General Directory
Dwarves
The
Dwarves of Velitrium
NOTE:
All PC Dwarves are 'Red Beards' See the description below.
History:
During the reign of King Rostov Gwalcibar II, who was called `The
Just', a band of Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings came from the west out
of the Monalaith Mountains. They told a tale of how their home, the
Dwarfhold `Cheka Cheklar' and the lands above, were overun by a vast
horde of Goblins. They were the only survivors. Numbering about four
thousand they wandered east searching for a sanctuary and a place to
rebuild. King Gwalcibar granted them sanctuary and signed a treaty with
the Dwarf Lord, Velbar Stonehammer. The Dwarves settled into an area of
Ferramentum rich in iron ore and set about digging and mining and
establishing their new home. `Dwarfdale' as most people call the
Dwarfhold, (the Dwarvish name of `Chedza Chana Cheklar' is just too
much), is home to almost all the Dwarves in Velitrium. It is ruled
today by `Baron' Tholdan Stonehammer and is virtually a nation unto
itself. Human merchants are not allowed to enter any but the upper
galleries, only the King and the Duke of Ferramentum are, by treaty,
permitted free run of the complex. The Dwarves are scrupulous in their
treaty obligations. They provide armor and weapons for the Royal Army
and engineers for public works. They provide a levy of troops when
needed and pay their taxes without complaint.
The
best armor and weapons, Prince and King grade, are made by the Dwarves.
They are hideously expensive but much sought after. Custom made suits
of armor are much prized by the Velitar nobility and knights. To have
one made requires an appointment, all the cash up front and a wait of
at least six months.
As
mentioned earlier the Dwarven population in Velitrium, along with the
Halflings and Gnomes, arrived as refugees from the sacked Dwarfhold of
`Cheka Cheklar'. This vast city had a population of some seventy five
thousand Dwarves beneath the earth and perhaps eighty thousand Gnomes
and Halflings on the surface.
The
Goblin horde that over ran first the surface then the Hold, probably
numbered at least seventy thousand warriors. It was one of the largest
ever seen in recorded history.
The
battle dragged on for weeks without any breaks, truces or pauses. No
quarter was asked, none was given. At last the surviving dwarves,
halflings and gnomes broke and scattered. The groups spread out across
the countryside in all directions. Those under the leadership of Velbar
Stonehammer, an old and canny war lord, headed east and north. They
gathered in a few small bands of survivors as they went and soon
managed to shake off any pursuit.
The
refugees had been forced to abandon almost everything in their flight.
They brought only weapons and food. The journey was long and hard, even
for Dwarves who are renowned for their tireless energy. After months of
wandering the band found themselves again under pressure from Goblin
raiders. The turned south east and encountered scouts from Velitrium.
Thus the demihumans (a term they hate!) found a new home.
Though the invading Goblin hordes had sacked and looted Cheka Cheklar,
hauling away many tons of booty, much of what the dwarves couldn't
carry they hid. In secret levels and chambers the bulk of the wealth of
Cheka Cheklar lies waiting for its rightful owners to return. The
dwarves spend many, many hours discussing what was lost and how to get
it back. But of all the great treasures that lie secreted in Cheka
Cheklar, none burns more brightly in the hearts and minds of the
Dwarves than the Sacred Anvil.
The
Anvil is a holy artifact of the Clan. It is THE Holy Artifact of the
Clan! It was far to heavy to take with during the flight from the Hold,
so it was carefully hidden in a secret, trapped and guarded chamber.
The Clan would give all that it has to get the Anvil back. They have
sent parties to recover it, but none have returned.
The
dwarven population of Velitrium is in fact divided internally into two
seperate groups. This division occured about fifty years after
arriving in Velitrium.
Velbar
Stonehammer, the Clan Lord of the survivors, had made the decision to
permenantly settle in Velitrium, with the goal of ultimately recovering
the Sacred Anvil from Cheka Cheklar and bringing it to Chedza Chana
Cheklar'. He felt that the presence of the Velitar provided a shield
that would help protect the Dwarves from any future attack by Goblin
Hordes.
Unfortuneately
not all the Dwarves were of the same mind. Many saw their time in
Velitrium only as an opportunity to regroup before renewing their war
with the Goblins and retaking Cheka Cheklar. The leader of this
group,
another Clan lord named Khedros Drormog, sometimes called �Red
Beard�
because of his fiery red hair and temper. Drormog and Stonehammer
had
more differences between them than their visions of the future. There
was a history of bad blood that dated back to before the fall of Cheka
Cheklar. It had been compounded by what Drormog saw as
Stonehammer�s
desertion of the City when Stonehammer lead the survivors into the
mountains to escape destruction. Drormog had argued against this,
wanting instead to continue the battle until the last breath if needed.
