I really like this discussion so far. Right now I'm in the process of making a map for a modern-day world that has Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Gnomes, and Humans. I'm definitely facing the danger of falling into a cliche trap like you said. I was thinking of having Elves be the most imperialistic race, a parallel for Europe in real-world history. The other races are imperialistic as well, just not tot he extent of the Elves. The Humans, however, will represent African cultures in the real world. They have had history stacked against them but are still growing strong. In this conworld, each of the five races will have a variety of cultures and ethnic groups within them. Some humans will be more antagonistic toward humans of a different skin color, than they are toward Elves or Dwarves. How does that sound?