Book Building: Class Write-Up Preview

As I await some feedback about the amount of gods/worship in Bluestone I realized that though I had completed the fluff pieces for the various classes, I never posted any. So, as a bit of a preview/teaser, here's the first one!

Assassin

Assassins are nothing less then professional killers and while one could argue that title could belong to any adventurer on Bluestone, only the assassin does it with such skill, subtlety, and ruthlessness. The very idea to be hired out to kill others, often without any prior knowledge of the target is difficult for many people to understand. Many of the people of Bluestone could not detach themselves morally enough to contemplate such a profession. Of the intelligent species only three, humans, dwarves, and kobolds, find that they have those amongst them that can handle such a lifestyle.
Among Ashford Bay and many of the larger towns, assassins work for various guilds who keep a close watch on the murder-for-hire business, making sure they keep prices competitive and that no rogue killers work without representation. While these guilds are not officially recognized by the Lords of the land, they are the worst kept secret of Bluestone (and still quite thoroughly taxed, even if it doesn't show up on official records). For most citizens, assassins are of little concern, the peasant and merchant classes simply could not afford the prices they charge and that same high cost keeps nobles from wasting gold on the lower class. It is much easier to bribe a guard to take a peasant into a dark alley or blackmail a judge to lay a false sentence on a merchant then to hire an assassin. Assassins main targets are nobles, but fear of retribution from a rival's family means a noble decides to use assassination as only a last resort or if he knows the hit cannot be traced back to him.
A kobold's lack of morality, small frame, and desire to prove himself, means a well trained kobold can make a fearsome assassin. They never will question the morals behind their choice of targets and will not give up on a job until the end result is either the target's death or the kobold's. Kobolds make excellent assassins for more "morally ambiguous" targets; women, children, or clergymen for example. Kobolds have to be well trained however, so not to allow their fleeting minds find another occupation they like better and wind up acting as a squire to the very nobleman they were sent to kill. Humans, and their diverse ethics, make excellent assassins as well, however the ever present (in even the most morally detached person) human condition means they are more likely to have clear cut limits to who they will target. However, humans are better at reacting to changing conditions, and can better handle an assassination attempt gone wrong then an average kobold can.
Dwarven assassins are another matter entirely, as their work is purely military minded. Dwarven assassins are trained to eliminate high profile targets among their enemies, mostly the goblins. A dwarven assassin is ruthless in his pursuit of a goal, and will take out any targets of opportunity that stand between him and his quarry. To dwarves, the goblins are not people, simply the enemy, and a dwarven assassin can be even more heartless then a kobold in pursuit of his target or choice of target itself. However, dwarf assassins are only used against an enemy of a different species, never their own kind. Even though various dwarven clans may have rivalries with one another, the idea of taking another dwarven life, even of a different clan is an alien concept to them. Dwarven assassins, even those that have left their clan, would never join an assassin's guild, for killing another person who you don't have a personal or racial vendetta against is seen as nothing more then murder in their eyes.
While guild assassins are well paid, their targets are few and far between, due to the cost and retributions from their use. Because of this, many assassins also take up adventuring, as a way to supplement their income and continue to practice their skills. A guild assassin is still ever ready to be sent to a job at a moment's notice, however, and adventuring parties with them in the group are not surprised to wake up one morning and find their companion gone. A dwarven assassin that is adventuring is, to other dwarves, a shameful sight. If he is not working for the clan, then he must no longer be part of it. A dwarf assassin joining an adventuring party more then likely failed to eliminate a target and left the clan in shame for his digression. These dwarves will often be very faithful to a party, a combination of the dwarven sense of community and the desire to prove to themselves that they are still skilled warriors.

Design and Development: Dwarves Part 1

Meanwhile...

Yes, I'm working on two species at the same time, but it's not as difficult as you may think. Whereas the kobolds are getting designed from the ground up, the dwarves are simply in need of an edit.

Our dwarves are not that far removed from the "traditional" dwarf archetype, mixed with a little bit of the Soviet USSR, yes, but still, they're underground dwellers that excel at metallurgy, have magical resistances, and hate goblins. Because of this, all that needs to change from the standard AEC write-up is the flavor to mention dwarves tie to their own clan and a look at Class Limits.

I've mentioned before that I will look at classes for each species based not only on play balance, but on how they fit the world in which we designed for them. Because of this, the standard limits on the classes might not apply as how they do in the "standard" AEC entries.

Now in the AEC, Dwarves may be assassins, clerics, fighters, and thieves. All of which fit fine for the dwarves of Deminar. Fighters and thieves are universal classes it seems, every species has them as they require no special talents/abilities other then skill and talent. Assassins are a necessary evil for dwarves as they fight their on going battles against the goblins, since you need to employ more tactics then standing on the front lines. The dwarves worship the gods and some are blessed with ability because of it, meaning clerics work as well.

