| Dragon | - | D&D | - | Dragon 41 |
| Dwarves | - | Elves | - | Hobbits |
By the wear and tear alone, one can tell my favorite and most used
Dragon article is P.M. Crabaugh’s “Weights
and Measures, Physical
Appearance and Why Males are Stronger
than Females in D&D” (TD #10, Oct. ’77).
However, while the author gives heights and weights for the four
Kindred Races, his tables for physical appearance apply only to
Humans, the author excusing himself on the excellent grounds that “I
simply haven’t seen enough elves to be aware of the range of physical
appearance they have.”
What a pity not to be Irish! We have none of that problem. It
should
be noted that the elven characteristics charted below are not—repeat
NOT—the Quendi, the so-called “Elves” of Tolkien’s Middle Earth,
who are for the most part a dark people. These elves are closer to
the
Fair Folk of Europe, the Sidhe and Tuatha
de Danaan of Ireland, the
lovely and powerful “fairies” of Le Cabinet des Fes, and the
Norse
Elves of Alfheim. The information on dwarves is also traditional, but
that on halflings must necessarily be based on the Professor’s
works.
Whatever charts are lacking for a Race—voice, hand, or habitual
expression—should be rolled for on Crabaugh’s Human Charts.
Elves are generally somewhat smaller than humans, slender and
graceful. They all have high cheekbones and pointed ears; indeed, any
human having the later characteristics may be suspected of a drop of
the elvish blood. They are for the most part fair, including the rare
green
elves, who are thought to be a distant link to the hamadryads and other
woods spirits. This is reflected in the charts below. Elves are not
given to
freckles, malocclusion, or several other human frailities, as the altered
Exceptional Facial Features chart shows. They are not bearded.
For the secondary rolls, use a 6-sided die should the appropriate
first number be rolled.
Eyes
| 1-6 | Dark Grey | (1 in 6 jet black) |
| 7-11 | Green | (1-2 light green, 4-6 bright emerald) |
| 12-15 | Blue | (1-3 light, 4-5 bright, 6 deep blue-violet) |
| 16-17 | Silver-Grey | - |
| 18-19 | Golden | - |
| 20 | Changeable | (Roll 4-sided plus 1 to get # of colors eyes shift
between; roll as above, ignoring further rolls of 20.) |
| 1-6 | Light Blond | - |
| 7-10 | Honey Blond | - |
| 11-13 | Red | (1-3 red-gold, 4-5 copper, 6 auburn) |
| 14-15 | Grey | (1-5 light, 6 dark) |
| 16-17 | Blue-Black | - |
| 18-19 | White | (1 metallic silver, 2-5 white, 6 pale green) |
| 20 | Metallic Gold | - |
| Worn to: | Male: | Female: |
| Ear | 1-4 | - |
| Shoulder | 5-9 | 1-2 |
| Waist | 10 | 3-7 |
| Longer | - | 8-10 |
SKIN
| 1-5 | Pale | (1 in 6 pale green) |
| 6-12 | Faint | - |
| 13-17 | Normal | - |
| 18-20 | Tanned | - |
HANDEDNESS
| 1-2 | Ambidextrous |
| 3-4 | Left |
| 5-10 | Right |
UNUSUAL FACIAL FEATURES
1. Large/small eyes
2. Sharp/soft features
3. Round/narrow face
4. High forehead
5. Large/small nose
6. Full/thin lips
7. Epicanthic fold
8. Facial scar
9. Curly hair
10. Upturned eyebrows
11. Round/narrow eyes
12. Eyes set far apart/close together
The occasional Half-Elf should roll eyes and hair upon the Elf
tables, all else on Human charts.
DWARVES
Dwarves never have pointed ears, and are ALWAYS bearded.
They come in several varieties, generally recognizable & skin tone.
EYES
| 1-4 | Grey | - |
| 5-7 | Blue | - |
| 8-9 | Brown | - |
| 10 | Other | (1-2 green, 3 gold, 4-6 black) |
SKIN
| 1-6 | Tan |
| 7-9 | Brown |
| 10 | Grey |
HAIR
| 1-6 | Brown |
| 7-10 | Black |
| 11-14 | Grey |
| 15-17 | Blond |
| 18-19 | White |
| 20 | Red |
LENGTH, Hair
| 1-3 | Short |
| 5-8 | Medium |
| 9-10 | Long (past shoulders) |
LENGTH, Beard:
| 1-2 | 3" - 4" |
| 3-8 | On chest |
| 9-10 | To belt |
UNUSUAL FACIAL FEATURES
1. Large/small nose
2. Large/small eyes
3. Large/small teeth
4. Large/long-lobed ears
5. Curly hair
6. Scar
7. Gap-toothed
8. Upturned brows
9. Sharp/soft features
10. Wide/narrow nose
HOBBITS
Small as the Halfling population is, there is not a tremendous
variety within it They are not given to extremes of coloration. Men
wear their hair about ear-length; women wear it long, though 1 in 10
will clip it to the shoulder if adventuring.
HAIR
| 1-3 | Light Brown |
| 4-5 | Dark Brown |
| 6-7 | Blond |
| 8-9 | Grey |
| 10 | Black |
| 11 | White |
| 12 | Red |
EYES
| 1-6 | Blue |
| 7-9 | Brown |
| 10-11 | Grey |
| 12 | Green |
SKIN
| 1 | Fair |
| 2-5 | Normal |
| 6 | Tanned |
UNUSUAL FACIAL FEATURES
1. Freckles
2. Curly/very straight hair
3. Blunt/sharp nose
4. Large/small nose
5. Jutting jaw/overbite
6. High forehead
7. Large/small ears
8. Large/small eyes
9. Eyes set far apart/close together
10. Large/small mouth