Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Lifestyles of Long-Lived and Pointy-Eared

random architectural features of elf villages (d12)

1. buildings (and most furniture) composed of living trees patiently twisted into useful shapes
2. huts on stilts, the river nearby floods every millennium or so
3. village plan incorporates ruins built by titans
4.  town hall is big Noah-style ark built just prior to sinking of Atlantis, washed inland by tsunami
5. stone buildings made of volcanic rock and carefully arranged dolomite channels, 'dormant' volcano nearby
6. built on incline, series of waterfalls and tiny streams actually eons-old natural plumbing system designed to deliver sufficient water to every household
7. bomb shelter type bunker, actual village destroyed by orcs forty or fifty years ago, new village blueprint still under review by planning committee
8. large number of lifelike statues, volunteers who agreed to petrification for a few centuries until harvests are back up to normal yields
9. numerous crystalline globes on pedestals, somewhat like modern streetlights except that they magically capture and rebroadcast both sunlight and moondark, keeping light levels in the village at a constant twinkling twilight
10. a series of large stone stelae in town square gives minutes of once-a-century village board meetings going back to a week after Creation
11. buildings laid out in specific plan, when wind blows through town the buildings act as large musical instruments, playing a different tune based upon wind direction and speed
12. village composed of tents and carts like a gypsy camp, village officials may ask directions to a far off location, as they intend to resume their journey after a few more decade's rest

10 comments:

  1. I love this. Number 8 in particular.

    Generally, yours is one of my favourite blogs for creative 'stuff' about rpgs. Thanks for blogging, and loving Mr T.

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  2. I had to remove the like I did on Google Reader because of a small issue I have with this chart.

    It's a general thing that makes me sick of elves, and that would be the length of their life.
    2, 8 and 12 really bug me since they sound absolutely far-fetched. The world continues to operate around them, how is a few decades a "rest"? A village built next to a river that floods every millennium or so would not be built on stilts since it's a very rare occurrence by sane standards.
    Essentially, I have a problem with the assumption elves are so long lived they treat these times as intervals.

    Feels to me nonsensical that they would operate on such grand timetables when other races around them will be moving in comparative light speed.

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  3. I disagree Anaxim, why should they deign to rush around like fools just because others do?

    They have the luxury of centuries and it is important (and fun) to try and wrap your head around how truly different this may make them. Otherwise you risk "humans in funny suits" going on.

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  4. More fun, thoughtful stuff on elves to add to my files. Thanks!

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  5. Jeff, given your love of charts, am I correct to assume that you're familiar with the Ultimate Toolbox that AEG publishes?

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  6. Yeah, I got one of those. I think it might have even made my list of other random cgart books you should check out on the last page of the Miscelleneum of Cinder.

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  7. Great stuff Jeff. Cheers

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  8. Wow! Excellent chart. My disdain for elves has diminished somewhat.

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  9. great chart. my elfs aren't quite so long-lived (or maybe they are, who can tell with an elf, really?), but i really like how your chart alludes to their longevity.

    now i just have to print this and stick it into my miscellaneum of cinder...

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  10. Scene from a few minutes ago: Miscellaneum of Cinder you say? That sounds interesting. I will Google this. Oh, goodness! Look at this PDF that just appeared on my desktop...

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