Green-elf

@ Green-elf
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Weapon 2d4

@ Green-elf
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Weapon 2d4
Base level	5
Base experience	61
Speed	12
Base AC	10
Base MR	10
Alignment	-6 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	2 (Quite rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	800
Nutritional value	350
Size	Medium
Resistances	Sleep
Resistances conveyed	Sleep (33%)
A Green-elf: has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. can see invisible creatures. is omnivorous. is an elf. can pick up weapons and food. has infravision. can be seen through infravision. normally appears in small groups.
Reference	monst.c#line2324

A Green-elf, @, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. Among the randomly generated elves, Green-elves are only slightly stronger than Woodland-elves. They have a single weapon attack and possess sleep resistance, infravision and the ability to see invisible.

Eating a Green-elf corpse or tin has a ¹⁄₃ chance of conferring sleep resistance.

Generation

Green-elves can generate in small groups, and randomly-generated Green-elves are sometimes peaceful towards chaotic characters and always peaceful towards player elves. A Green-elf can grow up into an elf-lord.

Green-elves are generated with elven equipment using the following odds:

• They have a ¹⁄₂ chance of generating with either an elven mithril-coat or an elven cloak, and a ¹⁄₂ chance of generating with an elven leather helm; if they do not generate with the helm, they have a ¹⁄₄ chance of generating with elven boots.
• They have a ¹⁄₂ chance of generating with an elven dagger.
• They will also generate with one of the following sets of items, with an equal chance of each set:
  • An elven bow and set of elven arrows, a ¹⁄₄ chance of an elven shield and a ²⁄₃ chance of an elven short sword.
  • An elven broadsword and a ¹⁄₂ chance of an elven shield.
  • A ¹⁄₂ chance of an elven spear and accompanying elven shield.

Strategy

While not much more worrisome individually than Woodland-elves, Green-elves can still spell trouble if a group of them ambushes an unwary player.

History

The Green-elf first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.

Origin

The Green-elf is derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, where they are descendants of the Nelyar, the third and largest clan of the first Elves to inhabit Middle-Earth. When the Valar sent ambassadors to bring them to the Valar realm of Aman in the west, the Nelyar clan were the only ones unwilling to leave the wild lands of Middle-earth, and were the last to depart; the migration became known as the Great Journey, and a third of their number refused, becoming known as Dark Elves or Avari ("unwilling" in the Elven language of Quenya). The Nelyar - called the Teleri after this first Sundering of the Elves - navigated the forest known as Greenwood the Great (and later as Mirkwood) from the south, joining the other clans that had settled in a region of the Vales of Anduin known as Atyamar.

After many years Atyamar was befell by terrible weather, and most of the Elves resumed their journey westwards, crossing both the Anduin river and the Misty Mountains. Many of the Teleri were fearful and remained behind, becoming the Nandor - a second Sundering would occur when these Nandor split further: some hid themselves in the woodlands of Anduin and became Silvan Elves (or wood elves), while others continued on to settle their own dwellings at the Anduin river's delta, or else passed by the White Mountains into the wilderness of Eriador. Eventually, those Nandor that had journeyed onward reached the Sindar (or Grey-elf) forest kingdom of Doriath - here, they were welcomed by King Thingol as long-lost kin and given the lands of Ossiriand to settle; they named the land Lindon and became the Laegrim (Sindarin for "Green-Elves"), named for their leaf-colored clothing. The peace that came was not to last, however: Morgoth and his armies of orcs and other underlings invaded King Thingol and his allies, with Thingol calling the Green-Elf leader Denethor to his aid.

In this First Battle of Beleriand, despite Thingol's army attacking the orcs from the west as the Laegrim pushed from the east, the green elves were ill-equipped against the iron-clad might of the orcs; Denethor himself was cut off at Amon Ereb and slain before Thingol could rescue him. Though reinforcements allowed the Elves to rout the Orcs afterward, the Laegrim were greatly mourned his loss, and pledged to never again name a king or participate in the wars between the other Elves and Morgoth. Many of Denethor's people left for the guarded forests of Doriath, and others would make their home with the Sindar - those few that remained took up a reclusive and secretive existence, and from that time they were known as the Laiquendi ("Green-Elves" in Quenya).

In Dungeons & Dragons, Green elves (more commonly wild elves) are based on the Laegrim/Laiquendi and Silvan Elves of Tolkien. "Silvan elves" in the context of Dungeons & Dragons can refer to either wood elves or wild elves, though the distinctions between the two are most pronounced in the 3rd and 4th editions of the game. Like wood elves, wild elves are reclusive, withdrawn and averse to civilization - but quite unlike them, wild elves dislike outsiders, being very slow to trust and highly intolerant of any offense to their person. Despite this, most prefer to let trespassers go freely, rather than harm or kill them and risk any more appearing; outsiders who learned anything that could be used against the tribe had their memories wiped. Those who do earn a wild elf's trust and respect are rewarded with a loyal friendship.

Wild elf culture parallels that of some real-life indigenous peoples, with a focus on oral tradition over "sterile" literacy - this is most reflected in their arts, which focus on music and dancing to reflect the ever-changing world around them, and non-metallic tools that are excellently-crafted and effective, but often have a "crude" aesthetic and are designed to be assembled or deconstructed at a moment's notice. Like other elves, wild elves are fond of wild animals and try to live in harmony with them, keeping some of them (even larger "dire" animals) as guardians. Wild elves that leave their remote homelands for adventure are especially drawn to careers requiring physical strength: wild elf rangers and barbarians are particularly common, and even wild elf fighters were not unheard of. Having long abandoned magical tradition, wild elves rarely craft magical weapons, but are not especially averse to arcane magic like wood elves, even as they ultimately tend towards druidism or shamanism.

Variants

dNetHack

In dNetHack, Green-elves may appear among the court of an elven monarch-ruled throne room.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, Green-elves are moved to the Quendi monster class like all other elves.