Quote from: mythusmageIn my case I made elves and dwarfs species of human. Halflings are advanced bonobos (part of a rivalry with the "creator" of goblins, who are advanced chimpanzees).

Elves arose in and around the land of Karelia in way Northern Europe. In real life it's shared between Finland and Russia. Elves are short, stocky, good at moving around after dark, and good with magic of a natural bent. Historically they spread out of Karelia some 20,000 years ago. They appeared in Europe proper some 18,000 years ago, and by 2,000 BC were colonizing Africa and Australia. They reached the Americas around the birth of Christ. Elves are best described as cocksure, competent, and good with advice. Though they do have a problem taking advice.

Dwarfs come from the Alps. They are craftsmen, merchants, excellent smiths, but so-so miners (they rely on humans or kobolds for that). Most dwarfs have a mild form of claustrophobia. They are shorter than elves, yet stockier, and are the one species descended from humans with what could be called a robust skeleton. This a trait they share with ogres and alma.

That's what I did to elves, dwarfs, and halflings.

That's totally cool. I'm a big fan of evolutionary psychology. What system did you do this for?

I did this to elves in my Savage Worlds fantasy game:

Elves are tall, lithe and thin, with slightly pointed ears. Their skin is extremely fair, with almost a bluish tint. Their hair ranges from silver to platinum to light blond. Their eyes are violet, blue or gray. They are fond of highly ornamental weapons, armor and other accoutrements.

They are elegant, amoral, cruel and completely alien to human culture and concerns. They are masters of dark sorcery and love to experiment with living subjects, creating all sorts of human and animal abominations which they use to guard their eery, glittering cities. Humans captured by elves often end up subjected to elvish science.

Elves do no work beyond what they desire, and rely heavily on dominated slaves to keep their city alive. The individual elf lives a life of decadent pleasure, indulging in all manner of forbidden luxuries. Sorcery is a main passion, with many elves becoming fearsome magicians over the course of their long lifetimes. They delight in summoning demons and devils, and consider themselves the true masters of this world and the one beyond.

Elves found outside of their homelands are usually on a slave raiding mission, and attack humans on sight.

Elvish Spirit Sword (Magical Item)
Elvish Spirit Swords are viciously sharp, wickedly designed longswords that crackle with an eldritch blue energy. An aura of palpable fear surrounds them. These swords do regular damage, plus drain one level of Spirit with each successful wound. Individuals fully drained of spirit are incapable of independent thought and action, and readily follow the commands of elves.

Humans captured in this manner are usually marched off to the Elvish cities for experimentation. If such ensorcelled humans are rescued from the elves that captured them, Spirit drained by the swords returns at the rate of one level every full day of rest. Elvish Spirit Swords are bonded to individual elves, and function as normal longswords in the hands of anyone else.

There are rumors of Greater Elven Spirit Swords that possess a rudimentary intelligence and a number of other magical abilities. These are unconfirmed.

Quote from: mattormegThat's totally cool. I'm a big fan of evolutionary psychology. What system did you do this for?

A d20 based homebrew.