WooHooMan
Auror
Hey, serious question: how much of the dwarven mythos (for lack of a better term) is tied to elves?
Because, Tolkien undoubtedly was more focused on elves and I’d assume d&d started with their elves before getting to their dwarves.
And then Scandinavia dwarves were a type of elves, initially.
So I kind of wonder if the dwarves being a yang to the elves’ yin is a vital aspect of their mythology.
Like, I’m willing to bet most (though maybe not all) the writers who have dwarves in their settings also have elves. And those elves are, intentionally or not, counterparts to the dwarves.
Even the one time I used dwarves, I still had elves who acted as something of a contrast with elves acting as mountain-dwelling isolationist mystics and the dwarves acting as plain-dwelling cosmopolitan craftsmen.
Because, Tolkien undoubtedly was more focused on elves and I’d assume d&d started with their elves before getting to their dwarves.
And then Scandinavia dwarves were a type of elves, initially.
So I kind of wonder if the dwarves being a yang to the elves’ yin is a vital aspect of their mythology.
Like, I’m willing to bet most (though maybe not all) the writers who have dwarves in their settings also have elves. And those elves are, intentionally or not, counterparts to the dwarves.
Even the one time I used dwarves, I still had elves who acted as something of a contrast with elves acting as mountain-dwelling isolationist mystics and the dwarves acting as plain-dwelling cosmopolitan craftsmen.