan to focus my attention.

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Half-elves sit at a crossroads between established peoples and a multitude of existing cultures. They are the 'child of two worlds' stereotype embodied. Theirs is a liminal space full of potential and opportunity, but lore to date has arguably lingered overmuch on their status as 'obligate outcasts' of nearly all of the cultures to which they have access.

My current perspective on half-elves is that I am, broadly speaking, fine with the baked-in angst and struggle we have in existing lore as a literary device, as challenge and conflict and obstacles to overcome do a lot to foster engaging character growth and give motivations for attitudes and actions. There are probably places in existing lore where some clarifications and rephrasing can be done to be a little less overtly problematic, and I'm going to be looking over everything we have published with an eye to better organization and any thoughtful edits that seem appropriate. Emphasis on thoughtful - I absolutely do not want to erode the long established foundation for many of our characters' motivations and backstories. By and large, I believe we can build on the shoulders of what has come before.

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As part of that building, I absolutely do want half-elves to have more tools in our toolkit than angst and fear and anger in response to racism. The avenues for portraying a half-elf that don't lean heavily on tragedy and rejection are few and far between, and I'd like to grow our opportunities for positive half-elf portrayals.

So my current plan is to focus on ways I can help to bring us positive paths forward with new lore, verbs and human/elf cultural verb access, and other things that celebrate our hybrid vigor, our access to a vast array of cultural options, and how the blending of those make the half-elf umbrella a large and exciting sandbox within which to build our fantasy castles.

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I'm mixing metaphors like mad here, but I hope you get me. :D

inland belfry
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I'll take some time to digest what you've written above Gyres. But my immediate reaction is I like this direction a lot.

fierce rapids
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OH DAMN HOW DID I MISS THIS!

Congrats to half-elves and Gyres. tada glassypinkheart cheers

fossil vine
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And thank you folks for your kind words and welcome. I honestly expected "Who's that?" since I spend most of my time quietly in the dev basement cranking out words, not up front with the staff who do events and storylines and answer referrals.

fierce rapids
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(Gyres made weaving and every crafter/barbie has a shrine to them for it 🌸 🍃 emerald )

fossil vine
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Weavables were taken over and expanded beautifully by loving hands. I only started that snowball rolling downhill. (But yay!)

pastel tulip
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I like all of this. Maybe a way to embrace both worlds and perhaps to take in facets of it? There’s also the hope factor. People do drive off the positivity and the like. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Cheers to you and best of luck!

sly rain
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I'd be interested in seeing how a half-elf's lifespan affects them. Assuming that most half-elfs live around humans, would a longer lifespan make it easier for them to accumulate wealth? Might it give them a privileged role as a "wise-person" in a community? Does it just creep everyone out? Etc

meager void
sly rain
pastel tulip
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Based on the lore, it would seem they have a tough time most places.

half galleon
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There's many that would have been driven off by the Nations, too. That is kind of changing, Afterall Dunrith Malwind the Baron of Vornavis is a 1/2 elf.

fleet solstice
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So is there room in here for halfling elfs?

fossil vine
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I'm not going to outright tell you you can't say the non-elf portion of your character's genetic heritage is whatever you want it to be, but I'm not planning to open that deep can of worms at the moment.

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I think I got that double negative right.

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Someone may have pointed it out already, but if I recall correctly, the Solhaven alchemist is described as a halfling-elf mix.

fleet solstice
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Beams thank you! I don't need anything special I am just happy with acceptance ☺ 😊

fossil vine
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While half-elves have so far been rather explicitly defined as human-and-elf mixes in documentation, if you want to wiggle with that for RP and funsies, you do you. And go hang with Darbo and talk shop.

meager void
sly rain
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I suppose I didnt ever see Chaston's Edict as being a deal breaker for hathlyn in the empire since it was a restriction on owning land/business. How many everyday people own land or businesses in the empire anyway? Obviously, the existence of a law like that suggests that plenty of unofficial discrimination exists as well. Either way, I think it's great it was finally rescinded, and of course my character does as well. Yipsy proudly wears her commemorative pin and will gladly accept any gifts of land from humans who want to make ammends

fossil vine
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Now I need to go listen to Rise Against's 'Prayer of the Refugee'. Lyrics are topical.

