History Main / OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame

*** ''VideoGame/{{WarcraftIITidesOfDarkness}}'': Ironforge Dwarves are play mainly a background role as the inventors of the Alliance military's cannons and other artillery. The only Ironforge Dwarf unit is the "Dwarven Demolition Squad", two fast and fragile dwarves that will [[ActionBomb blow themselves up]] to destroy obstacles, buildings, and enemy troops.
*** ''VideoGame/{{WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos}}'': With High Elves getting DemotedToExtra and Gnomes [[PutOnAbus disappearing]], Ironforge Dwarves get a [[AscendedExtra much more expanded role]]. Dwarven Rifleman are the new Alliance's ranged troops and the Dwarf Mortor Team replaces the Dwarven Demolition Squad. In the gnome's lieu, Dwarf take the techrole providing an armed gyrocopter and a Steam Tank. Finally Ironforge Dwarves have a HeroUnit, the mountain King, a melee unit that [[DualWield Dual Wields]] a hammer and an axe.

*** ''VideoGame/{{WarcraftIITidesOfDarkness}}'': Feral Dwarves are introduced [[DeathFromAbove aerial gryphon riders]] ridden by Feral dwarves from Northeron. As units, they ride Gryphons and toss down [[Thunderhammer Stormhammers]] to wreak havoc on their foes.
*** ''''VideoGame/{{WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos}}'': Renames the feral Dwarves as ''Wildhammer Dwarves'' and again features them as Gryphon riding units, though this time the Ironforge Dwarves are more prominent.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''
** ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' is an interesting case. When dwarves were introduced in ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'', they were primarily represented through the [[DeathFromAbove aerial gryphon riders]]. When ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' hit, however, the playable dwarves were mountain-dwelling, ale-drinking, blacksmiths and miners, with the gryphon riders relegated to a minor NPC faction.
** However, this was explained by there being three major kinds of dwarves:
*** The main playable race are called Ironforge dwarves, they live in the city of Ironforge and were originally the most stereotypical of the dwarfs. Subverted when the revelation of their [[OurTitansAreDifferent titan]] origins led to a surge in interest in science and knowledge in dwarven society. Their king Magni Bronzebeard even ordered that the main dwarven industry be switched from mining to archeology. Now you'll find just as many explorers, scientists, archaeologists and scholars among the dwarves as you will miners and blacksmiths. In addition, due to their proximity with humans, they adopted, albeit with lesser fervour, the humans' cult of the Holy Light. Another unique aspect of Ironforge dwarves is the ability to temporarily [[InstantArmor turn into stone]] which lets them remove status ailments and increase their defense for 8 seconds.
*** The next are the Wildhammer dwarves who live above ground, live at peace with nature, and ride gryphons as a major part of their culture. They live partly in the north of Lordaeron and in the east of Khaz Modan, where they are divided into smaller clans. Them sporting blue tattoos and their clan feuds give them strong Scottish vibes. They were the representatives when dwarves were first added to the franchise in ''VideoGame/WarcraftII''.
*** The third are the Dark Iron Dwarves, who are a dark bend on the classical dwarf tropes. They have grey skin and red eyes and were until recently enslaved by a massive fire elemental (that they summoned in a failed attempt to destroy the other two clans). They're pyromaniacs with strong magical abilities and were written as AlwaysChaoticEvil until their leader joined the Alliance in ''Cataclysm'', live deeper underground than their Ironforge cousins, are much more educated in magic, and stealth. After they joined the Alliance, playable Ironforge Dwarves gained the option to become Mages and Warlocks suggesting an intermixing of culture between the two. The fact that the king of the Ironforge's daughter married the Dark Iron emperor, and her son, and future king, is half Ironforge-and-half Dark Iron, has caused much [[TurnOutLikeHisFather consternation]] among the dwarves. As of ''Battle For Azeroth'', Dark Iron Dwarves have become a playable race for the Alliance.
*** Beyond this you have various proto-dwarves. There are the Earthen, which are [[RockMonster stone-flesh]] creations of the titans that the dwarves evolved from. The frost dwarves, who are the frozen counterparts to the Wildhammers. They are descended more directly from the Earthen as indicated by their proximity to the Titan Architecture found around their homeland. And the iron dwarves, which artificial dwarves that serve as MechaMooks for an EldritchAbomination.
** Female Dwarves are actually quite common in dwarf settlements and for the most part look like short, stout women of average attractiveness. However, among the player base they are quite rare (perhaps in part due to the fact they are just plain looking compared to other races). Lore mentions bearded women that are considered quite beautiful among dwarves, however, none are shown in game.
** Additionally, the technology aspect of the dwarves exists but is typically overshadowed by the gnomes. The technology basically breaks down into two categories: anything that can be made reliable, cost-effective, and useful on the battlefield will be adopted by the dwarves, i.e. tanks, guns, gyrocopters. The gnomes manage the overly-expensive, unreliable and quirky technology, as per their MadScientist hat. If it's cheap, unreliable, and ''dangerous'', that's goblin territory.
** Prior to Cataclysm, Ironforge dwarves mostly fit into the typical melee archetype, with their only available classes being physical damage dealers and tanks, with the exception of Priests and Paladins. But after the expansion, dwarves gained the ability to be Mages, Warlocks, and Shamans (explained in lore by the Wildhammer and Dark Iron clans joining Ironforge, with the Wildhammer teaching Shamanism and the Dark Iron bringing arcane and dark magic), making them the most versatile Alliance race (they can be any class but Druids), and make perfectly viable casters in addition to brawny melee and hunters (though their passive racial bonuses still favor melee more than magic).
** They can also be any job, so dwarven leatherworkers, herbalists, and fishermen aren't unheard of. They are not limited to mining and blacksmithing like the stereotypical fantasy dwarf.
** Another major difference from your archetypal dwarf is Azeroth's dwarves have historically had pretty good relations with elves. The Wildhammer Clan were close allies with the High Elves, and the remaining High Elves in the Alliance are still reasonably good allies with the Ironforge Dwarves over a shared love of history and scholarship. The War of the Ancients novels implied that dwarven ancestors helped the Night Elves prior to the Sundering. Whatever enmity dwarves may have with Blood Elves and the Nightborne has more to do with them being Horde, rather than being elves.
** Another major difference is relation. Unlike other fiction which tends to put humans and elves as kin, revelations some humans and gnomes were capable of the same "turn your skin into metal or stone" trick dwarves could and further elaboration about each races' histories as the descendants of titan creations showed humans, dwarves, and gnomes had common ancestry. When a human time traveled to before elves knew of humanity, he was mistaken for an extra tall dwarf.

