Wild Dwarves
By Christopher Michael Hemmerich
Dwarven History
The shattering of the world by the unnamed necromancer,
while disastrous to all peoples, was absolutely devastating to
the dwarven race. The destruction it caused to their underground
mountain fortresses was nearly total, and completely un-
recoverable. At that disastrous moment the way of the dwarven
race fragmented forever, such that now several distinct
lifestyles have evolved that have very little in common.
Pre-Shattering
Up until the destruction of the world the dwarves had been a
strong and cohesive people. While they had never sought to reach
out and conquer the plains or forests of the world, it was
accepted that doing so would not have been beyond their
capabilities. Within their lands, their control was absolute The
mountains and hills of old were not infested by orc and goblins
as they are today, on the contrary they were completely free of
any force in opposition to the mighty dwarves. Most of the
underworld was their's as well. There cities were connected by
myriad of interlining tunnels so that a dwarven messenger could
carry a message to a city hundreds of miles away without reaching
the surface.
Shattered World
All of this changed when the world was ripped asunder. As
the world rumbled and ripped itself apart, it did so along
massive faults and fractures in the planets core. Most of these
lesions resided under and were the cause of the many mountain
ranges of the planet. Most of the great fortresses were ripped
into millions of shreds that were left to float along the edge of
the fragments. Others could not withstand the tremors that
circled the globe and either partially or completely collapsed in
upon themselves killing entire nations of dwarves in minutes.
Very few of the dwarves survived the horrible event, and all but
one of the great cities were destroyed. Several of the smaller
settlements survived, and it is from these that most of the
living dwarves can trace their roots.
LastHome
Dregan 'Bra was the only fortress-city to escape the
shattering's destruction. Over time it's name was changed to
LastHome, and solemn and harsh reminder of the plight of the
dwarves. Structurally, LastHome gave no indication of the
catastrophe it had survived. The networks of tunnels that spread
out from underneath it had collapsed, but the city had been
spared. And so sat LastHome, and the large fragment of Rhynne
surrounded by hordes of humans, elves, and other humanoids that
had not faired as well.
Petitions for aid began arriving within the first month.
Food and shelter were scarce and many were going to die if the
dwarves did not help. Opinions among the dwarves were widely
varied and a meeting was called to resolve the situation. The
meeting quickly broke down into an argument between two radically
opposed fractions. The smaller one argued that the dwarves had a
responsibility to help the less fortunate, especially since they
possessed ample food supplies and room for shelter.
The larger group believed that the gates of LastHome should
be shut, and the humans outside left to their own means. They
argued that it was human folly that had caused the shattering,
and that the humans must be made to endure the punishment handed
down to them by the gods. When the night was over the gates had
been shut, and the humans had been left to starvation and the
elements, not because of dwarven un-compassion, but because the
dwarves were doing only as the gods wanted, and allowing the
humans to gain redemption. The ideology quickly caught on and
expanded so that the reason the dwarves had survived was because
they were being rewarded for their pure and just lifestyle.
Thus the gates of LastHome were sealed shut against the
needs and cries of a broken land. For a time the dwarves
prospered as the humans outside suffered and died. The dwarves
completely removed themselves from the dealings of the outer
world. It was not until the banging at the gate made by
others of their race that the dwarves paid any attention to what
was going on outside of their wall.
The group totalled 600 dwarves in all, a small number
compared to the 100,000 that lived in LastHome, but still a large
number to show up more than twenty years after the shattering.
They had remained by their broken home for over a decade before
deciding to leave in search of a better place to live. For
several years they wondered from human settlement to settlement.
At some they would stay for a couple months or year, and at
others they would be attacked on site. Eventually they had found
a place to call home, and proof that they were not the last of
their kind. The dwarves clung to the large gates, some weeping
in joy, others crying out thanks to their gods. When the large
gates were finally opened, and then only enough for a single
dwarf to step out, the refugees rushed him grabbing hold of
hands, legs, hair, anything to prove that he was real. When it
became obvious that they would not let him speak, the door was
opened some more, and twenty more dwarves came out, in full plate
and carrying spears. Hurt and confused, the refugees began
asking hundreds of questions at once. They were quieted and told
that their leader would be admitted for council with the cities
rulers.
The LastHome dwarves had not only become isolated, but
righteousness had settled into their souls. They had convinced
themselves that only their pure and just way of life had saved
them. While some where anxious and joyous to hear from others of
their kind, others, others in charge were believed that by
accepting dwarves that had not been pure into their home, they
would be bringing about their own doom. For them it was a test
from their gods, a test that they were not about to fail.
Thus with a wall of spears and no compassion the refugees
were forced from the mountain and forbidden never to return.
That very night as the dwarves of LastHome drifted of to sleep,
all fell victim to a single horrible nightmare. One in which
their god came down from the heaves slaughtering their children
and loved ones, he then turned to look the dreamer in the eyes
one last time before walking away, head lowered in shame.
From that point on things have spiralled downward for the
dwarves of LastHome. Their clerics lost all touch with their
god, immediately following the dream. In their conceit the
dwarves could not fathom the true message of the occurrence, and
could only justify it with the belief that in some way their
god's faults had made it impossible for him to bear the
brilliance of their lives. Thus the dwarves had eliminated
anything that could have been their equal or superior.
As the rest of Rhynne began to recover from the catastrophe,
the dwarves of LastHome, lost int their isolation and pride began
their long journey to their current state of near-extinction. At
first crops began to fail, then births began to lessen, to the
point were dwarven children are the rarest of commodities. As
the dwarven population dropped, the were forced to abandon more
and more of their city. As these sections were abandoned security
measures were also loosened, and eventually denizens of the
underworld were able to force their way in. In several hard
fought battles the dwarves have been able to keep the goblinoids
to the lower levels, and abandoned sections. And a strong line
of defense has been set up around the areas still populated. But
still the dwarves are outnumbered 5-1 in their own home, and
there odds decrease constantly.
