one of my fellow Red Arrows suggested I write a bit on the problem of "dorfs," which is a particular form of Dwarf player character who seems to be common in LotRO. We are talking here about Dwarves who talk in a Scottish accent who carry beer mugs into Carn Dum and who fly into berserker rages at the sight of an Orc. They are laughable comic relief characters or if we're lucky gruff mentors to younger heroes. Inspiration for these depraved and sad excuses for Dwarvenkind are perhaps inspired as much by Warhammer and World of Warcraft as by Peter Jackson's trilogy and the Gimli presented by John Rhys-Davies. Sadly they have little in common with the Dwarves of Tolkien's world but we have been conditioned by other media so that we think we know how to roleplay a Dwarf. All of the races in Middle-earth have this issue (Elves too) but for now let's focus on the Khazad and as Yoda would say unlearn what we have learned. Much of the problem with playing a Dwarf is that we have all these memorable scenes from the film that simply didn't happen in the novel. Gimli belching in Theoden's hall then drying the beer off his mouth with his beard? Didn't happen. Gimli calling Galadriel an "Elf-witch" as they enter Lorien? Didn't happen (there's a similar exchange but the suspicious hero is Boromir not Gimli.) The infamous "Game Over" drinking contest from the Extended Version of Return of the King? Not in the novel. "Never trust an Elf!" No. "Not the beard!" No. "Nobody tosses a dwarf!" No. That business about the Dwarf being so loud "we coud shoot him in the dark"? No that was Boromir too. Of Lads and Laddies
No Dwarf in Middle-earth ever uses a Scottish accent nor do they use words we associate with Scottish dialects. Gimli may have called Legolas "lad" in the film but neither Gimli nor any other Dwarf in the novel actually uses that word. Ever. Some players love their accents; but the truth is that they are much harder to read than they would be to listen to. Some Dwarf player characters spell their words so bizarrely that they are impossible for new roleplayers to play with. Look at it this way: when you intentionally mis-spell your text you are imposing a demand upon those playing with you. "Decode my bizarre accent!" you say. Well yes. I could do that. But why should I have to? Are you just that damn special? Answer: No. You're not. And accents are not lore-appropriate. As I mentioned they are very scarce in the novel. We do see a Cockney accent in a spot or two -- but it is not spoken by Men. It is spoken by Orcs! That's right all of you players of Men: talking Cockney makes you sound like an Orc. Bree-landers don't have a Cockney accent. If Dwarves don't talk with an accent and they don't use vocabulary stolen from the Cheif Engineer of the
The first person says. 'At your service.' The second person must surpass the first speaker and offer more. 'At your service and your family's.' This exchange is repeated several times in The Hobbit when Thorin and his company all show up at Bag End. Bilbo is too flustered to respond properly but all the Dwarves do their part with the sole exception of Thorin. Oakenshield who Tolkien calls 'haughty' is far too important to offer his service to Bilbo. But Gloin is not too proud to say this to a Hobbit he has never met the nephew of an old friend. What do we learn here? The importance of courtesy. The Dwarves are an ancient and proud race and they value courtesy. They expect other people to be polite to them and they are naturally polite in return. Now. Dwarves can be rude. But their definition of "rude" does not involve direct insults. We can find an example a few pages later in the Council of Rivendell. Legolas is telling the tale of Gollum's imprisonment by the Elves.
'.. we had not the heart to keep him ever in dungeons under the earth where he would fall back into his old black thoughts.''You were less tender to me,' said Gloin with a flash of his eyes as old memories were stirred of his imprisonment in the deep places of the Elven-king's halls.'Now come!' said Gandalf. 'Pray do not interrupt my good Gloin. That was a regrettable misunderstanding long set right. If all grievances that stand between Elves and Dwarves are to be brought up here we may as well abandon this Council.'Gloin rose and bowed and Legolas continued...
