Justify Breaking Genre Conventions, CBG version.

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Um, the cave analogy was about people in a cave not being able to understand the real world, as in people that don't do philosophy.

So the cave-dwellers have no philosophy.

But since our non-sterotypical dwarves don't live in caves, no problem right.

I mean, everyone knows Hercules, Jason, and Perseus were all dwarves.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Convention: Undead are life-hating engines of destruction.

Breaking it: Undead are the calmest beings in existence.  They have to really try to hate anyone or anything enough to want to destroy them.

Inspiration: Terry Pratchett proposed that since dead people don't have the usual chemical triggers for emotion that they don't experience the same intense feelings as live people.

Convention (D&D only): Undead are powered by negative energy.

Breaking it: Undead are powered by positive energy.

Reasoning: Negative energy is the force of destruction.  It can't give "life" to anything.  Positive energy is already used to reverse the process of dying (i.e. wounds), so it's a natural for making things get back up.

[Slapzilla]

I see dwarves in a more Eastern light.  A social outlook and philosophy based on wisdom for what destroys the very concept of craft but impatience?  A martial culture balanced with artisanship... Sounding a bit Samurai-ish.  Monks and Priests fit right in.  Heck, even a Wu-Jen type works.  Why not ninja dwarves?

Terry Pratchet's 'Lords and Ladies' turned beautiful, charming, wonderful elves into sadistic, lying sociopaths.  Loved the take on it as people of the world remembered the beauty of them and beauty = good... right?