Songs of Erui: Concerning Dwarves
Dwarves have been around since before Erui was established, way-back-when during the Dawn War. They helped the gods tackle the primordial's less-less-lesser lackeys, and when all was said and done they set up kip in castles that formerly belong to giants and titans, renovating them to better suit their size (except for stuff like big-ass halls: dwarves love them their big-ass halls). This means that dwarves didnt have to deal with any spirits living in their houses, but they did have to contend with them in the mountains, which usually meant they just beat the shit out of them in traditional dwarfy fashion. To be sure, they placated the major ones that they couldnt smash back into the ground, but that doesnt mean that they have to like it (happiness isnt what being a dwarf is all about).
So, yeah. Dwarves still live in the mountains, and they have to deal with goliaths, orcs, ogres, giants, and other typical dwarfy-enemies that live in mountains. Oh, and earth elementals. Yep, them's a bitch. Aside from being one of the few races in Erui that regularly makes lots of metal arms and armaments, they also have a mastery of rune magic, having been taught 27 runes by Moradin before he went back to his beer-and-gold laden Astral Dominion, leaving his sons and daughters to fend for themselves in a land where beer-and-gold just arent happening. Well, beer is...but not gold. Actually, spirits like the smell of booze as well, so...sigh. Being a dwarf is hard.
Since only one player is actually playing a dwarf, I didnt really bother to work out many kinks with rune magic as it exists in Erui. Magic (arcane and divine) utilized by a dwarf will use a lot of runes (even in visual spell effects), and runes are used to mark and ward places that dwarves dont want you going into. Also, dwarf-magic items are also drowning in runes. They love that shit. This way, I get consistency and individuality between dwarf stuff and other stuff. I think that races come into and use magic in their own ways, so being able to differentiate between them adds a layer of immersion to the campaign. For dwarves, its runes. Other races might use runes, but they got a monopoly on it.
Anyway, thats what I did with dwarves, which is to say I didnt do much to change them from their default incarnation, so even in other areas of my PoL campaign they'd probably be very similar. Frankly, I didnt need to once I'd written them into Erui. It might have gone different, but a player wanted to make a dwarf paladin, and in the end it made sense. There are some rune-themed paragon paths, and I was considering making some rune-centric feats that modify magic that they can do (like Reaper's Touch). Actually, I think a rune-magic multiclass tree would be cool. Yeah...
So, yeah. Dwarves still live in the mountains, and they have to deal with goliaths, orcs, ogres, giants, and other typical dwarfy-enemies that live in mountains. Oh, and earth elementals. Yep, them's a bitch. Aside from being one of the few races in Erui that regularly makes lots of metal arms and armaments, they also have a mastery of rune magic, having been taught 27 runes by Moradin before he went back to his beer-and-gold laden Astral Dominion, leaving his sons and daughters to fend for themselves in a land where beer-and-gold just arent happening. Well, beer is...but not gold. Actually, spirits like the smell of booze as well, so...sigh. Being a dwarf is hard.
Since only one player is actually playing a dwarf, I didnt really bother to work out many kinks with rune magic as it exists in Erui. Magic (arcane and divine) utilized by a dwarf will use a lot of runes (even in visual spell effects), and runes are used to mark and ward places that dwarves dont want you going into. Also, dwarf-magic items are also drowning in runes. They love that shit. This way, I get consistency and individuality between dwarf stuff and other stuff. I think that races come into and use magic in their own ways, so being able to differentiate between them adds a layer of immersion to the campaign. For dwarves, its runes. Other races might use runes, but they got a monopoly on it.
Anyway, thats what I did with dwarves, which is to say I didnt do much to change them from their default incarnation, so even in other areas of my PoL campaign they'd probably be very similar. Frankly, I didnt need to once I'd written them into Erui. It might have gone different, but a player wanted to make a dwarf paladin, and in the end it made sense. There are some rune-themed paragon paths, and I was considering making some rune-centric feats that modify magic that they can do (like Reaper's Touch). Actually, I think a rune-magic multiclass tree would be cool. Yeah...
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