Fantasy Racial Stereotypes

[Tonguez]

Hey great picture of a Dwarf

 

[wingsandsword]

I think that the "tinker gnome" stereotype of Gnomes being mad scientists with horribly unsafe inventions became popular for one obvious reason.

It was the first real identity gnomes had.

Gnomes were thrown into D&D, but without anything really to make them different from other races, especially halflings and dwarves. Tinker Gnomes were the first really popular and distinct take on gnomes, that didn't make them just another slightly different form of dwarf, or an underground breed of halfling.

Tinker gnomes also were a nice way for us 20th century types to introduce technological concepts that seem logical to us (in small amounts), but don't fit in a historically accurate setting (but if you're introducing fantasy creatures and magic, historical accuracy already goes out the window). Since most of the nonhuman fantasy races are notoriously serious (haughty elves, dour dwarves, angry orcs ect.), somewhat silly Gnomes (with the funny spelling of their gname) provide a built-in comic relief (which is good when taken in moderation).

 

[shilsen]

I use them heavily as a DM.

I leave it to the players if they want to break the mold or not. They usually do.

edit: although my stereotypical half-orc barbarian/cleric is a BLAST to play!

Interesting. I have almost exactly the opposite. My players will often pick sterotypical characters and definitely have stereotypes in mind when they meet NPCs, and usually are treated with great disdain when they air their narrow little prejudices Even though the fantasy races don't have as much diversity as humans, they have enough and are aware of the stereotpes enough for anyone assuming all dwarves are militaristic, alcoholic scotsmen to run into trouble.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

The difficulty with "realistic", "subtle", or "non-stereotypical" portrayal of non-human races is that we are all working from a our understanding of human psychology and motivations when we portray them. (And, judging by the number of wierd romance plots mentioned by people on the boards, we tend to draw from a rather narrow range of post-modern, western human cultures and motivations when it comes to sex--as if it were impossible to imagine anything else). If I decide to play a "non-stereotypical" dwarf who likes the outdoors and animals, rides a horse, and uses a bow--in other words, a mongol-based dwarf--what is it that makes him a dwarf? He's a short, stocky mongol with a con bonus who uses a waraxe. Similarly, if I decide to play my elf as an Inuit, the only things that distinguish him from a human Inuit are his pointy ears and dex bonus (and his sword/bow proficiencies I guess). The stereotypes are the narrow ranges of human behavior and culture that we have assigned to particular D&D races. Departing from those doesn't make the other races more "realistic"; it just robs them of their defining characteristics unless the DM develops a different cultural stereotype and people use that instead.

If that gets boring, my own suggestion would be to try playing in a world without demi-humans for a while and just develop realistic human cultures in their place. (Though maybe people will be more comfortable attacking the orc brigands who sacrifice people to their dark gods than the human barbarians who act in exactly the same manner).

 

[I'm A Banana]

Elves are effette, prancy, nancing anarchic altered-state hippies who'd rather compose poetry about a dragon than kill it, and who can't take a real man's drink. Even their men are women.

Dwarves are dirty, rude, brutish people who feel that dancing and singing and enjoying oneself are the worst sorts of sin.

Gnomes are unhinged mad scientists who defile the natural order and corrupt everything they touch. They think they're funny, they really aren't. They're just mad.

Halflings are untrustworthy theives, the dregs of society, dirty and unkempt, lazy and heavily accented.

 

[Sejs]

Helps to explain the pointed ears

Orcish ears are generally described as being more triangular, like an animal's ears, than the dainty-point elf type. More animalistic ears = more ferocious seeming.

...the theory of "corrupted elves"

Tolkienism. Havn't heard of orcs being elves from anywhere else, really.

...the beards

Real men don't shave! They're too busy doing manly things like hitting things with other things, punching their friends, or taking the lids off jars for the womenfolks. Men who've got time to shave are nancies.

...the kilts

Most of the time I've seen orcs in kilts is when they're fully armored. Armored skirts are a big practicality plus - keeps you from being hamstrung and doesn't interfere with running the same way a pair of armored trousers would.

...the predilection for axes.

That's because a good axe is all strength, no finesse. Finesse is for warriors who want to be able to get by, but just arn't strong enough. Like elves. Those noodle-wristed pidgeon chested little glade prancers, with their rapiers and their thinblades. Pfeh! Ya look at the things sideways and they break.

Also helps explain why they hate and are hated by both races.

Because both dwarves and elves are nosy bastards who can't keep their minds on their own buisness.