Dwarves
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Dwarves
Credits to original poster on the old forums, Burlybeard. Original thread can be viewed here!
Hopefully this helps folks out:
Dwarves, sometimes called the Stout Folk, are a natural humanoid race common throughout parts of Toril as well as Abeir. Dwarves are a tough, tradition-abiding folk known for their strong martial traditions and beautiful craftsmanship.
Origins
Like many races, the exact origins of the dwarves are lost in myth and legend. While many non-dwarven scholars believe that dwarves are not native to Abeir-Toril or its successor worlds, most dwarves believe that their ancestors came from the heart of the planet itself, given life by Moradin and being made by the All-Father’s hammer in the Soulforge. These legends hold that the dwarves fought their way to the surface world, overcoming the dangers they faced below through strength of arms and skill.
The first known dwarven settlements on Abeir-Toril originated from the mountains of Yehimal. These dwarves settled underneath the junction between the continents of Faerûn, Kara-Tur, and Zakhara, and migrated in all directions from there, spreading across the face of all the planet. Those who turned westward towards what would eventually become the continent of Faerûn settled in what is now Semphar, forming the kingdom of Bhaerynden, except for those who migrated northwards and came to rest in the mountains of Novularond, becoming the ancestors of the arctic dwarves.
The dwarves in Bhaerynden settled beneath the future plains of Shaar prospered for centuries but gradually began to endure schisms and fractures, which drove the dwarves apart. The first of these schisms occurred twelve millennia ago when Taark Shanat, the so-called “Crusader,” led a westward migration from the caverns of Bhaerynden. The descendants of these dwarves would eventually become the shield dwarves and forge the vast empire of Shanatar as well as the urdunnir, who moved deeper into the earth and faded from common knowledge.
Some time after this Bhaerynden fell to the drow shortly after their exile following the Crown Wars and these southern dwarves were driven into exile, ending the ancient kingdom. Their descendants would become known as the gold dwarves and would return millennia later with the collapse of Bhaerynden into the Great Rift, forming a new kingdom. Another dwarven subrace emerged from some of these southern dwarves, who instead of continuing their civilized ways and returning in future millennia, fled to Chult and embraced the ways of the jungle, becoming the wild dwarves.
Origin of the Duergar
The last dwarven lineage would form from shield dwarves of Clan Duergar. These hapless dwarves who lived beneath the Shining Plains were in time captured and enslaved by the illithids, becoming the separate but related race known as the duergar. Over the ages the twisting of illithid psionics and the infusion of diabolic blood would cause the duergar to grow more and more distant from their kin, until they could no longer be properly called dwarves.
The Thunder Blessing
The most significant event in recent history for the dwarven peoples has been the Thunder Blessing, from the year of the same name, in which, after centuries of demographic decline, a sudden boon in fertility occurred, resulting in the births of many twins amongst the dwarves. The Blessing is widely believed to have been the work of Moradin, possibly as the culmination of a quest by a dwarven heroine or as part of some grander plan of the All-Father. One of the consequences of this sudden boon was, other than a demographic resurgence that helped bring the dwarves out of their decline, was a sudden shift in culture. The so-called thunder children were radical in comparison with their parents and during their lifetimes over the Era of Upheaval, dwarves took a more active role in the world and abandoned some of their oldest traditions, such as the ancient fear of magic and the arcane.
Hopefully this helps folks out:
Dwarves, sometimes called the Stout Folk, are a natural humanoid race common throughout parts of Toril as well as Abeir. Dwarves are a tough, tradition-abiding folk known for their strong martial traditions and beautiful craftsmanship.
Origins
Like many races, the exact origins of the dwarves are lost in myth and legend. While many non-dwarven scholars believe that dwarves are not native to Abeir-Toril or its successor worlds, most dwarves believe that their ancestors came from the heart of the planet itself, given life by Moradin and being made by the All-Father’s hammer in the Soulforge. These legends hold that the dwarves fought their way to the surface world, overcoming the dangers they faced below through strength of arms and skill.
The first known dwarven settlements on Abeir-Toril originated from the mountains of Yehimal. These dwarves settled underneath the junction between the continents of Faerûn, Kara-Tur, and Zakhara, and migrated in all directions from there, spreading across the face of all the planet. Those who turned westward towards what would eventually become the continent of Faerûn settled in what is now Semphar, forming the kingdom of Bhaerynden, except for those who migrated northwards and came to rest in the mountains of Novularond, becoming the ancestors of the arctic dwarves.
The dwarves in Bhaerynden settled beneath the future plains of Shaar prospered for centuries but gradually began to endure schisms and fractures, which drove the dwarves apart. The first of these schisms occurred twelve millennia ago when Taark Shanat, the so-called “Crusader,” led a westward migration from the caverns of Bhaerynden. The descendants of these dwarves would eventually become the shield dwarves and forge the vast empire of Shanatar as well as the urdunnir, who moved deeper into the earth and faded from common knowledge.
Some time after this Bhaerynden fell to the drow shortly after their exile following the Crown Wars and these southern dwarves were driven into exile, ending the ancient kingdom. Their descendants would become known as the gold dwarves and would return millennia later with the collapse of Bhaerynden into the Great Rift, forming a new kingdom. Another dwarven subrace emerged from some of these southern dwarves, who instead of continuing their civilized ways and returning in future millennia, fled to Chult and embraced the ways of the jungle, becoming the wild dwarves.
Origin of the Duergar
The last dwarven lineage would form from shield dwarves of Clan Duergar. These hapless dwarves who lived beneath the Shining Plains were in time captured and enslaved by the illithids, becoming the separate but related race known as the duergar. Over the ages the twisting of illithid psionics and the infusion of diabolic blood would cause the duergar to grow more and more distant from their kin, until they could no longer be properly called dwarves.
The Thunder Blessing
The most significant event in recent history for the dwarven peoples has been the Thunder Blessing, from the year of the same name, in which, after centuries of demographic decline, a sudden boon in fertility occurred, resulting in the births of many twins amongst the dwarves. The Blessing is widely believed to have been the work of Moradin, possibly as the culmination of a quest by a dwarven heroine or as part of some grander plan of the All-Father. One of the consequences of this sudden boon was, other than a demographic resurgence that helped bring the dwarves out of their decline, was a sudden shift in culture. The so-called thunder children were radical in comparison with their parents and during their lifetimes over the Era of Upheaval, dwarves took a more active role in the world and abandoned some of their oldest traditions, such as the ancient fear of magic and the arcane.
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Re: Dwarves
What it is to be a dwarf
"A grudging, suspicious race." - Alaundo the Sage
Grim mystery, laced with sadness and pride - these are the images that come to mind when one thinks of dwarves. They are the images that should come to players' minds when dwarves come onstage during play in the Realms.
Dwarven Character
Dwarves are dour, proud, taciturn, and markedly inflexible. They hold grudges and desire gold. Dwarves have a deepseated, morbid dislike and mistrust of all strangers, nondwarves in particular. More than simply wanting to greedily amass all the wealth they can, which is the common human and halfling view of dwarves, the Deep Folk love worked beauty. They prefer beauty through skill, somehow improving on nature, rather than the beauty of nature "as is," the beauty prized by "lazy" elves.
Dwarves are also a devout folk, a race that looks often to its gods who, in turn, serve their steadfast worshippers diligently. Dwarven traits such as grim defiance and greed are not implanted or forced upon the dwarves by their deities, but are things inherent in a dwarf that the gods recognise and play upon.
Dwarves are usually pessimists, as is revealed by their common sayings "every fair sky hides a lurking cloud" and "the gold you have yet to win gleams the brightest". As such they always prepare for the worst, preparing back-up weapons, food caches, escape routes, and 'booby traps' for potential enemies.
Some even see the hand of fate as a real, powerful force that acts upon their lives. Some dwarves have been known to feel their own deaths approach. Others have glimpsed tantalising images of important scenes in their lives to come. These images are given, it is said, by the gods, to ensure that each dwarf knows when an encounter, decision, or deed is especially important to the Folk as a whole, so he might act accordingly. These fateful images make the dwarves respectful and obedient to the gods, willing to obey their laws and rules.
Dwarves therefore tend to keep their word, whatever the cost. By way of example, the village of Maskyr's Eye, in the Vast, is named for a wizard who asked the dwarven king Tuir for land. The king, not wanting to give up any land to humans, but also not wanting to face the attacks of an angered wizard, said the land would be Maskyr's only if the wizard plucked out his right eye on the spot, and gave it to Tuir. Maskyr, to the astonishment of the court, did so, and Tuir then respectfully kept his end of the bargain.
The dwarves have always had close relations with gnomes, and workable relations with halflings. They have always harboured a special hatred for ores and other goblin-kin, and they have never gotten along with their own deep-dwelling kin, the duergar.
"A grudging, suspicious race." - Alaundo the Sage
Grim mystery, laced with sadness and pride - these are the images that come to mind when one thinks of dwarves. They are the images that should come to players' minds when dwarves come onstage during play in the Realms.
Dwarven Character
Dwarves are dour, proud, taciturn, and markedly inflexible. They hold grudges and desire gold. Dwarves have a deepseated, morbid dislike and mistrust of all strangers, nondwarves in particular. More than simply wanting to greedily amass all the wealth they can, which is the common human and halfling view of dwarves, the Deep Folk love worked beauty. They prefer beauty through skill, somehow improving on nature, rather than the beauty of nature "as is," the beauty prized by "lazy" elves.
Dwarves are also a devout folk, a race that looks often to its gods who, in turn, serve their steadfast worshippers diligently. Dwarven traits such as grim defiance and greed are not implanted or forced upon the dwarves by their deities, but are things inherent in a dwarf that the gods recognise and play upon.
Dwarves are usually pessimists, as is revealed by their common sayings "every fair sky hides a lurking cloud" and "the gold you have yet to win gleams the brightest". As such they always prepare for the worst, preparing back-up weapons, food caches, escape routes, and 'booby traps' for potential enemies.
Some even see the hand of fate as a real, powerful force that acts upon their lives. Some dwarves have been known to feel their own deaths approach. Others have glimpsed tantalising images of important scenes in their lives to come. These images are given, it is said, by the gods, to ensure that each dwarf knows when an encounter, decision, or deed is especially important to the Folk as a whole, so he might act accordingly. These fateful images make the dwarves respectful and obedient to the gods, willing to obey their laws and rules.
Dwarves therefore tend to keep their word, whatever the cost. By way of example, the village of Maskyr's Eye, in the Vast, is named for a wizard who asked the dwarven king Tuir for land. The king, not wanting to give up any land to humans, but also not wanting to face the attacks of an angered wizard, said the land would be Maskyr's only if the wizard plucked out his right eye on the spot, and gave it to Tuir. Maskyr, to the astonishment of the court, did so, and Tuir then respectfully kept his end of the bargain.
The dwarves have always had close relations with gnomes, and workable relations with halflings. They have always harboured a special hatred for ores and other goblin-kin, and they have never gotten along with their own deep-dwelling kin, the duergar.
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Re: Dwarves
Dwarven Manners In Brief
To call someone a 'longbeard' means that he or she is wise, experienced, a dependable veteran, and is a compliment. To call someone a 'no-beard' or 'shorthair' is an insult. All dwarves grow beards, male and female, but some dwarves, usually females, shave.
To call a dwarf 'little' or 'human' (or to combine the two, as in 'little man') is to issue a nasty insult. Conversely, 'standing tall,' as in 'You stand tall among us, Thorgar,' is a term of admiration and respect. Strangely, the actual height of a dwarf does not influence his or her treatment by, and relationships with, other dwarves in any way.
A dwarf may introduce himself to a stranger of another race, as 'Narnden, of the dwarves.' If Narnden is his real name, this is only a subtle insult, reflecting that the dwarf doesn't trust the stranger well enough to give his clan (last) name. If the stranger is a dwarf, it is an unfriendly greeting. If the dwarf gives the name 'Narnden' falsely, it is meant as an insult.
To call someone a 'longbeard' means that he or she is wise, experienced, a dependable veteran, and is a compliment. To call someone a 'no-beard' or 'shorthair' is an insult. All dwarves grow beards, male and female, but some dwarves, usually females, shave.
To call a dwarf 'little' or 'human' (or to combine the two, as in 'little man') is to issue a nasty insult. Conversely, 'standing tall,' as in 'You stand tall among us, Thorgar,' is a term of admiration and respect. Strangely, the actual height of a dwarf does not influence his or her treatment by, and relationships with, other dwarves in any way.
A dwarf may introduce himself to a stranger of another race, as 'Narnden, of the dwarves.' If Narnden is his real name, this is only a subtle insult, reflecting that the dwarf doesn't trust the stranger well enough to give his clan (last) name. If the stranger is a dwarf, it is an unfriendly greeting. If the dwarf gives the name 'Narnden' falsely, it is meant as an insult.
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Re: Dwarves
Professions
This mostly applies to Shield and Gold Dwarves:
Dwarves have professions not unlike those of other races, so visitors from human or even elven communities will not be completely lost in the dwarven realms. However, several honoured dwarven professions are unique to their culture. These include loremasters, diplomats, and smiths.
Loremasters are the Keepers of the High History of the Dwarves. Their task is to remember dwarven genealogies, history, and decisions down the ages. In the Deep Realm the most sacred, central part of Underhome is the Vault of Mutterings, where old dwarves endlessly tell each other the lore they know, in a sort of endless chanting and drinking party.
Diplomats are also honoured professionals among the dwarves. Skilled diplomats are either negotiators or messengers. The latter memorise messages exactly and can deliver them in precisely the voice and tone in which they were first enunciated. They can't deliver spells this way, but can impart command words. Messengers are used throughout the Deep Realm as a matter of course, and on the surface when matters of import must be communicated (i.e. news of the death of a dwarf to his or her kin). Dwarven messengers carry small iron bucklers as badges of their office, and may also bear a circle inside-a circle tattoo at the base of their throat.
Far and away the most important profession among the dwarves is, of course, the smith. Smiths vary widely in skills and specialities, and not all of them can fashion magical items.
There is a dwarven saying: "Smiths die rich, but warriors die with only what they've managed to seize and hold onto." It vividly illustrates the relative lack of profit in being an adventurer, compared to the sure gains of being a dwarven smith.
Most human fighters in the Realms know the basics ol forging weapons and armour; the favoured and necessary metals, what tools are commonly used, and so on. They can tell when someone is trying to deceive them over the making of a blade, but would probably produce a brittle, unbalanced weapon unable to hold an edge if they tried to make a sword themselves.Most dwarves can do a little better than that. They can tell you exactly what metals and tempering substances their local smiths used, and know when a forge or blade-in-progress is hot enough simply by its hue.
As the dwarven sage Holoengor of Eartheart has said, "Adventuring is one grand career and craftwork is another. It's a rare dwarf that's tall enough to manage both."
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Dwarven courtship is a mystery to most other races. Others see dwarves as a hard, grim, largely humorless race.
These misconceptions only substantiate how intensely dwarves value their privacy, and how well they guard it. Dwarves are slow to strong emotion, but their feelings run deep. When moved to anger, hatred, love, or friendship, they hold steadfast throughout their lives. In fact, their low birthrate and dwindling numbers makes dwarves pursue love more fiercely now than in elder days.
Changing Roles
Dwarves were once more carefree. Though they lived in danger, beset by enemies in the Deep Realm, they were far more numerous. No dwarf thought of his Folk as a people in decline, or that someday there might be no dwarves. Clan rule was stronger, and females were kept busy in the home, all the while guarded by males who mined and fought.
Some say the heat of the forges and the strange metals dwarves have experimented with over the years have made many of them barren. Others scoff at this notion. Whatever the truth, dwarven fertility has steadily declined.
The rule of clan elders over everyday dwarven lives has also waned, particularly in the north, where once proud dwarven kingdoms are gone, the Folk scattered in lands now held by men.
Females, who from a cold-blooded view of breeding to preserve the race should now be guarded more than ever, have taken advantage of failing clan power to achieve equality with their malefolk. Shedwarves today fiercely hold roles as warriors and adventurers, often paying with their lives. As fertile mothers grow fewer, dwarven power continues to fade.
Today, male and female dwarves are identical in rights. Strong personalities of either sex dominate family and clan life.
This mostly applies to Shield and Gold Dwarves:
Dwarves have professions not unlike those of other races, so visitors from human or even elven communities will not be completely lost in the dwarven realms. However, several honoured dwarven professions are unique to their culture. These include loremasters, diplomats, and smiths.
Loremasters are the Keepers of the High History of the Dwarves. Their task is to remember dwarven genealogies, history, and decisions down the ages. In the Deep Realm the most sacred, central part of Underhome is the Vault of Mutterings, where old dwarves endlessly tell each other the lore they know, in a sort of endless chanting and drinking party.
Diplomats are also honoured professionals among the dwarves. Skilled diplomats are either negotiators or messengers. The latter memorise messages exactly and can deliver them in precisely the voice and tone in which they were first enunciated. They can't deliver spells this way, but can impart command words. Messengers are used throughout the Deep Realm as a matter of course, and on the surface when matters of import must be communicated (i.e. news of the death of a dwarf to his or her kin). Dwarven messengers carry small iron bucklers as badges of their office, and may also bear a circle inside-a circle tattoo at the base of their throat.
Far and away the most important profession among the dwarves is, of course, the smith. Smiths vary widely in skills and specialities, and not all of them can fashion magical items.
There is a dwarven saying: "Smiths die rich, but warriors die with only what they've managed to seize and hold onto." It vividly illustrates the relative lack of profit in being an adventurer, compared to the sure gains of being a dwarven smith.
Most human fighters in the Realms know the basics ol forging weapons and armour; the favoured and necessary metals, what tools are commonly used, and so on. They can tell when someone is trying to deceive them over the making of a blade, but would probably produce a brittle, unbalanced weapon unable to hold an edge if they tried to make a sword themselves.Most dwarves can do a little better than that. They can tell you exactly what metals and tempering substances their local smiths used, and know when a forge or blade-in-progress is hot enough simply by its hue.
As the dwarven sage Holoengor of Eartheart has said, "Adventuring is one grand career and craftwork is another. It's a rare dwarf that's tall enough to manage both."
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Dwarven courtship is a mystery to most other races. Others see dwarves as a hard, grim, largely humorless race.
These misconceptions only substantiate how intensely dwarves value their privacy, and how well they guard it. Dwarves are slow to strong emotion, but their feelings run deep. When moved to anger, hatred, love, or friendship, they hold steadfast throughout their lives. In fact, their low birthrate and dwindling numbers makes dwarves pursue love more fiercely now than in elder days.
Changing Roles
Dwarves were once more carefree. Though they lived in danger, beset by enemies in the Deep Realm, they were far more numerous. No dwarf thought of his Folk as a people in decline, or that someday there might be no dwarves. Clan rule was stronger, and females were kept busy in the home, all the while guarded by males who mined and fought.
Some say the heat of the forges and the strange metals dwarves have experimented with over the years have made many of them barren. Others scoff at this notion. Whatever the truth, dwarven fertility has steadily declined.
The rule of clan elders over everyday dwarven lives has also waned, particularly in the north, where once proud dwarven kingdoms are gone, the Folk scattered in lands now held by men.
Females, who from a cold-blooded view of breeding to preserve the race should now be guarded more than ever, have taken advantage of failing clan power to achieve equality with their malefolk. Shedwarves today fiercely hold roles as warriors and adventurers, often paying with their lives. As fertile mothers grow fewer, dwarven power continues to fade.
Today, male and female dwarves are identical in rights. Strong personalities of either sex dominate family and clan life.
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Re: Dwarves
Some Dwarvish words:
(This is from the FR module Dwarves Deep. While this differs from the alphabet used in nwn, it is still a good insight into how Dwarves think and what they consider important.)
Dwarven to common
A
ae: gold
aelin: gold-work
agland: sword
alagh: battle-glory, valor
ar: to cut, slash, or lay open
arglar: to butcher; "a proper arglary" means a proper butchering, or a good fight, and is often used to describle vicious struggles with orcs
arau: great, huge, gigantic
auraglor: sea, ocean (literally, 'great lake')
B
barak: backbone, strength, shield
bedorn: disbelief, lies, mistakes, exaggeration, distortion
beldarak: treachery (hence, "beldarakin" means treacherous beings)
burakin: way through, passage
C
calass: thief, miscreant, untrustworthy one
caurak: cavern (large size, underground only)
corl: to kill
coral: killer
D
daern: familiar, known (place, feature, or being)
dauble: treasure or valuable (plural "daubles")
deladar: to descend, go down (hence, "deladaraugh" means to die in battle, literally, 'to go down to the death')
delvar: to dig (hence, "delve" means a digging; mine; tunnel; or underhome)
donnar: metal ore
dunglor: underground lake
dunlur: underground river
E
endar: cave (surface world; one not linked to extensive underways)
F
faern: home
findar: good luck, good fortune, favorable chances
G
glor: lake
gordul: gods forfend, or gods, look at this! (an oath of amazement or dis-pair)
glander: gems, including uncut natural stones
H
halaur: gift
hurnden: payment
I
ilith: deal, agreement, trust of one's word of honor
J
jargh: jokester, idiot (often applied to halflings)
K
kuldjargh: a berserker, or one who is reckless in any battle (literally, "axe-idiot")
kuld: axe
kuldar: warrior (literally, "axe-cutter")
L
levasst: passage linking surface to underground
lhar: gap, (mountain) pass
llargh: loose stone, bad to work or unsafe
lur: river, creek, stream
llur: large (wide) river
lurgh: marsh, fen
lurmurk: bog, muskeg (concealed waters)
M
morndin: peak, height (especially of mountains, but sometimes used to speaK of high ledges, ranks of individuals, or tall creatures)
mrin: to climb (hence, "mrinding" means climbing)
mur: to disagree (hence, "murmel" means to argue, debate)
murmelings: arguments, criticism, words of dissention)
N
norogh: monsters, evil or dangerous beings or forces (especially unknown or unidentified)
noror: enemies (known)
noroth: enemy land, area, or lair (plural is "norothin")
O
ol: magic, magical power or items ("olara" refers to natural magic, not used or influenced by beings)
olor: world, all lands, the entire territory of Toril seen by, and known to the dwarves
P
parlyn: clothing, especially usual or expected (proper or fitting) adornment
R
raugh: death, an ending, it's over (especially feuds or love-affairs)
rrin: over, above
rorn: destruction, devastation, war (thus, "rorntyn" means battlefield)
rune: familiar, known
runedar: home, familiar place, haven
S
sabrak: crack, flaw
samman: trusted friend, shield-brother (battle companion)
samryn: trustworthy, honest, honorable, or favorable
sargh: disgusting thing or occurrence; filth; orcs or orc-work
sonn: good stone
splendarr: bright, shining, beautiful, hopeful
T
taerin: love (true love, 'deep' love)
thalorn: kindness, caring, good deed
tharn: love, lust (hence "aetharn" means gold-lust)
thord: bone ("thorden" means bones)
thork: death, excrement, decay, carrion
thudul: fate, doom, ill luck, or (spoken in irony) everyday cheery tidings or good fortune
tindul: clumsiness, clumsy work (especially smithcraft)
tor: hill, knoll (especially if bare rock in places, smaller than a mountain or krag)
torst: adventure, fun, welcomed danger
tyn: field, open place (aboveground)
U
ultok: meeting-place, coming together, rendezvous
ultokrinlur: ford (literally 'meeting place over river')
undivver: hope, future plan, strategy
V
veltel: romance, courtship, social games and manners
vallahir: mountain-meadow (high valley, especially a 'hanging valley' or alpine plateau)
vudd: wood, forest
vruden: wood (thus, "vrudenla" means wooden or of wood)
W
wurgym: ugliness, uglu thing or being
wurlur: current, racing water (danger)
wurn: water (especially useful or drinking water)
X
xoth: knowledge (especially dwarf-lore and secret or special knowledge)
under: secrets, dark deeds, or treasure-talk
Y
yaugh: a climb (thus: "yaughadar" means stairs or steps, "yauthlin" means rope, "yauthmair" means handholds or no clear way, and "yauthtil" means an elevator (if magical it is an "olyauthil")
Z
zander: adventurer, rogue, foolish youth, happy-go-lucky or reckless being
Common to dwarven
A
above (over): rrin
adventure (fun, welcomed danger): torst
adventurer (as in; rogue, foolish youth, happy-go-lucky or reckless being): zander
arguments (criticism, words of dissention): murmelings
axe: kuld
B
backbone (strength, shield): barak
battle-glory: alagh
battlefield: rorntyn
beautiful (shining, bright, hopeful): splendarr
below (as in 'under'or underground): dun
berserker (or one who is reckless in battle): kuldjargh (literally 'axe-idiot')
bog (muskeg, concealed waters): lurmurk
bone: thord; 'thorden' means bones.
bright (shining, beautiful, hopeful): splendarr
butcher (to butcher): arglar; "a proper arglary" means a proper butchering, or a good fight, and is often used to describle vicious struggles with orcs.
C
cave: endar (surface world; one not linked to extensive underways)
cavern (large size, underground only): caurak
climb (as in 'a climb'): yaugh (thus: "yaughadar" means stairs or steps, "yauthlin" means rope, "yauthmair" means handholds or no clear way, and "yauthtil" means an elevator (if magical it is an "olyauthil")climb (as in 'to climb'): mrin; hence, "mrinding" means climbing.
clothing (especially usual or expected (proper or fitting) adornment): parlyn
clumsiness, clumsy work (especially smithcraft): tindul
crack, flaw: sabrak
creek (river, stream): lur
criticism (arguments, words of dissention): murmelings
current (racing water (danger)): wurlur
cut (to cut or lay open): ar
D
deal (agreement, trust of one's word of honor): ilith
death (an ending, it's over (especially feuds or love-affairs)): raugh
death (excrement, decay, carrion): thork
descend (to go down): deladar; hence, "deladaraugh" means to die in battle, (literally, 'to go down to the death').
destruction (devastation, war): rorn; thus, 'rorntyn' means battlefield.
dig (as in 'to dig'): delvar hence, "delve" means a digging; mine; tunnel; or underhome.
disagree (as in 'to disagree'): mur; hence, "murmel" means to argue, debate.
disbelief (lies, mistakes, exaggeration, distortion): bedorn
disgusting thing or occurrence; filth; orcs or orc-work: sargh
distrotion (disbelief, mistakes, exaggeration, lies): bedorn
doom (fate, ill luck, or if spoken in irony, everyday cheery tidings or good fortune): thudul
E
elevator: yauthtil
enemies (as in known enimies): noror
enemy land, area, or lair: noroth; (plural is "norothin")
evil or dangerous beings or force: norogh
exaggeration (disbelief, mistakes, lies, distortion): bedorn
F
familiar (known place, feature, or being): daern
familiar (known): rune
fate (doom, ill luck, or if spoken in irony, everyday cheery tidings or good fortune): thudul
fen (marsh): lurgh
field (open place aboveground): tyn
filth; orcs or orc-work: sargh
flaw, crack: sabrak
ford: rinlur; hence 'ultokrinlur' is literally 'meeting place over river'.
forest (as in woods): vudd
friend (trusted shield-brother or battle companion): samman
from: ar
fun (adventure, welcomed danger): torst
G
gap (mountain pass): lhar
gems (including uncut natural stones): glander
gift: halaur
gigantic (great, huge): arau
gods forfend (or 'gods, look at this!'): gordul (an oath of amazement or dis-pair)
gold-work: aelin
gold: ae
good luck (good fortune, favorable chances): findar
good stone: sonn
great (huge, gigantic): arau
H
handholds: yauthmair
haven (familiar place): runedar
hill, knoll (especially if bare rock in places, smaller than a mountain or krag): tor
home (familiar place, haven): runedar
home: faern
honest (honorable, trustworty): samryn
hope (future plan, strategy): undivver
huge (great, gigantic): arau
J
jokester, idiot (often applied to halflings): jargh
K
kill (as in 'to kill'): corl
killer: coral
kin: samman
kindness (caring, good deed): thalorn
knowledge (especially dwarf-lore and secret or special knowledge): xoth
known (familiar): rune
L
lake: glor
large (wide) river: llur
lay open: ar
lies (disbelief, mistakes, exaggeration, distortion): bedorn
loose stone (bad to work or unsafe): llargh
love (as in 'lust'): tharn; hence 'aetharn' means gold-lust
love (true love, 'deep' love): taerin
lust: tharn; hence 'aetharn' means gold-lust
M
magic, magical power or items: ol; "olara" refers to natural magic, not used or influenced by beings.
marsh (fen): lurgh
meeting-place (coming together, rendezvous): ultok
metal ore: donnar
miscreant (untrustworthy one): calass
mistakes (disbelief, lies, exaggeration, distortion): bedorn
monsters (evil or dangerous beings or force): norogh (especially unknown or unidentified)
mountain-meadow (high valley, especially a 'hanging valley' or alpine plateau): vallahir
muskeg (bog, concealed waters): lurmurk
N
over (above): rrin
P
pass (mountain pass or gap): lhar
passage linking surface to underground: levasst
passageway (passage way through): burakin
payment: hurnden
peak, height: morndin; especially of mountains, but sometimes used to speak of high ledges, ranks of individuals, or tall creatures.
plan (strategy, hope): undivver
R
reckless (as in reckless being, foolish youth, rogue): zander
reckless in battle(or a berserker): kuldjargh (literally 'axe-idiot')
rendezvous (meeting-place): ultok
river (creek, stream): lur (llur 'wide river')
rogue (foolish youth, happy-go-lucky or reckless being): zander
romance (courtship, social games and manners): veltel
rope (as in climbing rope): yauthlin
S
sea (ocean): auraglor (literally, 'great lake')
secrets (dark deeds, or treasure-talk): xunder
shield (backbone strength): barak
shield-brother: samman; usually refering to another dwarf.
shining (bright, beautiful, hopeful): splendarr
slash, or lay open: ar
stairs, steps: yaughadar
strategy (future plan, hope): undivver
stream (creek, river): lur
strength (backbone, shield): barak
sword: agland
T
thief (miscreant, untrustworthy one): calass
treachery: beldarak; hence, "beldarakin" means treacherous beings.
treasure or valuable (plural "daubles"): dauble
trustworthy (honest, honorable, or favorable): samryn
U
ugliness (uglu thing or being): wurgym
underground lake: dunglor
underground river: dunlur
untrustworthy (miscreant): calass
V
valor: alagh
W
warrior: kuldar (literally, 'axe-cutter')
water (especially useful or drinking water): wurn
wood (as in forest): vudd
wood: vruden; thus, 'vrudenla' means wooden or of wood.
world (all lands, all of Toril seen by, and known to the dwarves): olor"
(This is from the FR module Dwarves Deep. While this differs from the alphabet used in nwn, it is still a good insight into how Dwarves think and what they consider important.)
Dwarven to common
A
ae: gold
aelin: gold-work
agland: sword
alagh: battle-glory, valor
ar: to cut, slash, or lay open
arglar: to butcher; "a proper arglary" means a proper butchering, or a good fight, and is often used to describle vicious struggles with orcs
arau: great, huge, gigantic
auraglor: sea, ocean (literally, 'great lake')
B
barak: backbone, strength, shield
bedorn: disbelief, lies, mistakes, exaggeration, distortion
beldarak: treachery (hence, "beldarakin" means treacherous beings)
burakin: way through, passage
C
calass: thief, miscreant, untrustworthy one
caurak: cavern (large size, underground only)
corl: to kill
coral: killer
D
daern: familiar, known (place, feature, or being)
dauble: treasure or valuable (plural "daubles")
deladar: to descend, go down (hence, "deladaraugh" means to die in battle, literally, 'to go down to the death')
delvar: to dig (hence, "delve" means a digging; mine; tunnel; or underhome)
donnar: metal ore
dunglor: underground lake
dunlur: underground river
E
endar: cave (surface world; one not linked to extensive underways)
F
faern: home
findar: good luck, good fortune, favorable chances
G
glor: lake
gordul: gods forfend, or gods, look at this! (an oath of amazement or dis-pair)
glander: gems, including uncut natural stones
H
halaur: gift
hurnden: payment
I
ilith: deal, agreement, trust of one's word of honor
J
jargh: jokester, idiot (often applied to halflings)
K
kuldjargh: a berserker, or one who is reckless in any battle (literally, "axe-idiot")
kuld: axe
kuldar: warrior (literally, "axe-cutter")
L
levasst: passage linking surface to underground
lhar: gap, (mountain) pass
llargh: loose stone, bad to work or unsafe
lur: river, creek, stream
llur: large (wide) river
lurgh: marsh, fen
lurmurk: bog, muskeg (concealed waters)
M
morndin: peak, height (especially of mountains, but sometimes used to speaK of high ledges, ranks of individuals, or tall creatures)
mrin: to climb (hence, "mrinding" means climbing)
mur: to disagree (hence, "murmel" means to argue, debate)
murmelings: arguments, criticism, words of dissention)
N
norogh: monsters, evil or dangerous beings or forces (especially unknown or unidentified)
noror: enemies (known)
noroth: enemy land, area, or lair (plural is "norothin")
O
ol: magic, magical power or items ("olara" refers to natural magic, not used or influenced by beings)
olor: world, all lands, the entire territory of Toril seen by, and known to the dwarves
P
parlyn: clothing, especially usual or expected (proper or fitting) adornment
R
raugh: death, an ending, it's over (especially feuds or love-affairs)
rrin: over, above
rorn: destruction, devastation, war (thus, "rorntyn" means battlefield)
rune: familiar, known
runedar: home, familiar place, haven
S
sabrak: crack, flaw
samman: trusted friend, shield-brother (battle companion)
samryn: trustworthy, honest, honorable, or favorable
sargh: disgusting thing or occurrence; filth; orcs or orc-work
sonn: good stone
splendarr: bright, shining, beautiful, hopeful
T
taerin: love (true love, 'deep' love)
thalorn: kindness, caring, good deed
tharn: love, lust (hence "aetharn" means gold-lust)
thord: bone ("thorden" means bones)
thork: death, excrement, decay, carrion
thudul: fate, doom, ill luck, or (spoken in irony) everyday cheery tidings or good fortune
tindul: clumsiness, clumsy work (especially smithcraft)
tor: hill, knoll (especially if bare rock in places, smaller than a mountain or krag)
torst: adventure, fun, welcomed danger
tyn: field, open place (aboveground)
U
ultok: meeting-place, coming together, rendezvous
ultokrinlur: ford (literally 'meeting place over river')
undivver: hope, future plan, strategy
V
veltel: romance, courtship, social games and manners
vallahir: mountain-meadow (high valley, especially a 'hanging valley' or alpine plateau)
vudd: wood, forest
vruden: wood (thus, "vrudenla" means wooden or of wood)
W
wurgym: ugliness, uglu thing or being
wurlur: current, racing water (danger)
wurn: water (especially useful or drinking water)
X
xoth: knowledge (especially dwarf-lore and secret or special knowledge)
under: secrets, dark deeds, or treasure-talk
Y
yaugh: a climb (thus: "yaughadar" means stairs or steps, "yauthlin" means rope, "yauthmair" means handholds or no clear way, and "yauthtil" means an elevator (if magical it is an "olyauthil")
Z
zander: adventurer, rogue, foolish youth, happy-go-lucky or reckless being
Common to dwarven
A
above (over): rrin
adventure (fun, welcomed danger): torst
adventurer (as in; rogue, foolish youth, happy-go-lucky or reckless being): zander
arguments (criticism, words of dissention): murmelings
axe: kuld
B
backbone (strength, shield): barak
battle-glory: alagh
battlefield: rorntyn
beautiful (shining, bright, hopeful): splendarr
below (as in 'under'or underground): dun
berserker (or one who is reckless in battle): kuldjargh (literally 'axe-idiot')
bog (muskeg, concealed waters): lurmurk
bone: thord; 'thorden' means bones.
bright (shining, beautiful, hopeful): splendarr
butcher (to butcher): arglar; "a proper arglary" means a proper butchering, or a good fight, and is often used to describle vicious struggles with orcs.
C
cave: endar (surface world; one not linked to extensive underways)
cavern (large size, underground only): caurak
climb (as in 'a climb'): yaugh (thus: "yaughadar" means stairs or steps, "yauthlin" means rope, "yauthmair" means handholds or no clear way, and "yauthtil" means an elevator (if magical it is an "olyauthil")climb (as in 'to climb'): mrin; hence, "mrinding" means climbing.
clothing (especially usual or expected (proper or fitting) adornment): parlyn
clumsiness, clumsy work (especially smithcraft): tindul
crack, flaw: sabrak
creek (river, stream): lur
criticism (arguments, words of dissention): murmelings
current (racing water (danger)): wurlur
cut (to cut or lay open): ar
D
deal (agreement, trust of one's word of honor): ilith
death (an ending, it's over (especially feuds or love-affairs)): raugh
death (excrement, decay, carrion): thork
descend (to go down): deladar; hence, "deladaraugh" means to die in battle, (literally, 'to go down to the death').
destruction (devastation, war): rorn; thus, 'rorntyn' means battlefield.
dig (as in 'to dig'): delvar hence, "delve" means a digging; mine; tunnel; or underhome.
disagree (as in 'to disagree'): mur; hence, "murmel" means to argue, debate.
disbelief (lies, mistakes, exaggeration, distortion): bedorn
disgusting thing or occurrence; filth; orcs or orc-work: sargh
distrotion (disbelief, mistakes, exaggeration, lies): bedorn
doom (fate, ill luck, or if spoken in irony, everyday cheery tidings or good fortune): thudul
E
elevator: yauthtil
enemies (as in known enimies): noror
enemy land, area, or lair: noroth; (plural is "norothin")
evil or dangerous beings or force: norogh
exaggeration (disbelief, mistakes, lies, distortion): bedorn
F
familiar (known place, feature, or being): daern
familiar (known): rune
fate (doom, ill luck, or if spoken in irony, everyday cheery tidings or good fortune): thudul
fen (marsh): lurgh
field (open place aboveground): tyn
filth; orcs or orc-work: sargh
flaw, crack: sabrak
ford: rinlur; hence 'ultokrinlur' is literally 'meeting place over river'.
forest (as in woods): vudd
friend (trusted shield-brother or battle companion): samman
from: ar
fun (adventure, welcomed danger): torst
G
gap (mountain pass): lhar
gems (including uncut natural stones): glander
gift: halaur
gigantic (great, huge): arau
gods forfend (or 'gods, look at this!'): gordul (an oath of amazement or dis-pair)
gold-work: aelin
gold: ae
good luck (good fortune, favorable chances): findar
good stone: sonn
great (huge, gigantic): arau
H
handholds: yauthmair
haven (familiar place): runedar
hill, knoll (especially if bare rock in places, smaller than a mountain or krag): tor
home (familiar place, haven): runedar
home: faern
honest (honorable, trustworty): samryn
hope (future plan, strategy): undivver
huge (great, gigantic): arau
J
jokester, idiot (often applied to halflings): jargh
K
kill (as in 'to kill'): corl
killer: coral
kin: samman
kindness (caring, good deed): thalorn
knowledge (especially dwarf-lore and secret or special knowledge): xoth
known (familiar): rune
L
lake: glor
large (wide) river: llur
lay open: ar
lies (disbelief, mistakes, exaggeration, distortion): bedorn
loose stone (bad to work or unsafe): llargh
love (as in 'lust'): tharn; hence 'aetharn' means gold-lust
love (true love, 'deep' love): taerin
lust: tharn; hence 'aetharn' means gold-lust
M
magic, magical power or items: ol; "olara" refers to natural magic, not used or influenced by beings.
marsh (fen): lurgh
meeting-place (coming together, rendezvous): ultok
metal ore: donnar
miscreant (untrustworthy one): calass
mistakes (disbelief, lies, exaggeration, distortion): bedorn
monsters (evil or dangerous beings or force): norogh (especially unknown or unidentified)
mountain-meadow (high valley, especially a 'hanging valley' or alpine plateau): vallahir
muskeg (bog, concealed waters): lurmurk
N
over (above): rrin
P
pass (mountain pass or gap): lhar
passage linking surface to underground: levasst
passageway (passage way through): burakin
payment: hurnden
peak, height: morndin; especially of mountains, but sometimes used to speak of high ledges, ranks of individuals, or tall creatures.
plan (strategy, hope): undivver
R
reckless (as in reckless being, foolish youth, rogue): zander
reckless in battle(or a berserker): kuldjargh (literally 'axe-idiot')
rendezvous (meeting-place): ultok
river (creek, stream): lur (llur 'wide river')
rogue (foolish youth, happy-go-lucky or reckless being): zander
romance (courtship, social games and manners): veltel
rope (as in climbing rope): yauthlin
S
sea (ocean): auraglor (literally, 'great lake')
secrets (dark deeds, or treasure-talk): xunder
shield (backbone strength): barak
shield-brother: samman; usually refering to another dwarf.
shining (bright, beautiful, hopeful): splendarr
slash, or lay open: ar
stairs, steps: yaughadar
strategy (future plan, hope): undivver
stream (creek, river): lur
strength (backbone, shield): barak
sword: agland
T
thief (miscreant, untrustworthy one): calass
treachery: beldarak; hence, "beldarakin" means treacherous beings.
treasure or valuable (plural "daubles"): dauble
trustworthy (honest, honorable, or favorable): samryn
U
ugliness (uglu thing or being): wurgym
underground lake: dunglor
underground river: dunlur
untrustworthy (miscreant): calass
V
valor: alagh
W
warrior: kuldar (literally, 'axe-cutter')
water (especially useful or drinking water): wurn
wood (as in forest): vudd
wood: vruden; thus, 'vrudenla' means wooden or of wood.
world (all lands, all of Toril seen by, and known to the dwarves): olor"
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Re: Dwarves
Below is a list of Dwarven phrases and proverbs that I have compiled over the course of years roleplaying. Some are my own and a lot are (I believe) self-evident.
