D&D General trying to make an alien-themed race but they keep turning into elves, help.

[Dannyalcatraz]

I thank you for the attempt but it just sounds like you fell into the elf trap more exactly one not far from wood elves.

read the first bit again and you get an elf.

do you see how unironically hard it is to not make an elf?

With respect, I disagree. And I think I’m beginning to see the roots of your quandary.

Things can have similar appearances without being all that much alike. See cleaner wrasses and false cleanerfish (a kind of blenny).

Wood elves are NOT animists. Their return to a more harmonious existence with nature was a reaction to and rejection of the cultures of other, more urbanized elves. Their beliefs in the nature of the divine, etc. is no different from their cousins. Their pantheon is no different from other elves- Corellan is still their creator, etc.- they just emphasize those within it differently. Their visual aesthetics are not that different from their cousins, either.

The race I described see the world through a very different lens than other D&D species. They don’t worship gods, and may not even view them as beings worthy of worshiping. Instead, gods might be seen as just more powerful versions of the creatures that venerate them. And the functional simplicity of things that they create would appeal more to dwarves than to elves.

Wood elves are kind of like back to nature hippies. This other species has more of an ascetic and minimalistic mentality.

 

[Yaarel]

@Mind of tempest, what about?

"Nonelf"

• Creature Type: Aberrant

• Alignment: Any

• Speed: fly speed 30 (no walk speed), swim speed 30

• Appearance: some blend of sea life. No arms, can use one tail as if a hand.

• Habitat: Wildspace of the astral plane, corresponding to outer space but within the solar system, between planets; the astral wildspace teams with life that often resembles sea life.

• Culture: None. The nonelf is a solitary creature, highly territorial forcing away fellow nonelves, except during brief mating seasons, whereupon mates separate again. Can cooperate for a strictly pragmatic completable task.

• Temperament: hyper-pragmatic, considering utility, likelihood, and efficiency of resources.

• Reproductive cycle: complex involving two separate creature types, one that spawns to spread far, and from it, one that develops into the nonelf, who goes various forms during maturation.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I was just offering an example of a race from a hellish extra plane origin, but I will take your advice into account.

that is tricky as they are hard to define:
slender, tall, unusually attractive, often pointy-eared
deep connection with nature, often live in forests/trees
expert fighters, especially bowmen
very long lifespan and eternal
powerful magical capabilities, high magic potential
seem safe bets.

Gnomes are often thought to have a mystical outlook, but they have a less aloof, more curious and enthusiastic nature.
Are they suitable non-elf-like for your purposes?

 

[kolya]

I feel like you have decided that this is a problem with no solution.
No matter what suggestion anybody makes you have an excuse for why it won't work or why it has already failed.

Your conception of elf is a black hole, anything that strays too close, no matter how minutely, gets sucked in and is labeled a failure.
It doesn't sound like you actually want a solution.

 

[Mind of tempest]

With respect, I disagree. And I think I’m beginning to see the roots of your quandary.

Things can have similar appearances without being all that much alike. See cleaner wrasses and false cleanerfish (a kind of blenny).

Wood elves are NOT animists. Their return to a more harmonious existence with nature was a reaction to and rejection of the cultures of other, more urbanized elves. Their beliefs in the nature of the divine, etc. is no different from their cousins. Their pantheon is no different from other elves- Corellan is still their creator, etc.- they just emphasize those within it differently. Their visual aesthetics are not that different from their cousins, either.

The race I described see the world through a very different lens than other D&D species. They don’t worship gods, and may not even view them as beings worthy of worshiping. Instead, gods might be seen as just more powerful versions of the creatures that venerate them. And the functional simplicity of things that they create would appeal more to dwarves than to elves.

Wood elves are kind of like back to nature hippies. This other species has more of an ascetic and minimalistic mentality.

I have never seen it described as only that way for it to be a wood elf, normally it is far vaguer and I have seen suggestions on other site who I was once a part of that wood elves would likely produce monks as they would both do well stat wise and from there situation, wood elves as hippies are common sure but not the only interpretation.

