WizardofOwls
First Post
Way back in the 80s, I started working on my own homebrew world called Oramis. The idea for the world was very loosely based on a shattered world setting described by Micheal Reaves in his fantasy duology The Shattered World and The Burning Realm. I worked on for several years using first the 1st edition gane and later the 2e rules. I had just begun trying to update my world to the then newly released 3e rules when tragedy struck - as a result of a fight between myself and my now ex-wife, she threw my entire collection of 1st, 2nd and 3rd edition books in the garbage. I went into mourning and completely abandoned D&D for many years. Well, i'm back, and have been checking out the new 4e. I have to say that I simply dont like it. So I have begun working on my world once again and am in the process of converting what I already had written to 3.5, and fleshing it out with new stuff. I'd like to know what you guys think of what I have written so far, so I'm gonna start posting some of my world here in this thread, beginning with the dwarves of my world. Please have a look and let me know what you think. If you'd rather not wait for me to post snippets, you can have a look at the entire setting on my Shattered World wiki here: Welcome! - Oramis: The Shattered World
So without further ado, here is the first installment:
The Dwarves of Oramis: The Shattered World
The dwarves of Oramis are similar in most respects to the dwarves of other worlds, yet vastly different in others. As a result of the Shattering which resulted in the destruction of their underground kingdoms, the dwarves have been forced to live on the surface for the past 1000 years. This has taken a heavy toll on the stout folk. The dwarves have become a very dark, somber, and brooding folk who spend much of their time drinking and telling sad tales of the glories of their lost kingdoms, especially Ostoria which was considered to be the crown jewel of the dwarven race. Today the dwarves have taken to other means of finding their place in the world. Many have become prospectors, traveling the Wind Ways in windskiffs, searching the shards for traces of gold and other metals. Others have turned to commerce, and many have become members of the Sky Merchants’ Guild. (A popular Oramian saying is, “If you want the best, buy dwarven.”)
The life of an Oramian dwarf is very much tied up with the concept of honor. A dwarf must try to live as honorably as possible, and insults to a dwarf’s honor can have dire consequences to the offending party. If a dwarf somehow manages to dishonor himself, he becomes suicidal. Such dwarves often seek out their own deaths by hunting down and trying to slay powerful creatures. Their honor demands that they try to win such a fight, but in their hearts they are hoping to die. Such dwarves become Death-Seekers. A dwarf who kills another dwarf without just cause is branded Masladh, a dwarven term implying shaming and disgrace, that is often associated with traitors. Such criminals can be slain on sight by any dwarf. Female dwarves branded Masladh are not slain, but are shunned and treated as prisoners.
Female dwarves are slender and ALWAYS wear veils. No non-dwarven male has ever seen a female dwarf unveiled. Male dwarves consider it rude to discuss a female dwarf's appearance, especially among non-dwarves. Rumor has it that dwarven females are bearded but this has yet to be proven, and the males will neither deny nor confirm this rumor. (DM’S NOTE: This rumor is false. Female dwarves of Oramis have no beards despite persistent rumors to the contrary. It is common among other settings for female dwarves to have beards, but here such a thing is unheard of. Legends do tell of distant worlds where the women have beards, but such a concept seems strange and utterly alien to Oramian dwarves.)
The tragic ‘secret’ of the dwarves is their low birthrate. The low dwarven birthrate is thought to be due to low fertility among dwarven women. To complicate matters even further, a devastating plague ran through the dwarven clans around 500 years ago. Unfortunately the disease proved fatal. Even worse, it only affected females. Today only 1/4 of all dwarves are female. Males are VERY protective of their females (perhaps overly so). Because of this dwarven adventurers will always be male except in extremely rare cases (DM’s approval). Rumor among non-dwarves has it that female dwarves have “harems” of husbands, in the belief that the more husbands a female has, the better her chances are of getting pregnant, and bolstering the waning number of dwarves. (DM’S NOTE: This rumor is true. Should a female get pregnant, all the males in a female’s “harem” of husbands will act as fathers to the newborn child, since there is usually no way of knowing which of the males in the harem fathered the child.) The birth of a female child is especially celebrated.
