So human lives are quite short compared to dwarves and elves so do elves and dwarves have something similar to dog years for scaling how old their human companions are?
Or do humans describe elves and dwarves ages in terms of elf or dwarf years?
Well .. see, the time it takes for the planet to orbit the sun is the same for humans, elves and dwarves (and dogs). So ... but anyways, I understand your question. However, I think dog years is a special case, and we'd refer to all sentients with the same years. We also don't have hamster years, or turtle years.
I had another thing pop into my mind unbidden: Do we assume long lived races like elves have better memory than humans? Or do old elves forget centuries of their long lives, as they grow old? 'What war? Oh, that war! Yes, yes, I fought in that. I think. Or maybe it was the other one?!'
I kinda like that idea. Ask an elf a question, and he'd launch into a rant about 'do you even realise how long ago that was? Tell me, human, what did you do when you were three? Do you recall? No, you don't! So maybe don't ask me to remember what I did when I was 92!'
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Given elves chaotic nature, wouldn’t it make more sense if they simply either lied about how old they are so they didn’t have to give everyone else a history lesson or only remember a very small part of any historical event because it happened to peek their interest.
Given elves chaotic nature, wouldn’t it make more sense if they simply either lied about how old they are so they didn’t have to give everyone else a history lesson or only remember a very small part of any historical event because it happened to peek their interest.
I dunno. I'd say I remember maybe 10% of my life. That's being generous. And I'm 53, so I've lost like 48 years. And elf who's 600 - with similar memory - would have lost 540 years of memories. Sure, you'd remember the high points of your life (maybe - there are some high points of mine that are kinda hazy, but then I was drunk at those times, so maybe it all checks out) - but 540 years is a lot of time. Human kingdoms could rise and fall in that time.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Yeah, I’m not sure if elves have special memories, or are more likely to remember things then humans, but with their trance ability, I kind of imagine they are reorganising their mind to make sure they keep what’s important. I mean I’m close to forty and although I don’t remember most of my life when talking with people I know there are stories of events I know I was at, that I remember as a story rather then a memory. So telling each other about an event will make it stick in the minds of people who might not otherwise remember.
Elves very much do have special memories. Recall that they engage in a trance rather than sleeping. One of the best things to come out of 2e was a lot of lore in supplemental books, and one of the best for my money was the one about elves. It imagined that elves love music, art, and song because their trance is a reverie in which memory becomes present in the mind, such that elves who fill their memories with sadness have those experience fresh every night. I've always enjoyed that explanation.
Recall that they engage in a trance rather than sleeping.
So what?
I mean .. I don't disagree with you that it's good fluff - but there's precisely zero actual outcome of that. There's no real reason to think it's any more magical than sleep. It just lasts half as long.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Recall that they engage in a trance rather than sleeping.
So what?
I mean .. I don't disagree with you that it's good fluff - but there's precisely zero actual outcome of that. There's no real reason to think it's any more magical than sleep. It just lasts half as long.
So sleep is that without which human brains (and the minds they give rise to) deteriorate. A being that doesn't sleep is doing something very different than what we're familiar with. And sure, it's all fantasy anyway, but that's the bit that makes me curious when talking about elves.
So sleep is that without which human brains (and the minds they give rise to) deteriorate. A being that doesn't sleep is doing something very different than what we're familiar with. And sure, it's all fantasy anyway, but that's the bit that makes me curious when talking about elves.
I agree that it's different. But that doesn't mean that it's better. It could just as well be worse.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
So sleep is that without which human brains (and the minds they give rise to) deteriorate. A being that doesn't sleep is doing something very different than what we're familiar with. And sure, it's all fantasy anyway, but that's the bit that makes me curious when talking about elves.
I agree that it's different. But that doesn't mean that it's better. It could just as well be worse.
I think that actually might be the fantasy... imagine ourselves without the weakness that is sleep and with a greater command of our pasts.
I think that actually might be the fantasy... imagine ourselves without the weakness that is sleep and with a greater command of our pasts.
Surely you jest, good sir? Sleep is a goddamn super power!
I think you're almost certainly not the only one who'd say that the elves have greater mental acuity than we mere humans. I might even agree, perhaps. But is their greater acuity enough to actually compensate for the greater challenges they also face: With such long lives, they have to remember so much more.
When do elves get senile? At 600? 400? How about 200?
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
The obvious answer is that they evolved/were made to compensate for that.
Yes - obviously they'd remain functional for most of their lives, just like all other living things. But let's say your average human get's Alzheimers, and suffers from that for 20% of their natural lifespan. Well, for an elf, that could be in the vicinity of 200 years.
And it's just an example. We like to portray elves as super human - and in some ways they are - but we also like to pretend it's a free ride, and there's no reason for that. I mean, unless we want it to be. In my games, elves are effectively immortal, gain max level spellcasting, and are universally unapologetically evil - and need'nt worry their pretty little heads (cold, haughty - but pretty) with deteriorating mental faculties. Also, as should be obvious, they're not a player race.
