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Dwarves of the Karlmark

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:43 pm
by shadowmane
For your feedback and enjoyment, I present "The Hammerthrall of the Karlmark". This is the first draft of a Dwarf Supplement I have started on after reading about the Dwarves of Mordengard from the Chainmail game WOTC released about 10 years ago or so. I hope you enjoy. There's still much to do on it, and I'm concurrently working on several supplements at once right now. This just happens to be the one that's the most fleshed out at the moment.

Edit: The most updated version will be kept on this post.

Re: The Hammerthrall of the Karlmark

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 7:05 pm
by Maliki
Communist dwarves, it does tend to suit their nature. I think if I was to use it (and I just might) I would not have this to be a "new" thing, it is just how dwarves have always done it. The idea of nobles and rulers just seems odd to them. Guildless dwarves while uncommon, would not be extremely rare.

(I know it is a rough draft, but Church of Tah is still in the header line)

Re: The Hammerthrall of the Karlmark

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 7:43 pm
by shadowmane
Hmmm... I thought I had removed all of that stuff. I'll change that immediately.

As far as the Dwarves, I see them as having a Nordic culture, with the cavernous Dwarven settlements taking the place of the Longhouses of the Vikings. This moves them from the Nordic type setting to one more akin to Russia in the 20's, sans technology. Its a real twist on Soviet Communism, and in fact, it has to be said that this is NOT Soviet Communism. But it will follow a socialist ideal. There will be Hammerthrall Champions with Paladin-like abilities, a secret police charged with making sure everyone remains good Commonists, as well as other goodies.

I decided to take a short break on the Church of Tah supplement to follow other creative juices. Once I write up a character class or two here, perhaps I'll be better equipped to handle the clerics in that supplement. This one will offer enough of a challenge designing the Clerics of the Hammerthrall, which is a philosophy, and not a religion.

I'm considering changing the name of it to simply "The Karlmark", and making it a setting supplement proper. I see the Karlmark as a conglomeration of several Dwarven settlements who banded together centuries ago, but who overthrew their overlord and implemented a form of Communism/Socialism. I have an idea for an Elven forest Kingdom as well, but haven't figured out the twist on that one yet. I also plan on developing a "Hillbilly" group that share the mountains with the Karlmark Dwarves.

Re: The Hammerthrall of the Karlmark

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 7:32 am
by SmootRK
I like it. I think communism or militant socialism with strict castes and such are very appropriate for dwarves, given their nature of guilds, tireless work ethic, and they just look the part in my mind. In other games/editions, they are Lawfully aligned which also seems to lend to a very community driven mindset where one places the collective above the needs/desires of the individual. All very soviet in my mind. Give them long overcoats and bear skin headgear like one sees in early (Czar era) Russian army (or very similar to the style shown in Wizard of Oz soldiers, only shorter), and they work perfectly for me.

Re: The Hammerthrall of the Karlmark

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 7:48 am
by SmootRK
Another Dwarf variation of society/guild, which one would not expect could be giving a group, guild, or other sort of division, a sort of Canadian Lumberjack sort of demeanor. I am talking about dwarves that service the mountain strongholds by being rather Ranger-ish or even Druid oriented sorts, but using their knowledge in a more mercantile manner. They harvest the woodlands for lumber and keep the regions surrounding the dwarfish settlements safe. They re-plant the forest areas with long term perspective that their longer lifespans would give them, so that decades later the forests can be harvested again.

These dwarves often wear flannel fabrics with various tartans (like Scottish clans), and their guilds specialize in wood crafts and lumber oriented trades (wheel-wrights, wood/charcoal fuels, carpentry, animal husbandry, as well as simple lumber supplies needed by the main dwarfish settlements). Their guild houses are often in the style of expansive mountain lodges. These dwarves often keep their beards shorter than their more traditional kin, sometimes even keeping only a stubbly growth, so as to keep from getting in the way of their saws and axes. Because of this and their slightly taller build (for dwarves), they are sometimes mistaken for rugged human mountain men.

Re: Dwarves of the Karlmark

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:50 am
by shadowmane
Well, I was going to add a "Hillbilly" aspect to the setting. Perhaps, instead of using humans, I could come up with hillbilly dwarves, who would be a kind of ranger. Though hillbillies (or more properly, Mountain Men) are more of your "jack of all trades, master of none" type. They would be Guildless, but could be put into Communes, following the whole precepts of Communism.

Here's another draft with more historical information. I'm going to try my hand at making a Hammerthrall Paladin today.

Re: Dwarves of the Karlmark

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 6:54 pm
by shadowmane
Some of this was edited from the "Divine Champion" supplement by Luigi Castellani, and other parts were edited from the "Rangers and Paladins" Supplement by Chris Gonnerman and Wynter Sturtevant. For purposes of leveling, use the chart found in both of those supplements, which is pretty much the same chart. All of this is contained in the attached 3rd Draft.
  • Champion of the Hammerthrall People

    A Champion of the Hammerthrall People (hereafter People's Champion) is their version of a Holy Warrior. Fighting the People's battles is what he does best. He is a sworn enemy to all nobility throughout the world, whether good, or bad. He is the quintessential Commonist, whose loyalty to the revolution is unquestionable. Should he ever begin to question the rightness of the Hammerthrall cause, he will lose his abilities as a People's Champion and revert to being a fighter until he atones.

    Requirements: To become a People's Champion, a character must have a Strength score of 9 or higher (just as with any Fighter), a Wisdom of 11 or higher, and a Charisma of 11 or higher. The character must also be a Hammerthrall Dwarf.

    Special Abilities: People's Champions may use any weapon and may wear any armor or shield.

    People's Champions can Insite Revolutionary Zeal with a fiery oration. Any Hammerthrall withing a 50' radius are inspired by this oration and gain a +2 on attack rolls. All allies of the People's Champion recieve a +1 on attack rolls. The People's Champion can also Detect Seditious Intentions (as per the detect lie spell) at will.

    People's Champions can Smite once per day per level. They can make a melee attack as if their weapon was magical, thus becoming able to hit creatures immune to non-magical attacks. At 10th level, this becomes once per round.

    10th level People's Champions gain the ability to cast Hammerthrall Scholar spells. For purposes of spell effects that vary based on the Scholar's level, use one-half the People's Champion's level, rounded down.

    People's Champions must give a minimum of 75% of all treasures gained or other profits to the People for re-distribution.

Re: Dwarves of the Karlmark

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 7:19 am
by SmootRK
I like the paladin-ish class idea. A communist loyalist and enforcer.

I like tying paladin-ish abilities to Charisma stat, but otherwise I like the concept very much. Not too much... seems balanced.

Re: Dwarves of the Karlmark

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:21 am
by artikid
Typo alert: Insite should be Incite.
Glad to see Divine Champions getting some use.
Plus soviet dwarves are awesome :)

Re: Dwarves of the Karlmark

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:16 pm
by shadowmane
Blame the balance on the work that has gone before me. Like I said, it depends a lot on the "Divine Champions" and the "Rangers and Paladins" suppliments.

artikid, thanks for correcting the typo. Sometimes LibreOffice don't make those corrections (or I ignore them one).