** The Squats as a faction would not be properly reintroduced until 2022 with the Leagues of Votann, along with the added reveal that the species refers to themselves as Kin and the terms "Squat" and "Demiurg" being appellations used by the Imperium and T'au, respectively (the former being [[FantasticSlurs a pejorative term]]). While their reintroduction still has them appear to be straight-up Dwarfs [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]], albeit with several elements from their previous iterations undergoing a case of ReimaginingTheArtifact, they have several unique traits that diverge from the standard model. While still a HumanSubspecies (which makes them one of the ''younger'' species in the setting barring the T'au), the Kin are DesignerBabies generated through mass cloning for specific roles, having altered their DNA through genetic engineering. While still mostly dim-souled and resistant to the Warp, they do have the occasional psykers known as Grimnyrs, who act as the priest caste in their culture. Their culture revolves around their access to better preserved technology from the Dark Age of Technology that the modern Imperium (especially the Mechanicus) would find heretical, in particular the eponymous sentient supercomputers from which they derive their name, and AIs and robots are prevalent in their culture. Several pieces of their characterization are borrowed from the below-mentioned Kharadron Overlords, such as being progressive and innovative regarding their technology and their plutocratic governments. Much like ''The Hobbit'' Trilogy, there is a far greater variety in their faces and beards and in stark contrast to the absence of female dwarves in most media, GenderIsNoObject among the Kin with most of their units being mixed gender. While the ElvesVersusDwarves conflict is averted in their new lore, they still act as sort of a {{Foil}} to the Aeldari. While the Aeldari are a race of SpaceElves that predate humanity and only resemble them through convergent evolution, the Kin are a HumanSubspecies that have altered themselves through millennia of genetic engineering and cloning. In fact, the Kin have diverged genetically, politically, and technologically from humanity so much that they are effectively considered a Xenos faction rather than an Imperium faction.

