Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Dwarf-small.jpg|frame|Standard Issue Dwarf.]]
{{quote|''A short, sturdy creature fond of drink and industry.''
|''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''}}
You know them. Gruff, [[Greed|gold-loving]], blunt-speaking, Scottish-accented, [[Horny Vikings|Viking-helmed]], [[The Alcoholic|alcohol-swilling]], [[Elves vs. Dwarves|Elf-hating]], [[An Axe to Grind|ax-swinging]], [[Stout Strength|stout]], [[Badass Beard|long-bearded]], stolid and unimaginative, [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|boastful of their battle prowess]] and their vast echoing [[Elaborate Underground Base|underground halls]] and mainly just the fact [[Have I Mentioned I Am a Dwarf Today?|that they are
Ever since Tolkien did his thing with some modified [[Norse Mythology|Norse myths]], the Dwarves have been rolling off the assembly line as the same basic model. (Although many "Tolkienesque" Dwarves are more like the [[Theme Park Version]].) Since [[The Film of the Book]](s), they now even all talk the same. A lot of dwarves are Scottish, Irish, or Russian. An [[Planet of Hats|entire race]] of miners and blacksmiths, with names like [[Luke Nounverber|Dwarfaxe Dwarfbeard and Grimli Stonesack]], who are overly sensitive about any perceived slight, always [[Violent Glaswegian|spoiling for a fight]], unable to speak two sentences in a row without calling someone "lad" or "lass," and possessed of a love of gold and jewels that drives them to dig deep and greedily ([[Dug Too Deep|often with catastrophic results]]). Expect dwarf-tossing jokes.
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* ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'' had a handful of dwarf characters. The most notable was Ghim from the first series, who played the role of [[Older and Wiser]] mentor to the hero, Parn; he was grumpy, fought with an axe, had a beard, and possessed incredible stamina, like you expect from a dwarf.
** The sequel, ''Chronicles of the Heroic Knight'', introduced a dwarf priest named Father Greevas, who subverted the trope by being quiet, gentle, and fatherly, with a bowl-cut and goatee instead of the standard bushy beard.
=== Card Games ===▼
* Dwarves have appeared sporadically in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', though the game designers seem not to like them much. They live in the mountains and like to fight so they belong to the Red color/philosophy, but the stoic and orderly culture of traditional fantasy dwarves is more White, not to mention how goblins hog all the slots for person sized red creatures, so they're sort of an odd race out. ''MtG'' did shake up the usual dwarf formula in the ''Odyssey'' block, where the dwarves were portrayed as passionate artisans and warriors with a strong affinity for fire magic. Later in the game's history, the kithkin in ''Lorwyn'' were portrayed as sort of a cross between hobbits (which is what they were [[Captain Ersatz|originally intended to be called]]) and dwarves, combining the Little Folk's general smallness and pastoral living with the Stout Folk's tenacity and well-organized communal defense; the kithkin become even more dwarflike in ''Shadowmoor'', where they have abandoned their country villages for heavily fortified castles and become rabidly xenophobic.▼
** The ''Eventide'' expansion to the ''Shadowmoor'' block added actual dwarves known as duergar, with affinities for both white and red, and modified the design of dwarves to axe the hair and make them up more pasty. These creepy dwarves are based on the folklore of Britain.▼
=== Literature ===
* [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' is the origin of the trope. Interestingly, in an attempt to make them sound fundamentally different from other races, Tolkien's Dwarvish language is constructed along the lines of the [[wikipedia:Semitic languages|Semitic languages]]; none of them ever speak with a Scottish or Welsh accent at all. When you combine the quasi-Semitic language with their lost homeland and usual status as a minority in lands ruled by other races, many writers have compared them to [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|analogues to the Jews]] (an allusion that also comes up in the [[Discworld]] series). Tolkien himself alluded to the idea in response to allegations that it was a negative depiction; he was particularly sympathetic [[World War Two|given the time he was alive]]. His dwarves are different from dwarfs of folklore and fairy tales primarily in that [[Proud Warrior Race|a lot of them are warriors]] in addition to being miners and craftsmen. They of course, pay tribute to their roots, being quite Nordic in culture (Rohirrim are primarily Saxon-land-Vikings, an Gondor has a Nordic vibe too), and having names stolen from the Poetic Edda. A thing that Tolkien long regretted as it forced him to come up with an explanation why a Real-world language such as Old Norse would exist in a Fantasy world.
