Alternate elves

Elves, everybody loves them (or not), everybody uses them. The basic D&D elves are very LotR-y, and being awkward I decided to do something different with them and not to have them as a playable race in my setting.

So elves in my (as yet unnamed setting) are physically typical elves; tall, slender, very long-lived etc. Their hair, eyes, skin etc subtly changes colour depending on the seasons and their surroundings, so over time an elf which lives in the desert will find his/her colouration washing out to bleached/sandy shades, an elf that lives in the mountains will turn pale shades of grey.

An elf which lives in one place for long enough continues to change (as their skin petrifies, turns to sand etc) and eventually is unable to leave the place they live, losing their personality and identity and becoming a nature spirit (nymph, sylph as appropriate).

Most elves consider this a curse and as a result rarely settle in one place but some become tired of life and accept the change.

Elves don't age and can only die through physical violence. They are very selfish and fickle, have no interest in other races for the most part. They will have been the dominant race at one point but have suffered a fall (basically stolen wholesale from the 40k eldar, but who cares right?). Magic items, ruins and other cool stuff came from them. They are super-fertile and able (and being degenerate bastards, willing) to breed with pretty much anything, giving me an excuse to put in some other races such as beastmen (yeah, Warhammer again).

I was intending to create half-elf variations for all the other races, but sitting down to it it seems slightly ridiculous and unnecessary, so if a player requests it I will, otherwise they just exist as occasional NPCs.

Random Hexes and Magical Background Effects Table

Well, the first real post was originally going to be some models but after reading this (the hex part, obv) on D&DWPS I was inspired modify the table for my own use. I added some weird landscape features and some high magic areas that can mess with magic users. Of course then I had to do a magic effect table.

Intro

This blog is going to be a way of showcasing my painting and modelling, both for D&D and 40k, along with anything else I fancy painting.

On top of that I'm going to post my ideas on D&D in the hope that someone will find some ideas and inspiration they can use in their own games in the way I have from amazing blogs such as Monsters and Manuals, Wampus Country and D&DWPS.

I'd never played an RPG until recently when I persuaded my girlfriend and sister to play LL with me GMing. We're playing through Keep on the Borderlands as written as a practice for all of us, both players running 2 characters which I pregenned for them. Even playing the module warts and all it's great fun, and I can't wait until we can start playing the setting I'm creating.

My setting is going to be fairly "generic fantasy" with a few changes, with the intention of leaving it open enough to expand once I've more experience as a GM. The whole thing will be very relaxed as to what is introduced, I'm not interested in realism, this is just about having fun with friends and family, giant laser-nippled flying cows and all!