How to delf

[Barzalene]

In thirteen years I'm embarrassed to admit I only have played one desert elf, and if I may say so myself, I did so so badly I worried they'd come and take all my karma away. ( I ended up getting lost, and falling off the shield wall and dying to something ridiculous.)

I was thinking I should try it again some day.

What should I do differently next time?

[MeTekillot]

Based on what you've told us so far, I'd recommend not falling off the Shield Wall again.

[Barzalene]

Duly noted.

Maybe what I mean is, I'd like to do better next time in general. In addition to not dying moronically.

[Barzalene]

But that was an awesome answer and it made me laugh. And I had it coming.

[MeTekillot]

Well, I got a karma point for playing a d-elf, and I think it's because I focused a lot on how an elf will absolutely unconditionally trust its tribe under any circumstance. Like with humans, you're vaguely suspicious of most of the people you work with even if they're your main bro. I don't think elves harbor any of that suspicion whatsoever toward each other.

Also I would always freak out when I'd get close to leaving the Tablelands.

[Barzalene]

I did that, but I played a red fang, and it seemed like 80% of my interaction with my tribe was that people telling me they'd cut my tits off and refusing to interact with me. Which was not really what I expected. I may have picked a bad moment to play though. The other 20% of the tribe was pretty awesome, though.

[MeTekillot]

The other d-elf tribes don't really do that, I don't think. If there is someone in them that does, they're playing an aberration to what I feel like the typical elven mindset is.

[Barzalene]

The other side of that of course, is the common denominator in that scenario was me. I'm not blaming the other people for the fact that I did not do well in the role. Just mentioning that I found it harder than expected to fit into the tribe, which was a crucial part of the role and I failed at it.

[Barzalene]

The other d-elf tribes don't really do that, I don't think. If there is someone in them that does, they're playing an aberration to what I feel like the typical elven mindset is.

That's how it felt.

[CodeMaster]

You should be more confident in yourself... you obviously have a ton of experience with the game, and it sounds like you know how to play to the docs.

If you're worried about tumbling off the shield wall, why not do a role-call for a city-elf family?  I've never seen it, but it's allowed now.

[IntuitiveApathy]

Here's a nice log which has as it's main theme the tribal mindset central to the Delf theme that MeTekillot is talking about:

http://armageddon.org/original/author/Kankfly

Leveling a finger at her, the hunched, beak-nosed elf asks the umbral, dark-tressed female elf, in allundean:
    "You are no outsider. You will never be an outsider. You are of the Akei Ta Var, I am your brother, and this is your home. Yes?"

[Barzalene]

That was an awesome read.

[valeria]

1) Play a young delf who is expected not to know everything.  Hopefully you will have tribe mates to train you.

2) Read the helpfiles over and over.  And over.  And over.  And then make a personality doc for yourself if that's not something you already do.

3) Communicate your concerns with your staff.  I'm sure they'd be happy to give you pointers.

4) Don't get discouraged and decide to go exploring when your tribe isn't around.

5) Maybe try a Sun Runner this time.  They tend to get around more and get more interaction.

[Barzalene]

I kind of got left behind in Luirs. Then asked to leave.

(edited to add See! Years later and I still feel really sheepish at how bad I stunk that I still want to make excuses!)

[Harmless]

The strict tribal mindset is very difficult for me to pull off with other c-elf or d-elf PCs, they inevitably call my PCs breeds. That's why I stick to breeds codedly. I don't think I'm stable enough to be an elf, city or desert. Whereas breeds are so natural to me it's not even funny.

[chrisdcoulombe]

I didn't have a good experience d-elfing either.   I think my playtimes were too different.

[Patuk]

As stated, delves are almost fanatically loyal. This wouldn't be different from some other types of roles if it weren't for one thing: they know all their tribesmates are equally loyal. The idea of being betrayed to an outsider simply doesn't appear in an elf's mind. If you're playing a templar, your colleagues one-upping you for their own good may be your number one concern. As an elf, it is unthinkable.

A small note here is that elves can be harsh to individual members just fine, but only if they're sufficiently dangerous that the tribe proper is endangered. If a Black Robe stands outside the camp with a thousand soldiers in tow intoning 'For the crimes of illegal magic, the murder of nobility, and sabotage of the temple of the dragon, Vesd must perish! Surrender him now, or every last one of you will be killed!'

.. Then yeah, that elf is going to die.

The reason I chose this example is to illustrate another part of elven culture. Vesd the krathi who blew up half of Allanak isn't going to be dragged to the templar, kicking and screaming. He is in all likelihood going to surrender himself.

Or, because elves are distrustful, they are going to figure 'this man is an outsider, outsiders cannot be trusted, he's going to kill us all anyway, we have a better chance at living if we at least try to fight.'

