Racial Thoughts: Elves

[JmOz]

The purpose of this thread is as follows, to refine my thoughts on elves via peer review, I welcome any and all comments

 

Elves are of the sylvian races, with 2 known distinct sub races, as with most sylvian races all are more attuned to the natural world.

 

The Riar, sometime called High Elves are some of the most civilized being know, there cities are large towers, connected by bridges. They travel on winged beasts (Griffons, Giant Eagles, etc...). Their society is highly political, with both the church and the royalty in a constant rivalry (The kings guard and the Cardinal Guard are constantly dueling despite being ordered not to). Linked to the element of Air

 

The Thea, sometimes called Wood Elves, smallest in stature, lives in small villages often in trees, while often mistaken for being unintelegent savages they are actualy quite intelegent, especialy in the way of nature. Linked to the element of "Life"

 

As an astute reader may assume there are actualy 3 other races of elves not listed here, as they will not be part of the first arc they are not being developed quite yet. Earth with be sub teraining (Think Good Drow), Aquatic, and a 5th linked to fire...

 

So any ideas...

[Curufea]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

Just that sylvan or silvan (alternate spelling) merely means someone who lives in the woods. Is it applicable for non-forest dwellers?

[JmOz]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

for my purposes it is going to be how linked to nature they are.

 

It actualy is also going to be a spectrum between sylvian on one side to black bloods on the other with the so called Red bloods (Human, Dwarf, Halfling, etc...)

[jtelson]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

How do the religions compare?

Are there practical differences between the Thean Shamen and the Riaran Priests?

 

It seems like the Riarans will have formalized their practices, perhaps increasing the importance, in their worship, of more orderly gods; insisting that worship take place at certain times in specifically proscribed manners, somehow taken a bit of the life out of the worship of nature.

 

If that's the case then it could easily lead to conflicts, The assumption that their primitive cousins aren't doing it right might lead to a need to proselytize (Although it could be interesting to have it go the other way, the country elves trying to convert the city elves away from rigid worship)

[JmOz]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

How do the religions compare?

Are there practical differences between the Thean Shamen and the Riaran Priests?

 

It seems like the Riarans will have formalized their practices, perhaps increasing the importance, in their worship, of more orderly gods; insisting that worship take place at certain times in specifically proscribed manners, somehow taken a bit of the life out of the worship of nature.

 

If that's the case then it could easily lead to conflicts, The assumption that their primitive cousins aren't doing it right might lead to a need to proselytize (Although it could be interesting to have it go the other way, the country elves trying to convert the city elves away from rigid worship)

 

rep for a good question

 

Anyways, I do see the Riarans having a formalized religion, modeled in large part on 1600 French Catholitiam (as portraid in the works of Dumas---Three muskateers, Man in the iron mask, etc...). Their chief god will be a sky god.

 

As for the Theans, they take a much more open religious view, they view EVERYTHING to be of religious value, the greatest sin is to not be making the most of your life, to play it safe (Or more in truth dull, it is not that they are risk takers, they just want to get the most out of life)

[jtelson]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

So for the Riarans someone like Ostri/Urcia would be their central god. Ostri's a proto-iberian (principally Basque) sky god that when they were Christianized became their word for the Christian God?

 

Is it safe to assume that the Riaran government is a Dumasian Monarchy? So you've got

The King's Guard: Musketeers, loyal to the King/Queen vs. The Cardinal's Guard: Praetorians loyal to the Church as represented by a local head with an external threat (Englad) and greedy nobles loyal by the moment to whosoever will give them more power.

 

Is there a worldwide version of the religion and so a pope, "The Right Hand of Ostri" kind of thing that whoever your Richelieu character is in theory responsible to?

[JmOz]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

So for the Riarans someone like Ostri/Urcia would be their central god. Ostri's a proto-iberian (principally Basque) sky god that when they were Christianized became their word for the Christian God?

 

Is it safe to assume that the Riaran government is a Dumasian Monarchy? So you've got

The King's Guard: Musketeers, loyal to the King/Queen vs. The Cardinal's Guard: Praetorians loyal to the Church as represented by a local head with an external threat (Englad) and greedy nobles loyal by the moment to whosoever will give them more power.

 

Is there a worldwide version of the religion and so a pope, "The Right Hand of Ostri" kind of thing that whoever your Richelieu character is in theory responsible to?

 

 

No, not really a pope, and yes to the rest, the humans represent the external threat, but more of a political rival than a enemy. Also they do recognise a few gods (I'm thinking about 6. 3 that are worshiped, 3 that are looked at as demons)

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

There is potential for great rivalry between the Riar and Thea.

 

Perhaps the Riar once lived in forests as well but they abandoned this simpler way of life for the delights of civilisation.

 

And every now and again a band of Thea turn up in a Riar city and start planting trees, preaching the ways of nature and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

 

The two races could even be caught in a bloodless war with one side pushing back the forest in order to build cities and the other planting new trees wherever they can and attempting to reclaim cleared areas.

[Clonus]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

One of these days, I'm going to do a campaign where humans call these guys "forest elves" and those guys "high elves" and the other guys "sea elves" and the three species are going to have no more relationship to each other than they do to humanity. Humans just call every good looking humanoid species an "elf".

[Markdoc]

Re: Racial Thoughts: Elves

 

One of these days' date=' I'm going to do a campaign where humans call these guys "forest elves" and those guys "high elves" and the other guys "sea elves" and the three species are going to have no more relationship to each other than they do to humanity. Humans just call every good looking humanoid species an "elf".[/quote']

 

I've gone the opposite way in my game: humans call the various Faeries "Elves", "Gnomes", "Pixies", "Giants", "Dwarves", "Trolls", etc, but in truth they are all one race.

 

cheers, Mark