Originality in MMOs: New v. Existing IP

Everything that exists, both in fiction and in reality, has links to what has come before so nothing is truly original. The adage "there is nothing new under the sun" holds true. In order to achieve something that is measurable, I will investigate originality in the sense of what is commonly called new IP.

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There is truly nothing new under the sun. Mythological references to the original fairy folk, such as the Irish Tuatha De Danaan or the Welsh Tilwyth Teg clearly make these elves taller than humans. Even in Shakespeare Titania and Oberon (A Midsummer Night's Dream) are human sized. It was only in Victorian times that the fairies were shrunk to the little flower fairies at the bottom of the garden.
What is importany in modern fantasy is how you use the old archetypes. There can be much there that is fresh and exciting in how the archetypes are used and interact.