Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MetalGemini 07-24-04, 11:17 PM	Any suggestions on how I can deviate from the dwarf cliche for my character? He's a Dwarf Fighter with Earth Elemental bloodline (from Unearthed Arcana) and pursuing the Stonelord PrC. Preferred fighting style is dual-wield dwarven waraxe and short sword. I need some help with background and any quirks that would make him stand apart from the dwarven fighter cliche! Thanks in advance
dorkknight23 07-25-04, 12:27 AM	Well, just off the top of my head: I see Earth, Earth, and more Earth, so play him as kind of slow, methodical, very deliberate (in both his choice of words and his actions.) Perhaps he's slow to anger, but when enraged he practically quakes. You could also have his bond with the earth be so deep that he thinks he can hear the earth speak (or cry out in pain, etc.) And you should probably have him know Terran.
Kitt-su 07-28-04, 12:58 AM	To escape the the stereo-type of dwarven fighters, have him have a secret love of something girlie or childish. He won't go into battle until he gives his blanky a rub. Or he hides his stuffed animal milk-chunks (cute stuffed animal kitty) in his backpack. If anyone found out that he had it and questioned he denie it till they decide to harm it. :D
NeoDrizzt 07-28-04, 03:22 PM	Make him have an elf fetish...yeah...elfs **drools**
shadowflamedancer 07-28-04, 07:58 PM	Look through the 'races' section of the PHB and take note of some specific dwarven personality traits. Look at other races such as halfing, orc and gnome. Take a personality trait from a different race/culture and switch it with one from the dwarven entery.
Ganurath 07-29-04, 12:32 AM	For example, a chaotic neutral alignment is far off from the Dwarven lawful good alignment. Maybe give him an appreciation of nature?
NeoDrizzt 07-30-04, 11:26 AM	Why not change his nature. make him a duel dagger wielding rogue.
Undercover 07-30-04, 02:27 PM	Instead of deviating from dwarven culture, why not embracing it fully? Perhaps your dwarf believes the great Soul-Forger (Moradin) was the first to create a race upon the world, the perfect race, and other gods tried to copy his work and ended up with less than perfect races. Also he could refuse any kind of bartering prices on metal or other mineral works, he has a keen sense of each thing's value and won't accept anything different. Also laugh a lot and sing when not 'on duty', but refrain others from this when things get serious. Maybe a fan of telling everyone the great deeds of your ancestors, perhaps even saluting enemies before combat with your name, your father's and your father's father's. And why not trying to inspire your friends in battle, afterall you know great warriors go to the hall of heroes when they die, to feast and battle forever. Lastly, you could roleplay a struggle to not fall into greed, the temptation of dwarvenkind. My .02
Ganurath 07-30-04, 03:19 PM	Originally posted by Undercover Instead of deviating from dwarven culture, why not embracing it fully? Because he wants to RP a deviation.
Tony Vargas 07-30-04, 04:18 PM	It can be too easy to just take a stereotype and just stand it on it's head. Play a dwarf sorcerer or half-orc wizard or whatever. You're obviously not doing that, which is good. To break the stereotype, but still come off as the dwarven fighter you are, you'd want to pick at most, one aspect of that steroetype that he deviates from in a visable or dramatic way, and stick to the stereotype in your superficial behavior. Under that, just play a character with individual ideas, ideals, doubts and motivations. As they come to the surface, you'll demonstrate a character that is more than the stereotype - even if he's just a 3-D version of that stereotype...
shadowflamedancer 07-31-04, 04:51 PM	Originally posted by NeoDrizzt Make him have an elf fetish...yeah...elfs **drools** No. Thats not a dwarven trait. Thats a human trait. :D
bpramone 07-31-04, 08:32 PM	In my campaign, most of the sailors are dwarves (their low center of gravity helps during storms on the high sea). He could be a dwarf with a small affinity for water. He hung out by the underwater lakes and such when he was growing up. It might be fun to use a water elemental bloodline crossed with a stonelord...
SmiloDan 08-01-04, 04:30 PM	How about a very courteous, knightly dwarf? He can still be a gung-ho fighter, but he fights using rules of law and chivalry. Maybe even make him a bit of a ladies man, but not a lech. He might dress like the 3 Musketeers, but he still rocks with his axe and poniard. Or give him improved shield bash?
NeoDrizzt 08-02-04, 06:23 PM	Have him be a Goblin sissy! Everyone knows Dwarf's hatre Goblins right? Why not make him scared of Goblins...yeah goblilns...*buhhhh*
illiterate 08-02-04, 10:42 PM	Now, this may be a bit difficult to pull off, but i found that when playing dwarves I tend to be very stoic, with emotion mostly showing in my willingness to put my arse on the line for others. Perhaps a dwarf who wears his heart on his/her sleeve?
