|
Post by captaincrumbcake on Feb 21, 2016 13:47:56 GMT -5
In this folder I will be laying out the information necessary on dwarfs in order for a DM to run TLL as intended. If the referee is conducting a standard campaign, then the race of dwarfs described here would not be appropriate for one's game world; iow, use the standard dwarf information found in the various manuals. I WHAT DWARFS ARE NOT (IN THE LOST LANDS)! They are not the SW&TSD cartoon types; though the majority of the clans are(were), chiefly, miners. They are also, not, the Tolkien types, as seen in TLOtR, or TH; and certainly not like the comical buffoonish presentation that Gimili became as in TRotK. They are, too, not the usual RPG breeds; solemn, stern, stereo-typically surly. And unlike the vertically challenged type of dwarf that appears in the majority of literature and fantasy role-playing games, the dwarfs of TLL are, in comparison to the other races, only slightly shorter than humans & elves, and much taller than hobbits & gnomes. (A table reflecting each race's range of physicality will be included, later. For now, consider that the average male dwarf is 5' in height, and 160 lbs., while the average female is 5'4" and 120 lbs.) II A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE Though the majority of the dwarf clans (4 of the 7 within the history of TLL) were, chiefly, miners, even among them other skills and talents in other fields of profession were common. Of the two surviving clans (the Stonehammer and Silvershield) the former are/were master miners, gem cutters and stone masons, while the latter are/were silver smiths, boat builders and seafarers. In contrast to other sources where certain parameters are forced upon the race of dwarfs, in TLL there is no such dogma regarding an individual's Charisma. IOW, it is possible for a dwarf to have anything from a CH of 3, to the maximum of 18; the latter is especially true of females, where the legends of dwarf beauty are confirmed by the fact that the average among them is 15! (Despite other sources, female dwarfs in TLL are not burdened with hirsute characteristics.) In fact, female dwarfs are so desirable in the eyes of men, hobbits and gnomes, that, were the biology of the races to allow it, half-dwarfs would likely overpopulate the lands in a few generations. III MAPS The Ancient Realm of the Dwarf Kings: Urland, and the current residence:
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on Feb 26, 2016 20:25:55 GMT -5
IV The dwarfs--Stone Giant, symbiosis.
The images of the great halls of the dwarfs carved out of the bowels of a mountain as found in literature and movies has always fascinated my mind, as they always (or, at least as much as I can recall) seemed to include chambers of enormity, colossal caverns and passages with ceiling heights that seem(ed) disproportionate to those residing within them. Why, for example, would a race of beings barely over 4 feet in height, create such spaces with ceilings 100 feet overhead? Or for that matter, how did they even accomplish it?
In The Lost Lands this is easily explained, once one understands the relationship between the dwarf and stone giant races. The Jovin-sklar (in the dwarf tongue, translates as giants-of-stone,) which, when interpreted into human context comes out (reversed) simply as, Stone(sklar) Giant (Jovin). While the appearance of these races might seem incompatible they are, in fact, complimentary to one another when it comes to sharing the type of habitat that both folk prefer.
The history of the partnership between the two races is not generally known by outsiders. While stone giants were and remain to this day reclusive by nature, their presence within the kingdom of the dwarfs has seldom been revealed, visually; occasional sightings in the past were always debated with much disbelief, with the rumor of the event becoming more important than any actual evidence that proved it even occurred. And with the dwarf kingdom occupying the remote southwestern section of the great continent--protected by a barrier of mountain peaks--rumors and myths passed down through the generations became dimmer and the evidence less tangible.
The Great Cataclysm changed all that.
(to be continued...)
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on Mar 4, 2016 14:57:09 GMT -5
V The Matter of Dwarf Clergy
A brief recapping of the History of The Lost Lands will show that, while humanity has had its contact with divinity severed due to Man's role leading up to the Cataclysm, the race of dwarfs* has not been so punished by its creators and maintainers. That said, it is historically established that the dwarf clergy has always restricted the use of their powers to benefit only the dwarf race. While other races may have thought of this as elitist, or bias, few non-dwarfs were aware (or are at this point in time) that the curative powers of dwarf priests simply does not work on non-dwarfs. Period. While the dwarf clergy* has retained its connection to the Higher powers that be, and are able to perform their duties (i.e., produce minor wonders), the breaking of the lands and the separation of the races has caused much anxiety between men, dwarfs and elves, resulting in little interaction of beneficial nature.
From a technical position, TLL will include (for the dwarf race*), clerical abilities as described in the GH supplement. The types of spells granted will be thoroughly analyzed and decided in a future installment of this folder.
* Similarly, this applies to Elves.
