How the heck do Humans survive in fantasy worlds?

[Hainted]

I actually brought this up in a post when I first joined, Legendary Sidekick. That if other sapient races existed beside humans, they would be as culturally, and ethnically diverse as humanity. The White Hat/Black Hat attitude towards other races didn't make sense to me anymore. I was accused of everything from destroying the uniqueness of the various races to being a liberal pushing a multi-cultural agenda to being told that other races could only be a certain culture and skin tone.

 

[wordwalker]

Come to think of it, if other races have proper diversity, doesn't that mean that not all dwarves can hammer iron with their stoic chins? Each race might like to talk as if they all share their iconic strengths, and the heroes we notice among them might have them, but it's not quite as true.

In some worlds, anyway. In others they might be less diverse, or just better but slower-breeding, or be like Tolkien elves that really Are Just Better but being written out of the story by fate.

 

[Ireth]

I like breaking stereotypes with my races. The Fae are caricatured as being cruel to humans, fiercely protective of their forests, and prone to infighting with each other. To an extent that is true, but the hero of Tenth Realm learns to move past that (well mostly), and make alliances with humans even past the necessity of imminent war, as well as asking forgiveness of those he tormented in the past. He is still protective of the forest, though. Some things never change.

Likewise, in the same story, the black-elves are regarded much the same as orcs are in a lot of fiction -- brutish, warlike, uncivilized, machines of pure destruction. Some are indeed like that, but I also have those who rebel against their mistress in the hopes of gaining a better life, and those who just want to raise their families in peace without being drafted into war. In short, my fantasy races are as diverse as my humans, as far as personalities go.