"Nonelf"

• Creature Type: Aberrant

• Alignment: Any

• Speed: fly speed 30 (no walk speed), swim speed 30

• Appearance: some blend of sea life. No arms, can use one tail as if a hand.

• Habitat: Wildspace of the astral plane, corresponding to outer space but within the solar system, between planets; the astral wildspace teams with life that often resembles sea life.

• Culture: None. The nonelf is a solitary creature, highly territorial forcing away fellow nonelves, except during brief mating seasons, whereupon mates separate again. Can cooperate for a strictly pragmatic completable task.

• Temperament: hyper-pragmatic, considering utility, likelihood, and efficiency of resources.

• Reproductive cycle: complex involving two separate creature types, one that spawns to spread far, and from it, one that develops into the nonelf, who goes various forms during maturation.

needs to be able to be more prime material it is what makes the gith races so unusable.

Gnomes are often thought to have a mystical outlook, but they have a less aloof, more curious and enthusiastic nature.
Are they suitable non-elf-like for your purposes?

gnomes have their own problems or did you not see the thread about gnomes?

I feel like you have decided that this is a problem with no solution.
No matter what suggestion anybody makes you have an excuse for why it won't work or why it has already failed.

Your conception of elf is a black hole, anything that strays too close, no matter how minutely, gets sucked in and is labeled a failure.
It doesn't sound like you actually want a solution.

it is not an all-consuming black hole it is the simple problem that I have seen a million types of elf over the years, I am only disagreeing because people have done elves of that idea before, I have ideas on how to solve one-half of the duo culture but it does not work for the other half and when someone just gives me an idea I have seen for wood elves I tend to refuse it.
besides, do you know how many types of elves there are in fiction, I do not mean dnd I mean the whole thing and the things which are just elves with like a hat and the serial numbers cut off? hard to imagine when people built elves around the same niche you seek to put something different there.

 

[Yaarel]

needs to be able to be more prime material it is what makes the gith races so unusable.

Because it is impossible to age in the astral plane, githyanki and other astral races such as this one, necessarily have "outposts" in the material plane or other planes, where the young offspring become able to grow up into adulthood.

Thus, githyanki adults populate the aster, but their nurseries with adult guardians populate the matter.

 

[Mecheon]

this is going to take some explaining, please explain?

Lalafel, the dwarf/halfling/gnome equivalent in Final Fantasy 14, look kind of like potatoes. So, folks call them potatoes

Going on from this, without knowing what specific narrative traits this group has I can’t help on the problem outside of: make them long. Just, eerily long. No one will confuse them with elves if they’re long

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

wood elves as hippies are common sure but not the only interpretation.

Wood Elves as hippies doesn’t preclude them from any class in particular at all. Their “hippieness“ is a description of how they’re countercultural in regards to the more common elf subtypes.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Because it is impossible to age in the astral plane, githyanki and other astral races such as this one, necessarily have "outposts" in the material plane or other planes, where the young offspring become able to grow up into adulthood.

Thus, githyanki adults populate the aster, but their nurseries with adult guardians populate the matter.

it is more that they have all there connection to the planes and I find that bad for a race as most games are not planescape.

Lalafel, the dwarf/halfling/gnome equivalent in Final Fantasy 14, look kind of like potatoes. So, folks call them potatoes

Going on from this, without knowing what specific narrative traits this group has I can’t help on the problem outside of: make them long. Just, eerily long. No one will confuse them with elves if they’re long

okay now I get the potato thing.

do you mean, tall, wide or like arms as long as their legs?

Wood Elves as hippies doesn’t preclude them from any class in particular at all. Their “hippieness“ is a description of how they’re countercultural in regards to the more common elf subtypes.

that has nothing to do with the point more I have seen wood elf monks justified with the other guys back story which he said is nothing like the wood elves.

 

[Yaarel]

it is more that they have all there connection to the planes and I find that bad for a race as most games are not planescape.

Wait. Didnt one of your posts want a fantasy alien race?