The Dark Spelunk — Fantasy Dwarves and Their Representation in Media

We all know fantasy Dwarves, right? Imagine an elbow-height, barrel-chested powerlifter, give them a big ol’ nose, some metallic jewellery and a kick-ass beard and there’s yer Dwarf. Due to the popularity of media such as Dungeons and Dragons and the Lord of the Rings, this race of cave-dwellers is a staple of any work of fantasy fiction and sometimes even sci-fi!

These jolly (often Scottish) boulders of muscle and beards, depicted in various forms of media ranging from books to games, happen to be my absolute favourite fantasy race to date, though the “why” is a whole other article. As I’ve been an avid consumer of fiction for some time now, I have noted a weird constant when it comes to these hammer-hardened folk: they seem to get the raw end of the deal more often than not!

So, now that we have a rough idea of what our axe-hefting friends are, we can move on to what I mean concerning their representation in media in, what I call, the years of darkness. Note: I am sure there are many works I have omitted in this text which appeared during the “dark years” that were Dwarf-positive, but I argue that the general prescription of the race in games and other media was not great.

To understand where the classic concept of Dwarves comes from, one need not look further than one of the cornerstones of fantasy, Lord of the Rings. In the works of Tolkien, the Naugrim were not made by Ilúvatar, but by one of the Ainu: Aulë, who was eager to create life and impatient. Upon being discovered, Ilúvatar had Aulë seal the newly created Dwarves into the stone to sleep until the real first race, the Elves, joined the world. Not a great start. In the Silmarillion, the Dwarves get a bad rap again, as they craft a wonderful necklace for the Elves, only to be stricken by the Dwarven malady of gold lust, causing the two races to spill blood and causing an enmity for ages.

Now, think back on the movies by Peter Jackson, starting with the Hobbit trilogy: though the dwarves are, supposedly, in a pivotal role in reclaiming their mountain home from Smaug, their presence is somewhat less than expected. Sure, the handsome, hardly bearded Dwarves get a lot of screen time, but in the end, they cause more problems than solve. In the final movie, Battle of Five Armies, a host of Durin's Folk join the fray, showing off some pretty cool defensive formations, which should be a great chance to show what they can do, right? Wrong. Instead, the accursed Elves daintily hop over their defensive wall and take the credit and glory. In a movie about Dwarves, they do weirdly little.

Ok, but surely the legendary Lord of the Rings does better? It is the penultimate fantasy tale, after all. Well, let me note this: during the journey of the Fellowship, they go through the lands of the Elves in Rivendell and Lothlorien, meet the leaders of humans in Rohan and Gondor, and start off in the Shire of Hobbiton, even go through the deep forests of Fangorn and volcanic scapes of Mordor, but we see one (1) Dwarf in the whole trilogy! No, I’m not counting the few seconds of Gloin and his peeps in Rivendell. Tell me what colour their beards were without looking it up and then we’ll talk! And when we see their rumoured position of power, everyone is dead because they “dug too deep”. Thanks, Tolkien. To be fair, Sauron had sent a large army to battle the Dwarves while the events of the films happened, but that feels like an excuse

Gimli, the fearsome Dwarf we do see, is one of my favourite characters. He's arrogant and foolhardy, sure, but he's also steadfast, caring, and even emotional. He is one of the Fellowship's strongest fighters and is pivotal in the battle of Helm's Deep, leading survivors into the caverns while the Orcs siege the fastness. But still, the movies make him little more than comic relief, having few moments that take him seriously. Even in the home of his people, he has little to do, since Gandalf takes care of the navigation. It just makes me so mad, he deserved better!

Anyway, before I burst a vein, let go from LotR to the many franchises it inspired, such as Dungeons and Dragons! In D&D and other similar systems like Pathfinder, each race is given “racial modifiers” to stats that represent how they differ from the average. For example, the slender Elves are dextrous and intelligent but frail, Humans have the potential to be just about anything, and the Dwarves are sturdy and strong, but lack charisma. This seems all right and tight at first glance, but the Dwarves have it worse off than you'd think.

Charisma, the stat our ale-loving friends are predestined to lack, is a big deal in the world of adventurers, as it determines how well you interact with the people and world around you; a high charisma can open doors, end fights, and net you a lot of useful resources. Additionally, being charismatic is often a quality you'd attribute to a hero or leader, right? Imagine Tony Stark as an awkward shut-in, Captain Picard as a stammering middle manager, or Kazuma Kiryu as a loud-mouthed goon, and you'll get the picture.

Even more damningly, charisma is also a stat that is vital to some of the more popular character classes in the game, such as the Sorcerer and Bard. Having an innate disadvantage in this aspect can be a big turn-off for many players, making the Dwarf an unpopular choice. Sure, good players and Game Masters' can see past this little hurdle and make amazing characters regardless of any preconceived biases, but first impressions matter.