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Though Disparity by Design is moreso, that's the one I was thinking of with the line 'is this a handout undeserved or a just reparation'.

pastel tulip
haughty inlet
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Is the other half of Half-Elves required to be human, or could it be a bit human adjacent? Specifically thinking about Erithian.

fierce rapids
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#1057369876613832734 message

sly rain
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I think you could pretty reasonably get away with half-giantman or half-erinthian (thinning hair 😉 ). Quarter-krol, too. People might call you on it if you tried one of the tiny races or the one with actual wings, but it's not like they could prove anything.

haughty inlet
swift walrus
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Not reading much on the officials these days, so i just found this. Thanks for you thoughts on where your looking to go with half elves. They have needed some attention for a long time.

gritty rose
sly rain
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How about a "Hathlyn" postname title?

fossil vine
sly rain
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Thanks!

inland belfry
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Any interesting half-elf related things on the horizon? 🙂

fossil vine
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Stuff and things I'm not at liberty to discuss yet. >_>

haughty inlet
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Guess we'll just have to be angsty and emo until then.

fossil vine
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Fortunately, you have a lot of practice.

storm compass
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There apparently is an easter egg in the recent rolton document!
https://gswiki.play.net/Roltons,_Wools,_and_Cheese_of_the_Land

Bred for its long hair and hardy constitution, the piebald koza is a mid-sized goat with a shaggy coat streaked with light and dark colors, usually a base of white or cream striped with grey and black or shades of brown. Its ears are long and floppy and its nose convex, and its horns grow long and lyre-shaped with a twist. The koza is oft seen in the company of small caravans of half-elf traders and entertainers that call themselves the Vanadre Chiras, where it can be found pulling their carts in addition to providing fleece for spinning a fine and durable yarn.
Milk Product: Tiralza or "traveler's cheese"``````Tiralza (or traveler's cheese) is a tangy combination of fresh cream and soft, crumbly cheese, the mild flavors often mixed with garlic, wild onions, and/or herbs, then finished with a dusting of cinnamon. The herbs infused into tiralza vary by preference, although bird's foot and fennel are common. A staple among the Vanadre Chiras caravans, tiralza is served alongside leavened flatbreads and spice-heavy sauces.
Common flavorings: garlic and wild onion```
fossil vine
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Oh hey, how did that get there.

sly rain
drifting ivy
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Half elf funerary rites preview: Found a half elf corpse. Just let nature take its course, unless it’s like in a high traffic area and sticks or something. Then like a trash heap or something.
In Imperial lands: bleed out the Halthyn first in case any doomsday devices need powering.
New Ta’Faendryl: Just leave the bassinet outside of the Wards. A Deathworm will be by to pick it up shortly.

inland belfry
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I was so excited to see a new post here.

fossil vine
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That'll teach you.

inland belfry
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Anything we should be holding our breath for Gyres? Besides stuff and things you're still not at liberty to discuss yet?

fossil vine
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I mean, I don't advise ever holding one's breath for anything, that's a great way to turn blue.

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We're half-elves, not half-krol.

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There's a number of things specifically for half-elves in various stages of in-the-works, though. The snippets above that Shan pointed out in the rolton doc are a hint of something I'm working on.

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I'm not a hype machine sort, though, and I don't have a timeline. I'm actively working on giving half-elves more positive ways to express themselves and fit themselves into the world at large, though.

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I mean, I lied, I have an internal timeline, but it's not a release schedule, it's more an accountability thing and it's padded to give me room for my other responsibilities. 😆

inland belfry
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<I decided my offer to be a hype machine was inconsistent with being an angsty and emo half-elf, and didn't want it to feel like pressure, so deleted it> ... still stoked though.

fossil vine
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I very much hope that what I'm working on and have ideas for is in line with your interests, over time. And I am extremely interested in your (general you) thoughts and ruminations on where you'd like to see half-elves developed. I have a list of my own ideas, and a list of things I've pulled from player inquiries and musing, but more thoughts are more inspiration and potential for future nifty.

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I also don't want to dominate this space with my voice. There's generous space for a number of POVs, given how many vectors one can half-elf from. So I'ma go back to breathing quietly in the darkness and watching. Always watching.

inland belfry
drifting ivy
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I think half-elves should be cowboys

sly rain
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Yipsy has a cowboy hat in her locker but I'm not going to spend the money on a mount. Rolton was incredibly tempting, though

drifting ivy
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Cowboys evolved from Spanish cowboys who evolved from knights.

swift walrus
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I could see a group of half-elves as gypsies

sly rain
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That word has fallen out of favor as many members of that ethnic group consider it a slur, but there are definitely references to half-elves forming wandering communities. Even in the CHEESE document quoted above!

drifting ivy
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Yes, I'd rather cowboys

drifting ivy
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I have one of those unofficial documents that we hope someday might get picked up as an official document that I'm drafting about Half-elven free horse companies during the Hochstib's Fit.

sly rain
drifting ivy
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We can put our dead in the still?

sly rain
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Thank you Gyres, Vanah and Thandiwe for all the cool new BOWs

inland belfry
lean zealot
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The 5 human options have been opened up to half elves to choose to use, and the BOW BLEND and BOW CLASH have been introduced for half elves

inland belfry
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Neato.

fleet solstice
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ewww I want halfling bows..

gritty rose
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This is the half-elf folder. I’m sure the halfling guru would welcome ideas for more halfling bows!
But there’s nothing ew about half-elves getting some good RP love

fleet solstice
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Halfling- elf is still half elf 💙

sage pier
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I have enjoyed the new half elf verb additions. My favorite is the "blend" bow for my tehir half-elf hybrid. My compliments to everyone bringing that about.

lean zealot
fleet solstice
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All the half-elf new stuff ya'll are doing is amazing. Thank you for your hard work.

gritty rose
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[Update] Evashir Culture Available to Half-elves
The Evashiran culture is now available to half-elves, and they have been granted a one-time culture reset. This will be visible the next time you log in on your half-elf.

