From: Lemens, Chris (CNU!AUSTIN3!lemens@cnucorp.attmail.com)
Date: Fri 11 Apr 1997 - 17:54:00 EEST
Benedict Adamson suggests how real humans make spears. Around here (Austin,
Texas), there is a very ugly shrub/tree thing called the yaupon. It's
central trunk typically grows almost straight up for about six or seven feet
and is about one to two inches around. Perfect walking sticks and perfect
javelins or short spears.
Paolo Guccione suggests that elves do a lot with plant fluids and says:
>Note that these are essences flowing out of the plant's own
>body rather than concoctions like the
>ones descried in the Mee Vorala cult write-ups.
Would sap-spitting elves be an example or did you have something else in
mind?
Pam Carlson:
>Elves, like humans or any other organism, do what's best for them.
>Even as plants, they are ruthlessly concerned with their own survival
>and reproduction - and usually in the short term. So, if elves are
>independant organisms in the forest, they will modify the forest to best
>suit their needs, and treat it as humans treat their fields.
How does this fit with the fact that elves use food song? I view it as a
parallel to peaceful cut. Elves have a concern for the spiritual well-being
of the forest, though this is, at least in part, out of self-concern. The
other part is religious--Aldrya is the spirit of the forest. I think
institutions like territoriality help make the self-concern work for the
forest's benefit. It is the invisible hand all over again, perhaps made
partly visible (audible?) by the song of Aldrya. I don't think this concern
applied to those nasty flesh things that inhabit the forest. Elves
exterminate some viciously (aphids, termites, root rot, etc.), tolerate
others (deer, which eat plant, but help spread their seeds), and actively
encourage others (bees). Humans, dwarves, and trolls usually fall into the
first category.
Scott Knowles:
> . . . most aldrymi have that POW to spare,
>having a higher racial max than most other races.
I think most of aldryami spare capacity gets taken up with food song and
similar gardening type spells that Aldryami use in daily life. An
adventuring elf would need even more because they would have a
responsibility to return restless plant spirits to Aldrya. Imagine an elf
walking through a logging area. Or a recently harvested field.
On the issue of live wooden weapons and armor, elves might have spirit magic
called "nourish" which would enable them to keep plants and plant matter
alive while not rooted. The spell would have originated because elves would
like to transplant things, often to far away places. Nourish would keep the
plant alive in the meantime. They also might have magic called "root" which
would enable them to take slips from existing plants. I recall a spell that
permits seeds to sprout instantly, so these would be in the same vein.
Scott's lore trees are excellent and explain why Aldryami don't write. Why
would a lore tree archive, rather than simply reproduce? A collection of
lore seeds seems about the same as an archive seed.
Phillip Hibbs:
>And I heartily agree with whoever suggested that this whole [elf] thread
should
>be condensed and compiled into an article for Tales, or something.
I'm working on it, but would be more than willing to collaborate. One of
the reasons I keep chiming in is that I want to see a consensus emerge that
doesn't throw anyone's game off too far when people start pretending that
it's official.
Loren Miller:
>If anybody is looking for a place to compile the really wonderful,
>recent elf stuff into a pretty publication, I would be more than happy
>to put it up in full color on my web site. [. . . ] Does anybody have a
>"What the Great Tree told me" for the Elves, or a "Dryad's
>Dissertation on Aldrya and Flamal"? That would be the perfect
>cap for such a project.
Cool! (See above.) But I think these two items are the _start_, not the
_cap_ of the project. Other things I'd like to see:
-An essay on the song of Aldrya
-Material on elf territoriality
-The story of the SeedQuest, told from the point of view of each major elf
forest
-Discussions of each major elf forest's government and culture
-More description of elf gods (like Troll Gods)
-Some random stories about elves from elvish and human (and uz and dwarf?)
points of view
-Spell descriptions
-Plant descriptions
-An introductory adventure that teaches people how to play elves
-A couple adventures on top of that
I should say that I'm willing to edit and compile anything anyone sends me
on any of it.
Chris Lemens
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