** [[The Silmarillion|Tolkein's background notes]] reveal the reason Dwarves are so different from the other races: that they were made by Aule, one of the [[Powers That Be|Valar]] - not [[The Omnipotent|Eru Illuvatar]] himself, although after the fact Eru gave them the spark of free will that Aule couldn't provide. Since he knew that [[The Devil|Morgoth]] was loose in the world, Aule designed the Dwarves to be able to resist suffering and evil - a fact that came in handy millenia later, when Sauron offered them [[Don't Touch It, You Idiot!|seven golden Rings of Power.]]
* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' features dwarfs, but depicts them as a race that is almost [[Exclusively Evil]]. While there are good dwarves (the [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|"red dwarfs"]]), who are grumpy but good-natured, the majority of them (the [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience|"black" ones]]) are ruthless, greedy, traitorous bastards. The black dwarfs eventually [[Flat Earth Atheist|renounce Aslan's existence]], and are duly punished with being blind/insane and abandoned to grovel away at each other (they are, of course, Lewis's allegory for atheists).
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** Also, a nod to the 'craftsman' stereotype in that they are good at ''any'' craft. Mostly the typical metalworking and stoneworking, but they are very good at anything. In particular they are as good at ''baking'' as they are at metalwork and stonecarving. However, their bakery is mostly good for weaponry. They grind down rocks to make the flour. The best way to enjoy Dwarfbread is to keep it uneaten, so that ''any'' other food will taste good by comparison. The "Scottish" stereotype is brought up here as the Low King (low being better than high for a mining people) of the Dwarves being crowned on the Scone of Stone. In Scotland, Kings were always crowned on a giant stone called the ''Stone of Scone'' (pronnounced Skoon) because it was held in Scone Abbey, Perthshire.
*** They also practically monopolize the cosmetics industry, most likely because they have real chemistry instead of alchemy..
** Dwarf folklore is an interesting deviation; it holds that dwarfs and trolls are diametric opposites and will forever hate each other. ''[[
* Dwarves of ''[[The Inheritance Cycle]]'' are polytheistic and devotely religious people who pretty much play the trope straight in all other respects. [[Christopher Paolini|Paolini]] makes a point of mentioning dwarf women, but doesn't detail much about how they differ from dwarf men. They have some cities underground, but also some aboveground, even with a [[Lampshade Hanging]] when Eragon is surprised to find that Dwarves have open surface cities just like everyone else, and a dwarf tells him that they like the open air as much as anyone else. They also have seven toes, and two dwarves hold a bet on whether or not humans actually have only five toes. According to history, they are the oldest of sentient races, and lived in Alagaesia before the elves or humans arrived.
* The dwarves of ''[[The Fionavar Tapestry]]'' pretty much fit the mould except for the [[One-Gender Race]], and the one dwarven main character being more of a [[The Quiet One]]. Dwarf women in Fionavar are sylph-like and graceful; as one character admits to herself, she should no more reasonably expect them to look like their men any more than she herself resembles her male companions.
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* In Chris Evans ''Iron Elves'' trilogy Sergeant Yimt is a [[Boisterous Bruiser]] [[Sergeant Rock]]. The only other dwarf met in the series is a veteran turned unscrupulous merchant. Dwarves were once enslaved by the Empire and brought to it from across the sea, resulting in a a racial claustrophobia of being inside ships. Due to the racial habit of chewing crute, a metal infused spice, most Dawrves are literally [[Made of Iron]], or at least their bones are. While they do use axes other common weapons are the drugar, [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp|whose description sounds a lot like a machete]], and the shatterbow, a cross between a crossbow and a shotgun that fires explosive bolts.
=== Live
* [[Star Trek]] has the Tellarites, one of the founding members of the Federation. They had a fierce rivalry with the [[Our Elves Are Better|Vulcans]], are stubborn, undiplomatic, and generally have the competence to back up their boasts, all dwarven hallmarks.
* The Seven Dwarves in [[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]. Grumpy gets the most screen time for some reason and fits the trope to a T.
** Later appearances of the dwarves in the series show some more unusual characteristics, one of which is the fact dwarves aren't born, they're hatched in ''eggs''.
