D&D General elf definition semantic shenanigans
Yaarel
He Mage
Semantic connotations:
ELF
Regarding "elf", different reallife cultures have different concepts of them.
I mainly focus on the Norse elf (alfr) and the Scottish elf (elf, sith). I consider the Shakespeare fairy to be a different kind of creature. England sometimes uses the terms "fairy" and "elf" interchangeably. But Scotland tends to remember the terms mean different things. Fairy is any kind of magical creature (equivalent to D&D Fey), and elf is a "human-sized fairy".
The main difference between Norse and Scottish, is the Norse elf is a sky being, a manifestation of sunlight, where Alfheimr is high up in the "sky" (himinn). Oppositely, the Scottish elf is a land being, inheriting characteristics of the Celtic sidhe (whence Scottish sith). Both relate to fertility of nature, with Norse as warm life-giving sunny weather and Scottish as rich soil teaming with plants and trees.
What both Norse and Scottish have in common is:
• they are the "fates", personifications of "fate", especially a good fate: sexuality, love, family, and success
• extreme superhuman beauty and persuasive charm
• immortal
• as fate, they are magic, made out of magic, and master any kind of magic
In sum, an "elf" is an extremely goodlooking, successful, human, who is lucky and an innately powerful mage.
The character concept is begging for Mary Sue characters, male and female. But I like the archetype and consider it profound precisely because it serves to visualize human ideals. A good fate.
In the sense fate includes karma and poetic justice, elves can be vicious to those who "deserve" it even if onlookers might not know what the targets did.
An aspect that I find remarkable is, various stories describe elves − who are fates − also mess with each others fates, blessing and cursing each other, causing each other cupid-like to fall in love in order to fate the birth of a certain child, and so on.
For D&D 5e, the playtest has it right, focusing on the innate magic.
DWARF
Norse dwarf (dvergr) is the "opposite" of an elf. The dwarf is also a fate, but mainly relates to a "bad fate", meaning failure, lack of success, and fateful curses. The "bad fate" is why they make the best weapons that debuff and overcome enemies. Where the elf is up above, the dwarf is down below. The dwarf relates to rocks and muddy wetlands, but more specifically various shapes and mineral patterns of rock. The dwarf is likewise a being made out of magic, and a powerful mage. The motionlessness of rocks is often understood as a shamanic deathlike trance, while the dwarf is performing powerful magics. The Norse dwarf is normal human size. Concerning Reginn, elsewhere identified as a dvergr, a description has him have "the stature of a dvergr", but this probably refers to him having the magnitude of magical power of a dvergr. Elsewhere, Thor says Alvíss has "the body of a thurs", a giant, but probably referring to a deathlike complexion because of lack of sunlight. The Norse dwarf petrifies in sunlight. Many humanlike shapes found randomly in rocks are thought to be petrified dwarves.
But the Saxon dwerg is more like the English "dwarf" (Anglo-Saxon dweorg, dweorh), and German twerg, who is characteristically short and is a kind of fairy (Fey). The concept of petrification in sunlight is absent, but it is a land spirit associating with dangerous rocks. The British fairy creatures are normally nocturnal.
D&D 1e, made the dwarf nonmagical, tho I dont understand why or how. The dwarves of reallife folklore are powerfully magical. But the 5e playtest Dwarf can be any class including Bard, Druid, Wizard, and so on, excelling at magic. It has traits that suggest affinity with the element of Earth.
Where elf is sunlight and upper atmosphere, and dwarf is rock and mud, I sometimes view them as elemental beings of Air-Fire and Earth-Water, respectively.
HALFLING
In my view, the D&D Halfling is too human, as if implying that short people are not human, and are a separate species. That said, Homo floresiensis is a reallife hominid species, about a meter tall. Part of the shortness is proportionally shorter legs, compared to Homo sapiens. I feel the D&D Halfling including the playtest needs to be less human, in order to be meaningfully different from the Human species, and merit existence of a Halfing species. Being short doesnt cut it.
ORC
Sometimes Orc reminds me of one of other more "robust" reallife hominid species. But I prefer a more mythic flavor, that leans into "Orcus", a spooky ogre-like manifestation of the Roman realm of the dead, who punishes people for breaking oaths.
