elves.....

[askaran]

So Elves are: Tall, suspiceous of ANY non-elf, like to steal, not exactly the strongest people youll ever know, dont ride mounts and have pointy ass ears. I get the general view but i have some questions.

1. will an elf ever ride in a wagon?
2. do elves like dwarves better than humans? what about muls?
3. what is an elf's view on half-giants?
4. and what are some other curses for humans other than roundear?

[Nao]

Elves are not only suspicious of every non-elf, they're suspicious of everyone that's not a member of their tribe. Elf, human, dwarf, it doesn't really matter all that much, if they're not a member of your tribe, they can't be trusted.

For city elves, the tribe could be somewhat differ from the standard definition of a tribe, their 'tribe' might be their family or just the elf itself, in that case, they won't trust anyone but themselves.

People can be 'tested' for loyality, however, and eventually be trusted. There's a pretty long explanation of that in the elven docs.

[Marauder Moe]

1. will an elf ever ride in a wagon?

I don't think so, but I'm not an elf expert.

2. do elves like dwarves better than humans? what about muls?

As Nao pointed out, Elven xenophobia isn't race-based.  It's tribe-based.

3. what is an elf's view on half-giants?

Again, see above.  Half giants are probably known to be easy marks for theft, but I doubt stealing from one is going to be a great accomplishment to brag about.

4. and what are some other curses for humans other than roundear?

"Weakleg" is the only one I can think of right now.  Might not be one a city-elf would commonly use, though.

[Hymwen]

Elves tend to dislike half-giants in particular, due to their tendency for switching allegiances at a whim. That rubs the elves the wrong way.

[Pale Horse]

1. will an elf ever ride in a wagon?

Depends on the elf and his tribe's/personal view.  Riding a mount is out of the question, but under extreme circumstances or if it's the will of the tribe, then yes, it wouldn't be a source of shame for an elf to ride in a wagon...Mind you, it's not something that the elf would choose to do on his own.

2. do elves like dwarves better than humans? what about muls?

Once again, depends on the elf and his/her personal/tribal view.  I've played in tribes where dwarves were liked above humans, but they're still outsiders and therefor mostly just fit for fleecing or killing.

3. what is an elf's view on half-giants?

See answer to question #2

4. and what are some other curses for humans other than roundear?

Walker, kank-lover, rider..anything that makes it plain that they openly ride mounts or don't relay on their own two legs.

[spawnloser]

Elves will not ride.  It's not a matter of mount versus wagon.  They pride themselves on their ability to get from Point A to Point B on their own power.

As far as other epithets for humans?  I'll add a couple that I've seen/used:  weak-leg, pit-walker.

[LauraMars]

I've always liked AC's (I think it was AC's) reasoning that as long as the wagon is a destination, not transportation, then it's ok for an elf to be there.  Maybe they are there to guard the wagon, meet someone, or sell something, but the intent is of greater concern than the consequence.  If the wagon HAPPENS to move while they're on it, that's ok.  They're not there to travel.

Bugrider is something I've heard humans called before.

[bloodfromstone]

Elves, from my understanding, should greatly dislike HGs. Elves are fiercely loyal to their tribe, one of their most prided things. HGs have no loyalty. I'd say their opinion on HGs is lower than almost any other non-elf/tribe peoples.

[daedroug]

I never really understood why all elves have the same stigma and yet city elves can hardly travel at all since they don't have the same ability to run.

[Angela Christine]

I never really understood why all elves have the same stigma and yet city elves can hardly travel at all since they don't have the same ability to run.

They run through the city, not between the cities.  The wastes are for suckers.  They still out run humans when running within a city.

[Hot_Dancer]

I don't think elves care much about the loyalty qualities of anyone outside their tribe. Not their tribe, they're inferior anyways.

They have a better chance of 'liking' someone of another race/outside their tribe based on how easy it is to safely manipulate and/or steal from them.

[Doppelganger]

Even when elf decides to take a companion from outside his tribe, he doesn't seek a soulmate, he looks to gain whatever his new companion can provide. Test of loyalty is not a test of moralty, it is measurement of how useful companion can be in a long run.

When you ponder what is more suitable, to eat that chicken now or let it live, bringing eggs in future, it's not a matter of likes and dislikes.

[daedroug]

I never really understood why all elves have the same stigma and yet city elves can hardly travel at all since they don't have the same ability to run.

They run through the city, not between the cities.  The wastes are for suckers.  They still out run humans when running within a city.

From that standpoint yeah it works but from the playability standpoint of elves it kinda sucks since they're unable to travel between cities without taking a tent and stopping every ten rooms. In all reality humans can run far enough in the city that really the difference is negligible unless your participating in a marathon around the city.

[joyofdiscord]

Even when elf decides to take a companion from outside his tribe, he doesn't seek a soulmate, he looks to gain whatever his new companion can provide. Test of loyalty is not a test of moralty, it is measurement of how useful companion can be in a long run.

When you ponder what is more suitable, to eat that chicken now or let it live, bringing eggs in future, it's not a matter of likes and dislikes.

I think that it is possible for an elf to form a meaningful bond over a long time.  This would probably apply more to tribeless elves that find it necessary to deal with and test outsiders (that is, everyone) constantly, than to a tribal who has a support system in place.  There does come a point where elven loyalty transcends just cynical manipulation to extract something.  If you read the elven docs, the "final" tests often include something with a high risk of death to both tester and testee.  If loyalty was all about personal gain, no elf would ever allow such risk.  At this point, trust and loyalty become ends unto themselves.  What undoubtedly began as a pretext for theft, in all its forms, develops into a true bond, probably without even the elf's conscious awareness.  

This would be especially true if both parties are elves, because both will be testing each other.  If they are passing one another's tests, that means they are passing up opportunities to exploit and steal from each other.  Perhaps, in some abstract way, this is because having a truly trustworthy companion is more useful than the transitory gain of betraying them, but at the extremes of elven trust, the line blurs and the bond becomes as real and strong as any a human can form, if not far stronger.


And yes, city elf run is highly useful in a lot of ways that may not seem obvious at first.

[Doppelganger]

I agree with you, at extremes their bonds can become stronger then any human friendship or love. It happens when for elf his companion is no longer outsider, but tribemate. You can't really care about someone you consider inferior, and the only way for him to become equal is to become part of your tribe.

I just want to stress that tests are not routine to gain a new tribemate, at least they never start with idea of gaining one. And I don't think that with final test passed the bond is formed. Isn't it unthinkable to test loyalty of tribemate? I doubt that some hours after proving his distrust by offering a test, elf will suddenly slap his forehead and realise that useful tool his was dragging along has suddenly became his equal. Final test, to me, is just a first move to forge a true bond.

While at it, during final tests risk can be high, but I doubt elf will ever feel that his life depends on his companion. Perhaps elf has emulated life threatining situations already, so he is somewhat sure that risk of betrayal when the danger is real isn't so big. But even in worst case, considering himself smarter, stronger and otherwise better, elf is fairly certain that he will be able to deal with any troubles his companion can offer.