"Never injure your pride by substituting your axe for a smith's hammer." A dwarven proverb meaning "the right tool for the right job."
"People die for wealth and birds die for food." A dwarven proverb that speaks to what is truly of value.
"The Gods look after fools, children, and drunkards... humans usually count for two out of three." A Dwarven saying that expresses their general opinion of the human race.
"An elf’s tongue will talk the sundial 'round." Not always applicable since many Dwarves do not use sundials.
"Between the pickaxe and the rockface..."
"Certain as the Golden Halls are still standing." An Arelith specific one.
"Discussion gathers no gems." Don't talk when there's work to be done.
"Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water." (Gimli from LOTR, describing the Hornburg at Helm's Deep)
"It's no hair off my chin."
"Give me a row of orc necks and room to swing and all weariness will fall from me!" (Gimli again)
"When the mountain crumbles..."
“Shale-spined lot ye are.” Shale is an exceptionally soft stone.
“It's nought but talc to me!” Talc is also a very soft mineral, akin to saying it means nothing.
"The water'll find its own way down." All things will come to pass.
"You have talent, boy, but no edge. You're unfired, impure, dross hangs on you like last night's ale. I'll have to smelt you something fierce before you'll be worthy."
“Better to delve too deep than never delve at all.”
"They who so shed dwarf blood, by dwarf shall their blood be shed!" General statement on Dwarven vengeance.
"Not every stone is a gem, not every rock holds value, but even the lowest rock can hide a geode." Even the unlikeliest person has worth.
"From this moment my kinsmen, we are dead. We march forth as a hammer striking an anvil to create something worth being alive for."
"May your beard grow long and your weapon stay true.” One traditional farewell.
"May your mug never empty, your friends be untrue, and your armor never break in case they do!" Another farewell.
"Stone guide ye." A particularly devout farewell.
"An ale in the hand is worth 2 in the keg."
“That's not fit for goblins!”
“Well aren't ye full o' bellows!” Full of hot air.
"Cold as a mind-flayer's kiss."
"A lone column supports nothing."
"You're just poking the troll."
"All ale and no steel." Full of bluster and braggadocio
"A gold-digger ye are." To a Dwarf this is a compliment, meaning one who seeks the best in all endeavors.
"A goblin-nosed orc-kisser ye are!" A dire insult, especially if one Dwarf says it to another.
"Well shave my back and call me an elf!" (Admittedly stolen from Oghren in DA:O)
"Your mother is a goblin!" Enough said
"My mother's beard is longer than yours!" Meaning the dwarf thinks you are too young or inexperienced.
"Tree miner" A quick reference to an elf said in mixed (non-dwarven) company when a straight insult would be less than prudent.
"I'd rather mine trees!" - Never
"When Grumush becomes my patron!" When Hell freezes over
"Slag!Shards!Rust!" Dwarvish curses
"I've never met a human I couldn't ignore." Comment on the human lack of long term thinking.
"A gold nugget the size of your fist is less impressive when held up next to the vein." Don't count your chickens before they hatch
"Humans and halflings are like overgrown children, unfortunately they are children that know how to swing weapons." Dwarven commentary on the younger races.
"Look to the left side of your tools." The tools of Dwarves were their first and remain their main weapons. A Dwarf should always be prepared to meet a foe. This idea is ingrained at a young age.
"Worse than a troll's breath!"
"Elves are like mold, they are soft and slagging everywhere!" commentary on the elvish race
"The dead don't lie." Hold your tongue (with the implication that if you don't you won't need to.)
"As useful as a mud fortress!" Worthless
"Copper and gold both shine!" All that glitters is not gold.
"Even a pebble has it's place." Dwarvish moral to a child's parable - meaning size doesn't always matter.
"Even the smallest pebble in your boot can be troublesome." Don't discount minor setbacks, foes and concerns lest they become bigger ones.
"Puffballs or Stems" - Meaning either is fine or makes no matter, (refers to mushrooms)
"You hit like an elf" (Sorry elves)
"Fool's gold is still metal" Every cloud has a silver lining.
"Traded ore for Orcs" An extremely bad deal
"Greased the handle of your axe (or hammer)" A bad situation is about to get worse
"Has your forge gone cold?" Are you some kind of idiot? Can also mean "Are you heartless?" since many dwarves refer to their heart as a forge.
"Sand or Grit" It makes no real difference to me.
"A giant's wedding" A hullabaloo, a chaotic situation. Can be used to describe a tavern brawl, a disastrous melee, or a good party (or all three at once).
"A troll's gift" A white elephant, an unwanted responsibility
"There's never just one goblin(orc, troll, wyvern,etc)" - can be used either in an exasperated, "when it rains, it pours" sense, or as a word of warning when less sensible folk are ready to let down their guard.
"Chant without drums" Empty talk, bluster, especially hollow saber-rattling
"Gone over the mountain" Either literally far away or figuratively a little crazy, out there
"A fellow with two clans" Someone untrustworthy, a double dealer.
Conversely: "a dwarf for all clans" A universally liked and trusted individual, a man for all seasons
"Bread without beer" Something incomplete or insufficient
"An ettin's secret" Common knowledge
"An ettin's marriage" A situation in which too many people are involved; too many cooks spoiling the soup
"You should get some sun." Take a long walk off a short pier. Go away.
"They are sun-touched." Same as touched in the head. Addlepated.
"You don't forge steel in the home fire." To encourage daring and heroism.
"I'd rather mine coal." Coal mining is sometimes seen as the province of poor dwarves and clans down on their luck.
"Never injure your pride by substituting your axe for a smith's hammer." A dwarven proverb meaning "the right tool for the right job."
"People die for wealth and birds die for food." A dwarven proverb that speaks to what is truly of value.
"The Gods look after fools, children, and drunkards... humans usually count for two out of three." A Dwarven saying that expresses their general opinion of the human race.
"An elf’s tongue will talk the sundial 'round." Not always applicable since many Dwarves do not use sundials.
"Between the pickaxe and the rockface..."
"Certain as the Golden Halls are still standing." An Arelith specific one.
"Discussion gathers no gems." Don't talk when there's work to be done.
"Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water." (Gimli from LOTR, describing the Hornburg at Helm's Deep)
"It's no hair off my chin."
"Give me a row of orc necks and room to swing and all weariness will fall from me!" (Gimli again)
"When the mountain crumbles..."
“Shale-spined lot ye are.” Shale is an exceptionally soft stone.
“It's nought but talc to me!” Talc is also a very soft mineral, akin to saying it means nothing.
"The water'll find its own way down." All things will come to pass.
"You have talent, boy, but no edge. You're unfired, impure, dross hangs on you like last night's ale. I'll have to smelt you something fierce before you'll be worthy."
“Better to delve too deep than never delve at all.”
"They who so shed dwarf blood, by dwarf shall their blood be shed!" General statement on Dwarven vengeance.
"Not every stone is a gem, not every rock holds value, but even the lowest rock can hide a geode." Even the unlikeliest person has worth.
"From this moment my kinsmen, we are dead. We march forth as a hammer striking an anvil to create something worth being alive for."
"May your beard grow long and your weapon stay true.” One traditional farewell.
"May your mug never empty, your friends be untrue, and your armor never break in case they do!" Another farewell.
"Stone guide ye." A particularly devout farewell.
"An ale in the hand is worth 2 in the keg."
“That's not fit for goblins!”
“Well aren't ye full o' bellows!” Full of hot air.
"Cold as a mind-flayer's kiss."
"A lone column supports nothing."
"You're just poking the troll."
"All ale and no steel." Full of bluster and braggadocio
"A gold-digger ye are." To a Dwarf this is a compliment, meaning one who seeks the best in all endeavors.
"A goblin-nosed orc-kisser ye are!" A dire insult, especially if one Dwarf says it to another.
"Well shave my back and call me an elf!" (Admittedly stolen from Oghren in DA:O)
"Your mother is a goblin!" Enough said
"My mother's beard is longer than yours!" Meaning the dwarf thinks you are too young or inexperienced.
"Tree miner" A quick reference to an elf said in mixed (non-dwarven) company when a straight insult would be less than prudent.
"I'd rather mine trees!" - Never
"When Grumush becomes my patron!" When Hell freezes over
"Slag!Shards!Rust!" Dwarvish curses
"I've never met a human I couldn't ignore." Comment on the human lack of long term thinking.
"A gold nugget the size of your fist is less impressive when held up next to the vein." Don't count your chickens before they hatch
"Humans and halflings are like overgrown children, unfortunately they are children that know how to swing weapons." Dwarven commentary on the younger races.
"Look to the left side of your tools." The tools of Dwarves were their first and remain their main weapons. A Dwarf should always be prepared to meet a foe. This idea is ingrained at a young age.
"Worse than a troll's breath!"
"Elves are like mold, they are soft and slagging everywhere!" commentary on the elvish race
"The dead don't lie." Hold your tongue (with the implication that if you don't you won't need to.)
"As useful as a mud fortress!" Worthless
"Copper and gold both shine!" All that glitters is not gold.
"Even a pebble has it's place." Dwarvish moral to a child's parable - meaning size doesn't always matter.
"Even the smallest pebble in your boot can be troublesome." Don't discount minor setbacks, foes and concerns lest they become bigger ones.
"Puffballs or Stems" - Meaning either is fine or makes no matter, (refers to mushrooms)
"You hit like an elf" (Sorry elves)
"Fool's gold is still metal" Every cloud has a silver lining.
"Traded ore for Orcs" An extremely bad deal
"Greased the handle of your axe (or hammer)" A bad situation is about to get worse
"Has your forge gone cold?" Are you some kind of idiot? Can also mean "Are you heartless?" since many dwarves refer to their heart as a forge.
"Sand or Grit" It makes no real difference to me.
"A giant's wedding" A hullabaloo, a chaotic situation. Can be used to describe a tavern brawl, a disastrous melee, or a good party (or all three at once).
"A troll's gift" A white elephant, an unwanted responsibility
"There's never just one goblin(orc, troll, wyvern,etc)" - can be used either in an exasperated, "when it rains, it pours" sense, or as a word of warning when less sensible folk are ready to let down their guard.
"Chant without drums" Empty talk, bluster, especially hollow saber-rattling
"Gone over the mountain" Either literally far away or figuratively a little crazy, out there
"A fellow with two clans" Someone untrustworthy, a double dealer.
Conversely: "a dwarf for all clans" A universally liked and trusted individual, a man for all seasons
"Bread without beer" Something incomplete or insufficient
"An ettin's secret" Common knowledge
"An ettin's marriage" A situation in which too many people are involved; too many cooks spoiling the soup
"You should get some sun." Take a long walk off a short pier. Go away.
"They are sun-touched." Same as touched in the head. Addlepated.
"You don't forge steel in the home fire." To encourage daring and heroism.
"I'd rather mine coal." Coal mining is sometimes seen as the province of poor dwarves and clans down on their luck.
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- Posts: 260
- Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 1:49 am
- Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Dwarves
The following is taken from Dwarves Deep and Faiths and Pantheons. The former is a 2nd Edition Forgotten Realms sourcebook, while the latter is a 3rd Edition FR sourcebook.
THE MORNDINSAMMAN
In alphabetical order
ABBATHOR
Great Master of Greed, Trove Lord, the Avaricious, Wyrm of Avarice
Intermediate Power of the Gray Waste NE
PORTFOLIO: Greed
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Oinos/the Glitterhell
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Task, Vergadain
FOES: Berronar, Brandobaris, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Cyrrollalee, Dumathoin, Moradin, the gnome pantheon, the goblinkin and giant pantheons
SYMBOL: Jeweled dagger
WOR. ALIGN.: LE, NE, CE
Abbathor (AB-bah-thor) the Avaricious is the dwarven god of greed, venerated by most evil dwarves and nearly all evil dwarven thieves. He represents the worst aspect and major weakness of dwarven character. Many dwarves and even nondwarves consumed with treasure lust and greed, or those who seek to steal valuables, make offerings to him.
The Great Master of Greed was once interested purely in the natural beauty of gems and metals, but became embittered when Moradin appointed Dumathoin the protector of mountain dwarves - a position Abbathor felt should be his. From that day onward, Abbathor has become ever more devious and selfserving, continually trying to wreak revenge on the other dwarven gods by establishing greed, especially evil greed, as the driving force in the lives of all dwarves.
The Trove Lord maintains an uneasy truce with the god Vergadain, but he is otherwise estranged from the dwarven pantheon. Abbathor particularly hates Dumathoin and Moradin for denying him his rightful place in the pantheon, and he secretly works against both. He hates Clangeddin for Clangeddin's self-righteous noble stance and certain past insultS, and Clangeddin returns the favor. Berronar loathes Abbathor's deceitfulness, and Dumathoin shields treasures from the Great Master of Greed, to Abbathor's unending frustration and fury. Unlike Laduguer, however, Abbathor is tolerated by the other dwarven gods, although none trust him. Despite the fact that he embodies everything they teach their followers to avoid, he has sided with them in epic battles of the past and is still a valued member of the group. Abbathor never helps any nondwarven deity or being, however, with the notable exception of Task, draconic god of greed.
Abbathor is squat and hunched, despite his height. He seems to slither and sidle along as he walks, never making much noise but often rubbing his hands together. If carrying gems or gold, he often caresses these in a continuous, unconscious, overwhelmingly sensuous manner. At times, this has made ignorant folk attack him, overcome by lust to gain the treasure he holds.
The Great Master is said to have burning yellow-green eyes (blazing yellow when eager for treasure or when pouncing upon it, hooded and green while scheming or when thwarted). He has a sharp hooked nose like a giant eagle's beak and always dresses in leather armor and furs, both fashioned from the skins of creatures who have opposed him and died to regret it. He is said to have a harsh, husky, wheedling voice and a quick temper, hissing and spitting when angry. Abbathor is governed by his insatiable lust for treasure, especially gold, and is treacherous in his dealings with dwarves. He roams many worlds, including the Realms, in avatar form in search of treasure.
Abbathor uses any means, no matter how evil, to further his ends, which typically involve the acquisition of wealth. Should the Great Master of Greed see treasure worth more than 1,000 gp or any magical item, he attempts to steal it outright or slay the owner and then take it anyway. If frustrated in an attempt to steal an item, Abbathor tries to destroy it so as not to he tortured by the memory of his failure.
While Abbathor is publicly reviled in dwarven society ("gone to Abbathor" is a dwarven expression for lost treasure), most dwarves have been consumed on more than one occasion with the lust for treasure that he embodies. Rare is the dwarf who does not recognize the streak of avarice infecting the Stout Folk, and thus the Trove Lord's rightful place in the dwarven pantheon. Like an unliked and self-serving member of the clan who nonetheless is not known to have ever betrayed his kinfolk, the Great Master of Greed is venerated as a member of the Morndinsamman by most dwarves, even as they decry his beliefs.
THE CHURCH
Priests are known as Aetharnor
Temples of the Great Master of Greed are always in underground caverns or secret, windowless rooms. Sacrificial altars are massive, plain blocks of stone, blackened by the many fires laid and burnt upon them. (Note that nondwarves tend to panic when sacrificial fires are lit, and the smoke begins to billow!) Abbathor's places of worship can easily be mistaken for treasure vaults, as they are typically painted in gold leaf and filled with a cache of purloined treasures. In fact, the most sacred places of the Trove Lord are caverns that once housed the hoards of ancient wyrms.
Novices of Abbathor are known as Goldseekers; full priests are known as the Hands of Greed. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Abbathoran priests are Coveter of Copper, Seeker of Silver, Luster of Electrum, Hoarder of Gold, Plunderer of Platinum, and Miser of Mithral. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the Masters of Greed. Specialty priests are known as aetharnor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those consumed with greed. The priesthood consists of gold dwarves (50%), shield dwarves (40%), gray dwarves (9%), and jungle dwarves (1%). Abbathor's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (35%), cleric/thieves (33%), and thieves (32%), with the remainder being clerics (10%). Male priests still constitute most of the priesthood (97%). Abbathor secretly supports some leaders of the Wyrm Cult (described below); such specialty priests are known as noroghor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as beast followers.
Dogma: Seek to acquire all that shines or sparkles, and revel in the possession of such. The wealth of the earth was created for those dwarves strong and crafty enough to acquire it by any means necessary. Greed is good, as it motivates the acquisition and the holding of all that is truly precious. Do not seize wealth from the children of the Morndinsamman, however, nor conspire against the favored of Abbathor, for such strife in the name of avarice weakens the clan.
Day-to-Day Activities: Like their deity, priests of Abbathor strive to enrich themselves, taking advantage of their positions and influence to steal or deal themselves some personal wealth. Such funds are typically cached in remote, fiendishly welltrapped hideaways, as amassing enough loot to retire in luxury is a game and a driving motivation among priests of this god. As noted above, however, there is one strict rule: No priest of Abbathor can steal from any other dwarf, or influence events to cause harm to the person or wealth of any rival priest of Abbathor. This is the infamous Abbathor's Commandment, of which dwarven thieves are often reminded. Priests of Abbathor do not like to remember so readily that it was uttered purely in order to preserve some followers of the god after angry fellow dwarves had slaughtered thief after thief in the robes of Abbathor's clergy.
The wider aims of the priesthood are to enrich all dwarves, working with the clergy of Vergadain and Dumathoin where possible toward that end. Across the Realms, priests of Abbathor are always looking for a chance for common dwarven profit (and their own personal gain) through underhanded and shady arrangements. The underground ways known to dwarves make them ideal smugglers, and many borders are undercut by tunnels enabling dwarven merchants to avoid duties and restrictions in transporting goods from one land to another. Dwarves are prevented from dominating the smuggling trade purely by their aversion to water, which effectively excludes them from shipborne activity.
Priests of Abbathor trade (on the sly) with anyone, including duergar, drow, illithids, Zhentarim, ores, giants, and other undesirable creatures or traditional enemies of the dwarves.
Dwarves have been slain by axes sold to orcs by priests of Abbathor on more than one occasion. This contrariness, however, is an essential part of the dwarven nature, as is the goldlust that drives many dwarves on occasion - at such times they are said to be under the spell of Abbathor or in Abbathor's thrall. Priests of Abbathor can be considered to he permanently in this condition, but to have learnt subtlety and devious cunning in its pursuit, rather than simple, crude acquisitiveness. Beings who need something underhanded done can always contact priests of Abbathor if they know where to find them. (Usually only dwarves know how to do so.) For a fee, a known worshiper of Abbathor will often arrange a meeting between an outsider (such as a human) and one of the god's priests. The priest and the worshiper will both work to arrange the meeting so that the priest is in little danger of attack, kidnapping, or arrest. Priests of Abbathor secretly work to undermine the faith of Dumathoin and Berronar - the former in revenge for the Silent Keeper's assumption of a position meant for the Trove Lord, and the latter in response to the Revered Mother's concerted efforts to prevent thefts. Since such actions must always be kept secret from all but their fellow clergy members and may never endanger the immediate safety of the clan, the Hands of Greed must proceed very slowly in this task.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Solar eclipses and days when volcanic eruptions or other causes bring darkness during daytime are always considered holy days.
Once a year, priests of Abbathor sacrifice a creature on an altar. It must be an enemy of dwarves but can be anything from an elf to a boar. Ores, trolls, and giants are the most favored sacrifices. The faithful of Abbathor then bring gems in offering to the god, and these are placed upon the body, they must touch the blood of the sacrifice. The value of the sacrifice is said to determine the amount of Abbathor's favor that will benefit the offerer in the year to come. Even priests refer to this practice as "buying grace." The sacrifice is then burnt to ashes, gems and all. If magic or especially valuable gems are sacrificed, these sometimes disappear before the body is consumed, taken by Abbathor for his own (or pocketed by the priests for their own use, some say).
Abbathor's favor is said to include minor things like causing guards to sleep or become distracted, shaping shadows and moon-cloaking clouds to hide the features or exact position of a fleeing dwarven thief, or allowing a trapped thief an occasional battle-aid (in the form of an initiative roll bonus). Dwarves in need of Abbathor's immediate favor may make offerings at other times throughout the year. It is also customary to make an offering when one first worships at a particular temple.
Major Centers of Worship: Aefarn, the House of Gold, is a fortified temple complex housing much of the collected wealth of Abbathor's clergy. The temple is located deep beneath Turnback Mountain, the southernmost peak of a mountain range of similar name running north-south along the eastern border of Anauroch and north of the frozen steppes known as the Tortured Land. The treasure vaults of the Hands of Greed are located in a cavern complex hewn millennia ago from the surrounding granite by the great red wyrm Ragflaconshen, Spawn of Mahatnartorian, before he died defending his hoard from the avaricious Abbathor. In the Year of the Wailing Winds (1000 DR), a trio of Abbathoran priests stumbled across the wyrm's long-hidden lair after following a trail of gold coins placed - or so they suspected - by the Great Master of Greed.
After an arduous adventure bypassing the long-dead wyrm's many traps, the three priests finally penetrated Ragflaconshen's inner sanctum early in the Year of the Awakening (1001 DR). There they discovered that the great wyrm had survived, after a fashion, as a ghost dragon, his spirit unable to rest until his fabulous horde was replaced in kind. The Trove Lord then appeared to the three priests in a vision and directed them to muster the faithful (along with their personal hoards) scattered throughout the Cold Lands - the territory loosely incorporating the lands between the Moonsea, Anauroch, and the Great Glacier - in the ghost dragon's lair. This mass assemblage of treasure would allow the spirit of the Trove Lord's ancient antagonist and kindred spirit in greed to rest at last. When this was done, Abbathor appeared to his assembled worshipers in avatar form and directed them, under the leadership of the Three Coinlords (as the trio was thereafter known), to build a temple honoring him. This structure would house the assembled trove of treasure (possibly the most valuable to ever exist in the Realms), as well as all new wealth that its clergy acquired in the wider world. In the nearly four centuries since the founding of Aefarn, the caverns that make up the House of Gold have been entirely covered with gold leaf and studded with precious gems. The three seniormost priests of the temple compose the ruling triumvirate (still named for its founders), although Abbathor's assembled priests work collectively to defend the House of Gold from interlopers. Each priest has his own heavily trapped set of chambers in which his personal share of the temple's wealth is hoarded. Thus those seeking to plunder the House of Gold find themselves faced with innumerable smaller fortresses in addition to the formidable collective defenses.
Affiliated Orders: While Abbathor has no knightly orders associated with his faith, the Great Master of Greed has secretly embraced one of the most prominent cults in dwarven society as his own and begun granting spells to its priests, who are known as noroghor. The Wyrm Cult can be found in isolated dwarven communities throughout Faerun, but it seems more common in the North than in areas south of the Inner Sea lands. Its priests are few and secretive, employing dwarven sympathizers as spies and rewarding them for their aid by allowing them opportunities for recreation or revenge in beast form. The Wyrm Cult worships various beasts (especially dragons and other powerful creatures that dwarves treat with respect) and seeks to increase the power and wealth of its adherents by slaying and confounding enemies with the powers of beasts.
Consumed by a burning anger against all types of creatures who have oppressed or slain dwarves in the past, Wyrm Cult priests have taken to attacking all nondwarven adventurers who wander within their reach throughout the wilderlands of the North. Currently in need of wealth and power, they seek both through increased influence and greater numbers of worshipers as well as through the acquisition of magical items and controlled territories.
Priestly Vestments: Priests of Abbathor always dress in red - a brilliant scarlet, worn as underclothing for everyday use and as over-robes for ceremonial occasions. Over this they wear leather armor with leather caps (never helms). If this armor must be discarded, dark crimson robes are worn to echo - and yet conceal the brightness of - the scarlet underclothing. Clergy of Abbathor never wear wealth openly because of the god's saying: "The best is always hidden." The holy symbol of the faith is a gold coin at least two inches in diameter, which is stamped with the symbol of Abbathor on both faces.
Adventuring Garb: When expecting open combat, the Trove Lord's priests gird themselves in the best available armor and weapons with which they are proficient, in the fashion of most dwarven warriors. When stealth is required, however, members of Abbathor's clergy prefer the garb and tools of rogues. In all cases, however, the Hands of Greed keep the signs of their calling - including their scarlet underclothes and their holy symbols - concealed, as it is considered an affront to Abbathor to proclaim his name or his symbol openly.
THE MORNDINSAMMAN
In alphabetical order
ABBATHOR
Great Master of Greed, Trove Lord, the Avaricious, Wyrm of Avarice
Intermediate Power of the Gray Waste NE
PORTFOLIO: Greed
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Oinos/the Glitterhell
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Task, Vergadain
FOES: Berronar, Brandobaris, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Cyrrollalee, Dumathoin, Moradin, the gnome pantheon, the goblinkin and giant pantheons
SYMBOL: Jeweled dagger
WOR. ALIGN.: LE, NE, CE
Abbathor (AB-bah-thor) the Avaricious is the dwarven god of greed, venerated by most evil dwarves and nearly all evil dwarven thieves. He represents the worst aspect and major weakness of dwarven character. Many dwarves and even nondwarves consumed with treasure lust and greed, or those who seek to steal valuables, make offerings to him.
The Great Master of Greed was once interested purely in the natural beauty of gems and metals, but became embittered when Moradin appointed Dumathoin the protector of mountain dwarves - a position Abbathor felt should be his. From that day onward, Abbathor has become ever more devious and selfserving, continually trying to wreak revenge on the other dwarven gods by establishing greed, especially evil greed, as the driving force in the lives of all dwarves.
The Trove Lord maintains an uneasy truce with the god Vergadain, but he is otherwise estranged from the dwarven pantheon. Abbathor particularly hates Dumathoin and Moradin for denying him his rightful place in the pantheon, and he secretly works against both. He hates Clangeddin for Clangeddin's self-righteous noble stance and certain past insultS, and Clangeddin returns the favor. Berronar loathes Abbathor's deceitfulness, and Dumathoin shields treasures from the Great Master of Greed, to Abbathor's unending frustration and fury. Unlike Laduguer, however, Abbathor is tolerated by the other dwarven gods, although none trust him. Despite the fact that he embodies everything they teach their followers to avoid, he has sided with them in epic battles of the past and is still a valued member of the group. Abbathor never helps any nondwarven deity or being, however, with the notable exception of Task, draconic god of greed.
Abbathor is squat and hunched, despite his height. He seems to slither and sidle along as he walks, never making much noise but often rubbing his hands together. If carrying gems or gold, he often caresses these in a continuous, unconscious, overwhelmingly sensuous manner. At times, this has made ignorant folk attack him, overcome by lust to gain the treasure he holds.
The Great Master is said to have burning yellow-green eyes (blazing yellow when eager for treasure or when pouncing upon it, hooded and green while scheming or when thwarted). He has a sharp hooked nose like a giant eagle's beak and always dresses in leather armor and furs, both fashioned from the skins of creatures who have opposed him and died to regret it. He is said to have a harsh, husky, wheedling voice and a quick temper, hissing and spitting when angry. Abbathor is governed by his insatiable lust for treasure, especially gold, and is treacherous in his dealings with dwarves. He roams many worlds, including the Realms, in avatar form in search of treasure.
Abbathor uses any means, no matter how evil, to further his ends, which typically involve the acquisition of wealth. Should the Great Master of Greed see treasure worth more than 1,000 gp or any magical item, he attempts to steal it outright or slay the owner and then take it anyway. If frustrated in an attempt to steal an item, Abbathor tries to destroy it so as not to he tortured by the memory of his failure.
While Abbathor is publicly reviled in dwarven society ("gone to Abbathor" is a dwarven expression for lost treasure), most dwarves have been consumed on more than one occasion with the lust for treasure that he embodies. Rare is the dwarf who does not recognize the streak of avarice infecting the Stout Folk, and thus the Trove Lord's rightful place in the dwarven pantheon. Like an unliked and self-serving member of the clan who nonetheless is not known to have ever betrayed his kinfolk, the Great Master of Greed is venerated as a member of the Morndinsamman by most dwarves, even as they decry his beliefs.
THE CHURCH
Priests are known as Aetharnor
Temples of the Great Master of Greed are always in underground caverns or secret, windowless rooms. Sacrificial altars are massive, plain blocks of stone, blackened by the many fires laid and burnt upon them. (Note that nondwarves tend to panic when sacrificial fires are lit, and the smoke begins to billow!) Abbathor's places of worship can easily be mistaken for treasure vaults, as they are typically painted in gold leaf and filled with a cache of purloined treasures. In fact, the most sacred places of the Trove Lord are caverns that once housed the hoards of ancient wyrms.
Novices of Abbathor are known as Goldseekers; full priests are known as the Hands of Greed. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Abbathoran priests are Coveter of Copper, Seeker of Silver, Luster of Electrum, Hoarder of Gold, Plunderer of Platinum, and Miser of Mithral. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the Masters of Greed. Specialty priests are known as aetharnor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those consumed with greed. The priesthood consists of gold dwarves (50%), shield dwarves (40%), gray dwarves (9%), and jungle dwarves (1%). Abbathor's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (35%), cleric/thieves (33%), and thieves (32%), with the remainder being clerics (10%). Male priests still constitute most of the priesthood (97%). Abbathor secretly supports some leaders of the Wyrm Cult (described below); such specialty priests are known as noroghor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as beast followers.
Dogma: Seek to acquire all that shines or sparkles, and revel in the possession of such. The wealth of the earth was created for those dwarves strong and crafty enough to acquire it by any means necessary. Greed is good, as it motivates the acquisition and the holding of all that is truly precious. Do not seize wealth from the children of the Morndinsamman, however, nor conspire against the favored of Abbathor, for such strife in the name of avarice weakens the clan.
Day-to-Day Activities: Like their deity, priests of Abbathor strive to enrich themselves, taking advantage of their positions and influence to steal or deal themselves some personal wealth. Such funds are typically cached in remote, fiendishly welltrapped hideaways, as amassing enough loot to retire in luxury is a game and a driving motivation among priests of this god. As noted above, however, there is one strict rule: No priest of Abbathor can steal from any other dwarf, or influence events to cause harm to the person or wealth of any rival priest of Abbathor. This is the infamous Abbathor's Commandment, of which dwarven thieves are often reminded. Priests of Abbathor do not like to remember so readily that it was uttered purely in order to preserve some followers of the god after angry fellow dwarves had slaughtered thief after thief in the robes of Abbathor's clergy.
The wider aims of the priesthood are to enrich all dwarves, working with the clergy of Vergadain and Dumathoin where possible toward that end. Across the Realms, priests of Abbathor are always looking for a chance for common dwarven profit (and their own personal gain) through underhanded and shady arrangements. The underground ways known to dwarves make them ideal smugglers, and many borders are undercut by tunnels enabling dwarven merchants to avoid duties and restrictions in transporting goods from one land to another. Dwarves are prevented from dominating the smuggling trade purely by their aversion to water, which effectively excludes them from shipborne activity.
Priests of Abbathor trade (on the sly) with anyone, including duergar, drow, illithids, Zhentarim, ores, giants, and other undesirable creatures or traditional enemies of the dwarves.
Dwarves have been slain by axes sold to orcs by priests of Abbathor on more than one occasion. This contrariness, however, is an essential part of the dwarven nature, as is the goldlust that drives many dwarves on occasion - at such times they are said to be under the spell of Abbathor or in Abbathor's thrall. Priests of Abbathor can be considered to he permanently in this condition, but to have learnt subtlety and devious cunning in its pursuit, rather than simple, crude acquisitiveness. Beings who need something underhanded done can always contact priests of Abbathor if they know where to find them. (Usually only dwarves know how to do so.) For a fee, a known worshiper of Abbathor will often arrange a meeting between an outsider (such as a human) and one of the god's priests. The priest and the worshiper will both work to arrange the meeting so that the priest is in little danger of attack, kidnapping, or arrest. Priests of Abbathor secretly work to undermine the faith of Dumathoin and Berronar - the former in revenge for the Silent Keeper's assumption of a position meant for the Trove Lord, and the latter in response to the Revered Mother's concerted efforts to prevent thefts. Since such actions must always be kept secret from all but their fellow clergy members and may never endanger the immediate safety of the clan, the Hands of Greed must proceed very slowly in this task.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Solar eclipses and days when volcanic eruptions or other causes bring darkness during daytime are always considered holy days.
Once a year, priests of Abbathor sacrifice a creature on an altar. It must be an enemy of dwarves but can be anything from an elf to a boar. Ores, trolls, and giants are the most favored sacrifices. The faithful of Abbathor then bring gems in offering to the god, and these are placed upon the body, they must touch the blood of the sacrifice. The value of the sacrifice is said to determine the amount of Abbathor's favor that will benefit the offerer in the year to come. Even priests refer to this practice as "buying grace." The sacrifice is then burnt to ashes, gems and all. If magic or especially valuable gems are sacrificed, these sometimes disappear before the body is consumed, taken by Abbathor for his own (or pocketed by the priests for their own use, some say).
Abbathor's favor is said to include minor things like causing guards to sleep or become distracted, shaping shadows and moon-cloaking clouds to hide the features or exact position of a fleeing dwarven thief, or allowing a trapped thief an occasional battle-aid (in the form of an initiative roll bonus). Dwarves in need of Abbathor's immediate favor may make offerings at other times throughout the year. It is also customary to make an offering when one first worships at a particular temple.
Major Centers of Worship: Aefarn, the House of Gold, is a fortified temple complex housing much of the collected wealth of Abbathor's clergy. The temple is located deep beneath Turnback Mountain, the southernmost peak of a mountain range of similar name running north-south along the eastern border of Anauroch and north of the frozen steppes known as the Tortured Land. The treasure vaults of the Hands of Greed are located in a cavern complex hewn millennia ago from the surrounding granite by the great red wyrm Ragflaconshen, Spawn of Mahatnartorian, before he died defending his hoard from the avaricious Abbathor. In the Year of the Wailing Winds (1000 DR), a trio of Abbathoran priests stumbled across the wyrm's long-hidden lair after following a trail of gold coins placed - or so they suspected - by the Great Master of Greed.
After an arduous adventure bypassing the long-dead wyrm's many traps, the three priests finally penetrated Ragflaconshen's inner sanctum early in the Year of the Awakening (1001 DR). There they discovered that the great wyrm had survived, after a fashion, as a ghost dragon, his spirit unable to rest until his fabulous horde was replaced in kind. The Trove Lord then appeared to the three priests in a vision and directed them to muster the faithful (along with their personal hoards) scattered throughout the Cold Lands - the territory loosely incorporating the lands between the Moonsea, Anauroch, and the Great Glacier - in the ghost dragon's lair. This mass assemblage of treasure would allow the spirit of the Trove Lord's ancient antagonist and kindred spirit in greed to rest at last. When this was done, Abbathor appeared to his assembled worshipers in avatar form and directed them, under the leadership of the Three Coinlords (as the trio was thereafter known), to build a temple honoring him. This structure would house the assembled trove of treasure (possibly the most valuable to ever exist in the Realms), as well as all new wealth that its clergy acquired in the wider world. In the nearly four centuries since the founding of Aefarn, the caverns that make up the House of Gold have been entirely covered with gold leaf and studded with precious gems. The three seniormost priests of the temple compose the ruling triumvirate (still named for its founders), although Abbathor's assembled priests work collectively to defend the House of Gold from interlopers. Each priest has his own heavily trapped set of chambers in which his personal share of the temple's wealth is hoarded. Thus those seeking to plunder the House of Gold find themselves faced with innumerable smaller fortresses in addition to the formidable collective defenses.
Affiliated Orders: While Abbathor has no knightly orders associated with his faith, the Great Master of Greed has secretly embraced one of the most prominent cults in dwarven society as his own and begun granting spells to its priests, who are known as noroghor. The Wyrm Cult can be found in isolated dwarven communities throughout Faerun, but it seems more common in the North than in areas south of the Inner Sea lands. Its priests are few and secretive, employing dwarven sympathizers as spies and rewarding them for their aid by allowing them opportunities for recreation or revenge in beast form. The Wyrm Cult worships various beasts (especially dragons and other powerful creatures that dwarves treat with respect) and seeks to increase the power and wealth of its adherents by slaying and confounding enemies with the powers of beasts.
Consumed by a burning anger against all types of creatures who have oppressed or slain dwarves in the past, Wyrm Cult priests have taken to attacking all nondwarven adventurers who wander within their reach throughout the wilderlands of the North. Currently in need of wealth and power, they seek both through increased influence and greater numbers of worshipers as well as through the acquisition of magical items and controlled territories.
Priestly Vestments: Priests of Abbathor always dress in red - a brilliant scarlet, worn as underclothing for everyday use and as over-robes for ceremonial occasions. Over this they wear leather armor with leather caps (never helms). If this armor must be discarded, dark crimson robes are worn to echo - and yet conceal the brightness of - the scarlet underclothing. Clergy of Abbathor never wear wealth openly because of the god's saying: "The best is always hidden." The holy symbol of the faith is a gold coin at least two inches in diameter, which is stamped with the symbol of Abbathor on both faces.