Human women will sometimes voluntarily live with the dwarves, some simply in an attempt to help the dwarven race to survive, while others do so in return for payment for their services. But volunteers are not always available. When this happens, fear of clan extinction sometimes drives dwarves to raid other settlements or even to deal with slavers in search of human women for mates. These women are typically treated as little more than harlots. However should a human woman give birth to a female half-blood, she is awarded special status. A human woman will never be allowed to see dwarven women unless she vows to never leave the dwarven clans.
The offspring of a human and a dwarf is usually (95%) dwarven enough to pass for a true dwarf (although it may be a foot taller than other dwarves). Any offspring it may in turn have with a dwarven mate will be fully dwarven reverting back to usual dwarven height. A small percentage of human-dwarf pairings (5%) will result in a Mul, a sterile half-dwarf which inherits some traits from both parents. Since they are sterile, muls are generally viewed with scorn and ridicule by dwarves and treated like failures. Female muls are treated even worse, but thankfully - like female dwarves - they are very rare. Only one in four muls is female. (See Races of Oramis: Muls) The taking of human mates is the “secret salvation of the race” referred to by some dwarven elders.
Dwarves are also cross-fertile with elves, however the results were not as good as those that resulted from dwarf-human unions. Dwarf-elf unions always result in gnomes. This is a sore spot with dwarves who had hoped that such crossbreeds would help to save their race. To make matters worse, gnomes breed like rabbits. It is known that no gnomes or muls existed before the plague. Twyll and dwarves are not cross-fertile. All progeny resulting from such unions are stillborn.
Dwarves of Oramis do not cut their beards. Ever. They find the mere thought of doing so to be repulsive. Tradition within the dwarven community states that the length of the beard is the measure of the dwarf. A dwarf with a short beard or no beard at all is either shunned or pitied.
HALF-DWARVES
There is very little difference between half-dwarves and true dwarves. Half-dwarves stand about a foot taller than a true blood, and they are fertile. That's it. Thus, in game terms, half-dwarves are treated as though they are true dwarves. Half-dwarves who mate with a dwarf will produce a fully dwarven child, but those who mate with another half-blood or a human will produce a human child. Thus it is vitally necessary for half-bloods to mate with a true blood. This is typically not a problem for the true blood males, who often find it exotic to be with a half-blood female, even though true blood males are virtually guaranteed a dwarven mate if that is their desire. Half blood males, however, must earn a spot in a true blood female's harem by demonstrating that they deserve such an honor. Such half-dwarves often adventure in order to prove themselves worthy of being accepted into a family unit by gathering for themselves fame, prestige and riches.
So without further ado, here is the first installment:
The Dwarves of Oramis: The Shattered World
The dwarves of Oramis are similar in most respects to the dwarves of other worlds, yet vastly different in others. As a result of the Shattering which resulted in the destruction of their underground kingdoms, the dwarves have been forced to live on the surface for the past 1000 years. This has taken a heavy toll on the stout folk. The dwarves have become a very dark, somber, and brooding folk who spend much of their time drinking and telling sad tales of the glories of their lost kingdoms, especially Ostoria which was considered to be the crown jewel of the dwarven race. Today the dwarves have taken to other means of finding their place in the world. Many have become prospectors, traveling the Wind Ways in windskiffs, searching the shards for traces of gold and other metals. Others have turned to commerce, and many have become members of the Sky Merchants’ Guild. (A popular Oramian saying is, “If you want the best, buy dwarven.”)
The life of an Oramian dwarf is very much tied up with the concept of honor. A dwarf must try to live as honorably as possible, and insults to a dwarf’s honor can have dire consequences to the offending party. If a dwarf somehow manages to dishonor himself, he becomes suicidal. Such dwarves often seek out their own deaths by hunting down and trying to slay powerful creatures. Their honor demands that they try to win such a fight, but in their hearts they are hoping to die. Such dwarves become Death-Seekers. A dwarf who kills another dwarf without just cause is branded Masladh, a dwarven term implying shaming and disgrace, that is often associated with traitors. Such criminals can be slain on sight by any dwarf. Female dwarves branded Masladh are not slain, but are shunned and treated as prisoners.
