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iNtROOUCtlONMany folk think that the Shadow Elvesare but a legend. They know better inAlfheim. The elves of that forested landwere forced to ally with Darokin to putdown shadow elf infiltration and aplanned invasion just over three centuriesin the past. To an elf, that's not even halfa lifetime. Humans ignore the whisperedstories and rumors, but the elves knowbetter. Now their subterranean cousinsare preparing for another invasion — andthis time they may well be successful.

HI7G CJazetteenThis Gazetteer describes the land of theShadow Elves in the D&D® game'sKnown World; its geography, peoples,and history. In this package you'll findthe following:

* this 64-page DM's Guide to theshadow elf lands, including adventureoutlines;

* a 32-page Players' Guide to theshadow elves, including many new skillsand rules for shadow elf shamans and fullguidance on creating shadow elf playercharacters;

* a full-color, fold-out map sheetshowing the shadow elf lands in full de-tail and in relation to the major land-marks of the surface lands above them;

* a three-panel inside cover showingdetails of the City of the Stars, the majorsettlement of the shadow elves, and theTemple of Rafiel within it.

USINQ Ojis QazetteenIf you haven't used a Gazetteer before,you're going to enjoy this one. If youhave, you're going to enjoy it too, butyou're going to find GAZ 13 significantlydifferent from its predecessors in someimportant ways.

In the Players' Guide there are severalmajor sections. The history of the shadowelves is followed by a brief resume of theirlands and cities. After reading about aday in the life of the shadow elves, thecore of their beliefs and being — the Wayof Rafiel — is laid out for players to digestand understand. This ethos is the heartand soul of a shadow elf. If you have al-

ready read the Players' Guide first as wesuggested, you know this, of course.

Players who have read other Gazet-teers, and/or adventured in other landsof the Known World, will be surprised bywhat they read here. They may well havebeen told that shadow elves are Chaotic,and this alignment is given for them inthe "monster" entry of GAZ 5, The Elvesof Alfheim. That just shows that evenelves will promulgate untruths on occa-sion.

This is not to say that the Players'Guide tells the whole truth and nothingbut the truth. That is the purpose of thisbook, the DM's Guide.

USJNQ XTl7is BookletThis DM's Guide has many of the fea-tures you will expect from a gazetteer ifyou have used one before. It has profilesfor major non-player characters, maps forcities and important locations, some newmonsters and spells and rules and muchelse. But there is something else youshould be aware of from the outset.

Much of the history and backgroundgiven in the Players' Guide is not entirelyaccurate. Quite a bit of it is in fact funda-mentally wrong in very important ways.This is one thing that makes this an unu-sual Gazetteer. Don't be worried aboutthis. After all, other cultures have totallyerroneous views about shadow elves (as a4-page pullout section "What EveryoneKnows About Shadow Elves" in the mid-dle of this booklet shows). Why should itbe surprising that shadow elves — includ-ing PC shadow elves — have some impor-tant misconceptions about themselves?

The important point here is that youhave all the correct information within thisbook. It is revealed piece by piece until yousee the whole picture. The fate of theshadow elves is one of major importance toall races of the Known World. They haveinfiltrated far, far wider than almost anyoneimagines. Who can say where their webs ofintrigue begin and end? %u will be a lotbetter placed to know when you have fin-ished reading this book.

Within this Guide, a first section cov-ers Time and History — the calendar of

the shadow elves, their festivals and spe-cial days, and the correct version of theirhistory. A lengthy section follows on Sha-mans and their Soul Crystals, which givesmore details of the truth of the religiouspath which is so important to these peo-ple. Following chapters lay out the geog-raphy of the shadow elf lands, includingtheir spectacular and eerie City of theStars. "Travel and Vigilance" explainshow to get around these extensive landsand gives a rundown of the powerfulshadow elf army and military patrolswhich so jealously guard the secrets ofshadow elf life. "Flora and Fauna" de-scribes some monsters, the skinwingswhich are such important riding beastsfor the elves, and rounds up some of themore harmless — but important andsometimes bizarre — creatures whichshare the domain of the shadow elves.

Two lengthy chapters, "Among theShadows" and "Shadow Elves in OtherLands," give profiles for many importantpersonalities among the shadow elves.There are also some detailed rules here forhandling the extreme auditory acuity andlight-sensitivity of shadow elves whichyou may need for game play. These chap-ters also suggest important revisionswhich can be introduced into previousGazetteers without disturbing game play.The ways of shadow elves are rarely whatthey seem. Shadow elves are to be foundin all kinds of places where they are un-suspected, often without the need for dis-guise or active pretense.

