Roleplaying an Elf . . . [Archive] - Wizards Community

Roleplaying an Elf . . . [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Arthur_Pendragon
07-31-04, 07:50 PM I know this has probably been asked here before, but the annoying search engine is not working for me.

Now I realized lately I have a long standing habit of simply playing my characters as me. (For example I'm quite intellectual, have a bachelor degree, and one year of graudate work, in game I pretty much always play a wizard (or some type of arcane magic user)).

Now this time I've already created us a Elven (equivalent to a Sun Elf, -2 Con, +2 Int) Wizard (Illusionist specialist). (That is to say the character sheet is all written up alredy). However, I realized one way to NOT roleplay myself was to try to roleplay my character as well as I could taking into account his nature as an Elf.

I realize alot of times alot of people play elves just like humans (it's logical we do so, after all the "human perspective" is the only perspective we really have).

So I wanted to get suggestions on how to play an Elven character as full Elven as possible.

Elves live an enormous amount of time compared to humanity. Their childhood is longer than a human's lifespan. So I figured one of the first major roleplaying effects to take into account is a perspective shaped by a 200 year life experince.

(For character info, he has an INT of 20 and the Spellcasting Prodigy Feat. He loves illusions for their artistry and their vesatility. Something along the lines of "Any wizard can rain down fire upon their foes, but it takes someone truly skilled in the art to use their magic to its full potential." He also has an interest in magic involved with time (not sure why yet exectly, any suggestions?)

To sum up my questions:

How should I roleplay my character in order to play up his Elven Nature?

What reasons should I have him have his interest in magic that alters time?
shadowflamedancer
08-01-04, 05:33 PM One of the standard elven stereotypes is arrogance. You could have your charecter consider humans and other 'lesser races'(halfing, gnome, orcs, etc.) to be below him, but shows courtly and dignified respect to othe elves and dwarfs.

As for time, that could be his greedyness. Magic that deals with time has the potential to be more powerfull than any other kind(time stop for instance). He could be a bit power hungry on the magical side. He may want to use the time magic that he hopes to aqquire someday to visit great artists/magic users in the past/future.
nick012000
08-02-04, 06:32 AM Crossposting is spam.
Arthur_Pendragon
08-02-04, 11:33 AM [Please Ignore]
Arthur_Pendragon
08-02-04, 12:02 PM Thanks for all the replies so far, however there has been a change of plans.

We've (the group and I) decided to do an evil campaign (so I decided to do an Lawful Evil Elven Necromancer.

Perhaps I should make a sepearate post for this character. . . or should I post more info here.
Lhiannon Sidhe
08-04-04, 04:29 AM I've also recently made a Lawful Evil Gray Elf Necromancer, though not for any particular campaign, just as a backup character in case my current one perishes, also like your elf, mine has an interest in Chronomancy, and I hope to eventually take spells like Time Stop, Temporal Stasis, Pass the Years, Time Skip and Widdershins (The last three being from Relics and Rituals). My elf is a necromancer, and has an interest in magics dealing with time because the long life span granted to elves just isn't good enough. The secret of immortality is what he's after. Unlike most adventuring wizards, he spends most of his time in the lab, experimenting with various undead creatures and constructs that he has given 'life' to.
McHalfling
08-04-04, 01:20 PM i got the races of faerun and under Sun Elf i'm not seeing the racial ability score changes you listed. +2 int -2 con, is it listed in the races of faeru or some other book. thx =)
Arthur_Pendragon
08-05-04, 09:17 AM Originally posted by McHalfling
i got the races of faerun and under Sun Elf i'm not seeing the racial ability score changes you listed. +2 int -2 con, is it listed in the races of faeru or some other book. thx =)

I beleive it was mentioned in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Book (I beleive that came out in 3.0).
Persephone Imytholin
08-05-04, 09:44 AM [yes, Sun Elves are covered in the FRCS book]

A typical way of playing an elf is to seem aloof and distant, with a kind of uncaring patience that comes from their incredible lifespans. Time on a human scale simply doesn't matter to the elves, who watch even the trees grow old. While it's a little stereotypical, it's also a comfortable step towards characters very different from yourself.

