7 Dwarven Kings

[Paka]

I thought I would grab some pictures of the various kings from WotC's Character Portrait site and write a few sentences about each. Thought it'd be fun to share. Comments, ideas on statting them out and further thoughts are welcome.

The Dragon has waged war on the 7 Dwarven Kings for nearly a century with human mercenaries and displaced orcs.

Our next session begins with the torture of a Dwarven King, the Orc PC's trying to get him to reveal the secrets of the mountain holdfasts of the Dwarven Kings.

Vestmark the Silver
King of the Moon Keep

He is an old and crafty king who has carefully chosen which battles of the war he has led the Silver Guard into. He has challenged the dragon to single battle, riddled with guilt after his children woke him up, the act that some say directly led to the war at hand.

Ostergard the Wise
King of the Librarian's Keep

Ostergard has kept his soldiers close to his holdings, having lost many of his children in the opening days of the war. Dwarves grumble, wondering if he is more worried about his remaining children or the books in his mountain. Ostengard's messengers are always a welcome sight, often bringing necessary lore from scrolls and tomes in the Ostengard holdings.

Gannol the Brave
King of the 9 Towers Keep

Gannol was taken prisoner by the dragon over a decade ago, taking the people of the 9 Towers Keep out of the battle. Gannol's princely brother has run the 9 Towers in his absence; when he heard of his brother being taken, closed the doors and refused to let his soldiers fight against the dragon's army. Some wonder if the prince is truly worried about his brother or was bought off by gold from the dragon's prodigious hoard.

Wicks the Wicked
King of the Lion Citadel

Wicks has led the Lion Guard throughout the war, vowing to not sleep in his home citadel until the war was over, leaving the care and operation of the holdings to his capable sister. His army can be found camping in well guarded caverns or in fellow king's mountains.

Benvik Griffon-slayer
King of the Eaglesguard Mountain

Benvik's father, Benvik the Great, was killed in a vicious fight with the Dragon, burned to death before his crossbow could be fired. He relies heavily on his uncles and cousins for counsel, leading his forces to be slow and plodding in action. Before each order is issued, days and often weeks of arguing must occur in the Eaglesguard Mountain Council Chambers

Kull the Rune-Caster
King of the Oracle's Keep

Kull has often led his troops far from the mountains, looking for a way to kill the dragon abroad. His mother commands his troops and rules the Oracle's Keep while he is abroad. Great Eagles will often deliver cryptic missives on Kull's behalf.

Helson the Berserk
King of the Fell Keep

The Fell Keep was a dire place before the war, Helson has turned it into a butcher's block. For the first 50 years of the war, Helson's father, Helson the Wrathful, led his soldiers in every battle he and his host could reach. His son has continued the tradition, grinding his forces down to a few scarred souls.

 

[Paka]

Art by Kennon James

 

[Whimsical]

Too much of a sausagefest for me. Queens did exist in medieval times. It's not just a modernism.

 

[Infernal Teddy]

Too much of a sausagefest for me. Queens did exist in medieval times. It's not just a modernism.

As rulers? Yes, but very rarely. Queens as rulers realy only come to their own in the age of Absolutism.

 

[Dirigible]

Dwarven women are far too smooth-chinned to be suitable for rulership. How can you trust a monarch whose jaw could, at any moment, freeze solid?!

 

[S'mon]

Queens did exist in medieval times. It's not just a modernism.

Not if you believe Medieval Total War I/II - my wife's dislike of the series springs from that.

I don't see any problem with saying dwarven monarchs are always male, as elves are 50-50.

 

[Firedancer]

Perhaps the art available didn't have any suitable pictures for female dwarves? Plus, we're talking traditionalist Dwarves here, so perhaps not as modern in their thoughts (except 2 have left trusted female kin in positions of authority).

However, to answer the OP...the summary nicely ties in to the art, that's good.
The PC's play orcs - loyal to the dragon and overthrowing the Dwarves?

Nice and different. Do you intend to take 1 hold at a time - if so create some hooks from the king as to how this can be achieved (over eager, drawn into ambush, prideful; will believeing they are surrendering to him).