I like the 5e playtest emphasis on "adrenaline", and think of the fun aspects of an adrenaline junky, climbing a cliff just to do it, then jumping of it in a wingsuit. Some of the culture will be ways to avoid stress, such as spas, soothing aromas, and Monk contemplation.
GNOME
Gnomes are land beings, Fey, who personify human homes, and similar human-made structures, like mines and ships. As a kind of "sprite", gnomes often appear as a small spirit, being a childlike spirit of a place.
Actually, the Halfling, namely the Hob or Hobbit (both are circumlocutionary variants of the name Robert, whence Robin), is an English version of a gnome. This is the spirit of a house, whence the "domestic" homebody qualities of the Hobbit of Tolkien.
A "hob-goblin" is a paradox, a good spirit and a bad spirit simultaneously, referring to playing practical jokes. The good is the sense of humor, and the bad is the painful prank. For Shakespeare, Puck is a hobgoblin, the funmaking jester of the royal fairy court.
In modern Norwegian folkbelief, the tomte (tuft, nisse, etcetera) is a kind of gnome. Despite being small, waist-high or knee-high, it is an immaterial force, and superhumanly strong.
Like other kinds of sprites, the gnomes are sometimes mischievous, such as tangling hair of people who are being lazy.
The German kobold is also a kind of gnome. I think of the D&D "Kobold" as not actually a kobold, but deriving from the phrase "kobold dragon", in the sense of a species of dragon that resembles a gnome, being small and living in a mine.
D&D Gnomes are magical, with the trickster quality of leprechauns, but should be clearly Fey. The 4e Gnome is Fey, correctly.
DRAGONBORN
The D&D Dragonborn is literally a bipedal Dragon, originating from a magically reshaped Dragon egg. I feel the reallife snakelike serpentine archetype of a dragon, means visually the Dragonborn needs to be more snakelike with a serpentine tail, in order to resonate with the dragon archetype. In the Critical Role setting, the Dragonborn does feature a tail.
The archetype of the Dragonborn relates to the medieval stories of "the knight versus the dragon". Subversively, the Dragonborn is both the knight in shining armor and the dangerous dragon beast, simultaneously.
TIEFLING
The playtest describes the origin of the Tiefling. They are a Human-like creature created by Fiends. Because these creatures also had a human-like soul and human-like ethical sensibilities, most of the Tieflings rebelled against their Fiendish creators, pretty much immediately, escaped the Fiend Planes, and scattered elsewhere across the multiverse.
Essentially, the Tiefling is a playable Fiend. Notably, they originate as Astral beings, made out of thought, like Angels are. Those that immigrate into the Material Plane, materialize into a form of flesh and blood.
ELF
Regarding "elf", different reallife cultures have different concepts of them.
I mainly focus on the Norse elf (alfr) and the Scottish elf (elf, sith). I consider the Shakespeare fairy to be a different kind of creature. England sometimes uses the terms "fairy" and "elf" interchangeably. But Scotland tends to remember the terms mean different things. Fairy is any kind of magical creature (equivalent to D&D Fey), and elf is a "human-sized fairy".
The main difference between Norse and Scottish, is the Norse elf is a sky being, a manifestation of sunlight, where Alfheimr is high up in the "sky" (himinn). Oppositely, the Scottish elf is a land being, inheriting characteristics of the Celtic sidhe (whence Scottish sith). Both relate to fertility of nature, with Norse as warm life-giving sunny weather and Scottish as rich soil teaming with plants and trees.
What both Norse and Scottish have in common is:
• they are the "fates", personifications of "fate", especially a good fate: sexuality, love, family, and success
• extreme superhuman beauty and persuasive charm
• immortal
• as fate, they are magic, made out of magic, and master any kind of magic
In sum, an "elf" is an extremely goodlooking, successful, human, who is lucky and an innately powerful mage.
The character concept is begging for Mary Sue characters, male and female. But I like the archetype and consider it profound precisely because it serves to visualize human ideals. A good fate.
In the sense fate includes karma and poetic justice, elves can be vicious to those who "deserve" it even if onlookers might not know what the targets did.