=== Oral Tradition, folklore, Myths and Legends ===
=== Mythology ===▼
* [[Norse Mythology]]—here's where it all started. Though they were somewhat varied, the basics of common lore goes back to mythology. The long beards, skilled at metallurgy, lived in caves, etc. They also turned to stone (sometimes temporarily, sometimes not) when exposed to sunlight. There was also discrepency amongst how long they lived, some myths had them be an adult at three years old and an old man by nine, some myths had them always looking old but being immortal. They had coal-black hair, extremely pale skin, actually were a type of elf and were human-sized at first, but [[Memetic Mutation]] changed them a lot even during the Viking era. By the late [[Middle Ages]], they were much closer to the Dwarves we'd recognize today. In [[Norse Mythology]], dwarves were originally endoparasites. Like ''tapeworms'', living in the intestines of some of the first giants.
** In one version, they first appeared as maggots in the corpse of Ymir, whose body was then made to form the earth itself. In this light, the stated origin for the dwarves seems an appropriate metaphor, what with their penchant for tunneling and living beneath the surface of the earth.
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** Tapeworms aside, it should be mentioned that they usually appeared as cave-dwellers forging weapons and jewelry. Sometimes with remarkable results. It was cavedwelling dwarves who made Thor's hammer (always hits, destroys its target, returns to the user), Odin's spear (always hits its target), Freya's necklace (shining like the sun), and the nine golden rings (give birth to new rings). Thus the legend of the stunted master forgers in the mountains was born.
===
* The subterranean Dawn People, or [[Celtic Mythology|Thuatha]], from [[Prince Valiant]].
===
▲* Dwarves have appeared sporadically in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', though the game designers seem not to like them much. They live in the mountains and like to fight so they belong to the Red color/philosophy, but the stoic and orderly culture of traditional fantasy dwarves is more White, not to mention how goblins hog all the slots for person sized red creatures, so they're sort of an odd race out. ''MtG'' did shake up the usual dwarf formula in the ''Odyssey'' block, where the dwarves were portrayed as passionate artisans and warriors with a strong affinity for fire magic. Later in the game's history, the kithkin in ''Lorwyn'' were portrayed as sort of a cross between hobbits (which is what they were [[Captain Ersatz|originally intended to be called]]) and dwarves, combining the Little Folk's general smallness and pastoral living with the Stout Folk's tenacity and well-organized communal defense; the kithkin become even more dwarflike in ''Shadowmoor'', where they have abandoned their country villages for heavily fortified castles and become rabidly xenophobic.
▲** The ''Eventide'' expansion to the ''Shadowmoor'' block added actual dwarves known as duergar, with affinities for both white and red, and modified the design of dwarves to axe the hair and make them up more pasty. These creepy dwarves are based on the folklore of Britain.
==== Tabletop RPG ====
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''—not surprising, given how much it was originally based on Tolkien.
** One widely used D&D addition is the idea that Dwarves are inherently more resistant to [[Functional Magic|magic]], being that they're all stolid and stony like the earth and all. Yet in the original myths, dwarves produced all manner of magical artifacts for the Aesir. Even Tolkien's dwarves managed to make mithril, the local [[Unobtainium]]. That said, they were resistant to [[The Corruption]].
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** Just like elves, dwarves in ''D&D'' have a subterranean [[Evil Counterpart]]: the Duergar, or Gray Dwarves, who are built on the folktales of dwarves as nasty schemers with supernatural powers. The Duergar have limited [[Psychic Powers]] and have a grim, humorless society based around slave labor and constant toil.
** [[Dark Sun|Athas']] Dwarves play this straight, except for few noticable differences. They're completely hairless, and they have a tradition of working toward short and longterm goals that only they know of.
* ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' has the Wizened, humans who were made to work as [[The Fair Folk|the Gentry's]] craftsmen and servants. Like dwarves, there's usually something "diminished" about them (sometimes size, sometimes muscle, sometimes social presence), they tend to be cranky (see "diminished social presence"), and they're very, very good with crafts.▼
* [[Winterweir]]'s Bathas are evil sociopathic slavers but still live underground and have an interest in wealth. They also invent things.▼
* Dwarves in ''[[GURPS]]: Banestorm'' are a race of natural artificers and merchants. All adults have at least one point worth of [[Iconic Item|signature gear]].▼
** In the ''[[GURPS]]'' predecessor ''[[The Fantasy Trip]]'', dwarves are straight out of the Tolkienian mold. However, some details (mostly concerning dwarf women) are left unspecified, meaning that players will form [[House Rules|their own conclusions]].▼
* ''[[Burning Wheel]]'' not only plays straight dwarf stereotypes but even builds upon the tale of Moria from [[The Lord of the Rings]] by working an attribute called "Greed" into the rule system: all dwarves are covetous. The higher a dwarf's Greed, the more likely they are to betray others, or even go [[Ax Crazy]], in the pursuit of possessing objects of high value and/or craftsmanship. They get bonuses to rolls done in the pursuit of wealth. However, if the Greed attribute reaches its maximum through indulgence of the vice the dwarf hides himself away with his hoard of goods in paranoid seclusion never to be seen again.▼
* The Jotun of ''[[New Horizon]]'' were once compared to dwarves, except being huge [[Insistent Terminology|wafans]] instead of short humans. [[Refuge in Audacity|Subsequently a group of dwarves raided the forum, decapitated the person who made the claim, and told everybody never to compare them to war machines again]].▼
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' plays them straight , but once upon a time, had the Chaos Dwarfs, which were based on ancient Mesopotamia of all things and diabolic slavemaster warlocks with cloven hooves and addicted to [[Black Magic]]. Sadly, their army nearly dropped off the face of the earth, and the few new Chaos Dwarfs we've seen (as crew for a war machine model) seem very much standard, if eviler-looking.
** The ''[[Gotrek and Felix]]'' novels play with the accent, as most Dwarfs have the typical slightly-Scottish speech that is still easy to understand. Then they introduce a Dwarf character whose speech is much closer to a real Scottish brogue, and even the other Dwarfs can't understand him half the time.
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* The now-defunct ''[[Mage Knight]]'' minatures game had standard Tolkieny dwarves. All male, all bearded, all craftsmen and miners (some not by choice), and their craftiness led to literal [[Steampunk|Steam Punk]] tech such as Steam (mecha)Golems and steam-powered mounts.
** There are some differences from the standard model here. They are actually '''shorter''' lived than humans, an elderly dwarf being about 30, and they play up the resistance to magic. They were actually forced by [[The Empire]] of Atlantis into slavery, mining for magic [[Phlebotinum]] because they were immune to the deadly radiation. They joined the Black Powder Rebels in order to free their comrades from this slavery.
▲* ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' has the Wizened, humans who were made to work as [[The Fair Folk|the Gentry's]] craftsmen and servants. Like dwarves, there's usually something "diminished" about them (sometimes size, sometimes muscle, sometimes social presence), they tend to be cranky (see "diminished social presence"), and they're very, very good with crafts.
▲* [[Winterweir]]'s Bathas are evil sociopathic slavers but still live underground and have an interest in wealth. They also invent things.
▲* Dwarves in ''[[GURPS]]: Banestorm'' are a race of natural artificers and merchants. All adults have at least one point worth of [[Iconic Item|signature gear]].
▲** In the ''[[GURPS]]'' predecessor ''[[The Fantasy Trip]]'', dwarves are straight out of the Tolkienian mold. However, some details (mostly concerning dwarf women) are left unspecified, meaning that players will form [[House Rules|their own conclusions]].
▲* ''[[Burning Wheel]]'' not only plays straight dwarf stereotypes but even builds upon the tale of Moria from [[Lord of the Rings]] by working an attribute called "Greed" into the rule system: all dwarves are covetous. The higher a dwarf's Greed, the more likely they are to betray others, or even go [[Ax Crazy]], in the pursuit of possessing objects of high value and/or craftsmanship. They get bonuses to rolls done in the pursuit of wealth. However, if the Greed attribute reaches its maximum through indulgence of the vice the dwarf hides himself away with his hoard of goods in paranoid seclusion never to be seen again.
▲* The Jotun of ''[[New Horizon]]'' were once compared to dwarves, except being huge [[Insistent Terminology|wafans]] instead of short humans. [[Refuge in Audacity|Subsequently a group of dwarves raided the forum, decapitated the person who made the claim, and told everybody never to compare them to war machines again]].
===
* [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]'', epic predecessor and undoubted inspiration to Tolkien (the clue's in the title). His Nibelung dwarves are, true to their Norse roots, subterranean miners and metalcrafters. His dwarven brothers Alberich and Mime inspired the thieving dwarf Mîm who appears in ''The Silmarillion''.
** These legends of course [[Older Than You Think|all predate Wagner by a fair few centuries]].
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* While no actual dwarves, or any other conventional race, appear in the series, the Godom of [[Paladin's Quest]] certainly invoke this archetype. They're a subterrainian race who excell in weapon smithing and explosives, but are generaly bad at magic. Their appearance, on the otherhand, is anything but. They actually resemble large bipedal dinosaur, insect, ram... things.
