Elves vs. Vulcans

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Well, in D&D 3.x terms, Elves and Vulcans only share the same humanoid figure and pointed ears, but otherwise are completely different - Vulcans are Lawful Neutral with all their emotion-controlling and logical thinking, and Elves are chaotic good.
Vulcans live on a hot planet (mostly desert), Elves like to live in forests or near water. (And some live underground)
Vulcans are dextrous, strong and tough (well, most Startrek races are "better" than humans in these regards), elves are dextrous but not so tough.

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Tonguez]

I hate elves

Spock is kewl

ergo Elves are not like Vulcans

 

[the Jester]

The thing that makes elves different (imho, and imc) is their perception of time. Since they live so long, they rarely hurry; they know they'll get whatever done in due time. Your kingdom was overthrown by a human tyrant? You can likely just outlive him.

I once played an extremely attractive female elf who'd happily have sex with anyone, once she got to know them a little.

Which meant about twenty years.

 

[Richards]

Tonguez - Ah, but Spock was only a half-Vulcan. Doesn't that throw your well-reasoned argument astray?

Another difference: there's no such thing as the "Elven nerve pinch."

Johnathan

 

[sledged]

There are some similarities between Vulcans and elves, and some obvious differences. Are there campaigns out there where the elves are more like their spacefaring cousins (ie. tend toward dispassion, etc, like Elrond in LotR)? Also, what do you find essential about elves in a fantasy setting -- is it the magic, the ears, the grace?

On a similar note, aside from the physical differences, I always thought Krynnish minotaurs were exactly like Klingons. And on a not so similar note, I was quite amused to find out that Weis and Hickman modeled Tanis Half-elven after Captain James T. Kirk.

 

[JDJarvis]

Elves and Vulcans are similar beacuse they both have pointy ears and are into mystic mumbo-jumbo other then that they are entierly different one is group is ruled by whimsy and emotion the other by logic and the desire to not give in to emotion.

Vulcans and the Verric of Arcana Unearthed certainly have more in common than do the standed D&D elves and Vulcans.

 

[feydras]

The elves in the Iron Kingdoms by Privateer Press are fairly unique. There are two distinct races of elves and they don't get along. The elves, like the setting as a whole, are well thought out and twisted a bit. Both races are isolationist, but for different reasons.

The Iosian elves live almost exclusively sequestered in their elven nation, Ios. They are holding a secret... their gods have been dying for the past couple centuries and all are dead but one. When that god dies the elven race will birth no more. The cause of this blight is unknown but cause for much speculation and desperate search. The remaining god Scryah (i think) is remaining silent about the cause. Each divine spell cast by an elven cleric taxes their god slightly, hastening his demise. This makes the race generally bitter, paranoid and often hopeless. Many among them blame the upstart human nations due to historical reasons regarding humans' fairly recent acquistion of magic. The few Iosian elves outside of Ios are generally diplomats or merchants surrounded by guards and often veiled. The few others (PCs for example) are almost always outcasts. Absolutely no non-elves are allowed in Ios, the elves desperately hide the secret that they are a dying race as they fear they would be attacked if their weaknesses were known. Racial alignment if one had to guess would likely be NG, CG, N, or CN. But they are not the friendly CG elves of vanilla D&D.

The Nyss elves are a breed of elves that split off from the Iosians millenium ago and live sequestered deep in northern artic lands. They are tribal and as isolationist as the Iosians. They worship the elven god of winter, Nyss, who is unbeknownst to the Iosians, still alive but frozen to forestall his death. The Nyss are honor driven but not 'good' or 'lawful' in any way. The race is CN in general. They count no wizards among them but have some sorcerors. Champions among them wield katana like swords handed down within their family.

Both Iosians and Nyss have a general dislike and major distrust of all non-elves and any elves of the other subrace. They both have a marked arogance, but then wouldn't you if your culture existed for millenium and you watched the squabling of petty races around you barely surfaced from barbarism? Half-elves are almost non-existent and generally despised by both humans and especially elves. Humans don't romanticise the elves, they generally dislike, fear or consider them so rare as to be irrelevant.

The Iron Kingdoms Campaign Guide is due out this week or next. Can't wait to get my grubby paws on it as i have been waiting for over 2 yrs for it!

- Feydras

 

[RangerWickett]

Elves are just like humans for the first few decades. Sure, parents can tell them that they're going to grow up and see things in the long term, but until they're 60 or so, Elves act just like humans. In my campaign, Elves emerge from 'puberty' at about 25, and hit full adulthood at 40.

Elves learn at the same pace as humans, can adapt to new culture or technology just as easily, and not grow stagnant in their 'old age.' As youths, they develop emotionally a bit more slowly, and until they're around long enough to see humans start to die of old age, they don't quite get what it is to be an Elf. But by the age of 100, an Elf is no longer just a person; he's more like an institution. A family. With some much time, an Elf begins to think of himself the way a human family thinks of itself.

Older Elves tend to very complicated individuals, because in their one life they've had the time to act like several people, reenvisioning themselves several times, occasionally disapproving of their own habits but being willing to try something out because, well, you have to try new things to stay young. Just like a long-lived, historical family might have black sheep, respected heroes, beloved old relatives, and a huge connection of contacts, so would a centuries-old Elf have his own rich history. Elves don't stay the same for their entire lives, no more than the children of one generation are like their parents.

Having an Elf for a friend is like knowing the Kennedys, or the British royal family. Others might think they're all the same, but those who know them realize they're as diverse as any human family would be.

 

[Turanil]

IMC, there's three cultures of elves: the barbaric (N, living in forests, over-emotional, fickle, as likely to frolick with a traveler as they are to hunt him and feed him to their wolves -- or sometimes even to themselves), the civilised (CG, sea-going, avoiding most other civilisations but always behaving friendly and politely when they meet other people), and the decadent (LE, living in the cities they rule, ruthless oppressors who masquerade as divine beings).

Gez, I did notice in various posts that you seem to have great ideas. I would love to be a player in your campaign... it's seems to be really cool. It could even make me forget my current anger at basic D&D, which finally looks to me as the Disneyland of Heroic Fantasy.

 

[Dark Jezter]

I hate elves

Spock is kewl

ergo Elves are not like Vulcans

That was beautiful.