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{{trope}}
[[File:Elf-v-
Many stories will have animosity between a beautiful, highly advanced race or civilization, and a much more gritty, industrial-like force. This theme of [[Harmony Versus Discipline]] is very common, regardless of the genre.
In many fantasy fictions these roles are filled by [[Our Elves Are Better|Elves]] and [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|Dwarves]]. Elves are tall and slender, Dwarves are short and stout. Making a physical difference like this is a common way to point out that the two groups are meant as a [[Foil]] of one another.
* Elves use [[Sword Fight|swords]] and [[The Archer|bows]], weapons requiring flexibility and grace, representations of elegance. Elegance is power. Dwarves use [[An Axe to Grind|axes]], [[Drop the Hammer|hammers]] and [[Automatic Crossbows|crossbows]], which are primarily about direct (or in the case of the crossbow, mechanical) application of force. Strength is power.
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* Elves are often portrayed as being masters of diplomacy, small talk and ''doubletalk'', able to go on for hours without giving a straight answer. Dwarves are typically as straightforward as the grille of an oncoming semi.
* Elves dress fancily, sing elaborate songs and are embodiments of beauty and style. Dwarves are often unkempt, sport long beards and hairs, and dress in either simple leather, undyed wool - or steel, and write prose on runes.
* ''However'', one thing they ''do'' often have in common is that both are an arrogant, aloof, and stubborn folk, often a big reason these conflicts start in the first place.
We've given a lot of information here about the specific races, Elves and Dwarves, but the core of this trope is not about them. It is about how that plays out in ''lots'' of stories that have no Elves or Dwarves in them at all. In historical fictions/fantasies you will find Aristocrats versus Barbarians, for example, which could be exchanged for Elves and Dwarves quite easily. Science Fiction will have some variation on [[The Time Machine|Eloi and Morlocks]], or a [[Crystal Spires and Togas]] race versus Humans, [[Avatar (film)|or a primitive but nature-oriented race versus Humans]]. In a contemporary business setting, it will be [[Dilbert|Marketeers versus Engineers]]. A lot of the modern retellings of the classic [[Cowboys and Indians]] western sagas have been presented as this sort of "spiritual barbarian vs. industrialized civilization" meme.
A common subversion is for the Elf and the Dwarf to better understand each other and their respective cultures. The Dwarf may gain a new respect for the Elf's culture and deep learning, while the Elf comes to appreciate the Dwarf's craftsmanship and hard work. Also expect both sides to put aside their differences and [[Enemy Mine|team up against a third greater enemy]] (classically Orcs, Goblins or another similar [[
Compare with [[
▲Compare with [[Ninja|ninjas]] vs. [[Pirate|pirates]] -- although the latter is a recent [[Memetic Mutation]] while this trope is [[Older Than Radio]]. Likewise the horror-oriented [[Fur Against Fang|werewolves vs. vampires]]. Comedy will show this one as [[Slobs Versus Snobs]], [[Big Guy, Little Guy]], or [[Fat and Skinny]]. It can sometimes manifest as a form of [[Fantastic Racism]]. Don't expect to see a dwarf/elf [[Hybrid Monster|hybrid]] due to [[Hybrid Overkill Avoidance]] and both sides being ''very'' [[Squick|squicked]] at the prospect.
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
* ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'' makes good use of this trope in playing up the initial dislike between the aged, bitter dwarf Ghim and the flighty elven princess Deedlit. [[Character Development]] leads them both to understand the other better.
▲== [[Anime]] ==
▲* ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'' makes good use of this trope in playing up the initial dislike between the aged, bitter dwarf Ghim and the flighty elven princess Deedlit. [[Character Development]] leads them both to understand the other better.
* Averted really ''hard'' in ''[[Queen's Blade]]'' with Ymir, the dwarf princess, with the elves, who befriends a lot with them, as long she doesn't try to sell steel weapons to them, since it's implied to be forbidden for them to use those weapons.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The elves and trolls in ''[[Elf Quest]]'' closely fit this dynamic - although those particular elf tribes are not particularly cultured, and the two groups aren't above [[Enemy Mine|cooperating against a common enemy]]. The trolls of [[Elf Quest]] are [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|little different]] from standard fantasy dwarves.
== [[Film]] ==
* The classic silent film ''[[Metropolis]]'' has a leisure class living above ground in luxury, while workers both live and work below ground.