Or the elves may reenact the ending of Spartacus in a more clever fashion, because one useless elven dimwit decides it's better for him to die than for their magickal progidy to get killed.

Any of these things may come to fruition, and they all are at least plausible. Elves are a lot of fun.

[Kol]

That's most peoples issue with delfing it, I think. It often feels like you can go RL weeks without interacting with anyone from your tribe, and do nothing but Solo RP. The trick, like most clans when numbers slump, is sticking with it.

And if it's any consolation to the OP, my first Delf died from dehydration in a hole after getting lost on their way back to camp and falling down.

[HavokBlue]

I'm sure any current SLK players will hate me for saying it, but play a Sun Runner. More than any other mundane role in the game, SLK are limited in where they can go and thus who they can interact with.

[Kol]

I'm sure any current SLK players will hate me for saying it, but play a Sun Runner. More than any other mundane role in the game, SLK are limited in where they can go and thus who they can interact with.

It's true, Sun Runners are pretty much the public face of Delfs.

[WanderingOoze]

But, BUT! Soh can say  'Kah' a lot without it being weird.

[Kol]

But, BUT! Soh can say  'Kah' a lot without it being weird.

No, that's what makes them weird ;-)

[tiptoe]

1) Play a young delf who is expected not to know everything.  Hopefully you will have tribe mates to train you.

2) Read the helpfiles over and over.  And over.  And over.  And then make a personality doc for yourself if that's not something you already do.

3) Communicate your concerns with your staff.  I'm sure they'd be happy to give you pointers.

4) Don't get discouraged and decide to go exploring when your tribe isn't around.

5) Maybe try a Sun Runner this time.  They tend to get around more and get more interaction.

This, for sure. Knowing your clan's documentation is essential. There are way too many times I see new d-elves that I have no idea what their tribe is about. You don't have to know every inch of the Pah, but you NEED to know your tribe.

You don't have to know every inch of the Pah. New areas take time to learn, but try to do the major exploration with a tribemate. Ask on your clan boards if they don't have some guides. Know the places to avoid and the creatures that wander wherever you're going. And know that you WILL fall into a hole. It just happens. After two years in game, it still happens sometimes.

Be comfortable with isolation and solo play. While Sun Runners can venture into cities from time to time, they're not going to be there weekly. There are many times, especially during the lifetime of a long lived d-elf, that your clan will be 1-2 people with very different playtimes. You will have to get comfortable solo-rping. What I find helps during these times is doing chores for the tribe. Organizing, gathering things, taking things to sell, etc. In this instance, having a ranger or warrior is pretty helpful because you can gather meat and hides for your tribe too. Personally, I've never played a merchant. From what I've seen, playing a merchant in a d-elf tribe is...not ideal. You can't really leave. Or wander. Or hunt. My recommendation guild-wise (and I'm sorry if anyone disagrees) is warrior or ranger with a subguild that gives you something to do. Ranger is especially useful and, I think, significantly easier.

Playing a d-elf is all about playing for your tribe. Would your tribe benefit from what you're doing? If not, then you probably shouldn't do it. Your tribe is your family. You don't always have to like them, but no matter what, you love them.

[Dakota]

Sun Runners get the bonus that when they get board they can go and sit around in Luirs or any other City which certainly helps.

But if you're SELF MOTIVATED and want to play a savage, native-american a la Apache, run around wearing next to nothing except a wicked looking spear, a quiver and a breachcloth, then play an SLK... If you want the very SIGHT of you to instill a cocktail of wonder / fear / excitement... then play an SLK.

SR is D-Elf lite. SLK is D-Elf pro.

SLK for the first... year(?) I had my PC, was the most fun I've EVER had in arm. I'd be quicker to force store over an SLK special role call than any noble roll call.

[HavokBlue]

Sun Runners get the bonus that when they get board they can go and sit around in Luirs or any other City which certainly helps.

But if you're SELF MOTIVATED and want to play a savage, native-american a la Apache, run around wearing next to nothing except a wicked looking spear, a quiver and a breachcloth, then play an SLK... If you want the very SIGHT of you to instill a cocktail of wonder / fear / excitement... then play an SLK.

SR is D-Elf lite. SLK is D-Elf pro.

SLK for the first... year(?) I had my PC, was the most fun I've EVER had in arm. I'd be quicker to force store over an SLK special role call than any noble roll call.

The downside is that since the time of the PCs Dakota is talking about, the rules about where SLK can and can't go have become much less flexible and as a result they are limited to their one part of the world. Due to the low volume of PCs an SLK might encounter in this area, and the nature of this area, there's a really limited number of things an SLK can pursue. It's been a little while since I've played one, put I don't imagine things have expanded drastically beyond "You aren't a trading tribe and you aren't a raiding tribe and you kind of just exist to play a glorified park ranger".