Think about how restrained this is. Gloin and his fellow dwarves were kept prisoners for weeks in the dungeons of King Thranduil who is Legolas' father. Chances are very good that when Gloin and the rest were brought before Thranduil. Legolas was
In other words. Gloin and Legolas both have personal memories of this incident. And yet Gloin sat down at the table with Legolas saying nothing about the incident until it was brought up. When he did mention it he only alluded to it because both he and Legolas knew full well what was being talked about. There was no angry challenge not even a direct insult. Gloin does not insult all Elf-kind. When Gandalf asks for peace does Gloin forgive and forget? Nothing says he does! Bowing is an apology but the apology is not directed to Legolas. Gloin is pretty mad! Instead the dwarf apologizes to Gandalf and keeps his mouth shut out of respect for the others present. This teaches us rule three:
Dwarf problems are not for others to get involved in. If Gloin has an issue with Legolas he'll take it up with Legolas. The rest of the Council of Elrond does not need to be bothered by it. Now one of the things we think we know about Dwarves and Elves is that they don't get along. The root of this quarrel is long but basically has two strands. The oldest reason is related to the Silmarils and can be found in the
Without going into long detail. King Thingol Greycloak hired Dwarves to put one of the Silmarils into an ancient golden necklace of Dwarven make which Thingol happened to have been given as a gift. But once the necklace got the stone the resulting treasure was so greed-inspiring that Thingol and the Dwarves fought over it and the King was murdered. The Dwarves were later hunted down and killed by Beren but each side thinks the other did them wrong. Now this was a long time ago and most Elves don't remember this or have any personal grudge but there's a more recent reason for Dwarf/Elf friction: the Elves blame Dwarves for the appearance of the Balrog of Moria which forced many Elves that lived near the Misty Mountains to flee western Lorien. Some loss of life was involved though for Elves the sudden appearance of such a powerful evil is a crime in and of itself. Gimli and Legolas get into this issue on the outskirts of Lorien when Legolas sings the Lay of Nimrodel.
'It is long and sad for it tells how sorrow came upon Lothlorien. Lorien of the Blossom when the Dwarves awakened evil in the mountains.''But the Dwarves did not make the evil,' said Gimli.'I said not so; yet evil came,' answered Legolas sadly.
And that's the end of it. Gimli doesn't bring it up again or further try to defend himself. He knows he's right he isn't going to change Legolas' mind best just keep quiet for the good of the Fellowship. Gloin may be the ideal Dwarf -- respected but not conceited wise and yet vigorous the sort of individual which younger Dwarves would idolize. Here he is again with a suggestion for Elrond at the Council:
Give in when it makes sense to. Working with other people means you have to set your personal issues aside. Let's look at that scene in the Hobbit when Thorin is brought before Thranduil. It is useful because it shows how a Dwarf and an Elf in a hostile situation might talk to one another. Where do they draw the line and does their fight break out into violence or even death?
The king looked sternly on Thorin when he was brought before him and asked him many questions. But Thorin would say only that he was starving.'Why did you and your folk three times try to attack my people at their merrymaking?' asked the king.'We did not attack them,' answered Thorin; 'we came to beg because we were starving.''Where are your friends now and what are they doing?''I don't know but I expect starving in the forest.''What were you doing in the forest?''Looking for food and drink because we were starving.''But what brought you into the forest at all?' asked the king angrily. At that Thorin shut his mouth and would not say another word.
Thorin never stoops so low as to insult Thranduil or assault him. That would be lowering himself to the level of his poor host. He answers truthfully when he can and shuts up when he can't. But he is certainly stubborn and he has a dark sense of humour you have to love. The most famous example of Dwarvish stubborness happens in Lorien when Gimli arrives with the rest of the Fellowship and Haldir only allows him into the woods on the condition that he be blindfolded.
This was not to the liking of Gimli. 'The agreement was made without my consent,' he said. 'I will not walk blindfold like a beggar or a prisoner. And I am no spy. My folk have never had dealings with any servants of the Enemy. Neither have we done harm to the Elves. I am no more likely to betray you than Legolas or any other of my companions.'
Note that Gimli does not insult Haldir or the Elves. Instead he defends himself. And that defense -- his own word -- should be good enough for anyone. Why is he so insulted anyway? Because to be blindfolded would be to be treated "like a beggar or a prisoner" or "a spy." Gimli is proud.
'I do not doubt you,' said Haldir. 'Yet this is our law. I am not the master of the law and cannot set it aside. I have done much in letting you set foot over the Celebrant.'Gimli was obstinate. He planted his feet firmly apart and laid his hand upon the haft of his axe. 'I will go forward free,' he said. 'or I will go back and seek my own land where I am known to be true to my word though I perish alone in the wilderness.'... Gimli drew his axe from his belt. Haldir and his companion bent their bow. 'A plague on Dwarves and their stiff necks!' said Legolas.
Gimli is willing to draw his axe and die here on the edge of Lorien to defend his good name that's how serious he is about being honest and truthful. Note that Haldir believes him ('I do not doubt you.') but is shackled by the laws of Lorien. We have the classic irrestistible force vs immovable object. So how does it resolve? Aragorn the Captain and fellowship leader knows the answer: if we all share the Dwarf's cause he'll let it go.
'It is hard upon the Dwarf to be thus singled out. We will all be blindfolded even Legolas. That will be best though it make the journey slow and dull.'Gimli laughed suddenly. 'A merry troop of fools we shall look! Will Haldir lead us all on a string like many blind beggars with one dog? But I will be content if only Legolas here shares my blindness.'
