From: Psychedelic Goblin To: wfrp@gojira.monsta.com Subject: WFRP: Wood Elven Culture The following material is written for use by all. A following section details Wood elves as they exist in my campaign and can be discarded as desired. - Psychedelic Goblin WOOD ELVEN CULTURE ================== THE COMMUNITY Wood elven settlements are communities in the truest sense of the word. Every member is expected to contribute to the overall welfare of the community and to pull their own weight. the weight pulling ethic is all too figurative, because the arts and entertainments are seen as just as important as any craft. Everyone must provide something for the community, because there is no inter-settlement trading or use of coin. In cases where an elf is unable to help for valid reasons (such as being badly wounded) he can rely upon the community to support him. No one really wants for anything in the elven community providing they contribute in some fashion. Even elven meals tend to be communal feasts. RELATIONSHIPS & MARRIAGE Elves are very liberally minded regarding relationships, and often have multiple lovers and relationships of varying lengths and intensity at any one time. Still, very occassionally a couple will become lovestruck and form a marriage bond for as long as they both reciprocate the love. While not bisexual in the true sense of the word, many elves can appreciate beauty in members of their own sex (a fact that dwarves find disgusting). PREGNANCY & BIRTH Unfortunately, elven pregnancies are increasingly rare, due perhaps to their inbreeding. This has led to many separate elven settlements arranging joint festivals for 1 week each spring, and some exchange of community members. Many of the elven pregnancies are conceived during this period, and bonds between the communities have increased as a result. Elven females are pregnant for 1 year but the pregnancy does not impede them for the first 6 months. Birth is viewed as a great cause for rejoice in the community as a new member is welcomed. Elven mates share the pain of childbirth through a ritual known by the head spell caster of the community. CHILD REARING Elven children are reared by the community as a whole and taught and nurtured from the beggining. Of course they have a special bond with their birth parent but they become close friends with most of the other settlement adults as well. Elven children are expected to assist in the rearing of children younger than them, and aid adults with minor tasks and chores. Elves take great delight in the young and let them explore their environment and play providing the activity is not too dangerous. DEATH Death is seen as a natural part in the cycle of life for an elf. It is not marked by mourning because the elves know they are blessed with long lifespans. Festivals are held to honour the deceased and tales are told in his memory. The elves bury their dead at the base of the deceaseds favoured tree. However, this is slowly changing and sorrow is creeping into their rites of passing, for the elven race is dying, and each death brings them closer to the end... RULERSHIP As an enlightened culture the wood elves no longer hold to the right of blood rulership. Elven communities approach their decisions in a democratic manner, with each adult elf holding 1 vote. In addition the settlements have councils to govern in times of emergency or to cast the decisive vote in a tied poll. Council members are voted into their position by their fellow elves on merit of wisdom, intellect, and experience. those that act in a foolish or arbitrary manner are voted out and forced to resign. Councils typically include a very varied group of specialists to represent the various factors of elevn society i.e. an experienced war leader, a mage, a cleric or two, an artisan, an entertainer etc. The council also acts as a legal body and passes judgement on any elven criminals. The elven nobility are not part of any bloodline either, they are members of a supreme council that make decisions affecting all of wood elven kind, and are elected from the various smaller councils. CRIME & JUSTICE Wood Elves judge each crime on an individual 'case by case' basis. Elven justice is fair and wise, and the accused is allowed a hearing to prove his innocence or justify his act. The council only passes judgement after