Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 barnashd Jan 06, 2009 14:52:14	I'm looking for nice details to put in an elven forest I'm building, being inspired by lothlorien from LOTR. I already thought of a city of trees which the elves live in, some glades, druid groves. Any suggestions? I'm really lacking inspiration on this for some reason.
#2 lord_karsus Jan 06, 2009 18:12:17	Trees magically augmented to be unnaturally tall, unnaturally thick, and shaped in all kinds of shapes that trees don't normally grow in. The forest is surrounded by a magical field that puts it in perpetual twilight. The forest has all kinds of wildflowers in pastel colors, that are enchanted to "twinkle" when a breeze moves them.
#3 Tovec Jan 06, 2009 23:30:06	One elven city I have in my game is home to as many aquatic elves as normal ones. It is built around a very small (area) pool of water with a waterfall and of course trees. The way this city is hidden in a valley makes the waterfall and the surrounding lake eerily orange at nearly all times of the day. No magic required. Another one is an elven city built on an island in the middle of the lake. There are some boats to access it but most travel to the city by grand tunnels that go under the lake from the outside to the city's core. Another suggestion is to not have the elven city necessarily about the elves. It could be a landmark enjoyed by all that the elves just happen to control. An example is a city where the the veil between the living and the dead (or between the material plane and the shadowfell) is very thin. This is inspired by Ghostwalk but toned down it can work very simply hidden in the middle of an elven forest. Hope these help.
#4 barnashd Jan 07, 2009 4:48:00	Trees magically augmented to be unnaturally tall, unnaturally thick, and shaped in all kinds of shapes that trees don't normally grow in. The forest is surrounded by a magical field that puts it in perpetual twilight. The forest has all kinds of wildflowers in pastel colors, that are enchanted to "twinkle" when a breeze moves them. It's a shame you didn't say anything about your sig. It seems very helpful!
#5 zahast Jan 07, 2009 7:40:37	You could have giant mangrove trees that have created an entire weave of roots and trapped small pools of water here and there, the whole mass would be dripping with moss. This could make up the floor of your forest for a great amount of its area and be home to tiny well hidden clans or communities of elves, either sheltered deep in the dank, shadowy roots or near glittering ponds trapped by the roots... an area of the forest that has grown over a human settlement from long ago (great place for an undead encounter). It could include a lonely stone tower covered over in moss and listing dangerously. few ideas...
#6 lord_karsus Jan 07, 2009 12:43:02	It's a shame you didn't say anything about your sig. It seems very helpful! -The OP didn't say that he/she is setting his/her city in the Forgotten Realms.
#7 Shiftkitty Jan 07, 2009 14:37:06	I've always made sure each of my woodland elven communities has a "father tree", an ancient tree that is sort of a spiritual landmark. Borrowing from "Elfquest", the tree is sacred because the spirits of dead tribe members sleep in the branches.
#8 yellowdingo Jan 07, 2009 17:34:56	The Bow of Dead Trees These ancient trees are little more than dead trunks with one unique feature. Each has a large Humanoid sized Cocoon like cyst which at some point grew on the Trunk. Within is the remains of a Dryad. The occupants are still there (Dryads with Ghost Template) and will attempt to suck the life from the PCs to raise their trees from the dead.
#9 vforge Jan 07, 2009 18:24:53	Elven cities or communities will often have an aura of magic about them. Yes i know it's a cliche comment but it has a real meaning. In the LOTR the elven cities were locked in a perpetual spring. Elves seem to have a way with nature.(Those darned rings) The high elves lived more in the trees than the wood elves who lived in stone buildings. The general theme was that they were very old places that had remnants of the ancient and the new all woven together. Things that they did build lasted for thousands of years so generations would pass before a single change would be made. Works of art can usually be found in elven cities but they almost always have an important part to play in the lives of the elves themselves. Monuments are almost always active places of worship or remembrance of some person or historical event. Elves have long lives and long memories. Their cities are reflective of their remembered past glories. So i'd suggest that.
#10 Dreamstryder Jan 07, 2009 20:52:05	It's amazing how diluted elfish flavor has become over the years: to the point a tree-city means almost nothing, if anything. The OP's trouble is expected; so many elves have been treated with wan shadows of Lothlorien, losing a little, and not adding anything. Draw attention to the aspects of the woods they inhabit, giving meaning back to the cliché, &/or add things that wouldn't ordinarily be there (like the older civilization's ruins). An old-growth forest is maze-like; giants shoot up from the backs of broken colossi. Perhaps the city is in storeys, each with a gradation of light. The depths are lighted by stars (from where?); ghosts constantly drift like autumn leaves downward thru the crushed layers of a necropolis. Here and there adorned with a great tree (props for the undead dryad!) that never got to be. Twilight is an abyss sailed by dragons who duel and throw their rivals broken to the ruins below. Sunlight smiles upon the elf city above built as gnarled as the grains in the trees' hearts. Another idea is a forest that is also mechanical; the vines coil and branches spin like the parts of a clock to unwind the staircases of a firefly-lighted Lothlorien. Doors open and bells chime to make the blossoms bloom on time. Perhaps that is too weird for what you seek, but elves are known for strange craft.