* In James Cameron's ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', the Na'vi are amazing natural archers, have a deep empathy for their environment, are not ones to really mess around, and are tall, slender, and lacking in body hair. The Humans are incredibly skilled at craftsmanship, construction, and engineering, utilize big guns, mining machines, and high impact weaponry, live in dark multi-layered cities with lots of technology and little vegetation and natural light, mostly lack a spiritual connection with their world, and are rather gung-ho and upfront, not to mention short, stocky and hairy, when compared to the Na'vi.
* Elwood in the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons (film)|Dungeons & Dragons]]'' movie is a dwarf who hates elves because... [[Politically Incorrect Hero| well, because he's a dwarf]]. That's the only explanation for it, which is actually ''far'' from the worst thing about the script.
== [[Gamebook|Gamebooks]] ==▼
* Both played straight and subverted in the ''[[Fighting Fantasy]]'' gamebooks, depending on where exactly you go in the world of Titan. It's noted that many dwarves and elves really don't get along, but it tends to be more due to misunderstanding rather than outright antipathy. The subversion comes when canon also notes that there have been several notable adventuring team-ups between elves and dwarves, and both races have a certain respect for the love the other has for nature/the earth. The ''Zagor Chronicles'' series of standalone novels further fleshes out this trope when the dwarf Kagand explains to the dwarf Stubble (who comes from another world) that, while dwarves and elves have slain enough of each other in wars over the centuries, they actually live in harmony in places like Darkwood. This is a mild form of [[Culture Shock]] to Stubble, as the dwarves and elves on his own world have a deep-rooted dislike that goes back centuries. ▼
== [[Literature]] ==
* H.G. Wells' ''[[The Time Machine]]'' features the Morlocks (below ground) and the Eloi (above ground), two subspecies of humanity, in the year 802701, making this [[Older Than Radio]]. Unlike the more common form of this trope, however, the Eloi are neither highly advanced nor highly intelligent.
** Not to mention that the Eloi may be nothing more than the Morlocks's humanoid cattle.
* Stanislaw Lem's ''[[His Master's Voice]]'' has the [[Hard on Soft Science]] conflict between the "dwarfs" (mathematicians, engineers) and the "elves" (psychologists, mostly).
* Although they hadn't come to blows in a long time, Elves and Dwarves seemed to have a lot of distrust towards each other in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]].'' It stemmed at least partially from an ancient war between a particular dwarven city and the Elves of Doriath, one which eventually contributed to the downfall of both areas, and also between a general severing of ties between all the races that made them much more mystic and thus suspicious to each other. [[Character Development]] subverts this in the case of the elven Legolas and the dwarven Gimli, who both come to understand each other better and become [[Friendly Rival
** Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' is also likely the source for this trope. Tolkien set many standards which have made their way into modern fantasy especially after being further popularized by other pop culture phenomenon such as Dungeons and Dragons. Prior to Tolkien's work elves and dwarves were not usually seen as being distinctly separate kinds of beings in most mythology. Often they were synonymous with other fey creatures who inhabited either the woods or the water or mountains. Tolkien created different categories for these beings and made them more humanoid than they were previously in mythology.
* In Katherine Kerr's ''[[Deverry]]'' novels, many of the Mountain Folk (dwarves) believe the Westfolk (elves) are all thieves, and enchant their weaponry to glow when they come into contact with elves (this is how it's revealed the main character is a [[Half-Human Hybrid]]). Any antipathy the Westfolk have to the dwarves is mostly a reaction to this attitude.
* Averted in [[Raymond E. Feist]]'s ''[[The Riftwar Cycle|Riftwar Cycle]]'', where Dwarves and Elves are on the whole pretty good friends. They even get along fairly well with humans, and both races have a [[Honoured Enemy]] thing going with the Dark Elves.
* In the [[Timothy Zahn]] book ''The Green And The Gray'' the two races, Greens and Grays, are basically Elves and Dwarves respectively and yes, they've been at war for centuries.
* Played with in three of the worlds from the ''[[Death Gate Cycle]]''. In [[Floating Continents|Arianus]], the Elves are [[The Empire]] and the Dwarves are an oppressed slave race that serves them; in [[Hollow World|Pryan]], the Dwarves generally don't like ''anybody'', but there doesn't seem to be any particular animosity between them and the elves; in [[Water Is Air|Chelestra]], the two races are shown to be staunch allies who may indulge in mockery of each other but have great respect for each others' abilities.
