Why is there no dwarf-hate?

[Aus_Snow]

Because Dwarf is the new Elf.

Next edition or so, it will be something else. Tiefling, I suspect. Or Eladrin(?!), or whatever else, for all I care.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Cuz Scottish/Nordic/Germanic accents = teh awesome.

 

[Baron Opal]

Because we rock.

On toast, even.

 

[Hussar]

Thinking about it, I think it's because there is very little in dwarves to get terribly fussed about, either good or bad.

They aren't the superhumans that elves used to be, even if they are a touch on the strong side.

They don't trigger the whole "NOT IN MY FANTASY" reaction that tinker gnomes or kender do.

Dwarves as depicted in the rules fit close enough to their depiction in popular fantasy that no one generally gets in a snit about them. By the same token, you don't see huge dwarven fanboys either. (Man, there's a mental image I want desperately to block)

In other words, no one hates them because they simply don't evoke any really strong reactions positive or negative.

 

[DarkKestral]

Dwarves as depicted in the rules fit close enough to their depiction in popular fantasy that no one generally gets in a snit about them. By the same token, you don't see huge dwarven fanboys either. (Man, there's a mental image I want desperately to block)

Thank you. Now I must suffer that mental image as well. And it is mightily disturbing. And very Eric's Grandma unfriendly.

So please, never mention those words again.

 

[JDJblatherings]

dwarf hate ?!?!! Shhh... they'll bash you in the gob with a pointed helmet if you go on with such sensless prattle.

 

[Rechan]

Clearly you've never been part of "Do dwarven women have beards" argument.

 

[Klaus]

Fresh from arguing the merits of hobbits vs kenderlings, it occured to me that the only traditional demihuman race which isn't the subject of personal taste wars is dwarves.

Elves cop it for just for being elves, before you even start on Drizzt, drow, and the multiple subraces.

Gnomes get it for being too much like dwarves, except for tinkers, which a lot of people hat on their own merit.

Half orcs/elves? Silly and/or irrelevant, depending on who you ask.

Why do dwarves stir so few passions?

The traditional way dwarves are presented (bearded folk with good-natured gruff attitude and a love for meat and beer) strike most as someone you'd like to hang out with (or someone you are, for quite a few of us gamers). That's awfully relatable, specially for a race with -2 Cha. So it's not a race you're supposed to like, and you like it anyway. Compare that with elves, written to be a race you're supposed to be in awe with, which just tends to make 'em Mary Sue characters.

 

[WayneLigon]

Fresh from arguing the merits of hobbits vs kenderlings, it occured to me that the only traditional demihuman race which isn't the subject of personal taste wars is dwarves.

I don't much like them at all, but I guess they're about a 'neutral' as humans as far as taste wars go. They're not perceived as over-powered (elves still get that a lot from the 2E Bladesinger debacle), too divergent from their original literary roots, or anything else that really ticks people off.

 

[billd91]

Both elves and dwarves are pretty standard fantasy fare, these days. Compared to gnomes, halflings, and half-orcs, that gives them a lot of default acceptance.

Add to that, dwarves may be played gruffly, but elves are often played as haughty and "more beautiful than *sniff* you". Gruff may be a bit standoffish, but the haughty is downright annoying, which tends to make the gruffness of the dwarves almost endearing by comparison.

And on top of that, though the dwarves got a lot of flavor-based abilities in 3.5 (most of which don't come up all that often), the elves got all twinked out in 2e with the Complete Elves Handbook... a source that soured a lot of people to the concept.

And on top of that even more, there are a lot of Lord of the Rings fanboys out there that want to pull in the power and majesty of the elves of Middle Earth without pulling in their history of tragedy, their isolation from everyone else, and, in the case of the Noldor, curse. So the end result is something uber-powerful without many limitations. You don't see that so often with dwarves.