Elf Magic Jewellery

Roll Play: Knoxville's Adult Board Gamers

No. 131 South Central Street was once in the heart of the Bowery, that district of saloons and pool halls and gambling dens where lonely men risked their lives cheating at poker or craps. Organized Play, the most recent of several dozen businesses that have occupied this building, is a shop that deals mainly in board games. They sell adventure comic books and cards on the side, as well as the snacks these games require: powdered donuts, Oreos, Snickers, and in a refrigerated case, a spectrum of soda pops. For those so out of touch we didn’t know that there are about a dozen stylistically different versions of Batman, the store itself is pretty fascinating. There are board games you’ve never heard of, some of which delve into ancient Roman history or World War II strategy, and are plausibly educational. One of the biggest sellers is Hero Clix, miniatures of outrageous post-Darwinian mutants arranged almost as if in a jewelry case near the cash register. They’re used to recruit combative armies in a game.

One recent Saturday drew about 25 people to the store. None of them are actually shopping. In the front window is a table at which six men are seated around a portly and languorous black-and-white cat who seems oblivious to the proceedings. You hate to eavesdrop, but as you pore over comic books, you can’t help overhearing dialogue in stilted, almost Elizabethan tones: “Give me your word that you will stop the demon,” says one. Then, “She wishes to go with you. Avenge her, if you will.”

Ask politely, and you may be relieved to discover they’re playing a role-playing game called Witch Hunter, set in an alternative-universe 17th century. Several of these gentlemen seated around the table look like the sorts who might have been perfectly at home on the Bowery in 1890. They seem to defer to a tall, thin fellow in a black fedora. He’s a Witch Hunter celebrity. Jeffrey Witthauer has some national cred in this esoteric world; he’s one of the writers of the ever-evolving game.

Organized Play has become a small mecca for gamers, some of whom come from out of state just to play here. About the only one here who’s not playing today is Morgan Hardy. He first opened the store a couple of years ago on Cumberland Avenue, near Gay, but outgrew the space, and several months ago moved into the Old City, where a hungry gamer can still find a full meal at 3 a.m. Hardy makes some money, he says, even though players don’t pay to participate, and on certain occasions, like Free RPG Day, he actually gives away merchandise. Hardy makes his money back in snacks. “I can sell $150-$200 just in sodas,” he says. He has applied for a beer license.

Elfs, an introduction

Elfs are magical creatures of nature, especially connected with the sylvan woods.  The idea and cultural image of elves is diverse to a remarkable degree, and there is clearly no ONE cultural authority on their image.  I think Gygax does a good job sketching the basis cultural view of elfs, and it is worthwhile to use his characterization as a jumping off point: Elfs are the longest-lived and slowest developing race of demi-humans.  The average elf won't reach breeding age until he/she turns 100 and will live at least 1000 years before dying of old age.  The fact that elfs live and breed slowly defines the foundations of their racial behavior.  As a rule, elfs want to be left alone to enjoy their version of the good life. Elfs derive their power and longevity by close association with the mana-rich substances of the natural world: the sun, the wind, the water, and the trees and plants of nature.  Elfs do not have an astral body, and thus, never have psionic powers.  This makes them 90% immune to charm and sleep spells, and they save at +2 versus psionic blast attacks.  As wild creatures of the woods themselves, elfs have a special affinity for wild animals.  They are known to train birds for various purposes, including giant eagles, giant owls, and other birds of prey, as guardians of their lairs, and as messengers.  They are also known to employ certain feline and canine species, which appear to be fully domesticated by them, known as the elven dog (Cooshee) and the Elfen Cat.    Elf females are known to associate with the unicorns that find their home in the magical forests.  Elf magic derives from their close association with the spirits of nature.   Like human druids and shamans, they reverence the natural forces and become gifted in tapping their power.  Earth magic, air magic, and water magic are their specialties.  Those gifted with these powers rise up to leadership positions in elf society, and are considered the elf equivalent of clerics.  Elfs are also gifted in harnessing the magic of the trees and plants to produce various potions.  The potions are the basis of what little trade the elfs engage in with the outside world.  Living communally and largely unconcerned with treasure, elfs will trade primarily for metal and magical items.

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