Hey hey hey,
Was thinking about making a night elf character for rp and I’m not really the best with thinking up concepts for them seeing as I’m fairly new to them. I’ve read a lot online about them, but what sort of things do you guys like for night elves?
What concepts should I look into?
I mean, what class do you like?
May as well pick something you like (providing they can be a night elf ofc)
A druid who sees the existing ways of druidism as tired/limited/banal, and instead searches for the deeper mysteries of nature, ones that Cenarius and Malfurion forbid or don’t talk about. Druids of the Pack can’t be the only ‘forbidden’ form, after all. What else are they keeping from you?
Oh, as an edit!
I don’t mind what class it is, I’m happy to do anything in that regard. I’m just looking for concepts really!
The concepts you could go for, which I like, are:
Highborne Mage - could remember Azshara’s Empire.
Kaldorei Apprentice Mage
Sentinel/Hunter
Druid of the (something)
Priest/Priestess of Elune - or formerly of Elune, their faith could be shattered.
Depends on what you like, but as for myself, my favorite concepts aren’t too different from Leia above, which include:
Wardens, one of the coolest things about Night elves in my opinion.
Priestesses of the Moon (the WC3 esque ones who also combat, especially in Marksmanship)
Druids, especially Moon, Ashen/Claw and Grove.
Huntresses are also quite cool, especially when accompanied by a Saber.
Highborne Mages as well, the ancient elven Wizard vibes is something i find cool, especially when they are remants of a once-great Empire. Can also be kind of Loremasters (or apprentices to such of course.)
I also like Night elven DKs, especially if they’d be risen in Third War, during the Legion/Scourge invasion of Kalimdor/Hyjal. Can have interesting twists especially with recent events for their people, although I can see this concept being hard to pull off.
If also wanted to join a guild, can recommend Dirge of Teldrassil and Hand of Cenarius.
Good luck.
Thanks for the ideas guys,
I guess with this post I was trying to get more ideas than just the usual ‘sentinel’ and ‘druid of the…’ ideas. Like I’m usually pretty solid with concepts but for nightelves I just fall short, but I’ve wanted to play one now for what seems like years and I can never get one to stick.
I’m trying to think of a more relaxed and probably ‘city elf’ vibe for her/him. Something easy and chill. Maybe even a younger elf. (#NotAChildRper)
Cheers for the help though you guys!
“City elf” makes me think you could emphasize a profession instead of a class.
Maybe a tailor who lost everything in the burning of Teldrassil, and now tries to start their business from 0 in Stormwind. Their only advantage against the stiff competition in the human capital is their skill in Mooncloth tailoring, and perhaps some elven enchantments.
A ‘Young City Elf’ is essentially the stereotype I hit for Alryette. Given their age (at least according to the RPG) for adulthood is ~1000, it gives them a lot of time to be established as a character while still being largely ignorant of the world around them.
Hitting on Juvnar’s point, perhaps they’ve taken to the hustle-and-bustle of the younger races in stride? Flipping more into diurnal hours and working on rebuilding their life post-Teldrassil? Given the fact that may still be a young-adult (or perhaps just under that 1k) they may have a lot of rumour-based judgments they get to dissolve over time (the Horde are all monstrous savages, Gnomes are annoying, dwarven women don’t exist, etc.).
Given Teldrassil, that will be a huge sticking point in their current history. Maybe they were one of the lucky few who’s family survived? Perhaps they’re working to feed a recovering family member as a tailor/armourer/magebruv? One of those ‘take it in stride’ types.
I truly hope no-one else actually RP-s or follows this trend as it’s irredeemably stupid
Hope the OP doesn’t consider it under any pretense
NElves reach adulthood at the same rate as humans. RPG stuff is incorrect. Malfurion is explicitly noted as being a “young adult” at a few decades old in one of the novels.
Given their age (at least according to the RPG) for adulthood is ~1000,
“He (Ravael) had the ageless look of a mature night elf, which meant he could be any age from twenty years to fifteen thousand.” - Illidan novel
(:
On topic: Lots of good advice has already been given.
To add something of my own: Bear in mind the considerable lifespan of night elves, their long history of seclusion and reverence for decadent traditions. You have the ancient elders, who are mostly portrayed as more xenophobic and conservative, whilst in contrast the younger generations tend to be viewed as more open minded and get along better with the other races of the Alliance.
