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Elves


CourtFool

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Re: Elves

 

Like so many before me in this thread, I have borrowed heavily from several sources and books to create my history of the world of which elves are a part of.

 

Elvanheru are one of the races created as servants for a powerful race of Dragonlords, the Valheru. Other such created races are the Ogers, Orcs, Yuanteen (D&D Yuan'ti), Tauren (Minotaur like folk based on WoW), and many others. At a point in time, there was a mighty influx of races from another dimension which included Humans, Dverg (dwarves), Kjempe (Giants), Goblinoids, and a few others.

 

When the Valheru gathered to subjugate these races, the heretofor unknown Gods stepped in to defend them. The Gods and Dragonlords did battle in which both sides suffered heavy losses. But eventually the gods won and the Valheru were destroyed or sent elsewhere. The "created" races were freed to become their own peoples.

 

When this happened, the two sects of land living Elvanheru splt. Those who lived in in the strongholds of the Valheru and delt with them on a closer basis turned from the others and left the surface world for good. They only wanted to recreate the power of the Valheru but under their control. The rest were the descendents of the Elvanheru race today. While they were immortal, those who have come since the defeat of the Valheru are no longer so, though they ARE very long lived. Several racial branches developed from this. You have the (here comes the dragon lance ref.) Qualinesti who are similar to the High Elves of D&D and who live in more urban settings but still within their beloved forests. Then you have the Silvanesti or wood elves who live more as one with the nature they live in. There are also the Aquavianesti or sea elves, and now the Halvmork which are the dark elves who turned away.

 

In time the other powerful servant race, the Dragons, left for they feared what humans were becoming. Only a few stayed behind and they were powerful and had only one thing in mind; world domination. They subjugated the humans and halflings of the world. The Dverg have shut themselves into their great mountain holds and very infequently trade with the outside world, thus the dragons leave them alone.

 

When last the Dragon Kings moved against the elves, they paid a dear price for the mighty Druids who weilded extraordinary power had joined forces with the elvanheru and the mighty armies of darkness were sumarily thrashed and several of the great drakes were hurt near to death. So the Elvanheru now have an uneasy cease fire with the drakes and have a large area that is the great forest in which they live. They don't hate the other races but they do not think enough of them to try any foolish thing such as to fight the Dragons to release them.

 

I generally do not have them as a PC race though if a good character concept is put forth by one of my players, I might re-consider. And as the party I am currently running is successful (assuming they are) in beginning the revolt and forming a place where Dragons do not rule, they may become more playable in the future.

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Re: garding Homogeneity

 

Regarding the idea that non-Human species have "homogenous" cultures:

 

For one thing, they tend to be represented as less populous than Humans. If there are only a small number and they are mostly in given small areas, of course they will have less cultural diversity than the Humans who are breeding all over the place and hogging most of the planet.

 

Further, if they are long-lived or immortal, and breed slowly, their language and culture will be accordingly slow to change. If Elves and Humans both cross from one continent to another at the same time, and then there is little contact between continents for a millenium, the "New World Humans" will have a different culture and probably their language would no longer be intelligible to the "Old World Humans" but the Elves would still be very alike - because only a couple of generations have passed for them.

 

 

It absolutely makes perfect sense that long lived, slow breeding, relatively non-numerous beings will have less cultural diversity than Humans.

 

 

Now, if a world has, say, Goblins that are described as shorter lived than Humans, breed as quickly, and are widespread in range, but STILL very culturally homogenous, there's no excuse for that.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Spreading the palindromedary meme

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Re: Elves

 

The only reason I have multiple types of elves is because of their magical nature - and in my setting magic and belief are intrinsically linked. So much so that the more magical you are, the more you resemble your beliefs. Hence each subrace of Elves has a different philosophy on life.

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Re: Elves

 

The only time that different sub-races does not make sense to me, is if the race is limited to a very small geographical area or if that race has not been around that long.

 

Over time I feel the sub-races will be the result of evolution to the environment that the race is living in. The one thing I never understood though why a drow had black skin. Yes, I realize it was because they were "evil". But, would it not make better sense that they were all as pale as an albino, due to lack of sun exposure?

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Re: Elves

 

The only time that different sub-races does not make sense to me, is if the race is limited to a very small geographical area or if that race has not been around that long.

 

Over time I feel the sub-races will be the result of evolution to the environment that the race is living in. The one thing I never understood though why a drow had black skin. Yes, I realize it was because they were "evil". But, would it not make better sense that they were all as pale as an albino, due to lack of sun exposure?

 

And what color is an Orc or a Goblin? Not usually light-complected are they?

 

And Dwarves are ruddy at worst, and "good" Elves are fair.

 

I'm afraid a lot of these conventions are colored (pardon the expression) by (hopefully) unconscious racist assumptions. The same sort of assumptions I suppose that insist on having a "generic bad guy" humanoid race (Goblins and their ilk) to begin with.

 

As I recall from Elfquest, the woodsrunning Elves were kind of ruddy-fair; the desert Elves were brown; the palest were the ancient "High Elves" only a couple of generations removed from the first Elves to descend to this world, or the bird-riding ones who dwelt in extensive caves. This would be an example of your idea of subgroups adapting to their environments.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary is adapted to cyberspace.

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Re: Elves

 

Personally, I think linking it to racism is a real stretch, to put it mildly.

 

There are multiple reasons for the Drow, Duegar, etc, being dark-skinned.

 

There is a mythological precedent of sorts for the Drow -- the Shwartzalfer.

 

They live underground and in the dark, so it's supposed to be a more camoflauged color (which doesn't explain white and silver hair being common).

 

Etc.

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Re: Elves

 

They live underground and in the dark, so it's supposed to be a more camoflauged color (which doesn't explain white and silver hair being common).

 

Whereas in reality, things that live underground in perpetual darkness tend to be blind and colorless.

 

Hmm... now there's a subrace idea.

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Re: Elves

 

Whereas in reality, things that live underground in perpetual darkness tend to be blind and colorless.

 

Hmm... now there's a subrace idea.

The Shadow Elves in the Mystara setting are pale but not blind. I know there is a subrace of humans who live underground in the Greyhawk setting that's also pale.

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