In what edition and book did the elves'...

[The Human Target]

lack of a need for sleep originate?

Did it coinicde with their resistance to sleep effects?

And was in inspired by something in fiction?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

They've had the resistance to Sleep at least since the AD&D PHB in the mid 1970s- I don't remember if it existed in the earlier versions of the game.

I think the sleeplessness originated in 2Ed, but I can't recall. It might have existed in AD&D, too.

 

[Rydac]

Inspiration in fiction is most likely from Lord of the Rings.....years since I read but recall that when Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas were tracking Merry & Pippin....tracking them while undergoing a forced march when Aragorn or Gimli awoke it was always to find Legolas awake keeping watch over them

 

[Rune]

I believe that book would have been The Two Towers. Although, I think Tolkien did have elves sleep in The Hobbit (passed out drunk) and in Fellowship of the Ring (Legolas, at one point).

Edit--Ninja'd!

 

[LostSoul]

http://deltasdnd.blogspot.ca/2011/12/elves-through-ages.html

Talks about changes to elves throughout the various D&D editions. Looks like sleep and charm resistance comes up in AD&D.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Huh, I had always assumed that elves had no need to sleep from the start, thanks to Legolas.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I suspect that the lack of "need" for sleep arose in 3E, when someone wanted an explanation for why elves were 90% immune to sleep effects in 1E/2E. "They don't sleep" was a handwave -- a better choice IMO would be to say that elves' nature renders them resistant to some types of enchantments, at let it go at that. 90% is not immunity and does not mean they don't sleep -- full immunity didn't come until 3E.

Anyone have the first reference to "trance" in a D&D product? I suspect it's the 3E PHB, but don't know for certain.

 

[Libramarian]

Elves' lack of a need for sleep is mentioned in Roger Moore's "The Elven Point of View" article from Dragon#60, 1982. I would think that's the first reference.

 

[Stormonu]

First I saw of it was in 2E's Complete Books of Elves and the introduction of elvin "trance". Prior to that, elves had resistance to sleep, but still needed 8 hours of rest - to my memory.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Ditto that.