Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

[Gavynn]

Given that it had been a little bit since I had posted the elf template, I thought I might go ahead and post the first draft of the dwarf template. I am not sure what to do with size modifiers and I think this template has to many racial quirks, but I have not given much more thought to model what I have as quirks. Anyway, the thread on the elves was amazingly beneficial. I hope this one will be two.

Dwarf
It costs 12 points to play a dwarf

Attribute Modifiers
-1 Dexterity [-20]
+1 Health [10]

Languages
Khuzdul (Native/Fully Literate) [0]
Westron (Native/Fully Literate) [6]

Secondary Characteristics
Fatigue +3 [9] (B.16)
Will +2 [10] (B.16)
Reduced Move -1 [-5] (B.17)

Racial Advantages
Hard to Kill Level 1 [2] (B.58)
Magic Resistance Level 2 [4] (B.67)
Resistant to Disease (occasional) [10] (B.81)
Longevity [2] (B.66)
Extended Lifespan Level One [2] (B.53)
Night Vision Level One [1] (B.71)
Racial Talent (Craftmanship +2) [10]

Racial Disadvantages
Sense of Duty to Dwarf-kind [-15] (B.153)
Racial Incompetence (Animal Aversion -2) [-10]

Traits
+2 to all checks to start fires [1]

Quirks
Never shave or cut beards [-1]
Suspicion of magic [-1]
Honor Bound and Proud [-1]
Distrust of Elves [-1]
Grudge of Dwarves [-1]

Features
Body decays at half the normal rate [0]

[rlbeaver]

I believe Dwarves practice their own magic although it sounds a bit simple, and it seems they all have some ability it it. For instance, in the Hobbit they put spells over the treasure they found from the trolls. Granted that could be just imaginary on their part, but I presumed it was "real." Also, didn't their doors have some magic, or was it all just mechanical?

I seem to remember several references to magic of the Dwarves in the Silmarillion . If I am recalling it correctly, it was minor and more of a hedge magic than full blown magic...

[Kelly Pedersen]

It's probably a good idea to give Dwarves Indomitable, possibly even with Cosmic applied - the Dwarves were apparently impossible to dominate, even by things like the Rings of Power. Alternatively, give them lots of levels of Mind Shield.

[KDLadage]

Wow.

not to quibble too much, but are you saying that the typical human in Middle Earth is build on a 0-point template (no modifiers); the typical drward is built on a 23-point template; and the typical elf is built on a template that is an order of magnitude (or more!) higher in cost?

I guess I need to re-read the series...

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by KDLadage

not to quibble too much, but are you saying that the typical human in Middle Earth is build on a 0-point template (no modifiers); the typical drward is built on a 23-point template; and the typical elf is built on a template that is an order of magnitude (or more!) higher in cost?

Well... prety much. Tolkien elves, even the non-High Elves, are pretty darn impressive. Tolkien wasn't much concerned with "party balance" or anything. Elves in Middle Earth weren't limited by their physical bodies much, just by the fact that they just tended not to actually do anything. Note that, in the First Age, when they actually were going around doing stuff, they created legends that lasted for millennia, and accomplished stuff like
- Besieging and holding at bay for four hundred years a foe more powerful than Sauron.
- Successfully wounding and permanently scarring same enemy, in single combat.
- Creating three jewels so powerful and beautiful that the gods made them holy, and that were tied to the very fate of the Earth.
- Creating innumerable items that were probably pretty minor to them, and ended up as potent magical artifacts later in history.
- Killing multiple Balrogs, again, in single combat a lot of the time.
- Walking across the Grinding Ice, essentially equivalent to crossing the Bering Straights in midwinter by going from ice flow to ice flow.

So, yeah. Not point balanced, really.

[GnomesofZurich]

I see a couple of problems with the template in terms of point costs, if nothing else:
-1 DX should be -20 points; I would question whether this is appropriate for dwarves.

+3 Fatigue should be 9 points, not 6.

Night Vision 1 seems low, I would put them at least at 5, which is roughly equivalent to a cat or similar.