Of course, given that you will know somany secrets by the end of reading allthis, you will need adventures and adven-ture outlines to put your players to workand get as much fun as possible out ofthis rich gaming setting. \bu want themout in the ever- dark tunnels and warrens,dodging skitterlings and darksnaps,watching the elf-artisans moving tunnelsor soul mining; or maybe you want tosend them out spider hunting or pursu-ing the horrific Boneless, or head theminto a web of intrigue they do not evenbegin to suspect. . . Well, we wouldn'twant to disappoint you. There are adven-ture outlines aplenty. We told you, you'regoing to enjoy this stuff.

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14 VeRSeS Of ttjG R€fUQ€ Of StON€Veuse of tfteBefore the holocaust, I was Rafiel, and Iwatched over my people. I gathered theminto the palm of my hand, and I guidedthem to this refuge of stone. I, Rafiel, willguide you.

of tl}€ Naivte of tf)QSl7at)ow ElvesI am Rafiel, and you are all my shadow.As I move, so you move. As I stand, soyou stand. As I live, so you live. Thusshall you be shadow elves, and I, Rafiel,will guide you.

VeRse of ttye Refuge ofS t O N € , - '.,/• ;.,;.. .

Let all my children learn these words, thewords that guide you and give you life.Daily honor these fourteen verses and I,Rafiel, will guide you. kl

Veuse of tl7G SliaMaN II, Rafiel, mark with my own hand thosewhom I empower. Let all respect be ac-corded these, my chosen servants. They itis who will have the power of life anddeath over you. Follow their teachings,and I, Rafiel, will guide you.

VeRse of tlie CnystalsIn the fullness of time I, Rafiel, will showmy shamans the secrets of the crystals thathave the power of life and death and lifeeverlasting. Guard these crystals care-fully, and I, Rafiel, will guide you.

V e n s e O f B i u t l i . •. . , .-••If any child be born among you that is notwhole, let them be brought before me,and I, Rafiel, will guide their path.

Vense of tl?e WaNbeneusKeep the strength of the shadow elves,and let none who is weak remain amongyou or follow after you. Turn these to me,and I, Rafiel, will guide their path.

VeRse of ttjeHere build before me a city, and a greattemple, and within it offer up to me allgood things, and I, Rafiel, will guideyou. •'-

V€RS€ Of FOOt) aNDCleaNliNessLet your food be pure and clean. Keepalso yourselves pure and white before me,and let not your souls be spotted withwrongdoing against me, and I, Rafiel,will guide you.

Vense Of DaysI will teach my shamans the goodness andbadness of each day. Keep the good daysfast/, and the bad days ne fasti, and I, Ra-fiel, will guide you.

Vense of tfte AuivrpI will send fire against you, to strengthenyou in my own forge. Let every man andwoman among you see battle and I, Ra-fiel, will guide you.

Veuse of tlie KINQ

I will guide my shamans to choose fromamong you a king, who will serve as longas I wish him to serve. Let all my peopleobey this king and I, Rafiel, will guideyou.

VeRse of tl7€ OH7CR PeoplesIf any other peoples desire to live amongyou, let a clan adopt them, and keepthem separate from you lest they offendme, and I, Rafiel, will guide you.

Last VeRse, Xilje VeRse ofPROMISeO BOUNt?

I am Rafiel. If all my children follow myway and the Way of the Shamans, then allgood things will come to them, for I, Ra-fiel, will guide you.

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TIiM€ aND Histouy of tl?e Styabow Elves

The calendar of the shadow elves, like somuch of their life, is closely bound up withtheir religion. The year is divided into 14months each of 24 days. Naturally, eachmonth corresponds to one of the verses ofthe Refuge of Stone. The names of themonths, then, are Gathering, Name, Ref-uge, Stone, Shaman, Crystals, Birth, Wan-derers, Temple, Food, Days, Army, King,Others, and Bounty. A shadow elf might saythat he was born on the third of the Monthof Gathering, for example, or on the lastday of the Month of the King.

yeans aNO DaysThe shadow elves count years from the timeof their discovery of the Refuge of Stone itself(1104 BC). As die beginning of their new lifethis is taken as year 1. Their 14 months of 24days gives a year equal to the Common \ear(12 months of 28 days), so CY 1000 is theyear 2105 in the shadow elf calendar.