** The Squats as a faction would not be properly reintroduced until 2022 with the Leagues of Votann, along with the added reveal that the species refers to themselves as Kin and the terms "Squat" and "Deimurg" being appellations used by the Imperium and T'au, respectively (the former being [[FantasticSlurs a pejorative term]]). While their reintroduction still has them appear to be straight-up Dwarfs [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]], albeit with several elements from their previous iterations undergoing a case of ReimaginingTheArtifact, they have several unique traits that diverge from the standard model. While still a HumanSubspecies (which makes them one of the ''younger'' species in the setting barring the T'au), the Kin are DesignerBabies generated through mass cloning for specific roles, having altered their DNA through genetic engineering. While still mostly dim-souled and resistant to the Warp, they do have the occasional psykers known as Grimnyrs, who act as the priest caste in their culture. Their culture revolves around their access to better preserved technology from the Dark Age of Technology that the modern Imperium (especially the Mechanicus) would find heretical, in particular the eponymous sentient supercomputers from which they derive their name, and AIs and robots are prevalent in their culture. Several pieces of their characterization are borrowed from the below-mentioned Kharadron Overlords, such as being progressive and innovative regarding their technology and their plutocratic governments. Much like ''The Hobbit'' Trilogy, there is a far greater variety in their faces and beards and in stark contrast to the absence of female dwarves in most media, GenderIsNoObject among the Kin with most of their units being mixed gender. While the ElvesVersusDwarves conflict is averted in their new lore, they still act as sort of a {{Foil}} to the Aeldari. While the Aeldari are a race of SpaceElves that predate humanity and only resemble them through convergent evolution, the Kin are a HumanSubspecies that have altered themselves through millennia of genetic engineering and cloning. In fact, the Kin have diverged genetically, politically, and technologically from humanity so much that they are effectively considered a Xenos faction rather than an Imperium faction.

* Two dwarves appear in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', with one of them being the foster father of the hero, Lloyd Irving. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', which takes place about 4,000 years after ''Symphonia'', dwarves are extinct, though their ruins are intact. A skit mentioned that the majority of the dwarves are hidden by Cruxis somewhere in Derris Kharlan as they use them for maintaining machinery, so they may have still be living on the comet.

* The Drin of ''Literature/TalesFromTheFlatEarth'' are the 3rd caste of demons from the Underearth after the Vazdru nobility and the mute Eshva dancers. Unlike the previous castes who are all astonishingly beautiful, the Drin are ugly stunted dwarves though they have lustrous black hair. They are universally skilled in magical engineering and crafting beautiful objects, so they're often in service to other demons (including their king, the Lord of Darkness Azharn) and human magicians. The Drin are all male, so barring a rare sex for items/services trade with an Eshva girl or female human, the Drin are relegated to [[AnythingThatMoves copulating with reptiles and large insects]] which they do with relish. Within the Drin, there's a subclass called the Drinendra that are even worse off - the Drin are at least sentient and occasionally valued, the Drinendra are demonic animals that are usually treated as a mangy cur.

