D&D General So how do Half-Elfs feel different to Elfs?

[Maxperson]

Living longer means accomplishing bigger, more ambitious, more impactful goals. Longevity motivates more productivity, more innovation, more responsibility.

You're still hung up on your human bias. Elves are not human.

 

[Yaarel]

You're still hung up on your human bias. Elves are not human.

Nor are Elves the Human conservative traditionalists.

Elves are fates, they literally personify the future and preparing momentous change.

 

[Maxperson]

Nor are Elves the Human conservative traditionalists.

I have no idea what you mean by that.

Elves are fates, they literally personify the future and preparing momentous change.

Are you talking about Norse elves? Because those aren't the traditional D&D elf.

 

[Remathilis]

We relate to them because we're telling human stories. Spock resonates because his story is essentially human. We understand the Romulans because we've always had empires and the people who run them throughout history.

And yet there have been other Vulcans who weren't half-human and they were as relatable. Spock is beloved because he's the OG, not because he's half-human.

Further, we don't need any humans to relate to a story. The Lion King has zero humans and we understand the story of it. Avatar uses aliens. We once had a movie featuring anthropomorphic cars. We've been telling stories about animals from Aesop to Bri'r Rabbit to Sly Coyote. The idea we couldn't tell a fantasy story without a human or half-human is tosh.

 

[AlViking]

Living longer means accomplishing bigger, more ambitious, more impactful goals. Longevity motivates more productivity, more innovation, more responsibility.

Depends on what you mean by bigger, more ambitious and impactful. Someone with a very long life may decide that writing an epic poem that spoke to the heart of fellow elves was the most impactful

And yet there have been other Vulcans who weren't half-human and they were as relatable. Spock is beloved because he's the OG, not because he's half-human.

Further, we don't need any humans to relate to a story. The Lion King has zero humans and we understand the story of it. Avatar uses aliens. We once had a movie featuring anthropomorphic cars. We've been telling stories about animals from Aesop to Bri'r Rabbit to Sly Coyote. The idea we couldn't tell a fantasy story without a human or half-human is tosh.

Pretty much all Star Trek aliens are humans with prosthetics. Even when their culture is significantly different from ours it's typically because of poor leadership or traditions and the benevolent Federation needs to show them the truth. Vulcans probably come the closest but even then over the years they've become more relatable and "human".

I've liked many of the shows over the years but showing truly alien species and a different moral compass or outlook on life is not exactly their strong suit.

 

[AlViking]

Living longer means accomplishing bigger, more ambitious, more impactful goals. Longevity motivates more productivity, more innovation, more responsibility.

Depends on what you mean by bigger, more ambitious and impactful. Someone with a very long life may decide that taking a century to finish writing an epic poem that spoke to the heart of fellow elves was the most impactful. Perhaps redirecting the flow of water to slowly carve away subtle images on the side of a cliff is more ambitious. Planting, pruning and guiding a forest into what they consider the most balanced is a project taking generations that will never even be noticed by humans is bigger.

Humans have different motivations and perspectives on life so their goals and ambitions, what drives them, will be different as well.

 

[Remathilis]

Depends on what you mean by bigger, more ambitious and impactful. Someone with a very long life may decide that writing an epic poem that spoke to the heart of fellow elves was the most impactful


Pretty much all Star Trek aliens are humans with prosthetics. Even when their culture is significantly different from ours it's typically because of poor leadership or traditions and the benevolent Federation needs to show them the truth. Vulcans probably come the closest but even then over the years they've become more relatable and "human".

I've liked many of the shows over the years but showing truly alien species and a different moral compass or outlook on life is not exactly their strong suit.

Ain't D&D's either. Which is why most species are "humans with prosthetics". Buts that the limitations of human perception. Just as we can't draw pictures of the fourth dimension, we can't tell stories about mindsets humans cannot comprehend. Some try harder, but in the end they're all humans in hats.

 

[TwoSix]

Living longer means accomplishing bigger, more ambitious, more impactful goals. Longevity motivates more productivity, more innovation, more responsibility.

To be fair, that sounds like something like a venture capitalist harvesting “youthful blood” transfusions from transients would say.

 

[AlViking]

Ain't D&D's either. Which is why most species are "humans with prosthetics". Buts that the limitations of human perception. Just as we can't draw pictures of the fourth dimension, we can't tell stories about mindsets humans cannot comprehend. Some try harder, but in the end they're all humans in hats.

I was discussing what I think they should be like, not how fiction depicts them. For D&D most species have slowly become more "humans in costumes" over the years. Doesn't mean I have to agree with that depiction any more than I think they need to do things we would consider grandly ambitious in the fiction.

 

[Remathilis]

I was discussing what I think they should be like, not how fiction depicts them. For D&D most species have slowly become more "humans in costumes" over the years. Doesn't mean I have to agree with that depiction any more than I think they need to do things we would consider grandly ambitious in the fiction.

They've always been humans in hats. The fact the hats were more elaborate than a Royal Wedding guest's doesn't change that. Humans in hats is all we can do. In Star Trek, in D&D, in any speculative fiction. Some people just demand everyone where the same style of hat.