Dwarf Focused setting

[nuaragonis]

Hello all, I am a new DM and looking at creating my first setting and world. I would like to focus on the Dwarves, my personal favorite race, as the main faction of this new world. It seems most generic settings tend to have dwarves as a minority. I have been looking at the dwarves from the Dragon Age setting as my inspiration for how their culture and way of life is. I am still new at this so any tips or brainstorming ideas would be appreciated, anything that makes dwarves stand out to you? Any good stories you have read that really brought their personalities out?

One of my good friends is going to help me put some depth into this new world once I get it to a starting point by doing a solo campaign with me, playing a dwarf. No particular rush on this order though.

[Bobbybobby99]

Don't have them have a uniform culture, or even a moderately disparate one. Crack it into pieces. Think of the real world, and try to be as diverse as said world.

[nuaragonis]

Don't have them have a uniform culture, or even a moderately disparate one. Crack it into pieces. Think of the real world, and try to be as diverse as said world.

I like that idea, have like a Dwarven states, spread out across the world.

[the_david]

The first thing that comes to mind is that though you may like dwarves, your players might not. So you might want to ask your players what they'd want to play first.

I kinda like the mythological dwarves. They turn to stone when in direct sunlight, they use transmutation magic to transform into animals and dragons, create many wondrous things* and they lust after goddesses.

*Including, but not limited to: Thor's hammer, the mead of poetry and the first humans.

[nuaragonis]

The first thing that comes to mind is that though you may like dwarves, your players might not. So you might want to ask your players what they'd want to play first.

I kinda like the mythological dwarves. They turn to stone when in direct sunlight, they use transmutation magic to transform into animals and dragons, create many wondrous things* and they lust after goddesses.

*Including, but not limited to: Thor's hammer, the mead of poetry and the first humans.

I have asked the core people that would probably play in this setting and all of them would be interested. My friend who will be doing a solo campaign just has the most experience out of our group to do so. Also, I might be able to turn the mythological dwarves into a rare encounter in the underdark. Or I could set them as their own faction, maybe there is only a few of them so they cannot rule the whole world.

Also, I did not mean to say dwarves were the only race, only that it was the super power of this world, like the humans are in other generic fantasy settings. The world covered in large mountain ranges, and different environments.

[Razade]

I know it's not quite what you have in mind but you should look into this. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingartgames/the-dwarves-a-new-storydriven-fantasy-rpg) It's a video game more or less what you're looking for.

[nuaragonis]

I know it's not quite what you have in mind but you should look into this. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingartgames/the-dwarves-a-new-storydriven-fantasy-rpg) It's a video game more or less what you're looking for.

Looks interesting, I will look into it more when there is more development on it.

[Grinner]

This idea is problematic from what I can see, for divorced from their literary heritage, what is a dwarf but a short, stocky human?

I'm going to second the mythological approach. Or maybe you should take extant mythologies, perhaps file the names off, and build new cultures and religions around them, focusing on the dwarves' perspective.

[nuaragonis]

This idea is problematic from what I can see, for divorced from their literary heritage, what is a dwarf but a short, stocky human?

I'm going to second the mythological approach. Or maybe you should take extant mythologies, perhaps file the names off, and build new cultures and religions around them, focusing on the dwarves' perspective.

True on your first point, but I want to bring out the personality of the dwarves and maybe add a variety of political situations to see lots of conflict between themselves and other races such as the orcs and goblins and giants. Humans are not cut out of the story entirely, they are just a minority among the dwarves. As with the other races, they are still on the surface just very isolated and small in number at least for the purposes of starting this setting.

Who knows, later on maybe the humans or another race decides they should be in charge and with the PC's help begin a hostile takeover.

[Sam113097]

What is the world's geography like, to allow the typically mountain-dwelling dwarves to conquer the world?
I would suggest that most of the world is made up of an interconnected system of canyons and valleys, surrounded by high mountains. The dwarves were the first (or only) race to dig tunnels/carve paths that allowed easy travel between valleys. That way, you could have many small, isolated pockets of civilizations of many races, allowing players to play a variety of species and backgrounds, while still living in a dwarf-dominated world.

[nuaragonis]

What is the world's geography like, to allow the typically mountain-dwelling dwarves to conquer the world?
I would suggest that most of the world is made up of an interconnected system of canyons and valleys, surrounded by high mountains. The dwarves were the first (or only) race to dig tunnels/carve paths that allowed easy travel between valleys. That way, you could have many small, isolated pockets of civilizations of many races, allowing players to play a variety of species and backgrounds, while still living in a dwarf-dominated world.

