Author: Ray McGill
I was reading an article on Polygon last week, detailing how the renowned fantasy author, R.A. Salvatore is changing how Drow Elves are portrayed in the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons and Dragons. I have spent a lot of time since then thinking about how races, groups, factions, etc are portrayed in not only fantasy books, but video games, and other genres like sci-fi. I applaud Salvatore’s commitment to changing the way races are handled in fantasy settings, as well as his own growth as a writer in the process. For those who do not know: Drow Elves are black-skinned evil Elves native to D&D’s Forgotten Realms setting. They worship their dark spider-goddess known as Lloth. Salvatore’s most famous character, the Drow Elf Drizzt Do’Urden is one such Drow Elf who has rebelled against his evil society, and is a hero in the Forgotten Realms.
The idea of adding nuance to any and all fantasy races is something I find appealing, and I hope it becomes more of the norm in games and literature moving forward. Salvatore is also going the extra step to not retcon his long-standing work, but is expanding on it in a way that makes the group of Drow Drizzt hails from only one faction of Drow in what will be a more multi-alignment race as a whole. I would never accuse an author like Salvatore of being lazy, nor would I do the same to someone like Tolkien, who made all Orcs and such evil. These people were trailblazers of fantasy writing, and helped popularize the genre, and without people like them, we wouldn’t have the chance to take this next step.
Dungeons and Dragons sourcebooks, as well as various fantasy video games usually present Humans as the only race that often expresses itself in the full-range of alignments and worldviews. Elves are generally good (Drow being the stark exception), Dwarves, except for one clan tend to be good, Orcs tend to be evil, etc. Notice though how with Elves and Dwarves in fantasy writing, the evil race is often the exception, and shunned from ‘normal’ society. This is the hackneyed writing that it seems like Salvatore is trying to address, which good for him. He is a veteran writer, does not need to change his ways, but he is choosing to grow.
The idea of not pigeon-holing whole fantasy races to one worldview is also good for helping our worldview to race in the real world. Fantasy writing, much like sci-fi, often tries to fit messages and meaning into their plots, and making sure that we don’t paint races in a fantasy world with the broadest possible brush can possibly help us avoid doing the same in the real world. There should be no “other” in our society, just like there shouldn’t be the “other” in fantasy society. The genre has evolved enough, as well as the authors to be able to take more nuanced takes on fantasy societies. I hope this sort of attitude trickles down to anyone who likes to write words, DM campaigns, or makes video games, it can only make for richer stories, and reminding ourselves of the dangers of limited thinking.