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[NinjaE8825]

I'm considering running a DF-ish fantasy game in GURPS: Thinking of awesome DF-y stuff to include. Doesn't need to be major or important stuff. Game year is 1453.

NPC - Cacame Ironbeard, King of The Golden Constellations - born 390
In 398, the then-young Golden Constellations warred with a barbaric elven nation - when the dwarves captured elven retreats, the inhabitants were mostly spared, but the elves gave no such considerations towards dwarven civilians, who they considered just as much to blame for the genocide of the natural world. The young Cacame knew this well - his parents had been captured by the dwarves, and allowed to live peacefully, but under guard. His parents, and Cacame himself, hated the dwarves - but the elves, upon their return, gave that no thought. The elves who had lived were traitors for aiding the dwarven monsters. They deserved no better treatment. The dwarves died. The prisoners died, and had their traitorous flesh consumed by those who remained pure in an attempt to save their tainted souls. But Cacame lived, and he had seen it all. As he grew older, so did his hate for those who had betrayed him, and he eventually joined the dwarven armies. His hate drove him to excel, and through his prowess in battle he eventually earned the friendship of the king, Urist Pigbeard. The elven nation fell, and their forests burned, and their names were erased from history. The few that surrendered to the dwarves were let go, to make their lives in distant lands. But Cacame remained. He had grown to like the dwarves and their ways, and he remained as a good friend of the royal family. In 736, though, the line of Pigbeard fell to traitorous elements, next in line to the throne. Cacame found them, and killed them all. But this left the Golden Constellations without a clear ruler - civil war seemed immenent, until the three dukes of Ashendeeps, Angelsteel and Firecaves united behind an unlikely contender - Cacame. Preferring even this to all-out civil war, the nobles eventually agreed. Cacame had served the people of the mountainhomes since before even the oldest  dwarf could remember, and it was only right that he continue to do so. According to many historians, they could not have made a better choice, and the dwarves of the Golden Constellations love their king (which confuses dwarves of other lands tremendously), even if he is a little tall and has to wear a beard made of chainmail to cover his pathetic attempts at a beard.

[SalmonGod]

You know.... this is a fantastic idea.  Dwarf Fortress' world gen offers a fantastic starting point for developing unique fantasy roleplay settings with rich histories and character casts.  I really need to try this.  The style would meld seamlessly with Burning Wheel, which is my favorite P&P system.

Edit: Complete with visualization tools!

[NinjaE8825]

I might not use it to create dungeons, but world maps... 

Anywho, on with it!
Fun Fact - Garbage Disposal
It is said that in Starrydeeps, capital of The Golden Constellations, there is a hole that goes all the way down to Hell itself. Allegedly, the king uses it to make exceptionally annoying people disappear.

Plot Hook - Who Wants To Live Forever?
King Ironbeard has no biological children - he has married 3 dwarven women throughout the ages, but obviously none of these marriages have been fruitful (oh, and words to the wise - don't speculate on the king's domestic matters while there are any of his subjects present. They WILL beat you up.), so he has taken to formally adopting noble children orphaned by war, to quiet the worries his advisors have about the line of succession if something were to happen. However, to the next in line, having an immortal king is less than ideal, and the king has fought off several attempts on his life, one of which endangered his current wife. He is little pleased with this.

Entity - Akon Xol-Gozru, "The Shadowed Fellowship of Hell"
Beneath the haunted desert called Xogaknatong, Sun-despair in the goblin tongue, there is a vast and hidden empire.
Its ruler is Akonolsmu Meslu, the Serpent of Shadowed Seasons, a creature that crept out from beneath the hidden places under the mountains whilst the world was still young.
It appeared to the goblin tribes that had been driven into the desert by the kinder races, and offered them sanctuary from the sun if they would swear
allegiance - ever a pragmatic lot, the goblins did so, and were taken into the depths of the world, and were taught of its ways.
These days, there are other things than goblins under the desert - throughout the centuries, others have come - some, elves or men or dwarves, were taken for servitude or pleasure, and managed to free themselves (goblins respect nothing except strength, but they do respect that), whilst other came of their own free will - perhaps because nobody wanted them, perhaps because they sought power.
The Tower of Shade teems with them, resounds with their cries of terror, death, joy and love, and the Serpent of Shadowed Seasons lies coiled in its temple and loves them all.

(The Serpent is associated with Darkness, Protection and Freedom: if a player wants ot be from Akon Xol-Gozru, they can play any of the civilized races, or any of the underground beastmen)

[darkflagrance]

A detail you might add to the Cacame bio is that not only did the elves discriminate against his family and betray them, but among those they devoured was the woman he loved.

[NinjaE8825]

I know, that's a deliberate change. My Cacame was eight when the massacre happened, because game!Cacame seemed like the type to never love again and I wanted to leave options open for having a "rescue the queen!" type plot.

Plot hook - Moody Consort
The Duchess of Firecaves, Ftrid Cavessong, has a problem. Her husband, Cog, has taken to spending inordinate amounts of time in his study, poring over strange schematics written in code. He barely sleeps, he barely eats, and he almost drank water because he was too busy to find the sunshine. He has surreptitiously gathered strange materials from the markets of the city - Bars of brass, troll hides and six enormous rubies. But something is missing, and Cog is getting desperate. A servant says that she found a book of unusual flora in the study while cleaning, opened to the entry on Featherwood. The closest place you can find featherwood is the Eternal Jungles, three weeks to the north by ship, and to make things worse, they're full of elves*. They won't look kindly on trespassing dwarves, especially ones with axes.
Unfortunately, there is no other option.


*(or maybe, for that Sumerian flavah, there're no elves, but it's got a bronze colossus that lives there. :3 )