Dwarven Stereotypes

[Woot Spitum]

I was was wondering, am I the only one who's getting sick of the comic, beer-swilling, voiced by Scotty from Star Trek dwarves that seem to be the staple of the fantasy genre (including everything related to D&D) nowadays? I really miss the more serious dwarves from Tolkien. Granted, some of them (like Bombur) were occasionaly comical, but nothing like most dwarves today (or the movie version of Gimli). I'd like to hear anyone's ideas on dwarves that are somewhat different from the norm (and not just evil dwarves, I already know all about deurgar and derro). I'll even accept comic ideas, as long as they're different (my own idea is dwarves with english accents as in : "All right lads, we may have drawn bit of a nasty assignment, but the sooner we can take down this dragon, the sooner we can have tea!").

[Fax Celestis]

British dwarves is highly comedic. Good job.

Making them Minnesotan or Bostonian is a favorite trick of mine too.

EDIT: Or Georgian. Something about a Dwarf saying, "Y'all" is amusing to me.

[Telonius]

Most of the Dwarves I've seen played either have Scottish or Scandinavian accents. I do have this crazy notion of a Pittsburgh-accent dwarf that I may spring on my DM one of these days...

[Indoril]

I played a Dwarf with a French accent once. It was like eating cereal from a plate.

[Fax Celestis]

I played a Dwarf with a French accent once. It was like eating cereal from a plate.

"Oui, oui, monsieur, zees armour, it ees tre magnifique." *pop* "Now, monsieur, pass zee ale."

[The_Snark]

On these boards, I played a French dwarf at one point. Worked out pretty well, really.

A Russian accent also works well, particularly if your dwarves are a little more secretive and less up-front-chivalrous than the standard D&D dwarf.

Edit- Simu'ed!

[Runolfr]

While I'm fond of the Scottish accent, my dwarves aren't comical. They will have a drink when it suits them, but they don't swill. I also think dwarves should be wizards, frequently; Norse mythology is full of dwarf wizards and illusionists.

[Woot Spitum]

While I'm fond of the Scottish accent, my dwarves aren't comical. They will have a drink when it suits them, but they don't swill. I also think dwarves should be wizards, frequently; Norse mythology is full of dwarf wizards and illusionists.

That's fine by me. What really cheeses me off is the idea that you can get a dwarf to do anything as long as you add the phrase "Hooray beer!" to the end of it.

[Matthew]

I think just about everyone exposed to the Dwarf stereotype gets sick of it at some point. It is nothing to worry about, really, unless you are constantly encountering them during your game.

[Lord Iames Osari]

How about Russian/German dwarves?

[Woot Spitum]

How about Russian/German dwarves?

Hmm...very lawful, structured societies, strong martial tradition, facial hair is popular, I think Russian/German dwarves would work quite well.

[Thomas]

On these boards, I played a French dwarf at one point. Worked out pretty well, really.

A Russian accent also works well, particularly if your dwarves are a little more secretive and less up-front-chivalrous than the standard D&D dwarf.

Wow, that's some negative stereotype about Russians.

Are you Finnish too?


I think Tolkien's dwarves are too dang cheery. I mean, look at the bunch of singing, bumbling buggers in the Hobbit. Gloranthan dwarves literally think they are cogs in a machine. And they have firearms and explosives in a world where no one else does, and they reproduce in vitro (or in vats, to be precise). And they think humans and the like are fit for slavery, at most, and generally must be exterminated before they damage the Great World Machine any more...


Edit: German dwarves seem perfect. After all, one of the most classic dwarf races - the Nibelungs - is Germanic. (Of course the Nibelungenlied is a rewriting of the Volsunga Saga, but hey...)

My dwarves don't have accents.

[Fax Celestis]

Wow, that's some negative stereotype about Russians.

Are you Finnish too?


