The Setting and Assumptions
- Magic can not be used to solve any problem. I'm not creating a magic heavy world. If you use magic at all you might as well say they just cast a spell and create a sumptuous feast every time they want to eat and be done with it. That defeats the purpose of this exercise.
- Elves are omnivorous. Teeth alone point them out as omnivores (assuming they are like ours). Herbivores do not develop intelligence. At some point after abundant food is available elves may choose not to eat meat but they are designed to do so.
- Elves appear just after the next to last glacial advance ends, apr 130,000 years ago.
- Elves spontaneously appear with the same technology as humans of approximately 50,000 years ago. Their brains, and speech capabilities are fully developed at modern equivalents. The can make stone and bone tools, both simple (hand axes) and multi part (like atlatls/spears, harpoons). Tools are of a standardized
form. They have fire. They do not have agriculture or any domesticated animals,
except the dog.
- Appearance occurs in a North American like continent. Same species, general topography and isolation from the the largest landmass on the world.
- A number of unknown species of both plants and animals exist that are exploitable. All of which died off after the last glaciation unless domesticated by the elves. These species should fit the environment (sheep do not naturally exist in the forest hence can't be used) and be similar to known species with minor changes (a domesticatable bison species could exist on the Great Plains where the one now is undomesticatable).
- Elves inhabit the oak forests of Eastern North America and will try and stay in that environment rather than filling all available niches. They may spread the Oak forest
- Climate changes of last glacial interlude follow exactly the same pattern as this one.
Elves occupy the cool temperate/mixed forests
- Start position is apr Vicksburg in the middle of the appropriate forest.
- Elves live a long time, they may not be immortal but 6000 years at least.
- Elves have an extremely small population growth rate. from an initial population of 20,000 there are only 200,000 elves 130,000 years later.
