Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Archive Forums
Hosted Forums
Personal & Hosted Forums
Personal/Hosted Forums
DC/MD/VA Gameday Forum
DC Gameday Discussion
Organizations
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="The_Universe" data-source="post: 2884179" data-attributes="member: 8944"><p>Think of the castes as a sort of general societal role; there's a Warrior Caste, a Priestly Caste, a Caste of Workers, etc. Each caste is made up of a number of familial clans, which jockey for position within the caste as time passes. </p><p></p><p>Dwarves, in Taloran, are the longest lived race (at somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 times the normal human lifespan), so mistakes (or outright follies) can haunt a family's reputation within its caste for centuries, relegating its members to tasks that they may consider beneath them. At the same time, an otherwise unremarkable family with a stroke of good luck can, if played properly, come to dominate their clan for an estremely long period of time on the credit of their brief, shining moment. </p><p></p><p>The King (whose Dwarven title may be Konig, or some similar derivative - I haven't really pinned that down) rules from above the castes; his family is technically associated with the Priestly caste (which is itself the smallest of all the castes), but because the King's family is directly descended from the god Duriniel, it is not limited to influence within the caste (the rest of the Priestly caste, incidentally, claims indirect lineage of one sort or another).</p><p></p><p>With a few exceptions, at around age 150, the young an unitiated of each clan are put through a series of tests that range from the physical to the mental to the spiritual, in order to ensure that they will be able to serve as a proper member of their caste as an adult. While the majority pass these tests without incident, some few do fail; these are considered cursed by the gods, and are thereby banished from their clans (and caste) and assigned to the lowest caste instead. </p><p></p><p>Healthy, active caste members are discouraged from supporting (or even visiting) the member of this lowest caste, even blood relatives. In a societal sense, <em>the Banished </em> are considered dead from the moment they fail to pass the Tests, the remainder of their lives are lived at Duriniel's mercy. </p><p></p><p>This, of course, does not mean that the Banished, as a caste, have no purpose in Dwarven society except to serve as social pariahs. As a rule, they fill the gaps left between the "true castes," and generally perform those duties that others are unwilling to. </p><p></p><p>While the Banished are...well...banished for life, their children (if they can produce them) are allowed to Test in their mother's former castes. </p><p></p><p>* * * </p><p></p><p>Obviously, your character will be a member of the Martial Caste. As described above, you can deduce that leadership/tactical ability often have little to do with one's ascendency (or at least your clan's ascendency) within the caste. Though your character may, indeed, be currently limited to a relatively low rank, it is as likely to be related to some ancient calamity that befell your family fortunes than a penchant for frank discussion of orders. </p><p></p><p>Your father's (or grandfather's, or whatever) mistakes can be the only thing holding you back.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The_Universe, post: 2884179, member: 8944"] Think of the castes as a sort of general societal role; there's a Warrior Caste, a Priestly Caste, a Caste of Workers, etc. Each caste is made up of a number of familial clans, which jockey for position within the caste as time passes. Dwarves, in Taloran, are the longest lived race (at somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 times the normal human lifespan), so mistakes (or outright follies) can haunt a family's reputation within its caste for centuries, relegating its members to tasks that they may consider beneath them. At the same time, an otherwise unremarkable family with a stroke of good luck can, if played properly, come to dominate their clan for an estremely long period of time on the credit of their brief, shining moment. The King (whose Dwarven title may be Konig, or some similar derivative - I haven't really pinned that down) rules from above the castes; his family is technically associated with the Priestly caste (which is itself the smallest of all the castes), but because the King's family is directly descended from the god Duriniel, it is not limited to influence within the caste (the rest of the Priestly caste, incidentally, claims indirect lineage of one sort or another). With a few exceptions, at around age 150, the young an unitiated of each clan are put through a series of tests that range from the physical to the mental to the spiritual, in order to ensure that they will be able to serve as a proper member of their caste as an adult. While the majority pass these tests without incident, some few do fail; these are considered cursed by the gods, and are thereby banished from their clans (and caste) and assigned to the lowest caste instead. Healthy, active caste members are discouraged from supporting (or even visiting) the member of this lowest caste, even blood relatives. In a societal sense, [I]the Banished [/I] are considered dead from the moment they fail to pass the Tests, the remainder of their lives are lived at Duriniel's mercy. This, of course, does not mean that the Banished, as a caste, have no purpose in Dwarven society except to serve as social pariahs. As a rule, they fill the gaps left between the "true castes," and generally perform those duties that others are unwilling to. While the Banished are...well...banished for life, their children (if they can produce them) are allowed to Test in their mother's former castes. * * * Obviously, your character will be a member of the Martial Caste. As described above, you can deduce that leadership/tactical ability often have little to do with one's ascendency (or at least your clan's ascendency) within the caste. Though your character may, indeed, be currently limited to a relatively low rank, it is as likely to be related to some ancient calamity that befell your family fortunes than a penchant for frank discussion of orders. Your father's (or grandfather's, or whatever) mistakes can be the only thing holding you back. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Archive Forums
Hosted Forums
Personal & Hosted Forums
Personal/Hosted Forums
DC/MD/VA Gameday Forum
DC Gameday Discussion
Organizations
Top