Female dwarves are slender and ALWAYS wear veils. No non-dwarven male has ever seen a female dwarf unveiled. Male dwarves consider it rude to discuss a female dwarf's appearance, especially among non-dwarves. Rumor has it that dwarven females are bearded but this has yet to be proven, and the males will neither deny nor confirm this rumor. (DM’S NOTE: This rumor is false. Female dwarves of Oramis have no beards despite persistent rumors to the contrary. It is common among other settings for female dwarves to have beards, but here such a thing is unheard of. Legends do tell of distant worlds where the women have beards, but such a concept seems strange and utterly alien to Oramian dwarves.)
The tragic ‘secret’ of the dwarves is their low birthrate. The low dwarven birthrate is thought to be due to low fertility among dwarven women. To complicate matters even further, a devastating plague ran through the dwarven clans around 500 years ago. Unfortunately the disease proved fatal. Even worse, it only affected females. Today only 1/4 of all dwarves are female. Males are VERY protective of their females (perhaps overly so). Because of this dwarven adventurers will always be male except in extremely rare cases (DM’s approval). Rumor among non-dwarves has it that female dwarves have “harems” of husbands, in the belief that the more husbands a female has, the better her chances are of getting pregnant, and bolstering the waning number of dwarves. (DM’S NOTE: This rumor is true. Should a female get pregnant, all the males in a female’s “harem” of husbands will act as fathers to the newborn child, since there is usually no way of knowing which of the males in the harem fathered the child.) The birth of a female child is especially celebrated.
Human women will sometimes voluntarily live with the dwarves, some simply in an attempt to help the dwarven race to survive, while others do so in return for payment for their services. But volunteers are not always available. When this happens, fear of clan extinction sometimes drives dwarves to raid other settlements or even to deal with slavers in search of human women for mates. These women are typically treated as little more than harlots. However should a human woman give birth to a female half-blood, she is awarded special status. A human woman will never be allowed to see dwarven women unless she vows to never leave the dwarven clans.
The offspring of a human and a dwarf is usually (95%) dwarven enough to pass for a true dwarf (although it may be a foot taller than other dwarves). Any offspring it may in turn have with a dwarven mate will be fully dwarven reverting back to usual dwarven height. A small percentage of human-dwarf pairings (5%) will result in a Mul, a sterile half-dwarf which inherits some traits from both parents. Since they are sterile, muls are generally viewed with scorn and ridicule by dwarves and treated like failures. Female muls are treated even worse, but thankfully - like female dwarves - they are very rare. Only one in four muls is female. (See Races of Oramis: Muls) The taking of human mates is the “secret salvation of the race” referred to by some dwarven elders.
Dwarves are also cross-fertile with elves, however the results were not as good as those that resulted from dwarf-human unions. Dwarf-elf unions always result in gnomes. This is a sore spot with dwarves who had hoped that such crossbreeds would help to save their race. To make matters worse, gnomes breed like rabbits. It is known that no gnomes or muls existed before the plague. Twyll and dwarves are not cross-fertile. All progeny resulting from such unions are stillborn.
Dwarves of Oramis do not cut their beards. Ever. They find the mere thought of doing so to be repulsive. Tradition within the dwarven community states that the length of the beard is the measure of the dwarf. A dwarf with a short beard or no beard at all is either shunned or pitied.
HALF-DWARVES
There is very little difference between half-dwarves and true dwarves. Half-dwarves stand about a foot taller than a true blood, and they are fertile. That's it. Thus, in game terms, half-dwarves are treated as though they are true dwarves. Half-dwarves who mate with a dwarf will produce a fully dwarven child, but those who mate with another half-blood or a human will produce a human child. Thus it is vitally necessary for half-bloods to mate with a true blood. This is typically not a problem for the true blood males, who often find it exotic to be with a half-blood female, even though true blood males are virtually guaranteed a dwarven mate if that is their desire. Half blood males, however, must earn a spot in a true blood female's harem by demonstrating that they deserve such an honor. Such half-dwarves often adventure in order to prove themselves worthy of being accepted into a family unit by gathering for themselves fame, prestige and riches.
