Pseudo-elf race as monsters

[austenandrews]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

Those weren't elves. They were elfs.

[Ragnarok]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

Right now Dwemmerkin and Scáth are the strongest contenders.

 

I went to Irish for some alternatives from some of the more familiar European words, and scáth looked pretty cool to me. This one is sort of a two for one because in Irish, scáth means shadow or shade, but in Old English scath (no accent) means harm, danger or misfortune.

 

I'm still looking, and I would love to hear more alternatives from everybody, but right now these two are the strongest.

[Curufea]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

What! No Bondage Faries?

 

No, they weren't elves. Poison Elves are from the comic of the same name of course, but Grunge Elves are from the RPG Hackmaster.

[Lucius]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

Right now Dwemmerkin and Scáth are the strongest contenders.

 

I went to Irish for some alternatives from some of the more familiar European words, and scáth looked pretty cool to me. This one is sort of a two for one because in Irish, scáth means shadow or shade, but in Old English scath (no accent) means harm, danger or misfortune.

 

I'm still looking, and I would love to hear more alternatives from everybody, but right now these two are the strongest.

 

The characters would be uncertain in every adventure if they would come out unscathed.

 

edit: In case it wasn't obvious, I like the "scath" name. Maybe you can change it up a little to Skaith or the like.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary likes the name so much it plans a scathing retort for anyone opposing it.

[Haerandir]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

Another good source of names is to branch out from the Celtic & Anglo-Saxon myths. I'm playing in an Amber game at the moment, and my character was raised in a world where most everyone is an 'elf' of some variety or another. Being an Amberite, and thus nominally 'human', I'm the exotic one in that world. For individual NPCs, I pick a region on the map and hit Wikipedia to see what sort of 'fairy' legends they have in that place. My sidekick is a Vila, for instance.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

The Scathe name is pretty cool. It sounds like something that could be used as a swear word or curse. "Scathe take you!"

 

You might want to look up Games Workshop's Dark Elves and Dark Eldar and the Iron Kingdoms' Skorn, Nyss and Satyxis for more inspiration.

 

A further, (humble), suggestion. If they don't already know then don't tell your players that the Scath/Dwemmerkin are Elves. Just let them hear stories about shadow creatures that make whole caravans vanish without a trace, creatures that no living human has ever seen. Let them wonder about what they will encounter out in the wilds.

[Ragnarok]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

 

A further, (humble), suggestion. If they don't already know then don't tell your players that the Scath/Dwemmerkin are Elves. Just let them hear stories about shadow creatures that make whole caravans vanish without a trace, creatures that no living human has ever seen. Let them wonder about what they will encounter out in the wilds.

 

Agreed. Telling them that they're elves beforehand would probably implant a host of assumptions and stereotypes that would clash with their true nature. Letting the players discover them, and possibly be spooked by them will lend a more organic feel to the creature.

[dmjalund]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

they're Romulans

[Old Man]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

No, Vulcans. I'd love to see the players' reactions when they go into combat with the pointy eared "elves", only to find that they are STR 25 hyperintelligent psionics. Oops!

[dmjalund]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

I mean as a race that had not been seen until game time (thats Romulans circa StarTrek TOS)

[Old Man]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

That could work out even better. Fill the players' heads with all kinds of exaggerated and incorrect rumors about the things before they actually encounter them. Hilarity ensues!

[Spence]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

My elves differ from Orcs in one big sense; they're not needlessly destructive, and they aren't driven by hatred so much as necessity.

 

The way I see my "elves" is this: They're not particularly evil, they're just predatory. If there's a human caravan passing through their territory loaded with resources, and they see the benefit of taking the prey is worth the risk, they'll do it. They're not going to kill needlessly; that's a waste of energy and resources. There's not point in killing babies because they don't pose an immediate threat to you. The one thing I could see is that they might kill an heir of a powerful chieftain or something, if it is necessary in their long term goals.

