An article written by my friend Neal Litherland the other
day got me thinking. Why do we not usually see varied cultures for non-human races?
In many fantasy worlds elves are elves and dwarves are dwarves no matter where
you go, even while humans have vast cultural differences. Pathfinder’s Golarion
has done some things to address this; artic snowcaster elves,
desert dwelling nomadic dwarves, demons-worshipping
cannibalistic halflings. But even these cultures
within the races aren’t fleshed out very well.
Since Neal already covered why we should have differing
cultures for non-human races, I’m going to work on actually producing some
playable differing cultures for these races. I’ve already spoken about how I go
about making new races so you can see
some of my thought process. To make things easier I’m going to work within the
confines of Golarion, but these races can probably be ported over to any game
you like. Much of the mechanical information will be Pathfinder based, as that
is my game of choice, but again you can probably quite easily move it over to
any other system that is an appropriate setting for fantasy non-humans.
I’m going to do a few of these, but today I’m going to flesh
out one of the preexisting alternate non-human cultures. I will look at
expanding the culture of the desert dwarves of the shattered range in Garund.
This is not to be confused with the sand dwarves of Osirian, about which
there is far more written.
What do we know about the desert dwarves? They live in
tunnels by day and travel the sands at night. They are guarded but not
xenophobic and trade with other peoples. They still forge and a handful of
“hidden smiths” tend forges in their underground oases. They believe they once
had mighty cities which were destroyed in a cataclysm for some unknown sin.
Although this isn’t a ton to work with, it certainly gives some ideas on where
to go. Oddly, the one thing these desert dwarves don’t have is a name for
themselves.
History
When the dwarves pushed forward in their quest for sky they
did so in such numbers that not all the dwarves came up in the same place. When
most people think of dwarves, they picture the mountain dwelling smiths and
miners of The Five Kings Mountains and Janderhoff. Not all dwarves, however,
reached the sky in the same climes. The now nomadic desert dwarves are one of
those groups.
The desert dwarves were initially much like their northern
counterparts, living and working within the Shattered Range. Their empire
spanned from as far south as the Screaming Jungle and through the western
border of what is now Geb, all the way up through the mountains of The Mana
Wastes and Nex. Some of the desert dwarves claim they too once had a Sky
Citadel, but it has fallen into the sands of time. Although some claim the
ruins of Spiro Spero are its remains, that is hotly contested even among the
dwarves.
Sometime after the quest for sky, but before the fall of
Aroden, the Shattered Range dwarves had a sort of cataclysm of their own. Much
of their true history was lost during this time so an exact date has never been
forthcoming from the desert dwarves, nor has a reason why. The common
consensus among the dwarves themselves is their culture had become so decadent
so as to be an affront to the gods. The riches of the Shattered Range spoiled
them and they were brought low because of it.
It took many years after the dust settled before they began
to rebuild. During those times the dwarves huddled in their caves wondering if
any others of their kind had survived. After more than a century of living like
cave rats, the desert dwarves finally went looking for more of their people.
Long used tunnel roads were caved in so the dwarves began to travel above
ground to get from place to place.
Eventually the desert dwarves settled into their nomadic
lifestyle; refusing to rebuild their empire for fear they would be lured back
into their old and impure ways. Although they’ve given up the greed some
dwarves are known for, they have not given up their life of toil and they still
work old forges in the oases in which they stop to rest their days.
Mechanical Note: Desert Dwarves replace the Greed racial
trait with the Craftsman racial trait.
Physiology
Desert Dwarves retain the same basic stature as their northern
dwarven cousins. However their surface travelling ways have seen them become
more resistant to the scorching climates of their homeland and less acclimated
to living underground. After years of dwelling on the surface and becoming
accustomed to the sun and moonlight, the Desert Dwarves have lost the ability
to see in complete darkness.
Mechanical Note: Desert Dwarves replace the Darkvision
racial trait with the Surface Survivalist racial trait
Family
Family is key to the desert dwarves. Each nomadic caravan is
usually made up of 30 to 50 family units. Due to dwarves lower birthrates,
these family units are usually relatively small. However because each member of
the caravan must rely on every other member, the desert dwarves usually
consider all members of the caravan “family.” This perception of one larger family
is further supported by each caravan’s dedication to the dwarven goddess Folgrit.
