Dwarven Barbarians (not a class)

[Imperialus]

Just a little something I whipped together for a PC of mine. He's a dwarven cleric of Kord. Let me know what you think.

The Dwarves of the North or Dvergar as they refer to themselves are a distinct culture within the Dwarven race. They are still fundamentally dwarves, but although it seems that clannish pride, wisdom and stubbornness is a universal trait among dwaves their lifestyle and culture is vastly different.

Dvergar live in the inhospitable tundra of the north. A land of blazing summers where night flees the day contrasted with long dark winters, which crush the land under mountains of snow. Frost Giants and winter wolves stalk the landscape where endless planes meet great pine forests, largely untouched by civilization.

By most standards the Dvergar live as barbarians, along side the tribes of Orcs and primitive men who scrape a living from the inhospitable land. They primarily worship Kord, believing Melora to be his wife, and The Raven Queen his consort. His children through Melora are Avandra, Corellon and Pelor (twin gods of summer). Through the Raven Queen he has given birth to Sehanine (goddess of winter), Gruumsh (God of War), and Vecna (Trickster god of the Arcane). Other important members of the Pantheon are Moradin who somewhat surprisingly has been relegated to the roll of Kord’s smith and shield bearer and Ioun, who takes the form of a crow and dispenses wisdom in Kord’s ear.

Dvergar almost all live in small family clans, rarely numbering more than a hundred or so individuals. The hard permafrost and relatively small numbers make it impossible to construct the same sorts of caverns and tunnel complexes favored by other dwarves. A few more traditional settlements exist in the northern reaches of the Wyrmsmoke mountains but even they are tiny by most dwarven standards. A typically Dvergar village is still largely underground but only a few feet, and the roofs of most structures are typically open to the air. Roofed in sod, and sometimes stone these buildings provide excellent shelter and insulation from the outside. From the outside they almost resemble small hills as the grass on the roof eventually becomes indistinguishable from the ground. Individual homes are connected by a series of underground tunnels that lead to a large communal eating and cooking hall, and the only exit to outside is through a tunnel that leads directly to the hall.

Unlike other dwarves, the Dvergar do not recognize a high king. The clans are almost completely independent, only owing nominal alliance to the decisions of the Sunmoot, a counsel of matriarchs, held each midsummer’s eve on the birthday of Corellon and Pelor. And the Icemoot, a war counsel held each midwinter by the chiefs. Traveling to the sacred circles of the seasonal gods is a difficult undertaking however, and most leaders only make the trip every few years. The positions of matriarch and chief are not hereditary. Both are elected for life from among their clansmen and are expected to rule jointly. They are often, but not always married.

Dvergar attire is determined by the weather and driven by practicality. It ranges from heavy parka’s and robes made from wool and untreated fur in the winter to light pants and shirts stitched from tooled leather, sometimes even cotton among the wealthy in the summer.

Like other dwarves the Dvergar are accomplished metalworkers and craftsmen. Unfortunatly they are hampered by a lack of good quality iron. They make do with what they have however and produce elaborate pattern welded swords and axes for use in war that can stand against anything produced by the most experienced human smiths. This puts their services in great demand among the other peoples of the north and many a human barbarian or ork warlord has been seen wielding a Dvergar blade.

 

[Gilladian]

Very evocative! I'd like to know a bit more about what would make a dvergar become an adventurer, what sorts of challenges they face, etc....

Also, who do they trade with? Are they mostly hunters? Fishermen? Do they make use of dogs and dogsleds, or have other domestic animals?

 

[Imperialus]

Very evocative! I'd like to know a bit more about what would make a dvergar become an adventurer, what sorts of challenges they face, etc....

Also, who do they trade with? Are they mostly hunters? Fishermen? Do they make use of dogs and dogsleds, or have other domestic animals?

Hrm... why adventure... I'm not 100% sure with my PC yet but I'm thinking perhaps he's the son of one of the matriarchs and has traveled to the south to earn greater glory for his clan so that he can be elevated to a position of importance upon his return.

As far as trade goes they primarily operate within their own economy. They trade with the other northern races however. They also might trade with neighboring 'civilized' settlements when they aren't raiding them. I see them living primarily subsistence agriculturalists/pastoral people with hunting and raiding providing other necessities, not entirely unlike the 9th and 10th ca. Norse. Dogs would undoubtedly be an important domesticated animal to them, I like the idea of dog sledding too.

One other possibility is that the northern tundra, has rich gold deposits, not unlike the Yukon or Alaska here. This means that they have access to a great deal of gold that they trade with the southern peoples in exchange for good quality iron or other resources that they have in short supply.

It'd actually be kinda interesting if gold was so common to them that it wasn't even an important aspect of their economy. Even the simplest ornaments, weapons and armour would be decorated with gold but practical metals such as iron and steel, or other essentials like furs are the real objects of value to them. My character wields a warhammer... it might be neat to describe it as being decorated with elaborate gold inlays making it appear as though he is much wealthier than he actually is... His real prized possession is a thick cloak made from the pelt of a winterwolf however.

 

[Sigurd]

Trade - Perhaps they supply their underground kin with surface riches ie foods, spices, hardwoods, medicine. They might get preferential treatment from other dwarf settlements.

Gold - I'd stay away from giving them a large devalued pile of gold. Players tend to turn those situations into problems for the DM....

Dungeon Dwellers Game Guild has a free pdf with a couple of dwarf variants (arctic, forest, volcanic....) that you get if you join their site. Its free and there is also an elven one. Well worth the effort.

http://www.ddggames.com/guild/


Sigurd