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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7314194" data-attributes="member: 58172">The Origin of Elves in Dungeons & DragonsD&D Beyond<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXJ5nae4RnY&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXJ5nae4RnY&feature=youtu.be</a>Transcription by Yaarel 2018.Todd Kenreck:Most playable races in the D&D multiverse have often a very typical origin story, when it comes to their god. But the Elves in the D&D multiverse are utterly unique.Mike Mearls:So the Elves occupy a very interesting position in the D&D multiverse. Other folk − Dwarves, Orcs, and Gnomes, and alot of other of the humanoid folk − were purposefully created by deities, who wanted to essentially created their mirrors and sent them out into the world to spread their influence. Or if someone like Moradin, he crafted the Dwarves almost as a challenge to himself. Could he make a folk? That didnt happen with the Elves. What people forget about the Elves is, while Corellon Larethian is their forebear, he was not their creator.The Elves arose when Gruumsh stabbed Corellon in battle. And Corellon bled. And where he bled, the Elves arose. In some ways the Elves were created by accident. Corellon did not intend to make the Elves.The Elves arose. And so they have this very interesting place. That they are incredibly powerful because they are directly the children of a god, rather than the creation of god. And that is an important thing.  Moradin is the father of the Dwarves metaphorically. He created them. They say, you are our creator, you are our father. Corellon is the forebear of the Elves. They sprang from his blood. And he also − I mean, he doesnt − gender to him is just a − whatever, right? − it is just a label that other people use depending on what form he has taken that day. Or she. Or him, or them, or whatever. So to Corellon, this idea of parenthood and shepherding the Elves is a little strange. That is why he is Chaotic. He is Chaotic Good. He is Good. For he loves the universe. He wants it to thrive because he finds it interesting. But he is also Chaotic. He is not like Moradin who took his creation, and gave them his, here's how to live. I will help you. And I will create other deities to teach you things. Corellon just sorta set an example to them almost by accident.And so this gives the Elves a very distinct position cosmologically. That they are very powerful. Very longlived. They can master incredible magics. But they have never had a deity figure, who is a parent to them, the way that Moradin is to the Dwarves. Except for Lolth. Lolth. In some ways you can think of Lolth as almost like an evil stepmother, who is evil and horrible. But at least she gave us structure. She paid all the bills and told us what to do. And that is to me − mythologically and cosmologically − is the root of the divide between Lolth and Corellon. Corellon telling the Elves, go forth and do whatever you want. You can come back and tell me about it, I guess, if you feel like it and I feel like listening. And Lolth saying, no. There is a way. Like, this is what you do. This is the order. Lolth being Chaotic but still imposing this brutal order, horrible order on them. And in the ancient days, many elves wanting that because if you're an Elf and you saw the Dwarves, and they had Moradin teaching them the way of the forge, and Clangadin teaching them way of war. And there was a right and a wrong, and there was a pattern to it. The Elves didnt have that. The Elves had to make up everything on their own. And so Lolth spinning her web provides structure and provides purpose. And to some Elves that was very appealing.So Lolth being a very powerful entity amongst the Elves, being an Elf, very early on − it is hard to say exactly why she is now a demon queen. But the suspicion is, she thought that, frankly, Corellon was a terrible example, forebear. He was a terrible parent. He abandoned his people. The Elves in her mind are the most powerful of all the folk. They live the longest. They command the most powerful magic. If they set their mind to it, they can become the best warriors. Why do they let Humans run around and dominate. Why are the Dwarves allowed to mine all the riches of the world and make them their own. The Elves should rule because the Elves are the best. The greatest, the mightiest, the longest lived, the most blessed, they are the literal children of gods. So why not weave a web that entraps all the other folk and puts the Elves on top? Why be so passive? Why hide in your forest and while your time away writing poetry and crafting items from wood, and worrying so much about these forests, when you could rule the cosmos? And to her, that Corellon was just a weakling. You know, he was the one holding the Elves back. And Lolth had a path forward.And so they fought. The Elves would tell you that Lolth and the Drow tried to kill Corellon. And if they killed Corellon, that would have been awful, the end of the Elves. That Lolth is a traitor and she has only the doom of the Elves and her own power in mind. The Drow tho would tell you a different story. They might tell you that Corellon was the one who struck first. That Corellon seeing Lolth, and seeing her power, and seeing what she could become, was afraid. That was the first time he felt fear as an entity. And that he struck her first. And the Drow struck back only to defend themselves and to save their queen.Todd Kenreck:Thank you, Mike Mearls for being on D&D Beyond. And spending some time with us to talk about the origin of the Elves in the D&D multiverse. I am Todd Kenreck, and thank you for watching.</blockquote>

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