Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="William Ronald" data-source="post: 784708" data-attributes="member: 426">Interesting post, Gez.So, what can be done to change the image of elves in 3E.I liked ColonelHardisson's mention of Michael Moorcock's Corum series.  The Vadhagh were truly not involved in the world around them, which lead to great tragedy.Some campaigns have elves that are more of a Tolkien flavor.  Others chose more of a Moorcock flavor: otherworldly, sometimes sad and weary, but capable of great passion.  (Hmm, why does this sound a little like a cross between the Minbari and the Centauri of Babylon 5. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> )Perhaps elves can be portrayed with a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world.  As such, they might have a strong tendency towards optimism and be open to new experiences.  Such an attitude would probably serve a long lived race well.  This might explain a tendency for elaborate celebrations.  Each party could be a new experience.They may well have a bit of a tragic history.  People, no matter how long lived, may make mistakes.  Perhaps a willingness to admit some responsibility for the mistakes of the past and a willingness to find some way to rectify them.  ("We isolated ourselves from our potential allies.  If we had forged stronger ties of friendship with them, perhaps Myth Drannor would not have fallen.")  However, isolationism is another possibility.  Sometimes, people who have been hurt will isolate themselves.Aloofness is also a possible consequence of living a millenia or more when many other races do not even live half as long.  Perhaps a bit of shyness with the aloofness, with some elves warming up to people over time.  (In Star Trek, Spock was an interesting example of this.  Despite his outward show of calm and stoicism, the occassional bursts of emotion showed what lay beneath the facade.)I think elves would have as much potential for good as for evil.  While culture may mitigate against this somewhat, it is still possible for a character to reject the dominant trends of his society.Obviously, different elven societies can take different approaches.  This can be seen in some of the published settings.  The elves of Highfolk seem to be less isolationist than those of Celene in the World of Greyhawk setting.Traditionally, in myth and folklore, the sidhe, the alfar, and other creatures that served as the foundation of D&D elves had an element of other worldliness.  Perhaps this element can be stressed.  Perhaps a close look at myth and folklore is recommended. An elf should not just be a human with pointed ears.So, what do YOU think?</blockquote>

Verification