Adventuring Garb: When expecting open combat, the Trove Lord's priests gird themselves in the best available armor and weapons with which they are proficient, in the fashion of most dwarven warriors. When stealth is required, however, members of Abbathor's clergy prefer the garb and tools of rogues. In all cases, however, the Hands of Greed keep the signs of their calling - including their scarlet underclothes and their holy symbols - concealed, as it is considered an affront to Abbathor to proclaim his name or his symbol openly.
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- Posts: 260
- Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 1:49 am
- Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Dwarves
DUGMAREN BRIGHTMANTLE
The Gleam in the Eye, the Wandering Tinker, the Errant Explorer
Lesser Power of the Outlands CG
PORTFOLIO: Scholarship, invention, discovery
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Outlands/Dwarvish Mountain (Soot Hall)
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Brandobaris, Cyrrollalee, Deneir, Erevan Ilesere, Garl Glittergold, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Nebelun/Gond, Oghma, Shaundakul, Thoth, Tymora, Urogalan
FOES: Gargauth, llsensine, Maanzecorian (dead), Urdlen
SYMBOL: Open book
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Dugmaren Brightmantle (DUHG-mah-ren BRITE-man-tuhl) is the patron of dwarven scholars and the embodiment of the chaotic and exploratory spirit that consumes some of the Stout Folk. He is venerated by dwarves and a few gnomes, all of whom are scholars, inventors, engineers, tinkers, and fiddlers. His worshipers are consumed with the acquiring of knowledge simply for its own sake rather than for any practical purpose. Whereas Moradin draws smiths and other craftsfolk to his forge, Dugmaren attracts those free-thinkers who want to create something truly new, not a variation on an old theme.
Dugmaren is thought to be a child of Moradin - a chaotic element split off from his father's stern lawfulness and nurtured by the favor of his mother Berronar. In fact the All-Father relates well to Dugmaren's creative and explorative instincts, but the Wandering Tinker often drifts away from projects before they are completed and usually before he has found a use for the knowledge he has gathered - a trait that irritates Moradin to no end. Dugmaren is always getting himself enmeshed in one exploit or another, and his regular accomplices include Haela or Marthammor of the Morndinsamman and Brandobaris, Erevan Ilesere, Nebelun/Gond, or Shaundakul from the other human or demihuman pantheons. Aside from Gargauth, who embodies everything corruptive and malevolent in the discovery of lost or undiscovered knowledge, the gods of the illithids, who seek to hoard knowledge for themselves, and Urdlen, who hates everyone and everything, the Wandering Tinker has no true foes. However, Dugmaren finds the company of Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, and the goblin and evil giant gods trying at best. The Wandering Tinker is tolerated by the lawful members of the dwarven pantheon because his inventions and innovations have proven to have had beneficial aspects.
Dugmaren is a benign, inquisitive, cheerful, and optimistic deity concerned with discovering the unknown. He is an inveterate acquirer of trivia and little-used knowledge, an experimenter and a fiddler. Although he dwells within the Dwarvish Mountain in the Outlands, he often ventures into the planes of Arborea, Elysium, and Bytopia. The Wandering Tinker sometimes dispatches an avatar to act as an unseen guide for dwarven scholars and travelers, protecting them in their searches and providing hints on where to look for knowledge.
Dugmaren rarely manifests in an obvious or direct fashion. Instead, the Wandering Tinker prefers to guide his followers to new discoveries as subtly as possible. For example, he might manifest by causing a book to open to a page of particular interest or by causing a secret door to shift slightly, revealing its existence to a determined searcher.
When he does find it necessary to manifest his presence directly, Dugmaren typically envelops a worshiper or object in a bright nimbus of bluetinted light. The effect of such an aura varies according to the situation. Dugmaren typically manifests through the actions of sentient creatures by giving them the ability to use a single divination spell, such as detect magic, ESP, identify, legend lore, or true seeing, or a single defensive spell, such as anti-magic shell, ironguard, magical vestment, minor globe of invulnerability, protection/rom evil, or shield. The Wandering Tinker sometimes manifests by transforming a follower's mental picture into a physical object in a fashion similar to the effects of the spell major creation.
The Church
Clerics are called Xothor
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG,CG,N,CN
Until the Time of Troubles, all priests of Dugmaren were male dwarves or male gnomes, but females of both races are now accepted into the clergy.
The followers of Dugmaren are viewed with a certain measure of distrust and suspicion by most dwarves. While Dugmaren's apostles are well regarded for their learning and inventiveness, few dwarves are willing to spend a great deal of time in the company of the Wandering Tinker's faithful. There are two reasons for such reticence: the fear of getting caught up in the spectacular failure of yet another experiment, and the fact that the quixotic behavior of Dugmaren's followers is tiring to the orderly mindset common to the children of Moradin. Other human and demihuman races tend to be more tolerant of Dugmaren's followers than their fellow dwarves are. Temples of Dugmaren are found both above ground and below.
They are usually sprawling complexes crammed full of the detritus of countless experiments as well as artifacts collected on extended sojourns to distant locales. At the center of each such house of worship is a huge library housing a large collection of rune stones plus the tomes and scrolls of other races. Altars of Dugmaren consist of a simple block of granite (or some other hard stone) upon which sits a single ever-burning candle symbolizing the quest for knowledge. Novices of Dugmaren are known as the Curious. Full priests of the Wandering Tinker are known as Seekers of Truth and Mystery. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Dugmarenite priests are Questing Wanderer, Avid Fiddler, Philosophical Tinker, Seeking Scholar, Searching Sage, and Errant Philosopher. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the High Savants. Specialty priests are known as xothor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who seek knowledge. The clergy of Dugmaren includes shield dwarves (53%), gold dwarves (46%), and a handful (1%) of gray dwarves, jungle dwarves, and gnomes. Dugmaren's clergy is dominated by specialty priests (85%), but does include a few clerics (12%) and fighter/clerics (3%) as well. The priesthood is unevenly divided by gender: 96% male and 4% female.
Dogma: The secrets of the world are waiting to be revealed. Travel widely, broaden your mind at every opportunity, and pursue the life of a scholar. Cultivate the spirit of inquiry among the young and be a teacher to all. Seek to recover the lost and/or arcane knowledge of ages past and apply it in the world of today. Try new methods of doing things just for the joy of experimenting. Learn a little of everything, for you never know what might be of use down the road.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of the Wandering Tinker spend their days in scholarly pursuits, seeking to learn, teach, and advance nearly every field of knowledge even marginally interesting to the dwarven race. Many Seekers of Truth and Mystery serve as instructors to the young, while others record and archive current dwarven practices for future generations. Dugmaren's clergy members travel widely, seeking new experiences, new ideas, and the recovery of lost dwarven lore.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The church of Dugmaren has little in the way of formal ritual or ceremony. Priests of the Wandering Tinker whisper a prayer of thankfulness to Dugmaren when they discover a piece of forgotten lore or whenever they make a significant discovery of any sort. Greengrass and Higharvestide are the only holy days regularly celebrated by Dugmaren's faithful. Such days begin with several hours of private early-morning introspection, usually spent staring into the heart of a single lit candle. These personal meditations are followed by a day-long convocation of scholars in which the results of scholarly investigations since the last such symposium are presented, defended, and discussed.
Major Centers of Worship: With the founding of Luruar in the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR) and the elevation of Alustriel to rule it, Silverymoon's role as the preeminent center of learning within the Moonlands of the North has continued to expand. With the blessing and encouragement of King Harbromm and the Bright Lady, 40 dwarven scholars from Citadel Adbar, under the direction of Savant of Mysteries Daurant Tomescribe, emigrated to Silverymoon in the first few months of the Year of the Tankard (1370 DR). There they founded a temple of Dugmaren alongside the other colleges, temples, and libraries of the Gem of the North. Both rulers saw this development as a way to ensure that the dwarves of the emerging nation of Luruar contributed to and benefited from the scholarly work and intellectual ferment already underway in the capitol city.
Since its inception, the Athenaeum of Philosophy, located east of the Market and northwest of Alustriel's Palace, between Fortune Hall and the Temple of Silver Stars, has been the home of invention, experimentation, philosophical and scholarly debate, and seminars on a wide range of topics - these last being open to the general public. Although the worshipers of Tymora and Selune have uttered more than a few fervent prayers to their goddesses after alarming explosions emanating from the experimental laboratories beneath Dugmaren's house of worship, the introduction of two score dwarven inventors and sages to Silverymoon's scholarly circles has been a great success and is starting to draw more dwarves from the lands of fallen Delzoun, as well as scholars of other races based in Silverymoon, to share in the intellectual ferment.
The Athenaeum itself once served as a training facility for the Knights of Silver based in the nearby palace, and halls that were once employed for dining, sleeping, and weapons training are now occupied by sprawling laboratories and great libraries filled with obscure knowledge of questionable usefulness. The temple is always ablaze with light as its residents experiment, tinker, and invent night and day. Visiting scholars of any race are welcome to reside in the temple for a night or even a tenday, but few find the ever-present chaos conducive to a good night's sleep.
Affiliated Orders: The Order of the Lost Tome is a loosely structured fellowship of errant dwarven scholars dedicated to the recovery of lost dwarven lore for the benefit of kingdoms and clan holds throughout the Realms. Individual Knights of the Lost Tome usually work alone or in the company of dwarven and nondwarven adventurers unaffiliated with the order. They combine their passion for knowledge and investigative abilities with the martial skills necessary to defeat the current occupants of fallen dwarven strongholds thought to contain examples of and treatises on lost dwarven lore.
Priestly Vestments: Dugmaren's priests tend to eschew formal religious garb aside from plain, homespun white garments with vibrant sashes the width of a hand. High Old Ones of the faith wear simple silver circlets to denote their status. The holy symbol of the faith is a silver locket Grafted to resemble an open book. Many of Dugmaren's followers keep small bits of lore - riddles, puzzles, command words, etc. - inside such lockets in homage to the god - and also to keep them readily available in unexpected situations.
Adventuring Garb: Members of Dugmaren's clergy dress practically when exploring dangerous or unknown territories. Most favor light armor and weapons, preferring maneuverability over defense. Many carry unique weapons; most also have items with defensive capabilities of widely varying usefulness and reliability, which they have invented and wish to field-test.
DUMATHOIN
Keeper of Secrets under the Mountain, the Silent Keeper, the Mountain Shield
Intermediate Power of the Plane of Concordant Opposition , N
PORTFOLIO: Keeper of metals and other buried wealth (secrets under the earth), the earth's riches, ores, gems, minerals, mining, exploration, the shield dwarf race, guardian of the dead
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Outlands/Dwarvish Mountain (Deepshaft Hall)
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Callarduran Smoothhands, Cyrrollalee, Geb, Gond, Grumbar, Flandal Steelskin, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Segojan Earthcaller, Sehanine Moonbow, Skoraeus Stonebones
FOES: Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Kiaransalee, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: A cut, faceted gem inside a mountain (silhouette)
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Dumathoin (DOO-muh-THOE-in) is the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain, and he hides the secrets of the earth until deserving and diligent dwarves are ready to be guided to them. He lays veins of iron, copper, gold, silver, and mithral where he feels they will best benefit his followers. He watches over the safety and security of miners of all races and has a special role as the protector of shield dwarves and the creator of the urdunnirin.
Dumathoin created a paradise under the mountains for the shield dwarves when Moradin named him their protector. He shaped natural caverns of great beauty, studded with rich and beautiful deposits of shining metals and glittering outcroppings of crystalline gems. He was angered when the dwarves began to mine the mountains, destroying the beauty he had created. Dumathoin was pleased, flattered, and a little awed, however, when he saw the finely Grafted items the dwarves produced from the ores they had mined. He no longer objects to tunneling, mining, or the collecting of treasures underground. The Silent Keeper frowns, however, on clumsy or crude rockcutting that does not smooth the earth, follow the natural flows, and highlight the individual features of the rocks. Cutting that causes cavern collapses and floodings are even less to his liking, and he is openly angered by those who pillage. Pillagers, in Dumathoin's eyes, are beings of all races who take the earth's riches away (in other words, to the surface) for unfair or selfish purposes, taking more than their share and leaving rubble and other messes in their wake.
Dumathoin is friendly with Geb, Flandal Steelskin, Segojan Earthcaller, and other nondwarven gods of the earth and smithcraft. He supplies nondwarven gods of blacksmiths with adamantite ore and sometimes does business with the other gods (through his and their priests) for metals and ores as well. Dumathoin has a nonhostile relationship of some sort with Ilsensine, god of illithids. But aside from the close proximity of their outer planar realms, the exact nature of the relationship is unknown to any other powers, and no such detente exists between the two gods' followers in the Realms.
The Silent Keeper never speaks, communicating instead with gestures. He has never been known to do more than grunt or sigh (in exertion or pain) in the presence of mortals. Dumathoin may also set subtle clues as to his purposes and the nature of the world beneath the surface, such that only those with keen eyes and wits can perceive them. The Keeper has a stolid patience and tolerance (particularly of nondwarves and hasty behavior) lacking in most other dwarven deities. However, he is just as patient and implacable an enemy when angered. Most who offend Dumathoin and realize what they have done set at once to loudly and fervently praying for his forgiveness. They frequently offer to make amends by bringing back gems and metal treasures to the place where they offended him—immediately, if possible, or by a specified time otherwise. If they keep this promise, Dumathoin is usually appeased. If they seem forgetful, they had better not ever go near a mountain or cave again!
Although Dumathoin spends much of his time in the Outlands, he uses his stone seeing ability (unlimited range) to keep underground and mountainous areas of Toril under almost constant surveillance.
The Keeper of Secrets commonly manifests in two helpful ways and two harmful ways, treating dwarves and nondwarves equally.
Often when miners or other creatures are lost underground, particularly when their light sources are all gone, the power of Dumathoin guides them to safety by causing rock crystals exposed in the stone walls to sparkle or wink in sequence, beckoning and outlining a route. Where crystals are lacking, areas of bare rock may glow for a time.
Many miners pray to Dumathoin in thanks for another underearth phenomenon: the sudden, spontaneous shifting of wedged boulders or rubble blockages that have trapped miners or prevented their further exploration.
In the same way, they call rumblings in the deep and other earth tremors "the warnings of Dumathoin" and heed them whenever they occur, particularly as a cavern is first entered or a rockface first struck with pick or hammer. If warning tremors are ignored, or Dumathoin's anger is severe, a cave-in occurs above the offenders.Dumathoin also uses this technique to punish individuals whose actions offend him. In such cases, the Keeper typically causes a localized rockfall (in other words, down on the head of one offending character) from either a rock ceiling overhead, or if on the outside of a mountain, from a peak or ledge above.There is no chance of other characters being hit or a further collapse occurring—Dumathoin's power is precise.
The Church
Clerics are called Delvesonns
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG, NG, LN, N
All priests of Dumathoin were male until the Time of Troubles; recently, however, females have been permitted in the clergy.
All dwarves who live in (or venture into) subterranean areas or mountains, or those who work directly with the riches of the earth, worship the Silent Keeper. All dwarven miners and many nondwarven ones at least appease him, even if they do not fully support him. Miners in the North and dwarves throughout the Realms often carry a small diamond, agate, or other gemstone (of about 10 gp value, but not including octel, shandon, sphene, or rock crystals, for reasons noted above) with them to attract his favor.
Temples and shrines of Dumathoin are commonly found across the North, in dwarven holds such as Adbarrim, Felbarr, Hillsafar Hall, Ironmaster, Mithral Hall, Tethyamar, and the Far Hills. There are also temples in the lands that were once held by the realms of High and Deep Shanatar (now the kingdoms of Amn, Erikazar, Tethyr, and Calimshan). While shrines and temples of Dumathoin are typically found in the holds of the shield dwarves, they are extremely rare among the other dwarven subraces, except for the gold dwarves—in whose realms they are merely uncommon. But the gold dwarves have constructed at least two grand Dumathan houses of worship in the cities of the Deep Realm. Temples of Dumathoin are constructed in the deepest and best-hidden natural caverns, which may be opened up or improved by dwarves without disqualifying them for use. Such caverns are commonly chosen for their veins of precious ores and/or the presence of many gems in the surrounding rock, although the presence of Dumathoin's hidden gifts is not strictly necessary. At the heart of such temples are simple altars consisting of natural boulders or large stone blocks. Statues of the Silent Keeper, depicting him in his many aspects, line the walls.
Novices of Dumathoin are known as the Uncut. Upon taking the Silent Vow, they become full priests and are known as Keepers of the Shield. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by the Keepers of the Shield are Agate, Onyx, Amethyst, Jargoon, Garnet, Topaz, Opal, Sapphire, and Diamond. The highest ranking priests of Dumathoin are collectively known as Beljurils, but most have unique individual titles as well. Specialty priests are known as delvesonns, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated at Dumathoin's hidden gifts. The clergy of Dumathoin is composed primarily of shield dwarves (80%), gold dwarves (18%), and gray dwarves (1%). Nondwarves, such as humans, rock gnomes, stout halflings, and svirfneblin, make up the remainder of the clergy and must be clerics, crusaders, or (if normally permissible to the race in question) fighter/clerics. Dumathoin's clergy is nearly evenly split between specialty priests (45%) and clerics (44%). The remainder of the clergy members are fighter/clerics (6%) or crusaders (5%). The priesthood is still predominantly (97%) male.
Dogma: Walk the deep and silent ways of Dumathoin. Seek out the hidden gifts of the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain. That which is hidden is precious, and that which is precious shall stay hidden. Seek to enhance the natural beauty of Dumathoin's gifts and go with, not against, the contours of the deeps. Beauty is in the discovery and the Grafting, not the holding. Keep the places of our dead inviolate and well tended; the noble ancestor of our race will neither be robbed nor mocked through the actions of thieves and defilers. Abide not undead creatures, especially those that take the form of dwarves, thus mocking the creation of Moradin.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Dumathoin seek always to uncover the buried wealth of the earth without marring the beauty of the ways beneath the surface or being overly greedy. They often supervise mining operations and maintain underground safety and security. They work to clean up the rubble of mining, to grow and put in place luminous fungi and edible deep-mosses, and to direct water through the earth to best serve the underlife that includes, of course, dwarves. Priests of this faith are always hunting for new veins of ore, new sources and species of useful fungi, and new delves or underways never explored before. They try to identify encountered dangers and determine strategies to deal with these menaces of the deep places appropriately. They also bargain with other (nonhostile) underground races to avoid over-exploitation of resources.
A priest of Dumathoin is always learning the tiniest details of conditions and life underground. Most priests are therefore invaluable in leading companions through the underways in darkness (for example, when all torches have been used). They can also find water, veins of ore, and cracks or fissures that provide ways out, or can be mined to yield a way from one cavern to another.
As Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain, Dumathoin is the dwarves' protector in death. While it may have been otherwise in the early days of dwarven civilization, Dumathoin's priests have been the primary morticians and tomb protectors since the latter days of Ammarindar, the lost dwarven realm that existed as a contemporary of Netheril. In fact, priests of Dumathoin do their god justice as Keeper of Secrets, for it is incredibly difficult to find dwarven tombs at all, let alone plumb their mysteries.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Nights of new moons and the days to either side of each such a night are considered holy days. They are known collectively as the Deepstone Triad, for the moon is considered to be hidden deep beneath the surface during this time. Also, special holy days known as Splendarrsonn can be decreed by a High Old One of the faith, usually when dwarves discover a major new lode, lost subterranean treasure cache or delve, or something of the sort.
Gems and jewelry are sacrificed to Dumathoin at each celebration of the Deepstone Triad and on all other holy days. Such precious stones are offered up on altars dedicated to the god. Gems sacrificed to the Keeper are pulverized and mixed with certain herbs and fungal secretions to derive a paste that serves to make rock porous, help plant material adhere to it, and provide nourishment for plants in contact with it. With buckets of this acrid, purple-and-green fibrousa paste, priests of Dumathoin creep about the underways painting and planting fungi and other plant life to improve the underground environment. These improvements include not only beautification of the underground ways, but also concealment of stone dwarven doors, redirection of watercourses to turn water-wheels or fill reservoirs, and so on.
Among the various burial practices used by priests of Dumathoin, there are only three set precepts that must be met. First, the body must be washed, and three or more stone burial tokens—the corpse's personal mark, the clan's mark, and Dumathoin's mark—must be braided into the deceased's beard. Second, the corpse is clothed in his or her own armor or a light suit of mail burial armor. (No matter what trade a dwarf plied in life, none enters the afterlife unarmored and unreadied.) Finally, the priest presiding over the burial must create a song honoring the dead dwarf's life and deeds; the song is carved into the lid of the coffin or sarcophagus (or when in a large clan tomb with numerous niches for fallen dwarves, onto the back of a mausoleum seal, a plaque, or a marker covering the recess where the deceased is buried).
The song is never sung out loud in honor of the ever-silent Dumathoin. If someone finds it and speaks or sings it aloud, it is believed that a curse will settle on the one who committed the sacrilege. (Some suggest that the corpse itself might reanimate and smite the offender.)
Burial practices may change slightly to suit particular clans, but a number of alterations in typical burial practices occur upon the passing of a dwarf deserving of special status. In general, there are simply more ceremonies, and more attention is paid to the construction of the tomb. The following are some specific variations that might be found in the burials of important dwarves:
The burial of a priest is a more convoluted and lengthy process, incorporating aspects of Dumathoin's worship and that of the god whom the priest served. Priests therefore tend to be buried within well-guarded tombs, and their sarcophagi are surrounded by (if not buried under) tokens and offerings from the priest's friends and faithful. Priests of Clangeddin or Moradin are often interred with the remains of their greatest conquered adversary, ensuring a grand afterlife of battle against dwarffoes. Unlike many other dwarven tombs, priests' spells are used heavily in the interment of a priest to protect the remains and offerings (and, some hint, to prevent the gods from calling on their servants after their time has passed).
Clan allies of any race can be interred within dwarven tombs, but only if they fell in battle defending the allied clan, the tomb, or a place sacred to Dumathoin.
While others are buried with standard ceremony and accouterments, wizards are always clad in robes made of woven silver and sealed in solid silver sarcophagi (or a burial creche lined with silver); this is due to a superstition born of an old dwarven myth that Dumathoin paid Mystra his weight in silver to garner his faithful protection from the magics that disturb the sleep of the dead. While there is believed to be little truth in this legend, the custom still prevails.
Clan outcasts (assuming a priest of Dumathoin willing to officiate over their burials can even be found) are buried without a clan mark in their beards, and their coffins or burial place markers often depict the broken or marred symbols of their former clans.
Major Centers of Worship: Aecaurak Splendarrsonn, the Gilded Hall of Glittering Gems, is a vast natural cavern deep in the heart of Mirabar's mines, on the level known as the Third Below. The Gilded Hall was first consecrated as a temple of Dumathoin millennia ago by King Anarok of the Royal House of the Helm in the dwarven realm of Gharraghaur. The original cavern, located at the nexus of several veins of gold, was expanded centuries ago by the followers of Dumathoin so as to reveal the beauty and brightness of the golden ore without actually extracting it. This gives the impression that the entire cavern is gilded with gold leaf. In addition, thousands of gems have been enchanted so as to float about the chamber, and a few of them serve as the focus of continual light spells, creating a brilliant rainbow of colors throughout the cavern. The current high priest of the Gilded Hall is Voice of the Mountain Agrathan Hardhammer, a prominent Councilor of Mirabar's elected Council of Sparkling Stones. Both human and dwarven miners attend worship services at Aecaurak Splendarrsonn.
A long-sealed temple of Dumathoin, the Vault of Hidden Silences, still exists on the Lost Level in the depths of Undermountain beneath the city of Waterdeep. A single priest, Bandaerl Dumatheir, son of Rykos, blood of Melair, High Old One of Dumathoin, and protector of Melairbode's essence (an archlich specialty priest), guards the temple and adjoining crypts of Clan Melairkyn from unwanted interlopers and Halaster's mischief. (Further details of this temple may be found in Undermountain: The Lost Level.)
Corundumdelve, the Hidden Gem of the Depths, is a legendary temple of Dumathoin constructed by the urdunnirin tens of miles below the surface of Faerûn. Located deep beneath the Alimir mountains of the Almraiven peninsula in eastern Calimshan, this temple remains hidden. Its location has never been revealed, even to the dwarves of Deep Shanatar when that realm was at its height. Unlike conventional temples, the Hidden Gem is not composed of walls, passages, and chambers, but it is actually a vast dodecahedron composed entirely of tightly packed amethysts, rubies, and sapphires, each larger than a dwarven helm. Navigating (or even simply abiding in) the temple requires the ability to pass through stone as if it did not exist, an ability of the urdunnirin and a few High Old Ones of Dumathoin who are capable of casting earth walk.
Affiliated Orders: The Knights of the Mithral Shield, based in Citadel Adbar, is an order of 300 Dumathan crusaders and multiclassed delvesonn/fighters. These elite dwarven warrior priests serve as the honor guard of King Harbromm of Adbarrim and, as of the fall of the orc-held Citadel of Many Arrows, King Emerus Warcrown of Felbarr. Each Dumathan knight is sworn to serve the Mountain Shield as protector of the shield dwarves, whom Dumathoin is forever pledged to protect.
Priestly Vestments: Dumathoin's clergy favor leather garments, whether they be armor or mining gear. They keep their heads bare and wear earth-brown cloaks and over-robes. Like all dwarves, they grow their hair and beards long, but none of the Silent Keeper's generally hirsute priests braid or trim their hair. The holy symbol of the faith is a miniature silver pick.
Adventuring Garb: In times of likely strife, Dumathoin's priests garb themselves in the most effective armor and weapons available. The Silent Keeper's clergy members typically favor picks, hammers, and other mining tools in combat, but they are usually proficient in the use of a wide range of weapons.
GORM GULTHYN
Fire Eyes, the Golden Guardian, the Sentinel, Lord of the Bronze Mask, the Eternally Vigilant
Lesser Power of Bytopia LG
PORTFOLIO: Guardian and protector of all dwarves, dwarven guardians, defense, watchfulness, vigilance, duty
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Shurrock/Watchkeep
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Arvoreen, Cyrrollalee, Gad Glittergold, Gaerdal Ironhand, Helm, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer)
FOES: Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: A shining bronze or brass metal mask with two eyeholes of flame
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N
Gorm Gulthyn (GORM GULL-thin) is the guardian and protector of dwarvenkind throughout the Realms as well as the god of all Stout Folk who serve as guardians. Those dwarves who require protection or armed aid pay tribute in appeasement to the Lord of the Bronze Mask. Lawful neutral and lawful good dwarves in particular turn to Fire Eyes.
Gorm is closely allied with Clanggedin, Marthammor, and Moradin, and he has excellent relations with the other nonchaotic and nonevil dwarven deities. Gorm is ever vigilant against Abbathor's suspected betrayals, although he has never proven the Trove Lord's treachery. The Lord of the Bronze Mask has established good relations with the powers of other pantheons who view the world much as he does, such as Arvoreen, Gaerdal Ironhand, and Helm, but he has little patience for those he distrusts, including Baervan Wildwanderer, Brandobaris, and Mask. While Gorm regularly contests with the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons, he reserves his greatest hatred for the orcish god Shargaas, as the Night Lord is the only power to have ever successfully stolen an object the Sentinel was actively guarding. Gorm says little, but has a stern, booming voice when he does speak. He is consumed by the demands of his role as protector and has little interest in or tolerance for foolish activities that might detract from his readiness or sentimentality that might interfere with his dispassion. The Sentinel is ever on the alert for threats to dwarves, and he is a tireless defender of the Stout Folk, even coming to the defense of gray dwarves when they are beset by foes whose evil makes that of the duergar pale in comparison.
While Gorm can dispatch up to two avatars simultaneously, there are always so many battles in which his intercession is critical that the Sentinel can rarely afford for his avatars to remain in any single location for more than a turn. As a result, each avatar is nearly always resident in the Realms, teleporting from place to place to aid dwarves in withstanding armed attacks or powerful monsters, and they return to Watchkeep only when in need of the armory amassed there or to use his Seat of Heating. Gorm acts only when dwarves are already engaged in combat and need his aid. At such times he appears, engages in a frenzied, all-out attack, seeking to do the most damage to the enemies of the dwarves as he possibly can, and then vanishes again. He cannot return to a given locale in avatar form twice in a 24-hour period, but he can manifest himself between his avatar appearances in a continuing battle.
On occasion, Gorm rouses sleeping dwarves or otherwise warns of intruders or impending attack by causing a disembodied metal gauntlet to appear and strike any handy metal shield or breastplate. The struck metal rings with a terrific rolling, gonglike noise and sports two burning eyes for the next turn. When the eyes fade, two eyeholes will have been burned in the metal. Dwarves treasure such damaged shields and armor and always display them as trophies, rather than melting them down to make a whole item again.
If Gorm must leave a battle knowing the dwarves there still face a grave challenge, he manifests later as a glowing hand. His hand breaks ropes, hurls back siege ladders, and strikes blows; It operates with Gorm's full strength and sees by means of two burning eyes in its palm.
The Church
Clerics are called Barakor
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN:. LG, NG, LN
Until the Time of Troubles, the priesthood of Gorm was all male; since then a few females have joined the church.
Gorm is well regarded by the children of Moradin for his unswerving dedication to the defense of the Stout Folk. While most dwarves regard Fire Eyes as stern and humorless, few discount his role in ensuring the continued survival of those dwarven strongholds that have not fallen. Among the other gnome, halfling, and human races, Gorm is well regarded by those of similar disposition who tend to follow deities such as Arvoreen, Gaerdal Ironhand, and Helm, but he is written off as the archetypal dour dwarf by most elves and others of a more chaotic bent.
Temples of Gorm are always plain, unadorned stone caverns or rooms quarried from solid rock. The altar is a stone bench in front of a closed, locked door of massive construction, representing a location that a dwarf might have to guard. Instead of a stone bench, a temple might use an old tomb casket; if occupied, it must be by a fallen, not undead, priest of Gorm. Such chambers are often adorned with visored helms, or if particularly blessed, a shield or breastplate with twin eyeholes burned through, as discussed above under Other Manifestations. The Sentinel's chapels are typically adjacent to an armory, a training hall, and barracks, and most such houses of worship are located amidst fortifications that guard entrances to the halls of the Stout Folk.
The clergy of Gorm are collectively known as Guardians or Guardian-Priests. Novices of Gorm are known as the Watchful Guards. Full priests of Fire Eyes are known as the Vigilant Host. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Gormite priests are Lockout of the First Rank, Scout of the Second Rank, Sentry of the Third Rank, Sentinel of the Fourth Rank, Defender of the Fifth Rank, and Guardian of the Sixth Rank. High Old Ones have unique titles but are collectively known as Lord/Lady Protectors. Specialty priests are known as barakor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who shield. The clergy of Gorm includes both shield dwarves (48%) and gold dwarves (52%). While there are no formal barriers to either gray dwarves or jungle dwarves joining the ranks of Gorm's clergy, none are known to have done so in recent history. The Sentinel's clergy is dominated by specialty priests (41%), with the remainder nearly balanced between clerics (22%), crusaders (20%), and fighter/clerics (17%). The clergy of Fire Eyes is 95% male.
Dogma: Never waver in your duty to Gorm's sacred charges. Defend, protect, and keep safe the children of the Morndinsamman from the hostile forces of the outside world. Be always vigilant and ever alert so that you are never surprised. If need be, be prepared to pay the greatest price so that the clan and the community survive, and your name will be honored for generations.
Day-to-Day Activities : The Vigilant Host guards most clanhold entries, the Gates on the borders of The Deep Realm, as well as all temples of Gorm. Priests of Gorm serve as protectors and bodyguards for all dwarves, especially the young and childrearing parents of both sexes. They instruct dwarven warriors fulfilling such roles in the arts of alertness, blindfighting, and weapons-skills (in other words, in campaigns using proficiencies, the priests of Gorm can tutor dwarves in all proficiencies useful to guardians). The foremost aim of any lesser priest of Gorm is to protect the dwarves assigned to him. Veteran priests of higher rank may choose whom they protect. If this involves sacrificing one's life, so be it; that is "Gorm's greatest price," as every priest of Gorm knows.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Every festival in the Calendar of Harptos is sacred to the priesthood of Gorm. On such holy days, guardians of Gorm gather for a salute, a ritual involving the rhythmic grounding of weapons, and a responsively chanted prayer. Offerings to Gorm are of weapons used, even broken, in the service of guardianship anointed with tears, sweat, and drops of blood of the dwarf making the offering. Rituals involve silent vigils, muttered prayers, and answering visions from the god. At the height of a salute, if the ritual is performed in the chancel of one of Gorm's temples, the door behind the altar sometimes opens by the power of the god and through it may come instructive phantom images, scrolls or potions, weapons, pieces of armor, or even maps - small aids from the god, to help his faithful fulfill their duties. When this happens, the morale of a worshiper of Gorm who is wearing or using any gift from the god increases by a bonus of +4.
Major Centers of Worship: At the bottom of the Great Rift, guarding the entrance to the Deep Lands, are the Gates, a pair of titanic metal doors that bar the entrance of outsiders from the Guardcavern immediately behind them, the great city of Underhome, and the Deep Realm of the gold dwarves beyond. Over fifty priests of Gorm garrison the Gates at all times, with two hundred more available at a moment's notice. The Keepers of the Gate are based in Araubarak Gulthyn, the Great Shieldhall of Eternal Vigilance, a soaring subterranean vault adjoining the great Guardcavern in which dwarven caravans muster for trips to the surface Realms. The task of securing the entrance to the last great dwarven kingdom in Faerun is led by Prince Protector of the Golden Realm Starag Crownshield, son of Vorn, blood of Pyradar. The Great Shieldhall is itself an invulnerable fortress whose defenses have never been breached. Twin adult sapphire dragons lair in the Great Shieldhall's narthex under the direction of specially trained dwarven riders. A series of nine double doors, each a miniature replica of the great hizagkuur Gates, bar entrance to the temple's innermost sanctum. A pair of hammer golems and seven priests of Gorm defend each set of portals. The chancel doubles as a well-stocked armory, and from its stores an army of five thousand dwarven warriors can be - and has been, on several occasions in centuries past - outfitted to sally forth against great armies seeking to plunder the wealth of the gold dwarves. Above the altar floats the greatest relic of the Gormite faith, a massive bronze mask with eyeholes alight with fire, known as the Face of the Guardian. Aspirants in the Deep Realm seeking to join the ranks of Gorm's guardians stand before the Face during their initiations and are seared by twin beams of fire that erupt from the ever-dancing flames. If accepted by the Golden Guardian, they emerge unscathed, hut those found wanting are reduced to piles of ash.
Affiliated Orders: Numerous knightly orders large and small have been founded in Gorm's name and affiliated with his church over the centuries. Numbered among the legendary Gormite orders of times past and present are the Twin-Bladed Axes of Fire, the Silent Sentinels, the Guardian-Knights of Gorm, the Vigilant Halberdiers, the Company of the Scarlet Moon, the Fellowship of the Stern Gauntlet, and the Order of the Smoking Shield. One of the oldest and most revered knightly orders of Gorm, the Sacred Shields of Berronar's Blessed, may be found in nearly every clanhold and kingdom guarding nurseries full of dwarven children and their parents. Knights of the Sacred Shield are also charged with recovering kidnapped dwarven youths who are to be sold as slaves on the surface or in the Underdark. At least two dwarven clans owe their continued free existence to the rescue of an entire generation of dwarven youth from the clutches of the Spider Queen's priests by the Knights of the Sacred Shield.
Priestly Vestments: The clergy of Gorm favor red and black cloaks and helms, worn over armor of the finest metal and type available. The holy symbol of the faith is a miniature bronze shield that is usually worn around the neck on a burnished steel chain as a medallion.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring or on guard duty, Gorm's priests always wear and wield the best armor and weapons available. Members of Gorm's clergy never remove all their armor or lay aside all their weapons unless sorely wounded or in need of care. Members of the Vigilant Host often mark their status with red and black armbands on the left and right arms, respectively.
The Gleam in the Eye, the Wandering Tinker, the Errant Explorer
Lesser Power of the Outlands CG
PORTFOLIO: Scholarship, invention, discovery
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Outlands/Dwarvish Mountain (Soot Hall)
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Brandobaris, Cyrrollalee, Deneir, Erevan Ilesere, Garl Glittergold, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Nebelun/Gond, Oghma, Shaundakul, Thoth, Tymora, Urogalan
FOES: Gargauth, llsensine, Maanzecorian (dead), Urdlen
SYMBOL: Open book
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Dugmaren Brightmantle (DUHG-mah-ren BRITE-man-tuhl) is the patron of dwarven scholars and the embodiment of the chaotic and exploratory spirit that consumes some of the Stout Folk. He is venerated by dwarves and a few gnomes, all of whom are scholars, inventors, engineers, tinkers, and fiddlers. His worshipers are consumed with the acquiring of knowledge simply for its own sake rather than for any practical purpose. Whereas Moradin draws smiths and other craftsfolk to his forge, Dugmaren attracts those free-thinkers who want to create something truly new, not a variation on an old theme.
Dugmaren is thought to be a child of Moradin - a chaotic element split off from his father's stern lawfulness and nurtured by the favor of his mother Berronar. In fact the All-Father relates well to Dugmaren's creative and explorative instincts, but the Wandering Tinker often drifts away from projects before they are completed and usually before he has found a use for the knowledge he has gathered - a trait that irritates Moradin to no end. Dugmaren is always getting himself enmeshed in one exploit or another, and his regular accomplices include Haela or Marthammor of the Morndinsamman and Brandobaris, Erevan Ilesere, Nebelun/Gond, or Shaundakul from the other human or demihuman pantheons. Aside from Gargauth, who embodies everything corruptive and malevolent in the discovery of lost or undiscovered knowledge, the gods of the illithids, who seek to hoard knowledge for themselves, and Urdlen, who hates everyone and everything, the Wandering Tinker has no true foes. However, Dugmaren finds the company of Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, and the goblin and evil giant gods trying at best. The Wandering Tinker is tolerated by the lawful members of the dwarven pantheon because his inventions and innovations have proven to have had beneficial aspects.
Dugmaren is a benign, inquisitive, cheerful, and optimistic deity concerned with discovering the unknown. He is an inveterate acquirer of trivia and little-used knowledge, an experimenter and a fiddler. Although he dwells within the Dwarvish Mountain in the Outlands, he often ventures into the planes of Arborea, Elysium, and Bytopia. The Wandering Tinker sometimes dispatches an avatar to act as an unseen guide for dwarven scholars and travelers, protecting them in their searches and providing hints on where to look for knowledge.
Dugmaren rarely manifests in an obvious or direct fashion. Instead, the Wandering Tinker prefers to guide his followers to new discoveries as subtly as possible. For example, he might manifest by causing a book to open to a page of particular interest or by causing a secret door to shift slightly, revealing its existence to a determined searcher.
When he does find it necessary to manifest his presence directly, Dugmaren typically envelops a worshiper or object in a bright nimbus of bluetinted light. The effect of such an aura varies according to the situation. Dugmaren typically manifests through the actions of sentient creatures by giving them the ability to use a single divination spell, such as detect magic, ESP, identify, legend lore, or true seeing, or a single defensive spell, such as anti-magic shell, ironguard, magical vestment, minor globe of invulnerability, protection/rom evil, or shield. The Wandering Tinker sometimes manifests by transforming a follower's mental picture into a physical object in a fashion similar to the effects of the spell major creation.
