Dwarves vs. Men

[This Baron of Mora]

In my story (which really isn't one since it is largely in my head or in my maps so far) I dreamed up tales from wars to walls.

I have been having a thought on this though. Everything is largely based on Dwarves, specifically a single Kingdom (which I know it not proper English but Dwarfs just sounds inferior in my opinion) in reality any of the races in the story are related in fact I consider Dwarves, Elves, Men, etc. in the story to be more like "ethnic cultures" where each group lives a certain way. In fact the only reason their Dwarves at all is that they live in mountain Kingdoms and craft and mine etc. but other than these things are rather like Men and such.

So my thought is that most stories are based around humans, some on elves, and some multiple beings. So is having Dwarves as the main topic alright, also noting that their "back story" is much like ancient Israel in this case making the other Kingdoms almost evil at first (though not later).

[This Baron of Mora]

Another thought I had was to style after J. R. R. Tolkien's naming of elves the Eldar and Men Edain where though they are still elves and men they seem somehow different. Name the Dwarves a different name like the Aladarn (not that that would be it) in the Simarillion you start relating to the elves so much I rather forgot they were any different than humans.

[tris]

As long as you have believable characters it won't matter whether they are "human" or not. Gimli is a very likeable character in LOTR and some of the best characters in Star Trek are Klingons ... or androids.

[birdnerd]

What Tris said.

As long as you have believable characters doing reasonable (or at least explainable) things... *shrug* Why not?

[Kessie]

Well sure, why not? I know there's fantasy books galore that deal with elves as the main characters, so I imagine there's ones that deal with dwarves. (I know they're out there, I just can't think of any off the top of my head.)

Dwarves amuse me anyway. I always loved Gimli and the World of Warcraft dwarves are such a hoot. ("I like my men like I like my ale. Dark and rich.") My husband has a dwarf character whom I stuck into a story and he's become indispensable, at the very least for comic relief. And short jokes. :-D

[beckyminor]

The real trick here seems to be to find a way to make your dwarves have characteristics that resonate with your intended audience (the high fantasy readers who like to revisit tales with "classic" races) and yet putting a spin on your dwarves so they are really yours. I think it would be great to center your narrative around the dwarvish culture, since the fans that favor them are every bit as vehement in the favoritism as people who favor, say, elves. (Looks over shoulder, not being able to imagine who around her would be an elf-fantatic )

Good luck with building your story!