Alright guys and gals, its been brewing for at least a month, so could we
consolidate it down to one thread?

:-)

I am particularly fond of the Sidhelien. I am particularly UNfond of PHB
elves. Someone want to tell me why that has a bearing on whether my
opinions (or anyone else's) are valid or not? So it suggests a bias. Am I
any more biased than the human lovers?

Bias is self evident in all manner of opinion and discussion. To suggest
that it is possible for non-biased opinions to exist is merely a political
pipe dream. It is not possible, merely a fact of life that we all have to
deal with. Accept it and get over it.

The Sidhe are the first attempt in a long time to provide the fantasy
gaming genre with a real culture of nonhumans. For that matter the dwarves
of Cerilia are much the same. They are unique unto themselves, and that
attracts me. BR is the first time I've seen a truly chaotic race
represented, and I mean represented. They have a complete, living history
in a more or less cohesive campaign world, they have their own wants and
desires, their own heroes, and their own villains.

Someone I knew compared them to the native American tribes of the 1800's,
the difference being that without exception they fought tooth and nail for
every scrap of land they were forced to give away. And they are still
fighting. Perhaps in the present century of human reckoning it is a
bloodless fight, but this is still the same war for them, and just a
temporary truce.

I am further attracted to elves in BR because of their immortality.
Role-playing, to me, is an exploration of aspects and attitudes of self,
and it is a challenge to try and construct my thinking patterns to match
those of a creature that lives forever. Imagine not having just these few
frenetic moments to burn out hot and fast, but the time to enjoy
everything, to explore everything. Imagine dealing with people that would
only live for one year. They grow to maturity in an eye blink, and are
programmed to die no more than 300 days after birth. Try feeling that
perspective and tell me its not the least bit challenging. Kind of makes
one feel a tad bit superior, especially when most of them are pretty ugly
too.

In my short life I've seen expansion destroy environments that were once
very pristine, near my own home. I can remember going for walks in a very
large stretch of woods with my dad as a kid, not more than half a mile from
my parents' house. Now its a housing complex and a sewage pit. Very
attractive. I can only imagine what it must be like to have traveled
thousands of miles and seen millions of things, remembering it all, and
coming back to see the most spectacular view on the continent reduced to a
pig sty.

I had a place I went to out in that little stretch of land. It was perhaps
the most refreshing locale I've ever been to in my entire life. I think
it's some kid's bedroom, decorated with Spawn toys or some crap like that.
Live a thousand years with the same concept. You've found your place,
overlooking a fantastic view, and some 1 day beast comes along and
insta-erects a building on it, forever destroying what you held sacred, and
not caring.

The Ghallie Sidhe itself is an extension of the frustration an immortal
being must feel. These humans, they live such a short amount of time, how
can they amount to anything. They seem, on the surface to be noble
creatures, but they betray themselves almost as easily as the Goblins. In
all, they are worse than the humanoids, because the humanoids could be kept
in check. they were cowards and fled when the losses were high, but the
humans keep on coming. They don't stop, ever. A whole mass of unwashed
diseased maggots, they infest nature and pervert it, destroying for gain,
rather than reaping a harvest of co-existence. Some try, but not enough.
How to stop them? How!? Ahh - remove the cattle. Without the breeding
stock they can't reproduce. They then will fade into nonexistence.

Well then, let the flames begin!

Tim