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Any D&D/D20

Shadowrun

World of Darkness

Palladium

Other (feel free to post about it)

[Egan_BW]

I guess it's designed around an All Dwarf Party for some reason?

[Kagus]

Considering they're the only race to get true darkvision in a game about shadows and darkness, there's a fragment of logic there!

Unfortunately, such a party would likely tear themselves to shreds the moment any sort of gold reward was to be split between them; unless everyone had already signed absolutely ironclad contracts with one another that said they wouldn't.


The race that's entirely composed of "bred-and-built for war bloodthirsty killing machines" is actually given far more leniency in having individual personality and the chance to practice the art of not being a dick.

But for all that, I still like to introduce SotDL as "The one with a spell to make someone literally shit themselves to death".

[wierd]

No no no.

Take the notion of an abattoir.

A farmer has an interest in quality beef; not the blissful contentedness of the cows.

Likewise, the dwarven adventurer is interested in the quality of the loot, not the success of the party.


The success of the party is necessary to obtaining quality loot.  Much like contented cows produce superior beef.


As long as the "climax" (loot wise) has not happened yet, the dwarf will act in accordance with the furtherance of the party's objectives and goals.  HOWEVER, once that point has been crossed (and if the party is not essential to being able to escape the danger that has surely been stirred up), it becomes COMPLETELY appropriate (and even necessary) from the dwarf's perspective to "Terminate" the relationship.


With such a backdrop, dwarves would be seen as untrustworthy.  This only reinforces the xenophobia of the dwarves in return. (All other races treat them with disdain, distrust, and paranoia, wondering when the long knives will come out.)

Due to this paranoia, the dwarven adventurer must be very silver tongued, and be able to fully convince the other party members that he/she is "different", and "Oh yes-- totally cares about [saving the princess/destroying the evil/restoring the balance/whatever], and will be good till the end."

Right up until the long knives come out.


As for the "Stuff made by non-dwarves is crap" angle, this isn't entirely correct.  A proper craftsman appreciates things made outside his/her own craft, as long as they are well made, (and they cannot make them themselves).  Other races have special racial abilities that permit crafting methods beyond what a dwarf can do. (take for instance, living-wood crafted elven items, or fantastical magical items created by supernatural beings.) 

Farming adventurers would be a GREAT way to get these items, and take them home.

[Kagus]

"Dwarfs see themeselves as masters at the forge, construction, sculpture, engineering and many other arts. They can usually tell when they encounter something made by a people other than dwarfs and waste little time in pointing out its flaws. The works of others rarely meet their approval, and almost never garners their praise, as they will always find something wrong with it, even if they have to invent it"

Now, given the context of that snippet (dwarf egos/cursed pride), one could argue that this just means they'll trash-talk everything while actually still respecting/wanting to have it.

This is of course combined with the constant thought of their ancestors watching over them, so they strive to act "honorably" in all things, lest they bring shame to their entire clan... Exactly what is "honorable" to a dwarf is a bit hazy, as they won't stoop to stealing but are apparently just fine with completely fleecing someone in a contract if the other party doesn't read the really fine print. I'm not sure where lying falls in that calculation.

"Being suspicious and untrusting means dwarfs do not enter into bargains lightly. Even among their own kind, they require more than an oath and a handshake. For any transaction that involves riches, dwarfs draw up elaborate contracts that might run dozens of pages in length, filled with convoluted language that shifts the risk to the other party while offering the dwarf the best protections. Of course, dwarfs are wise to such contractual tricks, and negotiations between dwarfs can be fierce and last several days before they can reach terms. For those unfamiliar with the way dwarfs do business, signing a contract whipped up by a dwarf is a quick way to lose one's shirt."

The "any transaction that involves riches" is a real sticker, depending on your definition of "riches". Considering the Gold Lust madness for dwarfs (which is fairly debilitating, I might add) is invoked for "any item worth 1gc or more", what does that mean for the definition of 'riches'? I suppose that does answer the question of them seeing value in things not made by dwarfs, but that is also explained as being an attachment to the rare metals and materials used to make the items, rather than any competency on the part of the crafter.


Also, in addition to being suspicious and wary of everyone, they are violently hostile towards two of the player races, specifically distrustful towards two more, and just generally disdainful to humans. Clockworks are fascinating (although they'd never admit as much), but not to be considered as thinking beings.

"Gruff, critical, and suspicious, dwarfs make few friends outside their own kind. They covet treasure but temper their greed with the certainty their ancestors are always watching. Thus, dwarfs conduct themselves with honor to avoid bringing shame to their clans."

Plus some more yadda yadda suspicious racists yadda yadda no friends yadda yadda wars started over perceived insults etc.


I dunno, I suppose one could argue that the other races are bestial and unthinking enough that "lying" isn't really a concept when dealing with them, therefore it's not dishonorable? Become meta-racist to the point where you can actually get along with people by spitting through your teeth?



Still doesn't really solve the adventuring problem though... While a farmer may venture out with the herd to find better grazing for a richer beef, he's not likely to do so if he suspects the herd might stomp on him at any moment. Better to just keep a safe distance and let them sort themselves out in that case, which means from a practical standpoint that you're gonna be kind of a shitty party member to deal with.

[wierd]

That just means the dwarf will be "honest" about the terms of the contract;  Well concealed under numerous layers of boilerplate, jargon, legalese, and perhaps ambiguous wording.


