Desert elves

[audrey]

I want to make a d-elf with my first karma point. So, do all d-elves need a tribe? Do I need to set my d-elf with a tribe before making the character? And if so, on creation, will I still have a 'hometown' that's closest to the tribe, and have to travel all the way to that tribe's location?

Hehe, I got confused between desert elves and city elves the first time I played. My first character was somewhere borderline between being a city elf and a desert elf. The documentation can be confusing

[fourTwenty]

Yes you need a tribe, just e-mail the imms for some documentation.
Yes you'll need to pick that tribe during creation.
No, they start you with your tribe.
I recommend the SLK if they're pretty active.
Have fun, d-elfs are...different

[Niamh]

All desert elves must be from one of the listed tribes, which you must choose and include in your background when you submit the PC.  We are happy to send you documentation for whatever tribe you choose, and you need to familiarize with yourself with those docs before jumping into the game.  I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing the tribe and its culture before you start roleplaying the PC.  When you start out a desert elf PC, point to the Blackwing location, and that brings you to the desert elf outpost.

Also, it's strongly suggested that you arrange a setup time with desert elf staff so that your PC can be clanned, and have any necessary things added to your PC (like scars or anything else mentioned in the tribe docs) before diving in.  If you are a first time player in the tribe and do not know where your tribe's camp is, we can help with that as well.  For a first time desert elf player, the Soh Lanah Kah is a great way to start out.

And yes, desert elves are different.  Their mentality is different from all other races and cultures in the world, and the role can be challenging...but also a lot of fun and very rewarding.

[Winterless]

I want to make a d-elf with my first karma point. So, do all d-elves need a tribe?

Yes, they do. See Niamh's post for further information.

Do I need to set my d-elf with a tribe before making the character? And if so, on creation, will I still have a 'hometown' that's closest to the tribe, and have to travel all the way to that tribe's location?

Yes, the tribe you belong to is everything to a d-elf, in your background you will need to mention it. Not all d-elf tribes hail from the same general area, but there is a main start point for all d-elves which can be different, though, depending on your background.


All I really have to say is please request and read the documentation for the tribe(s) that you are interested in before creating your PC. It is better to know up front what your tribe is all about before just showing up without a clue and then finding out later that you aren't playing the role right to your tribe's specifications. And just because the clan page may say that a tribe has no documentation does not mean that that is still the case, a simple email to the d-elf staff (desert_elves@armageddon.org) will get you the information you need to start your PC.


Oh, and PS. Holla Red Fangs!  

[Winterless]

And yes, desert elves are different.  Their mentality is different from all other races and cultures in the world, and the role can be challenging...but also a lot of fun and very rewarding.

QFT

[deviant storm]

All desert elves must be from one of the listed tribes, which you must choose and include in your background when you submit the PC.  We are happy to send you documentation for whatever tribe you choose, and you need to familiarize with yourself with those docs before jumping into the game.  I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing the tribe and its culture before you start roleplaying the PC.  When you start out a desert elf PC, point to the Blackwing location, and that brings you to the desert elf outpost.

Also, it's strongly suggested that you arrange a setup time with desert elf staff so that your PC can be clanned, and have any necessary things added to your PC (like scars or anything else mentioned in the tribe docs) before diving in.  If you are a first time player in the tribe and do not know where your tribe's camp is, we can help with that as well.  For a first time desert elf player, the Soh Lanah Kah is a great way to start out.

And yes, desert elves are different.  Their mentality is different from all other races and cultures in the world, and the role can be challenging...but also a lot of fun and very rewarding.

Don't the SLK start in their own camp? Or do they start in the DE Outpost too?

[palomar]

If I remember correctly, ATV and SLK can point directly to their respective camps and the other, minor tribes point to Blackwing.

Also read what Niamh wrote in this post: http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,33393.msg405715.html#msg405715

[palomar]

As for some good points about desert elves from an old post by Marko.

Thoughts about Desert Elves

There are two major underlying themes with most elven tribes: Pride and Survival.

Every tribe is proud to be a desert elf. To be a real elf. Being born and raised in a climate where death is literally around every dune or shrug to merely survive is a huge deal. And from this comes the pride in living and being a tribal desert elf.

Survival is what every elf strives for. Without survival there is no tribe. This is an underlying thought in every encounter - does the outcome enhance survivability or do the actions increase survivability. To attack without thought without reason is to decrease survivability - making too many enemies will destroy the tribe. Always pick the targets carefully. Survival is usually more important than pride.

In a place where there is no law (the wilds) then custom takes the place of
law as the security structure. Without custom then everyone would attack
everyone else. With customs one can become assured of a base level of
security.

