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 Do all nymphs look like elves?
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Jelennet
Learned Scribe

Russia
131 Posts

Posted - 16 Apr 2011 :  07:10:40  Show Profile Send Jelennet a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Ordinary nymph from the 3.5 Monster Manual is looking like an elf (on the illusrtration).

In the FR wiki nymphs are described:
Nymphs are fey that typically resemble Tel-quessir women, only not just physically beautiful, but literally blindingly so.

But! Here is a quote from the article about Unseelie Nymph from the Wizards site:
Unseelie nymphs resemble young HUMAN or elven women with perfect features and thick, luxurious hair.

Do all nymphs look like elves? Or some of them look like humans? Or only Unseelie nymphs may look like humans?

Lord Karsus
Great Reader

USA
3738 Posts

Posted - 16 Apr 2011 :  07:14:58  Show Profile Send Lord Karsus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
-Depends on how you want to define an Elf. Avariel look a lot different from Aquatic Elves.

-That said, though, do they have some similarities to generic Sun/Moon/Star/Wood Elves? Sure. Does that mean they can't look similar to generic Humans? Elves, in their generic profiles, have many similarities to Humans, so it's not much of a stretch to say that a Nymph can look similar to both an Elven woman and a Human woman.

-They're very pretty. That can describe a lot of Elves, a lot of Humans, a lot of different biped fantasy races renown for their relative beauty.

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ChieftainTwilight
Learned Scribe

171 Posts

Posted - 16 Apr 2011 :  07:26:34  Show Profile Send ChieftainTwilight a Private Message  Reply with Quote
in Greyhawk, or in generic D&D, the Nymphs are described as resembling supernaturally beautiful Human or Elven women. leastways that is the description in the version 3.0 Monster Manual.

and a heart can only break so many times
and I've been to hell and back so many times
and I've seen folks walk away so many times
but just like anyone else I gotta stand up by myself
and a heart can only break so many times
a heart can only break so many times
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MrHedgehog
Senior Scribe

688 Posts

Posted - 16 Apr 2011 :  11:07:04  Show Profile  Visit MrHedgehog's Homepage Send MrHedgehog a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think they can resemble whatever you want them to resemble. I don't think it is something with an absolute answer and its up to personal interpretation. Different authors and artists who've described or painted nymphs have portrayed them differently. I've always just envisioned them as being non-specific embodiments of natural beauty in D&D universes. Nymphs are a Greek myth so I would personally look to greek art to determine how I think they would appear.
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Calmar
Acolyte

49 Posts

Posted - 16 Apr 2011 :  20:20:10  Show Profile Send Calmar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jelennet
Do all nymphs look like elves? Or some of them look like humans? Or only Unseelie nymphs may look like humans?



Nymphs look hot, in the first place. They are only depicted the way they are, because it might confuse the reader, if they were described as appearing as beautiful dwarven or halfling ladies...
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ChieftainTwilight
Learned Scribe

171 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2011 :  03:27:51  Show Profile Send ChieftainTwilight a Private Message  Reply with Quote
what's so confusing about a sexy piece of Halfling tail? >.>

and a heart can only break so many times
and I've been to hell and back so many times
and I've seen folks walk away so many times
but just like anyone else I gotta stand up by myself
and a heart can only break so many times
a heart can only break so many times
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Chosen of Asmodeus
Master of Realmslore

1221 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2011 :  05:54:13  Show Profile  Visit Chosen of Asmodeus's Homepage Send Chosen of Asmodeus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
...Didn't we already have a thread about the hafling thing?

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Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7974 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2011 :  06:01:37  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I prefer human women, myself. Nymphs have been portrayed since antiquity as human women, unsurprisingly depicted in each age in whichever fashion was considered ideal. Some were portrayed as monsters wearing the guise of human beauty. Nymphs with "faerie" characteristics are a more modern innovation, a little too gauche for the puritanical societal values of yesteryear. Nymphs resembling elves are largely an invention of D&D (or at least D&D's artists).

[/Ayrik]
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Chosen of Asmodeus
Master of Realmslore

1221 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2011 :  06:14:18  Show Profile  Visit Chosen of Asmodeus's Homepage Send Chosen of Asmodeus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well to be fair, elves resembling elves(the d&d version) were largely an invention of Tolkien.

"Then I saw there was a way to Hell even from the gates of Heaven"
- John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress

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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader

USA
3750 Posts

Posted - 18 Apr 2011 :  03:20:50  Show Profile Send Alystra Illianniis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Not really. Tolkein's elves have their roots back in English and western European folklore- many old folk tales and legends depict them as tall, beautiful and slender folk.

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Kentinal
Great Reader

4686 Posts

Posted - 18 Apr 2011 :  03:32:08  Show Profile Send Kentinal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
{quote]So beautiful that a glimpse can blind or even kill a man, the nymphs are the embodiment of loveliness, a triumph of nature.
A nymph's beauty is beyond words -- an ever-young woman with sleek figure and long, thick hair, radiant skin and perfect teeth, full lips and gentle eyes. A nymph's scent is delightful, and her long robe glows, hemmed with golden threads and embroidered with rainbow hues of unearthly magnificence. A nymph's demeanor is graceful and charming, her mind quick and witty. Nymphs speak their own musical language and the common tongue.
[/quote]

2nd Edition

"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
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