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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Viktyr Gehrig" data-source="post: 2455449" data-attributes="member: 9249">Eh. You know, I like the concept of elves, and I like the roleplaying potential of elves, but I absolutely detest the way they're portrayed in D&D, both mechanically and in the associated fiction.I voted Hate. There was a time when I refused to play elves and refused to allow them in my games, for a couple of years after the Night of Elves. (It was back in 2e, and I had eight players playing seven-and-a-half elves, ranging from every subrace available in the Complete Book of Elves.)I surprised my gaming group-- we're starting an epic-level Planescape game, and I decided to play an admiral of the Elven Armada.Problem is, elves are almost never portrayed consistently with how they are described.They're supposedly Chaotic, but they have centuries-old, inflexible tradition and often absolute monarchs. They're supposedly Good, but there are many, many examples of elven settlements that'll kill adventurers simply for venturing too close to their camp-- and heaven forbid the lowly humans ask them for help! They're supposedly charismatic, inspiring, and intoxicating, but they're usually arrogant, condescending, and standoffish.Then, there's the six billion elf subraces. Yes, I hate the dwarven subraces, too, and the gnomish subraces, and the halfing subraces-- but the elves started it. Some of those subraces, too, just don't make any sense and were seemingly designed to make them perfectly suited to a specific class.Mechanically, it bothers me that there's no real support for them being "more magical" than humans, though they're supposed to be. It bothers me that there's no mechanical support for their other-worldly beauty or for their supposed powers of persuasion. It really bothers me that there's an elven subrace which is just as strong as a half-orc, despite being five feet tall and thin.I've fixed the mechanical problems in my own games, by changing their stat mods, their Favored Class (Favored Gestalt, actually), and banning the subraces. But there's nothing I can do for their lousy portrayals in so many works of fiction. I'm trying to learn to play them better in my games, though.</blockquote>

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