I think Tolkien's dwarves are too dang cheery. I mean, look at the bunch of singing, bumbling buggers in the Hobbit. Gloranthan dwarves literally think they are cogs in a machine. And they have firearms and explosives in a world where no one else does, and they reproduce in vitro (or in vats, to be precise). And they think humans and the like are fit for slavery, at most, and generally must be exterminated before they damage the Great World Machine any more...

...in vatro?

[Sulecrist]

Or Jewish.

I mean it in the most respectful way, but one of my favorite characters was a Dwarven Cleric played like [pretty much everybody from Fiddler on the Roof].

EDIT: To explain: he was very honor-bound by lineage and heritage; he quoted the Book of Moradin on everything; he preferred long-winded negotiation to violence; he joked, but reverently; he spent hours each day working on his home and garden, and he drove a little cart.

I think I'm going to bring him back.

[TimeWizard]

Most of my country role playing depends on class. Fighters are German, Barbarians are Russian (felt better then vikings), Wizards are British,
Rogues are usually slum based, and Cleric's are usually American, only because I'm American and it felt normal.

[Thomas]

Hmm...very lawful, structured societies, strong martial tradition, facial hair is popular, I think Russian/German dwarves would work quite well.

Er... are you talking about Germany or Russia? Because I can't see how that applise to either country, really. Germany a bit, maybe, but...

The Russian military tradition mostly consisted of forced conscription in any great wars they've been in the last century, and the modern Russian army is a collection of human rights violations (the hazing of new recruits regularly leads to "accidental" deaths), under-trained men, and equipment that doesn't work (no money to repair it). The Russian bureaucracy is one of the most corrupt in Europe, and the country is anything but lawful...

I'd say the British fit your description - structured society, martial tradition, facial hair - much better.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

My absolute favorite dwarf PC was convinced that he was just a short and stocky human. He tried to fit in with human civilization by acting like every obnoxious Hollywood/American pop culture stereotype you can imagine. "Yo dudes, le's go get us some lamb burgers in this grill dawg. Guys? C'mon, I'm down with it!"

It was awesome.

[Woot Spitum]

If you think Tolkien's dwarves are bad, you should see Salvatore's dwarves. They don't simply make holy water that resembles beer, their holy water IS beer.

[The_Snark]

Wow, that's some negative stereotype about Russians.

Are you Finnish too?

Heh, no. Didn't mean it to come across that way, though I can see how it might. But it's one of the few accents that works that way; French, British, and of course Scottish all come across as comical. I'm envisioning these dwarves as reclusive and maybe a little xenophobic, but very knowledgeable. Like an intimidating professor. The accent just happens to work well for it, as long as it's a subtle accent.

Actually, it just occurred to me: why do dwarves have to have an accent at all? Most people don't picture elves as having a particular accent or manner of speech, and most of the other races get off pretty lightly, with just a few typical and mostly made-up manners of speech. Why are dwarves stuck so universally with real-world accents? Unless every race corresponds to a real-world accent, which is fine, there's no reason they should be more strongly accented.

[Thomas]

Like I said, my dwarves have no accent. I haven't any clue where the idea of dwarves with Scottish accents can actually be traced to. (And I've got no clue where there's ever been a dwarf with a Nordic accent. A British friend of mine opined that the Swedish accent on English sounds... well, "camp"... Finns have been saying that for as long as I've lived. Danish just sounds like speaking Swedish with a whole hot potato in your mouth, and Norwegian's little different from both...)

[Fhaolan]

In my campaign, the dwarven culture is highly lawful. So lawful in fact they have no government recognizable to a non-dwarf. Everything is dictated by custom and tradition. EVERYTHING. The closest thing to a government are the dwarves who keep track of all the customs and traditions that dwarves follow, just so nobody forgets one. If a dwarf acts in such a way that is contrary to custom and tradition, the nearest dwarves will act almost automatically to correct the miscreant, using whatever punishment that is customary and traditional. :)

In the current party I'm DMing for, there is a Dwarven cleric of a god of good-natured Trickery and Travel who had fled from his homelands for obvious reasons. The party had to travel incognito through a dwarven area, and the character was in constant panic trying to keep the party from accidentally triggering a 'custom and tradition' event.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

That's absolute brilliance. I commend you.

