Campaign guide plight of the tuatha (1) 22

Chapter One: The Lands of Aeliode The dwarves are the chosen of the Volsung aspect of their god His path is one of crafting, hunting, and building these islands till they reach the sky The dwarves of the Ostmen help the islands grow ever larger and are devoted to the earth and stone which they and Volsung bring forth Fomoire are devoted to Balar They follow him across the sea They submerge themselves in the blood lust of Balar and strive to cause the blood of man and elves to flow over the land They were brought forth from the sea and are the masters of the oceans They long for the day that the oceans cover all the lands of creation; the seas will rise with the blood of their foes Humans and half-fomoire are caught in the middle of the warring natures of Volsung Who Is Balar Some are drawn to the destruction of Balar and his tumultuous oceans Their bodies change to resemble Balar’s as the salt air penetrates them Humans transform into half-fomoire, half-fomoire into fomoire Others follow the creation of Volsung, forging the islands and creating objects of great beauty They feel called to the ways of the dwarves Races Dwarf With their calloused hands and skin stained from the dust of ancient stone, dwarves are the very manifestation of tenacity, devotion, and the power that can be had through honest labor Their backs are as strong as the mountains their ancestor rose from the ocean floor Physiology Stocky and thick-skinned, the dwarves from the Ostmen Isles are as tough and resilient as their homeland Common hair colors range from dark brown to white while black or red hair is uncommon Most dwarven eyes are a shade of grey The appearance of blue eyes is considered unlucky as it is thought such a dwarf has too much of the sea in them Society The dwarves of the Ostmen Isles are a highly religious and tight-knit clan society While most worship the god Volsung, many honor other gods of the Ostmen Islands Most dwarves consider it a divine cause to help raise the land out of the raging sea While high priests of Volsung weave together blessings and mystical energies to bring new stone into existence, many other dwarves of the faith take it upon themselves to move these creations to locations where they are needed to hold back the destructive influence of the seas and oceans While Ostmen Dwarves live in such a way as to celebrate life, through holding great feasts and competitions of skill and wit, they are aware of the darker side of these activities and the call of the god Balar On occasion a dwarf ’s passion for life transforms into a lust and from a lust into a rage A dwarf whose blood is filled with rage is in danger of heeding the call of Balar and undergoing a physical transformation into a fomoire Much as is it when Volsung transforms into Balar, a dwarf whose lust and rage reshapes them into a fomoire begins to worship the chaos and rage of the sea and seeks to destroy all they once wished to build Arts Ostmen dwarves find great beauty in angular geometric designs and tend to place them wherever they can, carved into stone walls and wooden doors, sewn into clothing, forged into the hilts of their blades, most anywhere While many of these designs not obviously depict specific things in the world, many of them represent abstract concepts such as “the dominance of land over the sea,” “the purity of the roots of the Oldewood,” or “the strength of the Four Pillars of the Fjallbarn.” Jewelry, tattoos, and other bodily adornments are common, especially hollow cylinders which are woven into the hair and beards Usually made from metal, though sometimes also crafted from leather or wood, these hair and beard rings are sometimes seen as a status symbol or declaration of one’s achievements in life Runes or scenes are etched into the ring telling a bit of one’s history History It is said in dwarven halls that the Ostmen Islands are not their original home Dwarves believe that all land that one can find on Aeliode was raised from the depths of the ocean by their dwarven ancestors The lands in which they currently dwell are the lands which Volsung has directed for them to bring forth next For centuries, the dwarves have had occasional conflicts with fomoire tribes Most of these conflicts were due to the limited resources available in the region, but none of these conflicts were long lived Most lasted no more than a season or two Ostmen Dwarves also played a key role in the survival of the Huldufólk Elves during their migration from the land of TirYdrail to their current home in the Godspine Mountains Nearly 15000 years ago the elves reached the dwarven settlement of Grimaland The dwarves welcomed the elves into their halls and shared their food with the destitute masses For 1700 years the elves and the dwarves 21