Melnoboneans and Elves

Byronic

First Post
I've decided to replace Tieflings with Melniboneans in my campaign. However, this leaves me with a worry, are Melniboneans too much like Eladrin?
 

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I think so but I'm not sure if I could really say that for certain.

Eladrin are Blood Elves and Tieflings are Draenai. I hope that helps ; )

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Well, I'm curious, how are they alike? I mean Eladrin miss the whole corruption theme. They're also not outsiders and didn't get kicked out of anything.

I don't see any real connection between Tieflins and Draenai, please explain?
 

While its mostly visuals and marketing I actually do see similarities.

The Tieflings and Draenai as both 'outsiders' of a sort. Another world, another plane - same difference in the end. Each is made special by their respective backstories.

No corruption amoung the Eladrin? Perhaps but they do seem to focus on magic and I definitely get the impression of that same 'we're better and more evolved then the lot of you' feeling.

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I've decided to replace Tieflings with Melniboneans in my campaign. However, this leaves me with a worry, are Melniboneans too much like Eladrin?
The Melniboneans took the 'slot' in the Elrc fiction of elves and were similar to them. In D&D they would be like fusing the Drow and Eladrin together. Also some feel the parallels between the Melniboneans and the 4e Teiflings are not coincidental.
the Melnibonéans, are not human, resembling instead the elves of legend — skilled with magic and beautiful, though psychologically based upon cats, leading to a callous nature. They are bound by many ancient customs.

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The Melnibonéans are a humanoid race, but their psychological distance from humans is stressed throughout the series. With the exception of Elric, they lack a moral sense. Their actions are determined by tradition and by the search for pleasure and new sensations. Meerclar, Lord of the Cats, compares the Imrryrian nature to the nature of his own kind in their sophistication and their love of cruelty and pleasure. Torture of slaves and prisoners is a common amusement. The otherness of the Melnibonéans is manifest in their aesthetics. They naturally prefer a mix of colors and elaborate, baroque decoration and architecture. The tall spires of Imrryr are every color of the rainbow.

Their self-centered ways are held in check by rigid adherence to tradition. The society is devoted to elaborate rituals that few Imrryrians have the courage to ignore.
 


I think Eladrin are a blend of high elves and the Vadhagh from another Moorcock series, the Books of Corum. Vadhagh originally came from another world, have the ability to move out of synch with reality (which manifests as invisibility) and all seem to be nobles who rule over very little.

Melniboneans are like Eladrin, yes, but this is D&D. You can never have too many elves.
 

I've decided to replace Tieflings with Melniboneans in my campaign. However, this leaves me with a worry, are Melniboneans too much like Eladrin?

I like the idea. It seems as though you would probably want the melniboneans occupying the socialogical position of the Tieflings, and with the same ability modifiers, but probably some different other racial abilities - the fire resistance and tiefling wrath don't seem to be an obvious fit, for instance.
 

Personally I intend to keep the Tieflings, tone down the appearance a bit and play them like the Melniboneans. They are the decadent nobility of the fallen empire whose ruins litter the world. Occasionally one might rouse themselves from their sensation induced reverie long enough to take notice of what mere mortals are doing with "their" world.
 

If you read the books of Corum closely, and then read the Elric books... the Melniboneans are the Vadagh, decadent and corrupted by tens of thousands of years of contact with Chaos.
 

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