But in principle there's no reason to assume elves get the free ride. I'm not saying senility should be part of how we portray elves - but I do feel it should be an active decision, rather than just assume elves are +everything. They are + the things they get at character select. Nothing else. Unless we chose so.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
For how I world build, Elves have higher concentrations of magic allowing them to live longer, and dwarves are similar to gnomes for me, so dwarves come from either an enchanted rock or gem deposit and come forth fully grown/with basic adult functioning, therefore living longer.
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So human lives are quite short compared to dwarves and elves so do elves and dwarves have something similar to dog years for scaling how old their human companions are?
Or do humans describe elves and dwarves ages in terms of elf or dwarf years?
Well .. see, the time it takes for the planet to orbit the sun is the same for humans, elves and dwarves (and dogs). So ... but anyways, I understand your question. However, I think dog years is a special case, and we'd refer to all sentients with the same years. We also don't have hamster years, or turtle years.
I had another thing pop into my mind unbidden: Do we assume long lived races like elves have better memory than humans? Or do old elves forget centuries of their long lives, as they grow old? 'What war? Oh, that war! Yes, yes, I fought in that. I think. Or maybe it was the other one?!'
I kinda like that idea. Ask an elf a question, and he'd launch into a rant about 'do you even realise how long ago that was? Tell me, human, what did you do when you were three? Do you recall? No, you don't! So maybe don't ask me to remember what I did when I was 92!'
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Given elves chaotic nature, wouldn’t it make more sense if they simply either lied about how old they are so they didn’t have to give everyone else a history lesson or only remember a very small part of any historical event because it happened to peek their interest.
I dunno. I'd say I remember maybe 10% of my life. That's being generous. And I'm 53, so I've lost like 48 years. And elf who's 600 - with similar memory - would have lost 540 years of memories. Sure, you'd remember the high points of your life (maybe - there are some high points of mine that are kinda hazy, but then I was drunk at those times, so maybe it all checks out) - but 540 years is a lot of time. Human kingdoms could rise and fall in that time.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Yeah, I’m not sure if elves have special memories, or are more likely to remember things then humans, but with their trance ability, I kind of imagine they are reorganising their mind to make sure they keep what’s important. I mean I’m close to forty and although I don’t remember most of my life when talking with people I know there are stories of events I know I was at, that I remember as a story rather then a memory. So telling each other about an event will make it stick in the minds of people who might not otherwise remember.
Elves very much do have special memories. Recall that they engage in a trance rather than sleeping. One of the best things to come out of 2e was a lot of lore in supplemental books, and one of the best for my money was the one about elves. It imagined that elves love music, art, and song because their trance is a reverie in which memory becomes present in the mind, such that elves who fill their memories with sadness have those experience fresh every night. I've always enjoyed that explanation.
So what?
I mean .. I don't disagree with you that it's good fluff - but there's precisely zero actual outcome of that. There's no real reason to think it's any more magical than sleep. It just lasts half as long.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
So sleep is that without which human brains (and the minds they give rise to) deteriorate. A being that doesn't sleep is doing something very different than what we're familiar with. And sure, it's all fantasy anyway, but that's the bit that makes me curious when talking about elves.
I agree that it's different. But that doesn't mean that it's better. It could just as well be worse.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I think that actually might be the fantasy... imagine ourselves without the weakness that is sleep and with a greater command of our pasts.
Surely you jest, good sir? Sleep is a goddamn super power!
I think you're almost certainly not the only one who'd say that the elves have greater mental acuity than we mere humans. I might even agree, perhaps. But is their greater acuity enough to actually compensate for the greater challenges they also face: With such long lives, they have to remember so much more.
When do elves get senile? At 600? 400? How about 200?
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
The obvious answer is that they evolved/were made to compensate for that.
Yes - obviously they'd remain functional for most of their lives, just like all other living things. But let's say your average human get's Alzheimers, and suffers from that for 20% of their natural lifespan. Well, for an elf, that could be in the vicinity of 200 years.
And it's just an example. We like to portray elves as super human - and in some ways they are - but we also like to pretend it's a free ride, and there's no reason for that. I mean, unless we want it to be. In my games, elves are effectively immortal, gain max level spellcasting, and are universally unapologetically evil - and need'nt worry their pretty little heads (cold, haughty - but pretty) with deteriorating mental faculties. Also, as should be obvious, they're not a player race.
But in principle there's no reason to assume elves get the free ride. I'm not saying senility should be part of how we portray elves - but I do feel it should be an active decision, rather than just assume elves are +everything. They are + the things they get at character select. Nothing else. Unless we chose so.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
For how I world build, Elves have higher concentrations of magic allowing them to live longer, and dwarves are similar to gnomes for me, so dwarves come from either an enchanted rock or gem deposit and come forth fully grown/with basic adult functioning, therefore living longer.