(~Note~ I dont have much info on my races yet and i hope this will help me think up more. Oh, and this will be haphazardly typed out)
~Elves~
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Elves in Arannia, are a very mysterious race that lives primarily(99% of them) in the large forests around the world. Many of them live so deep within these woods that they have never seen another race, or heard of them. Each forest has its own ruler and they are all a Monarchy, the types of monarchy's however, very from forest to forest. They have a druidic religion that has lead them to believe they are natures keepers and dedicate their lives to helping it in any way.
When an elf is born, a tree sprouts from the earth the very same day, and this tree is tied to them at the deepest level. Most elves will never find their tree in their life time because their is simply to many trees in the forest to find a single one. If an elf strays further then a few miles from their forest they are instantly struck with a deep sorrow that plagues their mind until they return to their forest, and sleep their for the night. If an elves tree falls or is cut down they are stricken with a deep sorrow and a terrible mind racking pain that would drive even a god to his knees, an elf typically wont recover from such an event for a few years and even then they never seem to be the same, as if a part of their soul is missing.
Elves have a very structured civilization that insures their children are well educated and that all have food and drink, they usually have community meals daily that is similar to a potluck.
Well thats all i got on them for now, let me know what you think.
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Quote from: Towel Ninja'¦'¦'¦let me know what you think.
Hmmm, the fact that they can't function well more than a few miles from their tree makes it sound as if they aren't intended to be adventurers.
No they aren't typically the best of adventurers, they keep to themselves mainly and most never have a desire to leave the confines of their forest.
However some elves have trained themselves to withstand the emotional pain and do adventure.
Oh and its not a few miles from their tree itself but the forest where its located.
Looks like a good start. It seems that your Elves would be very much against using timber as a material to construct anything. How do they build their houses in the forest if they won't use wood? Magic? Or maybe they don't have any dwellings? I guess their tools and weapons would also have to be chiefly non-wooden.
How do they aquire their food? Do they practice agriculture (plantations of fruit-bearing trees might fit the flavour nicely, although they'd need some open space to set one up) or are they hunter-gatherers? It sounds like they are too isolationistic to engage in trade with outsiders.
I toyed with idea of uniting elf and tree for a setting I was basing a story in, but wanted to involve elves in the greater world without complications like a personality shift when away from the forest. Creating an emotional bond between the elf and the tree not only adds character to the elf, but also the tree. Why not let the elf and the tree decide the nature of that relationship, rather than restrict that relationship to one of suffocating need? You could have some elves (and thus, their trees) perfectly comfortable with spending time apart and others more dependent on one another.
Similarly, you imply that elvish society is cloistered and hedged in from the world, but have made them all monarchies. Is there some racial trait inherent to elves which tends them toward monarchy?
What about elves whose forrests have been pretty much completely destroyed? It could be a cool spin on drow... making elves with dead forrests eventaully become twisted and vile. It would also give the monarchy prefrence a good reason because they would be so affraid of being Drow they would want a strong government that makes quick decisions protecting them.
Dont got time for a lengthy reply but i will put more info up tomorrow sometime in the afternoon, btw wretched i was trying to figure drow into my world and that sounds like an awesome idea ^.^
On the monarchy thing, i was figuring having it be that the original elven kingdoms were monarchies so why change what works? (^i will discuss this more later also...)
How about elves who find their trees at a young age and can keep them as Bonsais? they could travel with the tree and maybe magically feed the tree and use it as a quarterstaff or armor...could make adventuring easier