Lament for the Elves

[Guinevere]

Well, after all, Legolas is described as "fair of face beyond the measure of men" in "The last Debate". But what is "fair" ? As long as we only had the books, it was up to the individual reader's imagination and taste.(which could differ widely)
And then there's the fact that elves have no beards (except Cirdan)...
As far as I remember it isn't mentioned in the books how they were dressed, or what length (or style) their hair was. (Except Glorfindels long golden hair streaming behind him when he came riding along)

[Lord of Angmar]

Elves are tall and fair, they talk to trees and are in tune with nature, they delight in dancing and singing and generally have good fashion sense. Spurred on by Legolas's portrayal in the Lord of the Rings movies and the common notion of elves as fairies with long pointy ears and Tinkerbell-wings, Middle-earth's Elves are as close to metrosexuals as you will find in Middle-earth, at least to that majority of the moviegoing public who are no more acquainted with the literature of JRR Tolkien prior to the release of the movies than they are with Caedmon's Poem or Gilgamesh.

I am unfamiliar with your RPG Imladris, but anyone who refers to Elves as "nancy-boy" and "lassie," even in the context of a game, does not seem fit to be participating.

[Amanaduial the archer]

Originally Posted by Lord of Angmar

am unfamiliar with your RPG Imladris, but anyone who refers to Elves as "nancy-boy" and "lassie," even in the context of a game, does not seem fit to be participating.

Lord of Angmar, the point in the game is that it is not the players who are referring to the elves as such, but the dwarves who they were writing on behalf of; as one acquainted with the books, you must know that, with the exception of Legolas and Gimli, dwarves have little love of elves. This came out duly and not inappropriately.

[The Saucepan Man]

... as one acquainted with the books, you must know that, with the exception of Legolas and Gimli, dwarves have little love of elves. This came out duly and not inappropriately.

I have to agree with Angmar that the references seem rather inappropriate. Not because they involve Dwarves insulting Elves, since that has clear precedent in Tolkien's works. But rather because they (or at least some of them) are modern phrases and terms of construction such that I would not imagine denizens of Middle-earth using. But I suppose it is no worse than film Gimli calling film Legolas a "pointy-eared Elf" or referring to an Orc's central nervous system.

[Amanaduial the archer]

True, some of them are maybe not entirely appropriate - but then, when exactly are the books based? There is no set time for them, and the language over the thousands of years Tolkien's works run over never actually seems to change - maybe there are specific elven insults. But I don't speak elvish, and neither do the majority of players on the game Imladris and I are running - sure, elvish insults may be more appropriate, and could be more amusing to an elf...but we aren't elves. An RPG needs a touch of humour here and there - the insults exchange with the dwarves was simply a way of creating one of these 'touches'

[mark12_30]

Even in LOTR, Frodo had to check Lobelia's umbrella.

In The Hobbit, Thorin's dwarves had no problems throwing insults... "As soon as I saw the little fellow puffing on the mat... looks more like a grocer than a burglar."
In terms of the RPG, these were trespassing Dwarves insulting Mirkwood elves. If the dwarves were throwing insults at ther Vanyar, that would be different, no? Or at Elrond or Galadriel, perhaps.

In The Hobbit (which, really, this RPG is more based on than the LOTR) Thranduill's elves have their laughable moments. The butler and jailer snore together in a drunken stupor; the portcullis elves sing "Roll roll rolling down the hole, Heave-ho, Splash- Plump, Down they go, Down they bump."

Legolas's power and elegance notwithstanding, the Mirkwood Elves are a humbler, simpler, and more humorous race than the stuffy Noldor. At least, I always thought so.

[Bêthberry]

An RPG needs a touch of humour here and there - the insults exchange with the dwarves was simply a way of creating one of these 'touches'

Really, Aman, for shame. As if only the Seventh Age could produce humour. And as if there weren't humour enough in The Hobbit for gamers to mine.