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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe
USA
666 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 22:47:34
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I have been creating my own fantasy world for a couple of years now. One of the central things in it are my Elf-like people, the Alati (this name is subject to change, suggestions are welcome). I've pretty much got them down to how I want them to be (you wouldn't believe how much they've changed from the original incarnation). However, it has come down to this that I cannot decide: should they have fair skin or golden skin?
This may seem like a small matter of aesthetics, but it is very important to me. I am trying to make the Alati as inhuman looking as possible, but retain the iconic Elvish beauty. I've taken a lot of inspiration from the Altmer models from Skyrim and the description of the Melnibobeans.
This is their physical description so far:
Males: 6'7; females 6'5 in average height
They have medium body builds and are very muscular but not bulky like Mannish races; females don't have a lot of muscle definition; they are sleek but not thin, wiry or lanky. Males have broad chests and shoulders.
They have long torsos and legs, slightly longer arms, fingers and feet than the average Man.
Their skulls are long and their brows (both sexes) have slightly pronounced ridges. Nose bridges are flat but nostrils are not. They have North Atlantid shaped eyes (not the almond shaped eyes a lot of elves have). Their jaws are thin. They have full lips and slightly pronounced chins (not as pronounced as an Altmer's).
They have sapphire, light green, or violet eyes.
Their hair colours are pale blonde, blonde, white blonde, golden, platinu
Blonde, or auburn or strawberry hair.
As of now, I've concluded that I want them to have golden skin.
I might, later today, post the notes on their language. I've been working really hard on this (it's not easy to make a new language!).
Please tell me what you all think! If you would like to know anything about their culture or cosmology or anything, please let me know!
Must know things: they are not the goody goody two shoes types of elf-like beings. They enslaved humanity and are completely alien to human thoughts and feelings. They are immortal. They experience emotion much more acutely than a human ever could (they are very passionate beings). They are very lawful and tradition bound.
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8035 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 23:02:43
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Hmm, the inhuman creatures you describe are basically just tall versions of my ex-wife.
That being the case, I would vote for "golden" skin, perhaps an olive tone which tans (and fades) easily, similar to that of humans from coastal Spain and France. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36971 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 23:17:05
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| I'd go for something different, myself, and make them green. Perhaps green with mottled patches of brown or other colors (not camouflage, exactly, but an overall, light green tone, with usually symmetrical patches of another color). And you could even spin it that certain mottling patterns carry prestige and/or special abilities. |
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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe
USA
666 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2013 : 00:54:00
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And lo, here is the Anur language notes that I have.
-Alphabet (letters in the English alphabet that are in their alphabet)
a,b*,c*,d*,e,f,g*,h,i,l,m,n,o,q,r,s,t,u,v*,w,*,y*
*- b's are only used when following the first letter in a word, never are they the first letter (ex. "loras'nib" dark-falling, evening; "abnueli" water)
*- c's always make a "kuh" sound, never an "s" sound (ex. celébred" awakening)
*- d's, like b's, never come as a first letter, always proceeding (ex. "hedd" bowl)
*- g's come only as first letters of a word or as the last letter (ex. "gathlôr" air; "abnëag" death)
*- v's are almost used solely as beginning letters of names and rarely occur in other words (ex. "Varla" goddess of life and death, journeys and consort of Ëa; "Aruvanon" the homeland of the Anur; "athavûn" mountain)
*- x's also never come as first letters (ex. "anaxm" tower; "éthxiul" fire)
*- y's are never the last letter of a word (ex. "y" it, "yrlôm" home, residence)
-Full Alphabet
a, aa, b, c, d, e, ë, é, f, g, h, i, ii, l, m, n, o, ô, q, u, û, v, w, x, y
-Vowel Combinations
aa, ae, as, au, ea, ëa, ie, ii, ûa, uii
-Consonant Combinations
dl, fl, gl, hl, hr, ll, th, tl
-Pronouns
He- aan
She- ôn
Her- ôth
Him- aath
It- thaan
I- mae
You- elth
Me- naa
We- tii
Them/they- naor
-Present Tense
When someone speaking the Anur language is speaking in the present tense (when adding the -ing on the end of verbs), they add 'aad to the end of the verb they are speaking.
ex. I am dreaming.
Mae noth ûthien'aad.
-Past Tense
When someone is speaking in the past tense (adding the -ed to the end of a verb, they add 'aaf to the end of the verb.
ex. I walked in the garden.
Mae cunlû'aad dyr iinth.
When someone is saying "I was...", they say "Mininieth'Mae" before the "I" pronoun.
ex. I was going to the temple.
Mininieth'Mae taa'morôl'laliin nûl.
(taa'morôl'aliin nûl- this mean "going to the". When it is in the past tense, "taa", "going", is added to "morôl", "to", as well as "laliin", "the", though "laliin" is not always used when there is no "the" in the sentence.) |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2013 : 01:25:04
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| I would go with fair skin - only take it to the next level. Make their skin so pale, its pushing clear... like ghostly translucent flesh. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12194 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2013 : 16:00:25
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| When you say "golden" skin, the question comes down to what do you mean by that. Do you mean "slightly tanned" skin... or are we talking full on "shiny in the sun" golden skin like they show "Rumpelstiltskin" like in "Once Upon a Time". If you're looking for a very exotic looking, possibly magical race, I'd definitely go with the "shiny in the sun" golden skin. I'd also stress that they're eyes are bright "sapphire blue", "emerald green", or "amethyst violet"... and then I'd throw in that there is the rare person who is born with "fire opal yellow" or "garnet red" eyes. I'd also throw in that there are some rare individuals born with "shiny copper" hair. Of course, that's if you're looking for something extremely different in their look (i.e. someone who is going to draw attention whenever they enter a city and be the one person that stands out when a crime is committed). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36971 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2013 : 17:37:41
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| Ooh, ooh, what about going for something more funky: make them able to change their skin tone at will, like octopi! |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2013 : 17:53:43
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| @Wooly, that reminds me of the Chameleon template in the 3.5 Underdark supplement. |
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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe
USA
666 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2013 : 01:18:30
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@Sleyvas: They are gold like the Altmer from The Elder Scrolls.
Umm...yeah. Guys, this is a serious setting. Besides, they are going to be gold. They are extremely beautiful, radiant beings, not some ridiculous hyper fantasy trope. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36971 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2013 : 04:28:53
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Don't ask for help if you're going to dismiss other suggestions as "ridiculous hyper fantasy trope". 
You said you wanted something as inhuman looking as possible -- golden skin is not all that inhuman looking. And it's far more of a fantasy trope than any non-human skintones, like green or variable pigmentation, would be. Have them be beautiful and radiant is also pretty much a "ridiculous hyper fantasy trope".
If you don't like an idea, that's fine. Don't be insulting about it, and don't follow it up by doing the same thing you're complaining about others doing. |
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Help With an Elf-like Species
