The Leuthrian: Elves, EssentiallyForwardWhile I've seen other elf-race idea threads, none have been filed under the races prefix. Due to my love of elven-themed races, I've decided to set the idea in a more concrete environment. Honestly, I don't see a lot of room for differentiation from humans in terms of sprites, but that's a problem for another day. (Please pay no attention to the lack of artistic skill in the drawing above) HistoryAfter humans first took to the stars, a group of human explorers founded a small colony atop a planet, Tellenseve, at the edge of the known universe just beyond a dense asteroid belt which isolated the planet. Currently, the location of Tellenseve is lost. On their planet, they lived a simple colonial life of farming and basic craft, until it happened. Little is known about the great catastrophe that happened to the colony, but it is known that the colonists fled to a forest full of unfathomably tall trees. For many generations, the colonists lived in those trees. At first, their lives were miserable, simply living like early primates among the branches, but overtime they adapted. They built advanced structures in the trees and developed great networked cities that were hidden in the lofty heights of their forest. Soon their society was far greater than the long-forgotten colony could have ever hoped to be, but this advancement came at a price. The trees, as it turns out, were not simply trees. Their roots wound deep underground to a great subterranean sea of a glowing blue oil that would come to be known as Korbal. This oil allowed the trees to mutate into the unfathomable proportions, but it had different and far less dramatic effects on the colonists who consumed the korbal-infused fruits of the great trees. The colonist's morphology responded with adaptation to the energy of the korbal. They grew more slender and lean in comparison to their former human shapes to allow swifter movement through their vertically oriented cities, their ears began to grow pointed to allow for more acute hearing, and their eyes went pupil-less in the low-light of their forests and cities. The colonists were, however, quite aware of their changing forms and observed their evolution with great scientific curiosity. This curiosity also spread to all other fields of science, and soon the colonists, who by this point acknowledged themselves as the Leuthrian, had advanced societies full of futuristic-level technologies and such. Unfortunately, however, the gleaming global technological empire of the Leuthrian had a dependency: the Korbal. All the electricity that illuminated the metal spires and forest-infused communities of the Leuthrian came from underground facilities that generated electricity by setting fire to the korbal. When the planet's supply of korbal ran out, conflict and aggression in the dark and silent cities shattered the darkened Leuthrian empire and ravaged their once heavily forested planet. After what was know as the "Great Post-Korbal War", the population of the Leuthrian was reduced to roughly 2% of its original value. The survivors called a end to their pointless war, and from their they set out into the cold cosmos away from their deceased home world. CultureEven many centuries after its fall, the Leuthrian still mourn their former home world and empire. Upon the walls of their homes Leuthrian often hang the seal of the dead empire or archaic weapons of the military that brought an end to itself. Leuthrians generally tend to be more pessimistic than other races, but they believe that by doing so things will generally turn out better than they expected. Modern Leuthrians struggle every day with the survival of their species due to its population decimation, so all Leuthrians generally hold finding others of their species in high regard. There is a problem with this, however: Leuthrian philosophers stated long ago that all things face a greater chance of destruction by any means the more of it there is. With that philosophy to guide them, Leuthrians struggle to reach a population large enough so that their species may be salvaged, but also to prevent a large population from bringing catastrophe once more. In the few Leuthrian colonies that have been established, science and technology are the equivalent of a deity. In their technocracies, the Leuthrian elect scientific officials who create and pass laws based on pure logic. By having a society focused mainly on technology and survival, the Leuthrian have been able to produce many devices that aid in the preservation of life as well as making areas considered uninhabitable able to support life. With Leuthrian communities few and far between, and those that exist being generally very small, Leuthrians have added a socialistic aspect to their scientific communities. The socialistic themes in Leuthrian communities include things such as a high income tax, laws requiring a certain amount of work to be preformed without pay to the