107 réponses à ce sujet

[Qun00]

Yes, I'm aware that they exist and the emerald knights were the most famous of them. Then again, I should remind you that they got slaughtered.

The issue here is that physically speaking, elves are very frail. Even more so after DA2 changed their design.

Then I thought, well, Japanese swordsmen were short and skinny men and that never stopped them from being great in battle. But unfortunately, there are no katanas in this game.

Our warriors either have to lift a heavy chunk of metal (2-handed) or go weapon+shield, which would involve enduring the pounding at your shield from people who are far stronger.

Now, elven warriors might be decent but unlikely to be quite as good as a human, qunari or dwarf.

[robertmarilyn]

My next DAI playthrough, I'd like to play an female elf warrior for various reasons except it seems so dumb that a female elf would even be able to pick up the weapons she'd need. I too like to hear how it could even be possible so it doesn't bug me the entire game, to see my little tiny elf packing such heavy weapons (and actually using them). 

[thats1evildude]

They are thin and frail-looking by human standards. But elves are naturally athletic, and strength is less important in battle than sheer stamina.

[Master Warder Z_]

This is something I have actually given a surprising amount of thought to since DAO way back when.

 

Ultimately this is why Elven warriors I think anyway are the rarity they are, warriors require conditioning, training to actually operate in armor, use weapons and etc, this is why soldiers, mercenaries and what have you often do not include elves, those skills are expensive to learn and the equipment even more so. But it goes even further then this, elves just don't have the musculature to operate in full blown heavy plate and wield weapons that weigh several stone if not more. Ultimately elves I think could be comfortable fencers or duelists using rapiers or sabers but full blown bastard sword and shield or claymore are likely beyond them.

[Abyss108]

Eh, video game weapons are usually so oversized I have trouble imagining anyone using them.

[straykat]

I made my DAO warrior high dex.. he's freaking uber, as far as tanks go. And kind of makes sense, lorewise. That concept doesn't exactly transfer to DAI though. That's one of the bad things about taking away stats. It's part of roleplaying. It isn't just about numbers, but personality and training.

 

I always played around with the idea of making Fenris a Vanguard with high dex and cun.. just to make him distinct from Carver. It's not the best, but it works.

[Ashagar]

Game weapons are indeed comically overweight., Even the largest two handed swords such as Zweihanders

 generally weighed only around 4.4 to 7.1 pounds at most because anything heavier was impractical for battle, The one handed knight's sword or the arming sword only weighted 2.4 pounds and the most common two handed sword, the long sword ranged from 2.4 to 4.0 pounds.

[Master Warder Z_]

Well, not comically overweight, their larger, denser and have more metal inserts then the typical sword, these aren't the thin yet long blades you can see in a museum.

You triple the iron, you triple the weight

[Ashagar]

Doesn't really make them practical for battle though. If someone went into battle with the sort of weapons you see in many games they'd likely get killed quickly.

[BansheeOwnage]

They are thin and frail-looking by human standards. But elves are naturally athletic, and strength is less important in battle than sheer stamina.

Not just that, but we don't know how strong elves are. They don't have to have the same strength compared to muscle ratio as a human, or dwarf, or qunari. Like the Drell in ME, who are stated to have more stronger muscles even if they aren't any bigger than the average human.

 

Eh, video game weapons are usually so oversized I have trouble imagining anyone using them.

And that. Inquisition's weapons especially are over-sized, with the exception of staves. Have you seen the daggers? They look like shortswords. Two-handers are also much bigger than they should be. I don't know the reasoning behind this, but I wouldn't be surprised if the devs just wanted us to be able to see the weapons in combat. Also, there are probably some fairly lightweight building materials in this universe.

[straykat]

Doesn't really make them practical for battle though. If someone went into battle with the sort of weapons you see in many games they'd likely get killed quickly.

 

Some of these swords would be useful at breaking bones. Then tossing them away.

[straykat]

Sadly, the real world is irrelevant to this.

 

It's up to you, I guess. Personally, I tried to use things that made sense. Some of the plain greatswords are realistic enough. And most of the 1h/longswords are.

 

With an elf, I don't know. I wouldn't play a 2h one to begin with.. and wouldn't play one here in general.

[Qun00]

It's up to you, I guess. Personally, I tried to use things that made sense. Some of the plain greatswords are realistic enough. And most of the 1h/longswords are.

With an elf, I don't know. I wouldn't play a 2h one to begin with.. and wouldn't play one here in general.

Yes, but those longswords aren't wielded as a samurai would. There will be a shield.

They are thin and frail-looking by human standards. But elves are naturally athletic, and strength is less important in battle than sheer stamina.

By human, Qunari and dwarven standards. Like I said, they can be decent... for elves.

And yes, it is important. You need to be able to handle your armor and weapon's weight. Game mechanics allow it but the idea isn't believable.

[Ashagar]

Some of these swords would be useful at breaking bones. Then tossing them away.

 

Or at least looking impressive while being killed with a more practical weapon.

[Andraste_Reborn]

We don't know how well elven muscles work - it's possible that they're more efficent that human ones, allowing them to lift heavy weapons and draw longbows despite their slighter stature. Nobody in-universe ever says that elves are physically weaker than humans, as far as I can recall.

[straykat]

I can't see it. They're built now like I was when I was 11 or 12. And people make that argument about chimps, but have you actually seen chimp's muscles? They're ****** ripped. Almost on a scary level.

