Elves: Technologically and Arcane superior beings?

[Angel Tarragon]

In my campaign I'm trying to figure out how a race like elves might go from being protectors of the green, to being superior than all other races in tech and arcane matters. With the help of the Dwarves, they mave managed to build the first skyscrapers and use magic to erect standard one story buildings in the course of an hour or less. My world puts elves as the dominant 'controller' species. How should I change their racial traits to reflect this?

 

[Crothian]

I'm not sure you need to. Maybe give them bonuses to knowledge skills instead of spot listen and search as the most advanced societies tend to also be the most educated. But a lot of this just goes to them havign the best toys in both magic and technology.

 

[ElvishBard]

One trait you could change is them having higher numbers. You should try to remember that the strongest people don't matter, the strongest magics do. Just give the elves lots of fun toys and stuff like Crothian suggested then say elves rule the world. I guess you could level up all the elves in the towns and whatnot too, but the most important thing would be just to say elves rule it and give them fun toys to play with, they don't need racial bonuses.

 

[Vrecknidj]

Why would elves build skyscrapers? (Just curious.) It seems to me that, being nature-loving and all that, they'd want to be closer to the ground.

Dave

 

[Tonguez]

Biotech (aka Druid + Wizard) use shape wood and plant growth etc to literally 'grow skyscrapers'
Get them into eugenics and genetic enegineering 'improving' lesser species, and manipulating plants, fungi and even algae and singlecelled organisms
Use magic to have natural materials replace metals, and have elf wizards start experiementing with Crystals (which are natural growing things too) and discover Psionics (and the ability to 'grow' Psionic skins from algae).

Its all nature and all tech at the same time...

 

[LostSoul]

Just give them levels appropriate to their hundreds of years of experience. Your average elven "commoner" might be an Aristocrat2/Wizard3.

 

[Storyteller01]

I've always thought of treating elves almost as Vulcans, without the need for absolute logic. Ther need to master themsleves and magic created their society.

Not sure I'd use the 'elves as technologically superior' angle. Tech is usually created out of need, passion, or coincidence. Not saying that elves aren't passionate about their work, but they live too darn long!! Humans have a need to be remembered or to improve their 'short hard lives'.

I always believed that elves were better at magic because it came naturally.

 

[skippy_the_witch]

On the Cursed Earth Campaign world, my elves are not technologically adept, but can use the Technomagic devices developed and built by the gnomes and dwarves. They run things in the Federation (all races are equal, just Elves are more equal than others), mostly because their elemental priests (based on the Oriental Adventures Shugenja) have the secret on how to make magic items, especially TM items, resistant to the Shadow and it's Taint. Elves even have a bonus to Computer Use skill, as they are the ones that developed the ONLY operating system allowed, and one that follows elven logic. Then again, my elves have more in common with the WH40K Eldar than either Tolkein or standard D&D. And have a more oriental bent, with their base classes being samurai, shugenja, and wu jen variants and of lawful alignment.

skippy
The GM of the Cursed Earth