So, in the unending quest to make elves that are different(!), I've been leaning more on the side of an elvish culture for my setting that has strong Germanic themes and focuses on urbanization, industrialization, imperialism, and castes in a pseudo-fascist society. It got me thinking, where do you do some cool historical research into how a society like that really happens if you want it's people to be somewhat rational and reasonable instead of just goofy nazis? How do you make a set of unique and interesting countries, societies, and cultures that seem interesting to a group of world-trotting players who want variety and fantasy without making said locales seem like tropey unrealistic places that exist just for the sake of the adventure's scene change? Why are your special snowflake elves different?
>>47025878
>Nazi Elves
One of the Pixiv Fantasia stories had this, complete with airships and stuff. I think.
>>47025878
Well, first, don't make them moustache-twirling supervillains. What i would do is focus more on "we're superior because we work hard", not "fuck subhumans". They would focus more on being economical superpower, industry, not army, being their national pride.
About national pride - focus on it. Focus hard. Make elves almost never say "I", always make them say "We" (or "our Glorious Leader). Elves' long lives actually could play an important role here - long-lived people will be more conservative, with less movement at the helm.
>>47025878
I've encountered elves like that before...it was...interesting.
>>47025878
>industrialized Germanic elves
Look for a manga called Kutsuzure Sensen
>>47025878
Altmer?
>>47025878
Try looking into the pre-WWI cultures of Germany and Prussia. A lot of the things the Nazis were famous for were actually just imitations of things that had already been practiced by the german people for years: utilitarian efficiency, militarism, strict punitive moral codes, skulls on hats of prestigious wariors, ect...
>>47026853
I think I recognize that draw style.
>>47025878
Let the pcs think "nazi elves are bad, but commie dwarves are way worse."
>personally I'm thinking of making elves less human but more nature-attuned. Like, they don't even reproduce like us, but they are born like thini sprites in the forests
If it helps, I'm intended to have the players routinely work alongside an elvish knight from this country (he wears plate and fires a musket from the back of an elk) and I'm trying to flesh out his personality and motives to sort of be a small window into their lifestyle. Thus far I've thought it would be best if he venerated effort and glory, and though he sees other races as biologically inferior, he sees this more as an impediment to their success to be overcome as apposed to a fault on their part.
I'm also thinking that the highest caste in their society are very etherial noble beings that sort of straddle the line between elves and ghosts, and they are extoled because despite their airy physical bodies that make them unfit for earthly work, their powerful minds have many of them in government essentially functioning as constantly-running supercomputers devoted to the clerical duties of running the empire.
I also need a whole bunch of elvish-not-german names and words.
Thoughts?
>>47026853
Absolutely disgusting
>>47026853
I wish there was a squeal to this.
>>47030076
>he wears plate and fires a musket from the back of an elk
I love him already.
He's probably got some sort of complex about being the 'ideal' elvish knight, taking steps to portray himself and his people as the highest grade of person. He may make some faux paus assuming everyone would follow elven customs (because they're the best, of course, and you'd have to be stupid not to) and making offhand patronizing comments without realizing he's offended someone.
You can find names basically anywhere with a quick Google.
I suggest Tabhert.
Please keep worldbuilding discussions on the worldbuilding thread, please and thank you
>>47030076
How "not-German" are we talking? You could potentially go pretty far by taking cognates from German and another Germanic language and making the German version sound a bit more like the target language (like I had a minor setting in a place called Ustmark, or "the eastern region" - modified from "Ost" as in "east" and "mark" as in "march" in its archaic sense; you see it in the name of Denmark for example, the region of the Danes)
Linguistic shift IRL follows a set of predictable patterns, so inventing some rules for what gets changed in a word and then applying those rules to many words can be pretty productive, I imagine.