The dwarves know that they are doomed. Their birthrate is
almost nonexistent, and the goblin hordes are numberless. More
and more dwarves are ready to open the gate, and hope that the
humans are forgiving. They all have realized that there two
options are to die defending their home, or open themselves to a
world they have shunned. For the proud dwarves it is a difficult
decision.
Refugees
The vast majority of surviving dwarves found themselves
homeless after the shattering. Luckily for a large number of
these the problem was only where to build a new home. Some
groups were able to repair the damaging to their old homes, and
still others were able to build again in close proximity. Many,
however were not so lucky. Many found starvation, disease, and
death. However for those that couldn't find a new mountain to
burrow under, new ways of living developed. Some were accepted
into other dwarven communities, several dwarves surface towns
have been built, and still others found a place in the lands of
man. Of all of these groups the wild dwarves have changed far
more than an other.
With the exception of these wild dwarves, the rest of the
former refugees have more or less retained the normal dwarven
ideology. Some have less experience with mining and smiting,
others have developed closer bonds to other races, but all are
still dwarves at the core.
Wild Dwarves
Of all the dwarves, none were affected more by the
shattering than the wild dwarves. Like many other dwarves they
found themselves without a home In addition to this they found
themselves on a fairly small fragment devoid of any mountainous
terrain. They tried to communicate with some of the humans on
the fragment, but were met by a hail of arrows and an angry mob.
After travelling across the fragment, being turned away at every
settlement, they were forced to settle within the thick forests,
home only to wild animals and roving bands of orcs, goblins, and
their kind.
The dwarves slowly learned how to survive in the forest.
First they learned how impossible it was to find enough food to
support a large settlement with the meager forest resources. So
they slowly splintered off into different groups of extended
families. Over time they were forced to abandon more and more of
their dwarven heritage. Armor and weapons rusted over, utensils
an tools also fell victim to the elements and use. Metal became
extremely rare as the dwarves were forced to replace everything
bit by bit with crude wooden equivalents.
The separate groups carried on life like this for several
generations before being discovered by a group of inter-fragment
slavers. Because of their great strength, durability, and
novelty they quickly became the hottest thing on the slave
market. Their high price made them a great investment for
slavers, but a very dangerous investment. The population of free
wild dwarves dwindled rapidly. However the wild dwarves desire
for survival was strong, and they found ways to get back into the
wild. Groups escaped, some were released simply because they
were impossible to deal with, and in many cases a group of wild
dwarves would escape into the woods of some fragment with a
collection of slaver skulls, and shipwreck to mark their arrival.
Thus the wild dwarves spread across the fragments.
The population of wild dwarves is small, and scattered
throughout the fragments. Some are completely isolated, some
trade with nearby towns. They are still hunted by slavers, but
too a much lesser extent today. They are a small race always
fighting for survival, but they are as strong as any an will
never give up their fight for life.
Wild dwarves have changed enough from the typical dwarf, that
they are classified by scholars as a separate race. These
differences are physical, social, and mental. Physically, wild
dwarves are both taller and thicker than there dwarven cousins.
They are often close to 5' in height and can easily weigh in at
200 pounds. Their bulk gives them great strength and endurance
that translates into a +1 for both Strength and Constitution. It
also, however hinders their agility greatly to the point were
they suffer a -1 to dexterity.
Wild dwarves are known for the huge unkempt manes that they
possess. A wild dwarf will typically go an entire lifetime
without ever cutting his hair. Washing hair is almost as uncommon
as cutting it, so for the most part wild dwarves have
tremendously long hair and beard. They decorate their hair with a
combination of dyes, animal fats, braids, and assorted skulls and
bones, as well as bits of food, etc... This by itself makes the
wild dwarf extremely easy to differentiate from their cousins.
Wild dwarf attire is no less characteristic than their
hairstyles. They will dress only in animals that they have
killed themselves, and it is customary to wear a part of the firs
animal that you kill of any species to honor the creature's
spirit. So a young dwarf that hasn't been on the hunt will
either be nude, or dressed in the furs of small animals it has
been able to kill around the village, i.e. rats, squirrels,
chipmunks, etc.... A seasoned hunter, on the other hand will
often be dressed in a huge assortment of furs and leathers from
many different animals.
Wild dwarves do retain much of their cousins gruffness and
stubbornness. They can be difficult to get along with, and have
trouble communicating with other people. They are very
suspicious of strangers,and generally are a little trigger happy
when it comes to killing. They are however basically good people
and will often be very curios about new things. They are easily
startled, and when that happens something usually gets stuck with
a spear. The Combination of appearance and habit makes it pretty
hard for the wild dwarf to make friends and as such they suffer a
-2 to charisma.
Weapons are very important to wild dwarves. For the most
part they will carry a selection of weapons that they themselves
have made. Typical weapons are clubs, axes, knives, spears,
bows, blowguns, staffs, and maces, some have even been able to
construct vine-made whips. They do know the value of quality
weapons however, so if a wild dwarf gets his hand on a sword he
will play around with it until he is proficient with it, (usually
doesn't take too long) and then go cut somebody up with it.
Taking a weapon from a wild dwarf is one of the stupidest things
a person can do, as the dwarves are very fond of there weapons,
and this is considered one of the gravest insults in their
society.
As for other abilities, wild dwarves are fairly consistent
with their dwarven cousins, except that they no longer possess
any of the dwarves natural mining abilities.
(
geocities.com/timessquare)