tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post20017401066615141..comments2024-03-19T04:29:47.922-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Making BabiesJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-68955715962627049252010-06-17T12:24:22.408-04:002010-06-17T12:24:22.408-04:00I love this, too. I particularly love the gaps and...I love this, too. I particularly love the gaps and absences, each of which is a plot hook. Dwarves are all male, not neuter. Why not? It raises productive questions, that are very seldom raised in fantasy gaming. If a dwarf tried to carve a female it would be "wrong," therefore inert, so how could female dwarves be created, theoretically? How and why do dwarf sons animate? Your discussion of gnomes and knockers makes me wonder if the carved bodies attract wandering spirits, with flawed bodies attracting the wrong sort of spirits. Can dwarves be raised, reanimated, exorcised, treated with human medicines, poisoned? Great stuff.richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517340075234811323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42859153894927869162010-06-13T13:42:51.234-04:002010-06-13T13:42:51.234-04:00Storaging the inert statues is one of the creepies...Storaging the inert statues is one of the creepiest ideas I've read in a while. One could up the creepiness if the dwarves held some kind of ceremonies for the unborn.<br />Obsessing with the corpses always gives me the chills.Pekkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13104355467265113471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26606381760466413322010-06-13T09:11:15.372-04:002010-06-13T09:11:15.372-04:00As they are made from stone and minerals, I am ass...As they are made from stone and minerals, I am assuming [in my setting, for which I have already stolen this idea] that the dwarves are animated by the powers of elemental earth, and it is this connection that gives them their inherent earth-related abilities.<br /><br />But how about having the inert dwarves animated through the powers of elemental fire (making them azer)? Better yet, how about those bitter dwarves whose sons never seem to animate turning to darker forces to help them live? Maybe demon-tainted dwarves, or perhaps this is the origin of the duergar? Or maybe it's not the anxious fathers-to-be making pacts with demons, but rather that the forces of evil stumbled onto the inert dwarf-spawn and tainted them all on their own!<br /><br />James, your posts are always excellent, but this one has just been over the top. Awesome stuff, my good man. Awesome!<br /><br />TFotHmactavishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17863937666133661581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62292425609921005132010-06-12T11:41:47.818-04:002010-06-12T11:41:47.818-04:00Then one day a dwarf carved a dwarfette and the wh...Then one day a dwarf carved a dwarfette and the whole society went mad.Claytonianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10427928164050640466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-91530916065831822402010-06-12T08:28:18.371-04:002010-06-12T08:28:18.371-04:00Very interesting idea. Thanks.Very interesting idea. Thanks.carmachuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037584604296331790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31230159072454639962010-06-11T14:47:26.216-04:002010-06-11T14:47:26.216-04:00I wish I had thought of it! Brilliant!I wish I had thought of it! Brilliant!Gordon Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12907319916602597979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51118537372746924232010-06-11T03:59:10.432-04:002010-06-11T03:59:10.432-04:00Great stuff! Up there with the willing lich. Hope ...Great stuff! Up there with the willing lich. Hope it's going to be published.anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-72400820620256582952010-06-10T21:51:07.009-04:002010-06-10T21:51:07.009-04:00I'm sorry, but I'd have no interest in pla...I'm sorry, but I'd have no interest in playing a neutered dwarf!<br /><br />It's an interesting system though. The costs in raising a dwarven army must be astronomical! I do like the "in-debt at birth" bit - sounds something like our present economic system.ze bulettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15603716850479808633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52308921462592182412010-06-10T19:10:32.618-04:002010-06-10T19:10:32.618-04:00James;
Good stuff! It reminds me very much of th...James;<br /><br />Good stuff! It reminds me very much of the Mostali "dwarves" of Glorantha (though the dwarf-gnome tension sounds more like trolls and trollkin!). Looking forward to reading more.Andrew Logan Montgomeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16862829026060203177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61571524051223851232010-06-10T19:05:13.534-04:002010-06-10T19:05:13.534-04:00I would think a room or vault full of "stillb...I would think a room or vault full of "stillborn" dwarves, or as outsiders might see them, statues heavily decorated with precious metals and gems, would make great targets for thieves, greedy monsters and kingdoms or other wealth-obsessed types. Maybe even Knockers.<br /><br />Might make for interesting quests for less-scrupulous players, or as a starting place for a dwarf, trying to recover the "lost body" of a stillborn "son".Coldstreamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16140235342917611032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38567400932755846402010-06-10T18:56:19.944-04:002010-06-10T18:56:19.944-04:00Love it! Your Dwarves are actually similar to mine...Love it! Your Dwarves are actually similar to mine, though not identical.<br /><br />On my main campaign world Dwarves were created by a select group of gods in a fashion similar to the one you describe. After the final forging was completed the 'King' of their gods blew on his creations to cool them, thus bringing them to life. <br /><br />Dwarves at this point were all Male and unaging. When the first Dwarf mated with a female of another species(a faerie or Valkyrie or something I forget) a female Dwarf was born and the father started aging. Over time, Dwarves became long lived mortals, although many of the originals remain and some 'young' Dwarves are only three generations past the first of their kind who lived thousands and thousands of years earlier.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-14116130546407914022010-06-10T18:55:35.284-04:002010-06-10T18:55:35.284-04:00Gnomes are an accident?