===
* ''[[Twice Blessed]]'' has Vadim as a main character, who meets most dwarf stereotypes, but comes from a Russian-type culture and has a matching accent, drinks Vodka, uses the word "brother" in place of "laddie", and never seems to feel the need to point out that he is a dwarf.
* ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'' has recently added Dwarves to its array of races, and from their first appearance, we have bearded females, and a long-standing rivalry with ''[[Hobbits|Halflings]]''. Mostly over beer nowadays.
* [[The Dreamland Chronicles]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20120626072911/http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-12/ Just look at them]
=== Web Original ===
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== Franchises that customize the model ==
=== Anime and Manga ===
* Senshi from ''[[Delicious in Dungeon]]'' breaks the norm for dwarves, at least as far as he is concerned. Sure, he's a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] with a [[Badass Beard]] who [[An Axe to Grind| swings a mean axe]], but he has no skill in blacksmithing or mining (having difficulty even telling valuable ores apart) his specialties being cooking, hunting, and farming. This did cause other dwarves to regard him as something of an oddball.
=== Comic Books ===
* ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]'' Dwarves have optional beards on both sexes, no specific accents, aren't all short tempered and have plenty of non-miners, but otherwise fit the mold. A female Dwarf villain, G'nolga, insists that the beauty of dwarf women is legendary. While she and other dwarf females definitely don't look bad, one does wonder how much of this comes from her [[Hot Amazon|being acknowledged as one of the ten strongest fighters on the planet]].
* In ''[[Elf Quest]]'', even though they're called [[All Trolls Are Different|trolls]], they're identical in every way (except being green) to stereotypical Dwarves. However Two-Edge, a half-troll half-elf looks identical to a typical dwarf but is bat-shit insane.
* Dwarves of ''[[The Lands of Arran]]'' are short, resilient, strong, violent, often greedy, good at working stone and metal, don't like elves and orcs, have an orderly caste-based society (at least, theoretically) and their pantheon is more or less an abridged and cooperative [[Expy]] of the [[Norse Mythology|Norse]]. They have some berserkers (though obvious ones are exterminated, as a heretical legacy of a defeated old faith) and minor rune magic is common, but no other (at least, currently by "proper" dwarves). Then again, they as a rule don't live underground (though they mine a lot), consider an axe an improvised weapon or a substitute for those prohibited from possessing swords, and there are dwarven farmers, dragon riders, assassins and [[Magnificent Bastard]]s.
=== Film ===
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** Prior to Cataclysm, Dwarves mostly fit into the melee archetype, with their only available classes being physical damage dealers and tanks, with the exception of Priests and Holy Paladins. But after the expansion, Dwarves gained the ability to be Mages, Warlocks, and Shaman (explained in lore by the Wildhammer and Dark Iron clans joining Ironforge, with the Wildhammer teaching Shamanism and the Dark Iron bringing arcane and dark magic), making them the most versatile Alliance race (they can be everything but Druids), and make perfectly viable casters in addition to brawny melee and hunters, though their passive racial bonuses still favor melee more than magic.
* In ''[[Magical Starsign]]'', dwarves are basically [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|tiny balls of fluff]] who consist mainly of a beard with hands, feet, and beady little eyes. Not much is made of their physical prowess, but they're the best starship engineers in the galaxy.
* In [[Class of Heroes]], dwarves have the same typical culture of other dwarves, but they look [https://web.archive.org/web/20110706022111/http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/students-dwarf.html more like beastmen]. Or [[Furry Fandom|furries]].
* Even ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' doesn't stray from the path too far. Yes, their dwarves are [http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/7-Foot_Dwarf_%28Royale%29 7-Feet Tall], but other than that they act exactly the same as here.