The Church
Clerics are called Xothor
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG,CG,N,CN
Until the Time of Troubles, all priests of Dugmaren were male dwarves or male gnomes, but females of both races are now accepted into the clergy.
The followers of Dugmaren are viewed with a certain measure of distrust and suspicion by most dwarves. While Dugmaren's apostles are well regarded for their learning and inventiveness, few dwarves are willing to spend a great deal of time in the company of the Wandering Tinker's faithful. There are two reasons for such reticence: the fear of getting caught up in the spectacular failure of yet another experiment, and the fact that the quixotic behavior of Dugmaren's followers is tiring to the orderly mindset common to the children of Moradin. Other human and demihuman races tend to be more tolerant of Dugmaren's followers than their fellow dwarves are. Temples of Dugmaren are found both above ground and below.
They are usually sprawling complexes crammed full of the detritus of countless experiments as well as artifacts collected on extended sojourns to distant locales. At the center of each such house of worship is a huge library housing a large collection of rune stones plus the tomes and scrolls of other races. Altars of Dugmaren consist of a simple block of granite (or some other hard stone) upon which sits a single ever-burning candle symbolizing the quest for knowledge. Novices of Dugmaren are known as the Curious. Full priests of the Wandering Tinker are known as Seekers of Truth and Mystery. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Dugmarenite priests are Questing Wanderer, Avid Fiddler, Philosophical Tinker, Seeking Scholar, Searching Sage, and Errant Philosopher. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the High Savants. Specialty priests are known as xothor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who seek knowledge. The clergy of Dugmaren includes shield dwarves (53%), gold dwarves (46%), and a handful (1%) of gray dwarves, jungle dwarves, and gnomes. Dugmaren's clergy is dominated by specialty priests (85%), but does include a few clerics (12%) and fighter/clerics (3%) as well. The priesthood is unevenly divided by gender: 96% male and 4% female.
Dogma: The secrets of the world are waiting to be revealed. Travel widely, broaden your mind at every opportunity, and pursue the life of a scholar. Cultivate the spirit of inquiry among the young and be a teacher to all. Seek to recover the lost and/or arcane knowledge of ages past and apply it in the world of today. Try new methods of doing things just for the joy of experimenting. Learn a little of everything, for you never know what might be of use down the road.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of the Wandering Tinker spend their days in scholarly pursuits, seeking to learn, teach, and advance nearly every field of knowledge even marginally interesting to the dwarven race. Many Seekers of Truth and Mystery serve as instructors to the young, while others record and archive current dwarven practices for future generations. Dugmaren's clergy members travel widely, seeking new experiences, new ideas, and the recovery of lost dwarven lore.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The church of Dugmaren has little in the way of formal ritual or ceremony. Priests of the Wandering Tinker whisper a prayer of thankfulness to Dugmaren when they discover a piece of forgotten lore or whenever they make a significant discovery of any sort. Greengrass and Higharvestide are the only holy days regularly celebrated by Dugmaren's faithful. Such days begin with several hours of private early-morning introspection, usually spent staring into the heart of a single lit candle. These personal meditations are followed by a day-long convocation of scholars in which the results of scholarly investigations since the last such symposium are presented, defended, and discussed.
Major Centers of Worship: With the founding of Luruar in the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR) and the elevation of Alustriel to rule it, Silverymoon's role as the preeminent center of learning within the Moonlands of the North has continued to expand. With the blessing and encouragement of King Harbromm and the Bright Lady, 40 dwarven scholars from Citadel Adbar, under the direction of Savant of Mysteries Daurant Tomescribe, emigrated to Silverymoon in the first few months of the Year of the Tankard (1370 DR). There they founded a temple of Dugmaren alongside the other colleges, temples, and libraries of the Gem of the North. Both rulers saw this development as a way to ensure that the dwarves of the emerging nation of Luruar contributed to and benefited from the scholarly work and intellectual ferment already underway in the capitol city.
Since its inception, the Athenaeum of Philosophy, located east of the Market and northwest of Alustriel's Palace, between Fortune Hall and the Temple of Silver Stars, has been the home of invention, experimentation, philosophical and scholarly debate, and seminars on a wide range of topics - these last being open to the general public. Although the worshipers of Tymora and Selune have uttered more than a few fervent prayers to their goddesses after alarming explosions emanating from the experimental laboratories beneath Dugmaren's house of worship, the introduction of two score dwarven inventors and sages to Silverymoon's scholarly circles has been a great success and is starting to draw more dwarves from the lands of fallen Delzoun, as well as scholars of other races based in Silverymoon, to share in the intellectual ferment.
The Athenaeum itself once served as a training facility for the Knights of Silver based in the nearby palace, and halls that were once employed for dining, sleeping, and weapons training are now occupied by sprawling laboratories and great libraries filled with obscure knowledge of questionable usefulness. The temple is always ablaze with light as its residents experiment, tinker, and invent night and day. Visiting scholars of any race are welcome to reside in the temple for a night or even a tenday, but few find the ever-present chaos conducive to a good night's sleep.
Affiliated Orders: The Order of the Lost Tome is a loosely structured fellowship of errant dwarven scholars dedicated to the recovery of lost dwarven lore for the benefit of kingdoms and clan holds throughout the Realms. Individual Knights of the Lost Tome usually work alone or in the company of dwarven and nondwarven adventurers unaffiliated with the order. They combine their passion for knowledge and investigative abilities with the martial skills necessary to defeat the current occupants of fallen dwarven strongholds thought to contain examples of and treatises on lost dwarven lore.
Priestly Vestments: Dugmaren's priests tend to eschew formal religious garb aside from plain, homespun white garments with vibrant sashes the width of a hand. High Old Ones of the faith wear simple silver circlets to denote their status. The holy symbol of the faith is a silver locket Grafted to resemble an open book. Many of Dugmaren's followers keep small bits of lore - riddles, puzzles, command words, etc. - inside such lockets in homage to the god - and also to keep them readily available in unexpected situations.
Adventuring Garb: Members of Dugmaren's clergy dress practically when exploring dangerous or unknown territories. Most favor light armor and weapons, preferring maneuverability over defense. Many carry unique weapons; most also have items with defensive capabilities of widely varying usefulness and reliability, which they have invented and wish to field-test.
DUMATHOIN
Keeper of Secrets under the Mountain, the Silent Keeper, the Mountain Shield
Intermediate Power of the Plane of Concordant Opposition , N
PORTFOLIO: Keeper of metals and other buried wealth (secrets under the earth), the earth's riches, ores, gems, minerals, mining, exploration, the shield dwarf race, guardian of the dead
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Outlands/Dwarvish Mountain (Deepshaft Hall)
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Callarduran Smoothhands, Cyrrollalee, Geb, Gond, Grumbar, Flandal Steelskin, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Segojan Earthcaller, Sehanine Moonbow, Skoraeus Stonebones
FOES: Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Kiaransalee, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: A cut, faceted gem inside a mountain (silhouette)
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Dumathoin (DOO-muh-THOE-in) is the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain, and he hides the secrets of the earth until deserving and diligent dwarves are ready to be guided to them. He lays veins of iron, copper, gold, silver, and mithral where he feels they will best benefit his followers. He watches over the safety and security of miners of all races and has a special role as the protector of shield dwarves and the creator of the urdunnirin.
Dumathoin created a paradise under the mountains for the shield dwarves when Moradin named him their protector. He shaped natural caverns of great beauty, studded with rich and beautiful deposits of shining metals and glittering outcroppings of crystalline gems. He was angered when the dwarves began to mine the mountains, destroying the beauty he had created. Dumathoin was pleased, flattered, and a little awed, however, when he saw the finely Grafted items the dwarves produced from the ores they had mined. He no longer objects to tunneling, mining, or the collecting of treasures underground. The Silent Keeper frowns, however, on clumsy or crude rockcutting that does not smooth the earth, follow the natural flows, and highlight the individual features of the rocks. Cutting that causes cavern collapses and floodings are even less to his liking, and he is openly angered by those who pillage. Pillagers, in Dumathoin's eyes, are beings of all races who take the earth's riches away (in other words, to the surface) for unfair or selfish purposes, taking more than their share and leaving rubble and other messes in their wake.
Dumathoin is friendly with Geb, Flandal Steelskin, Segojan Earthcaller, and other nondwarven gods of the earth and smithcraft. He supplies nondwarven gods of blacksmiths with adamantite ore and sometimes does business with the other gods (through his and their priests) for metals and ores as well. Dumathoin has a nonhostile relationship of some sort with Ilsensine, god of illithids. But aside from the close proximity of their outer planar realms, the exact nature of the relationship is unknown to any other powers, and no such detente exists between the two gods' followers in the Realms.
The Silent Keeper never speaks, communicating instead with gestures. He has never been known to do more than grunt or sigh (in exertion or pain) in the presence of mortals. Dumathoin may also set subtle clues as to his purposes and the nature of the world beneath the surface, such that only those with keen eyes and wits can perceive them. The Keeper has a stolid patience and tolerance (particularly of nondwarves and hasty behavior) lacking in most other dwarven deities. However, he is just as patient and implacable an enemy when angered. Most who offend Dumathoin and realize what they have done set at once to loudly and fervently praying for his forgiveness. They frequently offer to make amends by bringing back gems and metal treasures to the place where they offended him—immediately, if possible, or by a specified time otherwise. If they keep this promise, Dumathoin is usually appeased. If they seem forgetful, they had better not ever go near a mountain or cave again!
Although Dumathoin spends much of his time in the Outlands, he uses his stone seeing ability (unlimited range) to keep underground and mountainous areas of Toril under almost constant surveillance.
The Keeper of Secrets commonly manifests in two helpful ways and two harmful ways, treating dwarves and nondwarves equally.
Often when miners or other creatures are lost underground, particularly when their light sources are all gone, the power of Dumathoin guides them to safety by causing rock crystals exposed in the stone walls to sparkle or wink in sequence, beckoning and outlining a route. Where crystals are lacking, areas of bare rock may glow for a time.
Many miners pray to Dumathoin in thanks for another underearth phenomenon: the sudden, spontaneous shifting of wedged boulders or rubble blockages that have trapped miners or prevented their further exploration.
In the same way, they call rumblings in the deep and other earth tremors "the warnings of Dumathoin" and heed them whenever they occur, particularly as a cavern is first entered or a rockface first struck with pick or hammer. If warning tremors are ignored, or Dumathoin's anger is severe, a cave-in occurs above the offenders.Dumathoin also uses this technique to punish individuals whose actions offend him. In such cases, the Keeper typically causes a localized rockfall (in other words, down on the head of one offending character) from either a rock ceiling overhead, or if on the outside of a mountain, from a peak or ledge above.There is no chance of other characters being hit or a further collapse occurring—Dumathoin's power is precise.
The Church
Clerics are called Delvesonns
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG, NG, LN, N
All priests of Dumathoin were male until the Time of Troubles; recently, however, females have been permitted in the clergy.
All dwarves who live in (or venture into) subterranean areas or mountains, or those who work directly with the riches of the earth, worship the Silent Keeper. All dwarven miners and many nondwarven ones at least appease him, even if they do not fully support him. Miners in the North and dwarves throughout the Realms often carry a small diamond, agate, or other gemstone (of about 10 gp value, but not including octel, shandon, sphene, or rock crystals, for reasons noted above) with them to attract his favor.
Temples and shrines of Dumathoin are commonly found across the North, in dwarven holds such as Adbarrim, Felbarr, Hillsafar Hall, Ironmaster, Mithral Hall, Tethyamar, and the Far Hills. There are also temples in the lands that were once held by the realms of High and Deep Shanatar (now the kingdoms of Amn, Erikazar, Tethyr, and Calimshan). While shrines and temples of Dumathoin are typically found in the holds of the shield dwarves, they are extremely rare among the other dwarven subraces, except for the gold dwarves—in whose realms they are merely uncommon. But the gold dwarves have constructed at least two grand Dumathan houses of worship in the cities of the Deep Realm. Temples of Dumathoin are constructed in the deepest and best-hidden natural caverns, which may be opened up or improved by dwarves without disqualifying them for use. Such caverns are commonly chosen for their veins of precious ores and/or the presence of many gems in the surrounding rock, although the presence of Dumathoin's hidden gifts is not strictly necessary. At the heart of such temples are simple altars consisting of natural boulders or large stone blocks. Statues of the Silent Keeper, depicting him in his many aspects, line the walls.
Novices of Dumathoin are known as the Uncut. Upon taking the Silent Vow, they become full priests and are known as Keepers of the Shield. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by the Keepers of the Shield are Agate, Onyx, Amethyst, Jargoon, Garnet, Topaz, Opal, Sapphire, and Diamond. The highest ranking priests of Dumathoin are collectively known as Beljurils, but most have unique individual titles as well. Specialty priests are known as delvesonns, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated at Dumathoin's hidden gifts. The clergy of Dumathoin is composed primarily of shield dwarves (80%), gold dwarves (18%), and gray dwarves (1%). Nondwarves, such as humans, rock gnomes, stout halflings, and svirfneblin, make up the remainder of the clergy and must be clerics, crusaders, or (if normally permissible to the race in question) fighter/clerics. Dumathoin's clergy is nearly evenly split between specialty priests (45%) and clerics (44%). The remainder of the clergy members are fighter/clerics (6%) or crusaders (5%). The priesthood is still predominantly (97%) male.
Dogma: Walk the deep and silent ways of Dumathoin. Seek out the hidden gifts of the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain. That which is hidden is precious, and that which is precious shall stay hidden. Seek to enhance the natural beauty of Dumathoin's gifts and go with, not against, the contours of the deeps. Beauty is in the discovery and the Grafting, not the holding. Keep the places of our dead inviolate and well tended; the noble ancestor of our race will neither be robbed nor mocked through the actions of thieves and defilers. Abide not undead creatures, especially those that take the form of dwarves, thus mocking the creation of Moradin.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Dumathoin seek always to uncover the buried wealth of the earth without marring the beauty of the ways beneath the surface or being overly greedy. They often supervise mining operations and maintain underground safety and security. They work to clean up the rubble of mining, to grow and put in place luminous fungi and edible deep-mosses, and to direct water through the earth to best serve the underlife that includes, of course, dwarves. Priests of this faith are always hunting for new veins of ore, new sources and species of useful fungi, and new delves or underways never explored before. They try to identify encountered dangers and determine strategies to deal with these menaces of the deep places appropriately. They also bargain with other (nonhostile) underground races to avoid over-exploitation of resources.
A priest of Dumathoin is always learning the tiniest details of conditions and life underground. Most priests are therefore invaluable in leading companions through the underways in darkness (for example, when all torches have been used). They can also find water, veins of ore, and cracks or fissures that provide ways out, or can be mined to yield a way from one cavern to another.
As Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain, Dumathoin is the dwarves' protector in death. While it may have been otherwise in the early days of dwarven civilization, Dumathoin's priests have been the primary morticians and tomb protectors since the latter days of Ammarindar, the lost dwarven realm that existed as a contemporary of Netheril. In fact, priests of Dumathoin do their god justice as Keeper of Secrets, for it is incredibly difficult to find dwarven tombs at all, let alone plumb their mysteries.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Nights of new moons and the days to either side of each such a night are considered holy days. They are known collectively as the Deepstone Triad, for the moon is considered to be hidden deep beneath the surface during this time. Also, special holy days known as Splendarrsonn can be decreed by a High Old One of the faith, usually when dwarves discover a major new lode, lost subterranean treasure cache or delve, or something of the sort.
Gems and jewelry are sacrificed to Dumathoin at each celebration of the Deepstone Triad and on all other holy days. Such precious stones are offered up on altars dedicated to the god. Gems sacrificed to the Keeper are pulverized and mixed with certain herbs and fungal secretions to derive a paste that serves to make rock porous, help plant material adhere to it, and provide nourishment for plants in contact with it. With buckets of this acrid, purple-and-green fibrousa paste, priests of Dumathoin creep about the underways painting and planting fungi and other plant life to improve the underground environment. These improvements include not only beautification of the underground ways, but also concealment of stone dwarven doors, redirection of watercourses to turn water-wheels or fill reservoirs, and so on.
Among the various burial practices used by priests of Dumathoin, there are only three set precepts that must be met. First, the body must be washed, and three or more stone burial tokens—the corpse's personal mark, the clan's mark, and Dumathoin's mark—must be braided into the deceased's beard. Second, the corpse is clothed in his or her own armor or a light suit of mail burial armor. (No matter what trade a dwarf plied in life, none enters the afterlife unarmored and unreadied.) Finally, the priest presiding over the burial must create a song honoring the dead dwarf's life and deeds; the song is carved into the lid of the coffin or sarcophagus (or when in a large clan tomb with numerous niches for fallen dwarves, onto the back of a mausoleum seal, a plaque, or a marker covering the recess where the deceased is buried).
The song is never sung out loud in honor of the ever-silent Dumathoin. If someone finds it and speaks or sings it aloud, it is believed that a curse will settle on the one who committed the sacrilege. (Some suggest that the corpse itself might reanimate and smite the offender.)
Burial practices may change slightly to suit particular clans, but a number of alterations in typical burial practices occur upon the passing of a dwarf deserving of special status. In general, there are simply more ceremonies, and more attention is paid to the construction of the tomb. The following are some specific variations that might be found in the burials of important dwarves:
The burial of a priest is a more convoluted and lengthy process, incorporating aspects of Dumathoin's worship and that of the god whom the priest served. Priests therefore tend to be buried within well-guarded tombs, and their sarcophagi are surrounded by (if not buried under) tokens and offerings from the priest's friends and faithful. Priests of Clangeddin or Moradin are often interred with the remains of their greatest conquered adversary, ensuring a grand afterlife of battle against dwarffoes. Unlike many other dwarven tombs, priests' spells are used heavily in the interment of a priest to protect the remains and offerings (and, some hint, to prevent the gods from calling on their servants after their time has passed).
Clan allies of any race can be interred within dwarven tombs, but only if they fell in battle defending the allied clan, the tomb, or a place sacred to Dumathoin.
While others are buried with standard ceremony and accouterments, wizards are always clad in robes made of woven silver and sealed in solid silver sarcophagi (or a burial creche lined with silver); this is due to a superstition born of an old dwarven myth that Dumathoin paid Mystra his weight in silver to garner his faithful protection from the magics that disturb the sleep of the dead. While there is believed to be little truth in this legend, the custom still prevails.
Clan outcasts (assuming a priest of Dumathoin willing to officiate over their burials can even be found) are buried without a clan mark in their beards, and their coffins or burial place markers often depict the broken or marred symbols of their former clans.
Major Centers of Worship: Aecaurak Splendarrsonn, the Gilded Hall of Glittering Gems, is a vast natural cavern deep in the heart of Mirabar's mines, on the level known as the Third Below. The Gilded Hall was first consecrated as a temple of Dumathoin millennia ago by King Anarok of the Royal House of the Helm in the dwarven realm of Gharraghaur. The original cavern, located at the nexus of several veins of gold, was expanded centuries ago by the followers of Dumathoin so as to reveal the beauty and brightness of the golden ore without actually extracting it. This gives the impression that the entire cavern is gilded with gold leaf. In addition, thousands of gems have been enchanted so as to float about the chamber, and a few of them serve as the focus of continual light spells, creating a brilliant rainbow of colors throughout the cavern. The current high priest of the Gilded Hall is Voice of the Mountain Agrathan Hardhammer, a prominent Councilor of Mirabar's elected Council of Sparkling Stones. Both human and dwarven miners attend worship services at Aecaurak Splendarrsonn.
A long-sealed temple of Dumathoin, the Vault of Hidden Silences, still exists on the Lost Level in the depths of Undermountain beneath the city of Waterdeep. A single priest, Bandaerl Dumatheir, son of Rykos, blood of Melair, High Old One of Dumathoin, and protector of Melairbode's essence (an archlich specialty priest), guards the temple and adjoining crypts of Clan Melairkyn from unwanted interlopers and Halaster's mischief. (Further details of this temple may be found in Undermountain: The Lost Level.)
Corundumdelve, the Hidden Gem of the Depths, is a legendary temple of Dumathoin constructed by the urdunnirin tens of miles below the surface of Faerûn. Located deep beneath the Alimir mountains of the Almraiven peninsula in eastern Calimshan, this temple remains hidden. Its location has never been revealed, even to the dwarves of Deep Shanatar when that realm was at its height. Unlike conventional temples, the Hidden Gem is not composed of walls, passages, and chambers, but it is actually a vast dodecahedron composed entirely of tightly packed amethysts, rubies, and sapphires, each larger than a dwarven helm. Navigating (or even simply abiding in) the temple requires the ability to pass through stone as if it did not exist, an ability of the urdunnirin and a few High Old Ones of Dumathoin who are capable of casting earth walk.
Affiliated Orders: The Knights of the Mithral Shield, based in Citadel Adbar, is an order of 300 Dumathan crusaders and multiclassed delvesonn/fighters. These elite dwarven warrior priests serve as the honor guard of King Harbromm of Adbarrim and, as of the fall of the orc-held Citadel of Many Arrows, King Emerus Warcrown of Felbarr. Each Dumathan knight is sworn to serve the Mountain Shield as protector of the shield dwarves, whom Dumathoin is forever pledged to protect.
Priestly Vestments: Dumathoin's clergy favor leather garments, whether they be armor or mining gear. They keep their heads bare and wear earth-brown cloaks and over-robes. Like all dwarves, they grow their hair and beards long, but none of the Silent Keeper's generally hirsute priests braid or trim their hair. The holy symbol of the faith is a miniature silver pick.
Adventuring Garb: In times of likely strife, Dumathoin's priests garb themselves in the most effective armor and weapons available. The Silent Keeper's clergy members typically favor picks, hammers, and other mining tools in combat, but they are usually proficient in the use of a wide range of weapons.
GORM GULTHYN
Fire Eyes, the Golden Guardian, the Sentinel, Lord of the Bronze Mask, the Eternally Vigilant
Lesser Power of Bytopia LG
PORTFOLIO: Guardian and protector of all dwarves, dwarven guardians, defense, watchfulness, vigilance, duty
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Shurrock/Watchkeep
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Arvoreen, Cyrrollalee, Gad Glittergold, Gaerdal Ironhand, Helm, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer)
FOES: Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: A shining bronze or brass metal mask with two eyeholes of flame
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N
Gorm Gulthyn (GORM GULL-thin) is the guardian and protector of dwarvenkind throughout the Realms as well as the god of all Stout Folk who serve as guardians. Those dwarves who require protection or armed aid pay tribute in appeasement to the Lord of the Bronze Mask. Lawful neutral and lawful good dwarves in particular turn to Fire Eyes.
Gorm is closely allied with Clanggedin, Marthammor, and Moradin, and he has excellent relations with the other nonchaotic and nonevil dwarven deities. Gorm is ever vigilant against Abbathor's suspected betrayals, although he has never proven the Trove Lord's treachery. The Lord of the Bronze Mask has established good relations with the powers of other pantheons who view the world much as he does, such as Arvoreen, Gaerdal Ironhand, and Helm, but he has little patience for those he distrusts, including Baervan Wildwanderer, Brandobaris, and Mask. While Gorm regularly contests with the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons, he reserves his greatest hatred for the orcish god Shargaas, as the Night Lord is the only power to have ever successfully stolen an object the Sentinel was actively guarding. Gorm says little, but has a stern, booming voice when he does speak. He is consumed by the demands of his role as protector and has little interest in or tolerance for foolish activities that might detract from his readiness or sentimentality that might interfere with his dispassion. The Sentinel is ever on the alert for threats to dwarves, and he is a tireless defender of the Stout Folk, even coming to the defense of gray dwarves when they are beset by foes whose evil makes that of the duergar pale in comparison.
While Gorm can dispatch up to two avatars simultaneously, there are always so many battles in which his intercession is critical that the Sentinel can rarely afford for his avatars to remain in any single location for more than a turn. As a result, each avatar is nearly always resident in the Realms, teleporting from place to place to aid dwarves in withstanding armed attacks or powerful monsters, and they return to Watchkeep only when in need of the armory amassed there or to use his Seat of Heating. Gorm acts only when dwarves are already engaged in combat and need his aid. At such times he appears, engages in a frenzied, all-out attack, seeking to do the most damage to the enemies of the dwarves as he possibly can, and then vanishes again. He cannot return to a given locale in avatar form twice in a 24-hour period, but he can manifest himself between his avatar appearances in a continuing battle.
On occasion, Gorm rouses sleeping dwarves or otherwise warns of intruders or impending attack by causing a disembodied metal gauntlet to appear and strike any handy metal shield or breastplate. The struck metal rings with a terrific rolling, gonglike noise and sports two burning eyes for the next turn. When the eyes fade, two eyeholes will have been burned in the metal. Dwarves treasure such damaged shields and armor and always display them as trophies, rather than melting them down to make a whole item again.
If Gorm must leave a battle knowing the dwarves there still face a grave challenge, he manifests later as a glowing hand. His hand breaks ropes, hurls back siege ladders, and strikes blows; It operates with Gorm's full strength and sees by means of two burning eyes in its palm.
The Church
Clerics are called Barakor
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN:. LG, NG, LN
Until the Time of Troubles, the priesthood of Gorm was all male; since then a few females have joined the church.
Gorm is well regarded by the children of Moradin for his unswerving dedication to the defense of the Stout Folk. While most dwarves regard Fire Eyes as stern and humorless, few discount his role in ensuring the continued survival of those dwarven strongholds that have not fallen. Among the other gnome, halfling, and human races, Gorm is well regarded by those of similar disposition who tend to follow deities such as Arvoreen, Gaerdal Ironhand, and Helm, but he is written off as the archetypal dour dwarf by most elves and others of a more chaotic bent.
Temples of Gorm are always plain, unadorned stone caverns or rooms quarried from solid rock. The altar is a stone bench in front of a closed, locked door of massive construction, representing a location that a dwarf might have to guard. Instead of a stone bench, a temple might use an old tomb casket; if occupied, it must be by a fallen, not undead, priest of Gorm. Such chambers are often adorned with visored helms, or if particularly blessed, a shield or breastplate with twin eyeholes burned through, as discussed above under Other Manifestations. The Sentinel's chapels are typically adjacent to an armory, a training hall, and barracks, and most such houses of worship are located amidst fortifications that guard entrances to the halls of the Stout Folk.
The clergy of Gorm are collectively known as Guardians or Guardian-Priests. Novices of Gorm are known as the Watchful Guards. Full priests of Fire Eyes are known as the Vigilant Host. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Gormite priests are Lockout of the First Rank, Scout of the Second Rank, Sentry of the Third Rank, Sentinel of the Fourth Rank, Defender of the Fifth Rank, and Guardian of the Sixth Rank. High Old Ones have unique titles but are collectively known as Lord/Lady Protectors. Specialty priests are known as barakor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who shield. The clergy of Gorm includes both shield dwarves (48%) and gold dwarves (52%). While there are no formal barriers to either gray dwarves or jungle dwarves joining the ranks of Gorm's clergy, none are known to have done so in recent history. The Sentinel's clergy is dominated by specialty priests (41%), with the remainder nearly balanced between clerics (22%), crusaders (20%), and fighter/clerics (17%). The clergy of Fire Eyes is 95% male.
Dogma: Never waver in your duty to Gorm's sacred charges. Defend, protect, and keep safe the children of the Morndinsamman from the hostile forces of the outside world. Be always vigilant and ever alert so that you are never surprised. If need be, be prepared to pay the greatest price so that the clan and the community survive, and your name will be honored for generations.
Day-to-Day Activities : The Vigilant Host guards most clanhold entries, the Gates on the borders of The Deep Realm, as well as all temples of Gorm. Priests of Gorm serve as protectors and bodyguards for all dwarves, especially the young and childrearing parents of both sexes. They instruct dwarven warriors fulfilling such roles in the arts of alertness, blindfighting, and weapons-skills (in other words, in campaigns using proficiencies, the priests of Gorm can tutor dwarves in all proficiencies useful to guardians). The foremost aim of any lesser priest of Gorm is to protect the dwarves assigned to him. Veteran priests of higher rank may choose whom they protect. If this involves sacrificing one's life, so be it; that is "Gorm's greatest price," as every priest of Gorm knows.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Every festival in the Calendar of Harptos is sacred to the priesthood of Gorm. On such holy days, guardians of Gorm gather for a salute, a ritual involving the rhythmic grounding of weapons, and a responsively chanted prayer. Offerings to Gorm are of weapons used, even broken, in the service of guardianship anointed with tears, sweat, and drops of blood of the dwarf making the offering. Rituals involve silent vigils, muttered prayers, and answering visions from the god. At the height of a salute, if the ritual is performed in the chancel of one of Gorm's temples, the door behind the altar sometimes opens by the power of the god and through it may come instructive phantom images, scrolls or potions, weapons, pieces of armor, or even maps - small aids from the god, to help his faithful fulfill their duties. When this happens, the morale of a worshiper of Gorm who is wearing or using any gift from the god increases by a bonus of +4.
Major Centers of Worship: At the bottom of the Great Rift, guarding the entrance to the Deep Lands, are the Gates, a pair of titanic metal doors that bar the entrance of outsiders from the Guardcavern immediately behind them, the great city of Underhome, and the Deep Realm of the gold dwarves beyond. Over fifty priests of Gorm garrison the Gates at all times, with two hundred more available at a moment's notice. The Keepers of the Gate are based in Araubarak Gulthyn, the Great Shieldhall of Eternal Vigilance, a soaring subterranean vault adjoining the great Guardcavern in which dwarven caravans muster for trips to the surface Realms. The task of securing the entrance to the last great dwarven kingdom in Faerun is led by Prince Protector of the Golden Realm Starag Crownshield, son of Vorn, blood of Pyradar. The Great Shieldhall is itself an invulnerable fortress whose defenses have never been breached. Twin adult sapphire dragons lair in the Great Shieldhall's narthex under the direction of specially trained dwarven riders. A series of nine double doors, each a miniature replica of the great hizagkuur Gates, bar entrance to the temple's innermost sanctum. A pair of hammer golems and seven priests of Gorm defend each set of portals. The chancel doubles as a well-stocked armory, and from its stores an army of five thousand dwarven warriors can be - and has been, on several occasions in centuries past - outfitted to sally forth against great armies seeking to plunder the wealth of the gold dwarves. Above the altar floats the greatest relic of the Gormite faith, a massive bronze mask with eyeholes alight with fire, known as the Face of the Guardian. Aspirants in the Deep Realm seeking to join the ranks of Gorm's guardians stand before the Face during their initiations and are seared by twin beams of fire that erupt from the ever-dancing flames. If accepted by the Golden Guardian, they emerge unscathed, hut those found wanting are reduced to piles of ash.
Affiliated Orders: Numerous knightly orders large and small have been founded in Gorm's name and affiliated with his church over the centuries. Numbered among the legendary Gormite orders of times past and present are the Twin-Bladed Axes of Fire, the Silent Sentinels, the Guardian-Knights of Gorm, the Vigilant Halberdiers, the Company of the Scarlet Moon, the Fellowship of the Stern Gauntlet, and the Order of the Smoking Shield. One of the oldest and most revered knightly orders of Gorm, the Sacred Shields of Berronar's Blessed, may be found in nearly every clanhold and kingdom guarding nurseries full of dwarven children and their parents. Knights of the Sacred Shield are also charged with recovering kidnapped dwarven youths who are to be sold as slaves on the surface or in the Underdark. At least two dwarven clans owe their continued free existence to the rescue of an entire generation of dwarven youth from the clutches of the Spider Queen's priests by the Knights of the Sacred Shield.
Priestly Vestments: The clergy of Gorm favor red and black cloaks and helms, worn over armor of the finest metal and type available. The holy symbol of the faith is a miniature bronze shield that is usually worn around the neck on a burnished steel chain as a medallion.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring or on guard duty, Gorm's priests always wear and wield the best armor and weapons available. Members of Gorm's clergy never remove all their armor or lay aside all their weapons unless sorely wounded or in need of care. Members of the Vigilant Host often mark their status with red and black armbands on the left and right arms, respectively.
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Re: Dwarves
HAELA BRIGHTAXE
Lady of the Fray, Luckmaiden, the Hard
Demipower of the Beastlands CG
PORTFOLIO: Luck in battle, patron of dwarves who love to fight and who battle monsters, love of/joy of battle, dwarven monster kills, dwarven fighter adventurers
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Brux/Findar Endar
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Arvoreen, Brandobaris, Cyrrollalee, Eilistraee, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Tempus, Tymora
FOES: Abbathor, Beshaba, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: An unsheathed sword encircled by a flaming bolt (a two-ended spiral of flame)
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Haela Brightaxe (HUH-ae-la BRITE-ax) is the patron of dwarves who love the fray, who wander the surface lands (especially in the North), who face unknown dangers, and who battle monsters. Although dwarves of all alignments venerate the Lady of the Fray, those Stout Folk of chaotic or neutral good alignment who love battle or exhibit berserker tendencies tend to actively embrace the worship of the Luckmaiden.
Haela dwells in a simple cave in the Beastlands, but she bothers none of the animals that dwell there, keeping to herself, hidden by everpresent mists in the depths of a forest. Findar Endar, as the grotto is known, is protected by her Guardians. Rarely at home, the Luckmaiden is usually to be found in wildspace or on a world such as Toril, wherever dwarves are enjoying battle but in need of aid.
Haela is well known among dwarves for her ready laugh, her booming voice, and her ever-cheerful nature. The Luckmaiden is charming, resourceful, and delivers gallows witticisms with a broad grin.
Although she recognizes no superior save Moradin, Haela is the only widely recognized dwarven demipower active in the Realms today, and as such, the Luckmaiden is ever-mindful of the wishes of the more established and more powerful members of the Morndinsamman. As a goddess of dwarven warriors, particularly those who travel far afield, Haela's portfolio overlaps with that of the Marthammor Duin, and she works closely with the Finder-of-Trails. Likewise, the Lady of the Fray maintains good relations with Clangeddin Silverbeard, the Father of Battles, into whose sphere of influence she also crosses.
Haela manifests only rarely, preferring to appear directly instead. When she does manifest, it is either in cases where she will not be otherwise needed or to help dwarves hold on until she can arrive later to help.
Haela's manifestations always involve an aura of silvery flames, shot through with blue-white and amber sparks. These are images only, not true flames or sparks, and cannot ignite anything. If Haela's aura surrounds a dwarf, her power heals the dwarf of all injuries and allows the dwarf to strike stronger for longer.
If a weapon empowered by Haela is already magical, its magical properties are suspended by Haela's magic and cannot operate (or be harmed or drained): The weapon does only physical damage until Haela's power fades.
The Church
Clerics are called Kaxanar
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Cru: No, SP: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Cru: No, SP: Yes
Before the Time of Troubles, the priesthood of Haela was all female; since then, some males have joined the clergy.
Haela is well regarded by shield dwarves, particularly wanderers, and her cult is slowly growing among the younger gold dwarves of the South. The Luckmaiden is well known and well regarded among nondwarven adventurers of the North through the near-legendary deeds of her followers, but she is commonly seen as nothing more than a dwarven god of berserkers-akin to bloodthirsty Garagos-by the more sedentary inhabitants of human and elven cities.
Temples of Haela are caves or underground rooms, sometimes in old abandoned holds or the cellars of human ruins. They are typically storehouses of food, small smithies, and armories crammed with odd weapons and armor, and are never guarded by less than a dozen priests (more often, 16 to 20 are in residence). There is always a highly destructive trap set somewhere in such a temple: If the dwarves are slain or forced out, no enemy of the dwarves will get the store of weapons without taking heavy losses. One famous temple of Haela, overrun by orcs near Amphail, proved to have a trap of six separate blade barriers that came into being one after another and used the cached weapons of the temple as the whirling weapons.
Novices of Haela, like novices of Clangeddin, are known as the Unblooded. Full priests are known as Blades of the Brightaxe. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Haelan priests are First Blood, Deadly Dirk, Stout Spear, Sharp Axe, Shining Sword, Flamebolt, and Brightaxe. High Old Ones have individual titles but are collectively known as the Hallowed Crimson. Specialty priests are known as luckmaidens. The clergy of Haela includes shield dwarves (70%), gold dwarves (28%), and gray dwarves (2%). Haela's clergy is evenly divided between specialty priests (34%), clerics (33%), and crusaders (33%). Fully one-half of the specialty priests and clerics are fighter/specialty priests and fighter/clerics, respectively. The gen- der mix of Haela's clergy is about 85% female and 15% male, though only females can be luckmaidens.
Dogma: Through battle there is validation, liberation, and exultation. Trust in Haela to see you through the fray, and the monsters of the world shall fall to the sharp blades of your axes, regardless of their apparent strength and numbers. The Luckmaiden blesses those dwarves who believe in her beneficence, and she, through her faithful, will always be there for the beleaguered and the besieged. Rejoice the power of your swing in battle, the sound of your weapon smiting a worthy foe, and the challenge of the fray. If asked, show mercy on a noble foe who abides by a code of honor, but hold not your hand against the treacherous, the liars, and the honorless.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Haela wander throughout the Realms, aiding dwarves in battle. They wander because no priest knows where or when she or he will be needed-each relies upon Haela's guiding hand to position him or her as necessary. Blades of the Brightaxe aid beleaguered dwarves (and known allies and companions of dwarves) against creatures of all sorts by healing, casting spells, and fighting alongside them. Their objectives are to achieve victory for the dwarven side and to allow the maximum possible number of dwarves to survive. The priests wish also to make all dwarves comfortable with their own skills in combat-to Haela's worshipers, battle-skills are needed to guide the hands of all dwarves if the Stout Folk are to survive.
Priests of Haela are always heavily armed and are often skilled at weapon and armor repair. They freely give away the weapons they carry to dwarves in need but always keep at least one weapon for themselves, although it may be well hidden. They practice throwing weapons in a variety of ways, such as onto ledges, to cut ropes, and to land upright, points buried in the turf, beside those needing them. Priests of Haela who attempt to deliver a weapon in such a manner gain a +3 bonus to their Dexterity checks.
The senior priests of Haela teach their juniors much concerning tactics, secrets, and hints for fighting specific monsters, and knowledge of their habits, lairs, and weaknesses. All individuals or groups aided by a priest of Haela are expected to pay for the aid with a spare weapon that the priest can give to some other needy band. Failing that, a shield, pair of gauntlets, or other armor or useful gear can be substituted. It is considered bad form to give the priest back a weapon she or he just gave you.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The followers of the Luck maiden celebrate three holy days of note. The first such day of the year, celebrated annually on Greengrass, is known as the Time of the Spawning. On this day Haela's clergy prepare for the next wave of ores and other monsters to pour forth from the occupied holds of long-fallen dwarves to threaten the remaining Stout Folk once again. The Time of Spawning is marked by grim ceremonies of preparation for the coming onslaught and includes endless choruses of battle hymns, rhythmic chanting to the beat of endless drumming, and the ritual shattering of weapons and armor seized from previous opponents.
The second major holy day of the Haelan faith is known as the Axe Held High, a day that glorifies the valor of the Lady of the Fray and her role in defending the Stout Folk against their ancient foes. On this day of joyous celebration, ceremonies are held at midday, outdoors in the full embrace of the sun. The followers of the Luckmaiden hold that an unsheathed sword appears momentarily in the center of the solar orb at high noon.
