D&D 5E Melora = Eilistraee (in non-canon games)?

[Herobizkit]

Assuming, of course, that you run the game any way you choose, I wonder if Melora (4th edition God/dess of Wilderness and Sea, also one of the FourFree Gods of the Sehanine) would be superseded/absorbed by the return of Eilistraee, or if perhaps Eilistraee would be a facet of Melora?

"Ask your DM" being the obvious answer, but seeing the thread about the FR canonicity (?), makes me wonder what happened to ol' Melora come 5e... thoughts?

 

[Irennan]

Assuming, of course, that you run the game any way you choose, I wonder if Melora (4th edition God/dess of Wilderness and Sea, also one of the FourFree Gods of the Sehanine) would be superseded/absorbed by the return of Eilistraee, or if perhaps Eilistraee would be a facet of Melora?

"Ask your DM" being the obvious answer, but seeing the thread about the FR canonicity (?), makes me wonder what happened to ol' Melora come 5e... thoughts?

To my knowledge, Melora isn't canon in FR. And even if she were, she would have very little in common with Eilistraee, so I don't see why the presence of one should exclude that of the other (also, Eilistraee isn't even part of the Seldarine). Besides, it has been hinted that Eilistraee is rather weakened after her recent return, so I really don't see her trying to absorb another deity (nor would be in character for her to do so)

 

[Staffan]

As far as I know, Eilistraee is a Forgotten Realms-based god - she was introduced in FR's Drow of the Underdark, and wasn't mentioned in any non-FR sourcebooks (except maybe Planescape - but not, for example, Monstrous Mythology which did expand the Drow pantheon with Kiaransalee and Vhaerun). Melora, on the other hand, was part of the generic 4e pantheon, and didn't have anything to do with the Forgotten Realms. Her portfolio was mostly handled by Chauntea, Silvanus, and Umberlee in FR. So I don't see how one would affect the other.

Still, it's your world. You can do what you want. But even so, I don't really see the resemblance between Melora and Eilistraee. Melora is a god of the Wilderness and the Sea. Eilistraee is the god of Song, Beauty, Dance, Swordwork, Hunting, and Moonlight. There's little overlap other than Hunting.

 

[Herobizkit]

You're not wrong, which is why I wondered if Eilistraee may have "absorbed" Melora upon her return.

It's all DM specific, really, which I get. I have plans of playing a Half-Drow follower of Melora, and Eilistraee is an excellent fit for the vision I had for her. In our campaign, the Drow aren't all Evil, just tribal and misplaced and the DM has established that all the elves used to be of one creed.

Also, as an afterthought - maybe the 4e's Wellblade (Hexblade with the Well pact) imprisoned Goddess could be this Eilistraee? That would be amazing, as this character's father is a Wellblade (and also my current PC)!

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I'd also think it's a little...odd, I guess, to have a Drow goddess of the sea, when there is no ocean in the Underdark (at least as I had understood it). At the very least, the sea is a substantially less important aspect of life and living than it is for topside dwellers, I'd imagine.

I suppose you might be able to forge another (tenuous) link between the moon and the sea, since the moon causes tides and such...but Melora really seems to represent the *unpredictable* sea. She's very much Poseidon-like in that sense, more frequently worshiped via appeasement than adoration.

 

[Irennan]

You're not wrong, which is why I wondered if Eilistraee may have "absorbed" Melora upon her return.

It's all DM specific, really, which I get. I have plans of playing a Half-Drow follower of Melora, and Eilistraee is an excellent fit for the vision I had for her. In our campaign, the Drow aren't all Evil, just tribal and misplaced and the DM has established that all the elves used to be of one creed.

Also, as an afterthought - maybe the 4e's Wellblade (Hexblade with the Well pact) imprisoned Goddess could be this Eilistraee? That would be amazing, as this character's father is a Wellblade (and also my current PC)!

There is the possibility that Eilistraee didn't only return, but that she was never gone to begin with, just ''wounded'' and forced to hide (for quite a lot of reasons, but their discussion isn't really on topic with this thread. If you want more: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Eilistraee has been recently updated and has quite a lot of info on Eilistraee and her story). So, she could very well be implemented as the lady of the white well during her apparent absence (except that Eilistraee is Lolth's daughter, not Sehanine's, but you could change that in your campaign), there were even plans to turn Eilistraee into an archfey at the end of 4e, even if those were ultimately scrapped (probably because she was supposed to return in 5e).

 

[EzekielRaiden]

There is the possibility that Eilistraee didn't only return, but that she was never gone to begin with, just ''wounded'' and forced to hide (for quite a lot of reasons, but their discussion isn't really on topic with this thread. If you want more: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Eilistraee has been recently updated and has quite a lot of info on Eilistraee and her story). So, she could very well be implemented as the lady of the white well during her apparent absence (except that Eilistraee is Lolth's daughter, not Sehanine's, but you could change that in your campaign), there were even plans to turn Eilistraee into an archfey at the end of 4e, even if those were ultimately scrapped (probably because she was supposed to return in 5e).

Well, if Corellon is of explicitly indeterminate (or at least non-static) gender, I don't see why Lolth (or Sehanine, I suppose) couldn't be as well. Perhaps Eilistraee IS Lolth's daughter--with Sehanine. Stranger things have happened in D&D pantheons.

 

[Irennan]

Eilistraee is Lolth's and Corellon's daughter, that's why some adjustments would be needed to have the Dark Dancer and the Lady of the White Well as the same ''person''.

Sehanine could be indeterminate, and Lolth the ''mother'' (I can't picture her being indeterminate, with all her despising males and stuff. Even if Eilistraee's birth comes before the whole man-hating phase).

 

[Staffan]

Well, if Corellon is of explicitly indeterminate (or at least non-static) gender, I don't see why Lolth (or Sehanine, I suppose) couldn't be as well. Perhaps Eilistraee IS Lolth's daughter--with Sehanine. Stranger things have happened in D&D pantheons.

Stranger things have happened in "real" pantheons. Odin's horse Sleipnir's mother is Loki, for instance.

 

[Irennan]

Stranger things have happened in "real" pantheons. Odin's horse Sleipnir's mother is Loki, for instance.

Well, the weirdness escalated quickly...