[Gavynn]

Originally Posted by kelly_pedersen

It's probably a good idea to give Dwarves Indomitable, possibly even with Cosmic applied - the Dwarves were apparently impossible to dominate, even by things like the Rings of Power. Alternatively, give them lots of levels of Mind Shield.

Indomitable does sound like it fits very well. Maybe Mind Shield is more in order of the kind of thing that I am looking for when I was calling for Magic Resistance. Under consideration.

Originally Posted by obatron

I believe Dwarves practice their own magic although it sounds a bit simple, and it seems they all have some ability it it. For instance, in the Hobbit they put spells over the treasure they found from the trolls. Granted that could be just imaginary on their part, but I presumed it was "real." Also, didn't their doors have some magic, or was it all just mechanical?

I am pretty sure that it was Gandalf who bewitched the troll’s gold. The exact quote is as follows: "Then they brought up their ponies, and carried away the pots of gold, and buried them very secretly not far from the track by the river, putting a great many spells over them, just in case they ever had he chance to come back and recover them." So, given the rest of the narrative talks about Gandalf casting magic and not the rest of the dwarves, I assume that this refers to Gandalf. However, the text is ambigous enough to make an arguement for it being the dwarves, especially since in this instance G-dalf would be casting "a great many spells" on some gold to recover whereas he casts no spells later on in far more serious and dire situations. In that case, I would assume that it was dwarven superstitions and "imaginary" magic as you put it.

Originally Posted by KDLadage

Wow.

not to quibble too much, but are you saying that the typical human in Middle Earth is build on a 0-point template (no modifiers); the typical drward is built on a 23-point template; and the typical elf is built on a template that is an order of magnitude (or more!) higher in cost?

I guess I need to re-read the series...

Yeah, basically that. I am thinking the typical human walking around Middle-earth is the standard GURPS human. My only intention is to represent the races of Middle-earth in GURPS terms as faithfully as possible without regard to points cost. It is my intention to not have elves as PCs in my game, but I want the template to be able to support it if one was playing a high level game. It looks like Dwarves are lining up to be an acceptable PC race if so desired.

Originally Posted by GnomesofZurich

I see a couple of problems with the template in terms of point costs, if nothing else:
-1 DX should be -20 points; I would question whether this is appropriate for dwarves.

+3 Fatigue should be 9 points, not 6.

Night Vision 1 seems low, I would put them at least at 5, which is roughly equivalent to a cat or similar.

I will look at that again and edit my original post shortly. I am debating the racial attribute adjustments myself. I think I can see –1 DX. Maybe the increase in HT should go and let the resistance to disease and the increase in FP do the trick.

[JoelSammallahti]

Originally Posted by Gavynn

I will look at that again and edit my original post shortly. I am debating the racial attribute adjustments myself. I think I can see –1 DX. Maybe the increase in HT should go and let the resistance to disease and the increase in FP do the trick.

If Dwarves get a -1 to DX and only 1 level of Hard To Kill, the average dwarf will be a very unimpressive combatant. Since they're definitely a 'warrior race' I'd recommend a small bonus to both ST and HT.

[Wedhro]

I'd add the following traits:

- Very Fit: the +2 to every HT roll, and the ability to spend half FPs than normal and to recovery them at twice speed seems very dwarfish to me.
- Code of Honor: a dwarf never forgets a debt, and his friendship or enmity are forever.

The following could be a suggested, no mandatory trait:

- Obsession: many dwarves spend their entire life in the pursuit of mastery or richness.

[Pstrych9]

I'm certainly no expert on Middle Earth, but that template looks very good to me. Kudos!

My only complaint would be that you've used all 5 quirks. Now all of your dwarves will have the same quirks, which are usually extremely useful for individualising characters.

Besides, aren't quirks supposed to be features that make you stand out from the norm? The norm of your race, I mean. I would want the dwarf to at least be a little more specific even if he uses racial features as his defining quirks. For example, for "honour bound and proud" you could have "very boastful", and for "suspicion of magic" have "taps iron to dispel evil luck".

But if your group doesn't really use quirks like that, then I'd say that you're ready to go!