VI On Dwarf Gods
While other races entertain a notion of a single or multiple gods, the dwarf race pays tribute to two. With names impossible for non-dwarfs to pronounce (and in a language I haven't yet decided its grammar, or how to spell), the general translation into the tongue of men results in: Soul Father & Earth Mother. The Father of all dwarfs is the supplier of (what humans interpret as) their souls; the Mother is the supplier of their bodies, which are so attuned to the living earth, the symbiosis results in extraordinary racial abilities. Sons of the Father that are not conceived in the Mother are, essentially, semi-divine creatures themselves, and are treated as lesser gods; the gods of smith-craft, mining, etc., even have human, and elf counterparts. Daughters of the Mother not conceived with the Father are basically phenomenon of the natural world; earthquakes, vulcanism, etc.
(to be developed more as/when it pops up.)
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on Apr 14, 2016 13:06:50 GMT -5
THE MAKING OF SILVERSHIELD COVE
In my continuing effort to create The Lost Lands campaign, I keep bouncing around between various projects; perhaps, one day, there will be such an end that songs will be sung of its success in generations to come. In any event, I have been developing the location of one of the remaining dwarf clans: the Silvershields, on the isle of Urland. The series of inserts that follow shows the progression so far. Naturally, I haven't created all the information for the residents within. I doubt I'll go into that much detail.
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on Apr 20, 2016 12:44:57 GMT -5
V The Matter of Dwarf Clergy
A brief recapping of the History of The Lost Lands will show that, while humanity has had its contact with divinity severed due to Man's role leading up to the Cataclysm, the race of dwarfs* has not been so punished by its creators and maintainers. That said, it is historically established that the dwarf clergy has always restricted the use of their powers to benefit only the dwarf race. While other races may have thought of this as elitist, or bias, few non-dwarfs were aware (or are at this point in time) that the curative powers of dwarf priests simply does not work on non-dwarfs. Period. While the dwarf clergy* has retained its connection to the Higher powers that be, and are able to perform their duties (i.e., produce minor wonders), the breaking of the lands and the separation of the races has caused much anxiety between men, dwarfs and elves, resulting in little interaction of beneficial nature.
From a technical position, TLL will include (for the dwarf race*), clerical abilities as described in the GH supplement. The types of spells granted will be thoroughly analyzed and decided in a future installment of this folder.
(More on the subject: )
Dwarf clerics can attain 7th level (Lama) status as per GH. But as clerics they have, however, certain innate abilities that have come down through the generations from the beginning of their existence. (Aside from the standard dungeon skills noted in M&M.) These are shown below:
Cleric Vs. Conjure Earth Innate ability to perform following Spell Casting Level Earth Elemental Elemental Pass Wall Transmute Rock to Mud Move Earth Ability 1 * -- -- -- -- 1 2 * -- -- -- -- 2 3 * 1/wk 1/wk -- -- 21 4 * 2/wk 2/wk 1/wk -- 22 5 * 2/wk 2/wk 2/wk 1/wk 221 6 * 3/wk 2/wk 2/wk 1/wk 2211 7 * 3/wk 3/wk 2/wk 2/wk 22211
* Dwarf clerics reduce damage done against them (by an earth elemental) by 1 per each level attained.
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on Apr 20, 2016 16:09:47 GMT -5
Wow. What level is an Earth Elemental conjured at? BtB HD or amended? Very powerful abilities.
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on Apr 20, 2016 18:54:52 GMT -5
Wow. What level is an Earth Elemental conjured at? BtB HD or amended? Very powerful abilities. According to M&M, it's a L5 spell, capable of being cast by a Sorcerer level magic-user (9th level). Note however that this would be the human(possibly elf) version/ability, and can be applied once per day; though the restriction of 1 elemental at a time according to spell description is to be applied. That said, The Lost Lands campaign is being designed intentionally not to adhere to the whole-cloth use of the OD&D mechanics as offered. And, dwarf clerics are-- special!
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on Apr 21, 2016 0:35:25 GMT -5
Yes, I understand the level/desc. of the spell, what I was asking was the level of EE, whether you amended its hit dice or not, which you have now also answered.
Special is as Special does...
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on Apr 21, 2016 11:44:17 GMT -5
Yes, I understand the level/desc. of the spell, what I was asking was the level of EE, whether you amended its hit dice or not, which you have now also answered. Special is as Special does... I cannot say as I have decided upon that, or not. Since TLL is not the atypical campaign, and I have not, fully, developed every component of it--including animals, beasts, and fantastic creatures--I can only reiterate that, since I am not using the LBBS in their entirety/whole cloth/as is, that I doubt the HD of such an elemental is restricted to the 3 types provided by the manuals. On the matter, I am of a mind that elemental creatures have a range of HD, and that, they are not confined to the 3 strengths available. For example, a newly formed (young?) elemental might have from 1 to 3 HD, while sub-adults might have 4 to 7, and adults 8 to 16. So, being as TLL is a work-in-progress, one can assume that more material/s will appear to fill in the gaps.
