@TheEdVerse And in the same vein as the last question, how does the fertility rates differ among elves? For example, could an average elf get pregnant only once a year compare to twice for a drow? Or are they all the same among the various subraces?
— Lysbeth Raven (@LysbethRaven) March 6, 2020
1)
As elves long ago mastered magic that allows them to get pregnant when they want to, and not otherwise (so as not to try to bring up babies in times of war, famine, and disaster), and we don’t know which individuals use it and which don’t, we don’t know what 2)
…the base fertility rate is for any elf subrace. We DO know elves didn't have the fertility problems dwarves faced in recent centuries, and that elves live more in balance with the land and less "have more offspring, now more, now more" (unlike orcs and humans).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 6, 2020
This is what bothers me.The primary reason for decline of elves and rise of human is the population of elves is too small. So why don't they raise their fertility rate?
— coolguy (@coolguy73360922) March 9, 2020
1)
Here, you assume common-sense social engineering that accepts a common goal, and overrides individual freedoms (not wanting to be pregnant, or raise offspring), in a way that the overall elven population may not accept. 2)
Or as some dwarves have put it, often enough that it became a racial saying, "If you want to tell an elf what to do, be sure to bring your axe."#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2020
In Mordenkainen’s ToF it says that booming elf populations indicate times of trouble ahead, or a stagnancy. If elves truly do just choose when the want to conceive, what’s the relation to this? Instinct. Bad feelings about the future, seek solace in intimacy. Birthrate rise follows.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2020