The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [21]
Beings with these attributes are prominent in Tolkien’s works, including the trolls that turn to stone in The Hobbit (Tolkien 1937). Prior to Tolkien, the most modern depiction of elves that would influence the fantasy genre was Lord Dunsany’s novel The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924). The novel firmly establishes that elves can breed with humans (more echoes of half-elves), age slower than mortals, are inherently magical beings, and are supernaturally attractive. Dunsany’s work established elven women in particular as something to be greatly desired by human men. If the sheer quantity of half-naked elven females in fantasy artwork and MMORPGs is any judge, the desire for elven women continues even today.
The attraction of elven women and the consequences of human/elf breeding inevitably led to half-elves (or peredhil, in Tolkien’s work), who were descended from an elvish line (Lakowski 2007:64). Notable examples include the Danish princess Skuld of Hrólf Kraki’s saga, the hero Högni of the Thidrekssaga, and the royal line of Alfheim of the Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar. Although the Dunedain, Corsairs, and Black Numenoreans have elvish blood, they are not considered half-elves. As defined by Tolkien, true half-elves have elf and human parentage. Half-elves must decide as to which racial line they choose allegiance. Elrond, for example, chose his elvish heritage and thus immortality, while his brother Elros did not (Coleman 1993:154).
No description of elves would be complete with reference to their ears. The pointed ears of elves is drawn from a comment by Tolkien about the term “las” in The Etymologies (Tolkien 1996:367), in which he describes Quendian ears as being “more pointed and leaf-shaped than humans.” Thus, Legolas means “Greenleaf,” and distinguishes elves from humans in a way that is easily recognizable to modern readers.
The elven association with bows harks to times before Tolkien’s Middleearth, all the way back to the 16th century with the term “elf-shot,” a reference to Neolithic flint arrowheads. These arrowheads were associated in Scotland with elves, and it was thought they could often make a man ill simply by nicking him (Hall 2005).
In the miniatures game Chainmail, elves could perform actions of both moving and firing as footmen, and were capable of invisibility. Curiously, they were grouped with fairies (Gygax 1978:29). In Dungeons & Dragons, an elf can begin as either a “fighting-man” or “magic-user,” multiclassing freely between the two. They gain the benefits of both classes, but cannot progress beyond fourth level as a fighter or eighth level as a magic-user. They are able to speak orc and hobgoblin (a nod to their shared Tolkien roots) (1974:8).
One of the players from my junior high school gaming group shared his experiences with his elf character:
I’ll never forget my first character, Kronus, an Elf in the D&D game. He was killed in the first ten minutes of playing after he fell into a pit trap, but you were kind enough to grant me a mulligan and bring him back with one hit point because I was such a rookie. He went somewhat high level-wise, but I cannot recall exactly how far. I’ll always remember him, like an old friend who passed on years ago but continues to touch your heart [Varrone 2010].
Elves, as described by Tolkien, became something of a burden for game designers. They seemed more capable than