While no other faith has ever reported such an apparition, every member of the Blades of the Brightaxe in good standing with Haela who participates in the proscribed rituals receives the benefits other enveloping aura (see Other Manifestations above) for the next twenty-four hours.
Finally, the Feast of the Moon is celebrated by the followers of Haela as the Commemoration of the Fallen. On this day, those dwarves and nondwarves alike who fell in the defense of the Stout Folk while battling monstrous opponents are remembered by the recounting of their battles and the consecration of new armor and weapons in their memory.
On all such holy days, Haela's devout followers are expected to offer several drops of their own blood (one per level of the follower) as well as the blood of enemies of the dwarves they have defeated since the previous holy day (one drop of blood per foe, and one foe per level of the follower).
Major Centers of Worship: Endar Aglandtor, the Sword Grotto, is an abbey of the Luckmaiden hidden in a series of dwarf-dug caverns hewn from the base of a granite uprising known as the Tor of Swords. Located north-northwest of the Hill of Lost Souls, the Tor of Swords stands just east of the most northerly of the easternmost loops that the ever-twisting Winding Water makes. The hill once marked the northernmost border of the Helbryn, the great hunting preserve of the longfallen dwarven kingdom of Oghrann. Today the Tor of Swords serves as the chapter house of Haela's Host (see below) under the able leadership of Blade of the Crimson Axe Aglaya Rockfist, daul of Rorrina, blood of Helmma. From their isolated redoubt, the priests of the militant order keep watch over the Hill of Lost Souls, the Battle of Bones, and other unnamed battlefields in the region where dwarven warriors fell long ago. The clerics, crusaders, and specialty priests of Haela's Host clash frequently with the monsters of the Serpent Hills, the Marsh of Chelimber, and the Forest of Wyrms, and they are very effective in keeping monstrous population of the region in check. The Tor of Swords is named for the quintet of sentient magical swords said to have been entombed within the hill before the erection of the Standing Stone. Since most tales confuse the Tor of Swords with the nearby Dungeon of Swords, located to the northwest in the Serpent Hills, few adventuring bands have ever explored the isolated knoll, and none have found the legendary blades. Assuming the sentient swords are more than myth, it is likely they are now wielded by the ablest swordswomen of Haela's Host.
Torstultok, the Hall of Grand Hunts, is a temple-fortress of Haela well known among the Stout Folk of the North for the numerous all-dwarven and mixed-race adventuring companies it sponsors to reclaim long-lost dwarven relics from orc-held halls. Torstultok is located in the Forlorn Hills, a region best known for its two most famous ruins: the Crumbling Stair and the House of Stone. The temple is located in a sprawling complex of tunnels and grand halls beneath the eastern end of the Watchers of the North, the line of hills that mark the northern edge of the Forlorn Hills. Torstultok was known as Firehammer Hold before the Fallen Kingdom fell, and much treasure is still ascribed to the latter name in the tales of the North. Although those same tales claim that the dwarves of Firehammer Hold perished in a plague that ravaged the hold shortly after the founding of the Kingdom of Man, in truth, the dwarves' numbers dwindled over time, and the leaders of the hold staged the evidence of a deadly plague in order to increase the security of those dwarves who remained.
An unexpected consequence of this action was the arrival in subsequent centuries of treasure-hungry adventurers seeking long-lost dwarven hordes of gold. To assuage the anger of such would-be-plunderers, the dwarves began a practice of hiring such wanderers to seek out other dwarven holds that they knew to be occupied by ores. From this tradition evolved the hold's current role as a clearinghouse for battle-loving dwarves and adventurers of other races seeking glory amidst the ruins of long-fallen dwarven kingdoms. Haela's clergy have even begun to lure adventurers to the temple by means of ancientlooking, incomplete maps and other enticing lures. One such example may be found on the walls of a not-so-secret hidden room in the Singing Sprite, a slate-shingled, many-gabled stone inn located in the bowl between the three hills that the village of Secomber is built upon.
Affiliated Orders: Numerous religious and military orders have been founded by the followers of the Luckmaiden in past centuries, but few ever survive longer than a generation or two. Some of the most famous orders in existence today include Haela's Host (see above), the Dauls of the Luckmaiden, the Shining Host of the Underdeeps, the Dancing Damsels of the Brightaxe, and the hippogriff-mounted Skyriders of Aglandar (as the Great Rift is known in dwarvish). Most orders are known for the valor and daring of their members, and such bands typically focus their efforts on reducing the population of evil monsters in the region in which they are based.
Priestly Vestments: Haela's clergy favor either armor or plain steel-gray robes, with an overcloak of scarlet and crimson footwear, as ceremonial vestments. An open-faced helm is always worn. The holy symbol of the faith is a steel medallion embossed with Haela's symbol.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring, the Luckmaiden's clergy garb themselves in the best armor available-chain mail is preferred-and always seek to wield weapons of the finest quality. Helms are always worn, but they need not be open-faced. In honor of an ancient custom, priests of Haela are forever toting large sacks of caltrops around, hoping to get a chance to use them. As Ardeep crumbled and the Fallen Kingdom splintered centuries ago, Haela's priests, along with many others, fought valiantly, if ultimately futilely, to preserve what remained of the Realm of Three Crowns along the banks of the River Delimbiyr. At that time, numerous halfling farmers made their homes in the verdant farmland surrounding Secomber under the protective aegis of the allied priests of Haela based in the nearby Firehammer Hold. In thanks for the vigilant axes of the Luckmaiden's clergy and the ready supply of weapons they shared, the Little Folk continually repaid Haela's valiant priests with bags of caltrops-typically three at a time. This practice is now both a joke and an affectionate tradition for both groups.
Lady of the Fray, Luckmaiden, the Hard
Demipower of the Beastlands CG
PORTFOLIO: Luck in battle, patron of dwarves who love to fight and who battle monsters, love of/joy of battle, dwarven monster kills, dwarven fighter adventurers
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Brux/Findar Endar
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Arvoreen, Brandobaris, Cyrrollalee, Eilistraee, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Tempus, Tymora
FOES: Abbathor, Beshaba, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: An unsheathed sword encircled by a flaming bolt (a two-ended spiral of flame)
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Haela Brightaxe (HUH-ae-la BRITE-ax) is the patron of dwarves who love the fray, who wander the surface lands (especially in the North), who face unknown dangers, and who battle monsters. Although dwarves of all alignments venerate the Lady of the Fray, those Stout Folk of chaotic or neutral good alignment who love battle or exhibit berserker tendencies tend to actively embrace the worship of the Luckmaiden.
Haela dwells in a simple cave in the Beastlands, but she bothers none of the animals that dwell there, keeping to herself, hidden by everpresent mists in the depths of a forest. Findar Endar, as the grotto is known, is protected by her Guardians. Rarely at home, the Luckmaiden is usually to be found in wildspace or on a world such as Toril, wherever dwarves are enjoying battle but in need of aid.
Haela is well known among dwarves for her ready laugh, her booming voice, and her ever-cheerful nature. The Luckmaiden is charming, resourceful, and delivers gallows witticisms with a broad grin.
Although she recognizes no superior save Moradin, Haela is the only widely recognized dwarven demipower active in the Realms today, and as such, the Luckmaiden is ever-mindful of the wishes of the more established and more powerful members of the Morndinsamman. As a goddess of dwarven warriors, particularly those who travel far afield, Haela's portfolio overlaps with that of the Marthammor Duin, and she works closely with the Finder-of-Trails. Likewise, the Lady of the Fray maintains good relations with Clangeddin Silverbeard, the Father of Battles, into whose sphere of influence she also crosses.
Haela manifests only rarely, preferring to appear directly instead. When she does manifest, it is either in cases where she will not be otherwise needed or to help dwarves hold on until she can arrive later to help.
Haela's manifestations always involve an aura of silvery flames, shot through with blue-white and amber sparks. These are images only, not true flames or sparks, and cannot ignite anything. If Haela's aura surrounds a dwarf, her power heals the dwarf of all injuries and allows the dwarf to strike stronger for longer.
If a weapon empowered by Haela is already magical, its magical properties are suspended by Haela's magic and cannot operate (or be harmed or drained): The weapon does only physical damage until Haela's power fades.
The Church
Clerics are called Kaxanar
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Cru: No, SP: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Cru: No, SP: Yes
Before the Time of Troubles, the priesthood of Haela was all female; since then, some males have joined the clergy.
Haela is well regarded by shield dwarves, particularly wanderers, and her cult is slowly growing among the younger gold dwarves of the South. The Luckmaiden is well known and well regarded among nondwarven adventurers of the North through the near-legendary deeds of her followers, but she is commonly seen as nothing more than a dwarven god of berserkers-akin to bloodthirsty Garagos-by the more sedentary inhabitants of human and elven cities.
Temples of Haela are caves or underground rooms, sometimes in old abandoned holds or the cellars of human ruins. They are typically storehouses of food, small smithies, and armories crammed with odd weapons and armor, and are never guarded by less than a dozen priests (more often, 16 to 20 are in residence). There is always a highly destructive trap set somewhere in such a temple: If the dwarves are slain or forced out, no enemy of the dwarves will get the store of weapons without taking heavy losses. One famous temple of Haela, overrun by orcs near Amphail, proved to have a trap of six separate blade barriers that came into being one after another and used the cached weapons of the temple as the whirling weapons.
Novices of Haela, like novices of Clangeddin, are known as the Unblooded. Full priests are known as Blades of the Brightaxe. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Haelan priests are First Blood, Deadly Dirk, Stout Spear, Sharp Axe, Shining Sword, Flamebolt, and Brightaxe. High Old Ones have individual titles but are collectively known as the Hallowed Crimson. Specialty priests are known as luckmaidens. The clergy of Haela includes shield dwarves (70%), gold dwarves (28%), and gray dwarves (2%). Haela's clergy is evenly divided between specialty priests (34%), clerics (33%), and crusaders (33%). Fully one-half of the specialty priests and clerics are fighter/specialty priests and fighter/clerics, respectively. The gen- der mix of Haela's clergy is about 85% female and 15% male, though only females can be luckmaidens.
Dogma: Through battle there is validation, liberation, and exultation. Trust in Haela to see you through the fray, and the monsters of the world shall fall to the sharp blades of your axes, regardless of their apparent strength and numbers. The Luckmaiden blesses those dwarves who believe in her beneficence, and she, through her faithful, will always be there for the beleaguered and the besieged. Rejoice the power of your swing in battle, the sound of your weapon smiting a worthy foe, and the challenge of the fray. If asked, show mercy on a noble foe who abides by a code of honor, but hold not your hand against the treacherous, the liars, and the honorless.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Haela wander throughout the Realms, aiding dwarves in battle. They wander because no priest knows where or when she or he will be needed-each relies upon Haela's guiding hand to position him or her as necessary. Blades of the Brightaxe aid beleaguered dwarves (and known allies and companions of dwarves) against creatures of all sorts by healing, casting spells, and fighting alongside them. Their objectives are to achieve victory for the dwarven side and to allow the maximum possible number of dwarves to survive. The priests wish also to make all dwarves comfortable with their own skills in combat-to Haela's worshipers, battle-skills are needed to guide the hands of all dwarves if the Stout Folk are to survive.
Priests of Haela are always heavily armed and are often skilled at weapon and armor repair. They freely give away the weapons they carry to dwarves in need but always keep at least one weapon for themselves, although it may be well hidden. They practice throwing weapons in a variety of ways, such as onto ledges, to cut ropes, and to land upright, points buried in the turf, beside those needing them. Priests of Haela who attempt to deliver a weapon in such a manner gain a +3 bonus to their Dexterity checks.
The senior priests of Haela teach their juniors much concerning tactics, secrets, and hints for fighting specific monsters, and knowledge of their habits, lairs, and weaknesses. All individuals or groups aided by a priest of Haela are expected to pay for the aid with a spare weapon that the priest can give to some other needy band. Failing that, a shield, pair of gauntlets, or other armor or useful gear can be substituted. It is considered bad form to give the priest back a weapon she or he just gave you.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The followers of the Luck maiden celebrate three holy days of note. The first such day of the year, celebrated annually on Greengrass, is known as the Time of the Spawning. On this day Haela's clergy prepare for the next wave of ores and other monsters to pour forth from the occupied holds of long-fallen dwarves to threaten the remaining Stout Folk once again. The Time of Spawning is marked by grim ceremonies of preparation for the coming onslaught and includes endless choruses of battle hymns, rhythmic chanting to the beat of endless drumming, and the ritual shattering of weapons and armor seized from previous opponents.
The second major holy day of the Haelan faith is known as the Axe Held High, a day that glorifies the valor of the Lady of the Fray and her role in defending the Stout Folk against their ancient foes. On this day of joyous celebration, ceremonies are held at midday, outdoors in the full embrace of the sun. The followers of the Luckmaiden hold that an unsheathed sword appears momentarily in the center of the solar orb at high noon.
While no other faith has ever reported such an apparition, every member of the Blades of the Brightaxe in good standing with Haela who participates in the proscribed rituals receives the benefits other enveloping aura (see Other Manifestations above) for the next twenty-four hours.
Finally, the Feast of the Moon is celebrated by the followers of Haela as the Commemoration of the Fallen. On this day, those dwarves and nondwarves alike who fell in the defense of the Stout Folk while battling monstrous opponents are remembered by the recounting of their battles and the consecration of new armor and weapons in their memory.
On all such holy days, Haela's devout followers are expected to offer several drops of their own blood (one per level of the follower) as well as the blood of enemies of the dwarves they have defeated since the previous holy day (one drop of blood per foe, and one foe per level of the follower).
Major Centers of Worship: Endar Aglandtor, the Sword Grotto, is an abbey of the Luckmaiden hidden in a series of dwarf-dug caverns hewn from the base of a granite uprising known as the Tor of Swords. Located north-northwest of the Hill of Lost Souls, the Tor of Swords stands just east of the most northerly of the easternmost loops that the ever-twisting Winding Water makes. The hill once marked the northernmost border of the Helbryn, the great hunting preserve of the longfallen dwarven kingdom of Oghrann. Today the Tor of Swords serves as the chapter house of Haela's Host (see below) under the able leadership of Blade of the Crimson Axe Aglaya Rockfist, daul of Rorrina, blood of Helmma. From their isolated redoubt, the priests of the militant order keep watch over the Hill of Lost Souls, the Battle of Bones, and other unnamed battlefields in the region where dwarven warriors fell long ago. The clerics, crusaders, and specialty priests of Haela's Host clash frequently with the monsters of the Serpent Hills, the Marsh of Chelimber, and the Forest of Wyrms, and they are very effective in keeping monstrous population of the region in check. The Tor of Swords is named for the quintet of sentient magical swords said to have been entombed within the hill before the erection of the Standing Stone. Since most tales confuse the Tor of Swords with the nearby Dungeon of Swords, located to the northwest in the Serpent Hills, few adventuring bands have ever explored the isolated knoll, and none have found the legendary blades. Assuming the sentient swords are more than myth, it is likely they are now wielded by the ablest swordswomen of Haela's Host.
Torstultok, the Hall of Grand Hunts, is a temple-fortress of Haela well known among the Stout Folk of the North for the numerous all-dwarven and mixed-race adventuring companies it sponsors to reclaim long-lost dwarven relics from orc-held halls. Torstultok is located in the Forlorn Hills, a region best known for its two most famous ruins: the Crumbling Stair and the House of Stone. The temple is located in a sprawling complex of tunnels and grand halls beneath the eastern end of the Watchers of the North, the line of hills that mark the northern edge of the Forlorn Hills. Torstultok was known as Firehammer Hold before the Fallen Kingdom fell, and much treasure is still ascribed to the latter name in the tales of the North. Although those same tales claim that the dwarves of Firehammer Hold perished in a plague that ravaged the hold shortly after the founding of the Kingdom of Man, in truth, the dwarves' numbers dwindled over time, and the leaders of the hold staged the evidence of a deadly plague in order to increase the security of those dwarves who remained.
An unexpected consequence of this action was the arrival in subsequent centuries of treasure-hungry adventurers seeking long-lost dwarven hordes of gold. To assuage the anger of such would-be-plunderers, the dwarves began a practice of hiring such wanderers to seek out other dwarven holds that they knew to be occupied by ores. From this tradition evolved the hold's current role as a clearinghouse for battle-loving dwarves and adventurers of other races seeking glory amidst the ruins of long-fallen dwarven kingdoms. Haela's clergy have even begun to lure adventurers to the temple by means of ancientlooking, incomplete maps and other enticing lures. One such example may be found on the walls of a not-so-secret hidden room in the Singing Sprite, a slate-shingled, many-gabled stone inn located in the bowl between the three hills that the village of Secomber is built upon.
Affiliated Orders: Numerous religious and military orders have been founded by the followers of the Luckmaiden in past centuries, but few ever survive longer than a generation or two. Some of the most famous orders in existence today include Haela's Host (see above), the Dauls of the Luckmaiden, the Shining Host of the Underdeeps, the Dancing Damsels of the Brightaxe, and the hippogriff-mounted Skyriders of Aglandar (as the Great Rift is known in dwarvish). Most orders are known for the valor and daring of their members, and such bands typically focus their efforts on reducing the population of evil monsters in the region in which they are based.
Priestly Vestments: Haela's clergy favor either armor or plain steel-gray robes, with an overcloak of scarlet and crimson footwear, as ceremonial vestments. An open-faced helm is always worn. The holy symbol of the faith is a steel medallion embossed with Haela's symbol.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring, the Luckmaiden's clergy garb themselves in the best armor available-chain mail is preferred-and always seek to wield weapons of the finest quality. Helms are always worn, but they need not be open-faced. In honor of an ancient custom, priests of Haela are forever toting large sacks of caltrops around, hoping to get a chance to use them. As Ardeep crumbled and the Fallen Kingdom splintered centuries ago, Haela's priests, along with many others, fought valiantly, if ultimately futilely, to preserve what remained of the Realm of Three Crowns along the banks of the River Delimbiyr. At that time, numerous halfling farmers made their homes in the verdant farmland surrounding Secomber under the protective aegis of the allied priests of Haela based in the nearby Firehammer Hold. In thanks for the vigilant axes of the Luckmaiden's clergy and the ready supply of weapons they shared, the Little Folk continually repaid Haela's valiant priests with bags of caltrops-typically three at a time. This practice is now both a joke and an affectionate tradition for both groups.
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Re: Dwarves
MORADIN
The Soul Forger, Dwarf-Father, the All-Father, the Creator
Greater Power of the Seven Heavens , LG
PORTFOLIO: Dwarves (survival, renewal, and advancement), creation, smithing of all sorts, craftsmanship, war, the dwarven race, protection, metalcraft, stonework (stonemasonry, tunneling, construction), engineering, dwarven engineers, protection
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Solania/Erackinor
SUPERIOR: None
ALLIES: Corellon Larethian, Cyrrollalee, Flandal Steelskin, Garl Glittergold, Geb, Gond, Helm, Kossuth, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, and Laduguer), Torm, Tyr, Yondalla
FOES: Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: Hammer and anvil
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Moradin (MOAR-uh-din) is the creator god of the dwarven race and leader of the Morndinsamman. He is said to have created all dwarves, forging them from metals and gems in the fires that lie at the "heart of the world," and breathing life-the first dwarven souls-into the cooling forms. All dwarves appease Moradin, even if they do not wholeheartedly support him. Lawful good dwarves support and work openly to serve the Soul Forger, even if they also worship another deity. His name is invoked by dwarves involved in smithwork or craftsmanship of any sort, and they give him homage by doing their best work and seeking to emulate his stonework and craftsmanship. Moradin is said to inspire dwarven inventions and seeks constantly to improve the race-increasing dwarven good nature, intelligence, and ability to exist in harmony with other living things. At the same time, he battles the pride and isolationist tendencies that occur naturally in his elite creations.
Moradin is held by many dwarven creation myths to have been incarnated from rock, stone, and metal, with his soul eternally present in the form of fire. That same fire fueled the forge in which Moradin created the Stout Folk and, in some myths, Moradin breathes fire over the first dwarves to bring them to life.
The Soul Forger rules the other dwarven deities sternly, and only his wife, Berronar Truesilver, can regularly bring a smile to his face. In some dwarven realms, the Soul Forger is said to be the father of Dumathoin, Abbathor, Laduguer, Clangeddin, Sharindlar, Diirinka, Vergadain, Thard Harr, Gorm Gulthyn, Marthammor Duin, and Dugmaren Brightmantle, but the exact relationships and ordering vary from culture to culture. It is the All-Father who banished Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Diirinka, Diinkarazan, and their followers, smiting them with his hammer and driving them forth. If Abbathor is ever banished, it will be at the Soul Forger's command. Moradin loathes Gruumsh, Maglubiyet, and the other goblinkin deities (those of the ores, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, kobolds, and urds), and he detests the evil giant deities as well. His gruff and uncompromising nature wins him few friends outside the dwarven pantheon, but he is said to be close with Cyrrollalee, Garl Glittergold, Flandal Steelskin, Gond, Helm, Kossuth, Tyr, and Torm, and enjoys a strategic alliance with Yondalla and Corellon Larethian. Moradin has little patience for the elven powers, but he has worked effectively with them in the past when it was necessary.
Moradin is a stern and uncompromising defender of the dwarven people and of the principles of law and good. Moradin is a harsh but fair judge. He judges dwarves on their achievements and the success of their endeavors, not just on their good hearts. The Soul Forger is strength and force of will embodied; his weapons, armor, and tools are virtual extensions of his own incarnate being. Moradin seldom appears in the Realms, preferring to work through manifestations rather than avatars. His usual reason for intervention in either form is to encourage dwarves to follow the correct path or make the best decision at a critical time. He also intervenes to aid or inspire dwarves who may serve the race in the future, or to aid or encourage nondwarves who aid the dwarves.
Moradin commonly manifests as a white radiance. This envelops either a being or an object. An enveloped being (nearly always a dwarf) is temporarily imbued by Moradin with one of his avatar spell abilities. An enveloped object (a war hammer, if available) is animated by Moradin's will, and may serve as a weapon, as a battering ram (to free imprisoned Folk or to reveal a hidden way), or as a guide (floating along to show a route).
The Church
Clerics are called Sonnlinor
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG
Until the Time of Troubles, Moradin's priests were all male. Since then, females have begun entering the priesthood at a fairly rapid rate.
Moradin and his mortal servants are very highly regarded in dwarven society, and his priests often serve as leaders in dwarven communities. Dwarven daily life is consumed with mining, smithcraft, engineering, and creative endeavors, and the Soul Forger's assistance is frequently acknowledged by most dwarven artisans. The only criticism of the Soul Forger's clergy, as expressed by younger dwarves who prefer the teachings of Dugmaren, Haela, and Marthammor, is that Moradin's Forgesmiths are too set in their traditional ways and too slow to adapt to the changing world around them. Among the other human and demihuman races, Moradin's priests are perceived as prototypical dwarves and as the mortal manifestations of their god, and how this is interpreted depends on the viewer's general perception of and regard for dwarves.
Temples of Moradin are located underground and carved out of solid rock. They are never set in natural caverns. Moradin's temples usually resemble vast smithies dominated by one or more grand halls of hardworking dwarven craftsmen. Hammers and anvils, the signs of the god, are the dominant decorative themes, as are statues of the All-Father and the other gods of the dwarven pantheon. The center of the Soul Forger's shrine or temple is a great ever-burning hearth and a forge of the finest equipage. Should the fire be extinguished (something the Soul Forger's priests will go to any length to prevent), the temple is abandoned or torn down stone by stone. Usually another temple is built on a new site, but occasionally a temple is entirely rebuilt and reconsecrated.
Novices of Moradin are known as the Unworked. Full priests of the Soul Forger are known as Forgesmiths and as the Tempered. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Moradite priests are Adept of the Anvil, Hammer of War, Artisan of the Forge, Craftsman of Runes, Artificer of Discoveries, and Smith of Souls. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the High Forgesmiths. Specialty priests are known as sonnlinor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who work stone. The clergy of Moradin includes gold dwarves (50%), shield dwarves (48%), jungle dwarves (1%), and even gray dwarves (1%). Moradin's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (47%) and clerics (43%), and includes a handful of crusaders (5%) and fighter/clerics (5%). Most priests of Moradin are male (94%).
Dogma: The Soul Forger is the father and creator of the dwarven race. By seeking to emulate both his principles and his workmanship in smithcraft, stoneworking, and other tasks, the Children of Moradin honor the All-Father. Wisdom is derived from life tempered with experience. Advance the dwarven race in all areas of life. Innovate with new processes and skills, and test and work them until they are refined and pure. Found new kingdoms and clan lands, defending those that already exist from internal and external threats. Lead the Stout Folk in the traditional ways laid down by the Soul Forger. Honor your clan leaders as you honor Moradin.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Moradin strive to restore the dwarven races to strong numbers and a position of influence in Faerun, by founding new dwarven kingdoms and increasing the status of dwarves within the wider human-dominated society prevalent in the Realms today. They preside over a wide range of formal ceremonies (consecrations of forges, temples, and other buildings, crowning of monarchs, etc.) and the education of the young, especially in the teaching of history. They maintain genealogies and historical archives, cooperating with Berronar's priests. Adventuring is encouraged in the priesthood, but only adventuring that directly serves the interests of the dwarven race.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Those who worship the Soul Forger gather monthly around the forge to celebrate the All-Father and to make offerings. In some dwarven cultures, Moradin is worshiped at the time of the full moon, while in others the Soul Forger is venerated beneath the crescent moon. In addition, any High Forgesmith can declare a holy day at any time and often does so as a way of celebrating a local event. Offerings of common or precious metals-especially those already worked by dwarven hands into items of beauty or practical use, such as tools or ornamented hardware-are made on the monthly holy days. Sacrifices of common or precious metals are melted down at the forge and reformed into shapes usable by the clergy. Rituals are performed while making such offerings, which involve chanting, kneeling, and reaching barehanded into the flames of the forge (Moradin prevents harm to the truly faithful) to handle red- and white-hot objects directly.
Priests entering a temple of Moradin bow to the forge and surrender any weapons (in times of peace). Priests of Moradin strike the anvil standing by the entry once with their hammers before surrendering them to faithful dwarven warriors. At least seven warriors are usual at any shrine, but four will always be there. Priests of another faith, without permission of a High Old One or the avatar of Moradin, cannot advance beyond the wall of fire, a knee-high, permanent magical effect surrounding the central forge. Priests of Moradin engage in humble, verbal prayer and in open, earnest discussion of current dwarven problems and issues, more so than any other priesthood. Such discussion is considered to be between equals (even if nondwarves participate), save that the ranking priest of Moradin has the sole authority to open and close discussion on a particular topic.
Worship usually ends with a rising, quickening chant in unison of: "The dwarves shall prevail, the dwarves shall endure, the dwarves shall grow!" This is repeated, ever more loudly, until the plain, massive, battered smith's hammer on the largest anvil of the forge rises from the anvil of its own volition (moved by the power of the listening god). It may (or may not) move about or glow to denote the god's will, marked pleasure, or agreement. It descends gently to the anvil, though it comes to rest with a thunderous ring, as if brought down with all the strength of a powerful dwarf.
Major Centers of Worship: Thuulurn, the Foundry of Stout Souls, is a fortified monastic enclave of priests dedicated to Moradin, located in the heart of the Deep Realms, east of the Great Rift. Thuulurn is both a temple and a city, with over 5,600 inhabitants. The temple-city is carved from solid rock. It resembles a large dungeon like Undermountain far more than it does a surface city set in a large cavern. Huge forges burn continuously throughout the enclave, leaving the air heavy with smoke and most chambers stifling hot (at least to surface-dwellers and nondwarves). Keeping aloof from most other gold dwarves of the Deep Realms, the Forgesmiths of Thuulurn (under the able leadership of Thungalos Truetemper, First Hammer of Moradin) work continuously to influence events in the Deeps and surface lands, to the betterment of all dwarves. They have been known to hire adventurers of other races to carry out their aims. Often, a mission for the dwarves is demanded as a payment for healing badly beaten adventurers or raising one or more slain individuals. Typical missions include a strike against the duergar, freeing dwarves from drow slavery in the Depths Below, slaying an aboleth at a certain underground lake, finding and slaying the latest cloaker overlord with designs on the Deep Realm, and so on.
The temple-city is self-sufficient. Whatever it lacks is brought in from elsewhere by its priests or worshipers. Dwarven offerings have made Thuulurn very rich, but this wealth is seen only as a means to bringing about the Soul Forger's ends. Of late, tales have begun to spread that the Forgesmiths of Thuulurn have dispatched a great army of gold dwarves westward through the Underdark. Whether this tale is true or not, and where such an army might be headed, is still unknown.
In the North, the most visible monument to the Soul Forger is the Stone Bridge, a massive stone arch that spans the broadest imaginable spring flood of the River Dessarin. The Stone Bridge, built long ago to link the two halves of the ancient dwarven kingdom of Besilmer, rises in a great arc, without supporting pillars, its span two miles long and 400 feet above the water. The Bridge is built of weathered granite, six paces broad and so skillfully fitted that it seems of one piece. It has no parapet or railing on either side. Dwarves explain the awesome size and continued survival of the Bridge to the fact that it is also a temple to Moradin. Lawful good dwarves still make pilgrimages to the Bridge, said to be one of the Soul Forger's favorite spots on Faerun. On at least one occasion, Moradin's avatar appeared on the Bridge and destroyed a horde of orcs harrying the remaining members of the Ironstar clan as they fled southward to valley of the River Delimbiyr.
Affiliated Orders: The Hammers of Moradin are an elite military order dominated by crusaders and fighter/clerics with chapters in nearly every dwarven stronghold and members drawn from every dwarven clan. The Hammers serve both as commanders of dwarven armies and as an elite strike force skilled in dealing with anything from large groups of ores to great wyrms to malevolent fiends from the Lower Planes. The order is dedicated to the defense of existing dwarven holdings and the carving out of new dwarven territories. Individual chapters have a great deal of local autonomy but, in times of great crisis, a Grand Council (the reigning monarchs and senior Hammers of the affected region) assemble to plot strategy and divine Moradin's will.
Priestly Vestments: Ceremonial vestments for priests of Moradin include flowing, shining robes of woven wire of electrum treated with blueshine. Other ceremonial garb includes silvered (everbright) helms, silverplated war hammers, and earth-brown leather boots. The holy symbol of the faith is a miniature electrum war hammer, treated with blueshine.
Adventuring Garb: In combat, Moradin's clergymembers favors chain mail or dwarven plate mail, a helm, and a medium or large shield. Priests of the Soul Forger are skilled in the use of the war hammer, but many favor other weapons as well, such as battles axes, broad swords, and hand axes.
SHARINDLAR
Lady of Life, Lady of Mercy, the Merciful, the Bountiful, the Shining Dancer
Intermediate Power of Ysgard CG
PORTFOLIO: Healing, mercy, romantic love, fertility, dancing, courtship, the moon
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Nidavellir/The Merciful Court
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Angharradh, Chauntea, Cyrrollalee, Eldath, Hanali Celanil, Hathor, Ilmater, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Sheela Peryroyl, Shiallia, Tapann, Yondalla, various Animal Lords
FOES: Urdlen
SYMBOL: A flame rising from a steel needle
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN, LE, NE, CE
Sharindlar (Sha-RIHN-dlar) the Merciful is widely known as the dwarven goddess of healing and mercy. Dwarves wounded in battle are often healed in her name. Sick dwarves, dwarven healers, midwives, physics, and lovers pray to the Lady of Life. However, her aspect kept secret from nondwarves is her most important modern role: her patronage of romantic love, courtship, and fertility. Dwarves of all alignments and races who are courting appease her, as do those who sentence others in the cause of justice. When dwarves dance, they pray to Sharindlar to guide their feet, for she is said to be the greatest dancer the dwarves have ever known.
Sharindlar is on excellent terms with most of the other members of the Morndinsamman. She has forged working relationships with those whose principles she abhors-Abbathor, Deep Duerra, and Laduguer-to facilitate her efforts for the benefit of the dwarven race. The Lady of Life has served as an emissary between Laduguer of the gray dwarves and Moradin on the rare occasions they must communicate. Sharindlar has little tolerance for hatreds or rivalries that interfere with her efforts to dispense healing and mercy to the wounded and distressed. She has made strong friendships with the deities of the korreds, and some myths claim that Shiallia, the Dancer in the Glades, is the offspring of Sharindlar's brief dalliance with Tapann.
Sharindlar is invariably warm and caring with a kind word for all, both mortal and divine. She is given to shouts of joy, impromptu dances, and gales of uncontrollable laughter. The Lady of Life is an inveterate match-maker and true romantic who seeks to conjoin star-crossed lovers no matter what the odds. More than one favored dwarven bachelor or maiden has been swept up in a series of whirlwind affairs, thanks to the unceasing efforts of the Shining Dancer to provide the perfect mate.
Other Manifestations
Sharindlar rarely appears in avatar form in the Realms, but quite often aids dwarves by manifesting as an amber or rosy radiance and warmth. If healing herbs or plant antidotes are required and exist nearby, Sharindlar illuminates them with her radiance, to mark them for searching dwarves. If a sick dwarf seeks shelter or water, Sharindlar's radiance guides them. If dwarves are cold and lack shelter, Sharindlar's warmth and light can keep them comfortable while they rest, even on glaciers or rock ledges in blizzards. Her light is bright enough for wizards to study by and for maps and books to be read.
At dances, moots, and other meetings when dwarves may be conceived, Sharindlar often attempts to sway the thoughts and actions of dwarves by her warmth and radiance. Dwarven sages still argue over whether this is purely the result of her presence, serving as a hint and sign of approval, or if she can manifest subtle aphrodisiac powers.
The Church
Clerics are called Thalornar
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG
All priests of Sharindlar were female before the Time of Troubles, but some males have joined the priesthood since then.
Sharindlar is universally well regarded by dwarves and held in high esteem by those who share her beliefs among other races. Even the most xenophobic elves and the most supercilious humans are impressed by her devotion to the downtrodden and her kind and unassuming nature, despite their deep-held prejudices. Temples to the Lady of Life are great halls, free of pillars or other architectural features. Serving as both chancels and grand ballrooms, they are well lit, often above ground or partially open to the sky, and typically hold fountains, pools, and formal gardens. The goddess's temples have numerous small guest chambers for visitors, of which there are many. Most of the Shining Dancer's temples have a small library that serves as a repository of runestones inscribed with dwarven genealogies, clan records, courting rites, descriptions of formal dances, astronomy charts, medicinal practices, herbal brews, agricultural and husbandry records, and the like.
Novices of Sharindlar are known as the Chaste. Full priests are known as Merciful Maidens/Youths. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Sharindlaran priests are Dancing Tresses, Golden Allure, Healing Touch, Merciful Smile, Loving Heart, and Fruitful Mother/Father. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the Sons/Daughters (Dauls) of Sharindlar. Specialty priests are known as thalomor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who are merciful. The clergy of Sharindlar includes gold dwarves (49%), shield dwarves (48%), jungle dwarves (2%), and even gray dwarves (1%). Sharindlar's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (58%) and clerics (42%). The priesthood is still nearly all female (99%).
Dogma: Be merciful in speech and deed. Bring relief and healing where needful. Temper anger and hostility with constructive and charitable endeavor. The children of Moradin must live in safety and propagate. Maintain and encourage the traditional rites of courting and marriage. Celebrate the endless, joyous dance of life by living it to the fullest. Sharindlar restores the fertile seed of dwarven life, while Berronar protects the fruit.
Day-to-Day Activities : The traditional duties of Sharindlar's clergy include dispensing healing and mercy to dwarves and other individuals in need. This role requires both hospices in dwarven strongholds and travel to isolated dwarven holds scattered throughout surface and subterranean wildernesses. As dwarven birthrates slowly decline and the ranks of the Stout Folk shrink, particularly among the shield dwarves of the North, priests in Sharindlar's service devote most of their energy to reverse these trends, with the assistance of Berronar's clergy. The Merciful Maidens/Youths have focused on maintaining and teaching dwarven courting rites: traditional dances, ritual forms of address, and the like. They strive to bring young dwarves together, engendering likely matches, particularly outside the traditional clans, hoping to increase the number of prolific unions. Sharindlar's oversight of fertility has been extended in many dwarven cultures (particularly in surface-dwelling cultures such as High Shanatar and Besilmer) to include agriculture and animal husbandry. A particular emphasis has been placed on developing new strains of crops - wheat, barley, mushrooms, lichens, etc. - and hardier breeds of beasts - donkeys, sheep, etc.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The worship of Sharindlar has been kept secret from outsiders, especially her fertility aspect. Dwarves in general refer to her as the Lady of Mercy whenever they know nondwarves to be listening. Dwarven priests of any faith who care for the wounded or sick often pray briefly for Sharindlar's favor.
When the moon begins to wax (the night after the new moon), at Greengrass, at Midsummer Night, and whenever the moon is full, Sharindlar's clergy gather to pray to the Lady of Life. The more secret rituals of Sharindlar take place in hidden caverns, wherever there is a pool of water. Such ceremonies involve dancing, prayers for the Lady's mercy and guidance, and the sacrifice of gold. Gold is heated until molten, and dwarves let blood from their own forearms into the mixture, which is then poured into the water, as Sharindlar's name is chanted and the dwarves dance about the pool in a frenzy, armor and weapons near at hand but not worn or carried.
In the Deep Realm, Sharindlar's rituals take place around the Lake of Gold, a subterranean lake whose rocky bottom is streaked with gleaming veins of gold. The Lady of Life's dwarven faithful never take gold from the lake, whose bottom is now carpeted with the sparkling gold dust of long ages of worship resulting from rituals performed in an effort to raise the low birthrate of the race. Rituals in honor of Sharindlar's fertility aspect celebrated here always end with splendid feasts and courting chases through the underways of the Deeps. Rituals invoking Sharindlar's healing strength enacted by two or more priests of the goddess involve their gathering over injured or sick beings. The Lady of Life's priests sprinkle the ill from a vial of water from the Lake of Gold, while whispering secret names and descriptions of the goddess. This ritual has a 20% chance of aiding healing per priest taking part, increased by 10% if water from the Lake of Gold is used, and another 20% if the injured being is favored by Sharindlar (a DM decision: Sharindlar has been known to favor nondwarves, pack animals, and even monsters). The aid increases of healing spells and potions to their maximum possible effect, doubles the at-rest healing rate, and halts the spread or effect of parasites (including rot grubs), diseases, and poisons completely for 1d4+1 days. The DM chooses the beneficial effect according to the circumstances. Even Sharindlar's name, whispered or repeated silently in the mind by the faithful, has a calming effect on upset or painwracked dwarves of all faiths, allowing them to sleep.
Major Centers of Worship: Tyn'rrin Wurlur, the Vale of Dancing Water, is a sprawling temple complex built among the ruins of the longfallen summer palace of King Torhild Flametonguee of Besilmer. Nestled amidst the rolling Sumber Hills-the modem name for the hills bisected by the River Dessarin, which lie just south of the Stone Bridge-the Rook of Torhild, as it is also known, is located on the western bank of the River Dessarin east of the abandoned, monster-haunted, adventurers' keeps along the Larch Path. If dwarven legends are true, the temple's catacombs contain the lost riches of fallen Besilmer, as yet unplundered, and access to subterranean tunnels that stretch from the Sword Mountains to the Unicorn Run.
