Escafarc Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! My favorite expansion set for MtG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Mix things up. Humans = Homo neanderthalensis Elves = Homo Sapiens Dwarves = Homo habilis Halflings = Homo floresiensis Orcs/Half Orcs = Gigantopithecus black OR Humans = [same as always] Elves = Bonobos Dwarves = Chimpanzees Halflings = Capuchin monkeys Orcs/Half Orcs = Gorillas OR Humans = [same as always] Elves = Anthropomorphic foxes Dwarves = Anthropomorphic badgers Halflings = Anthropomorphic otters Orcs/Half Orcs = Anthropomorphic bears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! [*] Elves = Anthropomorphic foxes Why you gotta insult the foxes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraven Kor Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! And "mix it up" is somewhat where I went with Lostorum, as much as I would like to call it all original / unique or whatever. Humans = Humans Elves = (Somewhat) Nephil (Cat People) Dwarves = Short, fat Humans Halflings = Short, skinny Humans And then "added" my Lizardmen (big = Saurak, or Orcs... and little = Seraps, or Goblins) and Bears (Gurahl.) I think the Bears are about the most "original" concept of the mix, although I'm certainly not the first to come up with "bear people." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister E Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! This is not a hard and fast thing for me, but in my interpretation the races breakdown thusly: Gnomes = Babies/Toddlers/Ancients Halflings = Kindergarters/Preadolescents Elves = Teenagers/Goldenagers Humans = Young Adults Dwarves = Middleagers/Silveragers Orcs = "Mom! Dad! Don't touch it! It's EVIL!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! I once had had an idea to make elves, dwarves et al. subraces of humanity. I started a thread here that had a lot of great ideas from several members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Nonetheless I think countless people - myself included - have some desire to do "something different" if not "something original." Different is easy' date=' but is a tricky path to follow without not really making things different at all. [i']Original[/i], on the other hand, is not easy at all, except when it happens accidentally. All of this has been done before, and all of it will be done again, to steal (and then butcher) a phrase. Is it me though but when people seem to make things different, they have to make them the polar opposite of what they were to begin with? For example the drow in DnD. I can see a twist, but making something thats white-black for just because is no better imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowsoul Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! I have been thinking for some time now about a world where Light and Dark are the guiding principles and all races are aligned with one or the other. Light and Dark are not good and evil. But the Elves of this world have tried to make people believe that this is the case. Light and Dark are like Yin and Yang, always fighting but never completely pure. I guess I've been inspired by Janny Wurt's novels, (though I've only read one), and the Light and Dark magic that you sometimes in get in computer games and manga. Anyway. Elves are aligned strongly with Light. Light is a bit like Chaos. It is creation, destruction, motion and energy. Darkness is stability, entropy and matter. (Both principles are paradoxes). Elves do not grow old because their bodies are too charged with Light, they claim that they are actually pure energy which has somehow coalesced into a hardened form that mimics matter. However, if Elves become bored or their culture stagnates they begin to suffer physical and mental symptoms of disease and madness. They must embrace life, change and motion with all their beings or fall into Darkness. This is easier for the Elven peoples than mortals realise; when you plan to live forever there is no great need to cling on to a particular time, place or mindset. Some Elves are true nomads, but others will cheerfully abandon settlements which have existed for centuries. They embrace extreme lifestyles and are the world's ultimate explorers, always searching for new ways to exist. Law, honour and ethics are matters of individual conscience and the consensus of those present, this can lead to utopian societies but often results in the rule of the strong or the most persuasive. Light is naturally more destructive than Darkness and so Elven Light Mages are justly feared for their powers. But Elves make few artefacts or lasting structures. Dealing with Elves is a chancy and frustrating business, when a villain may repent his crimes simply because villainy no longer interests him, or a king might abandon his palace on any given day to choose the life of a penniless wanderer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowsoul Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Looking over this post I've realised that 'Dark Elves' in this setting would literally be Elves who have become stuck in a single mindset and so made twisted and mad. Dark Elves are not a race but a condition, which could concievably be cured. So Dark Elves could be crooked and ugly, like the Dokkalfar in Norse mythology; and have an overwhelming obsession, like Dwarves in the D&D 'Dark Sun' setting. If I put my Bone Elves into this setting then they would be considered a whole culture of 'Dark Elves', albeit a culture whose violent insanity is turned towards 'good' ends. I might make their 'twisting' purely mental, however, as I like the idea of beautiful, crusading Elves who happen to be demented savages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! I have been thinking for some time now about a world where Light and Dark are the guiding principles and all races are aligned with one or the other. Light and Dark are not good and evil. But the Elves of this world have tried to make people believe that this is the case. Light and Dark are like Yin and Yang, always fighting but never completely pure. I guess I've been inspired by Janny Wurt's novels, (though I've only read one), and the Light and Dark magic that you sometimes in get in computer games and manga. Anyway. Elves are aligned strongly with Light. Light is a bit like Chaos. It is creation, destruction, motion and energy. Darkness is stability, entropy and matter. (Both principles are paradoxes). Elves do not grow old because their bodies are too charged with Light, they claim that they are actually pure energy which has somehow coalesced into a hardened form that mimics matter. However, if Elves become bored or their culture stagnates they begin to suffer physical and mental symptoms of disease and madness. They must embrace life, change and motion with all their beings or fall into Darkness. This is easier for the Elven peoples than mortals realise; when you plan to live forever there is no great need to cling on to a particular time, place or mindset. Some Elves are true nomads, but others will cheerfully abandon settlements which have existed for centuries. They embrace extreme lifestyles and are the world's ultimate explorers, always searching for new ways to exist. Law, honour and ethics are matters of individual conscience and the consensus of those present, this can lead to utopian societies but often results in the rule