government, and an overall "all for one, and one for all" attitude. The strong sense of brotherhood in Leuthrian communities, however, has led them to be a bit weary of strangers, even if they are Leuthrian. In conclusion, Leuthrians who do not live within a Leuthrian colony tend to be neutral to all aspects, and Leuthrian colonies/communities tend to be socialistic-technocracies and weary of outsiders. There is an exception to the standard Leuthrian culture, though. A small group of Leuthrians believe that Leuthrian life without korbal is pointless and shouldn't be, and thus they fly among the stars attempt to "neutralize" all other Leuthrians they come across. These Leuthrians are referred to as "Yarestrov" in the original tongue of the Leuthrian, meaning "intellect-hunter". Technology: FuturisticThe Leuthrian had many technologies unknown to the wider universe that were lost after the imperial fall, but a few Leuthrian still carry the last traces of said technologies. Other than that, the Leuthrian have technologies of standard advancement;however, they still remain to be distinguished in the fields of weaponry with their usage of boomerang-like throwing devices called "laserangs", planetary habitation with their "colony-in-a-box", and transportation with their "photo-sails" which allow spaceships to sail the cosmos on the light given off by stars. Leuthrians used their boomerang-like "Laserangs"as both swords and thrown weapons. A few Leuthrian technologies were lost during the Great Post-Korbal War, but they are better left that way. It is unknown to other races that the Leuthrian had a special knack for chemical weaponry. Few Leuthrian still know of their ancestor's methods for creating such vial and potent weapons, but horrors are best left as secrets. HostilityDue to the sense of brotherhood brought about by the socialistic-technocracy governments of Leuthrian colonies, Leuthrians within colonies tend to be weary and unsupportive of outsiders. To work your way into a Leuthrian community, you will have to benefit the community through working, protection, technological contribution, etc. Leuthrians who simply wander the cosmos rather than settle down in communities tend to be neutral. Like the Leuthrian communities, though, they logically develop their opinion of you depending on how you treat them. SpritingCreation of a Leuthrian sprite would be quite difficult due to the close resemblance to humans. Being based on elves, the Leuthrian would, of course, have pointed ears; however, hair and helmets would most likely cover the practically noticeable difference from a human's ears. Luckily, there are other ways of making a Leuthrian sprite more unique. As fitting with the elf standard, the Leuthrian would be taller than the normal human, perhaps one or two pixels shorter than a door. Also, Leuthrian sprites would all have pale skin (no explanation available), and longer arms and legs; however; the longer arms would not increase the range of melee weapons. Notice: Suggestions for the Leuthrian sprite are highly appreciated. The Good Technologies Colony in a Box Laserang Photo-sails The Bad Fatal Accidents The Great Post-Korbal War Depletions Korbal Update Log 7/19/12: Deleted racial traits, Edited culture, Added hostility, Added The Good, Added The Bad, A picture 7/20/12: Fleshed-out the culture yet further, Added spriting notes, Added sprite photo, Edited hostility 7/21/12: Uploaded new sprite, Edited origin 7/22/12: Updated sprite Please note: this thread is still in progress.Feedback is appreciated.
Good presentation, though I'll be honest, I was never a fan of Elves and their odd fandom. Anyways, when I think Elves, I think of grace, beauty, and finesse. At least in comparison to other races in popular media. You should highlight that. The criticism I'll offer is that their modern culture is somewhat bland and confusing (though it's okay since it's a work in progress as I type this.) As opposed to having "three cultures," elaborate on one general culture or religion, have one faction that clings to that way of life, but the other as a splinter group out on the pursuit for that new fuel source. One as the conservatives, the others as more radical - the Charles Xaviers and Erik Lehnsherrs, if you will. From what I can gather, Elves are near extinction - big or not, a colony is still a colony, and that's pretty small. 2% of that value would be downright terrifying for them. Perhaps you could detail their current struggle to survive as a species?
Your idea of a struggle for survival is quite interesting as well as logical, so I'll be sure to integrate it. Also, the centralized culture would fit better into the completed game, so it'll go into the post as well. Would you perhaps analyze the changes? I'd like to know if I've understood what you meant correctly. Thank you for your ideas.
Sorry, but these seem like a racial trait, and they are not happening. But I totally see where you are coming from.
