Baelnorn

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Dungeons & Dragons creature
Baelnorn
Alignment	Lawful Good (mainly)
Type	Undead
Source books
First appearance
Image	Wizards.com image

Baelnorn is a fictional undead creature; usually a spellcaster. The term originates in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Baelnorns are elves who have sought undeath to serve their families, communities, or other purposes (usually to see a wrong righted or to achieve a certain magical discovery or deed). They are lich-like creatures that appear as impressive-looking elves with shriveled skin and glowing white eyes. Most are the remnants of the old lords of Cormanthor/Myth Drannor. Most of their appearances in modules, setting books, games, novels and the like are related to the latter as opposed to a random elf who discovered the Baelnorn ritual.

Elves who choose a path of Realms-bound duty beyond death can be turned into baelnorn, and these undead defenders unswervingly protect their clan and its holdings for centuries. The majority of baelnorn are spellcasters, and they maintain their mental and any magical abilities in this state.

1 Ecology
2 Roles
3 Alignment
4 Baelnorn characters
5 References
- 5.1 Official Material
- 5.2 Books and Novels

[edit] Ecology

A baelnorn converts itself into an undead creature by means of a powerful necromantic ritual. In some sources the method of becoming a baelnorn is a High Magic or divine ritual.

Unlike most other forms of undead creatures, the baelnorn retains all of the memories, personality, and abilities that it possessed in life - but it has a virtual eternity to hone its skills and inevitably becomes very powerful. Like other powerful forms of undead (such as a vampire or mummy), a baelnorn has unnatural powers owing to his state. For example, he can put mortals in a paralyzed state of hibernation with a touch, making them seem dead to others, and can, through their typically powerful magical spells, summon other lesser undead to protect him. Unlike liches, baelnorn do not radiate an aura of horror which can send weak-willed would-be foes to flee. The baelnorn is capable of sustaining tremendous physical damage, and is immune to disease, poison, fatigue and other effects that affect only the living. However, despite all his undead "gifts", a baelnorn's most valuable resources are his vast intellect, his supreme mastery of wizardry and limitless time to research, plot and scheme.

These choice to embrace undeath are allowed and considered only on rare occasions, when a clan or settlement has Gold (Sun) Elves need of defenders beyond the norm. Even if an elf truly wants to become a baelnorn for his clan's benefit, the Coronal, the High Mages, and the elders of the particular clan must all be of one mind to allow this sacrifice to be made. To the surprise of some elves, these transformations have occurred a few times in the past three millennia at the will of the Seldarine.

Baelnorns, elves who willingly become undead, are a form of lich that lack many of the corrupting qualities normally associated with that state. They do not project the fearsome aura of those wicked creatures. Sustained by magic and granted life of a sort beyond nature, baelnorn appear largely as they did in life, though an immediate clue as to baelnorn is the existence of shriveled and wrinkled skin turning slightly translucent over time. Some of the oldest of baelnorn seem little more than the hint of body, hair, and skin around their skeletons. Unlike liches, this is the extent of their degeneration, and they do not fall into loose piles of bones. Baelnorn can not even adjust themself to the form of demi-baelnorn as liches can adjust themself to demi-lich. Elven unlife is similar to their lifespans, and as human liches live for centuries, no witnesses have ever reported a millennia-old baelnorn.

[edit] Roles

Some choose to identity baelnorn by their motivations and occupations chosen in undeath. Thus, some baelnorn are titled as the followings:

Watchnorns (for lurking observers and lesser guardians of public places or family lands, especially Castle Cormanthor)
Lorenorns (for those choosing to act as tutors, librarians, or merely students of Art beyond their normal span of years)
Guardnorns or Wardnorns (for powerful guardians of crypts and other secret places or as the sole protector of particularly powerful items).

In truth, the baelnorn are all capable of as much action and activity as a live elf, though their personal attitudes and motivations (and the social unease over the continued public presence of baelnorn) limits them to particular activities.

[edit] Alignment

In order to become a baelnorn (instead of a lich), a character must be of any non-evil alignment (usually Lawful Good). However, a baelnorn may become evil after the ritual, such as the character Tordynnar Rhaevaern.

[edit] Baelnorn characters

Baelnorn characters usually appear in the role of champions, guardians, and protectors. In the novel Elminster in Hell, Elminster consults with a number of baelnorns beneath the ruins of Myth Drannor. In the Pool of Radiance novel and game, the protector baelnorn Miroden Silverblade is kidnapped by a cult. The Forgotten Realms novels The Siege and The Lost Library of Cormanthyr both include guardian baelnorn characters. The character Tordynnar Rhaevaern is detailed in the supplement Lords of Darkness as a baelnorn archmage who has become evil and shows hatred for humans.

[edit] References

[edit] Official Material

[edit] Books and Novels

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