Time, however, could be fascinating in its own right - living for that long can't be entirely easy if there's a little trace of impatience. Maybe you just want to see a little of what those mayfly humans go through, or maybe you want to see where it's all going as the world slowly unfolds. Maybe the world itself is a little boring to you - magic is interesting, but not quite as much so as playing with a supposedly unstoppable force like time.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arthur_Pendragon 07-31-04, 07:50 PM	I know this has probably been asked here before, but the annoying search engine is not working for me. Now I realized lately I have a long standing habit of simply playing my characters as me. (For example I'm quite intellectual, have a bachelor degree, and one year of graudate work, in game I pretty much always play a wizard (or some type of arcane magic user)). Now this time I've already created us a Elven (equivalent to a Sun Elf, -2 Con, +2 Int) Wizard (Illusionist specialist). (That is to say the character sheet is all written up alredy). However, I realized one way to NOT roleplay myself was to try to roleplay my character as well as I could taking into account his nature as an Elf. I realize alot of times alot of people play elves just like humans (it's logical we do so, after all the "human perspective" is the only perspective we really have). So I wanted to get suggestions on how to play an Elven character as full Elven as possible. Elves live an enormous amount of time compared to humanity. Their childhood is longer than a human's lifespan. So I figured one of the first major roleplaying effects to take into account is a perspective shaped by a 200 year life experince. (For character info, he has an INT of 20 and the Spellcasting Prodigy Feat. He loves illusions for their artistry and their vesatility. Something along the lines of "Any wizard can rain down fire upon their foes, but it takes someone truly skilled in the art to use their magic to its full potential." He also has an interest in magic involved with time (not sure why yet exectly, any suggestions?) To sum up my questions: How should I roleplay my character in order to play up his Elven Nature? What reasons should I have him have his interest in magic that alters time?
shadowflamedancer 08-01-04, 05:33 PM	One of the standard elven stereotypes is arrogance. You could have your charecter consider humans and other 'lesser races'(halfing, gnome, orcs, etc.) to be below him, but shows courtly and dignified respect to othe elves and dwarfs. As for time, that could be his greedyness. Magic that deals with time has the potential to be more powerfull than any other kind(time stop for instance). He could be a bit power hungry on the magical side. He may want to use the time magic that he hopes to aqquire someday to visit great artists/magic users in the past/future.
nick012000 08-02-04, 06:32 AM	Crossposting is spam.
Arthur_Pendragon 08-02-04, 11:33 AM	[Please Ignore]
Arthur_Pendragon 08-02-04, 12:02 PM	Thanks for all the replies so far, however there has been a change of plans. We've (the group and I) decided to do an evil campaign (so I decided to do an Lawful Evil Elven Necromancer. Perhaps I should make a sepearate post for this character. . . or should I post more info here.
Lhiannon Sidhe 08-04-04, 04:29 AM	I've also recently made a Lawful Evil Gray Elf Necromancer, though not for any particular campaign, just as a backup character in case my current one perishes, also like your elf, mine has an interest in Chronomancy, and I hope to eventually take spells like Time Stop, Temporal Stasis, Pass the Years, Time Skip and Widdershins (The last three being from Relics and Rituals). My elf is a necromancer, and has an interest in magics dealing with time because the long life span granted to elves just isn't good enough. The secret of immortality is what he's after. Unlike most adventuring wizards, he spends most of his time in the lab, experimenting with various undead creatures and constructs that he has given 'life' to.
McHalfling 08-04-04, 01:20 PM	i got the races of faerun and under Sun Elf i'm not seeing the racial ability score changes you listed. +2 int -2 con, is it listed in the races of faeru or some other book. thx =)
Arthur_Pendragon 08-05-04, 09:17 AM	Originally posted by McHalfling i got the races of faerun and under Sun Elf i'm not seeing the racial ability score changes you listed. +2 int -2 con, is it listed in the races of faeru or some other book. thx =) I beleive it was mentioned in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Book (I beleive that came out in 3.0).
Persephone Imytholin 08-05-04, 09:44 AM	[yes, Sun Elves are covered in the FRCS book] A typical way of playing an elf is to seem aloof and distant, with a kind of uncaring patience that comes from their incredible lifespans. Time on a human scale simply doesn't matter to the elves, who watch even the trees grow old. While it's a little stereotypical, it's also a comfortable step towards characters very different from yourself. Time, however, could be fascinating in its own right - living for that long can't be entirely easy if there's a little trace of impatience. Maybe you just want to see a little of what those mayfly humans go through, or maybe you want to see where it's all going as the world slowly unfolds. Maybe the world itself is a little boring to you - magic is interesting, but not quite as much so as playing with a supposedly unstoppable force like time.