Who is credited with inventing the fictional races that we play in Everquest?

[Ashimar]

Someone said that Halflings, Elves, Dwarves and Goblins were all originally created
by J.R.R. Tolkien but another source says they were originally created by the people
who made Dungeons & Dragons.

So does that mean that Everquest wouldn't even exist without JRR Tolkiens
contributions to the genre of fantasy?

[Vermicelli]

Tolkien took a lot of these creatures and people from folkloric tales from western Europe, but the way he developed them in his novels has become the roleplaying game standard. The Lord of the Rings was published in 1955, Dungeons and Dragons in 1974.

[Briscoe]

Well, The Hobbit was published before Gary Gygax was even born...

[Vermicelli]

For further reference, elves were of Irish legend; dwarves, gnomes, and trolls from Germany/Scandinavia; barbarians from Braveheart; erudites from Washington, DC.

[diplo]

probably the guy who wrote LOTR.

[diplo]

Originally Posted by Vermicelli [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For further reference, elves were of Irish legend; dwarves, gnomes, and trolls from Germany/Scandinavia; barbarians from Braveheart; erudites from Washington, DC.

i loled.

[SwordNboard]

Originally Posted by Vermicelli

For further reference, elves were of Irish legend; dwarves, gnomes, and trolls from Germany/Scandinavia; barbarians from Braveheart; erudites from Washington, DC.

Baaahaaha

[Sweetbaby Jesus]

Originally Posted by Vermicelli [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For further reference, elves were of Irish legend; dwarves, gnomes, and trolls from Germany/Scandinavia; barbarians from Braveheart; erudites from Washington, DC.

LMAO that right there is comedy genius!

[Ele]

Each of those listed races have roots in old English, Germanic, and Norse mythology, albeit some slightly altered and some significantly altered from our current popular conception of these mythological races.

Tolkien's writings refreshed them in the pop-culture, and D&D adapted them to their fantasy games. It is difficult to tell if someone else would have written such a fantasy book that had such wide impact to revive these mythologies and create new ones in the way it has occurred over the last 70 years.

[Raavak]

Santa had his elves and Snow White had her dwarfs at the same time or earlier than J.R.R. Tolkien was writing. As others have said the Norse/Germanic mythology includes dwarves, elves, and goblins, and that dates back to at least the 11th century. Maybe you could say the modern "models" of these were defined by Tolkien. But even then, Tolkien elves are taller than AD&D and EQ elves. Everyones got their own definition ;-)