The mountain folk fare little better in the actual lore of these systems, as there are few adventures or stories that paint them in a positive light. In Pathfinder, for example, the Dwarves basically drove the Orcs into the land above ground, which they pillaged for years. After the Dwarves finally made it up, they built amazing citadels and were living the good life until they messed up, lost almost everything, and are now a fraction of their former glory. Neat. Going into the world of videogames, the tale is not much happier, or at least it wasn’t

Let’s start off with two pretty big franchises featuring the titular fellows: Warhammer and Warcraft. Now, before you sharpen your impractically-sized weapons and don your oven-sized shoulder pads, I am not fully versed in the lore of the Warhammer mythos, so this is based on what I have seen in the videogames I’ve played and wikis I’ve scoured. Dwarves, or Dawi, as they call themselves in Warhammer, were originally pretty similar to those found in other settings: skilled mountain-dwelling craftsmen, powerful fighters, and stubbornly set in their ways. Nowadays, however, they mainly paint their beards orange, eschew shirts, and make a beeline for any and all big monsters. In the Age of Sigmar setting, some of their kind have taken to other abodes, living in special sky citadels and playing sky pirates, the general role of the squat folk is ever the same. Sure, the great Sigmar has some Dawi at his disposal, but they do not seem to be the focus of any great lore-building. My friends who play the tabletop game also state that they are a completely viable faction, though boring. The same can be said of their Warhammer 40K variants, the Squats.

In the few games I’ve played, Dawi are often present in some fashion, such as Bardin Goreksson in Warhammer the End Times: Vermintide, and Bragi Axebiter in Warhammer: Chaosbane, but their heritage has little to do with the goings-on of the world or plot around them. Even in the Total War: Warhammer series, the race is seldom playable after the first title, save for one leader as free DLC in Total War Warhammer II and being available in some campaign modes.

The second large fantasy franchise to underutilise the stout folk is Warcraft. Much like the case before, the Dwarves of Azeroth take much of their inspiration from Tolkien and D&D, down to the divide between the Dwarves and their Dark Iron brethren. Appearing for the first time in Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness, the mountain-born soldiers are a part of the Alliance and under the “Human” category in terms of the stories, in much the same sense that Tauren and Trolls were under the “Orc” category. As far as my understanding goes, these stout revellers have had little spotlight in the World of Warcraft expansions, with their mountain homes featuring little to no changes.

While I won’t list all my grievances here, lest we be here all year, I will point out one more example of both wasted potential and the stagnation of the Dwarves. In Dragon Age: Origins, these bearded friends are very much like the aforementioned: live in grand halls under mountains, are great at crafting, and so on. However, what Origins did differently was how the Dwarven culture had been shaken by the eponymous Blight that the game’s protagonist fights against.

For those lucky enough to live on the surface, a Blight happens once every few generations. For the folks underground, however, the battle never ends as the Darkspawn infest the deep roads of the earth. Having been run out of almost all of their ancestral homes, the Dwarves are facing extinction and must therefore focus their strength to keep the enemy at bay, but also try to reclaim some of their lost lands. To do this, an army of soldiers called the Legion of the Dead, was formed from all wanting to serve. As the mission is never-ending and will end in death, any legionnaire joining up with this company, either to avoid punishment, regain honour, or simply fight for their family, is given a funeral and considered dead. They will then give their “life” to keep their people and homes safe. Sounds cool, right? Too bad they do nothing with it. We hear about them, meet a few legionnaires, and that's about it.

Having complained for a while now, you may think it’s all grim and grimace for the forge-friends. Happily, it is not so! For the last few years now, we’ve started seeing a renaissance of sorts for these squat people, as we have had more and more games focusing on expanding, exploring, and celebrating the Dwarven people. As they should.

The first game to come to mind, which has been the Dwarf game for as long as I remember, is Dwarf Fortress. This classic survival simulator has been the birth of many tales of defeat and glory and even received a re-release with updated visuals not too long ago! While you could argue the “Dwarves” of the game are just guys and could be replaced with any other race, I’d say the game has enough rich lore and humorous antics to fit the jolly folk quite well. Another great example is one I used on the negative side of things: Vermintide!

More specifically, a map that was added later in Vermintide II. Taking place in an abandoned dwarven citadel, the design and outlook of this once-majestic area were inspiring and beautiful. Having Bragi present will also add a lot of context and bittersweet dialogues to add to the experience. More recently, Lord of the Rings fans received the Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria title, wherein the titular race, led by the now iconic Gimli Lockbearer, delve into the depths of the famous location. It should be stated that the first large area uncovered in the game is an Elven quadrant in the mine, but I’ll take what I can get, teeth clenched or not.

In more modern settings, the alcohol-enjoying and digging prowess of the race is depicted well in Deep Rock Galactic. In this co-op title, players take on the role of diggers working for the Deep Rock Galactic company as blue-collar workers. While the classic hammers and shields have been replaced with guns and more guns, the game never forgets its roots, as beards are customisable, drinks give bonuses, and one guy tosses axes instead of grenades. Rock and stone!

As a final note, Dwarves have begun to make more of an impact in the world of Anime as well! Though not central in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, one of the original group of heroes is a Dwarf and is long-lived enough to be alive during the adventure. An even better example of the sturdy folk is Senshi from Delicious in Dungeon. While looking at the part of the cave-dwelling race, the character brings forward a more caring and wise depiction of the oft-arrogant race. Senshi is an outlier of his people, sure, but there’s still much to be explored. Regretfully, in both anime cases, the hated Elves are still top dog… at least for now!