Fenmarel Mestarine
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
role-playing game
, Fenmarel Mestarine (fehn-muh-rehl mess-tuh-reen) is the elven
deity of feral elves (such as grugach), outcast elves, scapegoats and solitude. His chief symbol is a pair of elven eyes in darkness, though his savage priests are more likely to use the talon or fang of a wild beast slain without assistance.
In many campaign setting
s, the elven pantheon of gods (also known as the Seldarine) consists of the leader Corellon Larethian
, as well as Aerdrie Faenya
, Deep Sashelas
, Erevan Ilesere
, Fenmarel Mestarine, Hanali Celanil
, Labelas Enoreth
, Rillifane Rallathil
, Sehanine Moonbow
, and Solonor Thelandira
. Other elven gods may be present in different campaign settings.
(1992), including details about his priesthood. His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground
(1996). He received a very detailed description for his role in the Forgotten Realms
in Demihuman Deities
(1998).
Fenmarel Mestarine's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons
(2002).
. He has no interest in communicating with members of other pantheons or nonelves unless absolutely necessary, and when he does speak he is usually bitter and cynical. Although he tries to avoid commitments of any sort, the Lone Wolf always abides by his word, no matter how reluctantly it is given. Fenmarel watches over the elven borders in disappearing woodlands, jungles, and similar environments, not unlike what Corellon Larethian
does in more sizable homelands. Of all the elven races, Fenmarel takes a keen interest mainly in the wild elves or grugach, hidden deep within the thickest forests of Faerûn
and Oerth
.
and the other evil drow deities. Fenmarel was once Lolth's lover, one of the first to be seduced by her dark power and hollow promises, but he turned away from her before he could be corrupted completely. Fenmarel and Lolth have still not forgiven each other. Of the elven gods known on Oerth, he gets along well only with Solonor Thelandira
(said to be his brother), Shevarash, Gwaeron Windstrom, and Eilistraee. His relationship with Corellon Larethian are strained by Fenmarel's perception that the ruler of the elven gods still blames him for Lolth's betrayal. Only the kind-heartedness of Sehanine Moonbow
can draw the Lone Wolf back to the other Seldarine on rare occasions. He is allied with various animal lords of the Beastlands
, beings whose ranks include the Cat Lord
and the Wolf Lord, though it is not clear if he is allied with those lords specifically.
. He has exiled himself there voluntarily, although he has a home in the elven realm of Arvandor if he chose to accept it. No drow are permitted within Fennimar, not even those of good alignment. Physically, Fennimar is a stable area of Limbo covered in woods, streams, hills, and valleys. There are no real settlements or buildings in the realm, only waystations in the wilderness where the less wood-wise can find food and supplies.
The church of Fenmarel Mestarine is seen with some suspicion and hostility by most elven societies, as many of its adherents are exiles and outlaws of various sorts. Only in isolated tribes that venerate the Lone Wolf to the exclusion of other deities are his faithful seen with respect for the skills they practice and the lessons of survival that they teach. Other races view Fenmarel's worshippers as primitives who cling to a god of savages.
Novices of Fenmarel are called the Lost. Full priests are called the Unbowed. They may also create their own titles or forgo titles altogether. They teach their fellow tribe members in the skills favored by their god, including guerrilla tactics and poison.
The ceremonial garb of the Lost and the Unbowed usually consists of plastering their bodies in mud and leaves. In more civilized groups they garb themselves in hide armor adorned with bones, teeth, and drawings of wild beasts.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Fenmarel Mestarine (fehn-muh-rehl mess-tuh-reen) is the elven
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
deity of feral elves (such as grugach), outcast elves, scapegoats and solitude. His chief symbol is a pair of elven eyes in darkness, though his savage priests are more likely to use the talon or fang of a wild beast slain without assistance.
In many campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
s, the elven pantheon of gods (also known as the Seldarine) consists of the leader Corellon Larethian
Corellon Larethian
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Corellon Larethian is the leader of the elven pantheon, and the god of Magic, Music, Arts, Crafts, Poetry, and Warfare. Corellon is also considered a member of the default D&D pantheon. He is the creator and preserver of the elven race, and governs those...