The very existence of Sharindlar's temple in the Sumber Hills is a closely guarded secret among the Stout Folk of the North, a practice in keeping with the general reticence among dwarves to even discuss the beliefs and role of the Lady of Life with nondwarves. Passersby on the swift-flowing current below the hidden vale can see naught but three tiny creek-fed waterfalls that rush over the 30-foot-high cliff in an endless cascade of water and shimmering light. The aboveground structures of the temple complex are nearly invisible to anyone flying overhead, appearing as little more than boulderstrewn hillocks. Few travelers make the dangerous trek overland from the village of Red Larch to the western bank of the River Dessarin-even fewer stumble into the isolated dell, as the few footpaths in the region are cunningly constructed so as to lead travelers away from the elevated valley.
The fortified hospice of Tyn'rrin Wurlur is ably led by the aging matriarch, Dame of the Dessarin March Gwythiir, daul of Zarna. Gwythiir is assisted by a council of the eight highest-ranking priests residing in the abbey, collectively known as the Ladies of Merciful Life. When not roaming the North healing those in need, the temple's clergy-whose ranks include nearly two hundred dwarven priests who have received the call of the Lady of Life-spend their days at the temple tending small vineyards, making wine, and cultivating mushrooms on the shaded banks of the small creeks that wind through the valley. The wine presses of Tyn'rrin Wurlur are renowned in dwarven societies throughout the North for producing tuber nectar, a grape and mushroom wine legendary for its aphrodisiac properties. The Vale of Dancing Water is nearly as well known among the Stout Folk for its instruction of young dwarves, both male and female, in the rites of courting and the formal dances that have been passed down for centuries. In recent decades, successful dwarves-particularly those who have earned both wealth and honor by adventuring-have been returning to Tyn'rrin Wurlur when they are ready to settle down to enlist the Dame of the Dessarin March in finding them a suitable mate. Finally, the Vale of Dancing Water serves always-welcoming hospice to wounded or sick dwarves who seek sanctuary in order to finish out their days, or if possible, until they recover. Aging dwarves, particularly those whose careers developed their fighting prowess, often retire to Tyn'rrin Wurlur where they serve as seasoned, if aging, defenders of the vale.
Affiliated Orders: While Sharindlar has no martial orders dedicated to her name, about one in five other priests serve small dwarven communities as midwives, independent of the faith's more organized temple hierarchies. Members of this informal sorority are known collectively as the Maidens of Midwifery, and often extend their roles to include that of physician, matchmaker, and brewer of both aphrodisiacs and elixirs said to increase fertility.
Priestly Vestments: For ceremonial functions, Sharindlar's priests wear red robes with a blue girdle. The head is left bare except for a robin's egg blue scarf. The holy symbol of the faith is a silver disk embossed on both sides with the symbol of the goddess. It is often hung from an argent chain placed around the neck.
Adventuring Garb: Sharindlar's priests avoid violence if possible, but they defend themselves or their charges against obviously hostile and violent opponents. While they prefer regular dwarven garb, the Maidens of Mercy gird themselves with armor when appropriate. A blue scarf, tied around the brow, upper arm, wrist, or ankle, is worn as an adornment. Although they rarely advertise it, members of Sharindlar's clergy usually carry a small knife so that they can mercifully end the suffering of creatures whose pain cannot otherwise be alleviated and whose demise is imminent.
The Soul Forger, Dwarf-Father, the All-Father, the Creator
Greater Power of the Seven Heavens , LG
PORTFOLIO: Dwarves (survival, renewal, and advancement), creation, smithing of all sorts, craftsmanship, war, the dwarven race, protection, metalcraft, stonework (stonemasonry, tunneling, construction), engineering, dwarven engineers, protection
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Solania/Erackinor
SUPERIOR: None
ALLIES: Corellon Larethian, Cyrrollalee, Flandal Steelskin, Garl Glittergold, Geb, Gond, Helm, Kossuth, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, and Laduguer), Torm, Tyr, Yondalla
FOES: Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: Hammer and anvil
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Moradin (MOAR-uh-din) is the creator god of the dwarven race and leader of the Morndinsamman. He is said to have created all dwarves, forging them from metals and gems in the fires that lie at the "heart of the world," and breathing life-the first dwarven souls-into the cooling forms. All dwarves appease Moradin, even if they do not wholeheartedly support him. Lawful good dwarves support and work openly to serve the Soul Forger, even if they also worship another deity. His name is invoked by dwarves involved in smithwork or craftsmanship of any sort, and they give him homage by doing their best work and seeking to emulate his stonework and craftsmanship. Moradin is said to inspire dwarven inventions and seeks constantly to improve the race-increasing dwarven good nature, intelligence, and ability to exist in harmony with other living things. At the same time, he battles the pride and isolationist tendencies that occur naturally in his elite creations.
Moradin is held by many dwarven creation myths to have been incarnated from rock, stone, and metal, with his soul eternally present in the form of fire. That same fire fueled the forge in which Moradin created the Stout Folk and, in some myths, Moradin breathes fire over the first dwarves to bring them to life.
The Soul Forger rules the other dwarven deities sternly, and only his wife, Berronar Truesilver, can regularly bring a smile to his face. In some dwarven realms, the Soul Forger is said to be the father of Dumathoin, Abbathor, Laduguer, Clangeddin, Sharindlar, Diirinka, Vergadain, Thard Harr, Gorm Gulthyn, Marthammor Duin, and Dugmaren Brightmantle, but the exact relationships and ordering vary from culture to culture. It is the All-Father who banished Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Diirinka, Diinkarazan, and their followers, smiting them with his hammer and driving them forth. If Abbathor is ever banished, it will be at the Soul Forger's command. Moradin loathes Gruumsh, Maglubiyet, and the other goblinkin deities (those of the ores, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, kobolds, and urds), and he detests the evil giant deities as well. His gruff and uncompromising nature wins him few friends outside the dwarven pantheon, but he is said to be close with Cyrrollalee, Garl Glittergold, Flandal Steelskin, Gond, Helm, Kossuth, Tyr, and Torm, and enjoys a strategic alliance with Yondalla and Corellon Larethian. Moradin has little patience for the elven powers, but he has worked effectively with them in the past when it was necessary.
Moradin is a stern and uncompromising defender of the dwarven people and of the principles of law and good. Moradin is a harsh but fair judge. He judges dwarves on their achievements and the success of their endeavors, not just on their good hearts. The Soul Forger is strength and force of will embodied; his weapons, armor, and tools are virtual extensions of his own incarnate being. Moradin seldom appears in the Realms, preferring to work through manifestations rather than avatars. His usual reason for intervention in either form is to encourage dwarves to follow the correct path or make the best decision at a critical time. He also intervenes to aid or inspire dwarves who may serve the race in the future, or to aid or encourage nondwarves who aid the dwarves.
Moradin commonly manifests as a white radiance. This envelops either a being or an object. An enveloped being (nearly always a dwarf) is temporarily imbued by Moradin with one of his avatar spell abilities. An enveloped object (a war hammer, if available) is animated by Moradin's will, and may serve as a weapon, as a battering ram (to free imprisoned Folk or to reveal a hidden way), or as a guide (floating along to show a route).
The Church
Clerics are called Sonnlinor
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG
Until the Time of Troubles, Moradin's priests were all male. Since then, females have begun entering the priesthood at a fairly rapid rate.
Moradin and his mortal servants are very highly regarded in dwarven society, and his priests often serve as leaders in dwarven communities. Dwarven daily life is consumed with mining, smithcraft, engineering, and creative endeavors, and the Soul Forger's assistance is frequently acknowledged by most dwarven artisans. The only criticism of the Soul Forger's clergy, as expressed by younger dwarves who prefer the teachings of Dugmaren, Haela, and Marthammor, is that Moradin's Forgesmiths are too set in their traditional ways and too slow to adapt to the changing world around them. Among the other human and demihuman races, Moradin's priests are perceived as prototypical dwarves and as the mortal manifestations of their god, and how this is interpreted depends on the viewer's general perception of and regard for dwarves.
Temples of Moradin are located underground and carved out of solid rock. They are never set in natural caverns. Moradin's temples usually resemble vast smithies dominated by one or more grand halls of hardworking dwarven craftsmen. Hammers and anvils, the signs of the god, are the dominant decorative themes, as are statues of the All-Father and the other gods of the dwarven pantheon. The center of the Soul Forger's shrine or temple is a great ever-burning hearth and a forge of the finest equipage. Should the fire be extinguished (something the Soul Forger's priests will go to any length to prevent), the temple is abandoned or torn down stone by stone. Usually another temple is built on a new site, but occasionally a temple is entirely rebuilt and reconsecrated.
Novices of Moradin are known as the Unworked. Full priests of the Soul Forger are known as Forgesmiths and as the Tempered. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Moradite priests are Adept of the Anvil, Hammer of War, Artisan of the Forge, Craftsman of Runes, Artificer of Discoveries, and Smith of Souls. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the High Forgesmiths. Specialty priests are known as sonnlinor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who work stone. The clergy of Moradin includes gold dwarves (50%), shield dwarves (48%), jungle dwarves (1%), and even gray dwarves (1%). Moradin's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (47%) and clerics (43%), and includes a handful of crusaders (5%) and fighter/clerics (5%). Most priests of Moradin are male (94%).
Dogma: The Soul Forger is the father and creator of the dwarven race. By seeking to emulate both his principles and his workmanship in smithcraft, stoneworking, and other tasks, the Children of Moradin honor the All-Father. Wisdom is derived from life tempered with experience. Advance the dwarven race in all areas of life. Innovate with new processes and skills, and test and work them until they are refined and pure. Found new kingdoms and clan lands, defending those that already exist from internal and external threats. Lead the Stout Folk in the traditional ways laid down by the Soul Forger. Honor your clan leaders as you honor Moradin.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Moradin strive to restore the dwarven races to strong numbers and a position of influence in Faerun, by founding new dwarven kingdoms and increasing the status of dwarves within the wider human-dominated society prevalent in the Realms today. They preside over a wide range of formal ceremonies (consecrations of forges, temples, and other buildings, crowning of monarchs, etc.) and the education of the young, especially in the teaching of history. They maintain genealogies and historical archives, cooperating with Berronar's priests. Adventuring is encouraged in the priesthood, but only adventuring that directly serves the interests of the dwarven race.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Those who worship the Soul Forger gather monthly around the forge to celebrate the All-Father and to make offerings. In some dwarven cultures, Moradin is worshiped at the time of the full moon, while in others the Soul Forger is venerated beneath the crescent moon. In addition, any High Forgesmith can declare a holy day at any time and often does so as a way of celebrating a local event. Offerings of common or precious metals-especially those already worked by dwarven hands into items of beauty or practical use, such as tools or ornamented hardware-are made on the monthly holy days. Sacrifices of common or precious metals are melted down at the forge and reformed into shapes usable by the clergy. Rituals are performed while making such offerings, which involve chanting, kneeling, and reaching barehanded into the flames of the forge (Moradin prevents harm to the truly faithful) to handle red- and white-hot objects directly.
Priests entering a temple of Moradin bow to the forge and surrender any weapons (in times of peace). Priests of Moradin strike the anvil standing by the entry once with their hammers before surrendering them to faithful dwarven warriors. At least seven warriors are usual at any shrine, but four will always be there. Priests of another faith, without permission of a High Old One or the avatar of Moradin, cannot advance beyond the wall of fire, a knee-high, permanent magical effect surrounding the central forge. Priests of Moradin engage in humble, verbal prayer and in open, earnest discussion of current dwarven problems and issues, more so than any other priesthood. Such discussion is considered to be between equals (even if nondwarves participate), save that the ranking priest of Moradin has the sole authority to open and close discussion on a particular topic.
Worship usually ends with a rising, quickening chant in unison of: "The dwarves shall prevail, the dwarves shall endure, the dwarves shall grow!" This is repeated, ever more loudly, until the plain, massive, battered smith's hammer on the largest anvil of the forge rises from the anvil of its own volition (moved by the power of the listening god). It may (or may not) move about or glow to denote the god's will, marked pleasure, or agreement. It descends gently to the anvil, though it comes to rest with a thunderous ring, as if brought down with all the strength of a powerful dwarf.
Major Centers of Worship: Thuulurn, the Foundry of Stout Souls, is a fortified monastic enclave of priests dedicated to Moradin, located in the heart of the Deep Realms, east of the Great Rift. Thuulurn is both a temple and a city, with over 5,600 inhabitants. The temple-city is carved from solid rock. It resembles a large dungeon like Undermountain far more than it does a surface city set in a large cavern. Huge forges burn continuously throughout the enclave, leaving the air heavy with smoke and most chambers stifling hot (at least to surface-dwellers and nondwarves). Keeping aloof from most other gold dwarves of the Deep Realms, the Forgesmiths of Thuulurn (under the able leadership of Thungalos Truetemper, First Hammer of Moradin) work continuously to influence events in the Deeps and surface lands, to the betterment of all dwarves. They have been known to hire adventurers of other races to carry out their aims. Often, a mission for the dwarves is demanded as a payment for healing badly beaten adventurers or raising one or more slain individuals. Typical missions include a strike against the duergar, freeing dwarves from drow slavery in the Depths Below, slaying an aboleth at a certain underground lake, finding and slaying the latest cloaker overlord with designs on the Deep Realm, and so on.
The temple-city is self-sufficient. Whatever it lacks is brought in from elsewhere by its priests or worshipers. Dwarven offerings have made Thuulurn very rich, but this wealth is seen only as a means to bringing about the Soul Forger's ends. Of late, tales have begun to spread that the Forgesmiths of Thuulurn have dispatched a great army of gold dwarves westward through the Underdark. Whether this tale is true or not, and where such an army might be headed, is still unknown.
In the North, the most visible monument to the Soul Forger is the Stone Bridge, a massive stone arch that spans the broadest imaginable spring flood of the River Dessarin. The Stone Bridge, built long ago to link the two halves of the ancient dwarven kingdom of Besilmer, rises in a great arc, without supporting pillars, its span two miles long and 400 feet above the water. The Bridge is built of weathered granite, six paces broad and so skillfully fitted that it seems of one piece. It has no parapet or railing on either side. Dwarves explain the awesome size and continued survival of the Bridge to the fact that it is also a temple to Moradin. Lawful good dwarves still make pilgrimages to the Bridge, said to be one of the Soul Forger's favorite spots on Faerun. On at least one occasion, Moradin's avatar appeared on the Bridge and destroyed a horde of orcs harrying the remaining members of the Ironstar clan as they fled southward to valley of the River Delimbiyr.
Affiliated Orders: The Hammers of Moradin are an elite military order dominated by crusaders and fighter/clerics with chapters in nearly every dwarven stronghold and members drawn from every dwarven clan. The Hammers serve both as commanders of dwarven armies and as an elite strike force skilled in dealing with anything from large groups of ores to great wyrms to malevolent fiends from the Lower Planes. The order is dedicated to the defense of existing dwarven holdings and the carving out of new dwarven territories. Individual chapters have a great deal of local autonomy but, in times of great crisis, a Grand Council (the reigning monarchs and senior Hammers of the affected region) assemble to plot strategy and divine Moradin's will.
Priestly Vestments: Ceremonial vestments for priests of Moradin include flowing, shining robes of woven wire of electrum treated with blueshine. Other ceremonial garb includes silvered (everbright) helms, silverplated war hammers, and earth-brown leather boots. The holy symbol of the faith is a miniature electrum war hammer, treated with blueshine.
Adventuring Garb: In combat, Moradin's clergymembers favors chain mail or dwarven plate mail, a helm, and a medium or large shield. Priests of the Soul Forger are skilled in the use of the war hammer, but many favor other weapons as well, such as battles axes, broad swords, and hand axes.
SHARINDLAR
Lady of Life, Lady of Mercy, the Merciful, the Bountiful, the Shining Dancer
Intermediate Power of Ysgard CG
PORTFOLIO: Healing, mercy, romantic love, fertility, dancing, courtship, the moon
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Nidavellir/The Merciful Court
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Angharradh, Chauntea, Cyrrollalee, Eldath, Hanali Celanil, Hathor, Ilmater, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Sheela Peryroyl, Shiallia, Tapann, Yondalla, various Animal Lords
FOES: Urdlen
SYMBOL: A flame rising from a steel needle
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN, LE, NE, CE
Sharindlar (Sha-RIHN-dlar) the Merciful is widely known as the dwarven goddess of healing and mercy. Dwarves wounded in battle are often healed in her name. Sick dwarves, dwarven healers, midwives, physics, and lovers pray to the Lady of Life. However, her aspect kept secret from nondwarves is her most important modern role: her patronage of romantic love, courtship, and fertility. Dwarves of all alignments and races who are courting appease her, as do those who sentence others in the cause of justice. When dwarves dance, they pray to Sharindlar to guide their feet, for she is said to be the greatest dancer the dwarves have ever known.
Sharindlar is on excellent terms with most of the other members of the Morndinsamman. She has forged working relationships with those whose principles she abhors-Abbathor, Deep Duerra, and Laduguer-to facilitate her efforts for the benefit of the dwarven race. The Lady of Life has served as an emissary between Laduguer of the gray dwarves and Moradin on the rare occasions they must communicate. Sharindlar has little tolerance for hatreds or rivalries that interfere with her efforts to dispense healing and mercy to the wounded and distressed. She has made strong friendships with the deities of the korreds, and some myths claim that Shiallia, the Dancer in the Glades, is the offspring of Sharindlar's brief dalliance with Tapann.
Sharindlar is invariably warm and caring with a kind word for all, both mortal and divine. She is given to shouts of joy, impromptu dances, and gales of uncontrollable laughter. The Lady of Life is an inveterate match-maker and true romantic who seeks to conjoin star-crossed lovers no matter what the odds. More than one favored dwarven bachelor or maiden has been swept up in a series of whirlwind affairs, thanks to the unceasing efforts of the Shining Dancer to provide the perfect mate.
Other Manifestations
Sharindlar rarely appears in avatar form in the Realms, but quite often aids dwarves by manifesting as an amber or rosy radiance and warmth. If healing herbs or plant antidotes are required and exist nearby, Sharindlar illuminates them with her radiance, to mark them for searching dwarves. If a sick dwarf seeks shelter or water, Sharindlar's radiance guides them. If dwarves are cold and lack shelter, Sharindlar's warmth and light can keep them comfortable while they rest, even on glaciers or rock ledges in blizzards. Her light is bright enough for wizards to study by and for maps and books to be read.
At dances, moots, and other meetings when dwarves may be conceived, Sharindlar often attempts to sway the thoughts and actions of dwarves by her warmth and radiance. Dwarven sages still argue over whether this is purely the result of her presence, serving as a hint and sign of approval, or if she can manifest subtle aphrodisiac powers.
The Church
Clerics are called Thalornar
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG
All priests of Sharindlar were female before the Time of Troubles, but some males have joined the priesthood since then.
Sharindlar is universally well regarded by dwarves and held in high esteem by those who share her beliefs among other races. Even the most xenophobic elves and the most supercilious humans are impressed by her devotion to the downtrodden and her kind and unassuming nature, despite their deep-held prejudices. Temples to the Lady of Life are great halls, free of pillars or other architectural features. Serving as both chancels and grand ballrooms, they are well lit, often above ground or partially open to the sky, and typically hold fountains, pools, and formal gardens. The goddess's temples have numerous small guest chambers for visitors, of which there are many. Most of the Shining Dancer's temples have a small library that serves as a repository of runestones inscribed with dwarven genealogies, clan records, courting rites, descriptions of formal dances, astronomy charts, medicinal practices, herbal brews, agricultural and husbandry records, and the like.
Novices of Sharindlar are known as the Chaste. Full priests are known as Merciful Maidens/Youths. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Sharindlaran priests are Dancing Tresses, Golden Allure, Healing Touch, Merciful Smile, Loving Heart, and Fruitful Mother/Father. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the Sons/Daughters (Dauls) of Sharindlar. Specialty priests are known as thalomor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who are merciful. The clergy of Sharindlar includes gold dwarves (49%), shield dwarves (48%), jungle dwarves (2%), and even gray dwarves (1%). Sharindlar's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (58%) and clerics (42%). The priesthood is still nearly all female (99%).
Dogma: Be merciful in speech and deed. Bring relief and healing where needful. Temper anger and hostility with constructive and charitable endeavor. The children of Moradin must live in safety and propagate. Maintain and encourage the traditional rites of courting and marriage. Celebrate the endless, joyous dance of life by living it to the fullest. Sharindlar restores the fertile seed of dwarven life, while Berronar protects the fruit.
Day-to-Day Activities : The traditional duties of Sharindlar's clergy include dispensing healing and mercy to dwarves and other individuals in need. This role requires both hospices in dwarven strongholds and travel to isolated dwarven holds scattered throughout surface and subterranean wildernesses. As dwarven birthrates slowly decline and the ranks of the Stout Folk shrink, particularly among the shield dwarves of the North, priests in Sharindlar's service devote most of their energy to reverse these trends, with the assistance of Berronar's clergy. The Merciful Maidens/Youths have focused on maintaining and teaching dwarven courting rites: traditional dances, ritual forms of address, and the like. They strive to bring young dwarves together, engendering likely matches, particularly outside the traditional clans, hoping to increase the number of prolific unions. Sharindlar's oversight of fertility has been extended in many dwarven cultures (particularly in surface-dwelling cultures such as High Shanatar and Besilmer) to include agriculture and animal husbandry. A particular emphasis has been placed on developing new strains of crops - wheat, barley, mushrooms, lichens, etc. - and hardier breeds of beasts - donkeys, sheep, etc.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The worship of Sharindlar has been kept secret from outsiders, especially her fertility aspect. Dwarves in general refer to her as the Lady of Mercy whenever they know nondwarves to be listening. Dwarven priests of any faith who care for the wounded or sick often pray briefly for Sharindlar's favor.
When the moon begins to wax (the night after the new moon), at Greengrass, at Midsummer Night, and whenever the moon is full, Sharindlar's clergy gather to pray to the Lady of Life. The more secret rituals of Sharindlar take place in hidden caverns, wherever there is a pool of water. Such ceremonies involve dancing, prayers for the Lady's mercy and guidance, and the sacrifice of gold. Gold is heated until molten, and dwarves let blood from their own forearms into the mixture, which is then poured into the water, as Sharindlar's name is chanted and the dwarves dance about the pool in a frenzy, armor and weapons near at hand but not worn or carried.
In the Deep Realm, Sharindlar's rituals take place around the Lake of Gold, a subterranean lake whose rocky bottom is streaked with gleaming veins of gold. The Lady of Life's dwarven faithful never take gold from the lake, whose bottom is now carpeted with the sparkling gold dust of long ages of worship resulting from rituals performed in an effort to raise the low birthrate of the race. Rituals in honor of Sharindlar's fertility aspect celebrated here always end with splendid feasts and courting chases through the underways of the Deeps. Rituals invoking Sharindlar's healing strength enacted by two or more priests of the goddess involve their gathering over injured or sick beings. The Lady of Life's priests sprinkle the ill from a vial of water from the Lake of Gold, while whispering secret names and descriptions of the goddess. This ritual has a 20% chance of aiding healing per priest taking part, increased by 10% if water from the Lake of Gold is used, and another 20% if the injured being is favored by Sharindlar (a DM decision: Sharindlar has been known to favor nondwarves, pack animals, and even monsters). The aid increases of healing spells and potions to their maximum possible effect, doubles the at-rest healing rate, and halts the spread or effect of parasites (including rot grubs), diseases, and poisons completely for 1d4+1 days. The DM chooses the beneficial effect according to the circumstances. Even Sharindlar's name, whispered or repeated silently in the mind by the faithful, has a calming effect on upset or painwracked dwarves of all faiths, allowing them to sleep.
Major Centers of Worship: Tyn'rrin Wurlur, the Vale of Dancing Water, is a sprawling temple complex built among the ruins of the longfallen summer palace of King Torhild Flametonguee of Besilmer. Nestled amidst the rolling Sumber Hills-the modem name for the hills bisected by the River Dessarin, which lie just south of the Stone Bridge-the Rook of Torhild, as it is also known, is located on the western bank of the River Dessarin east of the abandoned, monster-haunted, adventurers' keeps along the Larch Path. If dwarven legends are true, the temple's catacombs contain the lost riches of fallen Besilmer, as yet unplundered, and access to subterranean tunnels that stretch from the Sword Mountains to the Unicorn Run.
The very existence of Sharindlar's temple in the Sumber Hills is a closely guarded secret among the Stout Folk of the North, a practice in keeping with the general reticence among dwarves to even discuss the beliefs and role of the Lady of Life with nondwarves. Passersby on the swift-flowing current below the hidden vale can see naught but three tiny creek-fed waterfalls that rush over the 30-foot-high cliff in an endless cascade of water and shimmering light. The aboveground structures of the temple complex are nearly invisible to anyone flying overhead, appearing as little more than boulderstrewn hillocks. Few travelers make the dangerous trek overland from the village of Red Larch to the western bank of the River Dessarin-even fewer stumble into the isolated dell, as the few footpaths in the region are cunningly constructed so as to lead travelers away from the elevated valley.
The fortified hospice of Tyn'rrin Wurlur is ably led by the aging matriarch, Dame of the Dessarin March Gwythiir, daul of Zarna. Gwythiir is assisted by a council of the eight highest-ranking priests residing in the abbey, collectively known as the Ladies of Merciful Life. When not roaming the North healing those in need, the temple's clergy-whose ranks include nearly two hundred dwarven priests who have received the call of the Lady of Life-spend their days at the temple tending small vineyards, making wine, and cultivating mushrooms on the shaded banks of the small creeks that wind through the valley. The wine presses of Tyn'rrin Wurlur are renowned in dwarven societies throughout the North for producing tuber nectar, a grape and mushroom wine legendary for its aphrodisiac properties. The Vale of Dancing Water is nearly as well known among the Stout Folk for its instruction of young dwarves, both male and female, in the rites of courting and the formal dances that have been passed down for centuries. In recent decades, successful dwarves-particularly those who have earned both wealth and honor by adventuring-have been returning to Tyn'rrin Wurlur when they are ready to settle down to enlist the Dame of the Dessarin March in finding them a suitable mate. Finally, the Vale of Dancing Water serves always-welcoming hospice to wounded or sick dwarves who seek sanctuary in order to finish out their days, or if possible, until they recover. Aging dwarves, particularly those whose careers developed their fighting prowess, often retire to Tyn'rrin Wurlur where they serve as seasoned, if aging, defenders of the vale.
Affiliated Orders: While Sharindlar has no martial orders dedicated to her name, about one in five other priests serve small dwarven communities as midwives, independent of the faith's more organized temple hierarchies. Members of this informal sorority are known collectively as the Maidens of Midwifery, and often extend their roles to include that of physician, matchmaker, and brewer of both aphrodisiacs and elixirs said to increase fertility.
Priestly Vestments: For ceremonial functions, Sharindlar's priests wear red robes with a blue girdle. The head is left bare except for a robin's egg blue scarf. The holy symbol of the faith is a silver disk embossed on both sides with the symbol of the goddess. It is often hung from an argent chain placed around the neck.
Adventuring Garb: Sharindlar's priests avoid violence if possible, but they defend themselves or their charges against obviously hostile and violent opponents. While they prefer regular dwarven garb, the Maidens of Mercy gird themselves with armor when appropriate. A blue scarf, tied around the brow, upper arm, wrist, or ankle, is worn as an adornment. Although they rarely advertise it, members of Sharindlar's clergy usually carry a small knife so that they can mercifully end the suffering of creatures whose pain cannot otherwise be alleviated and whose demise is imminent.
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Re: Dwarves
THARD HARR
Lord of the jungle Deeps, Disentangler
Lesser Power of the Beastlands CG
PORTFOLIO: The wild dwarven race, jungle survival, hunting
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Krigala/The Forbidden Plateau
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Baervan Wildwanderer, Cyrrollalee, Jazirian, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, and Laduguer), Nobanion, Ubtao, various Animal Lords
FOES: Deep Duerra, Eshowdow, Laduguer, Sseth, Urdlen, the goblin pantheon
SYMBOL: Two crossed, metal gauntlets of silvery-blue, luminous metal, ending in claws and covered with lapped scales
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Thard Harr (THARD HAHRR) is the protector of wild dwarves (also known as jungle dwarves), aiding them against intruders and marauding beasts. The Lord of the Jungle Deeps is revered only by dur Authalar (the People) as the wild dwarves of the jungles of Faerun refer to themselves. Some hunters of other races and alignments operating in jungle areas look to the Disentangler for guidance as well, but they have little to do with the mainstream of Thard's faith or with wild dwarven society.
The Lord of the Jungle Deeps maintains friendly, but distant, relations with most of the other members of the Morndinsamman, but he is far removed from the concerns of dwarven life, at least as expressed by the gold and shield dwarf cultures of Faerun. Sharindlar and Dumathoin are probably the only dwarven powers to interact with Thard on a regular basis, the former for her interest in the rampant fertility of the jungle and the latter for his oversight of the albino shield dwarves of Chult who come into occasional contact with their wild kinfolk. Thard has forged alliances and developed hatreds for many of the other powers whose worshipers dwell or have dwelt in the jungles of southern Faerun. Notable allies include Jazirian, lord of the couatl, and Ubtao, Father of the Dinosaurs, Founder of Mezro, and god of the Tabaxi. The Disentangler's most notable foes include Eshowdow the Shadow Giant, Ubtao's antithesis and lord of the Eshowe (jungle humans), Sseth the Great Snake, god of the yuan-ti, and Kuro (Khurgorbaeyag), the most widely worshiped god of the Batiri (jungle goblins). Finally, although they are not true powers in their own right, Thard has forged close relationships with many of the Animal Lords who also dwell in the Beastlands.
Thard seldom speaks, but he has been known to purr, growl, snarl, and roar like a great cat. He is given to great swings of emotion and grand gestures. The Disentangler has no tolerance for pretentious behavior, civilization, or social constraints of any sort. He seldom appears in the Realms, preferring to roam the Beastlands, aiding his worshipers by manifestations instead. The Lord of the Jungle Deeps lives on the Forbidden Plateau, where Ubtao has his secondary realm, but he also loves to wander the three layers of the Beastlands, constantly stalking the beasts that dwell there and frolicking with them, running as one of them rather than preying upon them.
Thard's manifestations involve low, continuous thudding and snarling sounds that apparently emanate from the empowered beings. The sounds are unstoppable and have no special effect. Empowered beings begin to glow with a crawling, pulsing nimbus of cherry-red light, and they are imbued with power from the god for up to 1 turn.
Thard empowers only one being at a time, either a wild dwarf or a jungle beast. A beast simply uses its natural attacks and abilities to fight for the jungle dwarves to the death.
Thard often manifests in one dwarf after another in the same conflict, so that intruders may face one empowered dwarf for a turn, another for the next turn, and so on. The god never aids the same dwarf for more than 6 turns in a day, but he may grant aid in separate visits (either actual, or in manifestations), to this limit, if danger persists.
The Church
Clerics are called Vuddor
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
The church of Thard Harr ceased following the dwarven traditions about clergy and gender long ago, so the numbers of females in the formerly male-exclusive priesthood are relatively large.
Like the Tabaxi and Ubtao, the wild dwarves of the Jungles of Chult and the Mhair Jungles are nearly monotheistic in outlook, and the worship of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps is so firmly embedded in their culture it is nearly impossible, regardless of alignment, for them to conceive of any alternative faith. Outside of the human and demihuman cultures of the Chultan peninsula, however, Thard and his followers are little more than legend, even among the gold dwarves of the South. Ancient dwarven tradition holds that Thard was once revered as a dwarven god of nature by the other dwarven subraces, but High Shanatar, the last dwarven culture to revere him as such, has long since fallen.
Temples of Thard rarely incorporate artificial structures like buildings or dwarf-carved caves. The Disentangler is worshiped in isolated sanctuaries of incredible natural beauty rich in animal and plant life. Soaring cliffs, great waterfalls, vast gorges, hot springs, natural caverns, and volcanic mud flats deep in the heart of the jungles of the Chultan peninsula are common places for Thard's worshipers to gather. Like the great druid groves of the North, such sites are strong in faith magic and can often ser e as a source for mystic rituals of great power. Usually up to a dozen priests of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps watch over such holy sites, and they can call on the beasts of the surrounding jungle as well as nearby tribes of wild dwarves to defend these sanctuaries.
Priests of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps are known as shamans (although they are not actually members of that class) and eschew the use of a formal hierarchy of titles. High Old Ones are collectively known as the Lords/Ladies of the Jungle. Each priest receives a personal title in a dream on the night the individual is initiated into the clergy. Such titles typically include the name of a great beast of the jungle over which the priest is then believed to have a small amount of supernatural control. Specialty priests are known as vuddor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those of the jungle. The clergy of Thard consists primarily of jungle dwarves (99%), plus a small handful of gold, gray, and shield dwarves (1%). Most of the Disentangler's priests are male (60%), but in recent centuries increasing numbers of females (40%) have been admitted to the priesthood as well. Thard's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (53%) and clerics (47%).
Dogma: The jungle is the fullest expression of the earth, the wind, the sun, and the rains. Live in harmony with nature under the wise and benevolent protection of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps. Outsiders seek to pillage and destroy, and their unnatural ways bring misery. Like the great tigers of the jungle, be strong and wary of beasts, whether they walk on two legs or four. Seek to understand that which you do not, but be wary of bringing unknown gifts into your lair. Be one with nature-live neither against it nor apart from it. Honor the ways of your people, but assume not that Thard's way is the only way-just the best way for his children.
Day-to-Day Activities : Priests of Thard represent the Lord of the Jungle Deeps, protecting dur Authalar with powers given to them by the god and leading them on prosperous hunts and careful explorations. They are the leaders and generals of, and speakers for, their people. The responsibility for eliminating persistent intruders (unless dwarven) into wild dwarven territory falls to the Disentangler's priests, and they are expected to lead such attacks as fearlessly and diligently as Thard himself. If a foe is too strong, a priest tries to mentally call Thard himself to the scene, and the Lord of the Jungle Deeps often responds by either sending a manifestation, or in very rare situations, by dispatching an avatar to deal with the threat directly. Thard's wisdom teaches that one can best defeat an nemy that one knows well. Seasoned wild dwarves try to capture at least one intruder alive for questioning, before sacrificial use. If sparing the intruder seems likely to bring possible future benefits to the dwarves, they do so. Jungle dwarves are interested in trademetal, glass objects, and tools-in return for pelts, meat, or even live beasts. They conduct trade so long as they can conduct it on territory of their choosing, to set up traps and ambushes to guard against treachery under the direction of priests of Thard.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Ceremonies venerating the Lord of the Jungle Deeps are held on nights of the full and new mon. On such occasions, several hunting bands come together under the direction of one or more priests of Thard. The drums and chants of the wild dwarves then echo throughout the jungle, striking terror in the hearts of intelligent beings and beasts alike. Whenever the moon is full, and often when the moon is new, blood sacrifices of beasts and/or intruders are offered up to the Lord of the Jungle Deeps. Although they are not cannibals and do not usually eat intelligent beings, the assembled wild dwarves then often eat the still-warm sacrifice, regardless of its species.
Major Centers of Worship: Morandin Vertesplendar-rorn, the Emerald Crater, is located high above the Jungles of Chult in the truncated cone of a shattered volcano left by the eruption of what was once the northwesternmost of the Peaks of Flame centuries ago. The crater is now totally overgrown by the jungle and rife with such animal and plant life as is little seen in the rest of Chultan peninsula, let alone Faerun. The Emerald Crater has long been a place of pilgrimage for the wild dwarves of the surrounding jungles. Thard is said to have appeared here on more than one occasion, so great is the beauty of the region. However, there is little physical evidence that the wild dwarves visit the mountain valley on a regular basis, for their stories teach that it is a crime to hunt or otherwise despoil the riotous life that dwells within. However, interlopers find themselves quickly confronted and driven off by elite bands of wild dwarves if they even approach, let alone enter, the Emerald Crater.
One reason Morndin Vertesplendarrorn has its preeminent position among the wild dwarven culture (the dur Authalar tend to abandon such locales after a generation or two), is the presence of Esmerandanna, an emerald great wyrm who has dwelt within the volcanic crater since its violent creation in the Year of the Quivering Mountains (77 DR). The Resplendent Queen, as the sage dragon is known, has long been fascinated by the customs and history of the wild dwarves of the surrounding region. Over the centuries, her paranoia that the roving bands of wild dwarves who venerate the Lord of the Jungle Deeps wish to steal her treasure has slowly subsided. In fact, the great wyrm has forged a bond of friendship with the disparate priests of the Thardite faith and agreed to guard their most sacred runestones. As a result, the wild dwarves of Chult return to the Emerald Crater to venerate their god and to record and store their most sacred carvings. The draconic guardian who resides therein has become firmly woven into the mythology of the wild dwarves as the Daul (daughter) of Thard.
Affiliated Orders: The Thardite faith has no formal military orders. However, on rare occasions, Thard's clergy collectively determine that it is in the best interest of dur Authalar to go to war. At such times, the best warriors of the widely scattered hunting bands come together to form the Pack. The Pack includes bloods (warriors of 2nd through 4th level), war leaders (warriors of 5th through 7th level), and priests of demonstrable fighting skill. Once assembled, not unlike the barbarian and ore hordes of the North, the Pack is a nearly unstoppable Juggernaut that drives beasts and beings, great and small, from its path. Once the Pack's objective is achieved-the destruction of a yuan-ti enclave or a Batiri village, for example-the Pack quickly disperses and its surviving participants return to their small hunting bands.
Priestly Vestments: Priests of Thard bear the god's crossedgauntlets sign as a tattoo, usually on one shoulder or on the scalp, overgrown by their hair. Priests of Thard never cut their beards (even the females), but instead braid them into ropes that they tie around their waists or shoulders. If an enemy or beast cuts a priest's beard, there is no penalty; if it is done by the priest himself or herself, it is a sign that she or he is turning away from Thard's service and can no longer expect aid from the god. The skull of a large jungle beast, such as a rhinoceros, great cat, or giant crocodile is worn as a helm. For ceremonial purposes, the pelts or skins of jungle monsters are worn as robes. The holy symbol of the faith is the tattoo of the Disentangler's symbol each priest bears. When a ritual would normally require a priest to present his holy symbol, it is sufficient for a priest of Thard to simply cross his forearms at the wrists several inches in front of his chest.
Adventuring Garb: Like other wild dwarves, the Disentangler's priests rarely don clothing, with the exception of their beast helms, as their long, woven hair serves as adequate garb. They cover their bodies with tattoos and grease. The grease serves to keep off insects and makes them hard to hold. When going to war, priests of the Disentangler plaster their hair and bodies with mud that, when combined with the grease they normally coat their bodies in, forms a crude but effective armor. Thard's priests favor metal weapons and tools, if available, but otherwise they employ their fists, clubs, and the claws of Thard Harr.