[vbushido]

Perhaps the reason so many people do use Scottish or Germanic accents for dwarves is because it's hard to imagine beings so short and stout having light, dainty voices. Once they pick up the accent, other cultural markers follow. Scots aren't light drinkers and their idea of "manly games" many others find "insanely Darwinian." (Let's spin in a circle and toss a hefty metal object as far as we can and hope we aimed correctly. Let's toss telephone poles for fun. I think the safest sport they invented was golf.) Any group whose males run about a good part of the year with the manly bits exposed to the elements leaves me wondering how they've survived to reproduce. Scotland is cold.

-----
Morning people are respected--night people are feared

[Thomas]

I wouldn't say there's anything particularly "heavy" about Scottish or Germanic accents. Maybe one rarely hears women using them on American TV or something, though...

If I had to pick a coarse language for broody folk who dwell in near-constant darkness, consume copious amounts of alcohol, and think violence is a great pastime... Finnish, definitely.

And Scotland can't be cold. Misty and drizzly, maybe, but it's far too south to be cold. The northernmost tip doesn't even reach the latitude of Helsinki...

[Sulecrist]

Perhaps the reason so many people do use Scottish or Germanic accents for dwarves is because it's hard to imagine beings so short and stout having light, dainty voices. Once they pick up the accent, other cultural markers follow. Scots aren't light drinkers and their idea of "manly games" many others find "insanely Darwinian." (Let's spin in a circle and toss a hefty metal object as far as we can and hope we aimed correctly. Let's toss telephone poles for fun. I think the safest sport they invented was golf.) Any group whose males run about a good part of the year with the manly bits exposed to the elements leaves me wondering how they've survived to reproduce. Scotland is cold.

It's funny, because when I was living there (playing among other things D&D) even the Scottish players faked an even more Scottish accent for the dwarves, and mocked us foreigners in-character and out for trying to "imitate" them.

Man, I wanna go back. It toughened me up.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

He's American. The entirety of the United States is further south then even all of England. The only exception to this is Alaska, which he's not from either and very few Americans see.

So, Scotland is crazy cold to us.

[Rei_Jin]

The reason for me that all Dwarves are Scottish is that all Elves are English. Those two had a fierce rivalry going for a very, very long time, and I don't think it's blown over yet.

That, and I like Scotland.

[The_Snark]

I wouldn't say there's anything particularly "heavy" about Scottish or Germanic accents. Maybe one rarely hears women using them on American TV or something, though...

If I had to pick a coarse language for broody folk who dwell in near-constant darkness, consume copious amounts of alcohol, and think violence is a great pastime... Finnish, definitely.

And Scotland can't be cold. Misty and drizzly, maybe, but it's far too south to be cold. The northernmost tip doesn't even reach the latitude of Helsinki...

Real German and Scottish accents usually aren't all that heavy, no. The accents most frequently applied to dwarves are almost always on the heavy end of the spectrum, and sometimes well past it.

And speaking as an American, I'd say the reason that most of us don't have Finnish dwarves is that we couldn't imitate the accent to save our lives.

Scotland isn't cold, just rainy or foggy. I liked that about it, actually.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Oh sure, beautiful country.

But for a US Virginian, it was like walking into a freezer.

[Thomas]

And speaking as an American, I'd say the reason that most of us don't have Finnish dwarves is that we couldn't imitate the accent to save our lives.

No wonder. It'd require the ability to pronounce Finnish (the differences in pronounciation are very fundamental), and then applying that pronounciation to English, which renders the words spoken pretty much unintelligible...

Drunk, moody dwarves who no one can understand. What's not to like?