Once again, the last word 
on dwarven women's beards

(Editor's note: The letters to The Dragon
which follow this introduction are a perfect
example of how two persons can arrive at
opposite conclusions even though they?re
using the same information. The response
which follows one of them will, we hope,
help dispel the misconception in the minds of
many D&D and AD&D players about the
"Tolkien connection" (or, more precisely,
the lack of it) in the D&D and AD&D game
systems.

Michael Mattis' letter came to The Dragon
in early July, whereupon we passed it on to
our publisher, E. Gary Gygax, to read and (if
he so chose) write a response for. Obviously,
he did choose to write a response. Take heed,
denizens of Middle Earth: LOTR does not
mix well with D&D or AD&D.

Erol Bayburt's letter arrived, as if it were
p r e d e s t i n e d , o n t h e s a m e d a y t h a t M r .
Gygax's response to the first letter was received.
In spite of the fact that Erol disagrees
with Michael, it is reasonable to assume that
Mr. Gygax's response to him would be in
much the same vein.)

(Dragon #41)
 

"No absolute"

Dear Editor and Mr. Gygax:
About dwarven women (again): I have
played D&D and AD&D for nearly 5 years and I
have noticed that in most of Mr. Gygax’s excellent
works he has mentioned that the rules of 
D&D are but guidelines, subject to any changes
I see fit. And in this case I do see fit!

The dwarves used in D&D are obviously
based on Tolkien’s dwarves, and Tolkien does
mention a female dwarf, Dis, who (according to
Gimli) was almost as fair as Galadriel. Now,
somehow I just can’t picture someone as beautiful
as Galadriel with a beard, can you?!

There should be no rule in any fantasy
game that is absolute. I run my campaign my
own way, with a few more and a few less rules
than the books say. To this end I conclude that
any rule in the books, including whether
dwarves have beards or not, can be changed at
the DM’s discretion.

Michael Mattis
Davis, Calif
(Dragon #41)


Mr. Gygax's reply:
Sorry, but the dwarves of D&D and/or
AD&D are not drawn from J.R.R.T. Any resemblance
between the dwarves of my games
and those of J.R.R.T.'s works might arise from
the fact that both were drawn from Teutonic
and Norse mythology. If you use Tolkien for
your source as to the facial hirsuteness of female
dwarves, then why not use his magic (or
lack thereof) as well? Frankly, while D&D (and
AD&D, to a lesser extent) is flexible, how can
one play without bearded female dwarves?
E.G.G.
(Dragon #41)

P.S.: "Fair" means light, i.e. "blond."
Gimli was evidently stating that his beautiful
bearded lady dwarf had light-colored hair.
You, sir, as a non-dwarf, can not behold
beauty as a dwarven eye would.


"He is right"

To the editor: 
Concerning Gary Gygax and his Sorcerer’s
Scroll in the June Dragon (TD-38): He is
right! Female dwarves do have beards, and
Good is not stupid!

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The
Rings, Appendix A, it states: “They (dwarven
women) are in voice and appearance
so much like Dwarf-men that the eyes and
ears of other people cannot tell them apart.” 

However, Mr. Gygax is not completely
right. First of all, there is mention of a female
dwarf in a work of meritorious heroic fantasy:
Dis, daughter of Thrain II, in The Lord of The
Rings. Secondly, I doubt dwarven egalitarianism
when the men keep their womenfolk
cooped up for the most part inside those dark
mountain hills (doing the dusting, no doubt).
I think the best explanation for dwarven lecherousness
lies in the fact that no more than a
third of the race is female.

[...]

Erol K. Bayburt
Troy, Mich.
(Dragon #41)