He's a stout little lich

[Malk]

So yeah from the dwarven thread i started thinking about this issue. Going on the idea of the good elven lich, what are some concepts regaurding dwarven liches. Not just good liches, as i think dwarven liches would be more inclined towards lawfull neutral. Now i know that this is kinda cheesy because all I'm doing is saying "hey the elves have something cool, what would the dwarves have", but this is a rather important step for me. You see, I've never liked dwarves, i just couldnt connect with them, i guesse you could say im fundementaly non dwarven. But I am at a stage in creating my hombrew where i have to develop the dwarven culture, and something remarkable is happening. Cool images are coming to my mind, thoughts are springing up that are making dwarves seem cool to me.

So above and beyond dwarven lich archetypes, can you creative peoples of enworld tell me about the cooler parts of your own dwarven cultures that i may rip them o...err...enjoy hearing about them : )

 

[Tuzenbach]

So yeah from the dwarven thread i started thinking about this issue. Going on the idea of the good elven lich, what are some concepts regaurding dwarven liches. Not just good liches, as i think dwarven liches would be more inclined towards lawfull neutral. Now i know that this is kinda cheesy because all I'm doing is saying "hey the elves have something cool, what would the dwarves have", but this is a rather important step for me. You see, I've never liked dwarves, i just couldnt connect with them, i guesse you could say im fundementaly non dwarven. But I am at a stage in creating my hombrew where i have to develop the dwarven culture, and something remarkable is happening. Cool images are coming to my mind, thoughts are springing up that are making dwarves seem cool to me.

So above and beyond dwarven lich archetypes, can you creative peoples of enworld tell me about the cooler parts of your own dwarven cultures that i may rip them o...err...enjoy hearing about them : )

That's funny because I've actually never liked Elves..........

 

[Anabstercorian]

Dwarven liches, in my mind, would be LARGE, and built in to large sections of architecture. Their 'phylacteries' would be entire buildings or caverns.

Dwarves uber-specialize. They tend to take Skill Focus and devote their entire, enduring lives to the practice of a single art, and perfect it utterly.

 

[Sejs]

War Boars. Loyal, smart, natural herd creatures, and tenacious as all get-out.

Dwarven martial arts (dwarven monks) are somewhere between Muay Thai and Greco-Roman Wrestling. Dwarven pit brawlers tend to be the wiry ones, but are just as tall as the other dwarves.

Dwarven culture treating alcohol in a similar fashion to how the french regard wine. It's not uncommon to have it with most meals, and dwarven kids have been exposed to it since childhood. It's common for a dwarf to enjoy a nice pint with his meal - it's uncommon for a dwarf to get at all drunk (con bonus and poison save, plus longer lifespan all coming into play).

Record keeping. Lots of it. Dwarven temples serve as giant respositories of family historys, accounts of wars, events for several cities, you name it. If it's important enough to be written down, they've got a copy archived somewhere.

Sacred forges as pocket planes in the border etherial that are colocated with an important holy site. Means that generally only those who are worthy (priests that are of high enough level to go in, or those that accompany them, and such) can access the sacred forge. Access to them would be thru a 'doughnut hole' area in an otherwise Hallowed/Dimentional Anchored area.

 

[Malk]

yeah Tuzenbach much like the age old animosity between the two races...i find that many people tend to fall on the elf or dwarf side of the fence. maybe not many people...but they are generaly vocal hehe. Although like i said i am coming around.

When first designing my word I decided that i didnt want to deal with the dwarves, so i stuck them in the midst of a very bloody vindictive 300 year civil war. Now they have lost half of their population, their are almost as many ruins in their country as there are cities. All this imagery is making them seem cooler. My attempts to get rid of them are making them more interesting in my eyes.

 

[Epametheus]

I picture a dwarven "lich" as less of a lich and more of a dwarf that's somehow converting himself into an earth elemental, or something along those lines. He has known the stones and earth for all his life, and now he is one with them. It's not a lich per se, but it's a creature that has bound itself forever to the homeland.

 

[humble minion]

I've always liked the concept of a dwarven lich as a kind of (un)living ancestor - someone to be consulted with by the rulers of the clanhold on important matter, and someone who is the absolute last line of defense in case of invasion. Probably they hang around in the catacombs or tombs, and tend to the (unanimated) dwarven dead, guarding heroes' gravegoods, remembering their deeds and so on, but all the liches of a clanhold will gather to form a council that advises the living rulers on matters of history, culture and tradition. The Ancestors probably form the heart of any dwarven stronghold, and if they are destroyed then the memory and tradition of the hold are destroyed too - and its fall is only a matter of time...

 

[Malk]

nice ideas so far, take for instance my world with the horrible civil war, each noble in charge of a stronghold would know that the key to defeating his rival would be to take out his Ancestor, a tough feat by any means, but then the army of the enemy stronghold would lose heart. But slowly over the course of the civil war, the dwarves are losing their heritage, losing what it is to be a dwarf of Haugesund.

I also like the idea of dwarves slowly pushing themselves into the elemental state, not just earth though as i see dwarves having an innate connection to the fires of creation. This leads to another thought, evil dwarven liches resulting in something very similar to a balrog, a creature of evil earth and fire.

 

[TracerBullet42]

That's funny because I've actually never liked Elves..........

Dude, my brother...we must be kindred spirits. I hate the stupid elves too...

 

[Malk]

hey watch the elf bashing, hehe the spirit of this thread should be overcoming our differences.