, as well as Aerdrie Faenya
Aerdrie Faenya
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Aerdrie Faenya is the elven goddess of Air, Weather, Freedom, Impulse, Fertility, and Birds.Her symbol is a cloud with a bird silhouette.-Publication history:...
, Deep Sashelas
Deep Sashelas
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Deep Sashelas is the elf patron deity of aquatic elves. He is also a god of creation, knowledge, beauty, and magic...
, Erevan Ilesere
Erevan Ilesere
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Erevan Ilesere is the elven deity of Mischief, Change, Rogues and Changelings. Erevan is a fickle, utterly unpredictable god who can change his appearance at will. His symbol is a nova star with asymmetrical rays.-Publication history:Erevan Ilesere was...
, Fenmarel Mestarine, Hanali Celanil
Hanali Celanil
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Hanali Celanil is the elf deity of Romantic Love and Beauty. Her symbol is a gold heart.-Publication history:...
, Labelas Enoreth
Labelas Enoreth
Labelas Enoreth is an elven deity in many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings. In the Forgotten Realms, he is the Lord of the Continuum who governs the orderly passage of time and guards against those who would alter the path of history. Together with Sehanine Moonbow he oversees the long life...
, Rillifane Rallathil
Rillifane Rallathil
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Rillifane Rallathil is the elven god of Nature, and patron deity of wood elves. His symbol is an oak tree...
, Sehanine Moonbow
Sehanine Moonbow
In many Dungeons and Dragons campaign settings, Sehanine Moonbow is the elven goddess of the moons. She is one of the more powerful members of the Seldarine. The Lady of Dreams actively opposes the nefarious schemes of the Spider Queen and the other drow powers. She is said to be the wife of...
, and Solonor Thelandira
Solonor Thelandira
In the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms, Solonor Thelandira is the elven god of hunting, archery, and survival in wild and harsh places. He teaches his followers the arts of hunting; including archery, moving unseen and hiding in wild places. He watches over the borders of...
. Other elven gods may be present in different campaign settings.
Publication history
Fenmarel Mestarine was first detailed in the book Monster MythologyMonster Mythology
Monster Mythology is a sourcebook for the second edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Released by TSR in 1992 and written by Carl Sargent, with interior illustrations by Terry Dykstra, John and Laura Lakey, and Keith Parkinson, Monster Mythology was released as a companion volume for...
(1992), including details about his priesthood. His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground
On Hallowed Ground
On Hallowed Ground is an accessory book for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, for the Planescape campaign setting.-Contents:This book contains information about deities' planar domains from 20 separate pantheons...
(1996). He received a very detailed description for his role in the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
in Demihuman Deities
Demihuman Deities
Demihuman Deities is a Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition: Forgotten Realms campaign accessory, published by Wizards of the Coast. The book was designed by Eric L. Boyd...
(1998).
Fenmarel Mestarine's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons
Faiths and Pantheons
Faiths and Pantheons is a campaign accessory for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons, for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.-Contents:...
(2002).
Description
Fenmarel Mestarine appears as an elf clad in leaves and scraps of clothing. Like a Cloak of Elvenkind, his skin changes color to match his immediate environment. He is eternally sullen and serious, a perfect counterbalance to fun-loving Erevan IlesereErevan Ilesere
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Erevan Ilesere is the elven deity of Mischief, Change, Rogues and Changelings. Erevan is a fickle, utterly unpredictable god who can change his appearance at will. His symbol is a nova star with asymmetrical rays.-Publication history:Erevan Ilesere was...
. He has no interest in communicating with members of other pantheons or nonelves unless absolutely necessary, and when he does speak he is usually bitter and cynical. Although he tries to avoid commitments of any sort, the Lone Wolf always abides by his word, no matter how reluctantly it is given. Fenmarel watches over the elven borders in disappearing woodlands, jungles, and similar environments, not unlike what Corellon Larethian
Corellon Larethian
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Corellon Larethian is the leader of the elven pantheon, and the god of Magic, Music, Arts, Crafts, Poetry, and Warfare. Corellon is also considered a member of the default D&D pantheon. He is the creator and preserver of the elven race, and governs those...
does in more sizable homelands. Of all the elven races, Fenmarel takes a keen interest mainly in the wild elves or grugach, hidden deep within the thickest forests of Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
and Oerth
Oerth
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Oerth, pronounced as "Orth" or "oyth", is the name of the fictional planet on which one of the earliest campaign settings, the World of Greyhawk, is located...