And that's the end of the story: everyone's eyes and blindfolded until they reach Caras Galadhon and Gimli is content because everyone shared his fate. Even Legolas cooperates though he whines a little. (I know. Elves. Sheesh.)Between all of these scenes you have been able to see the language that Tolkien uses when Dwarves like Gimli and Gloin talk. It is not accented crude or simple. Indeed it is usually quite elevated. They uses words like "perish" instead of "die," and "tender" for "nice." Look at the sentence structure used by Gimli and Gloin in the lines above; it's not simple stuff. Let's look at a moment when Gimli has a lot to say. This will help us answer the question. "How does he say it?" The Fellowship can see Caradhras for the first time and the two mountains next to it.
'I need no map,' said Gimli who had come up with Legolas and was gazing out before him with a strange light in his deep eyes. 'There is the land where our fathers worked of old and we have wrought the image of those mountains into many works of metal and of stone and into many songs and tales. They stand tall in our dreams: Baraz. Zirak. Shathur.'Only once before have I seen them from afar in waking life but I know them and their names for under them lies Khazad-dum the Dwarrowdelf that is now called the Black Pit. Moria in the Elvish tongue. Yonder stands Barazinbar the Redhorn cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead; Celebdil the White and Fanuidhol the Grey that we call Zirakzigil and Bundushathur.'There the Misty Mountains divide and between their arms lies the deep-shadowed valley which we cannot forget: Azanulbizar the Dimrill Dale which the Elves call Nanduhirion.''It is for the Dimrill Dale that we are making,' said Gandalf. ... 'There lies the Mirrormere and there the River Silverlode rises in its icy springs.''Dark is the water of Kheled-zaram,' said Gimli. 'and cold are the springs of Khibil-nala. My heart trembles at the thought that I may see them again soon.'
Wow. Where to start. First we can see some of the things we have already talked about working here as well: Gimli uses words like "Yonder" for "Over there," and "of old" for "a long time ago". He doesn't say "I can't wait" he says. "My heart trembles at the thought". But what else can we learn?
Something that's really important deserves a lot of words said about it. Gimli isn't the only one with this issue. Thorin is remarkable for his long speeches. (The Hobbit: 'If he had been allowed he would probably have gone on like this until he was out of breath without telling any one there anything that was not known already.') But you can see that the more important a thing is the more names it has and Gimli is going to tell you every single one of those names in every language he knows (including Elvish note). Those mountains have at least two names; Caradhras has three. Moria is so important it has four names! Pay attention to them. Gimli is liable to quiz you on them later. We'll finish with one last exchange which is notable even among Tolkien scholars for the way it shows the author's grasp of dialogue. You may think. 'You have shown us all these Dwarves talking with fancy words and elaborate sentences. But everyone in Tolkien's world talks like this. I want my Dwarf to be different!' But not everyone in Middle-earth
I think you'll find that the "drunken Scottish dwarf" thing owes more to TSR's fantasy novels especially the Streams of Silver and the many books that spawned from it (and Drizzt Do'Urden bane of many elven RPers as well.) Bruenor Battlehammer is the absolute archetype of the kind of dwarf you are describing here - a D&D Dwarf. Not a Tolkien dwarf. To be completely honest. I wish they had made Dwarves in this game look more like the Bakshi animation dwarves (http://bp2 blogger com/_0dbOexzAiEs/R58lbpFfSuI/AAAAAAAABFc/YP72FA9nsbQ/s1600-h/gandalf jpg ) rather than the typical D&D/WoW/Warhammer dwarf. Not because I believe that the Rankin-Bass illustrations are more valid than having the thick stocky guys that we have today but because it would have SHOUTED at new players from the moment they decided to roll a dwarf: THIS IS NOT A D&D DWARF! THIS IS ANOTHER ANIMAL ENTIRELY!
I must thank you dearly. JT for this bit of your blog. It helps so much and is very informative. I love to Roleplay and even have a heart to roleplay as a dorf back in other MMO's and tabletop games; they are entertaining in themselves. But they should never be found in Middle-Earth. As you stated. Tolkien was first in the fantasy department of modern times. And coincidentally my first experience into the culture as well (if you don't count small chapter books that I browsed in the 4th grade). So you can say Tolkien is my first love and fantasy my second. I would hate to ever tarnish the beauty of his creation. Thanks for opening my eyes a bit wider so I may do Tolkien and Middle-Earth justice.
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Related article:
http://lotrofounder.blogspot.com/2008/03/separating-men-from-dorfs.html
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