That's almost exactly what I was thinking. They would have a system of underground high ways that they controlled, so they could out maneuver and enemy on the surface.

Any thoughts on how large of a world I should look at? How many continents, how many kingdoms? I'm trying to think big, but it's not all necessary right now.

[GungHo]

That's almost exactly what I was thinking. They would have a system of underground high ways that they controlled, so they could out maneuver and enemy on the surface.

Any thoughts on how large of a world I should look at? How many continents, how many kingdoms? I'm trying to think big, but it's not all necessary right now.

I wouldn't worry about that yet. Focus on the dwarves from the region you're exploring and maybe a few others if there's a reason to do so (visitors from other kingdoms in town or PCs that hail from those regions). Build what's happening in the valleys between the dwarfholds or what's happening deeper in the underworld/dark after that and as the need arises. You'll spend a hell of a lot of time building out stuff no one's ever going to see if you detail the whole world before people have even rolled a character.

[AMFV]

Hello all, I am a new DM and looking at creating my first setting and world. I would like to focus on the Dwarves, my personal favorite race, as the main faction of this new world. It seems most generic settings tend to have dwarves as a minority. I have been looking at the dwarves from the Dragon Age setting as my inspiration for how their culture and way of life is. I am still new at this so any tips or brainstorming ideas would be appreciated, anything that makes dwarves stand out to you? Any good stories you have read that really brought their personalities out?

One of my good friends is going to help me put some depth into this new world once I get it to a starting point by doing a solo campaign with me, playing a dwarf. No particular rush on this order though.

Well the first thing you need to do is figure out what exactly your Dwarfs are. On a large scale. If they're replacing humans, the key thing is to figure out how they will be different from humans. As somebody pointed out Dwarves need a way to be the dominant force, so they either need to be more adaptive than humans, or the world needs to favor them. Or you could make them have been there for longer (allowing them to have developed dominance).

I would start by figuring out the big picture idea of what you think Dwarfs are, then figure out how they work. If they live in caves, they need to eat, almost all societies are pretty preoccupied with that, it's very difficult to survive just importing food (I recommend terrace gardening outside of their mountains, or something similar). What sort of societal rules do they have (Dwarfs in most fantasy settings are conservative, and family oriented is this the case here).

As people have said earlier, I would get the big picture fragments done, and then focus on the small stuff that's important. The big fragments will let those be internally consistent.

[sktarq]

Well classic dwarves have problems-you'll need to fix at least most of these to at least some degree.

What do they eat. Mushrooms? Well then what organic material is the fungi growing on and where does that get its energy from? Also that means huge amounts of space dedicated to this-it would dominate their towns. Which could be fine but isn't classic dwarf. Are they closer to the surface and adapted to the shorter growing seasons with things like buckwheat, quinoa, etc along with Goats and small cattle- basically look at Switzerland, The Altoplano of Peru/Bolivia and Tibet and adapt it.

If they are digging so much where does all the stuff they dig out go? The richest ores are about 45% pure but even a 10% pure is considered very rich for most metals and a 1% for gold or other rare metals is considered very good. Gem Ores are rated by how many tons of rock per carat.Plus the rock between the settlement and the ore, structural needs for structural needs of the mine, ventalation, etc. Plus all the rock that was in the market/palace/roads/ storerooms etc. .. plus breaking it up into rubble will double/triple it's volume. Where does it all go? How does it get there? (if the dump site is 2 hours from the mine face and each miner can take say 3 cubic feet of stone each trip thanks to dwarven encumbrace rules and a miner can take down 3 cubic feet and hour they would need 4 runners who all need to fed, etc so the problem can quickly eat up most of the dwarves labor resources). Dumping into chasms could be upsetting for any living on the floor of the chasm (to them it would be a vault.

Water issues - both getting enough in places and dealling with mine flooding.

Smelting - what burns and where do they get it? Coal? Sure but is it likely to be near the ores? So it needs transport. Water transport is probably out most of the time. So more labor. These dwarves fit into the culture how? Who are they within the society?

Basically classic D&D Dwarves are really a caste within the larger human one that feeds them in return for metal goods.