* The ''[[Star Trek: The
** Also in the [[Star Trek Novel Verse]], the rivalry between Huanni and their offshoot race the Falorians. Huanni are graceful and ethereal as well as emotionally expressive, Falorians are stockier, stoic, disciplined and historically a labour class.
* The Elves and Dwarves in the ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]'' add another twist to this: the Elves are generally very scientific, while the Dwarves are religious. Note that this has nothing to do with technology: the series is strictly "swords & sorcery." But for example, the Dwarves worship Stone, believing that they came from it and return to it in death, and one of their priests mentions why they know that stone is alive: coral reefs, which grow over the decades. The hero is suitably impressed with this, until he meets the agnostic Elves who posit that there is no evidence supporting any gods or supernatural beings, and that the coral are just the accumulation of billions of tiny dead sea creature fossils.
* In Adrian Tchaikovsky's ''Shadows of the Apt'' series there is considerable tension between the [[The Magic Goes Away|fading, magically oriented Inapt races]] and the rising, technologically oriented Apt ones, especially between the Moth-kinden and the short, stocky Beetle-kinden.
* Subverted in a short story from ''Dragon'', in which a dwarf community built under a gigantic tree is revealed to be even ''more'' spiritually attuned to the tree than the elves who worship it on the surface. The dwarves tend its roots with loving care, and are grateful to it for holding the roof together and guiding them to water. When it gets sick, the elves just worry about what its illness forebodes; the practical-minded dwarves seek out and correct the problem with the tree's taproot.
* Randy Waterhouse in ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'' by Neil Stephenson divides the world into Elves (ingenious, calculating and highly motivated people, like his business partner Avi), Dwarves (hard-working "plodders," like himself), and Men (everyone else outside the realm of nerds that he inhabits).
* Subversion of this in R.A. Salvatore's ''[[The Cleric Quintet]]'' and some of his later Drizzt novels, which feature Pikel, a rather eccentric dwarf (he dyes his beard bright ''green'') whose ambition in life is to become a druid (to the sheer horror of both the elven monks he goes to for training and his brother Ivan, who is the epitome of everything blunt, earthy, and dwarvish). However, Pikel's affinity for nature and his druidic abilities eventually end up creating quite a rapport between certain dwarven and elven settlements.
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** In
**
** Dwarves and trolls are hereditary enemies. Dwarves mine, which involves smashing rocks to get valuable minerals out of them, and trolls are basically animate rocks with valuable minerals in. This despite the fact that ''both'' races are Stout.
* This runs all through the ''[[Green-Sky Trilogy]]'', despite the fact that the Kindar (willowy, overly-diplomatic, tree-dwelling [[Veganopia|vegetarians]]) and Erdlings (stocky, plain-spoken, underground-dwelling hunters) are simply two separate human cultures.
* In ''[[Star Ways]]'' by [[Poul Anderson]], humans and alori are like that. Alori are edenic and nature-loving. They are also xenophobic and will go to almost any length to preserve their [[Hidden Elf Village]]. Humans are restless, domineering and ambitious, and technically dependent. On the other hand, they never intended to attack the alori; the alori consider the humans a threat [[Fantastic Racism|for existing]] because their machine based culture seems hostile to nature(the Alori are rather like the Naavi from ''[[Avatar]]'' in some ways). There are two main human cultures shown, the Union which emphasizes rationality and individualism and the Nomads which are clannish and honor-bound. These two have tense relations but not irreconcilable.
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
▲* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'':
** "The Cloud Minders" had graceful and scholarly humanoids living in a literal [[Floating Continent|flying city]], while brutish and mentally limited miners dug tunnels with simple hand tools underground. It's later revealed that the two are actually the same species, but the miners are exposed to a mineral that affects the brain.
** In the episode "Journey to Babel", Vulcans and Tellarites have a classic elf-dwarf relationship, with Sarek of Vulcan a rather witty Legolas and Gav the Tellarite a doomed variant of Gimli.
** Cardassians and Bajorans have a sort of dark elf/drow and dark dwarf enmity going on. The Bajoran slaves were even
** The long-standing rivalry between the haughty, arrogant but unfailingly cautious Romulans and the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] Klingons.
* In ''[[Babylon 5]]'', the Centauri and the Narn have a mutually genocidal rage against each other with the Centauri being more dandyish and the Narn more down to Earth.
