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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 4579246" data-attributes="member: 54707">Made me laugh.In my world, which is actually two geologically identical worlds, one in which humans live (our world) and one in which Elves, Eladrin, etc, live, the Eladrin being a sort of competitor to the Elves. So I'll describe the contrast.The Elves, who call themselves the Sidhel, are very sophisticated, slow to reproduce (and so population is small), long lived, and master architects who build incredible cities. (Because of their small population they often invite others, such as friendly giants, dwarves, and so forth to live in their cities and will even make such others citizens who can eventually serve in the government if they prove themselves reliable - the Elves build cities far too large for themselves with the express purpose of attracting allied and dependable folk to live among them.) They tend for the most part to be urbanized (not like humans, - they are urbanized but to a large extent secretive - preferring to live in cities and population clusters where their low numbers are given advantage by grouping together), highly educated, master artisans and craftsmen, technologically oriented, and much of their Elturgy (magic) is geared towards things like manufacture, building, invention, and so forth. They have even developed a form of magic that allows them to produce living, or biologically oriented microorganisms, in effect giving them a bio-nanotech. They use their technologically geared magic in ways that give them advantages that allow them to compete with larger and stronger races (such as giants), with fiercely competitive technological races (dwarves, to whom they are cousins), with more fecund races, and with dangerous opponents and other users of magic. There is no Thaumaturgy, or Divine Magic in their world, so the Sidhel, or Elves tend to be fascinated and very attracted to the Thaumaturgy of the human world. The Elves want to learn how Thaumaturgy works and many think it would be a better replacement for Elturgy (the Elturgy versus Liturgy argument) as a system of magic to protect and progress them, others do not. However most elves, regardless of their position on Thaumaturgy are naturally curious about, fascinated by, and attracted to the supernatural. They are likewise fascinated by human beings. They are also very philosophical and spiritual and prefer diplomacy, intrigue and outsmarting enemies to outright hostilities. They are a clever and cunning people. Elves, as a general practice prefer hiring mercenaries to do their fighting, and hiring others to do their exploring for them. The Sidhel have a very ancient, unified language with few dialects and a very stable vocabulary.The Eladrin, who are also related to the Sidhel, are anti-technological and to some extent anti-Elturgical. They are also long lived but because they eschew medicine they sometimes fall prey to serious injuries or disease that can kill them prematurely. They are also to some extent a violent folk. They prefer to live in the countryside, eschew cities and urban centers, reproduce more often and more easily than Elves or Dwarves, but face the disadvantage with hostile opponents that because they tend to be clannish and live in small groups, they are easier prey for enemies. However they have a natural tendency to inter-clan fighting and argument and do not band together easily, so theirs is more a guerilla, Indian-style warfare than the organized and disciplined fight promoted by the Sidhel and their allies. The Elves consider Eladrin wild, reckless, foolish and self-destructive, the Eladrin consider the Elves effeminate, overly-urbanized, sterile, feeble, and weak. When it comes to magic the Eladrin prefer what might be called in game terms, Druidic magic, but they also like the efforts of their own hand and labor. They are hard working but tend to be disorganized and often reckless and foolhardily brave in personal combat or in situations of physical danger. Eladrin tend to be split about the question of human Thaumaturgy. A minority are attracted to the idea, a majority are opposed to it as alien, untrustworthy, and otherworldly. The Eladrin also tend to get along better with giants and halflings. Typically speaking they are distrustful and suspicious of humans and the feeling is usually entirely mutual. The Eladrin are, as a rule a pragmatic and practical people, they either disdain or are frightened by the supernatural, and they prefer to do most everything for themselves. They tend not to "hire-out" preferring to learn any skill they need, and those skills and abilities most prized are survival skills. They are not diplomatic but rather very plain spoken and brash, quick of temper, and will not turn aside from a fight or matter of personal honor. They prefer action to theory and would rather be out in any kind of weather hunting, fishing, farming, or playing than philosophizing, thinking, or inventing. They make excellent explorers because many are thrill seekers and enjoy diverse forms of personal experience, and travel over great distances. They prefer hands-on education methods to book learning and although most can read and write they produce few scholars, historians, writers, artists, or architects, like the Elves do. They do not seek out information for information's sake. The Eladrin have a number of different dialects, some so varied that they appears almost as separate languages. Their vocabulary if often non-standardized and a single individual in a single clan might speak two or three different dialects during the same conversation depending on context. However, because of the complexity of their language they often make excellent and natural linguists, but they prefer language of a spoken or oral content to written forms. For this reason many can recite huge volumes of material that they have heard recited simply by us of their own memory.These are of course just general racial traits. Individual Elves or Eladrin can be as they choose to be.</blockquote>

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