Why do elves sleep now?

[Waylander the Slayer]

Those crazy elves and their caffeine pills.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Hmmm, if that is the case, it would be soundly defeat the purpose of resisting magical sleep effect magik.

If the Elves have to 'sleep', then that long standing immunity will simply...'disappear'.

And I may be wrong here, but the talk of 'reverie' or 'trance'. was well detailed in the 2nd Ed. The Complete Book of Elves, Chapter 3.

But I do understand the means to a 'specific setting effect' for the elves there...

Elves not sleeping is indeed relatively setting specific, and while trances are in Elves of Golarion, it's something we'll honestly probably be moving away from in Golarion. We've done a fair amount to reimagine our elves, and by having them sleep (or at least implying they sleep) does help to make Golarion's elves more Golarion and less Forgotten Realms (which is the actual only setting in which elves don't sleep, I believe... even though they seem to still be on a day-night cycle and often have beds in their homes...).

BUT! If you prefer the non-sleeping elves, that certainly still works in your game. Unless I'm wrong, there's nothing in the elf flavor text in the PRPG that says they DO sleep, is there?

 

[Relique du Madde]

Elves don't sleep they hibernate.

 

[CleverNickName]

I always had a hard time trying to figure out why elves didn't sleep in the last three editions. Ever since the Basic Rules, I have always interpreted the "immune to sleep spells" rule as exactly that: they still slept like everyone else, they just couldn't be put to sleep artificially. Sort of like how a creatures that is immune to charm effects can still be your friend...it just can't be magically tricked into it.

It might not be "by the book," but it works for us.

 

[an_idol_mind]

To my knowledge, elves only started not sleeping as of the Complete Book of Elves in 2nd edition. Even then, ithe reverie was an 8-hour cycle that was essentially the equivalent of sleep, if I recall correctly - elves just recalled old memories rather than dreaming. 3rd edition is the first time I remember an elven trance actually being in the core rules.

Even if I'm wrong about the exact origin of the elven trance, I'm pretty sure than the sleep and charm resistance predates the reverie/trance stuff.

 

[Felon]

Actually, it does. Elven Reverie is mentioned in the physical description of the Elves in the race section of the book.

So it's not part of the SRD so it's not covered by the OGL, right? If that's the case, then there's the OP's answer.

 

[delericho]

To my knowledge, elves only started not sleeping as of the Complete Book of Elves in 2nd edition. Even then, ithe reverie was an 8-hour cycle that was essentially the equivalent of sleep, if I recall correctly - elves just recalled old memories rather than dreaming. 3rd edition is the first time I remember an elven trance actually being in the core rules.

Even if I'm wrong about the exact origin of the elven trance, I'm pretty sure than the sleep and charm resistance predates the reverie/trance stuff.

Sounds about right. Of course, "The Complete Book of Elves" wasn't exactly the most balanced 2nd Edition supplement...

Incidentally, Drizzt sleeps (or slept - it was probably retconned):

Even the valiant Drow, though, had overstepped the bounds of his stamina during the rush through the Evermoors, and soon he too nodded his head and joined his friends in slumber.

 

[Ambrus]

To my knowledge, elves only started not sleeping as of the Complete Book of Elves in 2nd edition. Even then, ithe reverie was an 8-hour cycle that was essentially the equivalent of sleep, if I recall correctly - elves just recalled old memories rather than dreaming. 3rd edition is the first time I remember an elven trance actually being in the core rules.

This was my understanding as well.

Incidentally, Drizzt sleeps (or slept - it was probably retconned):

Now we've stumbled upon the truth of the matter. Pathfinder elves aren't actually sleeping; they're just trying to emulate the most popular elf in publishing history. Soon they'll be smearing boot polish onto their faces too. Bunch of lame wannabes.

 

[Dantilla]

In something I read once (although I can't quite remember where, so it may not have been canon in the first place and render my whole post a moot point), I saw that although Elves trance, DROW actually do sleep, which would explain the mention of slumber in the description of Everyone's Favorite Drow.

Of course, a further interpretation could be that the author was being poetic, as opposed to literal:

"joined his friends in slumber" vs. "crept into a comfortable partially reclining position vaguely similar to that of his companions, closed his eyes and relaxed in a way that somewhat resembled sleep, but actually went over his many years of memories instead of actually dreaming, and in addition was partially but not fully aware of his surroundings."

 

[delericho]

In something I read once (although I can't quite remember where, so it may not have been canon in the first place and render my whole post a moot point), I saw that although Elves trance, DROW actually do sleep, which would explain the mention of slumber in the description of Everyone's Favorite Drow.

Possibly. Although this may also be an after-the-fact justification following someone pointing out the discrepancy. I'm also reasonably sure that later Drizzt novels talk about him entering reverie.

Of course, a further interpretation could be that the author was being poetic, as opposed to literal:

I suspect it's more likely that "Streams of Silver" predates "The Complete Book of Elves" by some years. Salvatore can't really be faulted for not being aware of the contents of a book that hadn't been published yet.