**Humans and Minbari are closer to this though there are a few more ambiguities. Humans are more mechanical like Dwarves, and Minbari are very definitely elf like. However, though they had a recent war before the series, and many are racist toward one another human and Minbari can get along and many like each other's company.
== [[Oral Tradition|Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends]] ==
* The relationship between [[The Fair Folk|fairies]] and mortals is sometimes portrayed as a [[Magic Versus Technology]] fight with fairies despite all their magic being afraid of [[Cold Iron]]. In some ways they are [[Not So Different]] and regularly kidnap each other, abuse each other's weaknesses, and occasionally fall in love with each other. Rather like two tribes, cities, or nations of humans who happen to border each other.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Played absolutely straight in the ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' fantasy battle game. The Elves and Dwarves carry residual hatred from the <s>War of the Beard</s> [[Insistent Terminology|War of Vengeance]] that they fought long ago. The Elves are magic-wielding Imperialists, while the Dwarves miner-industrialists with relatively advanced technology (including firearms, cannons, and steam-punk helicopters). The conflict resulted because of the Dark Elves framing the elves for attacking a dwarven caravan, and the High Elven king at the time being a complete moron who had the dwarven emissary shaved, a dire insult to dwarves. So in a world where the forces of darkness constantly threaten to overcome the world, naturally they went to war against each other. At the end of the war, several thousand on both sides were dead, the elven king was killed by the dwarves
* It's Eldar Vs ''Humans'' on a galactic, genocidal scale in ''[[Warhammer
** Though the 40k universe did have it's version of dwarves early on, the [[Old Shame|Squats]]. [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|It didn't end well for them.]]
* ''[[Dungeons
** Since both dwarves and elves are standard hero races, they tend to be on decent terms, though usually not seeing eye to eye on much (typically more like eye to groin). The 3rd edition rulebook mentions that while dwarves and elves don't always get along, if one gets attacked the other will be the first to help them. Much like brothers. This was less the case in the 1st Edition, where the table for racial relations explicitly noted that dwarves and elves had a noted antipathy towards one another. Humans generally tended to be regarded neutrally by all the demihuman races.
** ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' elves and dwarves usually distrust and dislike each other, unless they are raised in places where elves and dwarves are allied (like The Fallen Kingdom and its remnants or Myth Drannor) or are very worldly (many adventurers and merchants). Of course, the Southern Gold Dwarves can be just as haughty and pretentious as the stereotypical insular elves, while adventurers mostly come from wandering Shield Dwarves already dealing with others all the time, and/or those who wanted to get away from clanhold rules.
** ''[[Eberron]]'' has a really weird version of this between the halflings of the Talenta Plains and the elves of Valenar. Thing is, it's the halflings standing in for the elves in this trope - primitive, spiritual, attuned to nature, and generally cleaving to the [[Magical Native American]] idea, only they ride [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs|dinosaurs]]. The Valenar elves, in turn, stand in for the ''dwarves'', being accurately described as land-based Vikings. The actual dwarves of the setting are geographically removed from both races and thus are neutral towards both.▼
*** Dwarves of High Shanatar and the elves of Tethir and Darthiir Wood had an alliance against encroaching humans and giants, but apparently didn't learn to coordinate well in four centuries it lasted, so eventually their relations soured. Per ''Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide To The Underdark'' and ''Lands of Intrigue'', it ended in dwarves losing one whole clan to a feud. Dwarves carried on and managed to purge the giant tribes, but lost territory to human kingdom.
{{quote|During the Clash at Earthrift (what is now the Gorge of the Fallen Idol), two elven princes were accidentally killed when a dwarven-instigated rock slide buried over 20 giants and began to turn the battle. The elven war leader, whose sons were killed, withdrew the support of the Tethir elves, leading to the battle's loss. Furthermore, the elves began a feud against the dwarven clan Gemcrypt that led to the clan's eventual extinction from the western Starspire Mountains. Within the next century, the other elven allies of Shanatar broke with the dwarves, leaving them to stand alone against giants and humans alike.}}
▲
:* ¨Shards of the Day¨, a module from ''[[Dungeon (magazine)|Dungeon Adventures]]'', has the players searching the Underdark for the eponymous [[Dismantled MacGuffin]], which was built via a joint effort between elves and dwarves centuries before the rivalry between them began. At least symbolically, it represents a time before such pointless conflicts. The [[Quest Giver]] is a wealthy dwarf philanthopist who hopes recovering it will quell the feud between the two races.