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on Apr 21, 2016 11:50:26 GMT -5
The range in HD could be scaled for the level of the priest, so you might have something there,
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 10, 2016 8:08:36 GMT -5
Bump! Okay, I'm a dwarf in Silvershield and i need to buy a war hammer. Where do I go and what's the price? I'm a good haggler, mind you. I do not part with my silver, gold, what have you, very easily. In fact I'm rather attached to it. The name's Mr. Miser Haggardly, retired.
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on May 10, 2016 14:22:32 GMT -5
Bump! Okay, I'm a dwarf in Silvershield and i need to buy a war hammer. Where do I go and what's the price? I'm a good haggler, mind you. I do not part with my silver, gold, what have you, very easily. In fact I'm rather attached to it. The name's Mr. Miser Haggardly, retired. In preferred OS protocol I will reply... one of your cousins, who happens to be a iron smith, and do a little quid pro quo. Or be part of the militia and get your work equipment supplied. Or...let's roll some dice and see what happens!
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 10, 2016 15:50:07 GMT -5
My cousin charges too much and I am too miserly to put up with his avaricious antics for too long lest I pull his beard!
Sorry. Militia is too regimented a style for me... too... militant... I prefer the casual state of affairs, watching rocks being split, holes being dug (and properly shored up mind you), the placement of stone bases which in turn describe upcoming architectural projects of not only depth but grandness, and the evaluating of structures, metals and sundry earthy endeavors. So, I will stroll down to the metal-smith, then the stonework artificers, to see if they have any work of a more or less hands-on nature (but keeping hands off my coinage, mind you!)
|
|
|
Post by Stormcrow on May 10, 2016 17:40:26 GMT -5
And unlike the vertically challenged type of dwarf that appears in the majority of literature and fantasy role-playing games, the dwarfs of TLL are, in comparison to the other races, only slightly shorter than humans & elves, and much taller than hobbits & gnomes. Then why are they called dwarfs? Maybe the gnomes and dwarfs need to have their names swapped?
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on May 10, 2016 19:00:15 GMT -5
And unlike the vertically challenged type of dwarf that appears in the majority of literature and fantasy role-playing games, the dwarfs of TLL are, in comparison to the other races, only slightly shorter than humans & elves, and much taller than hobbits & gnomes. Then why are they called dwarfs? Maybe the gnomes and dwarfs need to have their names swapped? Interesting point. Perhaps the "name/term" comes down through the ages and begat its origin from one of these instances: Upon visiting an underground dwarf community or mining complex, humans were in awe of how grand and expansive the work dwarfed their own engineering endeavors. Or... The unusual relationship between stone giant and dwarf is the source when the two were seen together, long ago, and their resemblance could only be differentiated because one dwarfed the other. Or... It's simply a term that has no relation to what we in TRW assign to it, anymore than an what an elf means that we think it might.
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 11, 2016 1:33:02 GMT -5
Then why are they called dwarfs? Maybe the gnomes and dwarfs need to have their names swapped? Interesting point. Perhaps the "name/term" comes down through the ages and begat its origin from one of these instances: Upon visiting an underground dwarf community or mining complex, humans were in awe of how grand and expansive the work dwarfed their own engineering endeavors. Or... The unusual relationship between stone giant and dwarf is the source when the two were seen together, long ago, and their resemblance could only be differentiated because one dwarfed the other. Or... It's simply a term that has no relation to what we in TRW assign to it, anymore than an what an elf means that we think it might. All true. But that still doesn't get me my hammer nor you a custom made NPC by myself for your game... Which reminds me of that other essay I am writing about Arneson--"Design Dimension" which requires thinking in same... And there's no Dwarfing that...
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on May 11, 2016 1:36:24 GMT -5
Zots! Sorry, Rob--as usual, my foggy brain wasn't exactly on the same page. So, are we, ergo, going to 'have at' a PbP game or, you wanna collect some other members and skype this all out? lol
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 11, 2016 1:51:22 GMT -5
Robert "The Terminator" Kuntz: "I''ll be Bach..."
|
|
|
Post by Admin Pete on May 11, 2016 7:14:48 GMT -5
Then why are they called dwarfs? Maybe the gnomes and dwarfs need to have their names swapped? IMC they are called dwarves. I like the fact the spelling with a v looks correct and the other spelling doesn't; also the fact that it differentiates dwarves and real world genetically mangled humans by using the different spelling.
|
|
|
Post by Stormcrow on May 11, 2016 7:23:17 GMT -5
IMC they are called dwarves. I like the fact the spelling with a v looks correct and the other spelling doesn't; also the fact that it differentiates dwarves and real world genetically mangled humans by using the different spelling. This was the distinction Tolkien made as well. He was also playing a linguistic "what if?" game, wherein the plural of dwarf is as regular as the plural of elf. (Strictly speaking, says Tolkien, the correct plural of dwarf is dwarrow, e.g. Dwarrowdelf.)
