The minion’s peeves:

1. Dwarves were originally the forger of great weapons. They forged weapons for the Norse gods in many cases. So tell me, why is it we don’t see much in terms of dwarves weapons in fantasy, yet see so many elven weapons? Elven wood weapons would be better, because they live in trees*, and dwarves would build metal weapons better because they live underground, in mines, where we get metal. Sure, elf blades are cool looking, but they should not be considered half as reliable as dwarf weapons.

2. We need main characters who are dwarves. I’m not talking about part of the main supporting cast, I’m speaking of MAIN characters in a story, the people we follow around a greater majority of the time.

3. Half dwarves. We need more half dwarves. If people are willing to… marry dragons and make babies with them, dwarves should be NO problem.

4. We need less Gimli walking around. I see so many dwarves and hear their histories and think, “Hey, look, they drafted Gimli again.” Gimli has turned into the Darth Vader of races: while nice to see every once in a while, done well, and well respected for the original, it gets tiring see them over and over again.

The Minion’s praise:

1. Dwarven armor ROCKS**. It looks sturdy, and it covers most everything.

2. They actually make economic sense. Metal is in heavy demand, and they’re usually heavily into trade. They get the resources they need from others, in exchange for them getting them ore.

3. Dwarves are usually portrayed as carnivores. The minion personally likes it a lot since she is also a carnivore, and wants to see more “good“ meat eaters.

4. Beards! Beards are great, because they’re pretty, they symbolize manhood in the minion’s mind, and they keep your face warm. More fantasy races need a good beard.

*Slight exaggeration in many cases here.

**Pun intended.

Anyway, while we're on the subject of dwarves... Why do we hear about there being bearded female dwarves, yet never see any? Every fighter, every ruler, every major dwarf character you see is male. With the large number of male dwarves vs. the number of female dwarves out there, it's a surprise that the species survives!

Girlbrainiac

But, yeah, I don't think I've EVER seen a female dwarf. Not any I remember.

Girlbrainiac

First, I'll quote you something that the makers of D&D have announced about the upcoming 4th edition races (I mention it because D&D is the inspiration, for better or worse, for many authors). This is in regards to the discussion on dwarf women.

"(In the days of 1st edition D&D) people argued over whether dwarf women had beards. ... Remarks by early D&D creators,... sparked fanbase suspicions concerning the apparent absence of female dwarves in Tolkien, despite the fact that they were said to be on the scene. Did female dwarves grow beards and move unremarked among dwarf males? Did female dwarves have to shave? Et Tedious Cetera. ...we're eight years into (developing 4th edition D&D) and Bill O'Conner has gifted us with a magnificent new look for dwarf women. Strong, sensual, earthy and feminine, with an exotic beauty that no one would think to splash a beard on. Questions of dwarven female beauty have been buried once and for all."

Looks like they're trying to break away from the hairy dwarf woman stereotype.

Additionally, I love dwarves, especially when they're different. In Dragonlance, there's a dwarf that shows up in only one chapter, but I would have loved to have heard his story. Why? Because he was a dwarf thief (Smasher from War of the Twins, check him out) in a society where all the dwarves and their dogs were honest-to-god warriors with nothing but axes and hammers. I love taking the Gimli stereotype and twisting it.

One example of such a twist is (sorry, this is from D&D, but I loved the character so much, I want to write him into a story) I made a dwarf and DIDN'T give him a scottish accent. Instead, I gave him a thick russian accent and made it that he didn't speak 'common' so well, so he kept misunderstanding the people around him, which would complicate drab adventures into interesting encounters.

What are some other ways that you've found to make dwarves more interesting than just 'I live underground, kill things with my axe, covet money and always drink ale'?

(Sad news for DnD players: Gary Gygax died March 4th, this year.)

A few odd traits to add to your dwarves:

Maybe let them mine with diffrent techniques of mining. Ever seen a dwarf use open-pit mining or borehole mining?

How about trying a few diffrent addictions? A gambling addicted dwarf? How about a dwarf with a food addiction? A dwarf with a shopping addiction could be an interesting sight.

Maybe trying a diffrent style of beard for your dwarves. Ever seen a dwarf with a Van ** beard?

Why not give your dwarves somewhere else to live than the mining shafts? I garintee you won't have dwarves in mountians if they find themselves in the artic or on an island.

I'd go on with a few more suggestions, but they start getting out of teen rated fantasy.

Actually, I've never thought of writing a female drawf but it's something I'd quite like to do. At the moment I'm trying to incorporate creatures and genders not used so much (e.g. I wrote a female goblin which I enjoyed).

~Marie Silver~

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