* In the [[Iron Kingdoms]] setting (where ''WARMACHINE'' and ''HORDES'' are set), the highly-industrialized titular Iron Kingdoms (the WARMACHINE factions) often find themselves at odds with the much more naturalistic Primal Powers (the HORDES factions). Of course, there's plenty of infighting among the Iron Kingdoms and the Primal Powers as well. Notably, this trait is actually averted by the setting's ''actual'' elves and dwarves, as the elves are [[The Fair Folk|rabid xenophobes]] who hate ''everyone'', and the dwarves, while isolationist, are on generally friendly terms with all the other races.
* The [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|Jadeborn]] (with a hint of [[Our Elves Are Better|elfish traits]]) and [[the Fair Folk]] in ''[[Exalted]]'' don't exactly meet often enough to develop this, but their very natures are inimical to each other
** Within the Jadeborn themselves, the Artisan Caste (the most elf looking of them) is typically prejudiced against the Worker and Warrior Castes, regarding the regulars as uncouth and brutish and the Enlightened ones as freaks and upstarts, while the other two Castes deride the Artisans as stuck-up, arrogant and a little bit crazy.
* Played straight in ''[[Palladium Fantasy Role Playing Game]]'', with the Elven and Dwarven Empires having recently fought a war that lasted ''over 10 thousand years''. As a consequence of the war humans now dominate the world and [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|Dwarves swore off magic]].
* In [[Traveller]] the Darrians and the Sword Worlders could fit as elves and dwarves respectively.
* In [[Banestorm]]: Dwarves and Elves both have a pantheistic religion but Dwarves relate to it through craftsmanship and Elves through nature. They don't have regular wars and feuds as a ''tradition''(though they might have occasional tangles according to how events play out) but they do have differing philosophies and social structures.
▲* Both played straight and subverted in the ''[[Fighting Fantasy]]'' gamebooks, depending on where exactly you go in the world of Titan. It's noted that many dwarves and elves really don't get along, but it tends to be more due to misunderstanding rather than outright antipathy. The subversion comes when canon also notes that there have been several notable adventuring team-ups between elves and dwarves, and both races have a certain respect for the love the other has for nature/the earth. The ''Zagor Chronicles'' series of standalone novels further fleshes out this trope when the dwarf Kagand explains to the dwarf Stubble (who comes from another world) that, while dwarves and elves have slain enough of each other in wars over the centuries, they actually live in harmony in places like Darkwood. This is a mild form of [[Culture Shock]] to Stubble, as the dwarves and elves on his own world have a deep-rooted dislike that goes back centuries.
== [[Theater]] ==
* The people in Belle Reve (Elves) and New Orleans (Dwarves) in [[A Streetcar Named Desire]].
== [[Video Games]] ==
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** The Elder Scrolls case is more of a subversion. The "dwarves", while seemingly atheist, they were a very spiritual people - so much that the aforementioned [[Critical Existence Failure]] happened in {{spoiler|an attempt to become gods themselves.}} Both of them also base their technology on magic - the Dwemer even more so than their neighbours.
** While the Dunmer/Dwemer case is more of a subversion, this trope is played straight with the human Empire playing the dwarves to the Dunmer elves.
* In the game ''[[Arcanum:
* The elves and dwarves (and gnomes) of ''[[Majesty]]'' won't settle in your kingdom if any of the other races are present. While the dwarves here are depicted as typical 'gruff engineers' the elves are far from mystical, magical, or wise, but are instead a bunch of hedonistic layabouts who bring vice to your city in the form of gambling halls and elven lounges.
** Subverted in one mission in the expansion pack, when you find yourself asisting refugees from a war between the elves and the Greater Gorgons. If you last long enough, the second [[Gondor Calls for Aid|wave of reinforcements]] is a large party of dwarves.
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** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] with Zevran and Oghren in ''[[Dragon Age Origins]]''. At worst, they're [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]. Awakening has this a bit, with Oghren and Sigrun pranking around uptight Dalish elf Velanna.
** Much more directly lampshaded, and laughably subverted, when Oghren is in the party when you recruit Zevran
{{quote|
Zevran: I see. Are we now supposed to engage in some manner of archetypal dwarf-elf banter, my friend?
