D&D General Christmas elves in dnd?

[aco175]

Nobody posted this yet from the old Dragon Magazine.

 

[Koloth]

Since Santa is often referred to as "A jolly old elf" it does seem like Santa Elves can grow beards. At least the one that is the Face of the organization. Maybe there is more going on behind the walls of Toy Central that we mere non Santa Elves are not meant to know. As for a D&D interpretation. Gnomes are a possibility. There are a bizzilion types of Elves. Why not many variations on Gnomes?

Could be as simple as the name. Santa's Elves are just that, an offshoot of Elves that work at the North Pole in Santa's Workshop. After the annual, secret and rather vicious gladiator style completion held just after Christmas, one wins out and becomes Santa and is allowed to sport a full white beard and serves as the face of the place the next year. After which he goes into a well deserved retirement and the next one is selected.

A slightly different variation would be to use the original D&D Hobbits. The typical Tolkien Hobbit does kind of fits the Santa 'Elf' description. Industrious, mostly jolly. Not that prone to adventuring trips that distract from the toy making industry.

If you go with the Futurama version of Xmas Santa, the Paizo Goblins seem a good fit. Goblin toys supply robot Santa's rather profligate expenditure of jolly ammo.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

Amongst other things:
1. I got a group of elves based on Hans Gruber bad guys from Die Hard.
2. I got a pair of wrestler heel elves called Holly and Jolly
3. I did the elf on the shelf as undead watchers.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Since Santa is often referred to as "A jolly old elf" it does seem like Santa Elves can grow beards. At least the one that is the Face of the organization. Maybe there is more going on behind the walls of Toy Central that we mere non Santa Elves are not meant to know. As for a D&D interpretation. Gnomes are a possibility. There are a bizzilion types of Elves. Why not many variations on Gnomes?

Could be as simple as the name. Santa's Elves are just that, an offshoot of Elves that work at the North Pole in Santa's Workshop. After the annual, secret and rather vicious gladiator style completion held just after Christmas, one wins out and becomes Santa and is allowed to sport a full white beard and serves as the face of the place the next year. After which he goes into a well deserved retirement and the next one is selected.

Every one hundred years or so, Santa dies. All the elves whisper about who might take his place. Many rival factions try to position themselves behind the one they think might be The One.

Then, on the first full moon after, one lone elf start growing whiskers. The Spirit of Santa has passed on.

All those who backed the wrong Santa Elf are rounded up and enslaved, forced to build toys while the new Santa’s loyal followers become their privileged overseers.

It’s a cruel life in the North Pole

 

[Willie the Duck]

Since Santa is often referred to as "A jolly old elf" it does seem like Santa Elves can grow beards. At least the one that is the Face of the organization.

Not grown, worn. Santa's beard is actually a collection he has harvested from his side mission of hunting the most deadly of game -- dwarves.

 

[Yaarel]

I know it’s EXTREMELY early, but how would you fine people create Christmas elves in the various edition styles? Obviously they would need to be adapted for cold environments & have some skill bonuses in toy making skills of all sorts. Other than that I’m completely clueless.

Any new thoughts as Christmas is fairly close now.

Santa Claus too is one of the Yule Gnomes (jul nisse). They can be tricksters, and do mischief against the ones that annoy them, whence the "naughty list" can involve a karma retribution, poetic justice. Tho often is a harmless prank as a reminder to do good.

Santa the Gnome delights in causing confusion, by shapeshifting into a member of a Human family who then as-if pretends to be Santa. The actual Human has no memory of the event when trying to impersonate the Gnome.

The Yule Gnomes are typically Small, but cast spells to shapeshift into various sizes, Tiny and Medium, sometimes Large: many know spells such as Grow/Reduce, Alter Self, and Disguise Self.

 

[Yaarel]

The Gnome is sometimes called an "elf", because some English dialects refer to any Fey creature as if an "elf". Even a Goblin can referred to as if an "elf". It goes back to the confusion when "fairy" originally meant any kind of Fey magical creature, but then started to mean a specific kind of magical creature, the one that Shakespeare describes. Conversely an Elf is a specific kind of Fey creature but the term ambiguated to mean any kind of magical creature.

Hence, Santa Claus is actually "the Fey", a Gnome.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

Yeah, I have been arguing that it's Santa and his Gnomes for years based on the beards, the relative shortness, and the industrious nature of the staff.

Elves have this tendency not to show up for work.

 

[GMMichael]

Then, on the first full moon after, one lone elf start growing whiskers. The Spirit of Santa has passed on.

They do say the "spirit" has passed on. But it's the hairiest of each faction that joins the Merry Melee.

Not grown, worn. Santa's beard is actually a collection he has harvested from his side mission of hunting the most deadly of game -- dwarves.

These Melee participants are generally the hairiest of each faction: the alpha males. They are excellent hunters, indicated by their prowess in "catching" dwarves. And eating them. That's how the garb gets so red. But anyway, the Merry Melee has but one survivor, who rules the chiefdom with a jolly fist.

 

[Gradine]

Yeah, it's gnomes.

Plus, plenty of gnomes without beards. Gnomes have been more fey/elf-adjacent and less "Dwarf-lite" since the 90's