hearing all of the facts. Minor crimes (petty theft etc.) may receive a warning first off but repeat offenders are punished (being prevented from attending a festival is common). Major crimes (short of murder or rape) result in immediate banishment. The most evil crimes mean immediate execution, with the body being cremated, and thus prevented from nourishing the earth. RELIGION Gone are the days when elves had power over the gods, but their attitude reflects their greater understanding of this cosmic beings. Elves are aware that these powerful beings still have limitations. the elven relationship with their deities is much closer to brotherly respect than outright worship. The wood elves follow 5 primary gods: Adamnan na Brionha, Liadriel, Meneloth, Karnos and Sho 'sarrah. MAGIC Magic is seen as an integral part of the elven culture and it is not viewed with the same superstition that less enlighteneed folk see it. To the elves it is just another tool, albeit a powerful one. many elves aspire to become spell casters but only the most gifted and humble are ever accepted. Elven traditions of magic are ancient indeed, but they no longer wield the great power they used to. The spell caster has great responsibilities to the community depending on thier area of expertise. Illusionists are responsible for magical defence and entertaining. Elementalists and clerics of Sho 'sarrah are responsible for defenses and provisioning. Clerics of Adamnan are great warriors, and thus responsible for defense. Clerics of Liadriel are responsible for festivities etc... DEFENSE & WAR As an isolationist culture, the elves take the defense of their homes very seriously. They have multiple layers of defense. being a good and cerebral folk they perfer the arts of misdirection and guile over the vulgar use of brute force. They use illusion magic and carefully crafted areas to lead their opponents away. if this fails they have cunning and well hidden traps (usually non-lethal, but becoming deadlier closer to the settlement). On the physical front they have posts and patrols of sentinels to give early warning of danger, or use darts coated with sleeping sap to drug accidental trespassers and dump them at the forests edge. The wood elven military is the 'Red Branch', a crack guerilla force. If the enemy is deliberately hostile or a natural enemy the Red branch or wardancers are called in, depending on the threat level. Being small in number, and good in alignment, the wood elves very rarely make war. HUNTING & FORAGING Hunting and foraging are the lifeblood of the settlement. foragers operate on a much more constant basis than most elven hunters, and set out every day to collect food for the community, be it tubers, plants, fruits, nuts, grubs, insects, fishing etc. The hunters leave the community twice a week and return with enough meat for the entire settlement. Wood elves try and use as much of a kill as possible (the hide for clothing, bones for needles & carving, meat for food, offal for the community hounds etc.). Wood elves only stockpile food in the winter, and keep a small cache for emergencies. elven hunters avoid the use of poison and trapping as unecessarily cruel. They avoid killing juveniles or pregnant females. ELVEN FOOD & DIET Elves, like the other races, are onmivores and see it as perfectly natural to eat meat. Obviously some do turm to a vegetarian diet but these are by no means the majority, and the subject is an area of lively debate. The primary difference between the elven consumption of meat and that of the other races is quantity. Elves only eat meat on a semi-regular basis, as a supplement to their primarily vegetarian diet. Elven cooking is regarded as an artform, and great pains are taken in preparation and presentation. typical elven ingredients include: nuts, berries, friut, tubers, herbs, mushrooms, truffles, wild garlic, wild fowl, boar, freshwater fish, venison, wild honey, fresh spring water and fruit juice, fruit wine and fruit brandy. They avoid eating eggs, seeing it in much the same light as consuming 'period' or foetus. Elven food tends to be lightly cooked, fresh, and infused with herbs. a typical meal might consist of fresh nut bread, lightly cooked and flavoured mushrooms with wild garlic, a small amount of tender meat, a delicate soup, a crisped sliced tuber, served with