>In ancient Greek mythology, the Dactyls (Δάκτυλοι, Dáktyloi, meaning "fingers") were a legendary group of male daimones or minor deities depicted as skilled artisans, magicians, and guardians, primarily linked to Mount Ida in Crete, where they served as attendants to the Great Mother goddess Rhea (or Cybele) and invented key metallurgical techniques such as smelting and forging iron and bronze.How come no one made a dwarf sub-race based on this guys ?
>>98304713what makes you think they haven't? either way good find anon
>>98304725>what makes you think they haven't?the fact that I never encountered any setting with greek themed dwarves with a cult centered around in a mommy goddess
>>98304713Infinity made them anime robot combat engineer medic girls with big thighs and skintight tops.
>>98304713I think the problem may have been because dwarfs got typecasted to have Scottish accents and I can only guess that Greek aesthetics and Scottish accents don’t mix well.
>>98304854Back when CB were cool.
It's insane how even European folklore and mythology has a bunch of shit that fantasy rarely taps into, really goes to show how narrow the genre is. "It's just tolkien rip offs all the way down" fags were right.
>>98304713Traditional games?
>>98306762That should've been obvious based on how the typical fantasyfag reacts to the suggestion of an automated carriage.
>>98304713Few people bother to actually read mythologies, folklores and primary sources. For example, dwarf-like legendary races from North America: Gahonga, Ohdowa; and Africa: Biloko, Asamanukpai, Maithoachiana, Wokulo, Mumbonelekwapi.
>>98307462This is proof dwarves were real but people aren't ready for that yet.
>>98307470>were real
>>98306828Talking about mythology/folklore with the intent to use it for fantasy subraces or creatures is part of the most popular traditional games in the world
>>98306762True, altough things are changing. But honestly if the first thing people can think is "ooooh another flavour for dorfs" maybe it's bettere that they don't even try.
>>98309784>if the first thing people can think is "ooooh another flavour for dorfs" maybe it's bettere that they don't even try.why ? it's far simpler to make a variation of an already existing pc race them to make up a complete new race that will just be read as 'special not!dwarves' by the most players anyway
>>98307470you know that dwarfism is a thing right?
>>98309897>thinks making a race is the first thing to set your mind toYou are part of the problem.
>>98309912So how do you suggest to use them in a game ?
>>98309922I wouldn't use dnd any way. Hell, for that matter I would use them if anything else than inspo for a cult.That being said: born from earth, protectors of baby Zeus, magicians. Summonable little guys, I'd say, helpers in combat or to guard camp.(they also had a war-dance, but that might run counter to their badassness, I guess)
>>98304713Because they weren't dwarves? They were deamons, which in Ancient be Greek was more like elementals and fey mixed together tied to locations. They were best avoided. They weren't malicious but they were absolutely powerful things with no weakness and completely alien mindsets. Might make you a neat sword, might rip your eyes out to see how they work, you don't know what you are going to get.
>>98308171That picture will always be funny to me because it was made out of spite. A reviewer for Dragon's Crown bitched about "objectification of women" and completely ignored literally everything being stylistically exaggerated, so the creator of Dragon Crown's art made that image and sent it to the reviewer with a note that said "Maybe this will please you more" which is the most roundabout way of calling someone a faggot I can recall.
>>98304766[ I never encountered it ] ≠ [ it never happened ]
>>98309906Get of /tg/, Dinklage. Only a short brained would confuse the mythical race of Dwarf with a side show attraction.
>>98304713Because that's kinda the lore for the dorfs of WHFB. There's Valaya goddess of healing, the Hearth and brewing. Then Grungni god of mining and smiths and Grimnir the Fearless warrior god.
>>98310028>That being said: born from earth, protectors of baby Zeus, magicians. Summonable little guys, I'd say, helpers in combat or to guard camp.you are thinking about the kouretes
>>98310497so just like the dwarves in nordic mythology
>>98310510>which is the most roundabout way of calling someone a faggot I can recall.As always, fantasy races become a roundabout way of doing a Rorschach test.I love it because it looks like dwarfs calling out the one which thinks going to the sauna naked isn't proper dwarf behavior. Calling out the insecure dudes that are afraid of hanging out at the showers, sweaty and dirty with all the sausages on display.
>>98304713They're a big part of the nation Therodos in the awesome /tg/ video game series Dominions 4 through 6.
>>98306654Turn them into 50+ yo Greek men at cafes and BOOMGreek dwarves. Heavy accent, belligerent, talented, live forever.
>>98311961Same shit, really. Or at least they appear to have been that. https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Kouretes.html
>>98309761Where's the game?
>>98306654>>98313289>fat, hairy and most often short>On one hand greedy(very dwarfy trait) and on the other lazy(very undwarfy trait)Yeah I can see it
I have roman republic dwarfs. Something about a bunch of short militarized angry guys too stubborn to admit defeat feels very dwarf like to me.