It will look like: You see GameMaster Xynwen the River Rat. She appears to be a Half-Elf from Evashir.

For more information on this culture released last year, see the wiki at https://gswiki.play.net/Evashir

gritty rose
inland belfry
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<edit, I see this document was released last year, and the announcement is re: making it an accessible cultural location for half-elves> Any chance this forum could drop the 5:00 cooldown, please?

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I thought I would also check in and see, is Gyres still the half-elf guru, with all the changes in staff?

gritty rose
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Yep! They are!

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They cheerfully approved this cultural addition too and are overall just an awesome cheerleader for half-elf stuff.

inland belfry
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Love it. I thought there had been some guru changes for other races, so happy to hear it. Excited to see what the new year brings for half-elves.

fossil vine
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Meee too.

nova venture
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We love half-elves, yes, we do. We love half-elves, how 'bout you?

sly rain
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What a good-looking race

inland belfry
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Anything percolating on the half-elf verb front, by any chance?

fossil vine
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There are verb-related things on my list. Are there things in particular you'd like to see? I'll make that an open question, can extend beyond verbs off into the stratosphere.

sly rain
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I was just thinking... What if there was something to entice half-elves to the EN? How about a speakeasy-style inn/tavern where we could hang out? (with a node, of course)

inland belfry
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All the existing verbs are pretty… rough. Thanks Gyres!

image0.jpg
fossil vine
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Yeah, there's been some discussion about that in particular and it's on my list. I don't want to remove options from people but cowering and fidgeting doesn't have to be a thing specific to half-elves.

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'abused' should not be a defining trait of a people.

inland belfry
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I should ask… as a half-elf, how come my “culture” is a city? Ta’Ardenai? Couldn’t I just be an Ardenai Half-Elf?

fossil vine
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I think the presumption when that phrasing was decided on way back when, and please take this as general vague recollection and logical progression rather than word of god since I wasn't a GM when that was implemented, was that if you were recognizable as from that culture, you probably grew up or spent significant time in/around the regional heart of the culture.

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(btw I'm running out the door so don't blink if I don't respond for a while!)

inland belfry
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Interesting. Now that more lore is out about the Ardenai (exciting), I wonder if this might get a look too?

nova venture
sly rain
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Is there a speakeasy with a node?

nova venture
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There is a bar with tables

gritty rose
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"Ta'<insert elf>" is representative not just of the city itself but the surrounding areas. So being of that culture means typically that you would have spent time in and around the nation of Ta'Ardenai even if you didn't live within the city itself.

inland belfry
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Got it. So there are Ardenai elves, but there can’t be Ardenai Half-Elves, from a lore consistency perspective?

gritty rose
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It's just worded differently for half-elves vs elves from a "coded into the system" perspective is all.

sly rain
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Oh! How about some lore about the HALF-ELVEN invoker? The most famous half-elf in all the lands

inland belfry
gritty rose
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I'm guessing we have people who RP both ways, including with their half-elves.

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An Ardenai elf could be reworded to be an elf of Ta'Ardenai and to me that doesn't change it much.

wheat latch
fossil vine
sly rain
subtle holly
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(and then perform it at the Carnivale Concert during Revelia Carnivale in July!)

nova venture
sly rain
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Oh good

inland belfry
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Lovely: #849: Cupping your hand before your lips, you issue a whistle that is reminiscent of a lark's trill and call upon the forces of nature to aid you. The scent of loam, that lush fragrance that is the promise of rain, rises on the air as you cast [spell name]. [Race: Half-Elf] [All Spells]

half galleon
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🙂

fleet solstice
fossil vine
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The menace of polymorph potions grows.

eager crater
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I posted rectently in the dark elf folder about issues with half-elves from Evashir not having culturally appropirate manna bread. It also seems that when you pierce your ears, you have rounded ears, instead of slender tips, like an elf or dark elf. I bugged these things, but I just want to put a 'heads up' to anyone else who might look to play a half-elf from Evashir in the future, until they fix things, you'll have more human features, which I am not really happy about. Also you have to select it after you make your character (which is apparently a thing because of what Thandiwe wrote below! but if you're wondering how to select the culture, it's after you make your character.)

half galleon
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There are a lot of cultures simply not accessible from the character manager do to its antiquity. I'm glad you bugged the other things though so that someone can look into it.

eager crater
half galleon
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It really depends. I know I have some pending changes in that system, so that is probably what is holding up any bug fixes.

eager crater
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Gotcha, thanks for responding! I really appreciate it. 🙂

half galleon
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Please note, I still can't change the website.

fossil vine