From the Journal of Kadol Ezumadek, Dwarven Paladin1st of Granite, 222It has been two years, two decades, and two centuries since the first dwarf of the Granite Arena, or Lolokuvash in the Old Tongue, struck the earth in our glorious Mountainhome. Since then, we have fought off dragons and titans, elves and goblins; even humans and other dwarves have besieged us from time to time. But we have always held true and steadfast to our ideals and morals; always lived by the Code of our fathers. But our power is waning. Already, many of our ancestral lands are controlled by the dwarves of the Portal of Slaughter. Hordes of goblins pour to our gates nearly every year, and we all know that the cold truce with the humans and elves will not last. Worse, just a few years ago a dark tower sprang out of the earth, and with it came the Legion of Dead. There are those among us who believe that Lolokuvash shall not live to see her third century. But I do not believe that; indeed, I cannot. We will survive; we must. We must be a bastion of hope and prosperity for all to see.
That is why I, Kadol Ezumadek of the Holy Order of Granite, have set forth with six others to strike the earth in the forest north of our lands. We will build a great, towering fortress from which we will crush all those who seek to destroy our lands. Any threat, whether goblin, undead, or human in origin, will have to pass through us first. The tallest mountain will crumble and the deepest ocean will boil, but only the Honor of the Paladin is unbreakable.
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Hi everyone! Urist McDonald here, about to start a new community fort!
I've noticed that most of the forts on these forums tend to house dwarves of, shall we say... Low moral quality. But everyone knows that dwarves are supposed to be Lawful Good! This fortress will attempt to fix that. What does that mean? Well, I won't be flooding the world with magma, for one. Clearly, an action like that would have terrible moral consequences and would harm innocents; therefore it simply won't be done. Traps, too, are a cowardly way to fight. During sieges, civilians may hide in the depths of the fort behind such dishonorable devices, but the Paladins themselves will do battle on the open field. Only if the last Paladin falls will the traps be called upon. The exception, of course, is the undead. Even a lowly kobold thief or goblin snatcher deserves an honorable death, but the only thing the shambling dead deserve is a swift and final end.
I have embarked next to a necromancer tower, so hopefully I'll get quite a few battles. Same goes for goblins. Eventually, I might even declare war on the humans or elves, depending on how dishonorably they act in trade.
A final restriction I will be placing on myself is that, as a loyal subject of the king, I will be ensuring that the liaison always leaves happy, and that when nobles arrive they will be treated well. I know, pretty unconventional, right?
If you want to be dwarfed, just say so! You don't have to be a Paladin; I'm sure some (most) of the civilians think Kadol Ezumadek is full of it when he talks about honor. Having another perspective could be fun.