Are we tired of elves yet?

[VirgilCaine]

I dislike elves.
They would be wiped out by someone (There's enough enemies around...orcs, five types of goblinoids, giants from trolls and ogres all the way up to Frost and Fire Giants, evil dragons, evil Sphinxes, evil this evil that), unless they were so reclusive that no one ever saw them.

Why? They reproduce very slooooowly.
It takes 100 years for a single elf to make it to adulthood. And then he's killed by seven goblins in his first adventure.

Right, no way they would adventure--elves would get someone else to do it for them. And I still don't see how they are "great wizards" when nothing suggests "wizard" in their stats and bonuses. Everything is pointed towards Ranger not Wizard.

 

[Dark Jezter]

The vaunted 2nd edition overhyping of elves is really limited to PHBR8 The Complete Book of Elves, whose faults Colin McComb has readily admitted.

Here's another book that overhypes elves and portrays them as being oh-so-perfect.

Also, the 3e suppliment Races of Faerun does a bit of elf-fetishizing.

 

[kerakus]

D&D Angst...

This and the Drow thread have suggested something to me...a lot of people seem to simply be burnt out on most of the D&D staples period. I wonder why that is. I have yet to see anything about D&D as overused or tired or anything else. I think, for me, what it boils down to is that I don't portray elves IMC like any novels portray them. I take what's in the PHB and MM and put my own spin on it. That and I leave it to the player to define the race he/she is playing. One of my players is playing an Elven Sorcerer from a wandering tribe of plains elves...so I set up several tribes of these wandering plains elves in the area and used it as part of the campaign world from then on. Are they a new subrace? Heck no, still straight PHB elves. Do I use the subraces in the MM? Yep...but no one has bothered to play one yet. So, why all the burn out?

Q

 

[Dark Jezter]

So, why all the burn out?

Well, there are three major reasons for me disliking elves.

First, as mentioned previously in this thread, I've seen too many novels and RPG suppliments where elves are portrayed as being the epitome of goodness, beauty, and wisdom, and none of the other races could possibly hope to aspire to the level of elves.

Second, I've noticed that on a whole, elf fanboys tend to be far more obnoxious than fans of other races.

Third, elves embody a lot of traits I simply don't like. They're flaky-artistic, histrionic, foppish, arrogant, patronizing in their dealings with other races, undisciplined, and flighty.

 

[Dwarf_Paladin]

If you guys all hate the standard fantasy races why not play a game in which there are no races but man, and you can take out all that pesky magic too while your at it. Now before you rip into me to hard let me just say I personally dont like elves much either for many of the same reasons you gave, but come on D&D with out elves is like fishing without beer. True you get your line tangled alot more and you might fall out of the boat, but at least your fishing as god intended. Elves belong in any setting, at least a little.

 

[Agamemnon]

You know what I like?

Pratchett Elves. An incredibly, inconceivably evil, callous, cruel, malicious, sadistic race, but oh-so-pretty and perfect at the same time. Just like cats. Not too keen on iron, either.

 

[ecliptic]

90% of the characters I play are elves. Elves rock.

 

[kirinke]

whoot. elves rock
But most of my elves come from elven cultures who literally boot most of their children out of the family tree-house upon age of majority so they can get practical experience and learn how to cope with other races. This leads their kingdoms/cultures to being so not prissy, arrogant etc. The kids that are prissy and arrogant get that knocked out of them in their first encounter with something nasty. The elves I play seen what reclusivness can get you into and say NO WAY!

and even though elves produce more slowly than say humans, perhaps they make up for it by having twins/triplets at each birthing? that would account for them having a relatively stable population.

 

[kirinke]

double post sorry....

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Second, I've noticed that on a whole, elf fanboys tend to be far more obnoxious than fans of other races.

You know, I've never really seen that much of the whole 'elf fanboy' thing that a lot of people talk about. I see a LOT more people saying "Elves suck!" and then a few trying to defend them here and there.

Something that REALLY bothers me is when everyone talks about all the Elven subraces. Have you people not seen all of the DWARVEN ones?! There's just as many, especially in the Realms!