Dwarves don't sell novels
- Thread starter heirodule
- Start date
TarionzCousin
Second Most Angelic Devil Ever
Includes a Definition of "Dwarfish"
I forced myself to read Evermeet: Island of the Elves from cover to cover because I had a player in my game whose character was from there.
Ouch.
I like elves just fine, but....that novel hurt my brain.
In other news, I would think that more of the typical gamers identify with Dwarves than elves. Isn't the stereotypical gamer rather, um, dwarfish?
Dwarfish: dwar-fish, adjective. stocky or round, with facial hair and a predisposition for beer and snack food.
I forced myself to read Evermeet: Island of the Elves from cover to cover because I had a player in my game whose character was from there.
Ouch.
I like elves just fine, but....that novel hurt my brain.
In other news, I would think that more of the typical gamers identify with Dwarves than elves. Isn't the stereotypical gamer rather, um, dwarfish?
Dwarfish: dwar-fish, adjective. stocky or round, with facial hair and a predisposition for beer and snack food.
Herobizkit
Adventurer
Here's a thought:
If Dwarves were more like Klingons than your typical hole-diggin', liquor-chiggin', stuff-makin', orc-breakin', dour and taciturn sour-pusses, people MIGHT enjoy Dwarves a little more. At least... *I* would.
But Dwarves "as is" have been given a very narrow niche in fantasy "reality", and it's very very difficult to make that niche interesting.
I've made a few attempts IMC. For example, the favoured class (if you must) of Dwarves is Barbarian, and they're essentially Vikings, but shorter. They love to build ships, raid, pillage, loot, and drag home slaves and wenches for slaving and wenching. They're pirates, but worse. They still drink, make stuff, and seem to work endlessly... until they come across some worthwhile loot, after which they drink, break stuff, and sing endlessly.
If Dwarves were more like Klingons than your typical hole-diggin', liquor-chiggin', stuff-makin', orc-breakin', dour and taciturn sour-pusses, people MIGHT enjoy Dwarves a little more. At least... *I* would.
But Dwarves "as is" have been given a very narrow niche in fantasy "reality", and it's very very difficult to make that niche interesting.
I've made a few attempts IMC. For example, the favoured class (if you must) of Dwarves is Barbarian, and they're essentially Vikings, but shorter. They love to build ships, raid, pillage, loot, and drag home slaves and wenches for slaving and wenching. They're pirates, but worse. They still drink, make stuff, and seem to work endlessly... until they come across some worthwhile loot, after which they drink, break stuff, and sing endlessly.
Hammerhead
Explorer
Two words, my friends: Wulf. Ratbane. 
He didn't start the fire. It was always burnin' when the world was turnin'. IOW, he just popularized elves like nobody else before him by writing the most popular fantasy novel of all time.
Personally, I just wish the bookstores wouldn't stock 8 copies each of 15 different versions of the LOTR novels, thus leaving more room for the OTHER classic fantasy novels and newcomer novels of quality.
Oh, and for the record- I don't read ANY game related novels. If a novel inspired by a RPG campaign setting, I leave it on the shelves. There's simply too much good, original stuff to read for me to bother reading the works of those writing in a game world.
trancejeremy
Adventurer
<shudder> Billy Joel
But yeah, Elves are basically a part of folklore. And beyond that, the D&D/LOTR style elf (at least Grey) owes a whole to The Faerie Queen
But yeah, Elves are basically a part of folklore. And beyond that, the D&D/LOTR style elf (at least Grey) owes a whole to The Faerie Queen
Graf
Explorer
Generally the target demographic for mass market paperbacks is the sort of person who wants to read about an "angelic" (i.e. flawless) main character.
The reason why gamers like dwarves is that they have negative traits that are positive from a moral stanpoint (i.e. honorable) along with traits that are just useful for DnD (i.e. greedy when the game is about wealth accumulation).
Elven traits are generally "i'm perfect!" or something similar. In Wyatt's book (Claws of the Tiger?) it seeemed like just being an elf or having elf blood gave +5 - +10 to spot checks.
Since the game is balanced now that wouldn't be something a character would normally receive for an ELC +0 race but it seems like a requirement for WotC novels.
Since books about perfect elves (i.e. Drizzt) have been best sellers WotC seems to feel compelled to keep up the trend.
The reason why gamers like dwarves is that they have negative traits that are positive from a moral stanpoint (i.e. honorable) along with traits that are just useful for DnD (i.e. greedy when the game is about wealth accumulation).
Elven traits are generally "i'm perfect!" or something similar. In Wyatt's book (Claws of the Tiger?) it seeemed like just being an elf or having elf blood gave +5 - +10 to spot checks.
Since the game is balanced now that wouldn't be something a character would normally receive for an ELC +0 race but it seems like a requirement for WotC novels.
Since books about perfect elves (i.e. Drizzt) have been best sellers WotC seems to feel compelled to keep up the trend.
Similar Threads