He had been overruled and had never forgiven Stonehammer for
advocating retreat.
At
last this long festering feud erupted into violence in the otherwise
placid Dwarven community. Drormog and Stonehammer came to blows
with a
deadly ax duel in Council that only ended when both combatants were
forcibly dragged to the ground by the rest of the Council.
After
much debate and a formal hearing, Drormog was exiled from Chedza Chana
Cheklar. When he left, several hundred loyal followers went with him.
The
problem for Drormog was, where to go? He had nowhere near enough
fighters to even make the journey back to Cheka Cheklar, much less
contemplate retaking it. The mountains in all directions were
thik
with Goblins who would gleefully die by the thousands for a chance at
the heads of a few hundred Dwarves. The Desert was unappealing,
so
they had no real choice but to stay in Velitrium.
Attempts
by Drormog to petition the then King, Lublin Andorra (First Elected
King of Velitrium) for land and a title were unsuccessful. The
Dark
Years were just passed, the kingdom was in social and economic chaos.
�Baron� Stonehammer used his considerable influence to persuade
King
Andorra to deny the petitions.
Lacking
a permenant site to build, Drormog�s followers, known collectively as
�Red Beards� eventually dispersed throughout the Valley. The bulk
of
them are found in Argentium, working Royal mines or as smiths and
armorers for the Crown or wealthy nobles. Some have settled in
human
communities as businessmen, others are itinerant miners, smiths and
engineers. All told there are probably little over a thousand
�Red
Beards.� They are forbidden entry into Chedza Chana Cheklar,
though a
few do business in Dwarfdale (the surface town built on the slopes of
the hills that house Chedza Chana Cheklar.)
Subsequent
attempts by Drormog�s decendants (he died in 478) to gain titles have
also met with Royal resistence. Though Velbar Stonehammer is also
gone, his son, Tholdan and the older members of the Council, still hold
a grudge against the Red Beards and continue to pressure the Crown to
deny the renegades any landed rights.
In General
Though there is a hereditary Clan Lord who oversees the day to day
affairs of the clan, the long term policies and planning of the Dwarven
government is conducted by a council of the most senior craftsmen,
engineers, and Priests. The council can be quite large though the
entire body almost never meets at once. Individual committees meet to
consider their particular specialty and to decide, for example, which
galley should be developed as residences versus shops, and whether a
particular vein of ore is valuable enough to pursue with a new shaft,
or how much steel should be produced during the next year, etc etc. One
of the principle jobs of Clan Lord is to coordinate these committees
and see to it that they are aware of other deciscions that might affect
their own plans.
Dwarven society is in it's own way very egalitarian. All Dwarves are
equal in the eyes of the law, the leadership is drawn from those who
have proven their value to the community. Dwarven society is also very
secretive, even towards their own. Knowledge is dispensed on a need to
know basis. The average Dwarf miner/soldier knows very little of the
deeper secrets and plans of the Council and Clan Lord. One reflection
of this secrecy is in the restrictions placed on outsiders entering the
Hold. Human traders and merchants are never allowed past the Market
Level, which is usually the top most level of the Hold. Even visiting
Dwarves from another Hold and Halflings and Gnomes, who are on better
terms with Dwarves than any other race, are not allowed very deep into
a Hold. They are restricted to the `Public Levels.' These are two or
three levels, including the Market Level, where the granaries and
storerooms as well as some craft shops and a few residences are
located. Often times there are levels and areas of a Hold that are off
limits even to the resident Dwarves, being restricted to those with
special authorization.
Dwarven
Religion:
Moradin
"The Soul Forger"
Dwarven Creator God. This is a Monotheistic faith limited entirely to
Dwarves.
The
Dwarves believe that Moradin created the race of Dwarves from fire,
steel and Mithral (a semi mythical metal of remarkable strength). He
forged them in the fires at the center of the world and it is here that
Morodin dwells, watching over his people. Dwarven mystics believe that
Morodin's presence at the center of the world is what compels the
Dwarves to dig ever deeper into the earth.
Morodin's symbol is a huge glowing hammer. The Hammer is the symbol and
weapon of Dwarven Clerics.
The
center of the Temple is a great ever burning hearth and forge. With
these is the Sacred Anvil which serves as an altar table and is where
the greatest artifacts are forged.
Sacrifices
of gems and precious metals are made by casting them into the Forge
where they are consumed.
