Monday, June 14, 2010

Underground Race

So many people love Dwarves, incuding myself, that I couldn't bring myself to leave them out of the setting.

Using my initial ideas about Angadurg's climate, this would have some indirect effect even on underground dwellers. Instead of isolated, dwindling clans, the decay of civilization on the surface, caused in part by the rotating climate actually allowed Dwarven clans to survive, and centralize. Without technologically advanced surface dwellers competing for minerals and metals, the Dwarves were able to grow and prosper. Of course not all threats were reduced, and the Dwarves are as ever militaristic and organized. In fact, they have taken advantage of the lack of organization amongst most surface dwellers to control many mine access point on the surface even in the midst of nominally human lands. As the surface dwellers struggle against predators and competition, the Dwarves would arrive with large, well formed armies and "negotiate" their terms for "mutual cooperation" while they extracted the mineral wealth of the area.

Indeed, the human villages would thrive under Dwarven protection. Their populations would rise as agriculture could proceed largely unhindered by the ravages of savage species or vicious monsters and a new merchant class would be allowed to deal with other human settlements for sale of precious forged metal tools and weapons. Few human settlements have successfully resisted Dwarven economic colonization and gone on to successfully exploit their own resources. Generally, the relationship can be seen as symbiotic, although as in most business dealings, it seems to favour the Dwarves in the long term.

The Dwarven military is somewhat modelled on the ancient Roman style. Much like the Romans, they bring fine engineering works such as roads, aqueducts and fortifications wherever they go.

In terms of beliefs and culture, the Dwarves believe that their attitudes and practices are manifestly superior to those of most any cultures they meet, since they are so obviously successful in the only ways that count to most Dwarves. In other words, they believe it is the manifest destiny of Dwarves to either succeed over, or ultimately control all other intelligent races. That said, they are somewhat xenophobic, and the increased contact with other races that their expansion has incurred is making many in Dwarven society very uncomfortable. While not as a whole directly cruel or evil in intent, many a Dwarf views other races as at least mildly inferior, if not with outright contempt.

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