a cool cup of friut wine or water. Elven sweets favour fresh or baked fruit served with light nut pastries and friut syrup. It is worth noting that elven meals are never served in the great quantities that other races are used to. ARTS & CRAFTS the elven culture places great empthasis on the arts and crafts as a source of great beauty, creation and individual expression. most evenings feature some kind of performance or display by the communities artists and entertainers. The elves see the arts as expanding the mind and imagination, and the arts are evident in every part of their lives. Even the most mundane item will be tastefully embellished. Obviously the elves favour natural materials for their arts, and have produced breath taking creations out of wood, stone, amber etc. FESTIVALS Among their own, elves are a gregarious people, fond of the pleasures in life. Elven festivals are held under every new moon and feature great feasts, dancing, singing, entertainers etc. These festivals have no real religious significance but the elves also hold festivals on days special to their gods, as a token of respect. OUTCASTS No matter how good ahome is no one can guarantee a child will feel at home. The lure of the unknown lures the elven curious elven young away from the settlements at an increasing rate. Some grow sick of the static life and leave in search of adventure as a self imposed outcast. Others grow too wild for the community and leave to enter the outside world or end up accepted into the wardancers. Other 'aberrants' (those few who commit crimes) are forced to leave and the worst of these end up as outlaws. the numbers of younger elves leaving the settlements is very low (perhaps 1 in 100) but is slowly and inexorably growing. Whether an outcast is ever accepted back or not depends very much on the circumstance of his exile. Outcasts face a varied reaction in the outside world. areas of greater education may view him as a simple curiosity, but elves face bigotry in many rural areas where the people have been raised on ghost stories about elves (they steals babies they do...), or have conflicted with the elves over woodland resources... BASIC CAREERS ============== WARRIOR 01-05 Militia 06-10 Outlaw 11-75 Red Branch warrior 76-00 Sentinel RANGER 01-15 Beastfriend 16-55 Forager 56-70 Forest Runner ( career created by Garett Lepper) 71-00 Hunter ROGUE 01-50 Entertainer 51-75 Minstrel 76-95 Talecrafter 96-00 Thief ACADEMIC 01-10 Artisans App 11-25 Artists App 26-45 Herbalist 46-50 Hypnotist 51-65 Inceptor 66-75 Initiate 76-85 Seer 86-00 Wizards App Notes: Elves do not use carts. remove the drive cart skill in all cases. There aren't any roads to their settlements. Horses are also unusual. Those basic careers noted in the above tables but not covered below, are basically unchanged. trappings and exits are not listed to give the GM the ability to fit them in his campaign. >Artisans App the wood elves are famed for their fine eye for detail and delicate craftsmanship. Although the magic users in the community can craft wood magically they are far from being as talented. The wood elven artisans treat their craft as an artform, and meld beauty and functionality to perfection. skills: replace all with 1 craft skill, and 1 art skill associated with that craft. >Artists App Many young elves apprentice themselves to recognised masters, but all are expected to express their individuality in their work. All artwork in wood elven society is public and presented for all to admire. I+10 W+1 Dex+20 skills: 1 art skill (at +20%) >Entertainer The forms of entertainment in wood elven culture are: Actor - the elves love great plays Poet - elven poetry is eloquent, detailed and highly structured. much like japanese Haiku. Comic - elven humour tends to be high brow, subtle and cryptic. Singer - elves have lilting voices and the songs sang in their native tongue are truly beautiful. Dancer - elves prefer elaborate troupe dances, and the wardancers excel at them. Musician - the most popular wood elven instruments are flutes, piccolos, tambours. only the Minstrels play stringed instruments such as the lute, mandolin, or lyre. >Forager Foragers are the main food providers in an elven community along with the hunters. They are if anything more important because they provide the bulk of the food the community