The rivalry between dwarves and elves is one of the oldest tropes in traditional fantasy. However, when inspected closely, it never seems like dwarves get the fair end of the deal. One of the best examples isThe Lord of the Rings,which is arguably responsible for spawning the elf-dwarf tension. While its predecessor,The Hobbit,gives dwarves lots of attention, the much larger and more involvesLord of the Ringsgives dwarves very little presence aside from Gimli while the changing society of elves dominates as a subplot. Dwarves are a fun, classic fantasy race that unfortunately don’t get enough media dedicated to them.
Thankfully, that seems to be changing a little bit. For one thing,Deep Rock Galactichas redefined the representation of dwarves in video games, potentially creating a lot of new interest in them. Now it looks like dwarves have a new champion inboard games.The Siege of Runedaris an upcoming cooperative board game being developed with the help of notable board game designed Reiner Knizia.The Siege of Runedarhas dwarves at its heart above all, tasking players with defending a dwarven treasure at all costs. The traditional dwarven love of the earth’s treasures setsThe Siege of Runedarup for a simple but compelling premise that’ll be a boon to dwarves and their popularity.
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Breaking Down Siege of Runedar
It’s appropriate that Reiner Knizia is developingThe Siege of Runedar,considering his previous work onan officialLord of the Ringsboard game. Knizia’s focus is on dwarves instead of hobbits this time, but his experience withLord of the Ringsmight still shine through in this new work. The conceit ofThe Siege of Runedaris that a group of dwarves are defending the titular fortress of Runedar from orcs, goblins, and trolls that want to take their treasure, not unlikeLotRfare. Players will work together to battle these attackers and buy as much time as possible for an escape tunnel that’s under construction. Once the tunnel is complete, the players escape, and they win.
Gameplay details onThe Siege of Runedarare a little scarce for now, but some of the basics are known. It’s a deck building game, meaning players will probably get the opportunity to customize their dwarf’s skillset as they go. Changes to the deck represent upgrades to weapons and other equipment, too, so over the course of an hour or so of play, a player’s character inThe Siege of Runedarwill probably get a lot stronger. By the end, the players might feel likean accomplishedDungeons and Dragonspartywith an all-dwarf twist.
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A Dawning Dwarf Revival
It’s really too bad that there isn’t a major amount of dwarf-focused media in fantasy games so far. They’re often relegated to inferior roles in video games as well as other fantasy texts.The Elder Scrollsfamously keeps dwarves outof the picture. The Dwemer channel all kinds of traditional dwarf imagery; they live underground, manage mines, and come up with bold mechanical inventions. However, they’re intentionally elf-like in a lot of ways, and they’re generally extinct as a race throughoutThe Elder Scrollsgames.
That’s why it’s nice to seethings likeDeep Rock GalacticandThe Siege of Runedargive dwarves their time in the sun. Plenty of previous media has put thought into the dwarven counterpart in elves already, so it’s about time that the scale tipped in the other direction. It’ll be interesting to see what impactThe Siege of Runedarhas on fantasy board games after its release, and potentially video games as well. If it’s a big enough hit, developers might reevaluate the usage of dwarves in fantasy and come up with something a little more like Knizia’s vision.