*** The main playable race are called Ironforge dwarves, they live in the city of Ironforge and were originally the most stereotypical of the dwarfs. Subverted when the revelation of their [[OurTitansAreDifferent titan]] origins led to a surge in interest in science and knowledge in dwarven society. Their king Magni Bronzebeard even ordered that the main dwarven industry be switched from mining to archeology. Now you'll find just as many explorers, scientists, archaeologists and scholars among the dwarves as you will miners and blacksmiths. Another unique aspect of Ironforge dwarves is the ability to temporarily [[InstantArmor turn into stone]] which lets them remove status ailments and increase their defense for 8 seconds.
*** The next is the Wildhammer dwarves who live above ground, live at peace with nature, and ride gryphons as a major part of their culture. They were the representatives when dwarves were first added to the franchise in ''VideoGame/WarcraftII''.
*** The third are the Dark Iron Dwarves, who have grey skin and red eyes and were until recently enslaved by a massive fire elemental (that they summoned in a failed attempt to destroy the other two clans). They're pyromaniacs with strong magical abilities and were written as AlwaysChaoticEvil until their leader joined the Alliance in ''Cataclysm'', live deeper underground than their Ironforge cousins, are much more educated in magic, and stealth. After they joined the Alliance, playable Ironforge Dwarves gained the option to become Mages and Warlocks suggesting an intermixing of culture between the two. The fact that the king of the Ironforge's daughter married the Dark Iron emperor, and her son, and future king, is half Ironforge-and-half Dark Iron, has caused much [[TurnOutLikeHisFather consternation]] among the dwarves. As of ''Battle For Azeroth'', Dark Iron Dwarves have become a playable race for the Alliance.

** The Uvandir of ''TabletopGame/WickedFantasy'' basically turn the typical dwarf stereotypes up a notch or three and play it for some mild BlackComedy. They seem to be a OneGenderRace, but the truth is that they're actually genderless {{Artificial Human}}oids psionically shaped from stone -- this incidentally makes them a DyingRace because the free Uvandir don't know how to make new ones. They're inherently able to communicate with each other non-verbally, so they hate talking to excess and see it as the mark of a fool, which is why they don't get on so well with other races. They're rude and gruff because they're actually very emotionally sensitive, and are prone to attacks of melancholy so intense they can end up [[TakenForGranite permanently reverting to stone]] if they get too depressed, and so they try to avoid forming attachments with the shorter-lived races.

* In ''Manga/BlackClover'' dwarves are a race from long ago that had special powers like elves, and were short miners who wielded axes. [[spoiler:Charmy is revealed to be half-dwarf. While this could explain her short stature, when her dwarf abilities activate Charmy oddly gets much ''taller''.]]
* It's heavily implied that dwarves in ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'' largely fit the usual stereotype (smithing, fighting, mining, straightforward). Senshi, the main dwarf of the series, is considered [[SquareRaceRoundClass a very atypical dwarf]], being a BunnyEarsLawyer, NatureHero, and SupremeChef, who can handle himself in a fight but prefers peace first, and admits to not knowing the first thing about ores. He inherited a pair of priceless, heirloom adamantine shields from his companions -- and reforged them into a wok with a matching lid. He has a mithril ''cooking knife''. Nonetheless, he still has a few traditional dwarven elements in him, such as a distrust of magic and favoring an axe.
** After being transformed into a dwarf by changeling mushroom spores, Laios discovers that dwarves do have one point of divergence from the standard mold: despite being very strong, they have very low stamina. Every dwarf seen so far wears only light armor when they need to fight and has to rest frequently.
* The Dwarves in ''Manga/NectarOfDharani'' Zig-zag this. On one hand they're smiths, very strong, prideful, stubborn and distrustful of elves. But on the other hand they can grow the size of a human, and females prefer to act from the shadows.

