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WalkerNinja
Senior Scribe
USA
573 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 22:23:57
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The four favorite solutions of the Elven People when facing a threat:
1) We'll ignore it. Its probably inferior (all evidence to the contrary) and will die before we hit middle age.
2)Let's imprison it with wards so that we won't have to deal with it, but a future generation (that is less informed about the threat than we) will have to deal with it instead.
3)HOLY CRAP! Kill it! Make it die! Destroy an entire nation or make a new desert if you have to! Just make it DIIIIE!
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4)Ah hell, this place sucks. Lets just go somewhere else, like an island, or a phantom dimension of our own design. The suckiness of this place won't find us there, and we can always come back and visit in a few thousand years and pretend its our first time there (ahem ahem star elves ahem).
Realistic? Stupid? Discuss.
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*** A Forgotten Realms Addict since 1990 ***
Treasures of the Past, a Second Edition Play-by-Post game for and by Candlekeep Sages--http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=52011 |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4685 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 22:35:36
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If you are asking if anyone of them tends to be a stardard answer I would say none apply.
1) really does not work well, a critical danger will not be discussed for years. A minor item like allowing humans permission to enter Elven controled lands might be a 500 year discussion. Establishing a new city might be a 1,500 year discussion (unless need is urgent).
2) The use of wards to keep out (or contain) could be used to allow discussion and evualuation. However the discussion would inform younger generations, also study would tend to be on going (collecting new information of danger level).
3) Most when seeing a Drow follow this path, other great dangers (real or imgined) would likely be subjected to the same treatment,
Unless
4) The shared body of knowledge indicates that a win is imposible. In which case a retreat would be first, best and wisist choice.
All in all different sub-races will have different reactions to the same threat. One should not try to paint the fair elves with one brush. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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WalkerNinja
Senior Scribe
USA
573 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 23:31:38
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not surprisingly, I disagree...
re: 1) really, I guess this is just a perception by others of how elves tend to react...
re: 2) I find it difficult to recount how many times this has happened. The handling of the Dlargadeth (imprisoning them rather than destroying them) is really just the most recent example that I can think of. By the time that they became a threat again, extensive research had to be done to even figure out WHO they were, let alone how to handle them. You could also point to one of the modules in the 1E Lords of Darkness (the one with the Nether Scrolls). They buried Hssthak really deep, set some wards over him, put some elven mummies around him, and hoped that it would never come up again.
re: 3)Again, this option has a long history among the elven peoples. The destruction of Jhamdaath comes to mind, as does the formation of the High Moor. Not to mention cursing all black skinned elves into the underdark instead of just the ones that they had a problem with...
re: 4)IMHO, the elves tend to see victory as "impossible" all too often. The fallacy of the Retreat has recently been illuminated in the Last Mythal trilogy, and in the same books we see the short sightedness of project: Sildeyuir (it seems to be shrinking). For all the retreating that they've done, it doesn't seem to have helped them much. |
*** A Forgotten Realms Addict since 1990 ***
Treasures of the Past, a Second Edition Play-by-Post game for and by Candlekeep Sages--http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=52011 |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4685 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2006 : 00:24:11
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3) Drow does not equal Dark Elf, also in general the deities caused the Descent, not High Magic. IAE I was speaking in current terms not history. Most fair elves will kill Drow on seeing them, because they believe all Drow have the Evil gene.
I am still confused about if you are seeking an or, or describing the four most likely options that might occur. The fair elves have pruged the Twisted Tower (which clearly was not a wait and see, there ere no wards placed on the Tower that I recall.
As for Novels, often the rare is depicted not the normal.
Edit: Just noticed I had Drow /= to Drow instead of Drak Elf. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
Edited by - Kentinal on 14 Oct 2006 19:18:29 |
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Marc
Senior Scribe
657 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2006 : 11:38:30
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| I've read somewhere that elves in the past were grand experts of ''2)'', their realms were shielded by powerful abjurations, illusions, mythals though much of this skill is lost now. |
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WalkerNinja
Senior Scribe
USA
573 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2006 : 14:35:53
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| my only point was to inspire some discussion. It is my thought that when someone puts forth something as true, someone will arise to say it is false. Many people are very opinionated about the elves. Thus I thought to have an interesting debate on elven methodology. |
*** A Forgotten Realms Addict since 1990 ***
Treasures of the Past, a Second Edition Play-by-Post game for and by Candlekeep Sages--http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=52011 |
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Marc
Senior Scribe
657 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2006 : 18:54:15
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| As I was saying elven mindset is allways ''2'' no matter that they're not powerful as they used to be. Other options are only extreme outbursts, it happens ... |
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Kalin Agrivar
Senior Scribe
Canada
956 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2006 : 14:01:44
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quote:
Originally posted by WalkerNinja
The four favorite solutions of the Elven People when facing a threat:
1) We'll ignore it. Its probably inferior (all evidence to the contrary) and will die before we hit middle age.
2)Let's imprison it with wards so that we won't have to deal with it, but a future generation (that is less informed about the threat than we) will have to deal with it instead.
3)HOLY CRAP! Kill it! Make it die! Destroy an entire nation or make a new desert if you have to! Just make it DIIIIE!
-and-
4)Ah hell, this place sucks. Lets just go somewhere else, like an island, or a phantom dimension of our own design. The suckiness of this place won't find us there, and we can always come back and visit in a few thousand years and pretend its our first time there (ahem ahem star elves ahem).
Realistic? Stupid? Discuss.
I agree with you, those are the four standard elven cultural responses to a problem...which demonstrates to me that even a long life span (wether elf, dwarf, giant, dragon, etc.) does not really go hand-with-hand with forthought and wisdom
but then again I have no "favourite" race and see the pros and cons of each race while there are alot of elf fans and lovers in Candlekeep that may not like your theorization   |
Kalin Xorell El'Agrivar
- High Mage of the Arcane Assembly
- Lore Keeper of the Vault of Ancestors
- 3rd Son of the Lord of the Stand |
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Methodology