An aspect that I find remarkable is, various stories describe elves − who are fates − also mess with each others fates, blessing and cursing each other, causing each other cupid-like to fall in love in order to fate the birth of a certain child, and so on.
For D&D 5e, the playtest has it right, focusing on the innate magic.
DWARF
Norse dwarf (dvergr) is the "opposite" of an elf. The dwarf is also a fate, but mainly relates to a "bad fate", meaning failure, lack of success, and fateful curses. The "bad fate" is why they make the best weapons that debuff and overcome enemies. Where the elf is up above, the dwarf is down below. The dwarf relates to rocks and muddy wetlands, but more specifically various shapes and mineral patterns of rock. The dwarf is likewise a being made out of magic, and a powerful mage. The motionlessness of rocks is often understood as a shamanic deathlike trance, while the dwarf is performing powerful magics. The Norse dwarf is normal human size. Concerning Reginn, elsewhere identified as a dvergr, a description has him have "the stature of a dvergr", but this probably refers to him having the magnitude of magical power of a dvergr. Elsewhere, Thor says Alvíss has "the body of a thurs", a giant, but probably referring to a deathlike complexion because of lack of sunlight. The Norse dwarf petrifies in sunlight. Many humanlike shapes found randomly in rocks are thought to be petrified dwarves.
But the Saxon dwerg is more like the English "dwarf" (Anglo-Saxon dweorg, dweorh), and German twerg, who is characteristically short and is a kind of fairy (Fey). The concept of petrification in sunlight is absent, but it is a land spirit associating with dangerous rocks. The British fairy creatures are normally nocturnal.
D&D 1e, made the dwarf nonmagical, tho I dont understand why or how. The dwarves of reallife folklore are powerfully magical. But the 5e playtest Dwarf can be any class including Bard, Druid, Wizard, and so on, excelling at magic. It has traits that suggest affinity with the element of Earth.
Where elf is sunlight and upper atmosphere, and dwarf is rock and mud, I sometimes view them as elemental beings of Air-Fire and Earth-Water, respectively.
HALFLING
In my view, the D&D Halfling is too human, as if implying that short people are not human, and are a separate species. That said, Homo floresiensis is a reallife hominid species, about a meter tall. Part of the shortness is proportionally shorter legs, compared to Homo sapiens. I feel the D&D Halfling including the playtest needs to be less human, in order to be meaningfully different from the Human species, and merit existence of a Halfing species. Being short doesnt cut it.
ORC
Sometimes Orc reminds me of one of other more "robust" reallife hominid species. But I prefer a more mythic flavor, that leans into "Orcus", a spooky ogre-like manifestation of the Roman realm of the dead, who punishes people for breaking oaths.
I like the 5e playtest emphasis on "adrenaline", and think of the fun aspects of an adrenaline junky, climbing a cliff just to do it, then jumping of it in a wingsuit. Some of the culture will be ways to avoid stress, such as spas, soothing aromas, and Monk contemplation.
GNOME
Gnomes are land beings, Fey, who personify human homes, and similar human-made structures, like mines and ships. As a kind of "sprite", gnomes often appear as a small spirit, being a childlike spirit of a place.
Actually, the Halfling, namely the Hob or Hobbit (both are circumlocutionary variants of the name Robert, whence Robin), is an English version of a gnome. This is the spirit of a house, whence the "domestic" homebody qualities of the Hobbit of Tolkien.
A "hob-goblin" is a paradox, a good spirit and a bad spirit simultaneously, referring to playing practical jokes. The good is the sense of humor, and the bad is the painful prank. For Shakespeare, Puck is a hobgoblin, the funmaking jester of the royal fairy court.
In modern Norwegian folkbelief, the tomte (tuft, nisse, etcetera) is a kind of gnome. Despite being small, waist-high or knee-high, it is an immaterial force, and superhumanly strong.
Like other kinds of sprites, the gnomes are sometimes mischievous, such as tangling hair of people who are being lazy.
The German kobold is also a kind of gnome. I think of the D&D "Kobold" as not actually a kobold, but deriving from the phrase "kobold dragon", in the sense of a species of dragon that resembles a gnome, being small and living in a mine.
D&D Gnomes are magical, with the trickster quality of leprechauns, but should be clearly Fey. The 4e Gnome is Fey, correctly.