[gtwucla]

You can also adjust the setting of the dwarves so that they are still associated with the classic mountain setting. But instead of having them underground, what do you think about them living in the valleys and foothills of mountain ranges. You could come up with a setting rich with fertile valleys and bordered by large mountain chains. This would help make the world feel more real.

The dwarves could both live above ground and below. Perhaps they gained their reputation as underground dwellers because of their road networks, which often tunnel through mountains. You could keep them medieval, but look to Bismark's Germany, who strengthened the country through a network of railroads. This helped them swiftly defeat Napoleon III and embarrass France, setting up WWI decades later. So in the same vein, you could have this large nation or collection of principalities connected with massive road networks. This not only makes them an economic and military power, but it sets up a world filled with tension, and therefore potential conflict and story possibilities.

[avr]

The Roman empire was held together by armies mostly moving at (human) foot speed. You could make your kingdom(s) very large ... but it's much easier to detail and describe small areas, and to make the actions of a handful of adventurers matter to them.

It's entirely possible to raise sheep on mountains, especially if you have warm caverns to shelter them in from the worst of the weather. For dwarves who are involved in the world, mushrooms are likely to be siege rations or winter fodder at most.

BTW, there's a game named Earthdawn where dwarves are the major economic power and so the trade language is Low Dwarven. The dwarves there established their power only partially by military force; they led the resistance to the Therans by diplomacy.

[Murk]

I would also try to think of Dwarfs outside of the tunnels, the caves, the big cities.
How do dwarves live in vast forests? How does a society of fishermen dwarves live? Desert dwarves?

This is important, because dwarves are going to be dominant. The "normal" dwarves we know are a minority - they live in their mountains, they mine, and all other stuff they trade. They don't need to be very heterogenuous or diverse, because they are a niche species.
If dwarves are going to be dominant, however, they'll have to leave their niche. And then what? If you remove the mountains and the minings, what is left of dwarves?

[TheMiningDwarf]

Don't forget the Duegar, the sworn enemy of the dwarves that live deep underground. If the dwarves are the dominate race in the world then the Duegar become an even bigger problem.

[VoxRationis]

You should spend time developing an Underdark with varied biomes, capable of both allowing diversity of lifestyles (so different dwarven populations will have different cultures and ways of life) and withstanding scrutiny. It will help.

[Tiktakkat]

If you can get ahold of some old material, try checking out:

Gaz06 The Dwarves of Rockhome
This is the dwarf homeland for the Mystara setting, written for the BECMI rules. It contains some of the earliest depictions of diversity within Dwarven culture, with suggestions of sub-race differences.

PHBR6 The Complete Book of Dwarves
This is the dwarf sourcebook for AD&D 2nd. It collects material from other sources, including Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance. It contain a lot of notes on using the sub-races as a base for different cultures and politics among dwarves.

Dwarves aren't the dominant race in my campaigns, though they are an important political force in the region I most commonly use. I have used both of those books as a regular reference to set up distinctions between the two competing dwarven groups, as well as to produce variation within each group.

For more expansion, you might consider adjusting the status of gnomes and deep halflings as dwarven off-shoots or half-breeds, and "rehabilitate" the duergar so they are part of mainstream dwarven cultures, albeit with a tendency to be morose and anti-social.

[sktarq]

actually one of the more interesting questions that pop up for me is: What do you do with the humans in the setting? If you are basically replacing "the norm" of humanity with dwarves that means understanding how humans fit into your world in a different way. You could have them have their own cultural archtype (perhaps Nomadic Pastorialist or Coastal/River folk) or a few of them or like some settings treat halflings humans could be the ones always looking for an abandoned corner where they can make a niche-and will almost certainly outgrow said niche (with their quick breeding compared to the Dwarven norm) and destabilize said niche.

or something totally different

[VoxRationis]

actually one of the more interesting questions that pop up for me is: What do you do with the humans in the setting? If you are basically replacing "the norm" of humanity with dwarves that means understanding how humans fit into your world in a different way. You could have them have their own cultural archtype (perhaps Nomadic Pastorialist or Coastal/River folk) or a few of them or like some settings treat halflings humans could be the ones always looking for an abandoned corner where they can make a niche-and will almost certainly outgrow said niche (with their quick breeding compared to the Dwarven norm) and destabilize said niche.

or something totally different

If the surface in the campaign setting is particularly inhospitable, the humans could be the precise reverse of dwarves in being the race that is on the wrong side of the ground, with a culture and society built around that.