* A few deviations by the dwarves in ''[[Dragon Age]]: Origins''. Dwarves speak with American (and Cockney in Bodahn's case) instead of Scottish accents, and are often mustachioed or even clean-shaven instead of bearded. In addition, dwarven alcohol is brewed from dirt and lichen and apparently tastes awful, to the extent that the one dwarven party member, Oghren, much prefers surfacer booze. Finally, dwarven women are readily distinguishable from the men and often quite attractive. They're also not especially honorable, or even fair, given one of the two remaining examples of their native society has many of them incredibly obsessed with status and rank. They still seem to take honor seriously, but if you can get away with poisoning or undermining rivals cleanly then they pretty much encourage it, similar to MANY cultures with strict honor codes and insular tendencies). In other regards, they play the trope dead straight, with a closed, insular, hidebound society (they have a rigid caste system); elaborately braided beards among the upper class; great underground halls; skill at mining and smithcraft; axes, hammers, and crossbows as their preferred (though not only) weapons, and heavy plate as their favored armor; squarish, angular motifs in their equipment and architecture; a fondness for ale; and so on and so forth.
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* The Dwarves of the old [[Might and Magic]] verse customized their dwarves by removing one of the traditional details: rather than hating elves, they were ''allies'' (up until Heroes IV). Well, except for [[Might and Magic]] VIII, but the Dark Dwarves of that game customized the model by being xenophobes to the point that no one is really sure if they are allies or servants of the Earth Elementals instead.
=== Web
* Dwarves in ''[[Tales of MU]]'' mostly follow the model, with a few additions. Their names have a Germanic flavor, they count in [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|base seven]], and while they seem like a [[One-Gender Race]], it's been explained that male and female dwarves just don't get along. The one full-blooded female dwarf who appeared was not described with a beard. MU dwarves have a strong disposition for secrecy and privacy, though the college-going ones are willing to make exceptions for attractive women of other races. One recurring minor character, Gebhard, shows a somewhat fussy and fastidious nature.▼
* [[Limyaael's Fantasy Rants|Limyaael]] suggests that customizing the model is a [http://limyaael.livejournal.com/137511.html really good idea].▼
* The dwarves in ''[[Arcana Magi]]'' are techno savvy. One dwarf is on the Board of Directors for Avalon Tech Enterprises as head of the metal works division. One dwarf works there in the technology department.▼
=== Webcomics ===▼
* ''[[Twice Blessed]]'' has Vadim as a main character, who meets most dwarf stereotypes, but comes from a Russian-type culture and has a matching accent, drinks Vodka, uses the word "brother" in place of "laddie", and never seems to feel the need to point out that he is a dwarf.
* ''[[Unforgotten Realms]]'' averts this about as far as is possible. ''Any'' character which isn't obviously another species is invariably a Dwarf. Probably the only character who even has a beard is Sir Schmoopy of Awesometon, one of the two main player characters.
* The Dwarves in ''[[Looking for Group]]'' are either [https://web.archive.org/web/20170706003958/http://www.lfg.co/page/4/ classic] axe-brandishing, hard working sort exceptionally skilled architects, blacksmiths, and sappers. Or [https://web.archive.org/web/20171013101349/http://www.lfg.co/page/221/ the other sort] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20171013102013/http://www.lfg.co/page/175/ Clan Breem] aka "Diggers") - evil, pierced punks wearing black leather [[Spikes of Villainy|with spikes]], who are very, very good at digging and artillery.
** And Pella is quite shapely and fan-servicey, not fat and dumpy like dwarven females are so often depicted as.
* Although we have not actually met any dwarves in ''[[Digger]]'', they seem to go at least a little off model - they apparently use large amounts of magic in the construction of their underground cities. Digger the wombat does not approve, as that magic tends to wear off after a while if not carefully maintained, leaving abandoned dwarf cities as veritable deathtraps.
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{{quote|'''Spirit Healer''': Dumbass.}}
* In ''[[Vanadys: Tales of a Fallen Goddess]]'', dwarfs (note the plural spelling) are the second most numerous race in the world next to humans, and live and work close to humans. The stereotypical dwarf is a keen businessman with a great talent for making money, and many human businesses employ a dwarf, or several, to handle their finances. Berrok, the main dwarf character in the comic, is a trenchcoat-clad [[Deadpan Snarker]] with a shady past.
▲* Dwarves in ''[[Tales of MU]]'' mostly follow the model, with a few additions. Their names have a Germanic flavor, they count in [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|base seven]], and while they seem like a [[One-Gender Race]], it's been explained that male and female dwarves just don't get along. The one full-blooded female dwarf who appeared was not described with a beard. MU dwarves have a strong disposition for secrecy and privacy, though the college-going ones are willing to make exceptions for attractive women of other races. One recurring minor character, Gebhard, shows a somewhat fussy and fastidious nature.
