D&D General What is the appeal of Tolkien fantasy races?

[Oofta]

Which answers the original question. Those races are popular amongst people with that cultural background because they are significant to people with that cultural background. There is nothing mysterious going on.

I've never said otherwise.

 

[demonsquidgod]

This thread sure has been a wild ride. The answer that that the appeal of elves and dwarves is a nostalgic desire to recreate the lord of the rings, is in retrospect so obvious as to make me wonder why I ever asked the question, yet so many of these comments are baffling counterintuitive.

It would seem obvious to me that "I'm a dwarf like that book with dwarves" requires far less creativity and role playing than another more interesting race yet their defenders seem to have the opposite idea. Meanwhile many Tolkien fans seem to question the universality of ak animal person ignoring the fact that almost everyone knows for example what a cat acts like and could thus easily extrapolate that to a cat person.

 

[Scribe]

Mythology and local stories.

Such as? When we are talking about tropes, local stories (meaning what, a city? A province? What is local?) we are talking about things which transcend personal experience and are more generally known to provide a framework of general understanding.

Meanwhile many Tolkien fans seem to question the universality of ak animal person ignoring the fact that almost everyone knows for example what a cat acts like and could thus easily extrapolate that to a cat person.

Cat People are just Cats??

The argument is that Animal People, have tropes that are just their animal behaviors on a humanoid?

Whats a Dragonkin's Tropes? Teifling?

Honestly, asking, as that (to bring it back to the OP) is the appeal of 'Tolkien Races'. They are an established point of grounding, that near anyone who has dipped their toes into fantasy at any level, understand. It improves the shared experience, and provides a sense of world building that has already been done, while providing a coherent framework.

Dragonkin and the rest? Don't have nearly the same impact.

 

[Oofta]

This thread sure has been a wild ride. The answer that that the appeal of elves and dwarves is a nostalgic desire to recreate the lord of the rings, is in retrospect so obvious as to make me wonder why I ever asked the question, yet so many of these comments are baffling counterintuitive.

It would seem obvious to me that "I'm a dwarf like that book with dwarves" requires far less creativity and role playing than another more interesting race yet their defenders seem to have the opposite idea. Meanwhile many Tolkien fans seem to question the universality of ak animal person ignoring the fact that almost everyone knows for example what a cat acts like and could thus easily extrapolate that to a cat person.

I would say it's more than just Tolkien. An entire generation of novelists and game designers were influenced by Tolkien and D&D. Which leads to a feedback loop.

Cats are the exception to the general rule but even then you only have minimal behavioral characteristics, but what would their culture look like? Where's the widespread, easily recognized artwork depicting where anthropomorphic cat people live? For that matter, where do they live? Different people will come up with different answers which is not wrong, but not as appealing to some people.

 

[zarionofarabel]

What's a Teifling? Are Dragonkin like Puff the Magic Dragon? Do all Tortles eat pizza and ride skateboards?

 

[Minigiant]

Such as? When we are talking about tropes, local stories (meaning what, a city? A province? What is local?) we are talking about things which transcend personal experience and are more generally known to provide a framework of general understanding.

Stories and myths outside of Scandinavia, Germany, and the British Isles
You have spiderpeople in West Africa. Nonmonstrous Nonevil Dragons in Asia. Talking rabbits and bears in the US. etc. All of thesehave tropes from their related mths and stories.

They just lack a Tolkien to alter and popularize them.
Elves and dwarves aren't special other than that.

 

[Minigiant]

I would say it's more than just Tolkien. An entire generation of novelists and game designers were influenced by Tolkien and D&D. Which leads to a feedback loop.

Cats are the exception to the general rule but even then you only have minimal behavioral characteristics, but what would their culture look like? Where's the widespread, easily recognized artwork depicting where anthropomorphic cat people live? For that matter, where do they live? Different people will come up with different answers which is not wrong, but not as appealing to some people.

Myths.
D&D dwarves and elves aren't even like mythological ones anyway.
If Tolkien took Egyptian cat myths and put his altered Catfolk on the side of Rohan, this wouldn't be a question.

It's just Tolkien and a feedback loop created by his great storytelling..

 

[Scribe]

They just lack a Tolkien to alter and popularize them.
Elves and dwarves aren't special other than that.

Right, so for the majority (I would imagine) they are not really 'tropes' in the sense of Elves = Live Long, Graceful, Magical and Dwarves = Short, Mountains, Miners, Treasure, Gruff.

Spider People are what?
Talking Rabbits are what?

I'm simply answering the OP. "What is the appeal of..." The appeal is the established history, framework, and tropes that provide a grounding and framework that most, if not all, people can click with and understand.

Your examples actually prove my point. Spider people may have tropes. I dont know them. I doubt the majority do. Cat people may have tropes, I would expect they would be Anime based at this point..., but I dont know them and I doubt the majority do.

These other race types do not have the established spread of history, beyond Tolkien, across multiple worlds and realms and fictional universes, and that is the answer to this thread.

 

[Minigiant]

Right, so for the majority (I would imagine) they are not really 'tropes' in the sense of Elves = Live Long, Graceful, Magical and Dwarves = Short, Mountains, Miners, Treasure, Gruff.

Dwarves in myth were grumpy greedy crafters on a dark rock-world.
And how many children and young adults do D&D and LOTR elves kidnap?

 

[zarionofarabel]

The answer to this thread is...

Tolkien!!!