Common Misconceptions about Desert Elves

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Play a desert elf if you want to explore the world: No. This is wrong. This is like playing a mul, because you want to have a badass warrior; sure, the race enables you to do that, but you're missing the whole point of it.

The movement of elven tribes is probably better described as semi-nomadic. They will typically claim a region of the world (ie Tablelands, scrub lands, grasslands, Grey Forest, Red Desert, etc) where they're familiar with the fauna, the neighbors, and the terrain, and stay there. Within that region, their movements may be percieved as nomadic to an outsider, but in reality are probably much more ritualistic, depending on the tribe.

Desert elves are territorial. Once a tribe picks a territory, members of that tribe don't usually leave the area without a good reason, just like most humans spend their entire lives in the city of their choice. These territories might be pretty big, but they're usually restricted to one region, such as the grasslands, the Red desert, or the tablelands.

Once a tribe settles comfortably in a territory, they will often remain only semi-nomadic within that large space, moving their camp about a specified region on a regular basis. A tribe of elves may very well move their camp from one side of the grasslands to another on a seasonal basis, but long moves from one end of the known world to the other are very rare and often only inspired by war or other genocidal events. Also, elves will rarely leave their tribal grounds, as the tribe is looked upon for safety. The further an elf travels from his or her "stomping ground" the more danger they percieve themselves to be in.

Desert elves are all brothers of a greater elven nation: No. When one elf calls another 'brother,' it's usually because he's trying to pull a scam on the other. Elves, even those of the desert variety, are a shifty bunch. There's no code of honor among them. The only elves an elf would openly trust are those in his tribe. Friendships between elves of different tribes do happen, but not easily. There's many years of testing, and earned trust in those situations.

I don't need a tribe to play a desert elf: You don't need a hard-coded, or living tribe to play a desert elf, no. However, most desert elves have a living tribe, even if it is virtual. There was never any kind of massive elven genocide, that wiped out every elf, except one or two from each tribe, as most PCs would have you believe. Elves are still the second most populous race on Zalanthas.

Desert elves hunt all the time: No. Most desert elves would be wary of overhunting. Not for ecological reasons, but because if they share the territory with any other tribes, which they probably do, then consuming more than their fair share of resources could create a lot of hostility and territory wars.

Desert elves all raid, and hate humans: The attitudes towards any race, culture, or group will be strongly determined by the tribe they come from. Raider elves are as much a possibility as raider humans. But it's wrong to think that all non-tribe members are the enemy, because that's historically a good way to get your tribe wiped out.

When a desert elf goes out and kills a human tribal, or a citizen of some city, or some gith, or particularly another tribal elf, they are posing the threat of attack on their tribe by an outside force. While elven tribes are generally very self-absorbed as a whole, they are not so foolish as to provoke the ire of so many outsiders that their doom is assured before the passing of another generation. Attacking outsiders is generally only done in self-defense or by necessity, otherwise it is a task taken upon with much discretion.