Editing Elf (section)

=How to make your Elves not be [[Mary Sue]]s=
[[Homebrew|Rolling your own setting]], and want to include an Elven nation who isn't immediately going to make non-Elfaboo players want to punch every elf (and possibly the author) in the face? Or have players wondering "Why don't the elves dominate everything?" Here are a few possible options to both problems:

The three big ones: 

* Shorten their lifespans to be just barely beyond human. Anything more than 300 years, and you start heading into hard [[Mary Sue]]-race territory. (Tolkien got away with longer, but Tolkien...well, see above, especially under "This Bears Repeating".)
** If ''you'' want to get away with it, consider showing the realistic consequences of a race that lives so long, such as having difficulty connecting with shorter-lived races and angsting over losing non-Elf friends constantly, and particularly be aware of the next point:
* Make sure any paternalism they exhibit is ''actually paternal'' (in the Good Parenting sense) and based on actual wisdom, and not just arrogance.
* If you can't do either of the above, at least [[Sanderson's laws | give them some real comparative weaknesses]]. Not just [[-4 STR|reduced physical strength]], or other minor nerfs, but actual full on weaknesses that they'd need to lean on the other races for.

Lesser, still valid solutions:

* Make them so prone to factionalism that Elven politics makes the fight between the [[Monty Python | Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea]] look positively civil and well-motivated.
* Make their entire leadership a bit like that annoying granduncle who talks like [political figure that died 10 years ago and retired 30 years ago] is still in office, and wants to re-litigate an argument his side lost 50 years ago. Only you can add an extra "0" or two (or in extreme cases, three or four) on to all those numbers.
* If you don't mind restricting them to NPCish roles: Their magical nature means there are places they can't go, and things they can't do without much heavier opposition than a human would get, or just flat out can't go or do and expect to be alive at the other end.
** A rare subspecies of this: There are a few settings that have a Magic vs. Technology theme happening, and the Elves are just the "Magic" side of that fight.
* Accept that everyone is going to dislike the main body of the Elven race, and just aim to have a niche underclass who's likable and plausible as PC material. (Sometimes called the "[[Shadowrun]] method", fairly or unfairly.)
** Toss all of them (those in your immediate campaign anyway) into that underclass (a.k.a. the Witcher/[[/v/|Dragon Age]] method). Notably, a lot of modern Fantasy writers seem to take to this one (especially if halfelves can happen), enough so that it's arguably become something of a cliche in itself. But then, whom are you more likely to sympathize with: folks living in ghettos who everyone hates and treats badly, or narcissists living in an ivory tower?
* Stick 'em with an ''actual'' Mary Sue race, who turns around to make the elves their bitch: Valheru for Midkemia, Irda for Krynn and in many ways the Noldor themselves for the native Sindar. Or, we suppose, the [[Epic_Level_Handbook|LeShay]]. Yes, this just shifts the blame; so as, for humans, to make the basic problem ''worse''. However if the events happened in the narrative's distant past (as is the case for Feist, Hickman, and Tolkien) the device serves to impose some much-needed humility upon potential master-race fantasies, for the elves and for everyone else. "There's always a bigger fish . . ."
* Put them on the slowly losing side of a long war (a.k.a. the [[4e]] [[Eladrin]] method).
* If you ''must'' have arrogant elves, try to make it clear that they're as disliked by a large chunk of their kind as they are by non-Elves (like in [[The Elder Scrolls]], where the Aldmeri Dominion High Elves are disliked by pretty much everyone, including other High Elves).

Weaknesses that are interesting:
* Maybe they are addicted to magic to the point they need it to survive (a.k.a. the [[World of Warcraft|Warcraft]] method). 
* Maybe they're all insane in some way, just different ways for each Elf, so it sorta cancels each other out on a racial level.
* [[Sword#Magical_materials|Cold Iron]] is an old favorite for this.
* Or maybe rip off the Pathfinder [[Gnomes]] and the 4e [[Shadar-kai]]: They're immortal, but they'll die if they stay bored long enough, which is at least a coherent weakness.

===Is your Elf /tg/ approved?===
[[File:Perv.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Elf watching is a popular hobby]]
A Quick guide to making a /tg/ approved elf. Every answer of yes is a point in their favor.

* Do [[Dwarf Fortress|they eat people]]?
* Are they batshit crazy?
* Do they have Dragons? 
* Do they learn from their mistakes (or even make mistakes at all that are acknowledged by the story as such?)
* Does s/he do [[Doomrider|cocaaaaaaaaaaine?]]
* Are they NOT Chaotic Good? (Double extra important if it's a Drow)
* Does s/he wield a chainsaw? (<strike>only applicable to some settings</strike> Forget that part. A chainsaw wielding, magic casting elf will be accepted anywhere, due to the rules of [[awesome]])
* Is s/he NOT protective of trees/animals? Alternatively, [[Dwarf Fortress|is he/she protective of trees and/or animals BUT to the point of bloody fanaticism ?]]
* Is s/he sexually attractive?
* Is s/he bloodthirsty?
* Does s/he know how to work metal?
* Is s/he skilled at making technology? Otherwise, is s/he at least skilled at using technology?
* If s/he is an archer or melee combatant, does s/he have visible muscles? (Note s/he doesn't have to be RIPPED, just visibly muscular. "Swimmer's physique" is a thing. Go google image search for Olympic athletes in the relevant sport ("Olympic fencer body" seems to return good (if rather NSFW) results) for reference of what humans who do that kind of thing semi-professionally actually look like.)
* It is NOT another fucking [[Drizzt]] clone?
** Note that this doesn't mean every Dark Elf/Drow has to be a 100% bastard. Just that if you're going to have a non-evil Drow, try, try, TRY to not make it a Chaotic Good Ranger with dual swords.
* Does s/he inspire fear incarnate and is shunned if not hated by society?
* Is s/he NOT childishly, excessively optimistic?
* Does said elf fight with something ELSE than a bow/longsword/rapier/magic? (Axes, hammers, fists, crossbows, hell [http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Melf_%28Earth-616%29 even guns if you have them])
* Does s/he swear profusely like a drunk pirate?
** Does s/he drink?
*** Is s/he a pirate?
* Are they not bigoted against non-elves? Alternatively, [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|do they hate non-elves to the point of seeing them as vermin to be enslaved or destroyed]]?
* Is it NOT like any other elf stereotype you have every seen?

If you have a large majority of "yes", congratulations. You have a /tg/ approved elf.

For DM's, you can create any type of elven race. Make it fun for your players, and no one will give a shit. Of course, this is true of Elves in general; if your players don't have a problem with Elves, then feel free to disregard a lot of what you've read so far.