Elves being crew on silt skimmers, airships, and submarines

Started by Withered Ocotillo, May 15, 2013, 12:51:34 AM

In my earlier days I was a city elf working for a Mul silt skimmer captain raider type. Being on a skimmer was scary but I always assumed that because I couldn't swim through the silt sea it was fine.

Edit to add: Yarrr!

I know I'm late to the party, but I have two options to offer here :

One, piloting a skimmer ain't hard for a player, but we all know that adjusting sails and occasionally rowing, perhaps, would be a good deal of work.  In that sense, elves would be moving under their own power.

However, all skimmers are made by humans.  Elves would not want to be dependent on human ingenuity.  Or another tribe's ingenuity.
Any questions, comments, or condemnations to an eternity of fiery torment?

Waving a hammer, the irate, seething crafter says, in rage-accented sirihish :
"Be impressed.  Now!"

Quote from: Dalmeth on May 27, 2013, 05:48:46 PM
I know I'm late to the party, but I have two options to offer here :

One, piloting a skimmer ain't hard for a player, but we all know that adjusting sails and occasionally rowing, perhaps, would be a good deal of work.  In that sense, elves would be moving under their own power.

However, all skimmers are made by humans.  Elves would not want to be dependent on human ingenuity.  Or another tribe's ingenuity.

And thus all elf newbs must go without clothes, until their tribe makes some for them. Those obsidian pieces were not made by elven hands. Why would I steal that when it wasn't made by elves? No way I'm eating that, I didn't kill it with my bare hands, nor was I able to pry the meat off the corpse. In fact, this corpse was not elven make, I should only eat other elves.

Sorry, latter line of reasoning doesn't work for me. But the point about skimmers being a lot of work does.
Quote from: Nyr
Dead elves can ride wheeled ladders just fine.
Quote from: bcw81
"You can never have your mountainhome because you can't grow a beard."
~Tektolnes to Thrain Ironsword

It amazes me that any creature with a mindset so rigid as an elf's ever managed to survive in a world like Zalanthas. The entire race is anathema to common sense.

They're worse than dwarves, even; at least a dwarf understands that his focus don't mean shit if he dies before he completes it.
Quote from: H. L.  MenckenEvery normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

Quote from: Mood on June 02, 2013, 05:56:16 PM
It amazes me that any creature with a mindset so rigid as an elf's ever managed to survive in a world like Zalanthas. The entire race is anathema to common sense.

They're worse than dwarves, even; at least a dwarf understands that his focus don't mean shit if he dies before he completes it.

Some people IRL would prefer to die rather than eat certain/any animals.
Quote from: Twilight on January 22, 2013, 08:17:47 PMGreb - To scavenge, forage, and if Whira is with you, loot the dead.
Grebber - One who grebs.

No, this is like, I would rather die than eat. Which will inevitably happen.
Quote from: Nyr
Dead elves can ride wheeled ladders just fine.
Quote from: bcw81
"You can never have your mountainhome because you can't grow a beard."
~Tektolnes to Thrain Ironsword

Quote from: FantasyWriter on June 02, 2013, 06:06:32 PM
Quote from: Mood on June 02, 2013, 05:56:16 PM
It amazes me that any creature with a mindset so rigid as an elf's ever managed to survive in a world like Zalanthas. The entire race is anathema to common sense.

They're worse than dwarves, even; at least a dwarf understands that his focus don't mean shit if he dies before he completes it.

Some people IRL would prefer to die rather than eat certain/any animals.

Nope.

Islam has a similar concept IIRC, and I think you'd be very hard-pressed to find a vegan who wouldn't murder and devour a delicious animal if on the brink of starvation.

A very small portion of the population might chose to die, but that is what we call an outlier.

Now, let us consider a similar situation: an elf has been running from a mek on the Salt Flats all day. He's out of water, exhausted, and he just simply can't walk anymore. Turns out, fate is a fickle bitch with a sense of humor, and it is at this time that our elven hero stumbles upon the Last of the Kanks, even as the mek closes in on him.

As things stand, the elf that says "fuck this shit, I want to live" is the outlier; this is a problem, and I fail to see how a race with survival instincts that bad could possibly survive and thrive as they have in a world that is even harsher than the one we come from.
Quote from: H. L.  MenckenEvery normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

Quote from: Mood on June 02, 2013, 06:15:18 PM
As things stand, the elf that says "fuck this shit, I want to live" is the outlier; this is a problem, and I fail to see how a race with survival instincts that bad could possibly survive and thrive as they have in a world that is even harsher than the one we come from.

I have to think the elf would realize that they can't ride that mount, anyway, and even if they managed to get a little ways, actually dying on top of a mount rather than on your feet would be infinitely horrible.  If, for some reason, the elf could get on that mount, and get away in time, I think they'd definitely consider it.  And if they survive, feel immense shame for the rest of their days.

Hyperbole much?  I seriously doubt that unwillingness to ride a mount is a significant cause of death among the elvish population.


Also, staying off silt skimmers is actually a pretty good survival instinct.

In that case, staying out of the Byn is also a survival instinct. Elves actually have the agility to be part of a rocking skimmer crew.
Quote from: Nyr
Dead elves can ride wheeled ladders just fine.
Quote from: bcw81
"You can never have your mountainhome because you can't grow a beard."
~Tektolnes to Thrain Ironsword