The problem with elves (question posed)

[Edena_of_Neith]

Ok, so you wish to play an elven PC in my game?
I'll say yes, and your character will gain a number of special abilities, given in the sblock below:

[sblock]

Here are some elvish extraordinary and supernatural powers:

- Agnakok (Supernatural) as per the 2nd Edition Complete Book of Wizards: the ability to survive comfortably in one of the world's most extreme environments - temperate forest (or, appropriate kind of forest.)
In other words, elves do not sunburn or suntan. They do not overheat in the hot sun. They are blinded by looking at the sun, but their vision returns quickly and they suffer no permanent eye damage of any sort. They are immune to all parasites. Bugs do not bite or sting elves. For that matter, bugs do not get in their eyes, do not fly into elven noses or mouths, bugs do not crawl on elves (even when elves wade into bugs), and bugs do not otherwise bother elves in any way. Poison ivy and oak, and other such plants, do not affect elves. Tree branches do not snap back and slap elves in the face. Elves do not suffer cuts and abraisons, or bruises, from brushing against rough tree bark or roots or scrambling across rocky slopes or in streams with sharp rocks. Elves are immune to most natural diseases, especially water-borne diseases. Elves cannot contract gangrene, flesh eating disease, or similar things from injuries suffered in a forest setting.
Elves can fully sustain themselves by eating leaves. A staple diet of leaves is as good to them as a full diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat is to humans. Not many leaves are required for a full meal, either. Elven waybread, that famous travelling food, is made from leaves and herbs.

- Aging (Supernatural) Elves remain children through 20 years of age. Nothing can force them to be anything other than children (ala Dragonlance kender.) Elves then become teenagish for 100 years after that. Almost nothing can alter this teenaged mindset (ala Dragonlance kender once more.) After that, elves have the vigor and hot blood of young adults for centuries. Elves do not stabilize (ala humans around age 25, in modern society) until around 1,000 years of age. Only after that do elves attain a middle aged and finally elderly state of mind, while their bodies remain healthy (late 20s to 30s.) At 2,000 years of age, the Call of Arvandor begins and slowly intensifies until the elf succumbs to it, years, decades, or centuries later.

- Alignment: Chaotic Good. Now, one must describe what Chaotic Good is. Start with a profound love of life, one's own life and the lives of others. The taking of life is an almost unthinkable horror. Injuring another is a horrific act. Actually harming another elf is out of the question, barring the most extraordinary circumstances.
The profound love of life spills into every attitude, every social custom, every institution of elven civilization, into every law, into daily life.
That's a start. What is the rest? Good question ... elves, like humans, vary greatly in behavior and outlook.

- Immunity (Supernatural) to all natural injected and ingested poisons (even botulism, which is saying something)

- Immunity (Supernatural) to attacks from animals and monsters native to forests, prairies, alpine regions, and inland waterways and lakes. Examples:

- A bear - even an angry bear - will not attack an elf. If the bear is playing with that elf, his swats and bites will not harm her. Even if the bear falls on her, it will not hurt her.
- A skunk will not fire his musk at an elf. If an elf blunders into musk being fired, she will not be affected by it (she will smell it, without ill effects) and will not become odorous afterwards.
- A carrion crawler native to the forest will leave an elf alone. If an elf steps on the carrion crawler, it will try to flee, not attack.
- Green slime will not harm an elf (it would not even irritate her eyes if she got some in her eyes.) It will not fall on an elf. If torn somehow so it must fall on an elf, it will slip off the elf immediately, not hindering her in any way.
- An elf swimming will not be attacked by strangleweed. Swimming through stranglewood, she will not be hindered by it in any way.
- An elf would neither be harmed nor impaired by a school of jellyfish.
- An elf could tap on a hornet's nest all day, and the hornets would remain inside. Even if the elf destroys the nest, the dismayed hornets will not attack the elf.
- A rattlesnake will not bite an elf. If an elf steps on the snake, it still won't bite her.

Elfsight (Supernatural)
Elves can see normally and in color, at any light level from blinding (desert at noon) to just above no light at all. When there is truly no light (an underground cavern) they see in black and white, and their vision is thus less good.
Elven eyes adjust to changing light many times faster than human eyes. They adjust from no light to blinding light, and back, with ease. It is nearly impossible for changes in natural lighting to dazzle or blind an elf (an elf looking directly at the sun for several minutes would be blinded for a couple of rounds: several hours of looking at the sun would blind that elf for a few minutes: several days of looking at the sun would blind that elf for upwards of an hour ... but looking at the sun causes no discomfort or trouble otherwise.)
Elves may choose to see in the Infrared spectrum (they can change to this form of sight and back as a Free Action.) They can see normally out to great distances with this vision, but of course the world looks profoundly different as compared to visible light. Elven eyes are so sensitive to infrared light that it is extremely difficult to hide from them by assuming the same temperature as your surroundings (Arnold could not have pulled his stunt in the film Predator on an elf.)