'Dwarves': you know what they are. Gruff, practical, industrious, [[StoutStrength stout]], [[{{Greed}} gold-loving]], [[BeigeProse blunt-speaking]], [[ViolentGlaswegian Scottish-accented]], [[HornyVikings Viking-helmed]], [[TheAlcoholic booze-swilling]], [[ElvesVersusDwarves Elf-hating]], [[AnAxeToGrind ax-swinging]], long-bearded, stolid and unimaginative, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy boastful of their battle prowess]] and their vast echoing [[ElaborateUndergroundBase underground halls]] and mainly just the fact [[HaveIMentionedIAmADwarfToday that they are]] ''[[HaveIMentionedIAmADwarfToday dwarves]]''.

'Dwarves': you know what they are. Gruff, practical, industrious, [[StoutStrength stout]], [[{{Greed}} gold-loving]], [[BeigeProse blunt-speaking]], [[ViolentGlaswegian Scottish-accented]], [[HornyVikings Viking-helmed]], [[TheAlcoholic booze-swilling]], [[ElvesVersusDwarves Elf-hating]], ax-swinging, long-bearded, stolid and unimaginative, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy boastful of their battle prowess]] and their vast echoing [[ElaborateUndergroundBase underground halls]] and mainly just the fact [[HaveIMentionedIAmADwarfToday that they are]] ''[[HaveIMentionedIAmADwarfToday dwarves]]''.

* In ''ComicBook/MagicPowder'', the dwarves of Thesz resemble Black people, but shorter and stockier, and their women often have facial hair.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' features dwarfs, who are divided in two types: red and black dwarfs (referring to the color of their hair). The [[GoodColorsEvilColors "red dwarfs"]] are usually good-natured (if often grumpy), while most of the [[GoodColorsEvilColors "black dwarfs"]] are ruthless, greedy, traitorous bastards. Eleven black dwarfs eventually [[FlatEarthAtheist renounce Aslan's existence]], and are punished with being blind/insane and abandoned to grovel away at each other (they are, of course, Lewis's allegory for atheists). Both types of dwarfs are skilled craftsmen (the narrator mentions that while there are evil dwarfs, there are no stupid ones -- though see below) and in contrast to the usual dwarven preference for axes, Narnian dwarfs are deadly archers instead.
** The Dufflepuds encountered in ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' were once very stupid dwarfs before being punished by being transformed into monopods (hence the name).

* Played mostly straight in the RPG ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura,'' including what may be one of the earliest examples of the now-standard Scottish accent as spoken by NPC Magnus. Females are never seen, so ''all'' dwarves are the same; bearded stocky men. Asking about dwarf women is a surefire way to send a male into a [[BerserkButton homicidal rage.]] The "mostly" comes in because it's the SteamPunk 1880s, some dwarves exchange their armor for tailcoats, and dwarves are the most technologically-apt of all the races. Even so, however, this mostly manifests in dwarves being master smiths with an advanced understanding of materials science; traditional dwarves would never use a steam engine to replace the power of their muscles, and therein lies a large part of the game's plot.

** Finally, there's the ''Warhammer'' take on EvilCounterpart dwarfs. The Chaos Dwarfs (''Dawi-Zharr''), a subfaction whose aesthetics were based on ancient Mesopotamia: Diabolical, slave-driving fascists worshipping a Chaos God in the form of a bull, [[TheMagocracy led by evil warlocks]] addicted to BlackMagic, which gradually turned their bodies to stone. While they've been always been part of the lore, their army list and models were dropped by Games Workshop after 5th edition due to a lack of sales. Chaos Dwarfs still appeared as warmachine crew for Chaos armies in later editions, but sadly missing their traditional magnificent hats. [[BerserkButton Do not]] [[{{Unperson}} mention their existence]] to the normal Dwarfs.

* Most Dwarfs in ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'' fit the usual dwarf archetype, but strangely many of the dwarfs to play a major role within the series are much taller than average in spite of dwarfs supposedly being shorter. Dormul is roughly average height for a Japanese man and Mia would be an unusually tall HUMAN woman. Tsubaki Collbrande, meanwhile, can be excused for being taller than average by virtue of being only [[HalfHumanHybrid half-dwarf]], although she's still tall for a woman.