▲* [[Limyaael's Fantasy Rants|Limyaael]] suggests that customizing the model is a [http://limyaael.livejournal.com/137511.html really good idea].
▲* The dwarves in ''[[Arcana Magi]]'' are techno savvy. One dwarf is on the Board of Directors for Avalon Tech Enterprises as head of the metal works division. One dwarf works there in the technology department.
== Parodies and radically different versions ==
=== Anime and Manga ===
* It's becoming increasingly common in anime-derived art, including some video games, for female dwarves to be portrayed as cute young girls (often straying into [[Lolicon]] territory). Ymir from ''[[Queen's Blade]]'' is a prime example.
** ''[[Lineage II]]'' uses this
** The Japanese pen and paper RPG ''[[Sword World]]'' does this, with the female dwarves looking more like [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder|Gnomes]] than anything else.
* ''[[Slayers]]'': When Lina first meets Prince Philionel, she wonders whether this mountain of a man could be a dwarf - implying that dwarves in her world are not known for being short.
* ''[[Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?]]'' plays with the trope. Gareth, one of the three leaders of the Loki Familia (the most powerful adventuring group in Orario), is about as stereotypical a Dwarf as one can find. Mia, the owner of an inn, is tall, beardless, and obviously female... but still wants her patrons to order a lot so that she gets plenty of money, and can break a wooden bar with her fist.
* In ''[[One Piece]]'', dwarves seem more like traditional pixies or fairies, being [[Lilliputians]] in size, but each [[Super Strength| as strong as a giant.]] (In one notorious scene involving them, [[Ms. Fanservice| Robin]] was a victim of a [[Gulliver Tie Down]].) Most of them have cute, chibi-like features and only the oldest ones have beards. They also have long, furry tails. Natives of Totto Land (in the Dressrosa Arc), their skills unfortunately make them valued by slavers, having been a [[Slave Race]] in Dressrosa until being liberated via [[Big Bad|Donquixote Doflamingo]] being overthrown.
▲=== Card Games ===
* Matt Cavotta, art director for ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', wrote a column about the lack of dwarves in ''Magic''. He starts with the stereotypical red dwarf and changes it step by step into the ideal, red dwarf. Results are ... [http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mc14b interesting].▼
=== Literature ===
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*** The love of gold, of course, is very probably from the miner/craftsman aspect (especially since it is often compared to their love of iron) making things seem very recursive. The Dwarfs seem to have the tendency of being put in the place of any immigrant ethnic group whether black (in ''Soul Music'' they come up with "Rap" or "Rat" music) or Muslim (''Thud'') or yes, Jewish. Trolls on the other hand, seem to be just be sentient rocks.
**** Trolls and Dwarfs do share a tradition of "Hole Music".
** Dwarf women are also often seen - however, they are physically indistinguishable from male Dwarfs. This has had an
*** Exemplified by Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom of the Ankh-Morpork Watch, who "comes out" as a female, wearing leather skirts, high-heeled boots, and makeup, much to the chagrin of other dwarfs; but is never without her iron helmet, battleaxe, and ''beard''.
*** This undergoes a change during the novels - in ''[[Guards! Guards!]]'' it's mentioned that part of a dwarf courtship is carefully finding out which gender the other dwarf is, while in ''[[Raising Steam]]'' {{spoiler|the Low King announcing that she's female and thus the Low Queen}}, while important to the dwarfs concerned, is presented as a minor plot point.
** Being a dwarf also seems to be more a matter of certain actions and traditions than a biological thing, as Captain Carrot is technically a dwarf despite also being a nearly seven foot human.
*** Carrot's making a nature/nurture point - culturally he's a dwarf. He was raised as a dwarf, by dwarvern parents and went through all the normal process of growing up as a dwarf. He may not be as hardline dwarfish as the Deep Uberwald dwarves - mainly due to coming from a surface dwarf community near Lancre - but is still more dwarfish than many an Ankhmorpork city dwarf. He questions the relevance of being (genetically) human in the light of all this.
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* In the ''[[Dragaera]]'' novels written by Steven Brust, Easterners, who are identical to real-world humans, are sometimes called "dwarfs" by the tall, elf-like Dragaerans. Easterner society is based on medieval Eastern Europe rather than anything resembling Celtic or Nordic. The Serioli come a bit closer, living underground and forging powerful magical weapons, but are otherwise completely different.