eats. They tend to operate in pairs, and can be ingenius in the places they find food. They are very much at home in the wild. W+1 I+10 Dex+10 Skills: Fish Forage Herb Lore Identify Plants Orientation Scale sheer Surface >Forest Runner ( a career created by Garett Lepper) Elven communities are spread out throughout the forests. To mantain communication , every elven outpost and community relies upon a network of messengers. These forest runners carry messages back and forth. Warnings of danger, fire, invasion, summoning healers, and all other purposes. their roles are similar to that of the town criers in the cities. These typically nimble young elves play an important part in keeping elven safety and solidarity strong. M+1 WS+10 W+2 I+20 Ld+10 Cl+10 Skills: Conceal Rural Dodge Blow Flee! Fleet Footed Follow Trail Orientation Silent Move Rural >Herbalist The elven herbalists are famed healers and responsible for the physical well being of the communities. skills: remove both Secret langs. >Hunter The elven hunters are among the best bowmen in existence, and revel in the freedom of the chase. In times of war they make great archers. the hunt is one of the few times an elfs primal instincts are allowed to surface. skills: remove Immunity to Poison, but add Fleet Footed and Marksmanship. > Hypnotist Elven hypnotists do not perform for entertainment or amusement. They are responsible for the mental health of the community. They train hard so they do not need a focus object, their gaze alone is strong enough. trappings: remove silver charm >Inceptor While the wood elven communities have no universities they do have tutoring classes that any elf of any age is welcome to attend. Due to their love of learning, many elves do learn at least 1 knowledge skill, but some make learning their full time passion. These dedicated learners are the Inceptors. W+1 I+10 Int+20 Cl+10 Fel+10 Skills: Read/Write 1 of the following and 50% for each of the others: Astronomy Extra language History Identify Plants >Militia The wood elven militia is only a very small force, intended as a last ditch defense, should the Red Branch and Wardancers fall. As a result of this 99% never see action. Skills: Disarm Dodge Blow Strike Mighty Blow Strike to Stun >Red Branch Warrior The Red Branch are the wood elven military and are very different than the military of other races. Being fewer in number, but greater in intellect the Red Branch are the masters of guerilla warfare and small unit tactics. They rely on spped, mobility and surprise to beat forces with superior numbers. They are lethal in thie home environment but still able warriors elsewhere. WS+10 BS+10 T+1 W+2 I+10 A+1 Ld+10 CL+10 skills: Concealment Rural Disarm Dodge Blow Scale Sheer Surface Silent Move Rural Street fighter Strike Mighty Blow Strike to Stun Sign Lang - Elven Warrior >Sentinel The sentinel is in essence a wood elven watchman and guard whose concern is not the actions of his fellow elves but those of outsiders. Sentinels keep an eye on the forest and watch for the approach of any unknowns. most have stationary posts that they share with Forest Runners, but some are involved in active patrolling. They communicate by neans of highly complex bird and animal calls that they mimic to perfection. Messages can be relayed in this manner via a network of sentinels to a settlement very quickly. For messages between settlements the Forest Runners are dispatched. Sentinels often deal with accidental trespassers by drugging them with poisoned darts (sleeping sap) and dumping them at the forests edge. WS+10 BS+10 T+1 W+2 I+10 Dex+10 Cl+10 Skills: Acute Hearing Concealment Rural Dodge Blow Follow Trail Mimic Orientation Scale Sheer Surface SW-Blowpipe Silent Move Rural Secret Signs - Sentinel Calls >Talecrafter Talecrafters hold a position nearly as esteemed as the minstrel in the wood elven society. Their domains are the great elven epics and parables and they entertain their listeners with great vocal performance and emotive speech. far from being hopeless retellers of tales they are famed for their ability to weave tales almost instantly on any subject. WS+10 BS+10 W+2 I+20 Int+10 Fel+20 Skills: Charm Etiquette History Public Speaking Storytelling >Thief Thieves are true aberrants in wood elf society, but a very few elves find the lure of excitement too great