>>98309784>True, altough things are changing. Are they? I think there's always been attempts, but they'll always remain niche as the typical watered down versions of Tolkien continue to water themselves over the years.>But honestly if the first thing people can think is "ooooh another flavour for dorfs" maybe it's bettere that they don't even try.I do agree. I appreciate when people leave the extremely small realm of northwestern european tolkien esque fantasy and into other regions, but when they just go "and here's my elves and dwarves", who gives a shit. They're not creative enough to be up to the task. Look at fantasy from Japan or China vs western attempts at making Chinese or Japanese fantasies.
>>98311965Dwarves in Nordic mythology were just dudes who were magical smiths. They weren't even short just like how giants weren't large.
>>98310515The side show attraction inspired the mythical race around the world Same reason almost every culture has floods in their myths
>>98320807>but when they just go "and here's my elves and dwarves", who gives a shit. They're not creative enough to be up to the task.and them when you put your super creative OC races people will go "oh so this are this setting elves and dwarves" because those are archetypes not just the original myth creatures >>98321086No, they were much more than magical smiths, they were spirits/supernatural being and possibly minor gods just like norse elves We have surviving charms made to ward them off because people believe they could also caused illnesses and torment your body
>>98322995Not every fantasy needs races. You're stuck in a cookie cutter mind prison
>>98324849Most of the time in fantasy settings a non-human race is functionally just a different culture and they could just be people instead and nothing would change. You could just copy a real life culture wholesale and put them in your fantasy setting and they would be more foreign and exotic than the fucking dnd dwarves and elves. But I'm autistic and have a degree on anthropology so maybe it's just something I get hung up on easily.
>>98324894I find this to be very true. I actually find that race-as-class goes a long way towards mitigating the worst of it, though. If "Race" is a tag that informs an existing character, it very quickly grinds down to some sort of "+2" change. If the calibration is "all X are elves and all elves are X," it makes it possible for the elves to become something much more distinct and stranger than just "pointy eared humans with +2 dex and darkvision" or whatever.
>>98325964>stereotyping elves and dwarves into the race-as-class is the way to solve deep cultural identities of foreign races and showcase their culturewhy does at least half of tg population have to be such retards? maybe how about properly showcasing the differences between races like you re supposed toAnd no >>98324894 if you had a degree in anthropology then you probably would be so stupid anon. A race in rpg shows their physical attributes along with any other special abilities and peculiarities of said race. Culture is a different component altogether.Fantasy races have the exact opposite problem of what you just said. They are a different race but pretty much the same culture because people dont know shit about cultures and they dont care. Especially insular uneducated americans which makes up the biggest percentage of rpg players and creators.
>>98326010Where the fuck did I say anything about wanting to showcase foreign races or cultures you illiterate retard?
>>98326010>f you had a degree in anthropologyIt isn't up for discussion, anon.>physicsl attributesYeah I wasn't really talking about having +2 strength or whatever. You're physically indistinguishable from an ancient egyptian (aside from the consequences of your modern nutrition) but culturally you have more in common with a fantasy dwarf than an ancient egyptian.
>>98309784>things are changing>tolkien was replaced by YA vampire romance
>>98324849>Not every fantasy needs races.I never said that all fantasy need non-human races, that you projecting a strawman to avoid engaging with the topic and with what was said
>>98326901>I never said that all fantasy need non-human racesYou certainly behave like it. The problems you raise only exists if your idea of fantasy is just dwarves and elves.
>>98326290Nah. DND novels were replaced, maybe.
>>98307462All inferior races btwAllegedly
>>98309922Staying close to old mythologies, then only humans would be a race. Dwarfs, goblins, Elves, etc, would all just be spirits or otherwise supernatural creatures that live in places hidden from humans and would be hard to interact with. Think Poul Anderson.
>>98304854terrible
>>98333049If you want to stay close to old mythologies. Then you would treat every spirit as an Egregore. The smithy is the embodiment of the dwarfs. Woodland of the Elves. If you're not careful with treating their embodiment you get hurt but if you treat them with respect you get rewarded for your effort.I mean by this, when working with metal you can hurt yourself, or when cutting wood you can die. Dwarfs and Elves are spirits embodied through the material realm and human mind. Giants or heroes are human materialisations of those spirits. But in the end why bother, the existing races are close enough for gameplay.
>>98332384>You certainly behave like it.how ?>The problems you raise only exists if your idea of fantasy is just dwarves and elves.what do you even think is the 'problem' I raise ?
>>98309784>things are changingthis is cope
>>98340937I just think you see more often takes on shit that's not been seen a thousan time in nerddom since Gygax. Nothing more, nothing less.
>>98341277genres change slowly, but even that doesn't mean the tendency to a very narrow focus is changing at all
