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[Poll] Elves

What kind of Elf do you prefer?

  • Hyrulean Elves (from Zelda)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Sun Elves (from Faerun)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Avariel (from Faerun)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Qualinesti Elves (from Krynn)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Silvanesti Elves (from Krynn)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Kagonesti Elves (from Krynn)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Wolfriders (from Elfquest)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Myreth Elves (from Accordlands)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Witcher Elves (from Witcher)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • High Elves (from Azeroth)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Blood Elves (from Azeroth)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Void Elves (from Azeroth)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Svartálfar (from Svartalheim/ MCU)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Alfar (from Alfheim/ MCU)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Tir Tairngire/ Sinsearach Elves (from Shadowrun)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Tír na nÓg Elves (from Shadowrun)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Earthdawn Elves (from Earthdawn)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Ogier (from Wheel of Time)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Llanowar Elves (from Dominaria)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Arcanum Elves

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    54

Jason Liang

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I've been reading the Peterson, and also I'm fascinated by Elfquest.
 

Jason Liang

Arcane
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
8,337
Location
Crait
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Last edited:

smaug

Secular Koranism with Israeli Characteristics
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Insert Title Here
Elves from Middle Earth, also poll is missing Tolkien’s Dark Elves.
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
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"Drow (from Faerun)" Can't imagine how triggered any Greyhawk fans must be. :M

Anyway, I prefer depictions of elves as alien, inhuman, and otherworldly (e.g. Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions) over the more common twee, Tolkienesque elves found in fantasy today.
 

Nutria

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Strap Yourselves In
Speaking of weird alien elves, I like the elves in Glorantha where they're really strange and mostly keep to themselves, but they share certain gods with the humans and that means they have to interact with each other every once in a while.

As for Vulcans, they're not elves. They're clearly wise asian people.
 
Self-Ejected

RNGsus

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Joined
Apr 29, 2011
Messages
8,106
The Noldor. Their arduous redemption arc is one of genre fiction's great tragedies. They're also badass warriors, mariners, and craftsmen.

Also wtf no Dunmer?

Anyway, I prefer depictions of elves as alien, inhuman, and otherworldly (e.g. Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions) over the more common twee, Tolkienesque elves found in fantasy today.
What do you think of the Nonmen from Prince of Nothing?
 
Last edited:

Louis_Cypher

Arcane
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
1,519
Nobody can beat the original Tolkienian variety. Before they were hard to define mythological beings in the Norse sagas, after they were an ancient race with inhuman grace and artfulness. A lot of the later fantasy Elves kind of miss the point. They become more and more faded simulacra of the original.

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Although they are often now included in polls and topics like this due to the happenstance of sharing pointed ears, the Vulcans of Star Trek are not Elves, and their Romulan cousins are not Elves. They don't come out of the Tolkienian tradition, and there is no evidence they were inspired by Elves. They are rather a science-obsessed desert planet of ancient Greek stoic philosophers, probably combined with elements of desert mystic cultures (like ancient Persian magi, or Egyptian desert fathers), Catholic monastics (due to perceptions of robe-wearing scholastics), and some small Chinese elements (due to perceptions of Buddhist and Taoist robe-wearing mendicants).

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The Romulans are militaristic space Romans, a race of pragmatic soldiers, sometimes depicted as honorable foes, sometimes as a totalitarian police state; but again nothing in common with Elves. Sometimes people play it too on-the-nose, when really they are meant to be alien cultures, not exact analogies. They just happen to have taken some avenues of human history to extremes; the Roman Empire with warp drive, and Greeks who have purged their emotions and turned into a planet of scientists.

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The Minbari of Babylon 5 are much more traditional Elves, and some of the best Elves post-Tolkien too. "We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass. We live for The One, we die for The One." They are divided into three castes that make up their society; religious, warrior, worker, sort of like Hindu varna. Again they are depicted as more religious, traditional, holier, more graceful than humanity.

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My top favorite Elves after Tolkien are both Space Elves; the Minbari and the Eldar; they have similar starships. Anyway, irrespective of the Romulans and Vulcans not being Elves; the Romulans, Vulcans, Eldar and Minbari happen to be four of the most compelling alien cultures seen in popular science ficiton. Love them all. Up there with Klingons, Tolkien Elves and Tolkien Orcs. You could argue the Asari are another of this graceful race trope taken just far enough.
 
Last edited:

Norfleet

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Messages
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Unlike dwarves, elves are always lame when they're not written by Tolkien.
This is why Dwarf Game is a genre and there's not a single "elf game". Everything dwarves do is awesome. Elves, however, never seem to do anything and are lame.

Plus
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Gahbreeil

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Faerun Blood Elves would be the coolest. Mystra's children counting in thousands, something like an affinity with magic, tall and basically moon elves that look humane. Voted for the Drow, did not read the first post.
 

Night Goat

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Tolkien's are still the best. The others are either copies that fail to have the same wonder as his, faggy subversion of expectations by making them evil or pathetic, or "elves" in appearance only.
 
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Thac0

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I'm very into cock and ball torture
Big fan of the Sithi from Dragonbone chair.
They are pretty similar to Tolkien elves, but they have some subtle differences that go far enough to not make them feel like a knock off. Their enclaves are protected by the laws of nature, and you need to walk on strange paths of magic to reach them, while the seasons change around you and day and night fly by in seconds until you reach them. They came from a supernatural magical garden, but they have no intentions to return there. They use a scarce magical material in the wood of the trees of that garden, but they can't grow that here. Iron is very effective against them, and the locals managed to almost genocide them a while back with that. They don't really build structures, and instead just hang a few tents and cloaks across the trees and live there.
So they are tolkienish in that they orient themselves at the elves of European mythology a lot, but the influence from the Irish Sidhe is greater than for Tolkien.
They are also split into dark elves and light elves, and particularily the dark elves tread a fine line where they are edgy enough to be different, but nowhere near as edgy as DnD Drow to come across as cheesy.

Sithi:
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Norns:
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Osten Ard is like that in general, it is very tropey and generic Fantasy, but it is executed near flawlessly. It is however of glacial pace, particularily the first trilogy. The Last King of Osten Ard is a lot faster than Dragonbone Chair.
 

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