Oghren: Nah. }}
** In ''[[Dragon Age II]]'', Varric and Fenris are relatively cordial to each other. While Varric is one of the few party members that remains on good terms with everybody, Fenris is generally antisocial and quite antagonistic other members, particularly the mages (or at least the ones that aren't Hawkes). Varric adores Merrill, the party's other elf, nicknaming her "Daisy" and treating her like a little sister.
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* The Elves, who represent the element of Life, and Dwarves, who worship the element of Earth, typically begin with poor relations in ''Lords of Magic''.
* While both factions in ''[[Rift]]'' have elves, it's the faction that ''doesn't'' have dwarves in which this rivalry gets obviously played out: The [[Our Elves Are Better|Kelari elves]] are not on the best of terms with the bahmi (the [[The Big Guy|imposing]], blue-skinned, and decidedly ''non''-dwarven [[Five Races|stouts]] of the Defiant faction).
*
* Averted in the ''[[Warcraft]]'' games. In ''Warcraft II'' and ''III'', High elves and Bronzebeard dwarves went along well, and Wildhammer dwarves were very good friends with the former. Dwarves in general don't seem to have any problem with Night elves, and if they are ennemies of the Blood elves it's only because the latter joined the Horde (their rival faction) or the [[Legions of Hell|Burning Legion]] (who are ennemies to [[Omnicidal Maniac|everybody]]).
** There are some individual examples, however. Tarenar Sunstrike and Gidwin Goldbraids in ''World Of Warcraft's'' Eastern Plaguelands have a rivalry very reminiscent of Gimli and Legolas. Likewise, a night elf and dwarf in one of the ''Warcraft: Legends'' manga were verbally at each other's throats all the time.
** The Alliance's ambassador to the blood elves (before they joined the Horde) was a dwarf, which you would think was an intentional aversion of this trope. Turns out, he was investigating things where he didn't belong and handing off blueprints of arcane sanctums to the night elves hiding in the area.
* Lacking any actual elves in the setting and with the dwarves virtually extinct as of the first game, ''[[Guild Wars 2]]'' has an excellent parallel in the conflict between the ancient, civilized, beautiful, magically gifted ''humans'' and the brutal, industrious, and militaristic Charr, where the humans are in serious decline and are in very real danger of extinction and the Charr are thriving. They're reluctant and wary allies in the game, courtesy of the de facto ruler of the Charr being unusually progressive and far-sighted (who also wants the traditional marker of the true leader of the Charr, which the humans stole centuries back), while the human queen has more than enough trouble on her hands without the Charr.
* Lampshaded by descriptions of items in ''[[Dungeons of Dredmor]]'', where there was such a war outside the dungeon.
* ''[[Master of Magic]]'' has this, it's [[All There in the Manual]] - racial [http://masterofmagic.wikia.com/wiki/Races#Racial_Unrest relationships table] shows that Dwarves have maximal unrest penalty for Trolls, with High Elves, Dark Elves and Orcs sharing the second worst place in their hearts, while High Elves dislike Dark Elves most, but Dwarves are on the second place with Trolls - i.e. they dislike even Orcs less. For that matter, their rows and columns (because feelings are mutual) and Dark Elves vs. Trolls are the only cases of such high hostility.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
** The grudge is mostly explained as elves ''really, really'' disliking all the beards. Or, [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2003/10/09/episode-340-the-next-quest/ to be more specific], both races believe they rightfully own the Earth Orb. Notably ''not'' present in the game it's based on, however, which portrays the dwarves and elves as being friendly with each other.
** Keeping with the tone of the comic, the rivalry is turned [[Up to Eleven]] with both sides gladly committing genocide on the other. The two biggest [[Sociopathic Hero]]-protagonists [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2003/11/13/episode-353-last-one-i-swear/ do their part] since Thief is an Elf and Black Mage... just enjoys destruction.
{{quote|
'''Black Mage:''' [[Stealth Insult|That must be a relief to you.]]
'''Dwarves:''' We're to kill any Elves on sight without question. Which is fairly redundant, since any Dwarf would do that anyway. But a paycheck's a paycheck. }}
** It doesn't help that both species are portrayed as being highly xenophobic and Elves believe that all other forms of life (including some of the gods) were failed attempts at replicating [[Superior Species|their perfection]].
* In ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'', they have the [[Hobbits|Halflings]] and the Dwarves going at it, with the pretty Halflings having fruited beers while the ugly Dwarves have more generic beers. That is what's presented at the nature of their conflicts, at least in the modern day.
* ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'' features rather few elves and dwarves long enough for the two to meet- except for the party members. Durkon, a proudly stereotypical dwarf cleric, and Vaarsivuus, [[The Spock]] and [[Insufferable Genius]] wizard, constantly bicker but respect each others' abilities nonetheless, both being powerful spellcasters. {{spoiler|The two did have a little spat when V went round the bend, but the two did apologize to each other later, both admitting that they were in the wrong.}}
* ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]'' presents: [http://yafgc.net/
* A story arc in ''[[Nodwick]]
* ''[[The Noob]]'': it goes on in ClicheQuest<sup>TM</sup>, [http://thenoobcomic.com/comic/45/ too]:
{{quote|
'''Ohforf''': How nice! The drawing is a tree that represents the elves' love for nature, right?
'''Tacobell''': Oh, no, darling! It's a [[Everything Makes a Mushroom|mushroom cloud]]. A souvenir of when we nuked the Dwarven capital city, at the end of beta! *giggles* }}
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In ''[[Le Donjon De Naheulbeuk]]'' (''Dungeon of Naheulbeuk'')), a French audio [[Affectionate Parody]] of tabletop RPGs and particularly ''[[Dungeons
{{quote|
'''The Dwarf''': She says we can leave her behind.
'''The Elf''': Get me out of here, it's slimy!
'''The Dwarf''': She says she wants us to make rocks fall on her to put her out of her misery. }}
* In ''[[Tales of MU]]'', a [http://www.talesofmu.com/story/bonus-stories/on-elves-and-dwarves gnomish folk tale] depicts elves and dwarves are the descendants of quarreling twin brothers, who grew into their current forms by attempting to emphasize their imagined differences.
* The debate continues even onto [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNrLMob39qI YouTube] in a segment of D&D PHB PSA. Elves, for those not in the know, cause cancer, and have tiny penises. Especially the women.
* In ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In an episode of ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
** "They taste like my cat!"
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* The North/South divide in the UK between the (now) poorer industrialised [[Oop North|North]] and the richer South. With northerners seen as plain-spoken, down-to-earth and working class (or Northern Bastards) and southerners seen as posh, intelligent, educated, and generally upper or middle class (or Soft Southern Nancies). It is no coincidence that in many fantasy adaptations the Elves have posh, southern English accents, while those for Dwarves tends to be either [[Oop North|northern (usually Yorkshire)]] or Scottish. And then you have the people living in the Midlands who are often counted in both camps...
* Anglo/French relations, in a nutshell. The industrial English/British have been at odds with the artistic French for almost a millennium.
** During [[The American Revolution]], on the other hand, the colonists saw themselves as the tough, pragmatic and hardworking ones and the British as a bunch of [[
* Cats are seen as [[Cats Are Snarkers|graceful, aloof, pretentious, and clever]] (Elves). Dogs are seen as strong, tough, loyal, hard-working, and finally: they dig (Dwarves).
* The [[Mars and Venus Gender Contrast]] relies on something like this, with [[The Unfair Sex|men being stereotyped as boorish oafs]] who love power tools (Dwarves) and women as [[Women Are Wiser|smart, sophisticated and bookish]] (Elves). This is subverted more often than not with stereotypes like the [[Dumb Blonde]].
* The [[Eagle Land|United States of America]] and the [[Glorious Mother Russia|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]. The Americans won [[The Space Race]],<ref>Debatable - the Soviets had ''all'' of the firsts (first object in orbit, first man in orbit, first woman in space, first probe to reach the Moon, etc.) except for "first man on the Moon", but that was the photogenic one so it's the one that everybody remembers.</ref> had [[Yanks With Tanks|a high-tech volunteer army]] that relied heavily on precision weaponry (smart bombs, et al.), had the dominant pop culture which they used to spread their ideals far and wide, had a consumer culture that was the envy of the world, and were stereotyped as rich, vain and decadent (Elves). The Soviets had [[From Russia With Nukes|much bigger nuclear weapons]] (to destroy more area in one blow and make up for inaccuracy) and a [[Reds With Rockets|much larger standing army]], would probably have overrun Western Europe (before the nukes came out, at least) through overwhelming force had [[World War III]] broken out, followed an ideology that extolled the working classes, and were stereotyped as poor and oppressed, but hard-working (Dwarves). On a smaller scale, see Korea (North is Dwarves, South is Elves).
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