DRAGONBORN
The D&D Dragonborn is literally a bipedal Dragon, originating from a magically reshaped Dragon egg. I feel the reallife snakelike serpentine archetype of a dragon, means visually the Dragonborn needs to be more snakelike with a serpentine tail, in order to resonate with the dragon archetype. In the Critical Role setting, the Dragonborn does feature a tail.
The archetype of the Dragonborn relates to the medieval stories of "the knight versus the dragon". Subversively, the Dragonborn is both the knight in shining armor and the dangerous dragon beast, simultaneously.
TIEFLING
The playtest describes the origin of the Tiefling. They are a Human-like creature created by Fiends. Because these creatures also had a human-like soul and human-like ethical sensibilities, most of the Tieflings rebelled against their Fiendish creators, pretty much immediately, escaped the Fiend Planes, and scattered elsewhere across the multiverse.
Essentially, the Tiefling is a playable Fiend. Notably, they originate as Astral beings, made out of thought, like Angels are. Those that immigrate into the Material Plane, materialize into a form of flesh and blood.
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Mind of tempest
(he/him)advocate for 5e psionics
yeah more or less but what is say always a dwarf as opposed to not a dwarf.
Scribe
Legend
Dwarf - Short, thick, powerful, clans, runes and crafting, beards, tough.
Elf - Grace, beauty, artists, elitists/racist, magical, long life or ever living. Fallen from past glory.
Halfling - Short and skinny or plump (hobbits) sneaky, lucky, thief, idyllic, adventure is the exception.
Gnomes - Magical/Crafter (Forest vs Rock/City), Short, skinny, small, smart.
Dragonborn - Strong, tall, powerful, dragon head, scales, breath weapon.
Tiefling - Edgelord and/or Goth option. Sexy or Gritty, or both. Horns, Tail, weird skin colors, weird eyes, low born, struggles again stereotypes and perception.
The thing is, if I can have images generated easily for these, and I both can and have, by one of the AI tools, then "the West" gets it and knows what these are.
Hussar
Legend
Let's be honest here, jumping off from the other thread, there seems to be a persistent argument that somehow a +2 stat bonus is great for defining a race. Which is, on its face, ridiculous. The difference between a 12 Str and a 10 Str is so negligible that it doesn't actually matter. You couldn't be able to look at two people and say, with any degree of certainty, that this person has a 12 Con and that person has a 10.
But, I know that for some people, that +2 stat bonus somehow defines a race. I have no idea how, but, sure?
But, I know that for some people, that +2 stat bonus somehow defines a race. I have no idea how, but, sure?
Scribe
Legend
Let's be honest here, jumping off from the other thread, there seems to be a persistent argument that somehow a +2 stat bonus is great for defining a race. Which is, on its face, ridiculous. The difference between a 12 Str and a 10 Str is so negligible that it doesn't actually matter. You couldn't be able to look at two people and say, with any degree of certainty, that this person has a 12 Con and that person has a 10.
But, I know that for some people, that +2 stat bonus somehow defines a race. I have no idea how, but, sure?
Oh is this yet another "I need my +2 in my bounded accuracy game" thread? I thought it was about broad general themes.
Corinnguard
Hero
They are subspecies of Homo sapiens. Elves, for instance, are Homo sapiens nobilis. Orks are Homo sapiens robustus. However, you won't find Half-Elves or Half-Orks in Shadowrun. A human mating with an elf in this setting will have elf or human offspring.
Thomas Shey
Legend
Ah, I'd just assumed that meant there were some genetic differences, but they were expressing in an epigenetic way, compounded by magic. In other words, that you could have a human with the elf or ork templating, but it wasn't always going to express.
Corinnguard
Hero
Pretty much. Metahumanity
Divine2021
Adventurer
nuDnD post Tasha and that terrible Monsters of the Multiverse flattened and arguably neutered all meaningful species/lineage/racial differences in this system. It’s nearly all style now, meaningful mechanics coupled with lore have gone by the wayside. I think that it makes for a rather boring approach (I’m currently reading a ton of Tolkien, and I love how different the different regions feel), but I respect if someone views it different. It just isn’t for me and the tables I run.
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