Personally, I haven’t seen a lot of night elf characters who are anywhere between. It’s a lot more common to see roleplayers pick one or the other between ‘young’ and ‘old’, and you don’t often see night elves who can be considered ‘middle-aged’.
The most fun I’ve had playing a 3k-ish huntress is having them cope with the rapid change that their people are going through, whilst continuing to grow disillusioned with their more venerable peers who are pining for the old days of isolation.
So, I suppose what I’m trying to say is, the thing that personally makes me a fan of night elves is their ongoing struggle with defining their place in a world that is altering at a pace they’re unprepared for, in lack of a better way to put it.
Best of luck to you in making your character, OP!
As well as the RPG not being canon, I’m pretty sure it states adulthood is around 100 not 1000.
Its irrelevant anyway as people above have pointed out with the actual canon lore above.
This is really helpful advice - you’re probably going to be plotting your character’s personality somewhere on this spectrum.
One of the most interesting things about the night elves is that, prior to the Third War, their lifestyle and society was basically Utopian. They were eternally young, immune to sickness, lived in perfect harmony with nature and the environment, could visit a realm akin to paradise, were in communion with, and had mastery over, the flora, fauna, and elements of their native lands, and as a result, never suffered from famine, drought, or any kind of natural disaster. The only deaths would’ve come from war or accident. For 10,000 years (aside from the War of the Satyr and the War of the Shifting Sands) they enjoyed unbroken peace and solitude. It makes a lot of sense, then, that night elf elders would be wedded to this culture and its practices.
The logical consequences of such a culture, though, were that night elf development utterly stagnated. By the time we encounter Night Elves in Warcraft III, they were less Lord of the Rings and more Lord of the Flies - ruthless and savage children, without mercy or pity for any “lesser” people, without any concept of the burdens or consequences of mortality. The slightest trespass or transgression against them resulted in immediate and brutal retaliation. In Night Elf society, crime seems to be punished in one of three ways - death, exile, or seemingly permanent imprisonment in an underground tomb. They were a people who had an unassailable conviction in their own supremacy, fighting on behalf of a sacred duty and a sacred cause - so empathy, forgiveness, and diplomacy were effectively alien concepts to them, unnecessary baggage they didn’t need to contend with.
If you’re going with a younger night elf, imagine what it must be like to be born into a society in which you can never hope to exceed or even equal your elders - they will always have the advantage of centuries or millenia of experience over you. They won’t age, they won’t die, so any power or influence they’ve accrued will only grow with time. You would be born into a life of austerity, deference and discipline - in which there is only one way to be, and that way was set in stone potentially thousands of years before your birth. Imagine how (potentially) oppressive that might be, or what it might do to somebody’s psychological development.
There is a literal lack of any better way to put it, because this is the best way to put it.
Jarod also states that Malfurion was a thousand years older than him when they first met.
Maybe elves just forget their age a certain point and always claim that they’re 29 
Myeah, Malfurion’s age has been different depending on the source used. In the WotA Trilogy he was “young”, but then I believe I’ve read somewhere he is closer to 15K years old. I prefer his WotA age, though, but I am not sure which one is canon right now.
Powerful thoughts right here. Applies to other races too (draenei, belves) though maybe less so because of the lack of peace they’ve experienced in comparison.
Oof yeah, that’s a bad 2am misquote on my part.
Roughly the RPG describes a more ‘Social Adulthood’ (ie. how the Elf is looked on by their community) than the actual physical one. As large parts of the RPG have made it into canon, and this is a muddy area to draw from given we know nothing about any of the ‘ceremony’ involved (ie. markings), you can take or leave this piece of advice. Rest of the post still offered! Apologies!
Something to keep in mind about a ‘city elf’, is that in terms of Azeroth… elves have long lived in grand cities. It’s not actually unusual for them! Be sure when you consider what it means to RP a character in WoW who has lived and worked in cities, that you not mistake it for what we as people in 2020 think of as city living.
A common mistake is having elves go to cities and behave almost like tourists. Never having seen the hustle and bustle of a populated city before! A night elf… they’ve lived it for millenia. A nightborne? For many, it’s all they KNEW!
Being an elf who prefers city life doesn’t mean being naive, young or even more modern and forward thinking. Certainly, seeing how other races build and live in their cities can be a cause for surprise and lead to them rethinking their own assumptions and beliefs; humans form their cities differently, so do dwarves… but a city itself? Elves have done it.