Thread: Dwarves: How do they act? What are their personalities like?

I am trying to understand the LotR dwarf race. Would they be the greedy types,lusting after gold and other treasures? Would they eat like pigs,drink to excess,be rowdy,and partake in barfights frequently or any fight for that matter? Why do dwarves dislike the elves? Does anyone care to reply?

Originally Posted by Riverleaf_Breeze

I am trying to understand the LotR dwarf race. Would they be the greedy types,lusting after gold and other treasures?

Greed had a tendency to overcome them, yes, that is one of the dwarves' biggest failings, their character flaw. Some were more prone to it than others, of course.

Originally Posted by Riverleaf_Breeze

Would they eat like pigs,drink to excess,be rowdy,and partake in barfights frequently or any fight for that matter?

Not really; At least, there's no indication given that they would. They would drink, be merry, and have a good time, when given the opportunity (see The Unexpected Party, for example), but that goes for every race, not just the dwarves.
I imagine a select few dwarves might go beyond that; I'm not gonna say that out of the entire race, there were none who didn't misbehave, but as a whole, they are not called out as more likely culprits of it than any other race.

Short version; Some select few might. But saying that the whole race was like that would be painting with very broad strokes. There's nothing that says they would be more likely to do it than any other race.

Originally Posted by Riverleaf_Breeze

Why do dwarves dislike the elves?

A few past incidents, coupled with their long-held grudges, caused some mistrust between the two races. Note that it is not universal; Upon faced with messages from Sauron, the dwarves sought the aid of Elrond of Rivendell, and they were welcomed there, so the dwarves and Rivendell seemed to have some kind of mutual respect. Noteworthy is that the dwarves of Khazad-Dûm and Eregion shared friendship in the past, and that Rivendell was established as a refuge when Eregion fell; As such, the elves of Rivendell were more likely to be friendly towards dwarves.

On the other hand, dwarves and Lothlórien was an entirely different manner. The elves of Lórien suffered from the wakening of the Balrog, which they blame the dwarves for, so they are a less likely to think highly of the dwarves.

In some ways Dwarfs remind me of shot Klingons, both love a fight and party hardy after one and both believe in a strong Honor code. And yet they can be as secretive as Romulans keeping their language and Secret Dwarf names all to themselves.

Originally Posted by Paco105

In some ways Dwarfs remind me of shot Klingons, both love a fight and party hardy after one and both believe in a strong Honor code. And yet they can be as secretive as Romulans keeping their language and Secret Dwarf names all to themselves.

1.Where does Tolkien EVER say they love a fight?

2.Where does he say they PARTY after a battle? Infact, judging by the fact that Dwarves still weep remembering the battle at the Gates Of Durin...can't remember it's excact name though.

Damn WoW/Warhammer Dwarves.

Originally Posted by Onir

1.Where does Tolkien EVER say they love a fight?

2.Where does he say they PARTY after a battle? Infact, judging by the fact that Dwarves still weep remembering the battle at the Gates Of Durin...can't remember it's excact name though.

Damn WoW/Warhammer Dwarves.

This, a thousand times this.

On a side note, how much freaking rep do I have to spread around before I can give you some more?

OT: Dwarves are NOT a party type. Their idea of a party was what took place in Bilbo's hole. They weren't much into battle, either - although hardy, and excellent warriors, their great loves were crafting and gold. Dwarves were sober people in every sense of the word, and getting drunk is a stereotype originally from DND that carried down into the mainstream and has been incorrectly attributed to Tolkien dwarves. Tolkien dwarves are far too proud and noble to get wasted.

Tolkien's elves, on the other hand...

Originally Posted by Tekkud

Tolkien dwarves are far too proud and noble to get wasted.

I don't know if I'd go THAT far. Drinking alcohol was a reality of middle-earth, and getting wasted was sometimes a consequence.

To the OP: there is no hard and fast rule to playing a dwarf, just as there's no hard and fast rule to playing any other kind. They can be fast in friendship and slow to anger (just like some humans) or they can be greedy and miserly (just like some humans) or they can be vengeful of perceived wrongs (just like some humans).

They love the work of their craft, but that doesn't mean they are consumed by it. They are loyal to their families, but that doesn't mean they will pursue folly for no good reason. Some are noble, some are wicked, some are proud, some are humble. But they are not simple. Don't choose a character trait and play it as an absolute. Look at Gimli: he started out mistrusting the elves and ended up falling in love with one (Galadriel) and befriending another (Legolas).

Do they fall in love??