to control. The elven thief steals for the thrill and cares little for what he steals. The items they choose are due to challenge level not value. Needless to say, operating in such small communities they are quickly caught. If they persist after a warning they may be exiled... Exiled elven thieves sometimes plague rural areas or make their way to the city where they have to adapt to the strange urban setting and contend with or join the local guild. There are no thieves guilds in the wood elven settlements. Skills: Concealment Rural Pick Pocket ADVANCED CAREERS ================ >Artisan skills: 1 Craft(with +10%) 1 Art (associated with the craft) Magical Sense Read/Write Scroll lore >Artist W+2 I+10 Dex+40 Int+10 WP+10 Fel+10 Skills: Art (with additional +20%) another Art Magical Sense >Councillor Elven councillors have a great responsibility to their community as they make all emergency decisions, act as mediators in disputes, and act the the legal body. W+2 I+20 Ld+30 Int+40 Cl+20 WP+30 Fel+20 skills: Charm Etiquette History Public Speaking Read/Write Speak Additional Lang. >Healer The elven healer can be best thought of as an advanced herbalist or a holistic physician. All of their remedies and ingredients are woodland based, and they are much more humane than most human physicians. T+1 W+2 I+20 Dex+30 Ld+10 Int+30 Cl+20 WP+20 Fel+20 skills: Cure Disease Heal Wounds Herb Lore Identify Plant Immunity to Disease Manufacture Drugs Surgery >Outlaw Chief remains unchanged >Red Branch Unit Leader/Commando The experienced Red Branch warriors go on to become unit leaders of the standard Red Branch, or commandoes who are given the most dangerous missions and operate on thier own or in pairs, and often act as scouts. Unit Leader WS+20 BS+20 S+1 T+1 W+4 I+20 A+1 Dex+10 Ld+20 Int+10 Cl+20 WP+10 Fel+10 Skills: as Warrior but add 'Strike to Injure' Commando WS+20 BS+20 S+1 T+1 W+4 I+20 A+1 Dex+10 Ld+10 Int+10 Cl+20 WP+10 Skills:As warrior plus Follow Trail Shadowing Flee! Orientation Strike to Injure >Red Branch Warlord These are the leaders and organisers of the Red branch military. WS+30 BS+30 S+2 T+2 W+6 I+30 A+2 Dex+10 Ld+30 Int+20 Cl+30 WP+10 Fel+20 skills: As unit leader but add Tactics >Savant Savants are the wood elven tutors and scholars. W+2 I+20 Dex+10 Ld+10 Int+40 Cl+10 WP+30 Fel+20 skills: Arcane Lang. Magick Astronomy Cartography Extra Language History Identify Plants Linguistics Magic Sense Read/Write Rune Lore 50% each additional Identify skill. >Sentinel Patrol Leader WS+20 BS+20 S+1 T+1 W+4 I+20 A+1 Dex+20 Ld+10 Int+10 Cl+20 WP+10 Skills: as sentinel but add Disarm, Marksmanship and Strike to Stun >Sentinel Captian WS+20 BS+30 S+2 T+2 W+6 I+30 A+2 Dex+30 Ld+20 Int+20 Cl+30 WP+10 Fel+10 skills: as patrol leader but add Strike to Injure and Strike Mighty Blow >Wardancer (modified) The wardancer is a powerful combination of warrior and graceful dancer. They are the shock troops of the wood elven communities, and are viewed as bizarre by their counterparts. they live in groups called toops led by a powerful wardancer and cleric of Adamnan, called the 'Dance Master'. Their favourite tactic is to approach their enemy unnoticed, surround them, and launch a lethal attack. The wardancer relies not on strength and power, but on speed, accuracy and their powerful skills. No wardancer would wear anything but the lightest armour, and many wear none, believing that it shows cowardice, and noting that it impairs their grace and manouverability. Some have even been known to enter combat 'skyclad'. M+1 WS+40 BS+20 S+1 T+2 W+6 I+30 Dex+20 Cl+30 Fel+10 skills: Acrobatics Ambidextrous Concealment Rural Dance Distract Dodge Blow Marksmanship - Thrown only SW - Fist Strike Mighty blow Silent Move Rural Street Fighter Strike to Injure Transfix Warchant Whirling Death NOTE: the Dance Master is simply a Wardancer that has taken all of the skills and advances and progressed to become a cleric of Adamnan. >Wizard the wizard, elementalist and illusionist remain unchanged. MAGICK ====== ARTEFACTS The rules: Dead Wood 1) Magically crafted dead wood items do not count as enchanted 2) Dead wood items are flammable 3) Dead wood items float 4) Wooden armour subtracts 1 point of damage if the total damage is 6 or less. If it takes a blow of more than 7 damage it breaks. 