There are no weeks within a month, andlikewise days are not given names, onlynumbers. Converting from a surface date toa shadow elf date is not difficult given thatthe first day of Gathering falls, by fortunatecoincidence, on the same day as the first ofNuwmont (first day of the surface calen-dar). As an example, take the 17th of Svift-mont (the fourth surface month). Threepreceding surface months each have 28days, so this is the 101st day of the year (3 x28, + 17). Four complete shadow elfmonths will have passed by this time (4 x 24= 96, less than 101) and it will be the fifthday of the fifth month in the shadow elf cal-endar — the Month of Crystals. Convertingshadow elf dates to surface calendar dates islikewise straightforward if dates (monthand day) are converted into a simple num-ber for the purposes of translation.

Fasti aNt) Ne FastiThroughout the turbulent history of theshadow elves, certain events have been veryfavorable and others have been disastrous!Any happening that seems extraordinary iscarefully recorded by the shamans of Rafiel.The anniversaries of these occasions becomespecial days: fasti and ne fasti.

A fasti day is considered good; it com-memorates some special success or good for-

tune of the shadow elves. A ne fasti dayrecalls some inauspicious moment in his-tory. Both types of days have special rulesconcerning the types of activities that maybe conducted on them.

For example, a fasti day is a good day forconducting official business, getting mar-ried, or being born (many adults do theirbest to conceive children to be born in themonth of Birth, fasti foi births; see below).A ne fasti day is a bad day for any of thesethings, and a shadow elf will go out of hisway to avoid this coming to pass. The sha-mans and the very devout will not conductsuch business on ne fasti days except in dir-est emergency. A fasti day is considered es-pecially lucky for something that relates towhat it commemorates. For example, thedate of the first groundbreaking for theTemple of Rafiel in the City of Stars is a fastiday. Further, that date is thought to be thevery best for beginning new buildings.

Besides the fasti and ne fasti days, certaindays are important in the worship of Rafiel.On many of these dates, grand feasts areheld; others are marked by fasting. On yetothers, worshippers fast most of the day, andthen hold a large celebration, with plenty offood and drink, at the end of the day.

Specific DatesHere is a list for each month of the majorfasti and ne fasti dates, together with anyspecial feasts, celebrations or events held onthose dates.

Gathering 1: The first day of the shadowelf year is actually both fasti and ne fasti,commemorating the date of the Blackmoorholocaust which destroyed the surface.Shadow elves fast all day; no official busi-ness is transacted, but births on this day areconsidered well aspected and a sign of goodfortune.

Name 2: This day is ne fasti, marking a di-sastrous attack of ores against the City ofStars. The onslaught was so great that hob-goblin troops reached the very steps of theTemple of Rafiel before being repulsed. Tensof thousands of shadow elves were slain. Ateight in the "evening," virtually the wholepopulation of the City (save those on guardduty and the like) walks out to stand aroundthe Temple of Rafiel. This huge gatheringstands in eerie, total silence for a few minutesbefore the Radiant Shaman emerges from

the Temple to wave a blessing upon them.The shadow elves break into quiet weepingbefore slowly dispersing to their homes.Many bring a single flower from the memorygourd plant (see p. 38) to cast upon the stepsof the temple, so that by the time the crowdhas gone the steps can be shin-deep in theseexotic white flowers. This simple ceremonyhas a powerful emotional effect on any out-siders watching it!

Refuge 9: This day is fasti, celebratingthe discovery of the Refuge of Stone in thevast cavern that holds the City of the Stars.The day is one of joyous celebration, feast-ing and singing, tempered with dignifieddevotions to Rafiel.

Shaman 2: This day is ne fasti, markingthe date of the destruction of Aengmor,which sank into a sea of lava.

Crystals: This entire month is fasti for be-ginning new excavations of soul crystals. Nomatter when a vein is first discovered, workwill not begin on excavating them until thismonth.

Birth: This entire month is consideredfasti for births. The percentage born withdeformities is very low indeed during thismonth, although the percentage born withthe mark of the shaman is normal. Since thegestation period for shadow elves is 12months, the month is one which arousesdeep and complex emotions in shadowelves. While being anxious and fretfulabout birthing itself, shadow elves fondlyrecall the determination of their efforts toconceive at this time. Many young elves willpair at this time, beginning relationships ormarriages.

Wanderers: The entire Month of Wan-derers is ne fasti. The whole race of shadowelves, in all of their cities, rests from anynon-essential activity. No new buildings arestarted or finished, crops are not planted orharvested (although they will be tended),and travel is kept to a bare minimum. Dur-ing this month, shamans hold round-the-clock vigils in the Temple of Rafiel, withhourly sacrifices to ensure the strength ofthe shadow elf race. Being born during thismonth prevents one from ever becoming anofficer in the army, or building a strong-hold. Shamanic births are also extremelyrare during this month, although if they dotake place this is regarded as great good for-tune, the child destined for pre-eminencein the shamanic hierarchy.

