Celves aren't delves

Here's a problem. Say things are different. Say there are no rules. No rules set up to prevent delves from living in the cities, no rules preventing anything.

Will it allow an occasional individual 'exception' type elf to say, "Nah. I dont want to live in the sands, I want to live in the cities?" Yes, it would. Will that be terrible? Not really.

Problem is that it will not be an individual 'exception' type elf doing. The elves who will choose to stay in their coded tribes and feel claustrophobic will be the individual rare exceptions. The rest will simply choose delf to be humans with super running abilities, extra stam and hp, extra skills in sneak/hide, then go into the city and go play in the Byn.

Plenty of people choose dwarves and pick up some very bullshit focus just to go through the motions of going along the rules, or do you disagree?

If there are no rules. Halflings would be visiting the taverns, nobody would hate mages, half-giants would be intelligent. People would go for the highest karma guilds/races, just to get the benefit of extra stats/skills, and then just proclaim themselves "exception" to the rule. The mud will be pure power gamer heaven. I am not saying 'everyone' will go for it, but I would definitely go for a very high percentage, if not majority.

Red Fangs was a tribe with barely any rules. For the longest while their numbers and strength was kept down by their short lifespan, lack of a camp, and everyone killing them. But when X-D and Majickal took over and the lifespan of an RF increased, they owned the entire gameworld. Cities and wilderness. That's what happens when you have a group of Delves without a tribe, or a tribe whose rules and tradition basically say "kick ass or die". In a way, it was lucky that X-D and Majickal are not 'too' twinky' or kill happy. Things might have been much worse if they were keen on pkills as ways to solve problems.

Humans are the race of no restrictions. At least in Armageddon anyway. All other races and higher karma roles all have some particular restrictions. This is just a cross Delves are ment to bear. Dont like it? Play a human tribal.

You are aware that the tribe enforcement was a new concept around 2002-2003. Prior to this point, (about half of Arm's existance) tribeless d-elves were allowed. D-elves were commonly found in the Byn. They were the best scouts and fit in just fine. The only reason they took away this freedom was because a lot of players were making d-elves and not playing their cultural backgrounds. It's unfortunate because I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. So a human can be anything but an elf can't? I don't get that.

What is the point of playing an elf if you are just a human with a few stat boosts?
From Dark Sun Campaign Setting Guide 2nd Edition about Elves:

While the last remnants of civilization huddle around pools of brackish water and
clumps of withered vegetation, the elves of Athas run free. Elf villages are even less
likely to be found than a pool of clear water in the desert, for elves only stop running
when they fall down and die. Silver Spring, of course, is a notable exception.
Otherwise, elves gather in nomadic tribes that revel in theft, raiding, and warfare.
Elves are excellent merchants, though they have no concept of fair trade practices.
Anything goes when dealing with an elf trader.
...
Elves are generally lazy and deceitful. They strive to lead short, happy lives as
opposed to long, sad ones. For an elf, the future is a dark, deadly place, so he strug-
gles to make every moment (every now, as the elves speak of it) as enjoyable and
full as possible. Elves will do whatever is necessary to keep themselves and their
tribemates alive and prosperous, but no more. When the work is done, and not a
moment later, the fun begins. They engage in long periods of frenzied feasting and
raucous revelry. Elf tribes do work, however, mostly at hunting and foraging, for they
don’t farm. They detest hard labor and never construct anything larger or more per-
manent than a market tent, but they will spend long hours haggling over the price of
a single trade good.

Blessed with lightning-fast reflexes and uncanny speed, elves are natural runners.
They are swift, sure, and extremely self-reliant. In the cities, elves represent their
tribes in the trading bazaars and market districts. Usually too fast and canny to be
caught by slavers, the elf that finds himself locked away usually dries up and dies
like a darcu fruit cut from its vine.

Seriously hardly anybody plays city elves.

That's cause they're broken.

Akai Sjir serves the Templarate (serving humans... what?), the Jaxa Pah (and I have a feeling Staff is hardly interested investing time and attention into this tribe), as romantic as the thought may be, are hardly a competition for the Guild.

C-elves are just too squishy.

The few times I got involved with Jaxa Pah. They totally owned the alleys. They have some strengths, compared to the humans. They're just a lot more difficult to utilize.

And Akai Sjir serves Muk Utep. Not humans. Templarate just happens to be 'one' way to serve Utep. But yeah, akai sjir were definitely mindfucked with psionically.