Okay, this is primarily a rant, but you're invited to comment or post your own point of view on Elves or any other fictional race. Note that my knowledge of Elves stems primarily from LOTR (both the books and the movies) as well as some other literature and several different games. Anyway, here goes.
Whenever I'm playing a game with generic fantasy, I try my best to stay away from the Elves.
I just don't like them. I can't identify with them.
When playing, I usually go for the Humans. And if that's not possible, I go for Dwarves or an "evil" race. Yes, I prefer stinking Morgul rats over glorious shiny Elves.
Where does this distaste stem from, you might ask.
Well, I don't think it's the pointy ears. After all, Vulcans have pointy ears and I like them just fine. Is it their feminity?
Maybe, but late last evening, the main reason struck me.
Elves don't develop. And characters that don't develop are either very boring or at least more shallow than the others. Extrapolate that to an entire race of people and you end up with the Elves.
Elves are immortal/extremely long-lived, beautiful and magically talented. But all of these qualities are inherent to them. They did not work to become magically talented, like a human wizard would (spending years upon years, studying the arcane arts).
They live in the woods/ancient cities, primarily spending their time writing poetry or pondering things from the past. They seem to only live in the yesteryear and the now, not thinking too much about the imminent future (unless it's some vague prophecy from the past).
Humans, on the other hand, are short-lived, quick to reproduce and adapt, constantly working. They build large fortresses, stone cities, monuments, farms and so on. They shape the world around them. They spend their time working, to improve themselves and the situation they live in. They bring forth great empires, live in communities of different sizes, styles and alignments and invent new things. Humans are progress incarnate in most fantasy scenarios.
Elves are not. Never changing, stuck in the past and uninventive = uninspiring and slow.
Let's continue: Dwarves have, in many aspects, exaggerated Human-traits.
Even though, in fact, in many stories it's actually the Dwarves who first tought the Humans (often depicted as their close allies, and with good reason), how to form metals and create houses from rock. And I can dig it, it makes sense.
They aren't exactly Humans, but they still come closer to us than any other fictional race. They are longer-lived (though the extent varies), smaller and grumpy. They spend most of their time underground, working to gain the riches of the soil, i.e. various metals and gems. But it's not just their greed, that is so human. It's also their need to create: Master blacksmiths and masons, they forge the finest armor and weapons in the land and build giant and beautiful stone halls, runically ornamented. They also know how to brew a stout beer.
So while the Dwarves are more specialized (and in some ways, limited) than the Humans, they still are basically human in their desire to create and improve, to leave a mark on the world.
Elves, on the other hand, seem to primarily hold on to old ideals and traditions.
Sometimes this feels noble, but most of the time it's just backwards.
And this, I believe, is the main reason why I can't identify with Elves. At all.
Except for the Blood Elves from TFT. They kick ass.
But then again, they were forced into progress.
And I suppose that's my point.
Whenever I'm playing a game with generic fantasy, I try my best to stay away from the Elves.
I just don't like them. I can't identify with them.
When playing, I usually go for the Humans. And if that's not possible, I go for Dwarves or an "evil" race. Yes, I prefer stinking Morgul rats over glorious shiny Elves.
Where does this distaste stem from, you might ask.
Well, I don't think it's the pointy ears. After all, Vulcans have pointy ears and I like them just fine. Is it their feminity?
Maybe, but late last evening, the main reason struck me.
Elves don't develop. And characters that don't develop are either very boring or at least more shallow than the others. Extrapolate that to an entire race of people and you end up with the Elves.
Elves are immortal/extremely long-lived, beautiful and magically talented. But all of these qualities are inherent to them. They did not work to become magically talented, like a human wizard would (spending years upon years, studying the arcane arts).
They live in the woods/ancient cities, primarily spending their time writing poetry or pondering things from the past. They seem to only live in the yesteryear and the now, not thinking too much about the imminent future (unless it's some vague prophecy from the past).
Humans, on the other hand, are short-lived, quick to reproduce and adapt, constantly working. They build large fortresses, stone cities, monuments, farms and so on. They shape the world around them. They spend their time working, to improve themselves and the situation they live in. They bring forth great empires, live in communities of different sizes, styles and alignments and invent new things. Humans are progress incarnate in most fantasy scenarios.
Elves are not. Never changing, stuck in the past and uninventive = uninspiring and slow.
Let's continue: Dwarves have, in many aspects, exaggerated Human-traits.
Even though, in fact, in many stories it's actually the Dwarves who first tought the Humans (often depicted as their close allies, and with good reason), how to form metals and create houses from rock. And I can dig it, it makes sense.
They aren't exactly Humans, but they still come closer to us than any other fictional race. They are longer-lived (though the extent varies), smaller and grumpy. They spend most of their time underground, working to gain the riches of the soil, i.e. various metals and gems. But it's not just their greed, that is so human. It's also their need to create: Master blacksmiths and masons, they forge the finest armor and weapons in the land and build giant and beautiful stone halls, runically ornamented. They also know how to brew a stout beer.
So while the Dwarves are more specialized (and in some ways, limited) than the Humans, they still are basically human in their desire to create and improve, to leave a mark on the world.
Elves, on the other hand, seem to primarily hold on to old ideals and traditions.
Sometimes this feels noble, but most of the time it's just backwards.
And this, I believe, is the main reason why I can't identify with Elves. At all.
Except for the Blood Elves from TFT. They kick ass.
But then again, they were forced into progress.
And I suppose that's my point.
