About dwarves (long post)
- Thread starter Edena_of_Neith
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William Ronald
Explorer
An interesting view on dwarves, Edena. This seems in keeping with the portrayal of the Hylar in the Dragonlance setting.
Different dwarven cultures may have different views on progress and change. Hill dwarves might be more open to change as they might come into contact with other cultures more frequently.
Also, different enclaves in a dwarven culture may have different views based on local circumstances. For example, a dwarven community that has a good relationship with an order of mages might be slightly more open to some communities.
I tend to have my dwarves rely on themselves for agriculture. Mountain farming is possible. (The Incas, incidently, had a very productive system of mountain farming which used water very efficiently to help boost crop yields.)
Different dwarven cultures may have different views on progress and change. Hill dwarves might be more open to change as they might come into contact with other cultures more frequently.
Also, different enclaves in a dwarven culture may have different views based on local circumstances. For example, a dwarven community that has a good relationship with an order of mages might be slightly more open to some communities.
I tend to have my dwarves rely on themselves for agriculture. Mountain farming is possible. (The Incas, incidently, had a very productive system of mountain farming which used water very efficiently to help boost crop yields.)
dagger
Adventurer
I like your post on Dwarves Edena!
Dwarves can do a lot to gather thier own food. Fish is a big part of it for some dwarf cultures. Underground lakes and pool filled with fish with no eyes because they live in eternal blackness.
In FR there is also small cattle like underground creatures called Rothe that many underdark people eat.
Dwarves can do a lot to gather thier own food. Fish is a big part of it for some dwarf cultures. Underground lakes and pool filled with fish with no eyes because they live in eternal blackness.
In FR there is also small cattle like underground creatures called Rothe that many underdark people eat.
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
I see the dwarves a bit more like Bob does...
I mean, the Hylar are all good and decent, but I don't really see dwarves as extremely friendly or accepting...they do get a Cha penalty, after all, and have a reputation to be insular and secretive. Dwarves don't make lasting friends with people too unlike themselves. Grudging respect, even comroderie, maybe, but probably never a true friendship (the Gimli/Legolas thing was undoubtedly an exception to the rule.
)
IMC, I take them even farther down the road...
I've said elsewhere, IMC, my elves are limp-wristed faerie boys of questionable sexuality to whom beauty, aestetic wonder, and prettiness are more important than most things. Not that they ignore the structure, just that they're always suckers for things that make strangers' eyes wide, even if they don't serve a purpose. Elves = Estrogen.
Meanwhile, Dwarves = Testosterone. They're good with tools, they work with their hands, their tough and the like to bust each other. They like competition, but only within the bounds of reasonability...they're not destructive or anger-filled, but they are fans of proving their toughness. They command respect...they're probably nearly as guilty as the elves are of cockiness, but they're confident about actual functionality. An ugly coal burning engine, for instance...works pefectly for the dwarves. Put a rock in one end, get movin' gears on the other.
It's the fact that the elves (especially the mountain-dwelling grey elves) are so dismissive of this...they hate the thing. This beautiful masterwork of craftsmanship and labor...they throw it back in the faces of the dwarves, disregarding any love or effort put into it. The elves don't care how many hours of minig or how much it had to be beaten or what kind of rocks make the black smoke. As far as they're concerned it's dirty and hot and *very* not-pretty.
On the same level, the elves are irked at the dwarves...that beautiful stone sculpture, fashioned of the finest black rock to represent the heart of the Drow...just....tossed into the oven! That brilliant painting? They call it driftwood and colored water! Have they no sense of art? Have they no love of design?
The truth is, IMC, elves and dwarves are two sides of the same coin. And, as usual, they have come to hate each other.
Dwarves ain't pretty. They've got no use for long blonde hair and languages with more "L"'s than are healthy. They are utilitarian. The elves are more aesthetic.