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aND Histony of ttye StyaOow Elves

Wanderers 8: This day is ne fasti and ismarked by total abstinence from food orwater all day. What event could be so dire asto warrant such commemoration by theshadow elves? The day of their rejection bythe elves of Alfheim. The bad luck on thisday is not due to any supposed loss on thepart of the shadow elves — Rafiel will guideand protect them, after all — but rather thedisgrace laid upon the entire race by the sur-face elves' inhospitality and bad mannerstoward their clan brothers.

Temple 14: This day is fasti, marking thelaying of the cornerstone of the Temple ofRafiel. Remodelling of the Temple alwaysbegins on this day. Construction of othertemples in other cities is also begun on thefourteenth day of the Month of the Temple.

Food 16: This day is ne fasti, marking thereturn of the shadow elves' second surfaceparty, which reached the Sun's Anvil in theBroken Lands and concluded that the sur-face was still uninhabitable.

Days 19: This day is ne fasti, marking thereturn of the elves' first surface party. Thisparty found only the red sun, and no livableconditions for shadow elves.

Army 1: The first day of the month isfasti, and is known as Mustering Day amongthe shadow elves. Every adult shadow elf isconsidered a member of the shadow elfarmy. On this day each year, a census istaken of all available soldiers.

King 1: This day is fasti, for it is the birth-day of Tarasfir, the first King of the shadowelves selected by the shamans under theguidance of Rafiel.

King 12: This day is rasti, for it is thebirthday of Telemon, the current King ofthe shadow elves.

Others 15: This day is ne fasti, markingthe outbreak of a plague in Alfmyr whichkilled over 10,000 elves in a matter ofweeks. The plague was brought by a shadowelf who had been in Glantri when it ap-peared there first, and since dwarves wereblamed for the plague in Glantri theshadow elves in turn blame the dwarves forthis terrible misfortune.

Others 22: This day is ne fasti, commemo-rating a shameful day in shadow elf historywhen members of the Felestyr and Celebrylclans quarrelled and fought over ownershipof certain prestigious areas in the City ofStars. Tempers were lost, blood ran hot inveins, and some thousand elves were killed

before shame, shock, and the exhortations ofshamans stopped the insane slaughter. Allcombat is prohibited by the way of Rafiel onthis day. Community leaders and shamans ofthe two clans exchange gifts and greetingsand take a late evening meal together tobreak the fasting of the daytime. They wearbut the simplest and humblest of robes tothis repast, disrobing before shamans toshow that they carry no weapons, and giventhe humble white garments by the shamansafter a ritual blessing and washing theirhands and feet in a little holy water.

Bounty 24: This day is fasti and is cele-brated with great feasts, to look forward tothe promises of Rafiel yet to be fulfilled.The feasts are so ample that they make theprocess of fasting on the following daymuch less onerous!

KeepiNQ tRack of X^IMGIt would seem that the shadow elves wouldhave no special reason to keep track of timeunderground and, in fact, many other un-derground denizens do not keep track. Hu-manoids such as ores sleep when they feellike sleeping, eat when they are hungry, andin general live in a disorganized fashion.Rafiel does not allow this for the shadowelves, and they are careful to obey him.

The temple shamans are in charge ofkeeping track of time, in order to properlyobserve fasti and ne fasti dates. Timekeep-ing is also important for conducting variousceremonies throughout the day at each tem-ple. The principal method of timekeepingis the waterclock. A large soapstone bowl isfilled with water, which drips out over thecourse of the day, through 14 tiny holesdrilled around the bottom of the bowl.

The bowl is further decorated with vari-ous religious icons and inscriptions relatedto the blessings granted by Rafiel. Thesedrawings are inscribed in such a way thatthe level of the water on the drawings showsthe time of day.

The accuracy of these bowls is unbelieva-bly high, and the shadow elves have noneed (or desire) to travel to the surface toknow the time of day. About once every twomonths, the chief shaman of a temple willsynchronize its clock, adjusting the bowl'swater level according to instructions she re-ceives from Rafiel.

HISTORV AS TTHEIMMORTIALS SEE ITT —The history of the shadow elves is a historyof hardship, a tale of tribulations whichmight have destroyed any lesser race. Theshadow elves revel in these hardships, be-lieving that their trials are a test of theirmettle. Weakness is a grave sin.