VERGADAIN
God of Wealth and Luck, the Merchant King, the Trickster, the Laughing Dwarf, the Short Father
Intermediate Power of the Outlands N
PORTFOLIO: Wealth, luck, chance, nonevil thieves, entrepreneurial skills such as suspicion, trickery, negotiation, sly cleverness
ALIASES: Bes
DOMAIN NAME: Outlands/Dwarvish Mountain (Strongale Hall)
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Brandobaris, Gond, the gnome pantheon (except Urdlen), the Morndinsamman (except Deep Duerra, and Laduguer), Libra, Nephthys, Shaundakul, Tyche (dead), Tymora, Mask, Waukeen
FOES: Beshaba, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: A gold piece (always a circular coin), or a dwarf wearing a panther skin and tail (Bes)
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Vergadain (VUR-guh-dane), the Master Merchant, is the patron of dwarven merchants and most nonevil dwarven thieves. A schemer and a rogue, Vergadain is venerated by dwarves of any neutral alignment engaged in commerce and concerned with wealth. Vergadain is sometimes called the Trickster, though not by dwarves who worship him, and the Laughing Dwarf, though a dwarf would never use such a term. Long ago Vergadain assumed the Realms-based aspect of Bes, the Short Father, a lesser power of the Mulhorandi pantheon. While Bes's cult has long since sunk into obscurity, a few human merchants in the city of Skuld still call on Vergadain's aspect as the Mulhorandi god of luck and chance.
Vergadain is on good terms with most members of the Morndinsamman, having forged a particularly close relationship with Dugmaren Brightmantie, and the Master Merchant even maintains an uneasy truce with Abbathor, the Great Master of Greed. Vergadain trades with a great number of other mortals and powers, and as a result, he has forged solid relationships with a wide range of beings, far more than the other, relatively insular, members of the dwarven pantheon. In his aspect as Bes, Vergadain has forged a strong relationship with Nephthys, though she frowns heavily on his patronage of nonevil thieves and trickery.
Vergadain's home plane is that of the Outlands, but he seems to spend little time there. Instead, he restlessly roams wildspace and the worlds that can be found in it. He concentrates his efforts wherever there are humans, giants, demihumans, and humanoids to be bilked of their belongings by his tricks, and dwarves to appreciate his cleverness and daring-and to profit by it. Vergadain delights in showing up at desperate dwarven settlements with exactly the unique, rare, or hard-to-find object or substances they are lacking. If the dwarves are not in dire straits, the treasure granted by Vergadain is hidden, and clues to its location are often hidden in the lyrics of a song or rhyme. Vergadain can appraise the exact material, historical, and cultural value of any treasure, and he knows the maximum price a customer is willing to pay. He delights in his magnificent collection of art objects and jewelry in Strongale Hall. The Master Merchant has a great singing voice and is a master of disguise and mimicry. He is said to be a great poet as well, and he dispenses clues to his worshipers, hidden in a verse or rhyme, to the locations of great treasures. Vergadain smiles more than any other dwarven deity-or sane living dwarf! His eyes are actually seen to twinkle enigmatically more often than he shows his smile to the world. Vergadain delights in and excels at con games, even simple tavern-tricks, and admires someone who bests him rather than punishing them or trying to get even. He is always looking for new techniques, and when he detects a con artist, he often watches and follow for a time to see what he can. Most of Vergadain's adventures concern the elaborate con games he has played on many humans, demihumans, humanoids, and giants in order to win their every belonging of worth. He is not above using any sort of harmless trick to accomplish his ends, and he is eternally suspicious of potential adversaries who might try to trick him in return.
Vergadain likes to appear in avatar form in the Realms. He manifests only rarely, and in one of four ways:
(1) Vergadain may appear as an unseen dwarven singer or musician, whose song, drumming, or piping leads lost dwarves to refuge, safety, an escape route, or treasure.
(2) He may appear more subtly, seizing control of a singer, prophet, or sage for his own purposes. That person utters, speaks, or sings words to leave clues or directions to the where- abouts of great treasure. At times, Vergadain signals his presence by animating a gold piece, his symbol, to orbit the head of the possessed being; he does this particularly when the being is not a dwarf, and he wants only dwarves to notice the message.
(3)Vergadain can appear as an animated, endlessly rolling gold coin that travels along the floor or ground. The coin can travel uphill, or even bound up steps, to lead beings to treasure; the coin settles only to mark a hiding place or the route onward (a loose flagstone leading to a tunnel, for instance). It gives no warning of guardian monsters or traps.
(4) Finally, he can appear as a long rope that comes to hand unexpectedly when a dwarf needs it most (for example, to escape down a cliff or castle wall, or to rescue a fallen companion). The rope later vanishes. Vergadain is served by arcane, aurumvorae, copper dragons, crystal dragons, ghost dragons, gold-colored cats, gynosphinxes, kenku, leprechauns, messenger snakes, and plumachs. He demonstrates his favor through the unexpected discovery of gold dice, jewels, precious metals (particularly gold), rare spices, other prized trade goods, and the receiving of exactly nine coins (of any mintage) during a business transaction. The Merchant King indicates his displeasure through a run of bad luck, a snake left in a sack (a symbol of Vergadain's own wiliest con tricks), the presence of lock lurkers and luck eaters, the discovery of pyrite (also known as fool's gold), and the receiving of exactly five coins (of any mintage) during a business transaction.
The Church
Clerics are called Hurndor
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests, thieves
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: N,CN
Vergadain's clergy were all male before the Time of Troubles. Since then, females have begun entering the clergy.
Followers of Vergadain are usually seen as suspicious characters, particularly outside dwarven society, and the Merchant King's faithful are viewed with a mixture of respect and envy for their commercial success and distrust of their principles and practices. Thus, few dwarves willingly admit that Vergadain is their deity. If a follower of the Master Merchant denies to others that Vergadain is that person's true deity, the god is not offended, so long as the proper sacrifices are made. Priests and followers are allowed to hide their reverence on occasion, since few people knowledgeable about this cult are very happy at conducing transactions and deals with them.
Temples of Vergadain are windowless chambers located either in underground complexes or on the surface in fortresslike, near impregnable vaults. They are filled with countless coins, jewels, and other treasures, whose collective value usually rivals that of most dragon's hoards, with appropriate magical and nonmagical traps to guard them. The central chapel is always dominated by huge stone cauldrons that serve as altars. Huge gold coins, fully 5 feet across, hang above each altar. These coins are guardian anators that emit lightning bolts and magic missiles at unauthorized beings who take things from an altar (where the offerings of Vergadain's faithful are placed). A being of neutral or chaotic neutral alignment can avoid this magical wrath by whispering the anator's password prior to removing an item from the cauldron. Note that the password to each anator is usually known only to the seniormost priest of the temple and to Vergadain himself, and such passwords can be quickly changed by those knowing the old password.
Novices of Vergadain are known as the Impoverished. Full priests of the Merchant King are known as Gilded Merchants. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Vergadainan priests are Alloyn, Copprak, Argentic, Electrol, Aurak, and High Aurak. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as Merchant Princes. Specialty priests are known as hurndor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who trade. The clergy of Vergadain includes gold dwarves (60%), shield dwarves (39%), gray dwarves (1%), and a handful of jungle dwarves. Vergadain's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (37%), clerics (33%), and thieves (30%). The majority of Vergadain's priests are male (93%).
Dogma: The truly blessed are those whose enterprise and zeal brings both wealth and good luck. Dwarves are well suited to earn their fortunes by the effort of both their hands and their minds; use both to pry wealth out of others. Work hard, be clever, seek the best bargain, and the Merchant King will shower you with gold. Live life to its fullest; save, tithe, and spend your riches and thus encourage more trade. Treat others with respect, but shirk not your responsibilty to try to strike a deal better for you than for them-to not try would be to leave the gifts that Vergadain gives you idle.
Day-to-Day Activities: Vergadain's priests are dedicated to furthering the success of dwarven merchant commerce with other races, especially humans, but always to the benefit of dwarves. The priesthood is expected to be personally wealthy and to maintain the Merchant King's temples in excellent style. Their role is to increase general dwarven influence and prosperity and thus help the dwarves to further their craftwork, weapons-mastery, and inventions. Gold donated on Vergadain's altars is spent or traded shrewdly, to support dwarven merchants. Vergadain's clergy use it to bail dwarven merchants out of debt where possible, place bribes to help dwarven trade and commerce with other lands and races of Faerun, and so on. Through these means the priests of Vergadain hope to increase dwarven importance in the Realms, and they often work with priests of the other dwarven gods (particularly Dumathoin and sometimes even Abbathor) to do so.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Priests of Vergadain work tirelessly to support and promote dwarven merchants and craftsfolk throughout Faerun. Whenever they render aid or handle material wealth of any sort, they mutter Vergadain's name in homage. Most of Vergadain's faithful also do so, and this makes up the bulk of Vergadain's daily worship. It is said that Vergadain can see into the mind of any creature within 10 feet wherever his name is uttered. He sometimes warns a dwarf of treachery by means of a vision or a preventative manifestation.
Holy days of the Vergadainan faith are known as coin festivals to the faithful and as trade moots to those cynics who would purchase their wares, for Vergadain's followers typically seek to earn as much coin as they can before such ceremonies-and thus last-minute bargains are to be had-so as to earn status among their fellows by garish displays of personal wealth and large tithes. Coin Festivals are held on the days before and after a full moon, on Greengrass, and any day proclaimed holy by a Merchant Prince. Offerings of gold are made to Vergadain once a month at such coin festivals by placing them on an altar dedicated to the Merchant King.
The proper rituals of worship to the god consist of meeting in windowless rooms or underground, around torches, braziers, or other flames. The rituals call for dancing in slow, stately shiftings around the flame, wearing and displaying gold and other objects of worth. Every dwarf who worships the god throws at least one gold piece into the flame as the dance continues. The flame consumes valuables placed in it utterly, sometimes dying away to reveal a map, clue, scroll, potion, or other sending of the god. These sendings are rare, and although helpful, they are rarely powerful. The appearance of a weapon is known but extremely rare. Perhaps the most common sending of Vergadain is a duplicate key to a strongbox, vault, or barrier that prevents dwarves from reaching wealth rightfully belonging to them, or stolen by cheating them over a period of time.
The dance ends when the flame flares upward, signifying the god's attention and thanks. The priests light candles or conjure light, and then discuss business (usually current projects to further dwarven wealth). Transfers of necessary fees, bribes, aid, or other funds from one dwarf to another occurs next, usually from priests to the faithful they have called to worship. Finally, the ranking priest passes his hand through the flame, which slowly diminishes. At this time, any dwarf present kisses a gold coin as a gesture of farewell, and then departs.
Major Centers of Worship: Aefindar Ultokhurnden, the Trademoot of Golden Fortune, is a fortresslike cathedral at the center of the dwarven city of Eartheart on the rim of the Great Rift. The exterior granite walls of the Trademoot are plated in gold and polished regularly, making the temple shine so bright that it is almost difficult to look at when the sun is at its highest. The great hall of the Merchant King's temple serves the city as its central market place, and its upper chambers houses the ministry of trade and commerce. The lower levels of the Trademoot house much of the city's wealth as well as three grand chapels of Vergadain. This center of bustling commerce is presided over by Merchant Prince Royal Ghaern Goldthumb, son of Cael, blood of Lambryn. The temple houses well over two hundred priests at any time, and is the home base of hundreds of dwarven merchants whose caravan networks span much of Faerun. If rumors are to be believed, three adult or mature adult dragons serve as guardians of the Trademoot's treasure vaults, in addition to countless traps that riddle the lower levels.
Affiliated Orders: The Golden Hands of Vergadain is a widely scattered order of priests and thieves found in most major cities where dwarves live and trade, as well as along the major trading routes used by the dwarves. In exchange for a small percentage of any recovered wealth, members of the Golden Hands seek to secure the safety of dwarven merchants and deal with those who would cheat the Stout Folk. In cities, the Golden Hands organization is often structured like a thieves' guild, employing many rogues. They raid warehouses of merchants of other races believed to contain goods stolen from dwarven merchants by force or fraud. Along trade routes, the Golden Hands resemble roving mercenary companies composed largely of fighting clerics and specialty priests. They often seek out and destroy monsters or brigands threatening trade routes, ransom kidnapped dwarven merchants, and recover goods from plundered dwarven caravans.
Priestly Vestments: Vergadain's clergy favor rich robes of obvious cost studded with gems and trimmed with furs. A string of linked gold coins is draped over the shoulders and around the neck. While the colors used for clerical vestments vary widely, gold and deep purple are preferred in lands where their use is not banned by sumptuary laws. Ceremonia armor includes ornate chain mail, a gem-studded gorget bearing the god's symbol, and an elaborately decorated helm. Senior priests are expected to have their ceremonial armor plated in gold to avoid disgrace, and it is a mark of great status within the church for junior priests to do so as well. The holy symbol of the faith is a round gold coin. Such coins must be acquired in payment for trade goods and cannot be minted specifically for this purpose. Whenever another gold coin of similar value catches the priest's eye, which usually happens least once a month, the priest is expected to exchange the current holy symbol for the new coin, which then becomes the new holy symbol.
Adventuring Garb: Vergadain's clergy favor leather armor underneath their normal clothing. This provides some measure of protection yet is unlikely to give offense to trading partners by implying that the Gilded Merchant's safety is in question in the other's company. In dangerous situations, members of Vergadain's clergy favor chain mail, with a helm and a gorget bearing the god's symbol, seeing it as a necessary compromise between the need for both protection and maneuverability. Most priests of the Merchant King favor small weapons that are easily concealed, such as daggers, knives, and short swords.
Lord of the jungle Deeps, Disentangler
Lesser Power of the Beastlands CG
PORTFOLIO: The wild dwarven race, jungle survival, hunting
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Krigala/The Forbidden Plateau
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Baervan Wildwanderer, Cyrrollalee, Jazirian, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, and Laduguer), Nobanion, Ubtao, various Animal Lords
FOES: Deep Duerra, Eshowdow, Laduguer, Sseth, Urdlen, the goblin pantheon
SYMBOL: Two crossed, metal gauntlets of silvery-blue, luminous metal, ending in claws and covered with lapped scales
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Thard Harr (THARD HAHRR) is the protector of wild dwarves (also known as jungle dwarves), aiding them against intruders and marauding beasts. The Lord of the Jungle Deeps is revered only by dur Authalar (the People) as the wild dwarves of the jungles of Faerun refer to themselves. Some hunters of other races and alignments operating in jungle areas look to the Disentangler for guidance as well, but they have little to do with the mainstream of Thard's faith or with wild dwarven society.
The Lord of the Jungle Deeps maintains friendly, but distant, relations with most of the other members of the Morndinsamman, but he is far removed from the concerns of dwarven life, at least as expressed by the gold and shield dwarf cultures of Faerun. Sharindlar and Dumathoin are probably the only dwarven powers to interact with Thard on a regular basis, the former for her interest in the rampant fertility of the jungle and the latter for his oversight of the albino shield dwarves of Chult who come into occasional contact with their wild kinfolk. Thard has forged alliances and developed hatreds for many of the other powers whose worshipers dwell or have dwelt in the jungles of southern Faerun. Notable allies include Jazirian, lord of the couatl, and Ubtao, Father of the Dinosaurs, Founder of Mezro, and god of the Tabaxi. The Disentangler's most notable foes include Eshowdow the Shadow Giant, Ubtao's antithesis and lord of the Eshowe (jungle humans), Sseth the Great Snake, god of the yuan-ti, and Kuro (Khurgorbaeyag), the most widely worshiped god of the Batiri (jungle goblins). Finally, although they are not true powers in their own right, Thard has forged close relationships with many of the Animal Lords who also dwell in the Beastlands.
Thard seldom speaks, but he has been known to purr, growl, snarl, and roar like a great cat. He is given to great swings of emotion and grand gestures. The Disentangler has no tolerance for pretentious behavior, civilization, or social constraints of any sort. He seldom appears in the Realms, preferring to roam the Beastlands, aiding his worshipers by manifestations instead. The Lord of the Jungle Deeps lives on the Forbidden Plateau, where Ubtao has his secondary realm, but he also loves to wander the three layers of the Beastlands, constantly stalking the beasts that dwell there and frolicking with them, running as one of them rather than preying upon them.
Thard's manifestations involve low, continuous thudding and snarling sounds that apparently emanate from the empowered beings. The sounds are unstoppable and have no special effect. Empowered beings begin to glow with a crawling, pulsing nimbus of cherry-red light, and they are imbued with power from the god for up to 1 turn.
Thard empowers only one being at a time, either a wild dwarf or a jungle beast. A beast simply uses its natural attacks and abilities to fight for the jungle dwarves to the death.
Thard often manifests in one dwarf after another in the same conflict, so that intruders may face one empowered dwarf for a turn, another for the next turn, and so on. The god never aids the same dwarf for more than 6 turns in a day, but he may grant aid in separate visits (either actual, or in manifestations), to this limit, if danger persists.
The Church
Clerics are called Vuddor
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
The church of Thard Harr ceased following the dwarven traditions about clergy and gender long ago, so the numbers of females in the formerly male-exclusive priesthood are relatively large.
Like the Tabaxi and Ubtao, the wild dwarves of the Jungles of Chult and the Mhair Jungles are nearly monotheistic in outlook, and the worship of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps is so firmly embedded in their culture it is nearly impossible, regardless of alignment, for them to conceive of any alternative faith. Outside of the human and demihuman cultures of the Chultan peninsula, however, Thard and his followers are little more than legend, even among the gold dwarves of the South. Ancient dwarven tradition holds that Thard was once revered as a dwarven god of nature by the other dwarven subraces, but High Shanatar, the last dwarven culture to revere him as such, has long since fallen.
Temples of Thard rarely incorporate artificial structures like buildings or dwarf-carved caves. The Disentangler is worshiped in isolated sanctuaries of incredible natural beauty rich in animal and plant life. Soaring cliffs, great waterfalls, vast gorges, hot springs, natural caverns, and volcanic mud flats deep in the heart of the jungles of the Chultan peninsula are common places for Thard's worshipers to gather. Like the great druid groves of the North, such sites are strong in faith magic and can often ser e as a source for mystic rituals of great power. Usually up to a dozen priests of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps watch over such holy sites, and they can call on the beasts of the surrounding jungle as well as nearby tribes of wild dwarves to defend these sanctuaries.
Priests of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps are known as shamans (although they are not actually members of that class) and eschew the use of a formal hierarchy of titles. High Old Ones are collectively known as the Lords/Ladies of the Jungle. Each priest receives a personal title in a dream on the night the individual is initiated into the clergy. Such titles typically include the name of a great beast of the jungle over which the priest is then believed to have a small amount of supernatural control. Specialty priests are known as vuddor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those of the jungle. The clergy of Thard consists primarily of jungle dwarves (99%), plus a small handful of gold, gray, and shield dwarves (1%). Most of the Disentangler's priests are male (60%), but in recent centuries increasing numbers of females (40%) have been admitted to the priesthood as well. Thard's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (53%) and clerics (47%).
Dogma: The jungle is the fullest expression of the earth, the wind, the sun, and the rains. Live in harmony with nature under the wise and benevolent protection of the Lord of the Jungle Deeps. Outsiders seek to pillage and destroy, and their unnatural ways bring misery. Like the great tigers of the jungle, be strong and wary of beasts, whether they walk on two legs or four. Seek to understand that which you do not, but be wary of bringing unknown gifts into your lair. Be one with nature-live neither against it nor apart from it. Honor the ways of your people, but assume not that Thard's way is the only way-just the best way for his children.
Day-to-Day Activities : Priests of Thard represent the Lord of the Jungle Deeps, protecting dur Authalar with powers given to them by the god and leading them on prosperous hunts and careful explorations. They are the leaders and generals of, and speakers for, their people. The responsibility for eliminating persistent intruders (unless dwarven) into wild dwarven territory falls to the Disentangler's priests, and they are expected to lead such attacks as fearlessly and diligently as Thard himself. If a foe is too strong, a priest tries to mentally call Thard himself to the scene, and the Lord of the Jungle Deeps often responds by either sending a manifestation, or in very rare situations, by dispatching an avatar to deal with the threat directly. Thard's wisdom teaches that one can best defeat an nemy that one knows well. Seasoned wild dwarves try to capture at least one intruder alive for questioning, before sacrificial use. If sparing the intruder seems likely to bring possible future benefits to the dwarves, they do so. Jungle dwarves are interested in trademetal, glass objects, and tools-in return for pelts, meat, or even live beasts. They conduct trade so long as they can conduct it on territory of their choosing, to set up traps and ambushes to guard against treachery under the direction of priests of Thard.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Ceremonies venerating the Lord of the Jungle Deeps are held on nights of the full and new mon. On such occasions, several hunting bands come together under the direction of one or more priests of Thard. The drums and chants of the wild dwarves then echo throughout the jungle, striking terror in the hearts of intelligent beings and beasts alike. Whenever the moon is full, and often when the moon is new, blood sacrifices of beasts and/or intruders are offered up to the Lord of the Jungle Deeps. Although they are not cannibals and do not usually eat intelligent beings, the assembled wild dwarves then often eat the still-warm sacrifice, regardless of its species.
Major Centers of Worship: Morandin Vertesplendar-rorn, the Emerald Crater, is located high above the Jungles of Chult in the truncated cone of a shattered volcano left by the eruption of what was once the northwesternmost of the Peaks of Flame centuries ago. The crater is now totally overgrown by the jungle and rife with such animal and plant life as is little seen in the rest of Chultan peninsula, let alone Faerun. The Emerald Crater has long been a place of pilgrimage for the wild dwarves of the surrounding jungles. Thard is said to have appeared here on more than one occasion, so great is the beauty of the region. However, there is little physical evidence that the wild dwarves visit the mountain valley on a regular basis, for their stories teach that it is a crime to hunt or otherwise despoil the riotous life that dwells within. However, interlopers find themselves quickly confronted and driven off by elite bands of wild dwarves if they even approach, let alone enter, the Emerald Crater.
One reason Morndin Vertesplendarrorn has its preeminent position among the wild dwarven culture (the dur Authalar tend to abandon such locales after a generation or two), is the presence of Esmerandanna, an emerald great wyrm who has dwelt within the volcanic crater since its violent creation in the Year of the Quivering Mountains (77 DR). The Resplendent Queen, as the sage dragon is known, has long been fascinated by the customs and history of the wild dwarves of the surrounding region. Over the centuries, her paranoia that the roving bands of wild dwarves who venerate the Lord of the Jungle Deeps wish to steal her treasure has slowly subsided. In fact, the great wyrm has forged a bond of friendship with the disparate priests of the Thardite faith and agreed to guard their most sacred runestones. As a result, the wild dwarves of Chult return to the Emerald Crater to venerate their god and to record and store their most sacred carvings. The draconic guardian who resides therein has become firmly woven into the mythology of the wild dwarves as the Daul (daughter) of Thard.
Affiliated Orders: The Thardite faith has no formal military orders. However, on rare occasions, Thard's clergy collectively determine that it is in the best interest of dur Authalar to go to war. At such times, the best warriors of the widely scattered hunting bands come together to form the Pack. The Pack includes bloods (warriors of 2nd through 4th level), war leaders (warriors of 5th through 7th level), and priests of demonstrable fighting skill. Once assembled, not unlike the barbarian and ore hordes of the North, the Pack is a nearly unstoppable Juggernaut that drives beasts and beings, great and small, from its path. Once the Pack's objective is achieved-the destruction of a yuan-ti enclave or a Batiri village, for example-the Pack quickly disperses and its surviving participants return to their small hunting bands.
Priestly Vestments: Priests of Thard bear the god's crossedgauntlets sign as a tattoo, usually on one shoulder or on the scalp, overgrown by their hair. Priests of Thard never cut their beards (even the females), but instead braid them into ropes that they tie around their waists or shoulders. If an enemy or beast cuts a priest's beard, there is no penalty; if it is done by the priest himself or herself, it is a sign that she or he is turning away from Thard's service and can no longer expect aid from the god. The skull of a large jungle beast, such as a rhinoceros, great cat, or giant crocodile is worn as a helm. For ceremonial purposes, the pelts or skins of jungle monsters are worn as robes. The holy symbol of the faith is the tattoo of the Disentangler's symbol each priest bears. When a ritual would normally require a priest to present his holy symbol, it is sufficient for a priest of Thard to simply cross his forearms at the wrists several inches in front of his chest.
Adventuring Garb: Like other wild dwarves, the Disentangler's priests rarely don clothing, with the exception of their beast helms, as their long, woven hair serves as adequate garb. They cover their bodies with tattoos and grease. The grease serves to keep off insects and makes them hard to hold. When going to war, priests of the Disentangler plaster their hair and bodies with mud that, when combined with the grease they normally coat their bodies in, forms a crude but effective armor. Thard's priests favor metal weapons and tools, if available, but otherwise they employ their fists, clubs, and the claws of Thard Harr.
VERGADAIN
God of Wealth and Luck, the Merchant King, the Trickster, the Laughing Dwarf, the Short Father
Intermediate Power of the Outlands N
PORTFOLIO: Wealth, luck, chance, nonevil thieves, entrepreneurial skills such as suspicion, trickery, negotiation, sly cleverness
ALIASES: Bes
DOMAIN NAME: Outlands/Dwarvish Mountain (Strongale Hall)
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Brandobaris, Gond, the gnome pantheon (except Urdlen), the Morndinsamman (except Deep Duerra, and Laduguer), Libra, Nephthys, Shaundakul, Tyche (dead), Tymora, Mask, Waukeen
FOES: Beshaba, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons
SYMBOL: A gold piece (always a circular coin), or a dwarf wearing a panther skin and tail (Bes)
WOR. ALIGN.: Any
Vergadain (VUR-guh-dane), the Master Merchant, is the patron of dwarven merchants and most nonevil dwarven thieves. A schemer and a rogue, Vergadain is venerated by dwarves of any neutral alignment engaged in commerce and concerned with wealth. Vergadain is sometimes called the Trickster, though not by dwarves who worship him, and the Laughing Dwarf, though a dwarf would never use such a term. Long ago Vergadain assumed the Realms-based aspect of Bes, the Short Father, a lesser power of the Mulhorandi pantheon. While Bes's cult has long since sunk into obscurity, a few human merchants in the city of Skuld still call on Vergadain's aspect as the Mulhorandi god of luck and chance.
Vergadain is on good terms with most members of the Morndinsamman, having forged a particularly close relationship with Dugmaren Brightmantie, and the Master Merchant even maintains an uneasy truce with Abbathor, the Great Master of Greed. Vergadain trades with a great number of other mortals and powers, and as a result, he has forged solid relationships with a wide range of beings, far more than the other, relatively insular, members of the dwarven pantheon. In his aspect as Bes, Vergadain has forged a strong relationship with Nephthys, though she frowns heavily on his patronage of nonevil thieves and trickery.
Vergadain's home plane is that of the Outlands, but he seems to spend little time there. Instead, he restlessly roams wildspace and the worlds that can be found in it. He concentrates his efforts wherever there are humans, giants, demihumans, and humanoids to be bilked of their belongings by his tricks, and dwarves to appreciate his cleverness and daring-and to profit by it. Vergadain delights in showing up at desperate dwarven settlements with exactly the unique, rare, or hard-to-find object or substances they are lacking. If the dwarves are not in dire straits, the treasure granted by Vergadain is hidden, and clues to its location are often hidden in the lyrics of a song or rhyme. Vergadain can appraise the exact material, historical, and cultural value of any treasure, and he knows the maximum price a customer is willing to pay. He delights in his magnificent collection of art objects and jewelry in Strongale Hall. The Master Merchant has a great singing voice and is a master of disguise and mimicry. He is said to be a great poet as well, and he dispenses clues to his worshipers, hidden in a verse or rhyme, to the locations of great treasures. Vergadain smiles more than any other dwarven deity-or sane living dwarf! His eyes are actually seen to twinkle enigmatically more often than he shows his smile to the world. Vergadain delights in and excels at con games, even simple tavern-tricks, and admires someone who bests him rather than punishing them or trying to get even. He is always looking for new techniques, and when he detects a con artist, he often watches and follow for a time to see what he can. Most of Vergadain's adventures concern the elaborate con games he has played on many humans, demihumans, humanoids, and giants in order to win their every belonging of worth. He is not above using any sort of harmless trick to accomplish his ends, and he is eternally suspicious of potential adversaries who might try to trick him in return.
Vergadain likes to appear in avatar form in the Realms. He manifests only rarely, and in one of four ways:
(1) Vergadain may appear as an unseen dwarven singer or musician, whose song, drumming, or piping leads lost dwarves to refuge, safety, an escape route, or treasure.
(2) He may appear more subtly, seizing control of a singer, prophet, or sage for his own purposes. That person utters, speaks, or sings words to leave clues or directions to the where- abouts of great treasure. At times, Vergadain signals his presence by animating a gold piece, his symbol, to orbit the head of the possessed being; he does this particularly when the being is not a dwarf, and he wants only dwarves to notice the message.
(3)Vergadain can appear as an animated, endlessly rolling gold coin that travels along the floor or ground. The coin can travel uphill, or even bound up steps, to lead beings to treasure; the coin settles only to mark a hiding place or the route onward (a loose flagstone leading to a tunnel, for instance). It gives no warning of guardian monsters or traps.
(4) Finally, he can appear as a long rope that comes to hand unexpectedly when a dwarf needs it most (for example, to escape down a cliff or castle wall, or to rescue a fallen companion). The rope later vanishes. Vergadain is served by arcane, aurumvorae, copper dragons, crystal dragons, ghost dragons, gold-colored cats, gynosphinxes, kenku, leprechauns, messenger snakes, and plumachs. He demonstrates his favor through the unexpected discovery of gold dice, jewels, precious metals (particularly gold), rare spices, other prized trade goods, and the receiving of exactly nine coins (of any mintage) during a business transaction. The Merchant King indicates his displeasure through a run of bad luck, a snake left in a sack (a symbol of Vergadain's own wiliest con tricks), the presence of lock lurkers and luck eaters, the discovery of pyrite (also known as fool's gold), and the receiving of exactly five coins (of any mintage) during a business transaction.
The Church
Clerics are called Hurndor
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests, thieves
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: N,CN
Vergadain's clergy were all male before the Time of Troubles. Since then, females have begun entering the clergy.
Followers of Vergadain are usually seen as suspicious characters, particularly outside dwarven society, and the Merchant King's faithful are viewed with a mixture of respect and envy for their commercial success and distrust of their principles and practices. Thus, few dwarves willingly admit that Vergadain is their deity. If a follower of the Master Merchant denies to others that Vergadain is that person's true deity, the god is not offended, so long as the proper sacrifices are made. Priests and followers are allowed to hide their reverence on occasion, since few people knowledgeable about this cult are very happy at conducing transactions and deals with them.
Temples of Vergadain are windowless chambers located either in underground complexes or on the surface in fortresslike, near impregnable vaults. They are filled with countless coins, jewels, and other treasures, whose collective value usually rivals that of most dragon's hoards, with appropriate magical and nonmagical traps to guard them. The central chapel is always dominated by huge stone cauldrons that serve as altars. Huge gold coins, fully 5 feet across, hang above each altar. These coins are guardian anators that emit lightning bolts and magic missiles at unauthorized beings who take things from an altar (where the offerings of Vergadain's faithful are placed). A being of neutral or chaotic neutral alignment can avoid this magical wrath by whispering the anator's password prior to removing an item from the cauldron. Note that the password to each anator is usually known only to the seniormost priest of the temple and to Vergadain himself, and such passwords can be quickly changed by those knowing the old password.
Novices of Vergadain are known as the Impoverished. Full priests of the Merchant King are known as Gilded Merchants. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Vergadainan priests are Alloyn, Copprak, Argentic, Electrol, Aurak, and High Aurak. High Old Ones have unique individual titles but are collectively known as Merchant Princes. Specialty priests are known as hurndor, a dwarvish word that can be loosely translated as those who trade. The clergy of Vergadain includes gold dwarves (60%), shield dwarves (39%), gray dwarves (1%), and a handful of jungle dwarves. Vergadain's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (37%), clerics (33%), and thieves (30%). The majority of Vergadain's priests are male (93%).
Dogma: The truly blessed are those whose enterprise and zeal brings both wealth and good luck. Dwarves are well suited to earn their fortunes by the effort of both their hands and their minds; use both to pry wealth out of others. Work hard, be clever, seek the best bargain, and the Merchant King will shower you with gold. Live life to its fullest; save, tithe, and spend your riches and thus encourage more trade. Treat others with respect, but shirk not your responsibilty to try to strike a deal better for you than for them-to not try would be to leave the gifts that Vergadain gives you idle.
Day-to-Day Activities: Vergadain's priests are dedicated to furthering the success of dwarven merchant commerce with other races, especially humans, but always to the benefit of dwarves. The priesthood is expected to be personally wealthy and to maintain the Merchant King's temples in excellent style. Their role is to increase general dwarven influence and prosperity and thus help the dwarves to further their craftwork, weapons-mastery, and inventions. Gold donated on Vergadain's altars is spent or traded shrewdly, to support dwarven merchants. Vergadain's clergy use it to bail dwarven merchants out of debt where possible, place bribes to help dwarven trade and commerce with other lands and races of Faerun, and so on. Through these means the priests of Vergadain hope to increase dwarven importance in the Realms, and they often work with priests of the other dwarven gods (particularly Dumathoin and sometimes even Abbathor) to do so.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Priests of Vergadain work tirelessly to support and promote dwarven merchants and craftsfolk throughout Faerun. Whenever they render aid or handle material wealth of any sort, they mutter Vergadain's name in homage. Most of Vergadain's faithful also do so, and this makes up the bulk of Vergadain's daily worship. It is said that Vergadain can see into the mind of any creature within 10 feet wherever his name is uttered. He sometimes warns a dwarf of treachery by means of a vision or a preventative manifestation.
Holy days of the Vergadainan faith are known as coin festivals to the faithful and as trade moots to those cynics who would purchase their wares, for Vergadain's followers typically seek to earn as much coin as they can before such ceremonies-and thus last-minute bargains are to be had-so as to earn status among their fellows by garish displays of personal wealth and large tithes. Coin Festivals are held on the days before and after a full moon, on Greengrass, and any day proclaimed holy by a Merchant Prince. Offerings of gold are made to Vergadain once a month at such coin festivals by placing them on an altar dedicated to the Merchant King.
The proper rituals of worship to the god consist of meeting in windowless rooms or underground, around torches, braziers, or other flames. The rituals call for dancing in slow, stately shiftings around the flame, wearing and displaying gold and other objects of worth. Every dwarf who worships the god throws at least one gold piece into the flame as the dance continues. The flame consumes valuables placed in it utterly, sometimes dying away to reveal a map, clue, scroll, potion, or other sending of the god. These sendings are rare, and although helpful, they are rarely powerful. The appearance of a weapon is known but extremely rare. Perhaps the most common sending of Vergadain is a duplicate key to a strongbox, vault, or barrier that prevents dwarves from reaching wealth rightfully belonging to them, or stolen by cheating them over a period of time.
The dance ends when the flame flares upward, signifying the god's attention and thanks. The priests light candles or conjure light, and then discuss business (usually current projects to further dwarven wealth). Transfers of necessary fees, bribes, aid, or other funds from one dwarf to another occurs next, usually from priests to the faithful they have called to worship. Finally, the ranking priest passes his hand through the flame, which slowly diminishes. At this time, any dwarf present kisses a gold coin as a gesture of farewell, and then departs.
Major Centers of Worship: Aefindar Ultokhurnden, the Trademoot of Golden Fortune, is a fortresslike cathedral at the center of the dwarven city of Eartheart on the rim of the Great Rift. The exterior granite walls of the Trademoot are plated in gold and polished regularly, making the temple shine so bright that it is almost difficult to look at when the sun is at its highest. The great hall of the Merchant King's temple serves the city as its central market place, and its upper chambers houses the ministry of trade and commerce. The lower levels of the Trademoot house much of the city's wealth as well as three grand chapels of Vergadain. This center of bustling commerce is presided over by Merchant Prince Royal Ghaern Goldthumb, son of Cael, blood of Lambryn. The temple houses well over two hundred priests at any time, and is the home base of hundreds of dwarven merchants whose caravan networks span much of Faerun. If rumors are to be believed, three adult or mature adult dragons serve as guardians of the Trademoot's treasure vaults, in addition to countless traps that riddle the lower levels.
Affiliated Orders: The Golden Hands of Vergadain is a widely scattered order of priests and thieves found in most major cities where dwarves live and trade, as well as along the major trading routes used by the dwarves. In exchange for a small percentage of any recovered wealth, members of the Golden Hands seek to secure the safety of dwarven merchants and deal with those who would cheat the Stout Folk. In cities, the Golden Hands organization is often structured like a thieves' guild, employing many rogues. They raid warehouses of merchants of other races believed to contain goods stolen from dwarven merchants by force or fraud. Along trade routes, the Golden Hands resemble roving mercenary companies composed largely of fighting clerics and specialty priests. They often seek out and destroy monsters or brigands threatening trade routes, ransom kidnapped dwarven merchants, and recover goods from plundered dwarven caravans.
Priestly Vestments: Vergadain's clergy favor rich robes of obvious cost studded with gems and trimmed with furs. A string of linked gold coins is draped over the shoulders and around the neck. While the colors used for clerical vestments vary widely, gold and deep purple are preferred in lands where their use is not banned by sumptuary laws. Ceremonia armor includes ornate chain mail, a gem-studded gorget bearing the god's symbol, and an elaborately decorated helm. Senior priests are expected to have their ceremonial armor plated in gold to avoid disgrace, and it is a mark of great status within the church for junior priests to do so as well. The holy symbol of the faith is a round gold coin. Such coins must be acquired in payment for trade goods and cannot be minted specifically for this purpose. Whenever another gold coin of similar value catches the priest's eye, which usually happens least once a month, the priest is expected to exchange the current holy symbol for the new coin, which then becomes the new holy symbol.
Adventuring Garb: Vergadain's clergy favor leather armor underneath their normal clothing. This provides some measure of protection yet is unlikely to give offense to trading partners by implying that the Gilded Merchant's safety is in question in the other's company. In dangerous situations, members of Vergadain's clergy favor chain mail, with a helm and a gorget bearing the god's symbol, seeing it as a necessary compromise between the need for both protection and maneuverability. Most priests of the Merchant King favor small weapons that are easily concealed, such as daggers, knives, and short swords.
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Re: Dwarves
Delving more deeply still...
Clans and Society
A sick or injured dwarf will be fed and cared for by his clan. Those in good health are
expected to work in order to maintain the welfare and reputation of the clan. No dwarf would ever do otherwise.
Someone who cheats or doesn't pull his own weight earns the disapproval of his fellow
clansmen. He will be warned and pressure will be brought to bear to ensure that he does not bring the name of the clan into disrepute. If he does not heed the warnings, he will be ostracized.An ostracized dwarf loses all benefits provided by the clan. The clan's guild will prevent him from working and confiscate his tools if it can. If he shows a desire to mend his ways, he will be allowed back into the clan, and the guild will lift the ban. If not, he will be left to himself and even his family will shun him.
Loyalties
To an outsider, dwarf clans appear very complex, and the relationships between them highly convoluted, because they are. Dwarves would not organize their lives any other way. They know where their loyalties lie: first to the family, then to the clan, the guild, the stronghold, and then to any other strongholds to which the clan is allied. Dwarves are a proud race and maintain their loyalties. They are willing to defend each other, often to the death. An insult against one dwarf is considered to be an insult against all dwarves.
Love of Stability
Life underground has had a lasting effect on dwarf personalities. They have developed an instinctive love of earth and rock that represent stability and permanence. Earth and rock may be tunneled and carved, arched and buttressed, yet they remain always solid and reliable. The sea, however, is ever changing, with no stability, and prone to tempestuous storms. It represents the force of chaos prevalent in the world above, and is the antithesis of the safe, womblike caverns that are home to the dwarves.