 

Once again I am late to the party.

 

But from this and the rest of the thread, they sound more like my impression of the Sidhe from folklore. Not good or evil, just very powerful and completely indifferent to humanity unless humanity somehow attracts their attention or somehow is in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

 

I also think that the idea of using a completely new name and making no mention at all of the word elf is the way to go. One of the things I feel that has been lost from fantasy RPG's is the wonder of new things. Every player in the game automatically knows how to react when they encounter elves, goblins etc. But this way they will have to create their own impressions and act on them based on what they actually discover, rather than what the book has told them.

 

Very cool ideas, makes me wish you were in my neck of the woods...

[Ragnarok]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

...[snip]...

 

Very cool ideas, makes me wish you were in my neck of the woods...

 

Well, depending on how things work out, I was considering making it an online game via HEROCentral. At this point it's far too early to tell but if that option gains enough support then it's definitely on the table.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

In the Tad Williams fantasy trilogy Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, the elves were named Sithi and I always thought that was a good alternate name for them. (pronounced seethee). Men will probably call them Wild-Elves or Savage Elves or something like that. How about "Savel". Sort of a hybrid of "Savage" and "Elf".

 

Are your elves going to have an aversion/allergy to iron? Otherwise without that one would think that humans would stand little chance against them.

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

Williams' "Sithi" are a great example of alternative elves. They are still more recognizable as elves than you would care for, but they were described as having an almost feline appearance and strange bird-like motion. Also, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is definitely worth a read.

[Ragnarok]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

[snip]

Are your elves going to have an aversion/allergy to iron? Otherwise without that one would think that humans would stand little chance against them.

 

No, for the same reasons that I am trying to avoid pre-existing stereotypes and constructs in the first place. Just as I don't want my Scáth to be typical elves, I don't want them to be typical Sidhe either.

 

At this point I don't really anticipate the need of a crippling vulnerability. There really isn't total war between humans and Scáth in the first place. And even if there were, humans would have the advantage in numbers, technology, and battlefield tactics. The Scáth are really just a guerilla faction at this point, and don't see the need to expend resources at terrible risk by starting an all-out total war when they can get by just as easily by raiding caravans and perhaps small frontier villages that encroach upon their territory. Another thing to remember is that tales about their power will be greatly exaggerated. The Scáth are not ridiculously powerful; they just use fear tactics that make it seem that way. They should be a serious challenge one-on-one for any PC, but with a little teamwork and clever thinking they will bleed like any other creature.

[The Suave]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

Ask Manic Typist about his elf sub-race that was modeled on a genocidal elf PC in his Semona game.

 

He'll know what I'm talking about, just mention the "Widow's Tears."

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

How about making the race somewhat vampiric in nature? They're not undead, and while they don't need to consume blood, they find it enhances their abilities, especially if they get it from higher life forms. They don't prey on themselves, as that is a big taboo in their culture, so they prey on humans and other races.

[Ragnarok]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

How about making the race somewhat vampiric in nature? They're not undead' date=' and while they don't need to consume blood, they find it enhances their abilities, especially if they get it from higher life forms. They don't prey on themselves, as that is a big taboo in their culture, so they prey on humans and other races.[/quote']

 

Interesting. This has the potential to create a darker flavor, maybe in pushing it into the horror genre. Depending on how much magic I want to work into this race, a nice alternative could be that human life energy could sort of be a booster supplement fuel to their spells. The only thing I'm worried about would be that it would seem too much like the Wraith of the Stargate universe, but certainly that trope is far less widespread than common elvish tropes, and in the end could be a net gain.

 

Something to ponder, certainly. Thanks!

[dmjalund]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

can you say 'Blood Magic'?

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters

 

Another option would be giving the elves powers of illusion. Then they can hide freely among humans; they would be able to appear and disappear instantly.

 

Instead of magic, you could use technology that would appear magical to humans (remember Clarke's Law).