The shadow elves once lived on the surface,just as all other elves still do today. This was6,000 years ago ("now" is 1000 AC). Overthe next several thousand years, some elves(from the southern continent, now underan icecap) travelled north and colonizedwhat is now Glantri. They lived peacefully,developing their culture and magic, untiltheir lives were suddenly shattered by theGreat Rain of Fire (3000 BC). The planetaryaxis shifted, causing incredible climatic up-heavals. Blackmoor was forever covered inice. The elves in Glantri fled to what is to-day the Broken Lands. They were thendriven underground, for the first time intheir history, to escape the fiery holocaustthat ravaged the surface. Glantri, only a lit-tle later, underwent its own temporary iceage.

Eight hundred years later (2200 BC), sur-face elves fleeing the southern continent ar-rived in Glantri, hoping to find the earlierelven colonists. Instead, they found hu-manoids and hostile humans who blamedthe elves for the Rain of Fire. These elvesdid not find their cousins, most of themfinding only death at the hands of the sav-ages of the Broken Lands. A few were ableto settle, however, and defend some land oftheir own.

The elves underground made the best ofa bad situation in the meantime. They weresylvan folk, so they cultivated the fungusthat grew so abundantly in the nether re-gions and created new forms to suit theirneeds. They had brought seeds and a fewplants with them, and the elvish wizardsamong them worked hard to produce newplants which could survive in the radicallychanged environment the elves foundthemselves in. They feared approaching thesurface and so withstood this way of livingfor as long as they could.

Then the small band travelled back to the

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"CiMe aNO Histouy of ttje srjafcow Elves

surface, cautiously and with great appre-hension. The holocaust seemed to be over,and they settled in Glantri again, in 1950BC. It seems that they did not meet any ofthe elves from the second migration, sincethey were separated by many hostile hu-manoids and human tribes.

This situation did not last. Around 1700BC the other, earlier elven settlers in Glantrifound a strange artifact from the Blackmoorcivilization, in the Broken Lands. They tin-kered with it, and it exploded cataclysmi-cally. Great, impenetrable clouds of smokeand ash rose into the sky and did not dis-perse for years. A dreadful rotting plagueaffected many creatures in the area, withthe ancestors of the shadow elves partly af-fected. When they first felt the explosionand saw the clouds, these elves fled for thecaves below out of instinct and racial mem-ory. This instant flight possibly saved themfrom extinction.

The elves resumed their subterraneanlife, while on the surface other develop-ments took place. Humanoids were migrat-ing to and fro across the land and theBroken Lands themselves were slowly beingsettled. But below, the elves were resigning

themselves to a life of eternal darkness.Their fear of the surface was great.

Yet even in this darkness, there seemed tobe hope. In a very deep cavern below theBroken Lands they found a temple, built ina strange and unfamiliar style and the cen-ter of a community of barbaric humans, theAzcan (somewhat akin to the Aztecs of ourworld). The elves drove the humans out af-ter prolonged battling, occupied the area,and adopted the central religion of the hu-mans. Such a fearful and unfortunate peo-ple were very ready to worship the Immortalto whom this temple was raised, takingtheir discovery of it as a sign that he mightfavor them. Atzanteotl was the Immortal'sname, and around his temple they built agreat city, which they named Aengmor.Construction of the city, which lasted nearly50 years, was ended in 1352 BC.

For a short time the elves seemed fa-vored, but another cataclysm was on theway. The Broken Lands were not fully set-tled from earlier events, and periodic earth-quakes and volcanic eruptions ravaged thisregion. In 1290 BC, a sudden eruptionspewed forth a vast lava stream which sur-rounded Aengmor and trapped the elves.

Many died from toxic fumes or the over-whelming heat, but a fair number escapedthrough the use of magic. The survivorsmoved on to even deeper places, abandon-ing the city of Aengmor forever. They drovedown deep, deep below the surface, on arestless decades-long search for a new home-land.

This was a fortunate decision by theelves. Atzanteotl was evil, beginning to de-mand hideous sacrifices in his unspeakabletemple ceremonies. Indeed, the apparentdestruction of Aengmor was pan of hisplan. Dissatisfied with the low birth rate ofthe elves, he drove them out of Aengmorwithout actually fully destroying the city.Later, more fecund humanoids would dis-cover the ruins of Aengmor and recolonizeit under the bastardized name of Oenkmar.In this way, the Immortal of Entropy gainedmore followers — and more vicious ones —than he would have had with the elves.

FuntfieR iNto tlie DeepSo the exiled elves travelled further under-ground, while on the surface life becamebetter.

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