Themes of solidity and reliability recur continually in the dwarvish world view. The world is solid and constant, so life should be conducted in the same manner. This is closely allied to their predominantly lawful good alignment.
Dwarves value law and order, and see these as part of the natural order of the world.
Society should be as solid and reliable as the stone of the earth. Dwarves live 350 years on average, during which time trees grow and die, axe hafts are made and replaced many times, and wooden structures decay and rot away. Compared to the strength and durability of metal and rock, other things seem very transitory. Building to last means building well.
Dwarven Crafts
Dwarves are expert craftsmen not out of some god-given ability, but because they serve
long, exacting apprenticeships. Dwarves traditionally serve a 25-year apprenticeship. To dwarves this is part of life. "A job worth doing, is worth doing well."
This attitude is deeply ingrained and explains why dwarves love to create beautiful objects and lavish so much time on them. They seek to create that which will last until time's end, and they have difficulty comprehending why other races consider work a chore rather than an act of artistic expression to be savored and enjoyed. Dwarf craftsmen, because of their skills, produce weapons, armor, and other goods more quickly than other races, yet of superior quality.
Dwarves and Humor
Dwarves are viewed as humorless, if not downright grumpy, by other races. This is a fair assessment. They do not often tell jokes, and have no appreciation of practical jokes. Society is based on law, order, and a respect for one's fellows. A dwarf does not abuse that respect by ridiculing another's dignity. Dwarves love to work and find pleasure in it. This pleasure is so spiritually uplifting that any attempt at humor appears facile. Those not content with work or their position in life may need such diversion, but humor is seen as insult. That's not to say that dwarves are humorless, they have a very black humor concerning their racial enemies, but their sense of humor is very different from that of humans, for example. They do not find jokes about personal suffering or failure funny. They do find those based upon clever stories entertaining. The problem is that dwarven jokes tend to follow a standard narrative
pattern. Because of their great length, endless genealogies, and catalogs of dwarven concerns, it is difficult for other races to maintain any interest in them. Dwarf comedians, telling jokes to other races, are frequently annoyed when audience attention slips after 15 minutes or so, or when the audience has no concept of the importance of lineage in the joke's 'punch paragraph!'
Races who have been subjected to dwarven humor fail to realize that it does not rely on the delivery of one liners, but on the slow presentation of a chapter, if not an entire book.
Wealth
The dwarven concept of wealth is different, as well. Dwarves are attracted to objects for their intrinsic beauty, not for any commercial value. They prize fine workmanship, but know that craftsmen only augment what the earth has provided. Gold has the greatest significance to them, not for its value, but for its natural beauty and
pliability. In the hands of a master craftsman, gold can be heated and poured into molds, beaten with a hammer, drawn into wires, or carefully filigreed with a chisel. Well made golden objects are treasured for workmanship and beauty. Poorly made objects are melted down to be remade as coins or other objects.
Dwarves are aware of the scarcity of gold, and of its value. No dwarf has ever sold gold at less than its current value, a fact that has led other races to see them as mean and avaricious. The dwarves' passion for gold is well known, as is their love of gemstones. They love to possess these treasures of the earth, polishing and cutting them into brilliant shapes that catch the light perfectly. Each stone is seen as a shining example of the beauty of the earth. To those who have left their underground homes, they are reminders that true beauty comes from within the earth. Dwarves are well aware of the value of gems. Where others value stones by weight and scarcity, dwarves value them according to their beauty. They have, however, no desire to own or collect pearls. As products of the sea and shellfish, they are not considered to be gems. Dwarves find them unattractive. Pearls lack the deep lustre of natural stones. Still, it is a foolish dwarf who does not realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While pearls are worthless, dwarves are aware of their trade value. Gold and gems are their greatest loves, but other metals are important to them too. Platinum
has many of the attributes of gold and is even rarer. Silver is easy to work and holds its shape better than gold. Its color is not as desirable, but it has its own appeal. Copper and other metals are also considered beautiful. While other metals are more common than gold, their comparative rarity lends them value.Iron ore is crucial to the dwarves. With it they make weapons, armor, forges, and tools.Iron ore veins are seen as the bones of the earth; bones bequeathed to the dwarves to be used for their own purposes. When forged with carbon, dwarves transform iron into steel that is durable and hard without being brittle.
Crafts
Though they would love to work exclusively with gold and gems, dwarves are a practical folk. They know that iron and steel wear hard and are infinitely more practical as tools.Therefore they work extensively in iron and steel. Dwarf craftsmen produce some of the finest weapons, armor, and tools in any world. These goods, because of their quality, bring higher prices that are gladly paid for dwarven craftsmanship. All crafts necessary to ensure the strongholds are places of beauty are also worked.
Individualism
Dwarves willingly live under lawful institutions, respecting privacy and personal space. Law induces order, organization, and a stable society. The society reflects the natural order of the world, with everything in its proper place. Laws exist to be obeyed, not to be broken. Society exists so that dwarves may be free from unnecessary intrusions.Even though law is important, dwarves are fairly individualistic. They have personal views that they rarely make known to others, one reason they are seen as a taciturn race. However,when a dwarf thinks that his own views are not being heard, he will become grumpy, silent, and bear his distress stoically. This stoicism, and the desire not to grieve others, is evident in the way they view wealth as a private matter. Only powerful and respected dwarves are expected to display wealth openly,
and even then ostentatious displays are frowned upon. All dwarves are expected to, and prefer to, keep their wealth hidden.
It is considered bad manners to flaunt accumulated wealth. Such behavior is offensive and has caused dwarves who travel in the surface world to be deeply insulted. Wealth, particularly gems and precious metals, are for personal delight. They should be carefully hoarded and displayed for one's closest family or cherished friends. It is a mark of acceptance and friendship among dwarves for one to reveal his wealth. By doing so, he is not only sharing the joy of his possessions, but is saying, "You are my friend, whom I trust not to steal from me." (The exception to this, of course, is wealth displayed through excellent craftsmanship in utilitarian items. A beautifully crafted and gilded axe with an inlaid gem or two is not ostentatious if it is functional. Dwarves claim this is not a subjective distinction, but most other races find it hard to follow the reasoning.)It's no surprise that dwarves are considered mean and greedy by races who cannot understand their motivation.
Emotions
A private people, dwarves often have difficulty expressing emotion. Their society is
structured to make displays of anger, envy, jealousy, and hatred unnecessary. They are capable of harboring grudges and hatreds, but these are usually directed outside of the stronghold.Dwarves rarely insult or distress each other, but other races distress them greatly. Not giving them the respect they demand, enquiring casually about wealth, or making them the butts of jokes, are guaranteed to make dwarves angry. But this anger will normally only show itself as a scowl or a contraction of the brows. Other races have concluded, therefore, that dwarves are humorless, not realizing that dwarves do not release their anger. They allow it to simmer and increase until they explode, becoming their own stereotypes:grumpy, taciturn, stubborn, and unyielding. Dwarves often despair at the extremely poor manners of other races.
Attitudes Toward Other Races
Dwarves are basically good people. They seek to harm no one, merely to coexist with
them, or even better, to be left alone. Because of their good nature, dwarves have been known to persevere in the face of insults and inexplicable behavior. They have banded together with men and elves in times of crisis, and have entered long term trade agreements of mutual benefit.They have little patience for the ways of humans who simply do things wrong. Humans either waste time in petty pursuits or are so keen to achieve their goals, they are willing, almost eager, to be forceful and rude. They have no conception of the proper rhythm of the world, which is hardly surprising since they allow their lives to be dominated by the changes of night and day and the seasons. No sooner do they achieve something, than their children want to change it, replace it, or worse, lose interest in it entirely. Elves should know better, but they lack the simplest virtues of patience, diligence, and consistency. They are renowned for wasting their lives enjoying themselves instead of producing lasting goods.
The differences between elves and dwarves have led to many disagreements. This usually
occurred because dwarves considered agreements to be binding until the end of time, while the elves thought they were to last as long as they were useful. Entire strongholds may have been threatened or destroyed because elves failed to honor a pledge. Perhaps some minor slight elves have forgotten, has been harbored and nurtured and passed on to the next generation. As fellow underground dwellers, gnomes are looked upon more favorably by dwarves, though the gnomes' delight in black humor and practical jokes has caused friction.
War to the Death
Dwarves do not compromise when dealing with evil races, particularly when competing with them for living space or when their welfare is threatened.
Dwarves detest drow, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and evil giants, eradicating them whenever found.Their hatred of evil races is as ancient as the dwarves themselves. Originally, wars were fought to determine who had the right to live underground, but the conflict has spread to the surface. They now bear a burning and eternal hatred for them. Dwarves have no doubt that they are involved in a war of massive proportions. It is known as the "War to the Death," for the dwarves have sworn to fight until their enemies are destroyed.
Dwarves' Diet
Dwarves enjoy a wide variety of food, with a preference for meat.Dwarves keep cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and fowl. These animals are grazed above ground on upland meadows or plateaus. In high ranges, mountain dwarves keep animals more suited to subterranean existence: giant lizards and beetles.They also take advantage of fish in underground lakes and rivers. Although meat is a staple of their diet, large quantities of grains are also consumed. When possible wheat, rye and barley are grown close to the stronghold. They are harvested and kept in underground granaries.They also plant vegetables and fruit, whatever will grow in the soil but especially potatoes, radishes, and other hearty vegetables. Many who live close to humans or halflings buy large quantities of grain to supplement their own production.Dwarves who live in the deep earth substitute various types of fungi for grains. Like the giant lizards and beetles, many of these fungi have been carefully bred to produce a wide variety of flavors to excite the palate. Most are very careful about the kinds of fungi they eat.Dwarven cooking also makes use of vegetables for flavor and variety. The food is wholesome, largely consisting of thick stews and soups served on broad slices of bread. While they are not voracious eaters like halflings, few humans or elves can eat as much as a dwarf in a single meal.
Clothing
Dwarven clothing tends to be heavy, somber in color, and serviceable. Made from thick
wool or spun strands of fungi, it is designed to keep the dwarves warm in the unheated places in their strongholds. To the untrained eye, colors are uniformly drab grays and browns. Dwarven languages have over 500 words for rock, and almost as many to describe different rock hues. Particular shades of gray and brown reveal much about the clan and status of dwarves, if one has the eye to see.Boots, belts, and hats are usually made by the leather guilds of tanned leather from the hides of cattle or giant lizards.
Music and Singing
Dwarves love to sing. Many have rich baritone voices that echo splendidly about their
chambered halls. Numerous great halls are specially constructed around natural acoustic
properties. Except for solo performances by entertainers, singing is a group activity. On formal occasions songs written to display their vocal ranges are sung by massed choirs. On less formal occasions, any dwarf may sing within a hall or around the hearth.Their songs speak of the beauty of the earth, commemorate famous deeds of valor, or sing of the construction of a magnificent bridge or other edifice. Some are laments that tell of the death of a loved one or great hero, or the loss of a stronghold to monsters. The songs tend to be long and very well written. Most races would lose patience with a spoken story, but even elves have sat entranced for hours by the story songs of dwarves. Dwarves also enjoy playing instruments; flutes, horns, bagpipes, drums, and percussion instruments especially. Their music is either martial or mournful. Rarely will musicians accompany singers: music dampens the true resonance of the voice. However, special songs have been written, and are performed, for voice and instrument.
Clans and Society
A sick or injured dwarf will be fed and cared for by his clan. Those in good health are
expected to work in order to maintain the welfare and reputation of the clan. No dwarf would ever do otherwise.
Someone who cheats or doesn't pull his own weight earns the disapproval of his fellow
clansmen. He will be warned and pressure will be brought to bear to ensure that he does not bring the name of the clan into disrepute. If he does not heed the warnings, he will be ostracized.An ostracized dwarf loses all benefits provided by the clan. The clan's guild will prevent him from working and confiscate his tools if it can. If he shows a desire to mend his ways, he will be allowed back into the clan, and the guild will lift the ban. If not, he will be left to himself and even his family will shun him.
Loyalties
To an outsider, dwarf clans appear very complex, and the relationships between them highly convoluted, because they are. Dwarves would not organize their lives any other way. They know where their loyalties lie: first to the family, then to the clan, the guild, the stronghold, and then to any other strongholds to which the clan is allied. Dwarves are a proud race and maintain their loyalties. They are willing to defend each other, often to the death. An insult against one dwarf is considered to be an insult against all dwarves.
Love of Stability
Life underground has had a lasting effect on dwarf personalities. They have developed an instinctive love of earth and rock that represent stability and permanence. Earth and rock may be tunneled and carved, arched and buttressed, yet they remain always solid and reliable. The sea, however, is ever changing, with no stability, and prone to tempestuous storms. It represents the force of chaos prevalent in the world above, and is the antithesis of the safe, womblike caverns that are home to the dwarves.
Themes of solidity and reliability recur continually in the dwarvish world view. The world is solid and constant, so life should be conducted in the same manner. This is closely allied to their predominantly lawful good alignment.
Dwarves value law and order, and see these as part of the natural order of the world.
Society should be as solid and reliable as the stone of the earth. Dwarves live 350 years on average, during which time trees grow and die, axe hafts are made and replaced many times, and wooden structures decay and rot away. Compared to the strength and durability of metal and rock, other things seem very transitory. Building to last means building well.
Dwarven Crafts
Dwarves are expert craftsmen not out of some god-given ability, but because they serve
long, exacting apprenticeships. Dwarves traditionally serve a 25-year apprenticeship. To dwarves this is part of life. "A job worth doing, is worth doing well."
This attitude is deeply ingrained and explains why dwarves love to create beautiful objects and lavish so much time on them. They seek to create that which will last until time's end, and they have difficulty comprehending why other races consider work a chore rather than an act of artistic expression to be savored and enjoyed. Dwarf craftsmen, because of their skills, produce weapons, armor, and other goods more quickly than other races, yet of superior quality.
Dwarves and Humor
Dwarves are viewed as humorless, if not downright grumpy, by other races. This is a fair assessment. They do not often tell jokes, and have no appreciation of practical jokes. Society is based on law, order, and a respect for one's fellows. A dwarf does not abuse that respect by ridiculing another's dignity. Dwarves love to work and find pleasure in it. This pleasure is so spiritually uplifting that any attempt at humor appears facile. Those not content with work or their position in life may need such diversion, but humor is seen as insult. That's not to say that dwarves are humorless, they have a very black humor concerning their racial enemies, but their sense of humor is very different from that of humans, for example. They do not find jokes about personal suffering or failure funny. They do find those based upon clever stories entertaining. The problem is that dwarven jokes tend to follow a standard narrative
pattern. Because of their great length, endless genealogies, and catalogs of dwarven concerns, it is difficult for other races to maintain any interest in them. Dwarf comedians, telling jokes to other races, are frequently annoyed when audience attention slips after 15 minutes or so, or when the audience has no concept of the importance of lineage in the joke's 'punch paragraph!'
Races who have been subjected to dwarven humor fail to realize that it does not rely on the delivery of one liners, but on the slow presentation of a chapter, if not an entire book.
Wealth
The dwarven concept of wealth is different, as well. Dwarves are attracted to objects for their intrinsic beauty, not for any commercial value. They prize fine workmanship, but know that craftsmen only augment what the earth has provided. Gold has the greatest significance to them, not for its value, but for its natural beauty and
pliability. In the hands of a master craftsman, gold can be heated and poured into molds, beaten with a hammer, drawn into wires, or carefully filigreed with a chisel. Well made golden objects are treasured for workmanship and beauty. Poorly made objects are melted down to be remade as coins or other objects.
Dwarves are aware of the scarcity of gold, and of its value. No dwarf has ever sold gold at less than its current value, a fact that has led other races to see them as mean and avaricious. The dwarves' passion for gold is well known, as is their love of gemstones. They love to possess these treasures of the earth, polishing and cutting them into brilliant shapes that catch the light perfectly. Each stone is seen as a shining example of the beauty of the earth. To those who have left their underground homes, they are reminders that true beauty comes from within the earth. Dwarves are well aware of the value of gems. Where others value stones by weight and scarcity, dwarves value them according to their beauty. They have, however, no desire to own or collect pearls. As products of the sea and shellfish, they are not considered to be gems. Dwarves find them unattractive. Pearls lack the deep lustre of natural stones. Still, it is a foolish dwarf who does not realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While pearls are worthless, dwarves are aware of their trade value. Gold and gems are their greatest loves, but other metals are important to them too. Platinum
has many of the attributes of gold and is even rarer. Silver is easy to work and holds its shape better than gold. Its color is not as desirable, but it has its own appeal. Copper and other metals are also considered beautiful. While other metals are more common than gold, their comparative rarity lends them value.Iron ore is crucial to the dwarves. With it they make weapons, armor, forges, and tools.Iron ore veins are seen as the bones of the earth; bones bequeathed to the dwarves to be used for their own purposes. When forged with carbon, dwarves transform iron into steel that is durable and hard without being brittle.
Crafts
Though they would love to work exclusively with gold and gems, dwarves are a practical folk. They know that iron and steel wear hard and are infinitely more practical as tools.Therefore they work extensively in iron and steel. Dwarf craftsmen produce some of the finest weapons, armor, and tools in any world. These goods, because of their quality, bring higher prices that are gladly paid for dwarven craftsmanship. All crafts necessary to ensure the strongholds are places of beauty are also worked.
Individualism
Dwarves willingly live under lawful institutions, respecting privacy and personal space. Law induces order, organization, and a stable society. The society reflects the natural order of the world, with everything in its proper place. Laws exist to be obeyed, not to be broken. Society exists so that dwarves may be free from unnecessary intrusions.Even though law is important, dwarves are fairly individualistic. They have personal views that they rarely make known to others, one reason they are seen as a taciturn race. However,when a dwarf thinks that his own views are not being heard, he will become grumpy, silent, and bear his distress stoically. This stoicism, and the desire not to grieve others, is evident in the way they view wealth as a private matter. Only powerful and respected dwarves are expected to display wealth openly,
and even then ostentatious displays are frowned upon. All dwarves are expected to, and prefer to, keep their wealth hidden.
It is considered bad manners to flaunt accumulated wealth. Such behavior is offensive and has caused dwarves who travel in the surface world to be deeply insulted. Wealth, particularly gems and precious metals, are for personal delight. They should be carefully hoarded and displayed for one's closest family or cherished friends. It is a mark of acceptance and friendship among dwarves for one to reveal his wealth. By doing so, he is not only sharing the joy of his possessions, but is saying, "You are my friend, whom I trust not to steal from me." (The exception to this, of course, is wealth displayed through excellent craftsmanship in utilitarian items. A beautifully crafted and gilded axe with an inlaid gem or two is not ostentatious if it is functional. Dwarves claim this is not a subjective distinction, but most other races find it hard to follow the reasoning.)It's no surprise that dwarves are considered mean and greedy by races who cannot understand their motivation.
Emotions
A private people, dwarves often have difficulty expressing emotion. Their society is
structured to make displays of anger, envy, jealousy, and hatred unnecessary. They are capable of harboring grudges and hatreds, but these are usually directed outside of the stronghold.Dwarves rarely insult or distress each other, but other races distress them greatly. Not giving them the respect they demand, enquiring casually about wealth, or making them the butts of jokes, are guaranteed to make dwarves angry. But this anger will normally only show itself as a scowl or a contraction of the brows. Other races have concluded, therefore, that dwarves are humorless, not realizing that dwarves do not release their anger. They allow it to simmer and increase until they explode, becoming their own stereotypes:grumpy, taciturn, stubborn, and unyielding. Dwarves often despair at the extremely poor manners of other races.
Attitudes Toward Other Races
Dwarves are basically good people. They seek to harm no one, merely to coexist with
them, or even better, to be left alone. Because of their good nature, dwarves have been known to persevere in the face of insults and inexplicable behavior. They have banded together with men and elves in times of crisis, and have entered long term trade agreements of mutual benefit.They have little patience for the ways of humans who simply do things wrong. Humans either waste time in petty pursuits or are so keen to achieve their goals, they are willing, almost eager, to be forceful and rude. They have no conception of the proper rhythm of the world, which is hardly surprising since they allow their lives to be dominated by the changes of night and day and the seasons. No sooner do they achieve something, than their children want to change it, replace it, or worse, lose interest in it entirely. Elves should know better, but they lack the simplest virtues of patience, diligence, and consistency. They are renowned for wasting their lives enjoying themselves instead of producing lasting goods.
The differences between elves and dwarves have led to many disagreements. This usually
occurred because dwarves considered agreements to be binding until the end of time, while the elves thought they were to last as long as they were useful. Entire strongholds may have been threatened or destroyed because elves failed to honor a pledge. Perhaps some minor slight elves have forgotten, has been harbored and nurtured and passed on to the next generation. As fellow underground dwellers, gnomes are looked upon more favorably by dwarves, though the gnomes' delight in black humor and practical jokes has caused friction.
War to the Death
Dwarves do not compromise when dealing with evil races, particularly when competing with them for living space or when their welfare is threatened.
Dwarves detest drow, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and evil giants, eradicating them whenever found.Their hatred of evil races is as ancient as the dwarves themselves. Originally, wars were fought to determine who had the right to live underground, but the conflict has spread to the surface. They now bear a burning and eternal hatred for them. Dwarves have no doubt that they are involved in a war of massive proportions. It is known as the "War to the Death," for the dwarves have sworn to fight until their enemies are destroyed.
Dwarves' Diet
Dwarves enjoy a wide variety of food, with a preference for meat.Dwarves keep cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and fowl. These animals are grazed above ground on upland meadows or plateaus. In high ranges, mountain dwarves keep animals more suited to subterranean existence: giant lizards and beetles.They also take advantage of fish in underground lakes and rivers. Although meat is a staple of their diet, large quantities of grains are also consumed. When possible wheat, rye and barley are grown close to the stronghold. They are harvested and kept in underground granaries.They also plant vegetables and fruit, whatever will grow in the soil but especially potatoes, radishes, and other hearty vegetables. Many who live close to humans or halflings buy large quantities of grain to supplement their own production.Dwarves who live in the deep earth substitute various types of fungi for grains. Like the giant lizards and beetles, many of these fungi have been carefully bred to produce a wide variety of flavors to excite the palate. Most are very careful about the kinds of fungi they eat.Dwarven cooking also makes use of vegetables for flavor and variety. The food is wholesome, largely consisting of thick stews and soups served on broad slices of bread. While they are not voracious eaters like halflings, few humans or elves can eat as much as a dwarf in a single meal.
Clothing
Dwarven clothing tends to be heavy, somber in color, and serviceable. Made from thick
wool or spun strands of fungi, it is designed to keep the dwarves warm in the unheated places in their strongholds. To the untrained eye, colors are uniformly drab grays and browns. Dwarven languages have over 500 words for rock, and almost as many to describe different rock hues. Particular shades of gray and brown reveal much about the clan and status of dwarves, if one has the eye to see.Boots, belts, and hats are usually made by the leather guilds of tanned leather from the hides of cattle or giant lizards.
Music and Singing
Dwarves love to sing. Many have rich baritone voices that echo splendidly about their
chambered halls. Numerous great halls are specially constructed around natural acoustic
properties. Except for solo performances by entertainers, singing is a group activity. On formal occasions songs written to display their vocal ranges are sung by massed choirs. On less formal occasions, any dwarf may sing within a hall or around the hearth.Their songs speak of the beauty of the earth, commemorate famous deeds of valor, or sing of the construction of a magnificent bridge or other edifice. Some are laments that tell of the death of a loved one or great hero, or the loss of a stronghold to monsters. The songs tend to be long and very well written. Most races would lose patience with a spoken story, but even elves have sat entranced for hours by the story songs of dwarves. Dwarves also enjoy playing instruments; flutes, horns, bagpipes, drums, and percussion instruments especially. Their music is either martial or mournful. Rarely will musicians accompany singers: music dampens the true resonance of the voice. However, special songs have been written, and are performed, for voice and instrument.
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Re: Dwarves
Grooming
While dwarven clothing options might seem staid and homogeneous when compared to those of the elves or humans, it is only because clothing has little value in their culture. Instead, the dwarves prize their hair, whether it is on their scalps (for both genders) or on their faces (for males). The dwarven love of textures and patterns is applied to hairstyles as much as anything else, with intricate braids worn by both males and females. A regular three-part braid might be sufficient for daily life, but an important occasion might see particularly old or revered dwarves sporting up to a twenty-part braid, or multiple smaller ones braided together. Metal fasteners or ornaments are common additions to both hair and beard braids, but again, these are preferred as accenting touches, and most dwarves wear no more than two or three on a particularly festive occasion.
While many picture dwarves as dusty, dirty smiths and miners, the truth is quite the opposite. The dwarves’ familiarity with their underground habitats lets them find
and harness underground hot springs, pools, and rivers,providing dwarf settlements of all sizes with fresh water and bathing areas. Dwarven baths are public, though segregated by gender into separate areas, and attendance is considered an important social function. As a result, dwarves are typically far cleaner and better groomed than most surface races.
Some folk we never forget
While dwarven clothing options might seem staid and homogeneous when compared to those of the elves or humans, it is only because clothing has little value in their culture. Instead, the dwarves prize their hair, whether it is on their scalps (for both genders) or on their faces (for males). The dwarven love of textures and patterns is applied to hairstyles as much as anything else, with intricate braids worn by both males and females. A regular three-part braid might be sufficient for daily life, but an important occasion might see particularly old or revered dwarves sporting up to a twenty-part braid, or multiple smaller ones braided together. Metal fasteners or ornaments are common additions to both hair and beard braids, but again, these are preferred as accenting touches, and most dwarves wear no more than two or three on a particularly festive occasion.
While many picture dwarves as dusty, dirty smiths and miners, the truth is quite the opposite. The dwarves’ familiarity with their underground habitats lets them find
and harness underground hot springs, pools, and rivers,providing dwarf settlements of all sizes with fresh water and bathing areas. Dwarven baths are public, though segregated by gender into separate areas, and attendance is considered an important social function. As a result, dwarves are typically far cleaner and better groomed than most surface races.
Some folk we never forget
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Re: Dwarves
Some Crazy Notes on the Dwarven Accent
I have been playing a dwarven sorceress (Foinus Brunn) for about 3 months, and I have been on Arelith for about 8 months, and I wanted to share some of the rules or patterns that I have noticed about dwarven accents of the common surface tongue. Basically, I see the dwarven version of common as an amalgamation of Scottish, 18th century sailor, Cockney, and other accents produced from marginal places once or currently under the reign of the British Empire. I am not a professional linguist, and I do not know much about linguistic roots and patterns of different accents of English, nor do I have much experience with English language outside of the US and TV, but regardless, let me try to share what I have been doing in my attempts to make other role-players feel immersed when my dwarf speaks. I have been coppying other dwarves speech as much as I can and throwing things in myself when I think they sound dwarven. I will keep changing this post when I think of more patterns and have more time to work on it. Please forgive any ignorance and bad/sporadic/disorganized writing.
Here goes....
Common spelling changes and their accompanying sounds.
-'Want' (as in, "I want a new warhammer") changes to 'wont'. The vowel then carries a lower sound that would be produced by puckering the lips and protruding them forward a bit. Basically how most people from Britain say 'want'.
'Won't', the contraction for 'will not', changes to 'wonnae'. The 'won' part has the same sounds that it does in most North American English accents, but the 'nae' sounds like 'n' plus 'eye'. This happens with all contractions of 'verb + not', as in 'donnae' (don't), 'cannae' (cannot), and sometimes even 'isn'nae' (isn't). Basically, 'not' can be said either in the regular British 'not' way or what sounds to me like an old-English Canterbury Tales-esk or Scotch sounding 'nae' way.
'Th' sound is replaced altogether with 'd' or 'f' sounds. A lot of people who learn English as a second language do this because the 'th' sounds is really hard to make for tongues naturally trained in, say, Spanish or Japanese language, but don't make the mistake of thinking this makes the dwarves sound Hispanic or Japanese. I just think it is a cool addition to the dwarven accent, and makes them sound different, probably even for our British players (though not sure on that point). So, the word 'fifth' would probably turn out like 'fif' and 'think' almost invariably changes to 'dink'. This can get pretty funny when typing what would normally appear harmlessly in common. So when I ask my companions if they want 'thick skin' (stoneskin) typed in a dwarven accent, some hilarity can ensue.
'Like' always changes to 'loik' (low-eek). This happens with most words that have the long 'i' sounds as in "I" or "eye". So when Foinus uses herself as the subject of her sentence, she says' "Oi". That is not the French word for yes, it is a spelling that represents a variant of the way American English speakers say "I". The sound I am going for is what I believe Cockney English speakers and most other British speakers use when saying the first person subject pronoun "I". 'Nice' changes to 'noice' (no-ees). 'right' changes to 'roight' (ro-eet) and so on. However, the "eye" sound is not completely eliminated from the dialect, else there would be no 'donnae' and 'wonnae'. It seems contradictory, I know, but often languages just seem to work like that and it is the learner's responsibility to just accept it.
'Danger' changes to 'dainjah' (dain-jah). What mostly happens here is the dropping of 'r' at the end of words regularly ending in 'r'. The other spelling changes are made in an attempt to reduce ambiguity in the pronunciation of the words, and because I think Germanic English words don't like to end in a vowel sound without a silent 'h' when spelled. I usually just leave 'danger' the way it is because I think people have a hard time understanding what Foinus is saying when I type 'dainjah'. On the other hand, often it is fun to type words in a heavy accent for RP purposes because it prompts other players to interact with your character's foreigness and difficulty being understood. I've found that lots of feelings and character development can happen when one is immersed in a foreign language or nearly incomprehensible dialect. It's a kind of a humbling challenge to overcome, like finding a way to overcome one's shyness and ask him/her out. It causes growth.
'Tell' changes to 'teowl' or 'teowll' (both sounding like teh-oh-wel). The number of syllables this word has can vary, from anywhere from 1 to 4, I think, but usually it sounds like 1, 2, or 3 depending on how fast Foinus is talking and what kind of context she is speaking in. This happens with all words that have an 'il' and 'el' sound in them, I think. Type it however you want, but when my dwarf says "Ill fortune befall you!", I want 'ill' to sound Cockney as all get out.
'You' changes to 'yeh'. Everybody does this one. Also note 'yer' (your), 'yeh're' (you're), 'yeh've' (you've).
'Have' changes to ' 'ave '. All aspirated 'h' sounds at the beginning of words are dropped. 'Hello' becomes ' 'Ello '.
So now, when Foinus says to you, "Oi dink dat moi foiah speowll moight 'ave put 'im in dainjah, but oi donnae know fer certain," you will hopefully be able to figure out (if you could not already) that she is saying, "I think that my fire spell might have put him in danger, but I do not know for certain."
Now may all yeh dwarves populate deh earf. Ahmen.
I have been playing a dwarven sorceress (Foinus Brunn) for about 3 months, and I have been on Arelith for about 8 months, and I wanted to share some of the rules or patterns that I have noticed about dwarven accents of the common surface tongue. Basically, I see the dwarven version of common as an amalgamation of Scottish, 18th century sailor, Cockney, and other accents produced from marginal places once or currently under the reign of the British Empire. I am not a professional linguist, and I do not know much about linguistic roots and patterns of different accents of English, nor do I have much experience with English language outside of the US and TV, but regardless, let me try to share what I have been doing in my attempts to make other role-players feel immersed when my dwarf speaks. I have been coppying other dwarves speech as much as I can and throwing things in myself when I think they sound dwarven. I will keep changing this post when I think of more patterns and have more time to work on it. Please forgive any ignorance and bad/sporadic/disorganized writing.
Here goes....
Common spelling changes and their accompanying sounds.
-'Want' (as in, "I want a new warhammer") changes to 'wont'. The vowel then carries a lower sound that would be produced by puckering the lips and protruding them forward a bit. Basically how most people from Britain say 'want'.
'Won't', the contraction for 'will not', changes to 'wonnae'. The 'won' part has the same sounds that it does in most North American English accents, but the 'nae' sounds like 'n' plus 'eye'. This happens with all contractions of 'verb + not', as in 'donnae' (don't), 'cannae' (cannot), and sometimes even 'isn'nae' (isn't). Basically, 'not' can be said either in the regular British 'not' way or what sounds to me like an old-English Canterbury Tales-esk or Scotch sounding 'nae' way.
'Th' sound is replaced altogether with 'd' or 'f' sounds. A lot of people who learn English as a second language do this because the 'th' sounds is really hard to make for tongues naturally trained in, say, Spanish or Japanese language, but don't make the mistake of thinking this makes the dwarves sound Hispanic or Japanese. I just think it is a cool addition to the dwarven accent, and makes them sound different, probably even for our British players (though not sure on that point). So, the word 'fifth' would probably turn out like 'fif' and 'think' almost invariably changes to 'dink'. This can get pretty funny when typing what would normally appear harmlessly in common. So when I ask my companions if they want 'thick skin' (stoneskin) typed in a dwarven accent, some hilarity can ensue.
'Like' always changes to 'loik' (low-eek). This happens with most words that have the long 'i' sounds as in "I" or "eye". So when Foinus uses herself as the subject of her sentence, she says' "Oi". That is not the French word for yes, it is a spelling that represents a variant of the way American English speakers say "I". The sound I am going for is what I believe Cockney English speakers and most other British speakers use when saying the first person subject pronoun "I". 'Nice' changes to 'noice' (no-ees). 'right' changes to 'roight' (ro-eet) and so on. However, the "eye" sound is not completely eliminated from the dialect, else there would be no 'donnae' and 'wonnae'. It seems contradictory, I know, but often languages just seem to work like that and it is the learner's responsibility to just accept it.
'Danger' changes to 'dainjah' (dain-jah). What mostly happens here is the dropping of 'r' at the end of words regularly ending in 'r'. The other spelling changes are made in an attempt to reduce ambiguity in the pronunciation of the words, and because I think Germanic English words don't like to end in a vowel sound without a silent 'h' when spelled. I usually just leave 'danger' the way it is because I think people have a hard time understanding what Foinus is saying when I type 'dainjah'. On the other hand, often it is fun to type words in a heavy accent for RP purposes because it prompts other players to interact with your character's foreigness and difficulty being understood. I've found that lots of feelings and character development can happen when one is immersed in a foreign language or nearly incomprehensible dialect. It's a kind of a humbling challenge to overcome, like finding a way to overcome one's shyness and ask him/her out. It causes growth.
'Tell' changes to 'teowl' or 'teowll' (both sounding like teh-oh-wel). The number of syllables this word has can vary, from anywhere from 1 to 4, I think, but usually it sounds like 1, 2, or 3 depending on how fast Foinus is talking and what kind of context she is speaking in. This happens with all words that have an 'il' and 'el' sound in them, I think. Type it however you want, but when my dwarf says "Ill fortune befall you!", I want 'ill' to sound Cockney as all get out.
'You' changes to 'yeh'. Everybody does this one. Also note 'yer' (your), 'yeh're' (you're), 'yeh've' (you've).
'Have' changes to ' 'ave '. All aspirated 'h' sounds at the beginning of words are dropped. 'Hello' becomes ' 'Ello '.
So now, when Foinus says to you, "Oi dink dat moi foiah speowll moight 'ave put 'im in dainjah, but oi donnae know fer certain," you will hopefully be able to figure out (if you could not already) that she is saying, "I think that my fire spell might have put him in danger, but I do not know for certain."
Now may all yeh dwarves populate deh earf. Ahmen.
Last edited by Chawumbawumba on Thu Oct 09, 2014 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Dwarves
I try and keep the accenting on a more moderate level. It literally pains some people to try and read through the thicker ones.
Also I have two other tips.
1) Don't speak in an "accent" while speaking dwarven. That's your native language, why on earth would you think you need an accent in your native language.
2) Please for the love of god don't be a dwarf that makes posts on boards or writes letters in an accent... I mean of all the daft things we sometimes see IG this one is right at the top of the list (this does not apply to characters that are illiterate or really dumb, etc. *looks to Koko)
Also I have two other tips.
1) Don't speak in an "accent" while speaking dwarven. That's your native language, why on earth would you think you need an accent in your native language.
2) Please for the love of god don't be a dwarf that makes posts on boards or writes letters in an accent... I mean of all the daft things we sometimes see IG this one is right at the top of the list (this does not apply to characters that are illiterate or really dumb, etc. *looks to Koko)
Re: Dwarves
Hey, Koko is working very hard at learning to read and write. The problem is that I actually did some research and found out how long that takes for an adult (or close enough to it, since Koko was 16 when she started).
On subject: Remember the key to playing the traditional dwarf is that dwarves don't actually love gold. That's just a lie they tell to get it in the sack. Their hearts truly belong, now and forever, to their one true love: beer.
On subject: Remember the key to playing the traditional dwarf is that dwarves don't actually love gold. That's just a lie they tell to get it in the sack. Their hearts truly belong, now and forever, to their one true love: beer.
Layla Rashmi: Fighting off alien monsters and sleeping with Amazon Moon Maidens... FOR SCIENCE!
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Re: Dwarves
Much agreed on any race.Drake Strongfist wrote:
2) Please for the love of god don't be a dwarf that makes posts on boards or writes letters in an accent
John 3:16
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Re: Dwarves
Bump
"Moradin's will! I ask ye, wish not one Dwarf more!
By Clangeddin, I am nae covetous for gold,
Nor care I for comely lasses!
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin tae covet honour,
I'm th' most offendin' soul alive!"
By Clangeddin, I am nae covetous for gold,
Nor care I for comely lasses!
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin tae covet honour,
I'm th' most offendin' soul alive!"
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Re: Dwarves
So much this.Rattus_norvegicus99 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:45 amMuch agreed on any race.Drake Strongfist wrote:
2) Please for the love of god don't be a dwarf that makes posts on boards or writes letters in an accent
Also, why do dwarves talk in accent while speaking in dwarvish? It doesn't make any logical sense.
The "'ow yer duin', ye gits" should be so while in common, which is not their native language.
Shouldn't dorfs speak normally in dwarvish? "How are thee doing, thine clay-braineds?"
it makes sense an american speak, say, french, with accent
it doesn't makes sense an american speak english, but with the same accent from when they speak french
wut?
But again, whatever. Its just my humble view on this subject
PayadorPerseguido
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Re: Dwarves
Are you aware that almost everyone in England speaks English with an accent?legionetrangere wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 9:53 pm
Also, why do dwarves talk in accent while speaking in dwarvish? It doesn't make any logical sense.
Anyhow, nice thread!
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Re: Dwarves
All valid points but I want dwarves to keep writing notes and speaking in their language with the accent because that’s so part of the culture now it would feel really weird if it was gone.legionetrangere wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 9:53 pmSo much this.Rattus_norvegicus99 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:45 amMuch agreed on any race.Drake Strongfist wrote:
2) Please for the love of god don't be a dwarf that makes posts on boards or writes letters in an accent
Also, why do dwarves talk in accent while speaking in dwarvish? It doesn't make any logical sense.
The "'ow yer duin', ye gits" should be so while in common, which is not their native language.
Shouldn't dorfs speak normally in dwarvish? "How are thee doing, thine clay-braineds?"
it makes sense an american speak, say, french, with accent
it doesn't makes sense an american speak english, but with the same accent from when they speak french
wut?
But again, whatever. Its just my humble view on this subject