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According to the Player's Guide there are no silver mines in the Forbidden Lands and all silver coins in circulation date back to the Alder Wars. Yet, in random encounter 28 (The Empty House) there is a reference to a local lord acquiring new slaves for his silver mine.

It seems like that should be a gold mine (or some other endeavour that would benefit from slave labour).

According to the Player's Guide there are no silver mines in the Forbidden Lands and all silver coins in circulation date back to the Alder Wars. Yet, in random encounter 28 (The Empty House) there is a reference to a local lord acquiring new slaves for his silver mine.

It seems like that should be a gold mine (or some other endeavour that would benefit from slave labour).

Or maybe he just started excavating and struck the motherlode? Just because their historically hasn't existed silver mines doesn't mean that it is impossible to dig for the metal in the Forbidden Lands. Just unusual.

Or maybe he just started excavating and struck the motherlode? Just because their historically hasn't existed silver mines doesn't mean that it is impossible to dig for the metal in the Forbidden Lands. Just unusual.

Maybe? I mean, it isn't impossible but it seems like that would be a pretty big deal. It strikes me as a bit odd that a setting detail like that would be hidden away in a random encounter. That makes me think it may not have been entirely intentional.

I've noticed that there are other apparent inconsistencies in the random encounters. For example, there is the one with an elven family, including children, that was caught and are about to be killed by bounty hunters (also elves). Everything else I've read about elves in the book has let me to believe that they don't have children in the usual sense. I'm also a bit surprised that elves would engage in such cruelty against other elves.

Or maybe he just started excavating and struck the motherlode? Just because their historically hasn't existed silver mines doesn't mean that it is impossible to dig for the metal in the Forbidden Lands. Just unusual.

Maybe? I mean, it isn't impossible but it seems like that would be a pretty big deal. It strikes me as a bit odd that a setting detail like that would be hidden away in a random encounter. That makes me think it may not have been entirely intentional.

I've noticed that there are other apparent inconsistencies in the random encounters. For example, there is the one with an elven family, including children, that was caught and are about to be killed by bounty hunters (also elves). Everything else I've read about elves in the book has let me to believe that they don't have children in the usual sense. I'm also a bit surprised that elves would engage in such cruelty against other elves.

Elves DO have children though. A Elven ruby is broken into pieces, each of which grows into a full ruby, and then is helped to grow a body. Presumably that body starts as a child with an elven gem that has no life experiences and has to develop. An Elven blood line is not who slept with who, but whos rubies are descended from an ancestor ruby.

Elves DO have children though. A Elven ruby is broken into pieces, each of which grows into a full ruby, and then is helped to grow a body. Presumably that body starts as a child with an elven gem that has no life experiences and has to develop. An Elven blood line is not who slept with who, but whos rubies are descended from an ancestor ruby.

But doesn't breaking the Ruby kill the elf it belonged to? It is true that new rubies (and therefore elves) can grow from the shards but that doesn't really give you a traditional family. The text in question talks about a father, mother, and two children.

I imagined that a newly formed elf would leave the Stillmist as an adult but I don't know whether there is any actual evidence for this in the text, except that player elves always are adults.

Elves DO have children though. A Elven ruby is broken into pieces, each of which grows into a full ruby, and then is helped to grow a body. Presumably that body starts as a child with an elven gem that has no life experiences and has to develop. An Elven blood line is not who slept with who, but whos rubies are descended from an ancestor ruby.

But doesn't breaking the Ruby kill the elf it belonged to? It is true that new rubies (and therefore elves) can grow from the shards but that doesn't really give you a traditional family. The text in question talks about a father, mother, and two children.

I imagined that a newly formed elf would leave the Stillmist as an adult but I don't know whether there is any actual evidence for this in the text, except that player elves always are adults.

I agree, the text is a bit confusing. You could just decide they are half elf and get on with the encounter but that won’t explain why they choose to write it like that in the book. When we played that encounter, I decided the parents had taken the new born children and run off from the community. I figured elf community doesn’t have traditional familiy, but rather an appointed ”mother” and ”father ” since the parent is actually killed while producing offspring. There are no bloodline between elf parents and their children. The Bond are more between the ”parents” and the original elf, who choose his/her friends to raise his/her children. It’s considered a great honor to be an appointed ”parent” in my campaign.

I would assume that new Elven "children" are "adopted" and raised by other elves so as to teach and guide them. It's not a family in the way that we humans think of it but they don't reproduce like we do either so what would that even mean for them?

An elven family is being hunted. 2 older elves with some children under their wing. Children born from the shattering of another elven ruby and parents that volunteered or were assigned to guide them into the world.

I mean, this is moving away from the op topic, but it would be cool if those „children“ would look rather alien to other kin, maybe because their body was still incomplete (like no mouth, nose, ears, whatever). Makes it a bit more strange to sympathize with the refugees for the players.

I mean, this is moving away from the op topic, but it would be cool if those „children“ would look rather alien to other kin, maybe because their body was still incomplete (like no mouth, nose, ears, whatever). Makes it a bit more strange to sympathize with the refugees for the players.

I like that!

More generally (and getting back on topic), there certainly are interesting interpretations of the details that seem to be somewhat at odds with the broad strokes of the setting. Those can add depth and enrich there campaign. I'm just not sure that I really want that sort of detail sprung on me in a random encounter.

Yeah, there are definite inconsistencies. I'd stick with what works for your game and reinterpret as necessary.

As for the silver mines: I like to think that there are very few currently being worked. It's not none but perhaps less than there could be. Fits the post-apocalyptic vibe. Also, helps justify (not morally but economically) the presence of slavery at all in Ravenland that there are some precious metals mines.