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Interesting.

The physiology and nature of elves changes depending on which source you consult. I prefer the original 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons take on elves and their aging. Half-elves hadn't yet been explored in much depth but the connotations would be obvious.

Different authors have had different interpretations of that original source material and later editions of the game. Salvatore, for instance, butchered (in my opinion) the aging process of the drow which completely went against all source material prior to his writings.

Somehow, Salvatore's misinterpretations ended up as canon though, so, things can be confusing. Forgotten Realms has gone a long way to take what authors write (who haven't researched what came before well enough) and turn it into supposed fact.

Some later sources have tried to justify the discrepencies thus created by making up compromises. Example... the elves were originally to be mature adults by age 120 or so. Drizzt goes out and lives in the wilds of the underdark at age 60 something as I recall (this would make him like a 10 year old child somehow able to defeat expert swordsmen and terrible monsters). So now they're saying, "well, um, yeah, elves physically mature early, just not emotionally or mentally." Um, no... I calculated it, and according to Gary Gygax's age progression charts, elves (all elves, drow and others) age approximately 1 year of physiological growth for every 7.6 or so human years (or was it 7.3... don't have it handy). An elf who looks and acts 17 will be in actual years, 120 something years old (in AD&D 1st Ed. 15-17 was considered starting age for characters).

I suppose my argument with FR treatment of elves is that it has done much to alienate Greyhawk world elves (for a while FR material was meant to eradicate Greyhawk material from the shelves in a massive marketing shift). Basically, the canon in Greyhawk has now had to reorient itself and adapt to what FR has usurped it with. The latest focus on bringing Greyhawk back (but tainted with FR influence) has sucked the life force that made Greyhawk the awsome world it originally was designed to be. Elves (especially the drow) of Greyhawk have suffered greatly from the corrupting influence of FR changes, lol.

I guess the problem really lies in the fact that I'm originally a Greyhawk/Planescape fan, and Forgotten Realms (like the new Eberron setting) has tended to ignore standardization or placement of itself in the framework of the planar multiverse. Instead it rewrites the canon as if all were invented and created in FR (example: stealing major noble drow house names from Greyhawk and sticking them in FR's Menzoberranzan as minor noble houses). That's fine except that WotC has also made planar travel from Greyhawk to Forgotten Realms a canonical fact, and furthermore, tried to relate the elven races of each world to each other. FR is one of those puzzle pieces that just doesn't fit, but it's such a huge piece with so much investment, that the other (more conservative) puzzle pieces get shunted aside.

As each new author writes a new novel in the FR universe (without studying the material and world information diligently), and as WotC takes whatever has been written and turns it into yet another game supplement source, the hydra that is FR will grow ever more convoluted and less possible of getting under control. If things keep going at this rate (the ascension of the mega god Auo or whatever it's name is being the latest blunder), logical and rational fans will stop suspending their disbelief and FR will find itself suddenly devoid of an active player population.

For that matter, Greyhawk has begun it's descent into WotC's commercial oblivion as well. The latest module "Queen of the Demonweb Pits" is a prime example of great ideas which have been stripped of their excitement and mystery and soullessly packaged for the consumer. Having Lolth manifest as multiple aspects, none of which quite really give you the impression of Lolth herself, and breaking her into bite sized chunks that a mid level party can destroy easily (in her own plane) is absolutely the worst yet. Grazz't and the other demon princes are treated similarly. What will WotC do next to destroy what used to be a brilliant game and multiverse of worlds?

Okay, I've just talked myself into the darkest of depressions. Now I am weeping over the still barely living corpse of D&D, lol.

well, i do believe that greyhalk could have stayed an amazing and wonderfull setting if it stuck to it's own material, instead of being intimidated by FR. eberron though, i like there ideas of the elves, especialy the dark elves. ^_^ making them based on scorpions rather than spiders was quite the twist, and opened me up to the possibilities for my own campaign setting, wherein the drow are both, maybe dependant on region or some such.

yes, the realms are rather wierd as far as multiversial placement.... sweatdrop i never quite like dthat about it, but Ao is a figure i am glad they provided. just not... how many people use him so flippantly... iii-_- furthermore, the planet Abier-Toril is very odd, in that each contenant has it's own cosmology. O_o; what's up with that!? the different Toril-based campaign settings are barely detailed, and where they are detailed, they are vastly different from how Forgotten Realms describes them! gonk not at all consistant! it peeves me.

but still, the fact that dungeon masters can control their own games allows for the flexibility to get around all this. why use material you dislike? so i don't let it work me up to tears. not worth it, see?

anyway, i still adore the forgotten realms setting within Faerun and it's cosmology. and the authors books are extremely wonderfull, it is no wonder D&D supplements try to incorporate every little coolio awesome thing written about. it is, after all, a living campaign setting.

I admire your adaptive and illumined perspective Aurikisk, even if I don't quite agree on particulars, lol. Welcome to UnderGaia, I think we received a real treasure when you arrived. biggrin

I agree with you on that fact, but I always interpreted it as that they don't come to sexual maturity, so physically Drizzt is unable to produce offspring at this point. (that, whatever)

It depends on the author's preference and the DM's House Rules. Like any mythology the facts are abstract and differing with select groups. Just look at Trolls, or fairies, or the like.

FR is like a world in on itself. Opinions on mythology and histories are not going to be the same universally.