Some Elf House Rules

[Scott]

I've been working on a setting of my own, and it will probably be more Tolkien-flavored than Greyhawk. I was thinking about some house rules that reflect this.
1st: elves would be immune to disease.
2nd: Tolkien's elves were able to recover from wounds that would be fatal for a man. I'm thinking of some mechanic to use when an elf would normally be killed; some sort of save or roll to make to see if he survives, but not too much of an advantage. A system shock seems appropriate, but it's usually too easy to make. Maybe just a save vs. death? Any thoughts?

[GRWelsh]

Do you have any examples of Tolkien's elves being able to survive a wound normally fatal to men? I don't recall of any. I did get the impression that elves were skilled healers, of both body and spirit... at least, Elrond seemed to be portrayed that way. Aragorn seemed to have special healing abilities, which I had assumed were derived from learning from the elves, and also his lore of nature, herbs and plants and such, and also perhaps his Authority of Kingship, like some kind of inherited power down from the Numenoreans.

I never had the impression that elves were hardier than men, in the sense of being able to survive wounds. When certain heroes of men were around elves, like Turin, I had the impression the best of warriors among men were just as good if not better as fighters than the best of the elves. You could argue that the elves surviving the march across the ice in the First Age was evidence of their physical hardiness, but I thought that may have been related to their long years spent in Valinor, and that they were not yet in much of a 'fallen' state as of yet, but would lose some of their abilities and power the longer they were apart from Valinor.

Elves might be immune to disease, but be subject to world-weariness... you might come up with some kind of rules for that.

I seem to remember something about elves not sleeping, but I can't cite the source off the top of my head.

Legolas was a swift and accurate shot with his bow, and could walk on snow without sinking. I think he also had superior vision and perhaps senses, than the other members of the fellowship. The wood elves in The Hobbit seemed to have the power to vanish into the woods, and put out their fires with magic-seeming swiftness.

Elves, particularly the Noldor, may have some kind of special crafting abilities, particularly with metal and magic items... perhaps you could give them inherent divination and/or identify powers related to magic items. A lot of the magic items of Middle Earth seem to derive from the Noldor, or from Numenoreans who were Elf-friends and presumably had learned their lore from Elves. The Rings of Power were forged by Noldorin Elves in Eregion, then corrupted by Sauron's Maiar power (a superior or different "dark god magic"). The magic swords, like Sting, Glamdring, and Orcrist, were forged in Noldorin Gondolin. The powers of Gandalf and Saruman were also Maiar power ("good god magic"). But it was notable that sometimes the Elves could do what even the gods could not -- such as making the Silmarils. And, presumably, even Sauron could not forge the Rings of Power on his own -- only corrupt them.

[GRWelsh]

I actually always thought the Greyhawk (AD&D) elves were a pretty good approximation of the Tolkien elves, however, just a slightly watered down version, perhaps to keep the setting humanocentric. They didn't really have a mythology or reason for being in the setting, or a clear relationship to the kingdoms of mankind. Of course, the Drow were a brilliant addition, and something that was not in Tolkien at all. But the good and neutral elves of Greyhawk never seemed like a good fit, they were just Eldar Lite...

I always thought there was a strong Shakespearean or old British influence involved in the game, too, considering all the sprites, pixies, leprechauns, etc. and was never clear on their relationship to the Olvenfolk... at least, in Gary's conception of it all. Were they all relatives? If so, did that help to keep Greyhawk elves often relegated to the status of silly pointy-shoed henchmen and scout-types, an occasional contingent of elite archers to shore up the main human cavalry and footmen?

[GRWelsh]

A long time ago, I once had the idea to make elves more distinct by giving them different spells and spell-lists... to give them more of a focus on 'subtle' magics of enchantment/charm, illusions and divinations. The old "Magic-user and Elf Spells" tables led me to a misconception that there would be two categories, but really it was just two professions with access to the same spell list. There was an old supplement that actually did this, it was called "Tall Tales of the Wee Folk." I thought it made a nice attempt at making elves and fairies more distinctive... but it was more in the line of reconciling elves with the Shakespearean fairies, and had that sort of flavor.

I still like the idea of giving elves a focus and some exclusive access to the subtler magics, but I never got too far in developing it, I was either too lazy or lost interest. But I always felt some inspiration from Poul Anderson's elves in Three Hearts and Three Lions and The Broken Sword, and in Dunsany's King of Elfland's Daughter. They were full-sized and otherworldly elves. Those were the elves that were allergic to iron, lived behind veiled illusions or magical barriers, and had alien moralities. I guess Moorcock's Melniboneans and Elder Folk in his other works were in this vein, as well... All inspired by the same source(s) Tolkien used, rather than directly derivative of Tolkien: the Norse lios alfar, and perhaps also the Irish Tuatha De Danaan.

[Scott]

Do you have any examples of Tolkien's elves being able to survive a wound normally fatal to men?

I can't think of any specific examples. It's something I seem to remember reading about Tolkien elves, but now that I'm trying, I can't remember the source. I don't know if it was that the elves were hardier than humans, or if it was that their ‘spirit’ was tied more tightly to their physical forms, and thus more difficult to remove. I think the no raise dead rule is a good one, but it is harsh. I think this rule lessens it a bit, and it fits my conception of elves.
To me, elves in Greyhawk always had that 'throw the Tolkien fans a bone' feel to them, and never were really integrated into the setting.
The drow have their innate magic, a similar set of minor magic for the others might be interesting.