5) Unhardened wooden shields count as unrimmed 6) If a wooden object comes into heavy contact with metal or stone, it breaks if the total damage is greater than 7. This includes contact with metal armour. 7) The druidic spell 'Disintigrate Wood' destroys wooden items, even if they are magically crafted. 8) As noted in the spells, wooden items weigh 50% of a comparable metal one. For weapons that rely on bludgeoning reduce the damage by -1. Living Wood - as per dead wood, but with the following changes... 1) Living wood is less flammable 2) living wood is more flexible 3) It requires exposure to natural daylight for at least 2 hrs a day 4) it must be watered every 3 days ( 1pint per 10 enc) 5)It must be in contact with soil at least 1hr every 3 days. 6) Living wood grows tiny leaves/flowers as it ages (GMs discretion) 7) Living wood can repair itself at the rate of 1damage point per 2 days. If an living wood item is broken or destroyed it cannot regenerate. It cannot regenerate fire damage. The following items are constructed of magically crafted wood. The use of 'hardened' and 'crafted' in this article refers to magical hardening and crafting. It also includes a short note at the end on wooden items and the outcast elf. >Ch 'nakan Ch 'nakan (elven warclaws) are a favourite weapon of the elven wardancers and Caraidh (beastfriends). They are made of magically 'crafted' and 'hardened' wood, bone or horn, and consist of five 3" long claws attached to a glove. If a combatant using ch 'nakan gets in close enough to her opponent she can prohibit them the effective of larger weapons such as swords. Init: - , To Hit: - ,Dam:-1, Parry:-10, Enc:3 each, Cost: 1gc >Emerald Weave Emerald weave is a beautiful 'cloth' fashioned from living plant material. It is a fine weave of very fine tendrils and has the colour and sheen of leaves or grass. It is smooth, supple, and used for the very best wood elven clothing. It changes colour with the seasons (green in spring and summer, fire colours in autumn) but 'dies' in winter. When it dies it is returned to the soil and will not regenerate. It is gone. Emerald weave is extremely detailed and 'crafted', so much so that it costs 27MP just to 'craft' it! An emerald weave tunic would cost 30MP to create. Also double the creation times for it. As it is crafted from grass and fine vines it often grows tiny leaves and flowers in the spring and summer, adding to it's visual appeal for wood elves. If emerald weave is ever 'hardened' it offers the same protection as leather but has the encumbrance of the article of clothing. Wardancers favour 'hardened' emerald weave as armour, on the rare occasions they wear armour. It is far from common. >Iar 'ehn Iar 'ehn is the 'hardened' wooden plate mail.The wood itself comes from a tree that has been struck by lightning. The plate armour provides 1AP of protection on all locations, immunity to lightning attacks, and is not flammable.It looks like finely crafted wooden plate mail but has a slight black tint. It is too noisy for effective silent movement. Iar 'ehn is very exceptional, is only worn by the greatest elven heroes, and requires a long exhaustive and very MP intensive ritual. Only a dozen or so sets are known to exist. The wood must come from a tree that has been struck by naturally ocuring lightning. No spells can be involved. the wooden plate is crafted by hand before the ritual. Iar 'ehn is deadwood armour. >L'asro L'asro is a living plant weave hood and sleeved coat with leaves growing all over its outer surface. It provides excellent camouflage in the woodland environment (+20% to all concealment tests) but rustles when the wearer is in motion (+20% to opposing listen tests). It is worn by the wood elven sentinels. It requires the same 'crafting' MP costs as emerald weave. >Shi 'all The shi 'all is a 'hardened' wood shortsword, with a leaf shaped blade 1'6" long and 5" wide. All wardancers receive a pair of shi 'all upon initiation and take great pride in them. rules: as hand weapon, enc: 40, cost: 12gc >Teg 'nas This is a short (3' long) 'hardened' warspear used by the wardancers. Despite its length it is fairly heavy which adds weight to its impact. The wardancers usually carry one on their back and lob it at opponents prior to entering melee. The wardancers bring them to hand while approaching the enemy, so they do not have to perform acrobatic