Each
Clan has a Sacred Anvil or `Great Anvil' and it is the prized
possession of the Clan. It is highly magical, radiates mana as a
powerstone, and is immensely heavy (at least 1 ton). It is the anvil's
enchantment that makes it possible for the Dwarven Artisan clerics to
make things that would otherwise require a powerful wizard.
There are, three types of Dwarven Clerics that serve Moradin. These are
`Councilors', `Engineers' and `Artisans'.
All Dwarven
Clerics are bound by the following Oath/Vow. Failure to live up to it
will mean a loss of spell casting abilities.
Vow to
Moradin: +10pts
The
Cleric of Moradin vows to serve Moradin by ever serving his people. He
or she vows never to use the powers granted by Morodin for selfish
purpose or for the benefit of those not of Moradin's craft. (Non
Dwarves). The Cleric vows never to lay hand to a task without that task
being completed as skillfuly as possiblle so as to show by example the
immeasurable quality of the Creators handiwork.
Required
Advantages:
Dwarven
Clerics must have Literacy. 10pts
Clerical
Investment.
��COUNCILORS
Councilors
are often, (80%) female. A Councilor tends to the physical and
emotional health of her people. To this end she has been granted a
repetoir of Spells and is obligated to have certin skills. Literacy is
required.
The
skills are as follows: Theology, Physician, Diagnosis, Surgeon,
Diplomacy, Saviore Faire, Law, Leadership, Teaching, Bard, and History.
Minimum Skill level is IQ.
The Spells
are as follows:
Create Food
Create Water
Share
Strength
Minor
Healing
Major
Healing
Suspended
Animation
Cure Disease
Neutralize
Poison
Restoration
Councilor's Skill level at casting these is +1
Councilors rarely travel outside of the Dwarven cities. Their purpose
is to care for their people and their society by tending to their
physical needs and acting as peacemaker, negotiator, moral conscience
and advisor. They must know the history of their clan in detail and
that of other clans in general. They are very important to the
government of a Dwarven city and the peaceful coexistence between
clans. The reputation of a Councilor is very important, to that end
they all live with Vows of Honesty and Truthfulness. Most also have
vows of total Pacifism. This vow adds +1 to their spell casting
abilities.
ENGINEERS
Engineers
are usually, (80%) male. Engineers aid their people in the task of
Mining and building. Mining not only produces the metals and gems that
enhances the clan's wealth, it also produces the clan's homes,
fortresses. temples, storerooms, and everything else that makes up
Dwarven civilization. Mining is probably the single most important
activity of a Dwarven clan.
To
this end an Engineer has Spells and skills to aid his efforts.
The
Skills are: Geology, Engineer (Mining or Plumbing or Combat or
Traps(large scale traps)), Mathmatics, Archietecture, Teaching,
Metallurgy and Prospecting. Skill level must be IQ+1. (NOTE: Some
Skills default to others.)
Literacy is
required.
The Spells:
Seek Earth
Earth
Vision
Shape Stone
Earth
to Air
Create Air
Stone
to Earth
Walk
Through Earth
Light
Continual
Light
Light
Jet
Colors
Engineer's Skill level at casting these is +2
ARTISANS
Artisans
are of either sex. Artisans aid their people in the production of
artifacts, items, tools devices etc. Especialy those of a magical
nature. Their are many types of Artisans, they usualy specialize in one
or two fields. Some specialties include weapons, armor, jewelry,
mechanisms, musical insturments, toys, sculpture and pottery,
glassworking, silver and gold smithing, etc, etc. Some of the
appropriate skills are Armoury, Blacksmith, Jeweler, Engineer
(Primitive Machines, Clockwork, Vehicles, Traps (small)) Mechanic
((prereq for Engineer) Wagons, Clockwork and small gadgets) Pottery,
Glassblowing (MA based on HT), Artist, Sculpting, Metallurgy, Traps,
etc... Generaly an Artisan has a specialty field with one or two
secondaries.
Literacy is
required.
Artisans also manufacture or at least aid in the manufacture of magic
items. Not all Artisans participate to the same degree, some are
Enchanters, some are Alchemists, and some are the craftspeople and
assistants to the Enchanters. To this end many have skills in Occultism
and Alchemy. (See below)
Spells
Find
Weakness
Reshape
Restore
Dye
Clean
Rejoin
Stiffen
Repair
Repair
Arrow
Shatter
Proof
Copy
Sharpen
Knots
Heat
All Linking
type Meta spells
All
Enchantment spells EXCEPT Scroll.
Artisans are +2 in casting these spells.
