Elves as "closer to nature and lower-tech" - give them a revulsion to metal?

[Gumby Bush]

Necessity is the mother of invention. No needs -> no invention. Special nature powers -> less need -> lower tech.

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by Gumby Bush

Necessity is the mother of invention. No needs -> no invention. Special nature powers -> less need -> lower tech.

This.

If elves are not bothered by the extremes of nature, why would they need shelter at all? Why have clothing, when the animals don't? A wolf has no need for weapons and tools and neither do I.

Given the proper advantages, a naked TL0 elf could be more comfortable in a downpour than a king in a castle. Tie those advantages to a pact limitation, and elves could very well see "going human" as a dire curse.

[AlexanderHowl]

Native Americans lacked iron working, but they had quite sophisticated biotechnology, which we only recently improved upon (New Wolrd plant crops make up 60% of the calories grown on Earth, though a lot of that is indirectly through meat production). Elves would likely have even more advanced biotech, possibly the equivalent of TL9 or higher, meaning that their magic could simply be the result of superior technology. They could have once been human but changed themselves into elves through their superior technology (the equivalent of TL11 biotechnology).

[whswhs]

If you think of them as having powers with the Nature modifier, they would be penalized in the presence of technology. Worked metal is TL1, and iron is TL2.

[SolemnGolem]

Originally Posted by whswhs

If you think of them as having powers with the Nature modifier, they would be penalized in the presence of technology. Worked metal is TL1, and iron is TL2.

That's a great game mechanical explanation, thanks. I'd overlooked that part of Powers (page 28).

Since the penalty is 1/2 of the TL round up, I'm guessing that both the worked metal TL1 and the iron TL2 penalties would be the same - a minus-1 ?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by SolemnGolem

That's a great game mechanical explanation, thanks. I'd overlooked that part of Powers (page 28).

Since the penalty is 1/2 of the TL round up, I'm guessing that both the worked metal TL1 and the iron TL2 penalties would be the same - a minus-1 ?

That sounds right. Of course you'd have interesting side effects: plate glass is TL3, porcelain is TL4, and plastic is TL7!

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by whswhs

plastic is TL7!

So would microplastics in the water mean elves were constantly operating at -3, or would be less because it's smaller?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Gumby Bush

Necessity is the mother of invention. No needs -> no invention. Special nature powers -> less need -> lower tech.

This will do it in isolation, but if the elves have significant interactions with the "lesser" races, they'll quickly see the benefits of technology, so there needs to be a factor preventing them from capitalizing on such. SolemnGolem's suggestion of some degree of supernatural weakness/revulsion to metal is one solution. Religion and/or arrogance could also keep them from using it, simply on grounds of morality, an innate sense of superiority, etc. You could even have superstition play a role - maybe an elf walking around in full metal plate would be completely unaffected, but if elves honestly believe wearing such would strip them of their unaging nature, they may not be willing to take the risk ("Sure, wearing bark scale armor means I might have a higher chance of dying today, but wearing that metal crap means I'll definitely die someday, and have to deal with old age as well").

Of course, if the elves' advantages over humans are able to sufficiently compensate, you don't necessarily need a particularly strong revulsion to metal/technology to keep them from using it. Historically, mail was inferior to plate in terms of protection, weight, and cost, yet mail seems to be highly favored, likely because, while it was heavier, it was more comfortable to wear. If advanced technology makes elves more fidgety and makes it harder for them to concentrate, or has other subtle effects (possibly not even enough for a GURPS mechanical effect), this could easily cause them to reject it. This is much harder to justify if their low tech makes them markedly inferior to the other races, of course, which is why you need those compensating factors.

[Anders]

Elves could maybe buy some of their IQ and DX with an Accessibility limitation (Not if wearing metal, -30%)? We don't really have a good system for touching a material giving you a condition - it's something that's lacking.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Anders

We don't really have a good system for touching a material giving you a condition - it's something that's lacking.

A reversed Environmental (Powers 110). The normal form requires something "touching or surrounding the target" for the ability to work. Reverse it to something touching or surrounding the caster preventing the ability from working. (Or just apply a penalty, to make it a little softer.

Environmental tries to distinguish between activation and effect (you can activate your Root ability, but it doesn't do anything without vegetation -- which skates the edge of a distinction without a difference). It cites Accessibility for conditions that affect activation. So you could also just make "Not touching iron" or "Only TL 0 materials" your Accessibility condition. The positive form can still be used -- e.g., buy those couple of levels of IQ that work "Only in a TL 0 Environment".

Put Trigger ("requires exposure to a specific substance or condition") on a Disad.