Society
Being nomadic and reticent to fall into the trap of severe
greed, the desert dwarves do not place as much faith in material goods. Each
member of the caravan carries his worldly goods and these belongings are
usually shared freely among the rest of the caravan as the need arises. Some
dwarves do carry minor personal trinkets and keepsakes, not out of want for
anything material, rather as mementos of special events.
The guidance of Folgrit leads the desert dwarves to being
extremely protective of their children. The clergy of Folgrit are some of the
highest ranking members of the caravan's council. Although to some outsiders
this may seem like the desert dwarves have a matriarchy, they are actually
ruled by a council of elders both male and female.
Although to most the caravan is life, some few desert
dwarves give up their nomadic ways. These dwarves settle in the underground
tunnels which still have working forges. They keep these forges and surrounding
areas in clean and working order. The nomadic dwarves think of these as “oases”
where they can practice the metallurgic arts they still hold dear. The smiths
who revere Torag still make sure that the areas they maintain have ample food
and water supplies so that dwarves traveling through may resupply.
Alignment and Faith
Like most dwarves, the desert dwarves tend to be driven by
honor and tradition, although those traditions may be unrecognizable to the
dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains or any other northern kin. Because they ply
the sands and trade frequently they are seen as less standoffish than
traditional dwarves, but it still takes much for one to win their full trust.
Most desert dwarves are Lawful Good.
Although Torag is still paid homage as the traditional
creator of the dwarven people, the desert dwarves keep his wife Folgrit as
their patron. After the cataclysm that destroyed their former society the
desert dwarves turned to Folgrit to keep their families safe and together.
Fearing they would never be a society again the strong community ties in each
nomadic group are incredibly important to the desert dwarves.
Relations
The desert dwarves keep much of their travels to the sands
below the country of Geb. Although Geb itself retains a mostly neutral stance
to all foreign relations, the desert dwarves find the undead that roam the land
freely revolting. The fact that Geb lays claim to the bodies of any who die on
their soil is something the dwarves have no stomach for.
The dwarves will also travel the west side of the Shattered
Range edging the Screaming Jungle. Some more adventurous groups will make a
yearly trip into the jungle itself to trade with the egalitarian city of Osibu.
The dwarves have a good reputation as fair traders here, but none see fit to
make a permanent home.
Most of the folk the dwarves trade with on the sands are
human of Garundi and Osiriani heritage. Their old enemies the orcs and goblins
remain next to non-existent in the lands the desert dwarves inhabit. The desert
giants tend to be reclusive and less aggressive than the giants their northern
kin must deal with, so the desert dwarves have few if any direct enemies.
Mechanical Note: Desert Dwarves replace the defensive
training, hatred, and stonecunning racial traits with the Stoic Negotiator
racial trait
Adventurers
Adventurers aren’t as rare among the desert dwarves as they
are in other dwarven cultures. Especially with a culture that has been
completely lost to them, many a young dwarf seeks to find the truth of their
past. Desert dwarves tend toward becoming rangers and rogues. There are also no
small amount of clerics to the dwarven gods especially Folgrit.
And there you have it. The desert dwarves of the Shattered
Range. A culturally different variation on dwarves, mechanically using nothing
more than the alternate racial traits. If you’re looking to play something
different than the standard Five Kings Mountain or Janderhoff dwarf, perhaps
your GM will allow you to use this interpretation of the desert dwarves. Or
maybe it will inspire them to make their own variation.
What kind of cultures for other races would you like to see?
Would you use these desert dwarves in your Golarion campaign? Would you adapt
them to your homebrew world? This is just a short write up but what other
information would you like to see about the desert dwarves?
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Great details! I'm even thinking I'll add a similar desert area just to add them to my homebrew!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
You're welcome. And thank you. Let us know just what you did with them at some point.
ReplyDelete