PDA

View Full Version : Human living amongst dwarves: what physical/mental/social challenges lie ahead?



Isamu Dyson
2013-12-16, 04:38 PM
Other than a potential lack of clearance/head room, what might the human in question have difficulty adjusting to?

TheStranger
2013-12-16, 04:54 PM
Reaching maturity much earlier. At an age where most dwarves are still pre-adolescent, he's fully grown. A dwarven upbringing probably won't have him ready to face adulthood that fast. And he'll grow up much faster than his dwarven peers, which could make it hard to make friends.

Similarly, he'll be old and gray at an age where most dwarves are still young adults. Which means he won't have time to amount to much of anything (by the time he finishes his 30-year apprenticeship, he's ready to retire), and everybody he knows will outlive him.

Dating could be a problem. Or not, depending on how open-minded your dwarves are.

Inability to hold his liquor, causing great shame and possible liver failure.

Beard envy.

There really shouldn't be any major physical challenges other than the obvious - low tunnels, short beds, poorly-fitting clothes, etc. On average, humans are less hardy than dwarves, but an average human Con of 10-11 is only marginally below average for dwarves. So you could play it up a little and say he'll have a hard time keeping up with the dwarven work day, but there's enough variation among dwarves that an average human isn't a freakish weakling.

A lot depends on what dwarven society is like in your game. Obviously, a human living among dwarves is a bit of an outsider, but it's up to you how much that matters to the dwarves and whether he suffers because of it.

LibraryOgre
2013-12-16, 05:42 PM
Don't underestimate size issues. I'm just shy of 2m and 160kg; that's in the human range, but finding clothes, chairs, vehicles, tools... all sorts of items that fit is a huge pain and pretty expensive.

Consider that it will also likely mean a significant lack of sunlight, which can cause problems for humans without careful management.

Spore
2013-12-16, 06:03 PM
Consider that it will also likely mean a significant lack of sunlight, which can cause problems for humans without careful management.

This.

Many fantasy, sci-fi and fiction writers underestimate the influence of lacking sunlight on the human body. I would affect the growth of bones and his overall physical and mental fitness. You basically had to bring him up to the surface once every week or twice for him to not become a curve boned midget. You really should fit a magical item for this occasion.

WbtE
2013-12-16, 06:13 PM
I don't think that clothes will be a problem. Dwarves do not mass produce their clothing using machinery, so getting a good fit would just be a matter of going to see a tailor. Getting a proper-sized bed shouldn't be much more trouble, provided that the human's living quarters are large enough for such furniture.

It's likely that living forever under low ceilings would cause the human to develop a stoop, and that would likely lead to other health problems as well. No matter how hospitable the dwarves are, I suspect their guest would have a painful and unhappy life.

Xefas
2013-12-16, 06:31 PM
The "low ceilings" problem depends on what inspiration you're pulling from for your dwarves.

IIRC, the Warhammer and Warcraft Dwarves tend towards hundred-foot high ceilings with unnecessarily enormous tools and furniture for everything. Need an anvil? How about a 28 foot long solid mithril anvil that menaces with spikes of basalt and obsidian? Forge? Sounds like you need a lava-filled chasm complete with impractically gigantic adamantite crucible. A hammer? Well, solid gold would melt too easily, so we sprung for diamond. It's also 8 feet long and weighs 400 pounds.

ComatosePhoenix
2013-12-16, 06:32 PM
I might be mixing settings here, but don't dwarfs also have a penchant for fanciful construction? They might be short and dislike heights above ground, but underground I always thought they would enjoy a high ceiling so they could put in bigger statues. Gnomes and Halflings are the short folks that you need to stoop for.

Beleriphon
2013-12-16, 06:40 PM
The "low ceilings" problem depends on what inspiration you're pulling from for your dwarves.

IIRC, the Warhammer and Warcraft Dwarves tend towards hundred-foot high ceilings with unnecessarily enormous tools and furniture for everything. Need an anvil? How about a 28 foot long solid mithil anvil that menaces with spikes of basalt and obsidian? Forge? Sounds like you need a lava-filled chasm complete with impractically gigantic adamantite crucible. A hammer? Well, solid gold would melt too easily, so we sprung for diamond. It's also 8 feet long and weighs 400 pounds.

I'm with Xefas here. Dwarves have generally liked improbably large architecture in most fantasy. Even Tolkien's dwarves went for really big interior spaces whenever possible.

BWR
2013-12-16, 07:03 PM
Are we talking Carrot Ironfoundersson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh-Morpork_City_Watch#Captain_Carrot_Ironfoundersson) or is this unrelated?

Beleriphon
2013-12-16, 08:34 PM
It's likely that living forever under low ceilings would cause the human to develop a stoop, and that would likely lead to other health problems as well. No matter how hospitable the dwarves are, I suspect their guest would have a painful and unhappy life.

Unless your dwarves build homes like Erebor and Moria. Those are massive halls that dwarf (hahahaha!) anything humans have ever built.

NikitaDarkstar
2013-12-16, 09:18 PM
Assuming the "indoors"/private spaces have the same ceiling heights as the "outdoors"/public ones (which to me seems unlikely, but I'm fond of Warcraft and Dragon Age dwarfs), otherwise you're back to stooping a lot of the time anyway. On the other hand that could lead him to be a rather well known figure out among the dwarven population since the public spaces would have more than enough room for him...

WbtE
2013-12-16, 09:28 PM
that could lead him to be a rather well known figure out among the dwarven population since the public spaces would have more than enough room for him...

Good idea. Dwarves are usually portrayed as quite private people (at least by human standards), so spending a great deal of time in public would really set their guest apart. That could lead to an interesting way of life if and when the human ever returns to their own people!

Isamu Dyson
2013-12-16, 09:42 PM
Do "standard" D&D dwarves also enjoy vast architecture at home?

Beleriphon
2013-12-16, 10:12 PM
Do "standard" D&D dwarves also enjoy vast architecture at home?

Given that standard D&D dwarves are basically Gimli (or Thorin) in one way or another I'd warrant a yes on that. Keep in mind as we that dwarves still need to trade and still require spaces for people that are larger than dwarves to visit and reside.

I think it depends on what you define as home as well. A small house carved into a hill side with a bit of a farm plot near by? Maybe it is fit for a short human or a tall dwarf. A mountain home type of deal? I'm pretty sure that is going to have the mythic architecture that Peter Jackson likes to show us.

WbtE
2013-12-16, 10:21 PM
Standard D&D dwarves owe more to Three Hearts and Three Lions (including the "Scottish" accent) than they do to Lord of the Rings.