Having neared the end-game already, I decided to plan ahead my next run, and I figured that I would love to play a Pale Elf, as they seem quite interesting.
I noticed that The White that Wends offers you the option to be an "Aristocrat" and that got me thinking, how do you guys imagine the society that Pale Elves have in The White? Do you imagine small tribes? Some sort of a feudal system? 

Also, I've been thinking about playing a skald sort of a chanter and I wonder which culture would be most fitting - The White, The Living Lands or the Archipelago. What do you think?

~T

Well I imagine they live in ice houses, everything is built from it. They have whole ice cities. And if it is true (some kind of 'urbanism'), there is chance for aristocratic lines in 'classic meaning'. Unless they live in tribal structures like Glanfathans (they do not have aristocracy, have they?).

To be honest, I kind of imagine them as a semi-Scandinavian, semi-Western European kingdom filled with ice castles and palaces, fur coat fashion (white mink coats and muffs), ice crystals and chandeliers, and so on. I imagine them being like the Snow Queen: pale and powerful, yet beautiful, graceful, elegant, and refined. I imagine their culture is focused more around high-brow manners and intellectualism than, say, "savage/barbarian" cultures like the tribal Glanfathans. I imagine science-based wizardry, intellectual-based philosophy, and elegance-based aristocracy is more valued than wild berserker-style fighting.

 

Probably just me.

I can't imagine them having a sedentary culture with palaces and the likes. Sagani mentions at one point that the Pale Elves sometimes come to Naasitak when winters are at their roughest. A sedentary culture probably wouldn't do that.

Reading this question for some unexplainable reason made me picture the scene from GoT with the white walkers sacrificing a baby

To be honest, I kind of imagine them as a semi-Scandinavian, semi-Western European kingdom filled with ice castles and palaces, fur coat fashion (white mink coats and muffs), ice crystals and chandeliers, and so on. I imagine them being like the Snow Queen: pale and powerful, yet beautiful, graceful, elegant, and refined. I imagine their culture is focused more around high-brow manners and intellectualism than, say, "savage/barbarian" cultures like the tribal Glanfathans. I imagine science-based wizardry, intellectual-based philosophy, and elegance-based aristocracy is more valued than wild berserker-style fighting.

 

Probably just me.

I pictured them to live Ice/snow castles, here a few pictures of what I was thinking about

 

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 201510 yr by Elerond

To be honest, I kind of imagine them as a semi-Scandinavian, semi-Western European kingdom filled with ice castles and palaces, fur coat fashion (white mink coats and muffs), ice crystals and chandeliers, and so on. I imagine them being like the Snow Queen: pale and powerful, yet beautiful, graceful, elegant, and refined. I imagine their culture is focused more around high-brow manners and intellectualism than, say, "savage/barbarian" cultures like the tribal Glanfathans. I imagine science-based wizardry, intellectual-based philosophy, and elegance-based aristocracy is more valued than wild berserker-style fighting.

 

Probably just me.

That's pretty much what I had in mind  

Given their equipments, clear specialized (high end at that) troops in the quest, in would indicate quite evolved society, could still be a tribal system, but, as to have the mean to produce high tier items the requirements are heavy (knowledge then tools or not resources themselves), which could be possible if the tribe each has a given responsibility (mining here, religion there, martial etc) ?

 

Then, having mage, yes, there should be some very nice building, hm. Still, there is to little to tell exactly.

Honestly, I kind of pictured an interpretation of feudal Japan. Obviously not a direct translation - I'm not seeing samurais and pagodas - but the heavy influence of culture, at times martial, and the isolationist, self-sufficiency. I'm thinking more European fantasy elements would be involved, of course, like the Scandinavian influences previously mentioned. But culturally, I could see a heavy root in spirituality or honor and things like that.

Edited July 19, 20178 yr by ColeTrain9192

Closest I can get is the elves in Paul Andersons "broken sword" Less like Tolkien elfs( which I dislike intensely) and more like fey/faeries in Northern myths. Fairly self centered and superior, but hardly high brow, more rustic, just convinced of their innate superiority.

In pillar, there is no mention as to Elves of others specifics (life duration, etc).

 

So, the gray area are quite to many as to know anything out of them being "barbarian" (from the roman view : those of another culture).