Elves vs. Ghouls- Paralyzation

[BLOOD AXE]

I remember in the old Basic D&D Elves were immune to Ghoul paralyzation. I didnt notice it in the C&C Elf character entry, but its listed in the M&T under Ghouls.

Any reason why Elves get this immunity?? I think I vaguely remember something about the Elven Gods or some such. Any background?

[Omote]

No background material on this in regards to C&C. I had no idea there wasany background related to this topic even in the old days. Hmm.

-O
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[serleran]

C&C has it because pre-C&C has it. Its that simple. No other reason needed or given.

[BLOOD AXE]

I just wondering if there was ever any explanation or background...ever. No big deal.

[serleran]

There have been attempts, yes. They have ranged from the very weird to the semi-scientific. Each edition has had their own reasons for it, and sometimes, even more than one. For example, one case of explaining this involved elves as forces of life so creatures of death could not affect them (why they were not immune to level draining was not given - probably because that would make elves too powerful...) and its been explained other ways, too. Quite simply, I decided that I did not want to give some canonical reason for it, other than the whole "its been there since day 1" approach.

[Geron Raveneye]

I think I can remember one that came from AD&D 1E, mentioning that elves have no souls, and thus cannot be paralyzed by the simple fear the touch of a ghoul sinks into ones soul. It needed something more powerful (ghasts) to paralyze an elf with fear.

On the flipside, elves could not simply be raised because of that, too.

[BLOOD AXE]

I thought I remembered some vague reason being brought up back in the "ole' days", but I could be wrong....

Thanks.

[Coleston the Cavalier]

Yeah, that's right in Basic D&D and AD&D elves had no souls (they just get reincarnated at some point) , - but in addition, according to James Ward's "Elven Point of View,) in issue 60 of Dragon magazine, elves were immune to a ghoul's paralyzation also because they lived such long lives that they really don't fear death or undead in the way us short lived-creatures do. However, they live just as long of lives in C&C.
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John Adams

[Tadhg]

Interesting discussion.

I read this today in Chainmail after seeing this thread:

WRAITHS (Nazgul, etc.): Wraiths can see in darkness, raise the morale of

friendly troops as if they were Heroes, cause the enemy to check morale as if

they were Super Heroes, and paralyze any enemy man excluding all men-

Honed in the Fantasy Supplement they touch during the course of a move (not flying). Paralyzed troops remain unmoving until touched by a friendly Elf, Herotype, or Wizard. [Bolded sentence, mine]

And agreeing with some of the thoughts about elves mentioned so far, I like the idea that they are magical demi-humans having many special abilities not always outlined in a ruleset.

I'm thinking of a house rule to allow elves to remove paralysis by touch by any undead. Maybe a level ability or SIEGE check.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

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[adaen]

Rhuvein wrote:
Interesting discussion.

I read this today in Chainmail after seeing this thread:

...snip....

I'm thinking of a house rule to allow elves to remove paralysis by touch by any undead. Maybe a level ability or SIEGE check.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

I like the idea for some settings/genres' (Middle-earth comes to mind), and less so for others (Perhaps the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk). Its a very setting-specific thing to my mind.

~AoB
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[serleran]

I think, Rhu, that sort of thing works best if the race is a class, so there is some cost to getting all the bonuses and benefits... otherwise, there is little reason to not play an elf (yeah yeah I know about roleplaying...)

[rabindranath72]

In Basic D&D there was no explanation, nor in the AD&D MM.

Weird thing, the ability is not in the PHB, but in M&T; much like in AD&D.

[rabindranath72]

Rhuvein wrote:
Interesting discussion.

I read this today in Chainmail after seeing this thread:

WRAITHS (Nazgul, etc.): Wraiths can see in darkness, raise the morale of

friendly troops as if they were Heroes, cause the enemy to check morale as if

they were Super Heroes, and paralyze any enemy man excluding all men-

Honed in the Fantasy Supplement they touch during the course of a move (not flying). Paralyzed troops remain unmoving until touched by a friendly Elf, Herotype, or Wizard. [Bolded sentence, mine]

And agreeing with some of the thoughts about elves mentioned so far, I like the idea that they are magical demi-humans having many special abilities not always outlined in a ruleset.

I'm thinking of a house rule to allow elves to remove paralysis by touch by any undead. Maybe a level ability or SIEGE check.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

I do not have Chainmail, so Nazgul are treated as Wraiths? IIRC later they were assumed to be Spectres.

Interesting post Rhuvein!

Cheers,

Antonio

[CharlieRock]

Could be the ghoul's paralysation involves some kind of doping substance that elves (who don't sleep like humans) are just immune to.
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