Eye just can't see what they're supposed to look like...


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion


I can't seem picture what elven eyes in Pathfinder are supposed to look like. From various sources we have several varying descriptions, so which is correct?

1) Elves have large blue, green, violet, amber, or red irises and large black pupils leaving no visible whites to their eyes. (This is often pictured in Elves of Golarion and the CRB).

2) Elves have large blue, green, violet, amber, or red irises and large colored pupils (presumably colored in a darker shade of the iris color) leaving no visible whites to their eyes nor the typical black pupil. (The bit on colored pupils come from the text in the CRB).

3) Elves have monochromatic eyes of blue, green, violet, amber or red with no visible irises, pupils, or whites to their eyes.


I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be (3), but in the past Paizo has had some difficulty getting all their artists on board.

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I'm a fan of number 1.


I was under the impression that they are solid black for some reason. Merisiel's are solid black. I've seen at least one other image with solid black eyes.

Reference images with real life subjects:

Black sclera contacts.

Google 'em.

Ooh, this one looks elf-y.


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Foghammer wrote:

I was under the impression that they are solid black for some reason. Merisiel's are solid black. I've seen at least one other image with solid black eyes.

Reference images with real life subjects:

Black sclera contacts.

Google 'em.

Ooh, this one looks elf-y.

In the "Rogue" class picture from the CRB, Merisiel is pictured with the #1 version - large blue irises surrounding large black pupils with no visible whites to her eyes.

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HappyDaze wrote:
In the "Rogue" class picture from the CRB, Merisiel is pictured with the #1 version - large blue irises surrounding large black pupils with no visible whites to her eyes.

Which is another reason why I go with the Number 1 version. :D


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The #1 version would also make elven eyes somewhat like the eyes of many animals. In many animals, the sclera (the white of the eye) matches the color of the iris. This creates option #1.1

1.1) Elves have blue, green, violet, amber, or red irises and large black pupils. The sclera matches the color of the iris and leaves no visible whites to the eyes. (This is often pictured in Elves of Golarion and the CRB).

I think I'll go with version this and leave the monochromatic eyes to Outsiders and other inherently magical creatures.


I will note that Drow are specifically called out as having "pupilless eyes" but I haven't seen the same noted for elves.


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After my players started talking about this issue earlier today, we decided to scrap the 'funny eyes' altogether along with the 'tall elves' that Pathfinder brought to us. It seems that the majority of us prefer our elves with regular eyes (possibly with somewhat-larger-than-human-norm irises) and averaging 5 feet in height. We also think that the white hair thing belongs to the drow and that regular elves should not have it.

So, to sum it up, we like D&D3.5's elves better and hold up Merisiel as the poster child for everything we don't want to see in our elves.

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I'm not fan of the creepy eyes thing, but I don't mind the tall elves. Harkens back to the days of Tolkien and the Sidhe which he based his elves off of. Less human, more mysterious and strange. I thought you wanted to play something that wasn't human???
-X


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artofcheatery wrote:

I'm not fan of the creepy eyes thing, but I don't mind the tall elves. Harkens back to the days of Tolkien and the Sidhe which he based his elves off of. Less human, more mysterious and strange. I thought you wanted to play something that wasn't human???

-X

Being extra tall doesn't define being non-human, nor do special effect eyes. I can play an elf with the D&D3.5 appearance and I'm still playing something that's not human. If anything, Pathfinder's elves remind my group of an anime remake of elves, and most of my group don't look favorably at most anime.


My stepson pointed out to me that Pathfinder elves have come to resemble WoW elves. Not being a WoW player, I can't say for certain, but he says that the 'tall elf' and the ISWG version of the eyes along with the 6"-9" bunny ears goes a long way towards mirroring the WoW high elves.


HappyDaze wrote:
My stepson pointed out to me that Pathfinder elves have come to resemble WoW elves. Not being a WoW player, I can't say for certain, but he says that the 'tall elf' and the ISWG version of the eyes along with the 6"-9" bunny ears goes a long way towards mirroring the WoW high elves.

He's right. I personally like the WoW elf design much better than others, like say, The Elder Scrolls or WOTC's 3.5 elves. They look like aliens with the freaky bone structure and eyes, and not at all "beautiful" as they are so frequently described.

If Blizzard has done anything right (very little, IMO), it's their elves. Night elves more so than blood elves; the females look like twigs, it's gross. And their eyes glow! :D


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Could it be that there is a difference between the 'generic' elven eyes and the Golarion elven eyes? The latter have the black sclera, I think.


Fabius Maximus wrote:
Could it be that there is a difference between the 'generic' elven eyes and the Golarion elven eyes? The latter have the black sclera, I think.

The Inner Sea World Guide (ISWG) seems to be the only source that gives them the monochromatic eyeballs. Other sources describe them as having large colored pupils (? - should probably be irises) and most of the art goes with large black pupils and sclera that matches the color of the iris (blue, violet, or green). Prior to the ISWG, only the drow were listed as having pupilless eyes.

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