For example, it is the custom to greet and announce others that are met in
the wilds when there is no intent to attack. The greeting is a message
stating "This is who I am and this is my tribe" with the underlying message
of "by revealing myself to you I am telling you I am not going to attack you right now." One who then refuses to respond (refuses to tell their name and tribe) is signaling their intent to attack. One who only partially answers or lies is showing rudeness and it is a calculated insult.

Each custom became a custom because it enhances survivability and therefore it creates a structure of security around an action. By having a predictable series of actions one can anticipate and survive. Through these rituals of custom the Desert Tribes can interoperate to engage in trade, negotiations, and alliances. Without these rituals of custom no tribe would ever be able to interact with another tribe in a meaningful way other than being 'at war.'

Desert Tribes aren't roving bands of raiders they are highly structured family units. Trust is found only within the tribe because resources are so scarce. The constant struggle to survive defines the desert tribes and has determined how and why they act the way they do. Playing a desert elf isn't like any other role in the game - there is a very rich tapestry of histories, customs, and belief systems that vary from tribe to tribe. Each tribe has figured out what it needs to do to survive and therefore all elves in those tribes follow the rules of the tribe. Anyone who wishes to play the 'exception to the rule' had better not even bother with a Desert Elf. That being said, there are enough options and variety within the tribes to basically play anything.

I always laugh when I see tribals who gear themselves up, for example, all in Kuraci gear or Allanaki gear. By doing so, you are forsaking your tribal ways and abandoning the wastes for the 'comforts' of walled civilization. You have to remember, pride is a major thing to desert elves, it is what keeps them in the harshest conditions in the known world and surviving. All the weak tribes have already fallen to civilization.

I ask anyone who decides to give a Desert Elf a try to work on getting into the mindset of living in the wastes, surviving there, and taking pride in doing just that. Remember, elves don't mistrust everyone outside their tribe just because it makes them different to RP - it is because of living in a world of scarce resources where the competition is so fierce that if you fail to secure the basic necessities you die. By depriving another tribe of a resource you secure your own tribe and thus... it is in your best interest to always lie and cheat with the other tribes. This has gone on for so long that it has become almost ritualized and is respected. A skilled liar and thief will be respected by all tribes - they are just that good.

Abandon our western views when you enter the realm of elves - please leave them at the doorstep. Just take some time and imagine, if you would, that you grew up where weakness gets you killed - charity destroys your own tribe (if you give water to a stranger you just killed a baby in your own tribe because you deprived them of that much needed substance), and where flat out aggressiveness will kill your tribe. These are not options, this is how life is. Brutal, often short, and constantly a struggle for survival. The tribes may work together for a common goal but the reality is - in time they will split once more because Tribe X wants to secure the oasis while Tribe Y won't let them ('cause they want it as well and they don't share well).

All the Desert Elf tribes are nomadic or semi-nomadic because of the constraints of local resources. These tribes are still hunter / gatherer organizations and thus elves wander far and wide. Some of the tribes travel from the silt sea all the way to the grasslands. Others remain in the tablelands. Yet others remain within the confines of other geographical regions. Basically, if you are an elf from a tribe, read where your camps are made and stay within that region. I agree, it doesn't make much sense to me to see ATV out in the tablelands for no reason - but again, there may be valid reasons to go out there for specific incidents.

Most of the tribes have managed to carve out niches for themselves in terms of geographic regions and thus have the loose concept of 'territory' - if only in the meaning that is the general vicinity you will find these elves. How vigorous a tribe is in 'defending' its territory is up to the tribe in question. I know some of the tribes only have camps while its members spread out throughout the known world and thus only the camp would be defended. Others may consider a region to be theirs and will discourage outsiders from tresspassing. Once again there is a lot of variety here. Basically, the defining reason to maintain a territory is survival. If a tribe is large enough and powerful enough it can stake a claim and defend it - most of the tribes don't bother and wander in a nomadic manner.

And in my view any elf who is 'too proud to accept an insult from a stronger opponent' is a dead elf or a really stupid elf who doesn't quite grasp the reality of the environment he lives in. And yep, there are many stupid elves - that doesn't necessarily mean they are badly played it just means they are stupid. 

If you look at the histories of the tribes - any time there has been war you will notice a large reduction of the elven populations of each tribe. Yes, conflict will happen and battles will be fought - but usually over resources.

Still, a young tribe guided by people who are inexperienced will find themselves in conflict more often than a tribe with a longer tradition and estabilshed customs that guide them through these situations. This is part of natural growing pains and weed out the weak tribes from the others.