** Clan Ghor play this trope completely straight, being the most traditional clan who've changed the least since the Dwarven race broke through the surface and entered the world above, to the extent that the clan still mostly live underground and in the mountains. Being the largest clan, the Ghor Dwarves are also responsible for establishing this trope as the in-universe international stereotype of what a Dwarf is like.

** Clan Drezin is where things start veering into stranger territories as while their way of living is almost as traditional as clan Ghor's, they are also a clan far more devoted to arcane studies than your average Dwarf and are also subject to great stigmatization from the other clans... not because of the magic, mind you, the Dwarfs of ''Eon'' generally hold great respect for those who can use such awe-inspiring and unpredictable power without blowing themselves up, but rather because the Drezin clan sided with the [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Tiraks]] in the last great war, an act which got them branded as traitors by the other Dwarfs. On top of that, Dwarfs of clan Drezin also often shave or trim their beards in order to differentiate themselves from other Dwarfs, instead favoring the mustache.
** Finally there's clan Zolod, who are generally mocked by the other clans for how untraditional and un-Dwarf-like they are, having almost completely integrated into human society.

* Dwarves in ''Shagahol'', the latest creation of ''Creator/RapscallionGames'' are the remnant of the previous world from before the gods got bored and dropped a new world on top of it. They had already been living underground and their forging and architecture skills meant their civilization survived the cataclysmic event. They retain their industrious ways due to the stories of their ancestors, but those that come to the surface are those looking for a more adventurous life. They are short and stocky but unlike most stories, they have lost their melanin as a result of living underground for so long, giving them white hair and pale skin. Female dwarves also grow beards, ranging from mutton chops that can be hidden by their long hair to full beards depending on family genetics. All of them grow hair so quickly it can grow inches in a day and a clean-shaven face is a sign of immense wealth for being able to afford so much time and service. Finally, they have taken most of the iron in the world due to living underground and using it long before anyone else can discover it, leading to the surface world staying in the bronze age.

** Another major difference from your archetypal dwarf is Azeroth's dwarves have historically had pretty good relations with elves. The Wildhammer Clan were close allies with the High Elves, and the remaining High Elves in the Alliance are still reasonably good allies with the Ironforge Dwarves over a shared love of history and scholarship. The War of the Ancients novels implied that dwarven ancestors helped the Night Elves prior to the Sundering. Whatever enmity dwarves may have with Blood Elves has more to do with them being Horde, rather than being elves.

** In the ''GURPS'' predecessor ''TabletopGame/TheFantasyTrip'', dwarves were straight out of the Tolkienian mold. However, some details (mostly concerning dwarf women) were left unspecified, meaning that players could form [[HouseRules their own conclusions]].

* Gnomes in ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheEmergedWorld'' are basically traditional dwarves. However there are some original exceptions, including two MasterSwordsman warriors (Ido and Dola) and even a sorceress (Reiss).

* {{Invoked}} in the ''Literature/CouncilWars'' series. Dwarfs are humans who have used advanced technology to deliberately change themselves into the standard representation of Fantasy Dwarves.

* In ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'', on the world of Pryan, Dwarves are played straight. On Chelestra, they're less xenophobic and more friendly, especially in regards to other races. And on Arianus, they live in devotion to something called the Kicksey-Winsey Machine, which their entire lives revolve around. They're dead on Abarrach (where they are primarily remembered as the mortal race that survived longest in that miserable realm.)

** The dwarven recruitable companion, Sagani, is a female[[note]]and yes, completely beardless[[/note]] boreal dwarf ranger who carries a bow. Her outfit also combines a tastefully restrained amount of BareYourMidriff and ShowSomeLeg while making no attempt at armor and both concept artworks of her revealed so far show TribalFacepaint (along with paint or tattoos on said exposed midriff in one -it wasn't visible in the other-). Finally, it has already been established that in her people's homeland of Naasitaq the boreal dwarves coexist peacefully with caravan elves who roam along the coasts.