Elves and their age question

[AGX-17]

Elves are just little fiends that steal your children in the night, cause disease and/or nightmares.

 

Thinking about this some more, maybe Elves don't have babies, maybe they start as eggs that hatch into an "elf larva" state and squiggle around forests mindless for 80 years, make a chrysalis which they stay in for 20 years at which point the elf baby emerges from the Chrysalis ready for 20 years of education.

 

Would explain the low birthrate and affinity for nature - there has to be some nature for those elf larvae to squiggle about mindlessly in and they'd be very vulnerable to predators, disease, falling off tree limbs, etc in their larva state.

 

Half-elves skip straight to the baby state thanks to their human parent and earn resentment from elves because they didn't spend 80 years squiggling about a forest like they did.

Insects reproduce rapidly, contrary to the implication. Though I do like the comparison of elves to maggots.

Edited September 28, 2013 by AGX-17

[Walsingham]

Maybe they'd be a bit more like elephants?

 

If they gestate for, like, twenty years that could explain the low birthrate.

[Amentep]

Yeah high larva mortality rate was what I was thinking, not low birthrate.

 

 

[Giantevilhead]

The way that I often deal with why long lived species aren't able to master every skill is that it's related to how their memory works. The more experience someone acquires, the more difficult it is for them to keep everything straight. As a result, they have to spend a lot during their youth learning how to organize their memories so they don't constantly get distracted by nostalgia or driven insane by regrets, obsession, guilt, etc. And because of how their memory works, they tend to be very selective about what skills they learn since they don't want to "clutter" their minds.

 

Also, I make it so that many long lived races have to go through long periods of meditation/hibernation in order to rejuvenate/reorient their minds where they can cleanse away unwanted/unresolved memories/feelings and relive desirable memories so that they don't get distracted/burdened by those memories when they're trying to live their lives. In fact, that's my explanation for why vampires need to sleep for decades, or centuries at a time.

[Nonek]

The appropriate skills should be modified:

 

Frollicking +20

Snooty +25

Flouncing +15

Poetry (drivel) +50

Surrendering +25

Running away +75

Smugness +100

 

Hope this helps.

[Dawn Quixotic]

For wood elves, I think they can get a pass when they can usually afford to frolick and treat everything like a hobby.

 

For drow, or something, who are living a life of constant struggle, and are under lots of pressure to excel, it makes a bit less sense. You can chalk up a lot of it to high casualties and therefore shorter lives, but there are still plenty of dark elves even so that have lived centuries.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

The appropriate skills should be modified:

 

Frollicking +20

Snooty +25

Flouncing +15

Poetry (drivel) +50

Surrendering +25

Running away +75

Smugness +100

 

Hope this helps.

I had no idea elves were the fantasy equivalent of fanboys.

Edited September 30, 2013 by KaineParker

[Walsingham]

For wood elves, I think they can get a pass when they can usually afford to frolick and treat everything like a hobby.

 

For drow, or something, who are living a life of constant struggle, and are under lots of pressure to excel, it makes a bit less sense. You can chalk up a lot of it to high casualties and therefore shorter lives, but there are still plenty of dark elves even so that have lived centuries.

 

Drow suffer from poor classroom discipline. By which I mean hails of poison darts, corrosive mist bombs, etc. Makes it hard to focus.

[TrashMan]

I'd more think that, the more skill you have, the harder it is to keep them sharp.

Unused skills deteriorate.

 

But like I say - just have young elves in the party (as in, as young as humans) and long-lived odler elves can be lvl 99 super-badasses.

[nikolokolus]

Some of you guys need to expand your horizons on elves.  Read Lord Dunsany, Poul Anderson or even Michael Moorc.o.c.k and you'll never look at the flighty buggers the same way.

Edited October 2, 2013 by nikolokolus

[Walsingham]

I find that it is easier for me to maintain my (relatively) enlightened stance on real bigtory and racism by directing all the latent venom towards elves. Because they are fictional.

 

And the French.

 

For the same reason.

[Nonek]

Gorath in Betrayal at Krondor is what i'm expecting of Eternity's Elves, rather barbaric and honour bound fellows rather than the usual stuck up popinjays, also the tallest character in the roster which is a nice change.

 

Didn't much care for the Melnibonean's and Vadhagh, though the Corum novels were nicely evocative. Agreed that Dunsany's and Anderson's barely human, cruel fey were far more palatable. 

[Tsuga C]

The appropriate skills should be modified:

 

Frollicking +20

Snooty +25

Flouncing +15

Poetry (drivel) +50

Surrendering +25

Running away +75

Smugness +100

 

Hope this helps.

Elves or the French?