Originally Posted by The Drow Warlock
Is the thought that elves have too closely resembled white Europeans in the classic depiction? I actually think only the very rare individual of any human culture might almost actually resemble a DnD elf - and I've seen very beautiful people of all skin tones blessed with the kind of physique and facial structure that approaches the elven style, not only white people.

I'm in favor of having the elves look less like white Euros if they look too disproportionately like them, and more uniquely like elves. And keeping the awesome range of skin tones Larian has included.


Absolutely. I think a lot of people forget that two of the key words when describing an elf, in all editions, in all sources, is that they are unnervingly, hauntingly beautiful. That is, because they are strange, and not entirely human-like. Those words are not just simple words to describe beauty, they are very purposeful words to state they are not relatable. They are not supposed to look like anything a human is used to. In fact, they are even a minority race.

They are supposed to make you uncomfortable due to the strangeness of their symmetrical and impossible features. Representing them the way they are just misses the mark by far.

Originally Posted by _Vic_
I do not know if it´s already said in the thread, but right now Larian is using the model and character design of the art of the books of D&D5e books. This suggestion would be best served in WoTC forums.
That said, there are lots of representations of elves, from Santa´s elves to almost-goblinoid Harry Potter´s books elves to fairy elves or anime elves. It would be great if they have a different meshes and tones in character creation, but right now the depiction of the elves seems like a valid representation on how elves are in D&D. Does not strike as weird.


Some people keep repeating that, and yet:

[Linked Image]

THIS IS ALL 5E OFFICIAL ARTWORK I gathered from the manuals. People act like they don't exist. You can still see the high cheekbones, the slanted eyes, the triangular shaped face, all of it is there, if not as extremely displayed as it used to in older editions. Yet none of the current heads look like this. I would be happy with a few heads that have this sort of traditional features, the slanted eyes per instance are entirely missing.

Here, I'll make it easier for you to spot, in case you are genuinelly not seeing it:

[Linked Image]




Last edited by Goldberry; 14/10/20 11:25 AM.