Shattered Kingdoms

Disclaimer: This is a new topic for me. I have never played an elf. I can honestly say that I have no understanding of elves beyond the elf-culture help file. I certainly do not mean this as a criticism of anyone's roleplay. I am simply trying to understand why a character would behave a certain way and why, when this behaviour is called into question why they would then complain to me player-to-player (OOCly). I certainly have no problem with them talking to me OOCly. I just don't understand.

This is the link for the 'elf-culture' helpfile.

Okay, so here's my first point of confusion:

I understand animosity between elves and deep-elves. I don't understand animosity between elves and half-elves. I can appreciate a certain amount of indignity, which would be expressed as the elf looking down on the half-elf for only being half of what they are. I can also appreciate that Sylvan elves, with their pursuit of purity of bloodlines would have strong feelings ... but animosity?

If it's okay for me to name the character concerned I'll do so, with a specific example of the roleplay that I didn't understand, otherwise I'll just keep this generic. I'm sorry if that player considers I have done them an injustice with this post. Their OOC complaint was quite vehement though and I wouldn't want to fall foul of it again.

Maybe I've been an idiot all along, but there needs be absolutely no animosity between elves and half-elves. I suppose if something in the description of the half-elf inidicated it was actually a half-deep-elf then perhaps, but even this is rather far fetched. People often RP their chars out in different ways and test the bounds of what is accepted, and elves have certainly known to be rather pompous in the past. However this is all strictly IC speaking. I see absolutely no reason why they would have an OOC reason to dislike it, and most likely I'd ignore them at best, or if they keep giving OOC crap, I'd let an IMM know about it.

Edit: Also, if it was kept strictly IC, people can look likes elves without even being elves, via spells such as polymorph, and so it's possible to run into an elf trying to make others look bad.

Let's be clear: I haven't received OOC crap.

I have simply received an OOC complaint, and not about my character but about others.

This is why I have brought the matter to this OOC forum. I don't understand the issue well enough to answer the complaint so have sought advice here.

I'd probably say you're fine then. People playing elves and half-elves are free to show each other affection, indifference and maybe even some animosity as long as they stay within the bounds of their alignment, which means that half-elves have the potential to be the bigger jerks. You could also have what appears to be an elf which actually isn't. There is more than one way for someone to make themselves look like an elf, though they are limited and it is not something every char will have the ability to do. This could in fact even include a deep-elf masquerading as an elf, strictly for the purpose of causing problems.
Ignoring those possibilities, many have chosen to RP elves as uppity and pompous at times. But all true elves still must remain within the good alignments, and there is nothing anywhere that says how elves and half-elves should interact. So people have farely free reign, but an elf showing a good deal of animosity towards a non-evil, nod-deep-elf, could be someone stepping outside of the bounds of what is permissible.

Elves, especially of the Sylvar bloodline can also be roleplayed as ... discreetly arrogant, with a sense of superiority towards pyran elves, and much more towards the half-elven kin. They may feel that the half-elf's ancestors betrayed their superior kind by mingling with the humans. So, yes, some arrogance in an elf's roleplay towards a half-elven character is totally justified. It can be even more justified if the elf is also a Druid, who can also be roleplayed as considering the half-elf a mongrel, a diversion from what is both natural and of high nature.

However, I don't think that an elf, being inately good would ever get to the level of animosity such as attack a half-elf just for being a half-elf.

Just my two cents.

Elves can most certainly be a "snooty" good, that distrusts other races, especially half-elves.

Is the half-elf in question half deep-elf? If so, that could most certainly incite some understandable disgust.

Wow, what a learning exercise!

I didn't think to question if the elf was indeed an elf.

Also, I hadn't considered whether or not the half-elf was indeed a half a deep-elf.

Just when you think you're starting to get the measure of this game you uncover a whole new level of complexity.