Originally Posted by Paco105

In some ways Dwarfs remind me of shot Klingons, both love a fight and party hardy after one and both believe in a strong Honor code. And yet they can be as secretive as Romulans keeping their language and Secret Dwarf names all to themselves.

Are you forgetting Gimli and Legolas and the rest of the people eating,drinking and having fun,including drinking contest. And in the game it self the festivals.

Originally Posted by brianvencill

I don't know if I'd go THAT far. Drinking alcohol was a reality of middle-earth, and getting wasted was sometimes a consequence.

To the OP: there is no hard and fast rule to playing a dwarf, just as there's no hard and fast rule to playing any other kind. They can be fast in friendship and slow to anger (just like some humans) or they can be greedy and miserly (just like some humans) or they can be vengeful of perceived wrongs (just like some humans).

They love the work of their craft, but that doesn't mean they are consumed by it. They are loyal to their families, but that doesn't mean they will pursue folly for no good reason. Some are noble, some are wicked, some are proud, some are humble. But they are not simple. Don't choose a character trait and play it as an absolute. Look at Gimli: he started out mistrusting the elves and ended up falling in love with one (Galadriel) and befriending another (Legolas).

Indeed and well said ...

To the topic of alcohol: I highly doubt any Dwarf, Elf, or man would get drunk off of one glass of ale as happens so pitifully in this game. Who developed the alcohol consequences? Probably someone who has never had a drink in their life. One pint and your character starts talking to himself and his world starts to blur. That makes EVERY character and race in this game so lightweight that all Sauron has to do is wait for a festival to invade.

Originally Posted by Valmarill

To the topic of alcohol: I highly doubt any Dwarf, Elf, or man would get drunk off of one glass of ale as happens so pitifully in this game. Who developed the alcohol consequences? Probably someone who has never had a drink in their life. One pint and your character starts talking to himself and his world starts to blur. That makes EVERY character and race in this game so lightweight that all Sauron has to do is wait for a festival to invade.

This only applies to the Tier 3 or 4 crafted ales, which i highly doubt are your 3% ABV ****-water. In fact, you can drink unlimited amount of the tier 1 ales and never feel more than "a little merry". The strength of the ale is everything, the quantity drunk is irrelevant. Unlrealistic physics in an MMO... whoathought?

Re: the dwarven/elven thing.

I might only be regurgitating secondhand info, but i seem to remember that the Dwarves were based on Jews. The idea of the diaspora (after the fall of their ancestral home, khazad dum), and of them having their own secret language. You could point to other similarities, like the love of gold etc. (something of a stereotype, rather un-PC).

I also read somewhere (again, not sure about the source) that it wasn't so much a dislike of elves , just that dwarves were often distrustful of other folk period, and that except in cases where specific greivances were fresh in memory (eg. Erebor and king Thranduil) they trusted men even less. Add to that the isolationist and xenophobic tendencies of most Elven populations and it's hardly a surprise you don't see mixed groups of Dwarves and Elves partying it up in the wilderness.

Hopefully the Hobbit movies will improve public perception of Dwarves considerably. They were a diverse bunch and judging by the prerelease material this is reflected in the film, they're a long way from the "typical dorf" stereotype.

All we need is for The Silmarillion to be made into a sci-fi mini series like Game of Thrones (if Greek legends can be turned into TV, so can Tolkien's work) and maybe some popular misconceptions about the Eldar can be laid to rest too (they've suffered from the tabletop Dungeons and Dragons RPG thing too).

I think one of the most defining traits of dwarves is pride, some times stubborn pride. Thorin is the best example of it. It took a humble little Hobbit to bring him down to earth. This was how they were made by Aulë, the Vala who created them. He wante dwarves to be unyielding, independent, immune to control and domination of others. They're so head strong that they even resisted Sauron's attempt to dominate them with the 12 Rings of Power. As mentioned earlier, they took the most pride in their crafts, another trait they inherited from Aulë. Really, nothing in all of Middle Earth could inspire a dwarf more than jewels, metal, deep caves, etc. Usually to a fault, though. The Dark Lord couldn't corrupt them but set a big shiny diamond or a vein of mithril infront of some dwarves and things will start to get interesting.

And just to echo what others have said, dwarves are no more inclined to drink, eat, or fight more than any other race in Middle Earth. If anything, I bet hobbits could eat and drink dwarves under the table any day of the week. That being said, dwarves are still strong and full of pride, so they wouldn't back down from a fight when they're fired up (as we'll all soon get to see on the big screen!). They also HATE goblins with a passion. They would feel inclined to fight a goblin...hard