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 11, 2016 9:32:49 GMT -5
Zots! Sorry, Rob--as usual, my foggy brain wasn't exactly on the same page. So, are we, ergo, going to 'have at' a PbP game or, you wanna collect some other members and skype this all out? lol Well even though we are, ergo, already playing by post (these posts specifically) consider it an exercise instead... It kind of relates back to emergence (topical elsewhere here) and the ability to think on one's feet and in multiple dimensions at once without the linear parameters imposed upon them. Thought experiments are more interesting than formulas. yes? Arneson did a lot of thought experiments; and no doubt one of them was centered around questioning pre-existing parameters. So shed the linear and embrace the unknown CCC, for we are building, in interchange between us, just as we do on these boards in various other ways: My dwarf proceeds to the stone worker's looking for clues to employment. Hammer... need a hammer... PS--By the time we finish this exercise you will have a real (fictionally so) PC created by our interchange! Bragging rights included for your world and publications (though I would not overdo the latter case in that instance for I might pull your beard as well!)
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on May 11, 2016 10:51:33 GMT -5
@rob-- Okay. Well, your dwarf (sorry, I do not know his/her name) will probably be aware of all the residents of the community; at least by name , so you can proceed to the closest blacksmith establishment (since armorers are all in the employ of the Jarl, for matters of general defense). Upon arrival you will have to inquire what degree your/a cousin runs the joint. The closer to home, more than likely you'll be able to get a better deal. For 2nd - 7th cousins prices will be 2nd tier; for 8th-12th they will be 3rd tier; and for 13th and beyond, 4th tier; (the smaller the tier #, the cheaper the cost.) If the cousin/ smith has the time to accommodate your request (50% chance for 13th or greater cousins; add 5% for each degree closer), you can then negotiate price. For 13th or greater cousins, general costs will consume 3 large gems (valued in human GP factors of 100 per gem); since gold is rare in TLL, and silver the general medium of exchange, you're looking at 3000 SP. Note: this is for a weapon created just for your use. If you want a stock item, the rate is 1/10th that noted, availability is 75% +, as noted, and the item has a 50% chance of being below average (though not noticeable until...), resulting in all damage being at -1 to the die roll. To determine the degree to which you are cousins, roll a d-20. (In this instance, a 1-7 is preferred.)
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 11, 2016 11:13:00 GMT -5
As noted up thread: "The name's Mr. Miser Haggardly, retired. " How much coinage do I have? remember, I'm miserly so I might get a bonus for cribbing all these years...
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 11, 2016 11:15:14 GMT -5
Uh, rolled a 14...
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on May 11, 2016 19:29:55 GMT -5
14? You're so distant a cousin, the smith thinks you're a gnome! So, he'll part with a "war" hammer for full price; to be available in 3 weeks.
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 11, 2016 19:47:31 GMT -5
Again, what starting monies do I have?
I now seek employment in the building, surveying, digging, or stone work areas. I kill time doing labor until the hammer is ready. I mooch as much as I can (being a miserly dwarf). I also look for drunken sots to gamble with to add to my "cashola"
So that should give you plenty to update for our next "round".
|
|
|
Post by captaincrumbcake on May 11, 2016 20:33:58 GMT -5
Rob--hold that thought.
I'm tinkering with a nifty little PbP folder so some of the member-folks can test-run TLL campaign.
It will require at least 1-7 PC & NPC types. All will be dwarfs of the Silvershield or Stonehammer clans; residing on Urland.
The quest is epic in thought: the reclaiming of the dwarf lands!
Sages have predicted that this quest will occur when a dwarf princess appears (is born and advances to puberty) among the clans ;(which one is still in debate, so, many will claim to be the authentic, Special One!) This Special Daughter of the temple of Sunev, will summon forth from the 2 clans 6 heroes to journey with her to the homeland of the dwarf race, and take possession of an artifact that will allow her and her agents to smite the evil giants now controlling the lands, and sit again on the High Throne of PSYTOMEI.
Details, details, details...still brewing.
|
|
|
Post by robkuntz on May 12, 2016 4:08:23 GMT -5
...and all I wanted was a hammer... Jeesh! I'd hate to have seen what would have happened if I had gone after, say, a pony... probably an inter-galactic battle or some such....
|
|
|
Post by mormonyoyoman on May 12, 2016 9:37:17 GMT -5
...and all I wanted was a hammer... ... I'd hammer in the mornin'...
|
|