Excellent! I love the improvement. I'll point out that currently there are a few odd line-breaks in a few paragraphs, might want to fix that. The last bits of the lore you'll want to tackle are these: In addition to their philosophies, define their general mindset and government a bit more precisely. Like, a standpoint that most individual Leuthrians will adhere to. Are they friendly and sharing? (Socialist) Do they strictly abide by a way of living (Totalitarian-ish) or are they dictated in these aspects with little to no freedom? (Authoritarian) Being such a small community, are they lead by elected officials (Democracy) or enforced by unelected? (Dictatorship) Or even lead by those that are qualified in positions essential to the survival of their species? (Meritocracy, Technocracy) As an extension, do they tend keep within their own society, or are they willing to exert these beliefs to other species (be it subtlely or by force) Just search up types of governments if you have trouble. Once that is handled, expand on that. The "eternal state of glum" thing seems to be a bit short sighted, and rather unbefitting of something that is usually depicted as appreciators of beauty and art. They can still mourn those losses, but I'd believe your particular elves to be more interested in something like their pursuit of science rather than sit around and dwell on tragedies long since past. Apply how their government would affect such interests, and in turn, their individual beliefs. Like, in their pursuit of science, does the government choose to limit or have them benefit from their ideals? Find the details in that governed way of life and their philosophies and culture, then break it down further to how an individual Leuthrian would react to these positive or negative interactions. Remember that they're still somewhat human, and that they may carry that concept that we like to call our "human condition" - to simply put it, our unique features in being human in social, cultural, and personal context, to be undefined by ways such as gender or complexion, and to search for answers in unanswerable questions like the meaning of life. The final challenge will be to determine key differences in appearance between the Leuthrians or Humans. If you think about it, an in-model sprite of Leuthrians would be simply Humans with pointy ears, things that will probably be covered by hair. You'll want to come up with something that sets these two species apart visually - or come up with a complete redesign.
A tl;dr Determine their type of government How that government affects their culture and philosophies (be it positively or negatively) And finally, how their government, culture, and the two's (colliding or otherwise) interests affect the Leuthrians as individuals as opposed to being "eternally glum" because of an age long tragedy that shouldn't affect them so heavily Also, to determine visually different features for an in-game model of Leuthrians, since pointy-ears are hardly different from their Human ancestors
This is a amazingly represented thread, I love the idea and hope it gets looked at by a dev or someone very important. Also I love the weapons they use, it looks like a dagger but also like a boomerang, very well done.
If you're interested in the lazerang, I've actually made a thread dedicated to them. On said thread, I go into more detail on them. Also, I'm glad you like the idea. Click here for the thread.
Well, now I've got a new favorite type of government, which is now used by the Leuthrians: technocracy. Thank you for mentioning it. Oh, and I'd like to thank you for all the ideas you've contributed. I believe they've shaped the Leuthrians for the better.
Then I have nothing left to teach you, my young padawan. (Didn't even notice they had a Yoda emote until now) Keep on fleshing out your Leuthrians if possible! If you're like me, you'll re-read alot of it and make neccessary changes. Good luck to you and your Leuthrians. I'd love to see them as a final product in the game.
well, my first thought was "oh look, Elves, I wonder what zitty 14 year old girl came up with that original idea..." then I decided to read through it so I could tear it apart (such is life) I'll admit, you actually pieced together something that I can't tear apart easily. While the paper-art is shoddy at best, the history sounds believable enough, you've given a realistic dark history, and all in all it's something that wouldn't completely throw me off by being in the game. While that may sound completely "I hate elves", thats because it is. Most people everywhere nowadays don't portray elves as a realistic race, instead they are the "tall, fair-skinned, lithe woodland... etc" that have killed it for me. The only elves I've ever found myself giving a nod to are well... far too few and far between, just to the point where I'm aware that "no, I don't hate EVERY elf... just most of 'em". With elves being treated that way by most everyone, this is the closest I can bring myself to saying something like "yeah, I like this". what can I say? I'm a sucker for a back-story that isn't complete sh*t. you've earned my avatars tip of the hat. good work
