Just a comment of my own:

On Usenet newsgroup rec.games.frp.dnd, someone complained about the elf
bonus with swords/bows/etc. He stated that it would make more sense for
elves to have bonuses with more woodland type weapons. He also went on
to state that the "special" elven armours are paradoxial, since the
Elves wouldn't mine the metal (and wouldn't buy it from Dwarves since
they are stereotypically at odds). Therefore, he suggested that perhaps
the armours were constructed from more natural things, such as "growing
on trees".

My idea was to take all the armour the elves wear and have it made of
sturdy wood. The Elves had perfected a method of constructing layered
armour, making it as strong as steel, but generally lighter.

Also, since Elves were exclusively NPCs in my world, I allowed all elves
to cast spells while wearing the wooden armour, since it was lighter
(and not made of metal, which is my "in-house" explanation for not
allowing mages to wear heavy armour. I generally allow leather if the
mage has a reason beyond "I have the money to buy it".)

The wood had a coppery/bronzish finish to it, and was very durable. It
was quite a bit quieter than steel armour, but much more difficult to
fix if damaged. Usually, the armour had to be cut down into scraps in
which to form a new suit (which took a while).

Just something to ponder.

"And I now wait / to shake the hand of fate...." -"Defender", Manowar
Brian Green, pchild@iastate.edu aka Psychochild
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