 

[berelinde]

While it's true that physically stronger people tend to be bulkier, there's no need to apply Earth physiology to a fantasy universe. Maybe the muscle fibers that make up elven muscles are different from the muscle fibers that make up human muscles in the same way that spider silk is different from cotton thread. Mind you, if that were true, elves would weigh the same as or more than humans despite their narrower builds, but it's the only explanation I can come up with for why elves can pick up swords that weigh about as much as my truck.

 

For what it's worth, I will not be adopting this headcanon for my own game. I'll continue to make elves mages or rogues because dammit, there has to be something humans do better than elves.

[Shizukai]

I prefer elven mages (or rogues, if I need some variety during my playthroughs). But that's not only because I think of

this two classes as "proper" ones for elven characters. It's because I'm not enjoying playing as a warrior. It's just not my

kind of play style.

 

Elves can be warriors. As OP said, there were the emerald knights for example.

Of course, the physical strength of the elven body isn't the same as the one of a human (or dwarfen, or qunari) body.

An elf should not go for a strength training of his muscles, he should focus on stamina training for I imagine elven 

warriors as agile and swift fighters. Not the heavy plate wearing tank-ones.

 

....

I remember a dialogue in Guild Wars 2 between two Sylvari (a race of botanical humanoids, smaller than humans and with

a rather fine-boned physique). One warrior explained, that he's not fighting like a human - he is fighting like a sylvari, like

a swift wind in the forest, dancing around the trees or something like that... I like the idea of different races having a different

interpretation of what "warrior" means. Not only the style of fighting or the armor but the idea of being a fighter, the code of

honor.

[Ashagar]

I always found the plate armor in games to be amusing even more so than the weapons given in RL it was the least restrictive armor that allowed for the most amount of protection with the least amount of restriction. Given that full plate usually weighted  33-55 pounds and that it allowed enough movements for people to do, jump, do back flips, cartwheels and generally allowed for a far greater deal of agility than people generally out.

 

I think elves in armor even how they are shown in game would look less comical if the armor and weapons were more somewhat more realistic in dimensions and ability.

[straykat]

 

For what it's worth, I will not be adopting this headcanon for my own game. I'll continue to make elves mages or rogues because dammit, there has to be something humans do better than elves.

 

Elf this, elf that. I'll elf your mother!

 

[Carmen_Willow]

Yes, I'm aware that they exist and the emerald knights were the most famous of them. Then again, I should remind you that they got slaughtered.

The issue here is that physically speaking, elves are very frail. Even more so after DA2 changed their design.

Then I thought, well, Japanese swordsmen were short and skinny men and that never stopped them from being great in battle. But unfortunately, there are no katanas in this game.

Our warriors either have to lift a heavy chunk of metal (2-handed) or go weapon+shield, which would involve enduring the pounding at your shield from people who are far stronger.

Now, elven warriors might be decent but unlikely to be quite as good as a human, qunari or dwarf.

Elves may not necessarily be at a disadvantage simply because they are lighter in build and bone structure. Consider the cat: slender, delicate bones, and able to leap far higher (relatively speaking) than many dogs and all humans. The composition of their muscles gives them much more "quick twitch" effectiveness. Translate that into the speed at which an elf can shove a shield into someone else and you might generate a lot more force than you would think. (My physics is rusty on this so...correct me with a right good will if I got it wrong.) As for taking a punch? You may have a point, although that quickness may get an elf out of the way of the shield. Bottom line: you cannot judge Thedan DNA by Mundus standards. Different planet, different evolutionary rules. 

 

HOWEVER: When I play an elf in Skyrim, I always wear light armor or elven armor, especially when I'm a Bosmer.

[Tidus]

Since I use Elves in the majority of my games I will share my thoughts.

 

As long as the Elves look strong then they look right but, I've seen some mods where the female Elf would look better on a walk way of a fashion show instead of using oversized draggers, swords, shields  and heavy armor..

 

The Dalish Elves should be muscular due to their harsh life style.  The hunters may have to carry a deer,boar and other large animals for miles on their trip back to camp. Then there's the cutting of trees for fire wood and for making corrals for the Halla.

 

I'm sure there are other chores that must be done before winter and for those that may not know Ferelden winters are harsh..

[Qun00]

Elves may not necessarily be at a disadvantage simply because they are lighter in build and bone structure. Consider the cat: slender, delicate bones, and able to leap far higher (relatively speaking) than many dogs and all humans. The composition of their muscles gives them much more "quick twitch" effectiveness. Translate that into the speed at which an elf can shove a shield into someone else and you might generate a lot more force than you would think. (My physics is rusty on this so...correct me with a right good will if I got it wrong.) As for taking a punch? You may have a point, although that quickness may get an elf out of the way of the shield. Bottom line: you cannot judge Thedan DNA by Mundus standards. Different planet, different evolutionary rules. 
 
HOWEVER: When I play an elf in Skyrim, I always wear light armor or elven armor, especially when I'm a Bosmer.

I think the advantage of agility you describe works more as a reason to play a dual wielding rogue.

[straykat]

What's funny is they never got dex bonuses before.The elves were the ones with magic boosts in DAO. Humans actually made the best rogues, stat wise.

 

But I like I said, I like the elf dex tank. And the difference was negligible. They even got even more badass if you were Spirit Warrior in DAA. Better archers than rogues.

 

And now you can neither adjust stats, be an archer, dual wield, or use daggers.

[The Baconer]

Elven mages were the greatest warriors in (relatively) known history.