Good Afternoon, All:
I have always disliked the drow as a villainous race, primarily because they are yet another elven race. I've always felt that a humanoid race should remain the same, despite their culture. After all, humans are still human, with capacities within the same basic parameters of one another, regardless of skin color or place of origin. I figured that I didn't need umpteen species of elf and only one variant of human to choose from. It just didn't make sense to me.
It occurred to me today that I have the perfect replacement for the drow from the Hammersong's Legacy Campaign Setting, the Kelshan. By placing the Kelshani in the underworld, you can tie in to the social conventions many American are raised with. "The Devil dwells in Hell, and Hell lies in the depths of the earth below us." That kind of imagery can be pulled on for powerful effect in a game, if I as a Referee can manage it. The devilish appearance of the Kelshani would also contribute to this underlying imagery, giving the illusion of depth by pulling on these social conventions. Plus, given their write-up, they already worship the King of Demons anyway, so you can still use a lot of the old drow adventure concepts with a minor amount of reskinning anyway.
I may have to do a little rewriting on Hammersong's Legacy to accomodate this change, because the more I think about it, the more I like it. What do you think?
With Regards,
Flynn
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I like this idea. One of the central conceits of the megadungeon in my current campaign setting is that the terrestrial Underworld is connected with the spiritual Underworld (i.e., Hell), and that bad people have a good chance of ending up in the dungeon in one form or another. The rank-and-file evil race (Orcs) is made up of the reincarnated souls of particularly nasty Men.
(There may be analogs from the other playable races as soon as I decide if they have souls.)
I think that's a good idea. Perhaps there a little Tiefling-ish as well--blood-tainted by diabolic forces and all that?
@Trey: I created the Kelshan to allow me to use the Tiefling minis I've gathered over the last few years as part of my WOTC booster packs. :)
Hope This Helps,
Flynn
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