Is that the only way we g...Gnomes are an accident?<br /><br />Is that the only way we get new gnomes? I can't wait to read the rest of the storyBy The Swordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16799389743529116360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-15987271919281139432010-06-10T18:36:21.352-04:002010-06-10T18:36:21.352-04:00What does this mean for deceased dwarves? Do they...What does this mean for deceased dwarves? Do they return to stone, the weird magics dispelled as they die, or does their corpse remain flesh? I really dig this idea, just curious about where this is going to lead.Jesse Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13737072478903535244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62904754739887308582010-06-10T18:21:06.615-04:002010-06-10T18:21:06.615-04:00Excellent spin on the fantasy dwarf archetype. Mak...Excellent spin on the fantasy dwarf archetype. Makes them truly alien - rather than simlpy short, strong humans - much like the Gloranthan Mostali.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00969656036094082602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-7461455232150753222010-06-10T17:45:11.754-04:002010-06-10T17:45:11.754-04:00Very cool. I think if I stole it I'd still hav...Very cool. I think if I stole it I'd still have random stat generation for the new dwarves rather than mirroring the clade-link, but it's definitely cool.<br /><br />Lots of room to play with what happens to those inert dwarves.Michael (in NYC)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07812962280866467016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-41870689430134761372010-06-10T15:59:21.911-04:002010-06-10T15:59:21.911-04:00"A newly-carved dwarf is level 1 and has the ..."A newly-carved dwarf is level 1 and <i>has the same ability scores as his father."</i><br /><br />from my experience as a father, this seems true of humans as well.<br /><br />and any difference between father and son is due not to any special care, knowledge, or skill-- but to "a quirk in the process"?<br /><br />true that too!Brian (brian_cooper at hotmail d o t com)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02805168206752602148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38865218400968776272010-06-10T15:29:05.455-04:002010-06-10T15:29:05.455-04:00I'm with @Brunomac: Does it make any sense to...I'm with @Brunomac: Does it make any sense to refer to dwarves as a "male-only race" if they are, in fact, genderless creatures of living rock? (Understood that to outsiders they may *seem* male.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-30299472528608964272010-06-10T15:10:33.662-04:002010-06-10T15:10:33.662-04:00That was amazingly cool and flavorful! Nice work.That was amazingly cool and flavorful! Nice work.5stonegameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10694550968360550229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6781085069700930552010-06-10T13:41:38.242-04:002010-06-10T13:41:38.242-04:00I like the idea because it's better than femal...I like the idea because it's better than female dwarves with full beards. Better to just not have them.<br /><br />So do dwarves have weird anatomies? Wonder Woman was made from clay, and had no belly button. Well, for your dwarves I can think of a couple of things they don't need...Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67463670445814878312010-06-10T13:36:03.500-04:002010-06-10T13:36:03.500-04:00I'm curious. Why don't you feel income fr...I'm curious. Why don't you feel income from the son should be allowed to be spent for experience? Does this then extend to other forms of income in your campaign, such as income from working at a job? Or does only "loot" count towards experience?Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-60820606448104644042010-06-10T13:30:28.425-04:002010-06-10T13:30:28.425-04:00I was part of a collaborative campaign once where ...I was part of a collaborative campaign once where one of the races we made up had a similar concept, although in this case the creatures sought out rare and magical gemstones that would form the heart of the offspring, and carved a new member of their race from the rock around it. <br /><br />These stones featured prominently in dragon hoards, and There was also a brisk black market for them, which necromancers could use to make golems and such. (At the risk, of course, of getting pounded into fertilizer by an angry earth elemental guy)BigFellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03052419088140204154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-18450246875424866822010-06-10T13:25:51.712-04:002010-06-10T13:25:51.712-04:00The carving-birth of dwarfs is something I like so...The carving-birth of dwarfs is something I like so much I shamefully stole it a few months after you first mentioned it and adapted it to my own needs. This sort of "natural magic" is something I've become a big fan of in fantasy settings.<br /><br />Looking forward to hearing about how Gnomes fit into the equation. Thankfully I already have gnomes accounted for in my fantasy game so I promise not to steal this time!Chris McDowallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11717684225248546716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-66573158455031498932010-06-10T13:13:13.777-04:002010-06-10T13:13:13.777-04:00nice. i love how just a little creative thought an...nice. i love how just a little creative thought and some dice mechanics enriches the campaign possiblities so much.<br /><br />tempted to steal it.Zak Sabbathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-85017082196164969802010-06-10T12:54:57.852-04:002010-06-10T12:54:57.852-04:00What if the carven dwarf had boobs?What if the carven dwarf had boobs?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-84331237300659654022010-06-10T12:47:45.119-04:002010-06-10T12:47:45.119-04:00Well done. This is a nice departure from the usual...Well done. This is a nice departure from the usual "clan theme" for Dwarfs.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.com