.
Relationships
The Lone Wolf is somewhat of an outcast among the Seldarine, his nominal allies, although he supports them in their endless war against LolthLolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
and the other evil drow deities. Fenmarel was once Lolth's lover, one of the first to be seduced by her dark power and hollow promises, but he turned away from her before he could be corrupted completely. Fenmarel and Lolth have still not forgiven each other. Of the elven gods known on Oerth, he gets along well only with Solonor Thelandira
Solonor Thelandira
In the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms, Solonor Thelandira is the elven god of hunting, archery, and survival in wild and harsh places. He teaches his followers the arts of hunting; including archery, moving unseen and hiding in wild places. He watches over the borders of...
(said to be his brother), Shevarash, Gwaeron Windstrom, and Eilistraee. His relationship with Corellon Larethian are strained by Fenmarel's perception that the ruler of the elven gods still blames him for Lolth's betrayal. Only the kind-heartedness of Sehanine Moonbow
Sehanine Moonbow
In many Dungeons and Dragons campaign settings, Sehanine Moonbow is the elven goddess of the moons. She is one of the more powerful members of the Seldarine. The Lady of Dreams actively opposes the nefarious schemes of the Spider Queen and the other drow powers. She is said to be the wife of...
can draw the Lone Wolf back to the other Seldarine on rare occasions. He is allied with various animal lords of the Beastlands
Beastlands
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Beastlands is a neutral good-aligned plane of existence...
, beings whose ranks include the Cat Lord
Cat Lord
The Cat Lord, or Master Cat, is the mysterious ruler of cats and a lord of Balance, in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. The Epic Level Handbook included, as an optional rule, the possibility that he is a quasi-deity. In Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue series, he is called Rexfelis.There are...
and the Wolf Lord, though it is not clear if he is allied with those lords specifically.
Realm
Fenmarel's realm of Fennimar is located on the plane of LimboLimbo (Dungeons & Dragons)
In Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy role-playing game, Limbo or more fully, the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo, is a chaotic neutral-aligned plane of existence...
. He has exiled himself there voluntarily, although he has a home in the elven realm of Arvandor if he chose to accept it. No drow are permitted within Fennimar, not even those of good alignment. Physically, Fennimar is a stable area of Limbo covered in woods, streams, hills, and valleys. There are no real settlements or buildings in the realm, only waystations in the wilderness where the less wood-wise can find food and supplies.
Dogma
Fenmarel teaches that the world is harsh and unforgiving, demanding more from those who, like himself, would abandon society to blaze their own trail. He advises self-reliance, for betrayal is all too common. Followers of Fenmarel are taught to be self-reliant and to use the skills that Fenmarel holds dearest: camouflage, deception, and secrecy. They are expected to be hard-working, for hard work allows people to prove their own worth to themselves.Worshippers
The church of Fenmarel consists primarily of outcasts and small tribes of wild elves, and, as such, has little in the way of formal hierarchy. Outcasts from elven society who make their way among other cultures are typically lay followers and not clerics.The church of Fenmarel Mestarine is seen with some suspicion and hostility by most elven societies, as many of its adherents are exiles and outlaws of various sorts. Only in isolated tribes that venerate the Lone Wolf to the exclusion of other deities are his faithful seen with respect for the skills they practice and the lessons of survival that they teach. Other races view Fenmarel's worshippers as primitives who cling to a god of savages.
Clergy
Members of Fenmarel's clergy instruct their fellows in the skills first taught by the deity, including how to spy, survive on their own, engage in deceptions and guerrilla tactics, and use poisons to take down enemies with subtlety, but otherwise they have few formal responsibilities aside from ensuring their personal survival. Their favored weapon is the dagger.Novices of Fenmarel are called the Lost. Full priests are called the Unbowed. They may also create their own titles or forgo titles altogether. They teach their fellow tribe members in the skills favored by their god, including guerrilla tactics and poison.
The ceremonial garb of the Lost and the Unbowed usually consists of plastering their bodies in mud and leaves. In more civilized groups they garb themselves in hide armor adorned with bones, teeth, and drawings of wild beasts.