Appearance (Extraordinary)
Elves appear as extremely handsome youths, or extremely beautiful lasses. They gain +2 to charisma due to this, as their aura of beauty affects all who see them. (All elves, of course, lack beards and mustaches, but they manage to impress dwarves who look upon them anyways.)

[/sblock]

Besides the obvious, can you'all see why my player will be in for a lot of grief, playing this character? Can you see why the character will be difficult to play?

 

[Aus_Snow]

Besides the obvious

(?)

, can you'all see why my player will be in for a lot of grief, playing this character?

No.

Can you see why the character will be difficult to play?

No.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Ok, then, here's the problem:

The powers granted to elves (in the sblock) makes the natural world a paradise for them.
Add in a cooperative and a benevolent society, and a ton of low level magic to do all the mundane work, and you have a people who live in ease and pleasure.
In other words, a people who do not live in reality. A people who cannot live in reality.

If elves were the only sentient race in the world, and the world itself was kindly and benevolent, these powers and their society would work out.
However, surrounding the elves is a Hyborian-like setting, and the world is most certainly not innately friendly.

This produces an inevitable chain of events that sees the elves exterminated. Tolkien saw it, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman saw it, and other authors have seen it. Most game settings assume this tragic path.

- Humanity (and races far more competitive yet) try to take the elven lands for themselves.
- The elves fight for their land, but find humanity (and the others) are far better at fighting.
- The elves lose the war.
- The remnant of the elves find another home, and try to emulate the warcraft of humanity (and the others.)
- The elves invariably find that 'playing human' does not work. Their mindset is against them, their physical nature is against them, and humanity has had a lot more time to learn the art of war.
- The new sanctuary of the elves is overrun. The survivors flee to yet another sanctuary, and try even harder to play human.
- This cycle continues until the elves are obliterated, or so well hid nobody can find them.

The only exception occurs when humanity (or other races, or even divine powers) protect the elves. But this merely prolongs the inevitable. It does not reverse it.

So how does this affect the PC directly? Well ...

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

In the reality of a human dominated world (much less a world with places like Menibone) where is the fun in playing a chaotic good character?
Might makes right, the ruthless dominate, laws favor the powerful, life is worthless, and warriors rule the day.
This is the situation on Aebrinis, Athas, Krynn, and Oerth. It is the rule over most of Toril. It is the rule in Wildspace. It is absolutely the rule in Lankhmar (sp?) and in Hyboria.
The chaotic good character can always be a rebel, but the powers that be have the bigger swords.

Humans do not like elves. Humans, do not like humans, much less elves!
Humans, have this bad tendency to kill elves on sight, or throw them in the arena, or crucify them along the road.
This is the rule over vast parts of Aebrinis, all of Athas, goodly parts of Krynn, and many parts of Toril. In Ravenloft, it is universal. And I doubt elves are going to be highly looked on in Lankhmar or Hyboria.
But the elf in question stands out as ... an elf. He can't help it. It's hard to hide it. His aura and appearance, mannerisms and personality, give him away. The drow face this same problem, only the flip side of the coin.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

The elf cannot share his immunities and powers with his friends. They must find their own means of survival.
So the elf can only sit and watch as wounds, disease, and even old age claims those he cares about.

The powers described above are all but useless in a dungeon (except Elfsight.)
Immunity to forest creatures does not mean immunity to dungeon creatures. The green slime in the forest did not attack the elf, but the black pudding in the dungeon will. The carrion crawlers left him alone, but the piercers will attack.

The powers described are all but useless in a city (but a good way to get arrested for vandalizing trees ...) Immunity to disease is the one notable exception to this.
But immunity to natural poison is useless against an assassin's poison. Immunity to disease won't stop the Lankhmar rats from doing one in.

The powers described are all but useless on a road. They don't pay tolls, or aid in dealing with the king's men, or armor the elf against brigands (or superstitious peasants.) They don't ward off most monsters, since most monsters are not directly associated with the forest and green things.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Playing an elf is an exercise in frustration and angst, no matter what powers you give them.

 

[Imp]

I'm not exactly sure what the point of your exercise is. I can make gold dragons useless, too, by making them into complete pacifists, which is the lynchpin of your elves-are-helpless concept. The other stuff can be finessed.

Mainly with green slime. The human arts of war can pretty much suck it if you have free access to that stuff.

Nor am I sure why those nasty humans would be driven to kill the elves, exactly. They are, after all, hot. They'd probably wind up being concubines.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

interesting. I would play them. It would be odd. it might be really fun, or really boring. really how one interacts with non elves that would make this interesting.

 

[Gez]

However, surrounding the elves is a Hyborian-like setting, and the world is most certainly not innately friendly.

Huh, why? If an elf can jump on a bear, step on a carrion crawler and swim in a fire ant swarm without being attacked, because they have a supernatural immunity to aggressivity; why doesn't it extend to other people too?

 

[robberbaron]

If you don't want your players to be Elves why not just say 'no Elves'?

Seems to me a lot of effort just to say no.