I sent the following article to the RQ Digest in September '93. I still like it.
Straight to Physiology
Psychology
Have you ever thought about what it must be like to be a sentient plant? I've been trying to differentiate them from humans as much as possible and playing them as follows.
Consider how Aldryami have an Earthsense that lets them tune in to how those around them, particularly plants, feel. This is a curse as well as a blessing - ears are useful, but can be a source of pain near a jet engine.
When they enter an area cultivated by humans, they feel the Unnaturalness of it all: the monotonous monoculture of a crop in a field, the creepy deadness of the area (humans don't understand how to maintain its fertility), the painful feeling of plants being forced to grow in stupid positions and the hideous unbalanced feeling of crops planted in Straight Lines.
Straight Lines are a major neurosis for elves. Having them around is like hearing fingernails down a blackboard. As soon as they walk into a human-controlled area, they feel disorientated and worried by the background 'distress' feeling of surrounding plants, and as they enter a village - constructed from houses with walls of murdered plants, full of Straight Edges such as barns' and houses' corners, and the smell of burning wood, like some Mostali hell - they feel frightened and nauseous. Young elves (under 35) can't enter villages, they are terrified by their grotesque alieness. Only the bravest Aldryan can enter a major town, full of packs of insane humans radiating stress, fear, hunger and hate. If the humans find life difficult in cities, why do they live there?
Then there's the towering buildings on either side, giving a semi-underground feeling of claustrophobia and unnatural Straightness. Not many elves can nerve themselves to enter houses.
The following is bound to be controversial as it Defies the Holy Script of Chaosium ('normal elves get on OK with dark elves') - Dark Elves follow the goddess Mee Vorala. They cultivate fungi, rots and other forms of life that parasitise plants. Now how do humans behave towards Malians? What's more, dark elves associate with trolls. There's nothing so despicable as traitors.
The stench of burning fires must be like smelling rotting corpses to a human (though rotting corpses probably smell pretty good to elves).
Elves are used to living without houses or other permanent structures so they find it difficult to grasp the idea of permanence, such as the human obsession to order everything politically, categorically, and aesthetically into some final Absolute Eternal Empire or scheme. They live in a world of Change and Cycles, where verything dies and is reborn, where struggling to maintain the status quo is seen as a juvenile Dwarvish trait. And when you live hundreds of years, there never seems to be any urgency, so unless there's a threat to their forest, elves seem very laid-back to humans (except in towns!).
All this implies that the renegades humans tend to meet, who *can* enter towns, are a bit strange by the standards of their kin. Instead of going hysterical, they accept the human surroundings. Presumably, like PC dragonewts, they are clinically insane. So I suggest you give any renegades who operate freely in towns an insanity, like Call of Cthulhu: for example, paranoia about other elves; burying themselves each night; elaborate neurotic rituals such as compulsive washing, counting or arranging of objects; liberating flowers from gardens; self-destructive habits reflecting their deeply disturbed psyches; etc.
A final thought on Aldryami world views. They were the foremost supporters of Nysalor in the First Age. The Arkati wiped out all other organised illuminated groups, but they never eradicated the Aldryami. Even now, no elf would consider joining a Darkness cult such as Arkat. What terrible plots are these animated vegetables nurturing even as you read?
Ever considered how plants are much more resilient to damage than animals? Chop a branch off and they don't care much. So what about elves not being affected by shock if a limb's lopped off, or even saying that they're a bit zombielike and if you destroy a location, it doesn't count against total hit points. If you want to be really nasty, you could say that they've got no vital hit locations at all - a distributed nervous system, perhaps - and chopping their head off simply removes most sensory input, except Earthsense.
I'm not a pro-elf fanatic, by the way, in fact I dislike them intensely! I've always detested them because back in my AD&D days, Rule Players went for half-elves because they got loads of advantages, then played them like Super Humans. I've simply had to think about the horrible little weeds recently because my players are beginning to interact with them.
Back to the subject in hand: I've been trying to emphasize the alien Plantness of the Aldryami, and describe them as distinctly unhuman. They generally have barky skin, leavy hair etc and aren't as symmetric as humans. I've got one related to nettles (seems to have a furry skin, but touch it and ow!), one with four spindly arms of which one is one long spearlike 'jabber', ones with symbiotic moss covering them, a thorny warrior type, etc.
Date: 24-11-93 COMMENTS FOLLOWING FROM REPLIES TO LAST RQ DIGEST ENTRY:
Graeme Lindsell - I like your Elf Antibody idea. Also, your point that elves' metabolisms are much faster than plants', so they should have vital organs, is much more reasonable than my "plants can take more damage than animals" argument. Thanks for the feedback. David Dunham - you spotted the flaw in my "Aldryami don't like straight lines" concept, ie, arrows need to be straight. Actually this had occurred to me, but I decided not to complicate the flow of my last RQ Digest entry by bowing to mere logic as I liked the idea so much! Sometimes one can carry consistency a bit far, like when it contradicts your own argument. Perhaps my nom de plume should be Legion. The point about "towering trees" is good, can I plead poetic license again?
Further thoughts on Aldryami: Dryads probably double their body weight in Autumn as they stuff themselves stupid preparing for their Winter Sleep. "What's that snuffling noise in the bush?" "Only a dryad foraging." In Spring they emerge, slim and sprightly again, from their tree, and 'in Season'.
Also, It struck me that a Black Dryad, related to Dark Elves, might be an interesting NPC. Can anyone suggest any really weird personality traits, or powers such a creature might have? I don't mean combat powers, but ones that PC's might notice if they were trying to figure out what this "woman" was.
