EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
Certainly, but we can turn this logic around as well. Primordial and partly- or fully-reptilian non-humans fit several mythic archetypes as well, like the Mesopotamian Annunaki, the Chinese Dragon Kings, the Lamia/Naga, the Avestan Zahhak, Typhon and Echida (the parents of a vast class of Greco-Roman monster beings), Quetzalcoatl, etc.Here’s a thought: Elves and dwarves fit several mythic archetypes. For example, as presented as Eloise and morlocks by Wells. And as ancient elder race, say, Atlanteans, or Hyperboreand. One can point to LotR, but that seems to popularize widely used and long standing tropes. LotR is successful, in part, because of the prior existence and widespread familiarity of those tropes.
Be safe, be well,
Tom Bitonti
"Dragon" exists as such a prominent archetype because prominent cultures in every region populated by humans have featured some kind of being that meets the loose standard of reptilian and unquestionably powerful. And several of those cultures have included at least some method by which those beings connect to humans or, quite often, are the progenitors of some group of humans, often royalty or dynasties.
Dragon-people have become as popular as they have because dragon-people are such a well-described and widespread concept, yet one that was (until relatively recently) very poorly-served by the options available.
I'd like to know what other (that is, non-Northern-European) cultures you would say dwarves-as-depicted-in-D&D are linked to, though. One of the common criticisms, as shown in the "what people actually play" thread, is that they're actually pretty limited in the archetypes they touch on, unlike elves (which are consistently much more popular.)