maneuvers with them. Dam: as spear, S: 4, L: 8, Ex: 20, Load: 1 Enc: 35, Cost: 30/ Wooden items and the outcast elf... Wood elves who turn their backs on their society are never allowed to take anything but the most basic and mundane of the magically 'crafted' and 'hardened' wooden items. At most they may have a 'hardened' shortsword and shield, and these are just the equivalent of the metal versions (but flammable). They are never allowed to leave with any living wood items, as they are regarded as 'too irresponsible' (they are going adventuring after all). If they aren't careful their items will break, as even metal ones do. in these cases they have to turn to metal goods, because they can't go back to the woods and ask for replacements. SPELLS The following spells are known to Wood elven elementalists and clerics of Sho 'sarrah. These spells are regarded as sacred and only the most deserving of non elves will ever be allowed to learn them. Heal Plant Spell Level: Ele 1 MP: varies Range: touch Duration: permanent Ingred: a handful of sap This spell allows the user to cure plants of diseases, heal cuts in bark and wood, and repair broken wooden items. It costs 3MP per point of damage to heal or repair a living plant. It costs 6MP per point of damage to repair a broken wooden item. To cure a plant of disease it cost 3MP for a shrub or bush, 6MP for a small tree, and 12MP for a large tree. this spell cannot heal/repair that which has been totally destroyed. Sleeping Sap level: El 2 MP: 3 per dose Range: Touch duration: the sap has a 10% cumulative chance per week of spoiling Ingrediants: some pollen This spell infuses the sap of any plant with sleep inducing qualities. The sap must be produced/tapped from a living plant, and ingested, or enter through a wound to have any effect. the target must roll vs. T or pass out for d3 hours. even if the roll is made the target is still drowsy (penalties of -1/-10% to all characteristics) for d8+4, minus T hours. It costs double the MP to produce a thicker sap, suitable for weapons, arrows etc. This spell can be cast on living wood items. Shape the Fallen Branch level: El 2 MP: varies Range: Touch Duration: permanent Ingredients: a small stone blade Creation Time: 1 day per 5 enc. This spell allows the caster to shape dead wood into any form he desires. There are several restrictions to this: 1) the wood cannot gain or loose mass (but a smaller piece of wood can be crafted out of a larger) 2)The item made is still made of wood and has it's attributes, burns, same T etc.) 3) Wood objects only weigh half as much as comparable metal ones. obvious exceptions to this are staves, clubs, spears, arrows, bows etc. The wooden weight should be factored in before MP cost is calculated. The MP cost varies on the changes in detail and the size of the object. Cost of Size:3MP per 10enc (round up) Cost of Detail (per 10 enc): 3MP to smooth or polish 6MP to create sharp edges or points 9MP for fine detail such as runes 18MP for heavy detail such as a finely detailed woodland scene. example: to create 2 smooth, sharp, wooden daggers costs 12MP. Craft the Living Green level: El 3 MP:varies Range:Touch Duration: permanent Ingredients: small stone blade This spell is identical in all respects to the 2nd level spell 'Shape the Fallen Branch' but works on living plants. Triple the crafting time. Harden the Fallen Branch level: 3 MP: varies range:touch Duration: permanent ingredients: a small flame hardening time: 1 day per 5 enc This spell allows the caster to harden any dead wood to the strength of steel. It can be cast on crafted wooden objects. it effectively removes the breakage penalties of wooden objects, makes wooden shield count as rimmed, and makes wooden armour the equal of metal (1AP per location, vs. all attacks). Unfortunately the wooden objects are still flammable, and the object gains in weight to equal the usual full enc. value. MP cost: 3MP per 10enc (round up) of wooden weight. example: a wooden sword costs 9MP to harden. Harden the Living Green level: El 4 MP: varies range: touch duration: permanent ingredients: a small flame this spell operates as the 3rd level spell 'Harden the Fallen Branch' but works on living plants. Double the hardening time. Example of creation: It requires 45MP and 12 days to magically craft and harden a dead wood sword.