of the strong or the most persuasive. Light is naturally more destructive than Darkness and so Elven Light Mages are justly feared for their powers. But Elves make few artefacts or lasting structures. Dealing with Elves is a chancy and frustrating business, when a villain may repent his crimes simply because villainy no longer interests him, or a king might abandon his palace on any given day to choose the life of a penniless wanderer. That's a lot like the Faerie in Castle Falkenstein. They are beings of energy and are able to shapeshift to some degree. They have no imagination, which is why they are drawn to the mortal world. They are bound by the letter of the law (although not necessarily the spirit of the law), so they don't make vows or agreements easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! On topic, I thought about just making the elves an Atlantean analogy. I they were the first, ageless and full of magic (which to them is natural). But along the way, they kept pushing boundries of the natural world without considering the consequences, and, as in every story of pride and folly, the day of reckoning came. The result is the elves are still long lived, but not eternal, magical but not near the level of before, and now the are other races and creatures are about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! A couple of days ago I was playing Chez Geek with some friends and burst out laughing when I got a card I had forgotten about. The card is Lord Yahoo. His quote is "You guys are playing D&D? Can I be a Keebler Elf?" [ATTACH]38909[/ATTACH] Character Name Keebler Elf .... Keebler Elves are a trademark of the Keebler Company, a division of Kellogg. Character sheet by Lucius Alexander Copyright Palindromedary Enterprises Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Hmmm. I had a thought I'm growing fond of. I think in my new setting the majority of "Elves" will mostly be remnant populations of Atlantian Catastrophe survivors from the various pre-catastrophe lands (Lemuria, Mu etc), i.e. the Tuatha De Dannan coming to Ireland fleeing their home sinking beneath the waves, but the inside straight will be filled by stranded time traveler populations. I'm working with spooky Lovecraft physics, so the occasional Cruise Ship or airliner slipping through a crack in space isn't out of the question. A slightly quirky space time continuum lets you explain almost every myth as anomalies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narf the Mouse Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! In the "Oath of Swords" series, Elves were natural spellcasters ("Warlocks") who were offered immortality for power (rather different from norm) after the end of the wizard wars. They were considered both too powerful and too likely to be unable to sufficiently control that power - And no-one wanted another war between magic-users. So, the victors of the wizard wars offered them true, full immortality instead of instinctual, emotional spellcasting. The wars were, after all, about whether wizards would control their powers. Although the bargain was different than normal, the Elves would rather not have made the trade. For one thing, there's those still alive who remember being Warlocks...Which, given hints, may have been about 10,000-20,000 years ago. And really, who wants to watch everything die forever? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narf the Mouse Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! And "mix it up" is somewhat where I went with Lostorum, as much as I would like to call it all original / unique or whatever. Humans = Humans Elves = (Somewhat) Nephil (Cat People) Dwarves = Short, fat Humans Halflings = Short, skinny Humans And then "added" my Lizardmen (big = Saurak, or Orcs... and little = Seraps, or Goblins) and Bears (Gurahl.) I think the Bears are about the most "original" concept of the mix, although I'm certainly not the first to come up with "bear people." Do I see an Avernum reference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! And really, who wants to watch everything die forever? I think that depends on who is dying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narf the Mouse Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! I think that depends on who is dying. In their case, everyone and everything. And no, they're not nihilists. *Swats Old Man upside the head* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Beware the nihilists coming for your Chonson! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaJoe3 Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! And really' date=' who wants to watch everything die forever?[/quote'] I think the trick is to watch everything live, not watch it die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! I think the trick is to watch everything live' date=' not watch it die. [/quote'] Wouldn't have to do both, since in any event, you are watching things? Skimming the thread again, considering the number of literary references in it, I'm wagering that my ability to simply accept 'whatever this game world says is an elf is an elf' is related to the fact that I've never read a fantasy novel and lack emotional connection to the concept or mythology thereof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Wouldn't have to do both, since in any event, you are watching things? Skimming the thread again, considering the number of literary references in it, I'm wagering that my ability to simply accept 'whatever this game world says is an elf is an elf' is related to the fact that I've never read a fantasy novel and lack emotional connection to the concept or mythology thereof. I broke my fantasy teeth on Robert E Howard, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, and Robert Aspirin. And the Robin Hood Ballads, older King Arthur stories, and Sinbad from the 1001 Arabian Nights. It was only later I encountered Tolkein and learned I liked the source material he drew from far more than what he wrote himself. I feel much the same about most elfy writers I've read. People can say elves are whatever they want and it doesn't bother me one wit, but, overall, I've yet to meet an elf I could bothered to like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Wouldn't have to do both, since in any event, you are watching things? Skimming the thread again, considering the number of literary references in it, I'm wagering that my ability to simply accept 'whatever this game world says is an elf is an elf' is related to the fact that I've never read a fantasy novel and lack emotional connection to the concept or mythology thereof. I'll hazard a guess that you have, on the other hand, read comic books? Lucius Alexander Metapalindromedary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 SMBC Santa's Elves Are VERY Different! [ATTACH=CONFIG]39172[/ATTACH] Lucius Alexander This palindromedary tagline is much like any other palindromedary tagline. But they're not all like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! *Swats Old Man upside the head* Ow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraven Kor Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Re: My Elves Are Different! Do I see an Avernum reference? I don't know what Avernum is, so... probably not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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