Why do we only see Tolkien's elves, dwarves, and orcs in medieval fantasy, why not space?

[DefunctTheory]

Daemons = ...demons

...It was bothering me.

***Edit: As pointed out by someone's earlier post, I'm not talking about Warhammer 40k. I'm saying, what if we took what Tolkien's creatures, cultures, races, and mythos and sped the clock forward 1500 years or so. Why don't we see something like that? It doesn't have to be along the same lines as W40k, but closer to traditional Western RPGs or actual books. Like the dwarves and elves from Dragon Age, they're portrayed pretty damn well, to the extent where I believe that Bioware holds weekly seances to speak with Tolkien. I'm wondering why someone hasn't... What's a good way to put this....

Because Tolkien gave trees a spirit, and pretty much stamped almost all industry (Unless its used to make pretty castles) EVIL.

So essentially, to go to space, everyone from Orks to Humans to Elves would have to become colossal pricks, all competing for the Evil awards.

 

[SckizoBoy]

***Edit: As pointed out by someone's earlier post, I'm not talking about Warhammer 40k. I'm saying, what if we took what Tolkien's creatures, cultures, races, and mythos and sped the clock forward 1500 years or so. Why don't we see something like that? It doesn't have to be along the same lines as W40k, but closer to traditional Western RPGs or actual books. Like the dwarves and elves from Dragon Age, they're portrayed pretty damn well, to the extent where I believe that Bioware holds weekly seances to speak with Tolkien. I'm wondering why someone hasn't... What's a good way to put this....

It's largely about author's inability (or lack of willingness) to postulate about technological (or even magical) evolution in a fantasy setting (with the exception of the Fable series, which I will give Lionhead credit for having the balls to try it, and David Gemmell).

Even with the WH40K, there's no backstory regarding species evolution or progression, so they can only be taken as equivalents (Eldar = High Elves, Dark Eldar = Dark Elves, Exodites = Wood Elves, Ratlings = Skaven/Dwarves (after a fashion), Orks = Orcs etc.) and it is difficult to portray them with contemporary technology/styles because it would seem too far fetched as the genre overlap makes it difficult to write a story that successfully merges all the concepts as well as their intermediaries.

*meh* my two cents' worth.

 

[Daniel Laeben-Rosen]

orks = orc
elder = elves

in 40k

no dwarfs that i know about but there are ogres in 40k. they are like bigger humans

lol lets see how many post we can get that are just ''40k''

Actually, there were Squats, they were dwarfs, IN SPAAAACE!, but they got retconned due to being really silly.
Like... really really silly. The official explanation is that they were eaten by the Tyranids when they were first introduced.
Yes. GW were so sorry about the Squats, that the first thing Tyranids did when they entered the galaxy was devour every member of the species.

 

[DefunctTheory]

***Edit: As pointed out by someone's earlier post, I'm not talking about Warhammer 40k. I'm saying, what if we took what Tolkien's creatures, cultures, races, and mythos and sped the clock forward 1500 years or so. Why don't we see something like that? It doesn't have to be along the same lines as W40k, but closer to traditional Western RPGs or actual books. Like the dwarves and elves from Dragon Age, they're portrayed pretty damn well, to the extent where I believe that Bioware holds weekly seances to speak with Tolkien. I'm wondering why someone hasn't... What's a good way to put this....

It's largely about author's inability (or lack of willingness) to postulate about technological (or even magical) evolution in a fantasy setting (with the exception of the Fable series, which I will give Lionhead credit for having the balls to try it, and David Gemmell).

Even with the WH40K, there's no backstory regarding species evolution or progression, so they can only be taken as equivalents (Eldar = High Elves, Dark Eldar = Dark Elves, Exodites = Wood Elves, Ratlings = Skaven/Dwarves (after a fashion), Orks = Orcs etc.) and it is difficult to portray them with contemporary technology/styles because it would seem too far fetched as the genre overlap makes it difficult to write a story that successfully merges all the concepts as well as their intermediaries.

*meh* my two cents' worth.

Actually, they do have a rather loose technological back ground.

But, since Humans, Necrons, and the Tau are the only races to ever HAVE technological progression (Or evolution) (Besides some odds and ends), it can seem like there's none.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Actually, they do have a rather loose technological back ground.

But, since Humans, Necrons, and the Tau are the only races to ever HAVE technological progression (Or evolution) (Besides some odds and ends), it can seem like there's none.

The Necrons do?! I remember about the Tau... that was quite interesting actually. But as for the Humans, more like technological regression (in some aspects, I know, not all)...

 

[DefunctTheory]

Actually, they do have a rather loose technological back ground.

But, since Humans, Necrons, and the Tau are the only races to ever HAVE technological progression (Or evolution) (Besides some odds and ends), it can seem like there's none.

The Necrons do?! I remember about the Tau... that was quite interesting actually. But as for the Humans, more like technological regression (in some aspects, I know, not all)...

Well, what the Necrons were BEFORE they were Necrons (Necrontyr) had progression.

And human progression (Before the 31st century, when shit REALLY hit the fan) is covered vaguely.

 

[Something Amyss]

We see too much of them in fantasy. Don't let the Tolkien plague spread.

 

[Daniel Laeben-Rosen]

[


Well, what the Necrons were BEFORE they were Necrons (Necrontyr) had progression.

And human progression (Before the 31st century, when shit REALLY hit the fan) is covered vaguely.

Which shit in particular? The civil war(to unite), the daemonic invasion, the alien invasion or the civil war that followed Horus?
...
Actually, good point. The 31st Millenium was not a good time to be a human in that universe.

After the Heresy though alot of technology was lost, and the Mechanicum on Mars basically shoot anyone if they try to innovate...
"Basically"... what am I saying, they do.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well you got Warhammer 40k for that.
Why not have a future game where none of them have evolved?
Because it would be the same old setup, in DA you may have the different races living in different setting but they all live on the same spit of rock, using the same weapons, fighting techniques, same magic,... and share 90% of the culture.

Warhammer did the proper thing and imagined where the races would end up, giving us something new to the old formula.

 

[moose_man]

AHEM.


Spelljammer.


And we all know how well THAT worked.

Erm. I kinda LIKED Spelljammer (and yes, I'm old enough to have played it when it came out). Then again, I haven't played it in over a decade, so maybe it wasn't all that.

Still, a game based around flying wooden ships and crystal spheres can't be all bad. Maybe it's time for a reboot.

If done right, I have faith in WOTC.