Dragon Age: Origins – These Are Not the Elves You Know

Some people have been talking about how Dragon Age uses the same fantasy stereotypes that have been embraced by every other Dungeons & Dragons-inspired videogame. But the art of the creators at BioWare is to actually take familiar stereotypes, like the tall, goody two shoes, art loving, blond haired elves and turn them into something else for a major franchise reinvention like Dragon Age: Origins.

Playing the City Elf origins is probably the closest thing role playing games have to simulating a ghetto experience and manages to show off a divide between Humans and the “blade ears,” as Elves are called, which should have probably been better explored in the rest of the game.

The oppression is clearly visible and stands in deep contrast to the apparent freedom of the Dalish elves you encounter in the Brecillian Forest. These tribes spaced humanity long ago and are now trying to get back to the lost height of their civilization and seem closer to the nature loving elves of D&D.

But BioWare subverts the Elf image in more than one way. For one, the characters are shorter than players are probably waiting for and they lack the grace and the artfulness one could expect. There are also no restrictions on them becoming front line fighters that can handle two handed weapons and no affinity to them using the bow and arrow. Zevran, the only Elf that can join the player's party, is an assassin favoring back stabbing and poison.

And to top it off, Zathrian, the big father figure of the Dalish Elf tribe you encounter, is nothing like Galadriel or Haldir, gallant and very much on the good side of things. Instead, he is torn by personal trauma, incapable of taking into account the interest of his people and obsessed with revenge and the past when he should be facing the grim future of battling the Darkspawn. His dialog with the Lady of the Forest, that forces the player to make some choices, is one of the most interesting sections of the game.