And the names all start to conjure other things up; the presentation of troops and tactics they use (and hence tactics the orcs can use to combat them).

What level is the game going to? With 7 kings I'd be tempted to put some PrC on the fighter types to make them more varied. Stat them out with some traits to strengthen the differences between them.

 

[Paka]

Too much of a sausagefest for me. Queens did exist in medieval times. It's not just a modernism.

Wanna know what, Whimsical, I agree with ya.

I thought Dwarven kings was more indicative of the Tolkien inspiration of the setting. If you look over the descriptions, women are definitely a part of the society, an important, vital and pro-active part.

If it had been a Dwarven based campaign, the Dwarven women would have been summarized right along with the men but as it was, I just needed the kings to get a feeling for the area and the rest I can figure out as we go.

 

[Paka]

The PC's play orcs - loyal to the dragon and overthrowing the Dwarves?

Nice and different. Do you intend to take 1 hold at a time - if so create some hooks from the king as to how this can be achieved (over eager, drawn into ambush, prideful; will believeing they are surrendering to him).

I reckon what the PC's do with the information they get. I honestly have no idea what they'll do and that's fine.

What level is the game going to? With 7 kings I'd be tempted to put some PrC on the fighter types to make them more varied. Stat them out with some traits to strengthen the differences between them.

The game is Burning Wheel, so no levels for us.

If I was using D&D I'd certainly want to think about some fun PrC's for a few of these fellas, without a doubt.

 

[Paka]

Feedback is welcome; I'm still editing it here and there.

Agda Ostergard
Revolutionary Heir of the Librarian's Keep

Agda has her eye on the throne, Dwarven tradition's be damned to hell and blood. Her mother used to say that the gods forged men for certain chores and women for others but even as a child it didn't seem to make sense to her. A century into the war and nothing makes sense. She is finished mourning her elder brothers and sisters who were lost in the opening days of the war to the dragon's cunning. Her father's decision to close the doors to the Librarian's Keep is folly, if not cowardice, and she knows it. She sees his isolation for what it is, simple greed. While the war rages outside, she gathers political power among the Longbeards in order to open the gates and marshal the keep's forces so that the Ostergard War Banners will fly again.

Caren Wicks the Iron Lion
Hearthguard General of the Lion Citadel

It is Lady Wicks, the Iron Lion, who not only sees to the citadel's defenses but wages war on the Lion mountain. The Lady's idea of a good defense is very much rooted in a valorous offense, often leading her troops into the surrounding valleys and hills. Already the soldiers who fight under her give her honor as they would a king, leading some to wonder what would happen should her brother return.

Germund Kull
The 7 King Mountains Oracle

It was Germund's prophecies that have kept the Dwarven mountain holdfasts from falling thus far. She saw the closing of the Librarian Keep's doors and led her son away from the war at hand, in order to find some lore that will slay the dragon. In the meantime, the Kull War Banners are often found at the right mountain pass at the right time due to her oracular sight. During these troop movements, the Oracle will be found with the troops, as she is never one to force others to risk their lives for a reading of the bones that she herself doesn't believe in risking with her own blood.

Roselle Benvik
The Elder Bride of Benvik

Roselle was married to the King of the Eaglesguard Mountains for political reasons, neither knowing nor loving one another before the betrothal. Now that her husband has gained the crown during these times of war, she has seen the councils that he calls not only tear the kingdom apart but tear him apart as well. Her Wicks blood is strong in her veins and she seeks to help the young, barely bearded king, set aside his excessive councils and take the throne for his own, with her wisdom at his side.

Frideborg Helsdotter
Hearthguard General of the Fell Keep

Frideborg has recently unearthed an ancient cursed axe that is said to gain vicious and bloody powers when it is covered in a kin's blood. She is holding the Fell Keep with a skeleton force of soldiers while her brother grinds their forces into blood and dust, just as their father did. As the war rages on and the Fell Keep repels the Dragon's forces by a thinner and thinner margin, the Hearthguard General of the Fell Keep has difficult choices in her future...is it kinslaying and taking control of the mountain herself, leading them not to some ideal of suicidal glory but to valorous victory or the abandonment of the ancestral home to draconic forces, the first of the dwarven mountains to fall.