What is the deal with elves and dwarves?

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I have always wondered what the deal is with the hostility between elves and dwarves. In all the games I've played, and books I've read, there has always been some sort of amenity between them.

Does anybody know why this is?

 

Kind of like a stereotypical rivalry between football jocks and nerds on the debate team. One isn't necessarily better than the other, but there is definitely a conflict since the people and their interests are different.

 

Just people staying within the stereotype that Tolkien lay down. (Surely in some universe in some writer's head elves and dwarves have learnt to get along...)

 

Perhaps its like the blood war. You have two diametrically opposite forces, who are unable to look beyond their own culture. For instance, the blood war is between two evil forces who cannot come to terms with the others ideology. So they fight.
Now the dwarves and the elves are both generally good races. (I'm not including Drow or duergar here). Also both are pretty proud races, the elves look down on non-elves, similar to what the dwarves do. Now you have elves who are all about light being good and trees and growing things etc. They meet the dwarves who are about cold stone halls, metals and inert things. These ideas are pretty much opposite in many ways. The result is they cannot accept the others way of thinking because thier pride gets in the way. Add to that a long life, so the enmity just grows.
At least, that's my interpretation.

 

Well it's because the elves prance about in their lah-di-dah way, hugging trees and thinking they're so much better than us dwarves...high and mighty elves can't even grow proper beards...I ask you, what kind of man goes skipping about in tights and doesn't have a beard? An ELVEN man, that's who....They can't appreciate the virtue of hard work and good ale either...and seem to be intent in standing in the way of progress...trees are only good for making charcoal to fuel the smelters anyway....sorry, let my dwarven character run away with me for a bit there...

Seriously, though. This site has a feature on various ideas which lie behind the archetypes (both races and classes)

 

I've always been with the Dwarves too. But then I'm a caver (or spelunker to americans)who has a beard and likes decent ale. Such a pity they can't let them romance in BG2. Still, I've gone all Gnomish recently and it's making me feel out of sorts.

 

I agree with Tal. If that kind of thing interests you I recommend reading The Simarillion by Tolkien which is an excellent tale about Elves and their personality.

 

I read the silmarillion. One of the hardest and most boring reads of my life. I'm not saying no-one else will enjoy it or that you are weird if you did, just that I didn't.