TSR The Shadow Elves of Mystara

[Zardnaar]

Twirls moustache.

Heh they had mustaches in FF iirc.

 

[Distracted DM]

compared to the rather comically evil Drow.

Its nice to have complex foes, but I wouldn't underestimate the value of having a faction that are very clearly going to be the villains regardless of the situation- comically evil can be great here and there "Everybody loves zombies."

 

[Chaltab]

Heh they had mustaches in FF iirc.

Final Fantasy?

 

[Cruentus]

Likely Fiend Folio. And they weren't just moustaches, they were particularly spectacular 70's vintage 'staches.

 

[Zardnaar]

Final Fantasy?

Fiend Folio.

 

[DammitVictor]

I would also point out that to my mind, the bigger twist/spoiler (pages 10-11 of the Gaz 13 DM Book) concerns the Shadow Elf practice of abandoning "imperfect" (mutant?) babies in caves far from the cities - with the accompanying revelation (page 55) that "imperfect" shadow elf babies are often adopted by humanoids (orcs, goblinoids, and the like) and that certain "powerful humanoids" in the Broken Lands are actually imperfect shadow elves.

It existed prior to Gaz13 as well; it was alluded to in Gaz10 The Orcs of Thar. 14 year old me thought this was dope.

 

[Laurefindel]

And Menzoberranzan box set too IIRC.

 

[Laurefindel]

… I think the Shadow Elves (or something similar) would've been a vastly superior thing to have, compared to the rather comically evil Drow.

Between the Zentharim, the Red Wizards of Thay, the mad wizard that makes dungeons under Waterdeep, and pillager orcs, FR has its share of caricatures of evil. Personally I think it’s part of its charm but yeah, FR baddies aren’t known for subtlety…

 

[Zardnaar]

Between the Zentharim, the Red Wizards of Thay, the mad wizard that makes dungeons under Waterdeep, and pillager orcs, FR has its share of caricatures of evil. Personally I think it’s part of its charm but yeah, FR baddies aren’t known for subtlety…

Theyre mostly cartoon level.

 

[Laurefindel]

Theyre mostly cartoon level.

Yeah

Add to that the Cult of Dragons, the Shades of 3e, and I could go on…

And I’m completely ok with that.

D&D is well-suited for cartoonish action. It’s full of oversized dragons and giants bordering ridicule, mimic chests that will eat you, evil squid men that will suck your brain, mindless jello cubes that will nonetheless digest you slowly, pure chaos demon-frogs from another plane, and tons of goofy monsters.

Cartoonish is not the only thing D&D can do, far from it, it’s all in the tone of the game. But then again, even cartoonish fetish drows and bald evil red wizards can be treated seriously. Spider drows are cartoonish, but so is half the Monster manual. They have other issues, serious ones too, but being cartoonish is the least of them.