Druids, Illusionist, Magic-Users, Monks, Paladins, and Rangers are what is left out then. Illusionists and Magic-Users are out, due to the dwarf's resistance to magic. If they're resistant to magical energy, they probably couldn't tap into it to use it. Druids are more or less restricted to those species that don't worship the traditional gods, which is why only the Lizard Folk have access to it at the moment. Monks and Paladins are restricted to humans for the time being (unless something strikes me later that fits a different species), which leaves rangers.

Would dwarves have rangers?

On the "Yes" side, there's no reason for them not to be, rangers have no special powers not learned by training. Dwarves have a martial archetype, and rangers are more or less a martial class, so it seems to work.

On the "No" side, the rangers abilities mostly stem from training out in the wilderness, yes they can attempt to track underground and have bonuses to some underground races (including goblins), but the wilderness tracking, the bonuses against giants, the stealth, and just the iconic look of a ranger is that of a man of the woods. And if dwarves are mostly tied to their clan and their underground holdings, where would that training come from?

So, rangers on the face right now, thoughts?

Building a Fantasy Sandox: Step 15 - Part 6: Dwarves name things too.

Hey, It's that map again, only this time, you'll see the Island in the north west corner has a name: So let's learn about Isakova, from the mind of Sean:

The Dwarves (and, therefore, most residents of the Bluestone Isles) refer to their Island, and the hills that cover it, as Isakova. Before the breaking, the Dwarves had a solid presence there. Post-Cataclysm, they were disorganized and confused, and their homes were destroyed. In the years following, they rebuilt most of their underground city, Mitrovka, and resettled the surrounding hills, but not before a group of Goblins were able to establish a foothold on the island. The Goblin colony grew too fast for the Dwarves to unseat them, and the past several hundred years have been filled with intermittent, bloody conflict between the two groups.

One of the major sites of conflict is the low areas surrounding the three rivers, Eshkrova, Kovka Maya and Sora Maya (named here left to right, as depicted on the map). The rivers are a vital source of water and food for both groups, and control of their banks regularly changes. The Northern parts of the rivers generally stay under Goblin control, and the Southern parts generally belong to the Dwarves, but periodically one group or the other gains a bit more control. The Dwarves, located closer to the main island have a healthy trade with the population there, mostly of wrought iron goods.

The Rivers are more large streams, as they are fed mostly from rainfall collecting down the hills. They support a variety of small fish and aquatic life, and the Dwarves have taken to creating small aquatic farms, in which they raise a variety of fish for food.

Musing: Dwarves

In the LL game I'm currently running our Dwarves speak with Russian accents. This came about because I wanted to change up the "standard" accents that the races are known to have and try something a little different.

Several jokes about "In Soviet Dwarfholds, Stone mines you!" later and it sort of fell into place. The end result was a sorta offhand mention that Dwarves in our game are probably communist. This doesn't come up too often in the game itself (not as much as it should IMHO), but it got me thinking.

The ideal behind the "dwarven communism" actually works quite well in Deminar.

The dwarves in Deminar are fighting a never ending battle with the goblins across the floating isles and have been doing so since they first rose into the sky. Their underground homelands have grown sparse, as many islands don't have mountain chains on them and few have sufficient area underground to support both species.

Because of this, everything the dwarves do is for the greater dwarven community in which they live. Everything is dedicated to helping the dwarves hold and expand their territory. There is no personal honor, there is only honor for your community as a whole. A great dwarven general is held in the same regard as one who mines ore to help make weapons. Dwarves do not have an economy in any traditional sense, everything produced is given to the community as a whole and no one dwarf "owns" any one thing.

Because of this, when dwarves do interact with other species (especially humans), they have a hard time understanding how they work. The idea of a nobility and social class is alien to them, as is the need to pay for goods ("why can't the hungry beggar eat what was grown by the farmer?").

Also, because of this, most dwarven adventurers are considered traitors to their community. Leaving their station to explore the world is turning your back on the fight and many can never return to any dwarven community (especially their own!). Exceptions do exist, of course, those traveling to find ancient dwarven relics to help turn the tide in their on going battle or those out to find new lands to settle, for example, are still helping the greater good and are not considered traitorous.

Even those that choose exile to become adventurers still hold onto the mindset they were raised with. They don't see a need for someone in the party to lead them, assume that all supplies carried by everyone is to be shared with whoever in the group needs is, including any loot found in the dungeons themselves. This includes coin, even if they don't understand the need for it, they're not stupid and understand its usage.