Your Tropes are Touching Me!

[KahlessNestor]

Wait until you start imagining the Gnome Ninja

That sounds like The Trust in Eberron!

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[KahlessNestor]

Stay true to the Germanic roots, and give your dwarf a German accent. Preferably a slightly camp one.

I sometimes like Russian ones.

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[Ryujin]

That sounds like The Trust in Eberron!

My mind has since wandered on to a chubby Half Elf Rogue who is exceedingly generous and can fit through improbably small openings, Eladrin who teleport into shomakers shops late at night, and Gnomish underpants fetishists who are out for profit.

 

[Blue]

... and every Drow actually a misunderstood Chaotic Good hero.

Play against (stereo)type. The toughest warrior they meet is a woman. Elves in heavy plate, who don't rely on bows as their main weapons. Dwarven Sorcerers. Not everyone comes out of the same mold in the real world; nor should they in a fantasy world. Samurai Haflings? Why not?

One of my most memorable PCs was inspired by a mini of a halfling in plate armor. Back in AD&D 2ed when halflings has STR penalties.

 

[Blue]

If you’re having trouble breaking with established tropes, I think it’s totally possible to play with tropes in subtle ways, while still paying using them. Little things can add up – like say that dwarf with the Scottish accent who’s also a vegetarian, or only uses swords, and is really particular about them. Or the fey elf that is completely bloodthirsty (perhaps literally?) in battle.

Though in all honesty, I hate the all dwarves have Scottish accents thing. An accent is not a personality.

I had a tea-totaller Dwarf who wouldn't drink. (Except for sealing an oath, but he saw drinking there as a religious obligation.)

I guess I'm lucky - even in a setting with "generic" races I'm usually with players who really make them more then just a caricature.

 

[Eltab]

My Dwarf characters all get their names when I look at an atlas of Norway - Sweden - Denmark and pick some town / city.

I put together (but never got to play) a 4e Halfling Fighter. I figured nobody would believe a little guy who thought he was the toughest fellow in the room, I wanted to practice two-weapon fighting rules, Martial Power came out shortly thereafter with the Tempest sub-class and the Nerath Shock Infantry paragon path, I had never played a front-line kinda guy, everything just clicked together.

As noted above, Dark Sun can help cure you of the 'All -race- are -characteristic-' fallacy. When the elves steal all your stuff and run away faster than you can catch, laughing at you all the way...

 

[Dioltach]

One that always annoys me is elves being proficient with longbow and longsword. Because obviously those are the most appropriate weapons for fighting in woodland ...

 

[Tonguez]

One that always annoys me is elves being proficient with longbow and longsword. Because obviously those are the most appropriate weapons for fighting in woodland ...

The Welsh used longbows for hunting (in woodlands) and for ambush attacks against the English, often firing at short range inorder to pierce armour. That seems highly appropriate for Elves.

It was the English who instigated mass Longbowmen on the flanks of their formations, but even here this would be a special mass tactic for Elven armies,not the standard practice.

Moreover - who said Elves have to live in the forest?

 

[Ryujin]

The Welsh used longbows for hunting (in woodlands) and for ambush attacks against the English, often firing at short range inorder to pierce armour. That seems highly appropriate for Elves.

It was the English who instigated mass Longbowmen on the flanks of their formations, but even here this would be a special mass tactic for Elven armies,not the standard practice.

Moreover - who said Elves have to live in the forest?

Back in the 1e expansion days, Valley Elves (elves from the Valley of the Mage in Greyhawk) became quite the, like, joke yehknow?

 

[Tonguez]

Back in the 1e expansion days, Valley Elves (elves from the Valley of the Mage in Greyhawk) became quite the, like, joke yehknow?

for sure, like totally dude, totally