Many player run tribes ended completely after a series of conflicts that regularly wiped out the entire player base (or simple attrition due to hunting deaths). Others were wiped out a few times before the players who kept recreating new desert elf chars managed to establish a more secure base. Of these, some managed to navigate further growing pains and made it to a coded tribe with an established camp.

Just one thing I feel is worth making a point of - elven culture, as a whole, involves the respect of lying, stealing, tricking, and misleading. Therefore most conflicts should not arise from such situations - there is more likely to be a grudging respect and a burning desire to 'get back' at them. An elf will not normally come to blows before another elf steals from them - any that does typically will not live long (for some, survivability is a slowly acquired ability through multiple deaths).

As I said, leave Western views at the door when contemplating a Desert Elf. Such things as 'right and wrong' in regards to lying, stealing, cheating, trickery, mischief, and the like do not exist. Lying and thievery are highly regarded abilities. All of this stuff is, I believe, covered in the ample elven documentation and tribal documents but it's still good to go over from time to time.

That's not say outright aggression is a good, accepted thing...it's just something that I can see things escalating into. I imagine that inter-tribal murder happens in the wastes.

Absolutely. Killing an opposing tribal is a way to secure your own survivability since you are reducing competition to resources. But these situations will occur when it can be concealed who did it and if it is blundered... you may face extreme action from your own tribe for bringing it in direct conflict with another tribe. Tribal wars are costly and most tribes avoid them as much as they can. Still, they will happen and thus it is in the tribe's best interest to win. 

Here's a realistic situation that I've wondered about:

If a Salarri/Kadius foreigner is out on your lands taking your resources, what should you do? You don't know his language, so you can't trade with him. How do you manage to cheat him? What else can you do besides killing him?

Let's say you're a marksman and you have a few poisoned arrows. You're confident you could kill him quickly. Why shouldn't you?

In this situation - there are many things you can do. For one, you can ignore them knowing that Salarr, Kadius, or Kurac are incredibly strong and have been known to come in force if too many of their hunters fail to return. Bringing the wrath of the Merchant Houses down upon your tribe is one way to possibly be expelled from your own tribe or forced to make direct atonement for what was done. Such actions (if any) would be determined by the tribe involved.

Beyond that, if the situation is one of opportunitistic raiding and your tribe engages in such activities - by all means, have fun. The thing is, most tribes don't engage in raiding activities for a variety of self serving reasons.

Not knowing another's language is no reason why you still can't get the better of them. Going up and taking a threatening posture and then claiming their kill as your own is one fun thing to do. Another is to extort obsidian by taking out a purse and shaking it while leveling a spear at the intruder's chest.

Of course, you could fire off the poisoned arrow and then approach with a cure in hand... and once again, proceed with the shaking of a purse of coins to save the poor sucker's life.

The opportunities for exploitation are only limited by your own cunning and imagination.

Or, let's say you're in another competing tribe's territory. If you attacked the man, you'd draw the Salarri attention to them...they would be the ones attacked, and by weakening both of your competitors, you come out ahead. Slightly more risky, but isn't every dastardly deed a little risky?

Why shouldn't you do those things?   

This is something an elf is more likely to pursue. Dress up as your rival tribe's manner and gear then 'raid' a few intruders. Let them deal with the fallout of your actions. Once again, the elf perpetuating these attacks needs to safeguard their own safety first. You wouldn't attack overwhelming odds, you wouldn't attack a clearly superior opponent. If you kill the mark - you fail to induce the desire conflict between the tribe and the Merchant House. And, again, some tribes simply do not condone random acts of raiding while others do. Each tribe has a set of guidelines on how to deal with strangers, intruders, and raiding that should be followed at all times.

[jhunter]

All desert elves must be from one of the listed tribes, which you must choose and include in your background when you submit the PC.  We are happy to send you documentation for whatever tribe you choose, and you need to familiarize with yourself with those docs before jumping into the game.  I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing the tribe and its culture before you start roleplaying the PC.  When you start out a desert elf PC, point to the Blackwing location, and that brings you to the desert elf outpost.

Also, it's strongly suggested that you arrange a setup time with desert elf staff so that your PC can be clanned, and have any necessary things added to your PC (like scars or anything else mentioned in the tribe docs) before diving in.  If you are a first time player in the tribe and do not know where your tribe's camp is, we can help with that as well.  For a first time desert elf player, the Soh Lanah Kah is a great way to start out.

And yes, desert elves are different.  Their mentality is different from all other races and cultures in the world, and the role can be challenging...but also a lot of fun and very rewarding.