Sphyre 08-03-04, 03:44 AM	Heh, here's one that is pretty interesting: He's got an earth bloodline, right? Why not hop on google and choose an earth zodiac sign and read up on that type of "personality." It might give you an idea on how to make an "earthy" like personality. You can look up Capricorn, Virgo or Taurus, and just develop a personality off that. You don't need a personality quirk to have a different personality. That way he's based more on personality traits than by his cultured traits. Quirks... well you've got ideas from other people about that :)
Passionateapathy 08-09-04, 03:09 PM	A few ideas... you could have him be a beardless dwarf... Possibly one that is tall and thin... he is a stonelord in an effort to 'prove' that he's not a short human... You could make him actually believe he's something else... and his 'nature' is 'forcing him, against his will' to become a stonelord... For instance... he could have an intellectual affinity for some other element... (possibly even whatever is the opposite of earth) but a 'real/physical' affinity for earth/stone...
Illithid Tentacles 08-11-04, 12:56 AM	He could be a crossdresser.
Trydan 08-11-04, 02:38 AM	If you are going for fighter, go for a radically different weapon. Forget those cliché axes, picks, hammers and crossbows. Try something like rapier, trident or sickle instead.
Platinumwarlock 08-11-04, 11:32 PM	I apologize if this offends anyone, but one of my friends really broke the mold with Dwarves simply by making a single lifestyle change. His dwarf was a closeted homosexual. Made for a very different role-play session, as his character nervously tried to be "macho" dwarf that everyone expected, while trying to be true to himself at the same time. May not be for everyone, but it was a really interesting concept that I appreciated.
TheMightyMcClaw 08-11-04, 11:47 PM	I think that by merely running in the opposite directions of dwarf cliche's (being effiminate, or flamboyant, or whathaveyou) you end up with almost as cliched a character as you would otherwise; it's just a confusing one. Rather than just trying to act undwarfly, think about dwarven personalities more deeply. For example, it seems that dwarves have, ordered, logical mindsets, and reclusive, patient personalities ; thus, a dwarven sage, alchemist, engineer, or wizard seems fitting. I can definitely see a dwarf opening up the same musty old book every morning, and memorizing the same pages for hours each day. I can likewise see a dwarf going into a library and delving through tomes for days on end without a word of social interaction. Dwarves are generally thought of as "RAAAR FIGHTER SMASH!" nowadays, but this idea of the dwarf-scholar fits the personality well. I know that you're already planning on being a combat character, so look at weapons. The archetypal weapons are the axe and the hammer, with the pick and the mace coming into second. Rather than going 360 and using a rapier and dagger, think about weapons that are fitting, but not often used. The shortsword or broadsword and shield, for example. A dwarven halberdier also seems fitting. Since he's part elemental, you could also make him a very spiritual dwarf. But instead of shouting "BY MORADIN's BEARD!" every three seconds, perhaps he has more of a quiet, nature-oriented spirituallity. The kind of guy who will go up into the mountains (or the caves beneath the mountains) for a retreat and meditation to become closer to the earth. Anyways, just some of my thoughts on dwarves... maybe it can come in handy.
Dougan Axehammer 08-12-04, 03:22 AM	Originally posted by TheMightyMcClaw I think that by merely running in the opposite directions of dwarf cliche's (being effiminate, or flamboyant, or whathaveyou) you end up with almost as cliched a character as you would otherwise; it's just a confusing one. Rather than just trying to act undwarfly, think about dwarven personalities more deeply. For example, it seems that dwarves have, ordered, logical mindsets, and reclusive, patient personalities ; thus, a dwarven sage, alchemist, engineer, or wizard seems fitting. I can definitely see a dwarf opening up the same musty old book every morning, and memorizing the same pages for hours each day. I can likewise see a dwarf going into a library and delving through tomes for days on end without a word of social interaction. Dwarves are generally thought of as "RAAAR FIGHTER SMASH!" nowadays, but this idea of the dwarf-scholar fits the personality well. I know that you're already planning on being a combat character, so look at weapons. The archetypal weapons are the axe and the hammer, with the pick and the mace coming into second. Rather than going 360 and using a rapier and dagger, think about weapons that are fitting, but not often used. The shortsword or broadsword and shield, for example. A dwarven halberdier also seems fitting. Since he's part elemental, you could also make him a very spiritual dwarf. But instead of shouting "BY MORADIN's BEARD!" every three seconds, perhaps he has more of a quiet, nature-oriented spirituallity. The kind of guy who will go up into the mountains (or the caves beneath the mountains) for a retreat and meditation to become closer to the earth. Anyways, just some of my thoughts on dwarves... maybe it can come in handy. Wow, here I was trying to come up with something befitting. You not only did it first, you also did it best.