[DF] Elves

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by (E)

Yeah, I removed Genetics as a reason why elves are different from one another in my Elf centric game.

Ditto.

In one game I even had a PC shifting between 'breeds' as the campaign progressed (started as a 'Wood' Elf and slowly shifted over to 'City/High' Elf).

[Flyndaran]

With even low fantasy, genetics isn't the only thing that can cause "breed" differences.
Epigenetics could work. Fetal development could be heavily affected by maternal environment. It could also work for why areas are so heavily protected. They just aren't wood elves if they gestate in the nearby mountains, for example.

[Humabout]

Personally, I go with "elves are magical" IF I even bother to explain it, but if players are even asking where baby elves come from, they are usually missing the point of my games.

[Ji ji]

Originally Posted by (E)

Yeah, I removed Genetics as a reason why elves are different from one another in my Elf centric game.

Breed stability in animals requires something like 100,000 individuals.

Maybe the whole point is that all those elf races developed because there were huge numbers of elves and a strong tradition of environment-based interbreeding. Every race evolved from an auto segregating population big enough to be sustainable. Then other sentent species began to compete for these environments. Today, all of these elf races are headed to extinction.

Could it work?

[Pragmatic]

I go the "elf/eladrin" split from Forgotten Realms. There are Sun Elves, Moon Elves, Star Elves, and (pre-Drow) Dusk Elves as the "high elves/eladrin," differing only in social tendencies (progressive, traditional, isolationist, and mildly xenophobic/aggressive). The Copper Elves (wild elves) are more common, live in small tribes, and meet the other "forest dwelling elves" stereotypes.

I liked the mixed-subrace kingdoms of the pre-Crown Wars era.

[AlexanderHowl]

I do like the idea that humans are the result of elven genetic engineering/selective breeding to produce an interfertile species that could boost elven fertility.

[(E)]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I do like the idea that humans are the result of elven genetic engineering/selective breeding to produce an interfertile species that could boost elven fertility.

It would also serve as a handy explanation of why there are so many half human/half other race hybrids around too.

[b-dog]

The elves I have for PCs are a mix of human and true elf. The true elves are fairies and they are immortal and do not live in the prime material plane. The elves for PCs are the offspring of these elves and mortal humans. I call them the elf-blooded and they are mortal and need to eat unlike the true elves. They do live much longer than normal humans though. They live in small groups and they can reproduce but they are not as fertile as pure mortals. They often have mortal human mates and the further dilutes their fairy blood. The true elves being fairies often have unique abilities and powers which makes the different kinds of elf-blooded like the sea elf-blooded, forest elf-blooded, mountain elf-blooded etc. The elf-blooded often view their immortal true elf parent as a sort of spiritual leader who sometimes helps his children and will cross into the prime material plane from the fairy realm.

[Anthony]

I like just using Lamarckian evolution for elves. They're magical, they just naturally adapt themselves to whereever they are.

[Flyndaran]

Some species change genetically more rapidly than others even when taking generation length into consideration.
Elves could just be a magically enhanced version of that.