Elves in Fantasy Fiction and Games - Elves in Games

Elves in Games

Post-Tolkien fantasy elves (popularized by the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game) tend to be beautiful, fair, slender, and close in size to humans (usually taller, sometimes shorter). A hallmark of fantasy elves is also their long and pointed ears. In gaming, and to some extent fantasy literature, elves as a rule have a greater depth of knowledge (especially regarding magic) than their human counterparts, due to a racial inclination as well as their extreme age. Typically, they are also capable warriors, especially skilled in archery, following Legolas, arguably Tolkien's most well-known elf.

As in the Norse lore, elven-human unions and offspring were possible in Tolkien's saga (a notable example being Elrond, the lord of Rivendell), and in many RPGs, half-elven is a possible race for player characters. Fantasy elves frequently divide up into subraces, such as the High Elves, Wood Elves and Dark Elves found in the Warhammer Fantasy game setting. Especially dark elves (popularized by TSR as drow) are a common theme in many other fantasy games and to some extent literature. Apart from malice, drow or dark elves are often depicted as being dark-skinned and living underground.

In the modern treatment of elves in Dungeons & Dragons, they are divided up into subraces that include Aquatic Elves, Gray Elves, High Elves, Wood Elves, and Drow. The Forgotten Realms campaign setting's elves (or Tel'Quessir as they call themselves) differ still, replacing the High Elves and Gray Elves with Moon or Silver Elves and Sun or Gold Elves, and adding Wild or Green Elves, Star or Mithral Elves and avariel (Winged Elves) to the Aquatic (Sea) Elves, Wood (Copper) Elves, Drow (Dark Elves), and Lythari (elves that transform into wolves).

In the Warhammer Fantasy game setting, the first civilized people of the world were the High Elves (Asur) from the Atlantis-like (though unsunken) island realm of Ulthuan. Early on, the High Elves colonized large parts of the Warhammer world, but following the rise of the Druchii (called Dark Elves by others than themselves), a fascistoid movement of corsairs and slavers, the High Elves were plunged into civil war and their power greatly faded. Most of the elves who decided to stay in the colonies took up residence in the deep forests of the Old World, and with time became known as Wood Elves (Asrai). The three kindreds of elves in Warhammer are not separate species but rather separate national groups which epitomise the moral and emotional extremes of the powerful elven psyche - The High Elves are elves at their most noble, morally upright and fair, the Dark elves are elves at their most cruel, vicious and debased. The Wood Elves combine aspects of both in their behaviour, seeming fickle, capricious and dangerously inconstant to outsiders. Unlike Tolkien's elves, those of the Warhammer world are not known to interbreed with humans - a consistent feature of their design in recent years being a concern to differentiate them as much as possible from humans, who they might otherwise begin to resemble too closely.

Warhammer is also unique in the aspect that Warhammer 40,000, the science fantasy version of the game, features space faring elves under the name of Eldar (a term borrowed from Tolkien) -- an ancient race that once served the Old Ones and in the aftermath of a great catastrophe have split into four distinct groups, the Craftworld Eldar, the rustic Eldar Exodites (dinosaur riding eldar in self-imposed exile) the mysterious and acrobatic Harlequins and the fallen kindred, the Dark Eldar.

The universe of the Elder Scrolls computer games also features distinct races of elves (or "Mer" as they refer to themselves) including High Elves (Altmer), Dark Elves (Dunmer), Wood Elves (Bosmer), Wild Elves (Ayleid), ancestors of Dark Elves (Chimer), Snow elves (Falmer), Sea Elves (Maormer), Left-Handed Elves, ancestors of all elves (Aldmer). Interestingly, within the Elder Scrolls both the Dwarves (Dwemer) and the Orcs (Orsimer) are considered Elven or offshoots of the Elvish race. There are also Half-elves who look more like humans (Breton or manmer) .

Azeroth, the fantasy world of the Warcraft computer game series originally featured elves similar to the Warhammer High or Wood Elves. The series introduces the naturalistic purple-skinned Night Elves, who were portrayed more favorably than traditional dark-skinned elves. These elves are the first race to appear in the world of Azeroth; other races of elves descend of them. Starting with Warcraft III, the High-Elves, outcast of the Night Elves, face the destruction of their kingdom, Quel'Thalas, and its capital, Silvermoon. The survivors are thereafter known as Blood Elves and, due to the destruction of the magically-powerful Sunwell, become magic addicts. Night Elves and Blood Elves are playable races in the World of Warcraft MMORPG.

Nevendaar, the world in the game Disciples II: Dark Prophecy and its expansions features a nation of elves called the Elven Alliance, consisting of the Noble Elves and the Wild Elves, both created by their god Gallean.

Dark Age of Camelot features elves as a playable race in the realm of Hibernia. These elves are supposedly based on the Celtic Sidhe, however bear a striking resemblance to the more human inspired elves of typical D&D fantasy lore.

RuneScape features elves as a race in the game's fictional world of Gielinor. They dwell to the west in the land of Tirannwn. Elves once inhabited much of the Kingdom of Kandarin under Queen Glarial and King Baxtorian, but following the death of Glarial and the disappearance of Baxtorian, retreated west over the mountains, and their continued presence in the world has passed out of the common knowledge of most other races. Some elves mistrust humans, dwarves, gnomes and trolls, and humans may not enter their capital city of Prifddinas. The elves follow the goddess Seren, who led them to Gielinor through the 'World Gate' during the First Age. One elf dwells within the Champions' Guild as the elven champion, while a number of elves serve in the Army Recruitment and Mobilisation Society as formidable wielders of magic. The 'dark elves' of the Iorwerth clan have taken over the elven capital of Prifddinas and turned against the elves to serve a 'Dark Lord'. Members of the Iorwerth clan are also present in and under the supposedly plague-stricken human city of West Ardougne, disguised as plague doctors. There are also some remaining elves of the other clans, who are now forced to hide as they fight to take back power, and now reside within the hidden lodge of Lletya, as well as within other small camps and areas across Tirannwn.

In the Heroes of Might and Magic series, Elves are divided into two sub-species:

• Wood Elves are from the wooded kingdom of AvLee which lies in eastern Antagarich.

They are descendants and cousins of the Vori elves.

Snow Elves aka Vori Elves or "true elves", from the icey isle of Vori, which lies north of the fictional continent of Antagarich in Heroes of Might and Magic 3 and it's expansions.

Elves of Glorantha (setting for the role-playing games RuneQuest and HeroQuest) share little with Tolkien's elves but their connection with forests and their preference of archery - they are mobile, humanoid plants.

In the roleplaying game The Burning Wheel Elves have a unique attribute, Grief. Grief is the result of living an endless life, while watching tragedy, death and destruction unfold. Elves who advance their Grief attribute past a certain point, wither away, or pass on to the West. Elves in Burning Wheel are otherwise much like their Tolkien counterparts.

The science fiction role-playing game Fading Suns features the fictional extraterrestrial races of the Ur-Obun and the Ur-Ukar, which are essentially science fiction renditions of elves and dark elves (somewhat akin to the Eldar and the Dark Eldar in the setting of Warhammer 40000 mentioned above).

In the highly popular role-playing game Perfect World International elves are portrayed as winged elves. The Winged Elves have small wings on their head (only for appearances) and wings on their back for which they can use to fly to certain places. The Winged Elves are in tune with nature and use magic or bow and arrows. The Winged Elves reside in the City of the Plume, a unique city filled with trees where most of the houses are built in trees.

The Tales series of video games features elves in some of its titles, including Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Phantasia. Tales of Vesperia also features a race of elf-like beings known as Krityans.