It just so happens that elves and dwarves IMC have just recently ended a long, drawn-out war that only ended with the institution of a puppet human king. The orcs have always been barbaric tribes on the outskirts, the halflings have always been the gypsy migrant workers, and the gnomes have always been the seaside designers of gizmos and gadgets. The elves and the dwarves have always been at each other's throats. The humans?
Well, we're not really sure where the humans fit in right now...
I mean, the Hylar are all good and decent, but I don't really see dwarves as extremely friendly or accepting...they do get a Cha penalty, after all, and have a reputation to be insular and secretive. Dwarves don't make lasting friends with people too unlike themselves. Grudging respect, even comroderie, maybe, but probably never a true friendship (the Gimli/Legolas thing was undoubtedly an exception to the rule.
)IMC, I take them even farther down the road...
I've said elsewhere, IMC, my elves are limp-wristed faerie boys of questionable sexuality to whom beauty, aestetic wonder, and prettiness are more important than most things. Not that they ignore the structure, just that they're always suckers for things that make strangers' eyes wide, even if they don't serve a purpose. Elves = Estrogen.
Meanwhile, Dwarves = Testosterone. They're good with tools, they work with their hands, their tough and the like to bust each other. They like competition, but only within the bounds of reasonability...they're not destructive or anger-filled, but they are fans of proving their toughness. They command respect...they're probably nearly as guilty as the elves are of cockiness, but they're confident about actual functionality. An ugly coal burning engine, for instance...works pefectly for the dwarves. Put a rock in one end, get movin' gears on the other.
It's the fact that the elves (especially the mountain-dwelling grey elves) are so dismissive of this...they hate the thing. This beautiful masterwork of craftsmanship and labor...they throw it back in the faces of the dwarves, disregarding any love or effort put into it. The elves don't care how many hours of minig or how much it had to be beaten or what kind of rocks make the black smoke. As far as they're concerned it's dirty and hot and *very* not-pretty.
On the same level, the elves are irked at the dwarves...that beautiful stone sculpture, fashioned of the finest black rock to represent the heart of the Drow...just....tossed into the oven! That brilliant painting? They call it driftwood and colored water! Have they no sense of art? Have they no love of design?
The truth is, IMC, elves and dwarves are two sides of the same coin. And, as usual, they have come to hate each other.
Dwarves ain't pretty. They've got no use for long blonde hair and languages with more "L"'s than are healthy. They are utilitarian. The elves are more aesthetic.
It just so happens that elves and dwarves IMC have just recently ended a long, drawn-out war that only ended with the institution of a puppet human king. The orcs have always been barbaric tribes on the outskirts, the halflings have always been the gypsy migrant workers, and the gnomes have always been the seaside designers of gizmos and gadgets. The elves and the dwarves have always been at each other's throats. The humans?
Well, we're not really sure where the humans fit in right now...
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Fenris
Adventurer
Edena, I like the broad picture. And I agree with most internal issues. But as others have pointed out, I see dwarves as being fairly xenophobic. The classic inflexibility if you will. I am not familar with either setting you used, but remember that any Hylar that chooses to leaves the family structure is probably not in the same "mold". So a Hylar may be as you described. But the outcast who couldn't stand that society may act like the Druegar example even though he is Hylar, especially in human lands.
Larry Fitz
First Post
To me the point of Dwarves is not just "Short guys who live underground" and then paint them with whatever cultural textures you admire... Dwarves should have come commonality, looking at their racial adjustment gives us some indication of what those commonalities are. They lose Charisma and gain Constitution in equal measure, as a race they lack in social graces but are tough. I agree that Dwarves should be gruff, curmudgeonly, etc. They should be somewhat cold and hard when you first encounter them, like the earth itself. As you get to know them better they may not actually warm up, but they will become more comfortable and familiar. Just as to those who learn how the earth releases it's bounty of precious materials. I like multiple Elven races, but disdain vast numbers of subspecies of Dwarves. I like my Dwarven races 'vanilla'. You can get all sort's of Ben and Jerry's on elves and humans, but Dwarves are staid and solid and fairly unwavering in my campaigns...
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