A minor rant: the Elf spectrum

[Felon]

Reeeeaaally?

Aside from the tired "Woe is me! I'm caught between two cultures and fully accepted by neither!" Exactly what story potential to half-elves bring to the table that any other race doesn't?

Wow, what a narrow point of view. Last I checked, all the stories have had their potential tapped. They're all tired if they're handled in a tired manner, and they're all fresh if handled in a fresh manner.

 

[Felon]

I've been catching up on episodes of Avatar: the Last Airbender. Just got through watching an episode entitled "The Great Divide". It was about a feud between two clans--one whose people are pampered, stuffy, and impeccably clean, with long straight white hair and adorning themselves in flowing white and gold robes. The other is savage and filthy, with messy brown hair tied back in top-knots. I couldn't help but notice how each perrfectly matched the two different conceptions of elves.

The hook of the episode is how much they hate each other. Maybe that's the fastest way to distinguish eladrin and elves; have them openly despise each other for their cultural differences.

 

[Wulfram]

Yes, TY OP, I agree 100% The strange thing is, I don't know anyone who will actually admit to liking elves, let alone need several dozen sub-races to fulfill their intense elven addiction.

I like elves. I like them being culturally diverse, too.

I dislike all the sub-races though. Human's don't get an int penalty for being barbarians, or an int bonus for being extremely civilised. At most, the weapon proficiencies should be switched out for something more appropriate to their culture - give Spell Focus: Enchantment for Greys and skill bonus to hide in forests for Woods, or something.

I suspect I'll hate the whole Eladrin thing, because it seems to be basically an attempt to define Elves as solely the forest dwelling nature types.

 

[Anthtriel]

Funny, I thought it was for people who wanted to be lithe, athletic, and wild.

Seriously, it should be pretty obvious that elves lend themselves to wish fulfillment. Dwarves and halflings, not so much. Don't know many folks who fantasize about being short and stocky, or little runts. Half-orcs do though; a lot of folks wish they big, strong lunks. Wonder why they don't get all the grief that elves get.

Half-orcs stink and are stupid, whereas elves (especially in LotR) are really just humans except better in every way.

D&D is somewhat affected by it, though arguable less than some other games. In particular, D&D elves are short (or used to be), have weak Con, and somehow learn in 120 years less than a human in 18.

 

[D.Shaffer]

Don't know many folks who fantasize about being short and stocky, or little runts.

I'd be a dwarf. A tough little bastard whose idea of fun is drinking till they pass out? What's not to like?

 

[Scribble]

I think the idea of the Eladrin vrs the Elves is to get away from the Sub Races thing... Now they're two seprate races, just distantly related to each other... Kind of like a human is distantly related to a Tiefling.

Shrug... It kind of seems like just repainting a house and calling it remodled, but still I can get their idea. Sub races were kind of wonky... "Just because I live in a desert means my stats get difefrent bonuses?" Wheras a different race simply evolved differently... Drow won't be elves, they'll be drow. Related to Elves, but different.