Last-Minute Primer for Elves and Elementalists.

[Halaster]

Below is a last minute primer with some further explanation and tips about the changes to mages and city elves:


Gemmed Mages

The gemmed mages of Allanak have had some serious up's and down's over the past few decades leaving them in a peculiar position in society.  Half of the population still looks down on them, distrusts them, even outright hating them by some.  The other half of the population's view has eased-up and they have come to accept them as useful tools, members of society and even 'people'. Regardless of where a person falls on that spectrum however, it's unlikely they would ever forget or ignore that a mage is VERY dangerous.  What this means is that there's a whole spectrum of opinions on them, covering most anything you can think of.  There may be citizens who hate them so badly they want to murder them at every opportunity.  There may be a family who's eldest son manifested and while conflicted, they still love him and support him.  There may be people who just have no real opinion either way, as it doesn't much affect them.  This all boils down to the stance that however you want your character to treat gemmed mages is up to you.  You will not "get in trouble" for whatever opinion your character has with them.  You will not be "going against documentation" by befriending a gemmed.

We do hope that you play out the complicated nature of these relationships.  Maybe your childhood friend turned out to be a gemmed, and you think that's weird and frightening, but you come to accept it because they're your best friend.

All of the above is especially true, and even enhanced by a gemmed mage being a member of one of the city's temple.  A "temple mage", as they're sometimes referred to, are often viewed by the public as having a sort of seal of approval on them by the city.  The temples heavily cooperate with the authorities, often have some relationship with noble houses, and are looked on as very law-abiding, obedient organizations.  So a member of those groups are more highly viewed than a gemmed who doesn't belong to one of them.  It's not unheard of for "temple mage" to get preferential treatment when trying to hire on with certain groups, particularly those of a higher class.  Note:  this isn't to say you cannot play a temple mage who is disobedient and is not law-abiding, just know that you'll have IC consequences if you're caught.

Rogue mages, which are those that typically live outside the city and do not wear a gem, are still generally viewed very negatively by the population of Allanak.  They are seen as wild, untamed by the Highlord, and typically captured to be gemmed by the templarate, or if that's not possible, killed.  Non-citizens of Allanak generally don't view rogue mages so negatively.  In fact, most all peoples outside of Allanak view the gemmed as puppets of the city-state, and with the except of perhaps the Two Moons elves, will treated gemmed mages worse than non-gemmed.

Note:  Sorcerers, nilazis, and mindbenders are still considered total scum by most all peoples.


City Elves

With City Elves it's a similar situation OOC'ly, but with some differences In-Character.  We haven't retcon'd the past, elves were treated like they're all thieves, by the rest of the population.  But the Elven Market opened up a few decades ago which provided a greater interface between elves and the rest of the city.  It became clear that elves could be great warriors, merchants, bards or anything in between, just like everyone else.  They still have a culture rather different from those of humans and dwarves, they still have those oddball "elven ways".  But everyone viewing them all as thieves is a relic of the past.

Your character can still view them as all thieves, as stereotypes like that are hard to shake.  Or you can see them more positively if you choose.  As with gemmed, however your character handles it, you will be "within the documentation".


Conclusion

One of our main goals with these changes is to allow players to have more complex relationships with the 'outcast' groups of Allanak.  You absolutely can still suffer IC consequences for your actions.  If you're a Rennik noble servant who has an affair with a gemmed elf, and you get caught, you will -very- likely lose your job or whatever may come of it.  Or if you're just generally "Really friendly" with city elves as a human, there will likely still be an element of society that considers that a black mark against you. But you will not get in trouble with staff.