This is definitely the most important part to playing a d-elf. It's very irritating to play in a d-elf tribe with people who only read the docs to get a background approved and don't have their pc -act- like they're really from the tribe. Read them, reread them, and then reread them again. Before, during, and after your character app.

[Clearsighted]

I want to make a d-elf with my first karma point. So, do all d-elves need a tribe? Do I need to set my d-elf with a tribe before making the character? And if so, on creation, will I still have a 'hometown' that's closest to the tribe, and have to travel all the way to that tribe's location?

Hehe, I got confused between desert elves and city elves the first time I played. My first character was somewhere borderline between being a city elf and a desert elf. The documentation can be confusing

Just be careful. You'll meet alot of gruff hunters and angry thieves among the desert elves

[musashi]

Congrats on the karma point.

I recommend the SLK. Never played as a delf of the clan, but some of my past characters had a lot of interaction with its members, and the RP was first rate.

[Malifaxis]

I want to make a d-elf with my first karma point. So, do all d-elves need a tribe? Do I need to set my d-elf with a tribe before making the character? And if so, on creation, will I still have a 'hometown' that's closest to the tribe, and have to travel all the way to that tribe's location?

Hehe, I got confused between desert elves and city elves the first time I played. My first character was somewhere borderline between being a city elf and a desert elf. The documentation can be confusing

Just be careful. You'll meet alot of gruff hunters and angry thieves among the desert elves

And you really have to watch out for those uppity desert elf templars.

[Hot_Dancer]

Feel free to PM me with any questions on the SLK or on documentation
issues/character concepts.

Cheers,
Hot Dancer

[Bogre]

The SLK are hot as pants.

[Dar]

Code Select Expand


You feel torn, your desire to play another delf clashing with the survival instinct of your current role.

You twitch.

[Thunkkin]

Code Select Expand


You feel torn, your desire to play another delf clashing with the survival instinct of your current role.

You twitch.

You'll die soon enough!

[audrey]

I'd would like to ask for the documentation, but I don't know if I even have that single karma point I need. It would be very sad if I didn't have a single karma point by now

[Clearsighted]

I'd would like to ask for the documentation, but I don't know if I even have that single karma point I need. It would be very sad if I didn't have a single karma point by now

Don't be sad. It'll probably take you at least a month or two to acquire the first point unless you get really lucky. And that's if you had a PC that survived all that time - long enough for staff to observe you.

And even without a karma point, you can apply for any role via a special application.

[Tisiphone]

I'd would like to ask for the documentation, but I don't know if I even have that single karma point I need. It would be very sad if I didn't have a single karma point by now

Don't be sad. It'll probably take you at least a month or two to acquire the first point unless you get really lucky. And that's if you had a PC that survived all that time - long enough for staff to observe you.

And even without a karma point, you can apply for any role via a special application.

A month or two? I went a year and a half without karma, and I got it quickly.

[Delstro]

It took me two years to get my first Karma point.
Then it took me 9 more to get 2 more.


Great advice in this thread.

[musashi]

**shrug** I got my first karma point in about a month, the next one 5 months later.

Don't sweat it audrey! Karma points, and how many/few you have doesn't say anything about how you're RP'ing. If staff thinks you're doing something poorly, they will let you know.

Bottom line is yes, even if you don't have a karma point you can always special app.

And sometimes when you put in a special app, the staff will tell you: Oh! Your account looks good, we'll just up your karma so you can play that race/guild anytime. Have fun.

That happened with me.

[Riev]

Pretty sure I had my account for two years before I actually had a second karma point.

I play mundanes, what do I care? =)

[Clearsighted]

If staff thinks you're doing something poorly, they will let you know.

I hope this is the case.

[Niamh]

Audrey: you can always send an email to the desert elf staff to ask more detailed questions and to get any information that you'd need.  And as the others have said, even if you don't have that karma point that you need, you can always put in a special app for it.  You can also talk with any of the Helpers who have experience with desert elves regarding questions about roleplay and the tribes.  They are a wonderful resource!

[Cerelum]

I'd would like to ask for the documentation, but I don't know if I even have that single karma point I need. It would be very sad if I didn't have a single karma point by now

Don't be sad. It'll probably take you at least a month or two to acquire the first point unless you get really lucky. And that's if you had a PC that survived all that time - long enough for staff to observe you.

And even without a karma point, you can apply for any role via a special application.

It took me asking for Karma Point 1,2 and three, so I recommend asking nicely.

Oh and don't cuss people out on the GDB otherwise I would probaby have much more because I'm just that awesome but they frown on that sorta thing.

JaRoD