I don't mean to offend anyone, this being my first post and all. (I'll save that for at least my fifth.) But I'm curious about why, when given the ability to create all manner of new fantasy races, so many people re-imagine Tolkein's creations. (Of course, Tolkein didn't invent elves and dwarves, but the versions of those in most modern fantasy seem to mirror Tolkein's versions of them far more closely than the mythical versions.)