A good backdrop to segue in a dwarven player char, would be part of a duo; A dwarf and his human "business partner", who has already negotiated a business relationship. Unlike your normal human, the human in this duo *NEEDS* to be a ruthless lawyer type.  (and thus, respectable in the eyes of the dwarf.) The two need to engage in heated "behind the scenes" banter with each other about the exact wording and legal precedents behind their contract, at fairly regular intervals, and both need to be fairly hush about it. 

The idea is that the human partner is the talent scout liason in the partnership, the dwarf is a contracted specialist with very specific contractual obligations, and the two are openly a partnership with the outwardly stated goals of enriching themselves.

The dwarf stays out of trouble with their ancestors by having the human be the deceitful one.


EG--- the highly simplified contract would have these terms as the fundemental basis for the partnership.

Dwarven specialist gets first pick of the top 2/3rds share of apportioned loot, Human associate gets bottom valued 1/3 of product. Should human inadvertantly gain unexpected valuable loot, Dwarven specialist gets first opportunity to purchase at 2/3rds price before human may sell on open market. Breach of contract punishble by [some awful thing.]

Human accepts all duties, obligations, and responsibilites associated with dealing with outside interests to the contract, and assumes all labors, duties, and legal consequences for their conduct. Dwarven partner does not accept liability for any negative outcome to any 3rd party human may bring in.


The human is operating on the "long tail" business model;  Even the cast-offs of a good campaign are higher value than the normal stuff at your general goods store, and thus good mercantile fodder. Dwarf is interested in the cream-of-the-crop items, as payment for specialist services.



Naturally, this will lead to... "Hilarious situations"  should the party gain possession of the McGuffin.

[Egan_BW]

That's very a lot of hoops to jump through in order to play one of the default races as a functional member of the party.
Most people will go the vastly easier way of either ignoring the lore and playing them more fantasy-generic or else use the lore to justify being toxic and maybe player-killy.

[wierd]

True enough, but challenge is part of the fun, as long as you can work out a functional formula, and hash it out with your DM.

Abstracting some of the hard-line bullheadedness of the relationship through totally unfair dice rolls and getting agreed upon methods for the DM to instruct the player on how to have the characters interact with each other at various times, could make it more interesting.

MurderHobo dwarf needs to get the party to sign a contract that agrees to being murdered in order to work, cannon-wise.

[Grim Portent]

So one of the players in my upcoming game is going to be playing a sapient cat, most likely a bard but that detail isn't important.

The important thing is that so far the concept involves the player and PC not knowing why they're a cat with human level intelligence and the ability to talk. They have no recollection of being human, cursed, awakened or anything else that would make them able to talk. All they know is that they're a talking cat, with all the existential questions that brings about.

So my job of course is working out what the hell they were so it can get answered some day. Kitten dipped in magical garbage that gained the power of speech? Human cursed into feline form with amnesia?


Personally I'm currently leaning towards them having been a sphinx that failed in their duty as a sacred guardian due to some personal failing and was cast down into the form of a 'normal' cat and stripped of most of their memories as punishment. Breaking the divine curse, either through very powerful magic or by seeking atonement, would allow them to regain their true form if they desire it.

[wierd]

magically awakened kitten, as part of ethically dubious experiment

That gets my vote.  Newborn kittens cannot see or hear. Only smell, taste, and touch.  They would not be capable of comprehending the magic being worked on them.

(Or go full M Night Shamalan--  Cat-man-Du learns about JUST SUCH AN EXPERIMENT, and THINKS that is where he came from, while actually indeed being a cast down sphinx. Go for Triple Jeopardy by having that ethically dubious experiment be intrinsically related to their failure.  EG, the magic used is sealed away and protected, but was cunningly stolen on their watch.)

[Imic]

Perhaps some Cats just talk. Perhaps there’s an underground network of long-lived talking Cats.

[pikachu17]

Perhaps its like the various talking animals of Unseen University from the Discworld, and the cat just got infected with magic radiation from a wizard school/university/tower that enabled them to talk/ do magic.
They were a travelling stray, so by the time the magic radiation from the food they'd scavenged sets in, having not had human intelligence at the time, they'd forgotten all about the tower, and just know that they once had normal cat intelligence, and now have more.
With backstories like this though, I think Wild Mage sorcerer makes more sense.

[Mephisto]

The cat was starving. Its owner hadn't fed it all night and it was getting desperate. It heard things. Things it couldn't understand but did. It accepted the deal that it was presented with.

And that's where the GoO warlock kitty came from. The GoO patron has regretted it ever since.

[MrRoboto75]

The cat was starving. Its owner hadn't fed it all night and it was getting desperate. It heard things. Things it couldn't understand but did. It accepted the deal that it was presented with.

And that's where the GoO warlock kitty came from. The GoO patron has regretted it ever since.

If it works for DC comics...

[pikachu17]

The cat was starving. Its owner hadn't fed it all night and it was getting desperate. It heard things. Things it couldn't understand but did. It accepted the deal that it was presented with.

And that's where the GoO warlock kitty came from. The GoO patron has regretted it ever since.

If it works for DC comics...

So, you are saying Dex-Starr, but as a warlock? I think Fiend would make more sense as a Red Lantern anologue.
Or maybe some kind of Barbarian would be even better. Zealot, maybe?

Also, why would the GoO patron regret it? Cats and humans are about the same intelligence to a GOO's perspective.

[Egan_BW]

Also, why would the GoO patron regret it? Cats and humans are about the same intelligence to a GOO's perspective.

In that case, you may as well have a non-sapient cat warlock.
Though cha-based casting isn't great for beasts. Why wouldn't you go for a wis caster instead?