===
* In ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]'', dwarves are always "male", are asexual, and are hatched in groups of 8, fully grown (and fully clothed) from ''eggs''. Their names are magically given to them by their pick-axes based on their personality, and it's their job as a species to crush diamonds into fairy dust.
▲* Matt Cavotta, art director for ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', wrote a column about the lack of dwarves in ''Magic''. He starts with the stereotypical red dwarf and changes it step by step into the ideal, red dwarf. Results are ... [http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mc14b interesting].
* ''[[Overlord]]'' deliberately exaggerates all dwarf stereotypes for comedic effect. Drinking, mining gold, hoarding gold, doing something altogether unsanitary to gold, sporting gigantic beards, wielding enormous axes, and harassing elves is basically their entire function. They have even less personality than the elves, which is impressive considering that the elves spend all their lives bewailing their lot and [[Our Elves Are Better|talking about how awesome they used to be]]. In fact, the only sound you get from a dwarf is a grunt. Followed by axe swing/flamethrower.▼
* Aside from alcoholism and beards, ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' lets you play them however you want.▼
* The Ura of ''[[Bastion]]'' are an odd combination of dwarves and [[Wutai]].▼
* ''[[Shadow Hearts|Shadow Hearts: Covenant]]'' features a monster called [http://shadowhearts.wikia.com/wiki/Duergar Duergar] <ref>Duergar is the Norse name for dwarves</ref> that was once a stereotypical Dwarf but his hatred of humankind warped him into a creature resembling a bug-eyed alien of some sorts.▼
* '' [[Valhalla Knights]]'' Have Dwarves who are tall and have somewhat dark skin, they also have alot of Markings/Tattoos and the males don't sseem to have anything more then a goatee if even that. According to the manual, although the Males are still stereotypical Bruisers, Females have increased intelligence and resistance, which is lead to believe they can be farily good spell casters, although they are still great front liners (which when you think about it, means they'd probably be the least 'Squishy' Spellcaster.). They also don't appear to have any issues with Elves.▼
===
* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' -- [[Lampshade Hanging|
** Also, Durkon gets along about as well as anyone does with their resident elven [[Insufferable Genius]], Vaarsuvius. He is, however, deathly afraid of trees.
* In ''[[DM of the Rings]]'', Gimli brings up the characteristic of dwarves. Aragorn, Legolas, and the DM mention a handful of other things than what he meant.
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* It may be difficult to find these days, but an old Gamespy comedy feature article were two writers comparing various things (like sorcerers versus warriors) and once, [[Elves vs. Dwarves]] came up. They pointed out that there are many different depictions of elves, but dwarves tend to all be the same.
* In ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825172633/http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00729.html dwarves] are practically blind, their toes are prehensile, and their beards are actually a thick coat of fur sprouting out of their chests
▲=== Video Games ===
▲* ''[[Overlord]]'' deliberately exaggerates all dwarf stereotypes for comedic effect. Drinking, mining gold, hoarding gold, doing something altogether unsanitary to gold, sporting gigantic beards, wielding enormous axes, and harassing elves is basically their entire function. They have even less personality than the elves, which is impressive considering that the elves spend all their lives bewailing their lot and [[Our Elves Are Better|talking about how awesome they used to be]]. In fact, the only sound you get from a dwarf is a grunt. Followed by axe swing/flamethrower.
▲* Aside from alcoholism and beards, ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' lets you play them however you want.
▲* The Ura of ''[[Bastion]]'' are an odd combination of dwarves and [[Wutai]].
▲* ''[[Shadow Hearts|Shadow Hearts: Covenant]]'' features a monster called [http://shadowhearts.wikia.com/wiki/Duergar Duergar] <ref>Duergar is the Norse name for dwarves</ref> that was once a stereotypical Dwarf but his hatred of humankind warped him into a creature resembling a bug-eyed alien of some sorts.
▲* '' [[Valhalla Knights]]'' Have Dwarves who are tall and have somewhat dark skin, they also have alot of Markings/Tattoos and the males don't sseem to have anything more then a goatee if even that. According to the manual, although the Males are still stereotypical Bruisers, Females have increased intelligence and resistance, which is lead to believe they can be farily good spell casters, although they are still great front liners (which when you think about it, means they'd probably be the least 'Squishy' Spellcaster.). They also don't appear to have any issues with Elves.
=== Western Animation ===
* ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
** "Release the GIANT ONE-EYED DWARF!"
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Our Monsters Are Different]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
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[[Category:Fairy Tale Tropes]]
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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