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Old 06-28-2007, 03:17 PM   #41
Gavynn
 
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dienekes
There has been a lot written over the years about gaming ME magic (mostly because the MERP/RM magic system was such a long way from the feel of Tolkien's descriptions). I don't envy the guy who undertakes to model it!
Heck - that is a chapter still to be written in the sourcebook. I don't have Magic for GURPS 4th ed yet, only the 3rd ed version. I need to buy it though. There is always a lot of talk about the [i[Powers[/i] based magic system, and I have thought about making the magic of Middle-earth Powers based.
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Old 06-28-2007, 03:22 PM   #42
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

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Originally Posted by Gavynn
Heck - that is a chapter still to be written in the sourcebook. I don't have Magic for GURPS 4th ed yet, only the 3rd ed version. I need to buy it though. There is always a lot of talk about the [i[Powers[/i] based magic system, and I have thought about making the magic of Middle-earth Powers based.
I honestly feel the Powers version would be a much better model in the feel and function of what happens in the books.
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Old 06-28-2007, 05:33 PM   #43
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

I agree they ought to be Indomitable, and have High Pain Threshhold. They are even more enduring of torment than elves, and difficult to intimidate. And maybe +2 Strength instead of +1. Also, dwarves should have Unattractive (to humans and elves only) as an average racial Apperance. To each other, of course, their average Appearance is normal.

I would give them extra Manual Dexterity. Maybe +3 or +4. Dwarves are good with their hands. Also "they themselves learn swiftly other tongues" so possibly they would have Language Talent.

Their lifespan is almost 300 years (as stated in Peoples of Middle-Earth, I believe).

I would not make Overweight a racial trait of dwarves. How can an entire race deviate from it's own racial average weight? It is logically a contradiction. Their average weight is their average healthy weight, however much it may differ from humans.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavynn
Languages
Khuzdul (Native/Fully Literate) [0]
Westron (Native/Fully Literate) [6]
They also have a sign language, Iglishmek, which I think all dwarves learned as children. Like Khuzdul, this was a language they almost never taught to outsiders. It is described in War of the Jewels which also states that Dwarves are all Nearsighted.

Quote:
Reduced Move -1 [-5] (B.17)
In spite of the shorter legs, I'm not sure here. When Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli set out to search for Merry and Pippin, I don't recall Gimli slowing them down any. What about reducing Basic Speed instead, to represent that they can't run as fast at top speed?

I would give them a large number of Racial Skill Bonuses/Talents, and Racial Skill Penalties. Dwarves differ greatly from elves and men, because instead of being created by Illuvatar (God) they were crafted by Aule, and as a result they only contain those thoughts of Illuvatar which Aule contains. I would give them Artificer Talent, and bonuses to Craft skills, Artist (or medium bonus because of the Talent?), Engineer (Mining), Geology, Glassblower, Metallurgy, Prospecting, and smaller bonuses to other crafty or earthy things such as Knot-Tying and Makeup.

Then Racial Skill Penalties for Animal Skills, Biology, Fortune-Telling, Medical Skills, Musical Skills, Engineer (Musical Instruments), Engineer (Shipbuilding), Farming, Aquabatics, Astronomy, Boating, Gardening, Weather Sense, Meteorology, Naturalist, Shiphandling, and Swimming, as these are all things which fall under the "domain" of Valar other than Aule, and thus he did not put any of the "essence" or thought of these things in the dwarves. I know that is a lot, but dwarves are in some ways very inhuman. They weren't designed by the same person who made humans. Illuvatar put most of his thoughts into humans and elves, but only some of his thoughts into Aule. Anyway, these would be skill penalties, not Incompetences. They aren't unable to do these things (probably Aule isn't either) but find them more difficult to learn than Elves and Men, who already have the seeds of such things within their souls.

Because they do not have domestic animals, I think they must be Lactose Intolerant. Does anybody remember any passages where it is mentioned whether dwarves can drink milk? Probably not.
Finally, I recommend Stubbornness, Chauvinistic (-1), and Quirk (hates and fears the sound of the sea).


Concerning magic, the dwarves did use some "magic" of the crafty sort similar to what elves did. They crafted the doors of Moria, and had moon-runes and the door of the Lonely Mountain that was only visible in moonlight.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pstrych9
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.
Racial quirks don't count toward any limit. They are part of the racial personality. As in, the quirks all describe differences from "average" human personality. For dwarf characters, those 5 personal quirks would describe how they differ from the Dwarven norm, which already differs from the human norm. Or, they could as a "quirk" simply lack one of the personality traits described in the quirks.
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Old 06-28-2007, 08:16 PM   #44
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

My Dwarven template was made with Tolkien-style dwarves in mind. Here are some major points from it.

Strength
I give dwarves +2 ST. The average dwarven male is as strong as the top 25% or so of human males. I can see an argument for just +1 ST, though. As ST can be changed freely by players for their PC's its not much of an issue.

I also give Dwarves +2 Lifting ST. This to me gives a lot of benefit and is very appropriate. Most dwarves can then go about in maile with heavy weapons and shields and still only be lightly encumbered.

Health
Mine have -1 DX and +1 HT. I can see an argument for higher levels of HT, but that scares me a bit as a GM. I also didn't like the implication that +2 HT gives -- the average dwarf then has superior reactions (higher basic speed) to his human counterpart. My build gives them the same Spd and MV as humans, which feels correct to me. In the end, I left it as +1 HT but that was substantially a gamist decision -- I can see doing HT +2.

Willpower
I didn't think about adding something for willpower to dwarves, though I agree it's a good idea. I don't think they need Indomitable. Your +2 Will and High Pain Threshold seems quite correct to me.

Fitness
I don't give them Fit, and I don't think they need it. With the extra lifting ST, high Will, and increase to HT, you may find they do not even need Fit to accomplish the things that are attributed to them. A couple of extra FP are okay too, but may be seen as wasted points to some (gamism again).

Toughness
I didn't go the +1 DR route, though I thought about it. In the end I gave mine a resistance to heat and flame (+2 DR (Limited: Heat/Fire -40%) [6]). This to me conveys at least a sense of being "stone made" and lets them handle ordinary fire (say moving logs about in an ordinary campfire) without protection. Their forges must also be hotter than those of humans to produce superior steel, and this explains to me how they can stand this level of heat.

Vision
I gave mine Night Vision +6, FWIW. Anything in a neighborhood of 5 is as justified as anything else.

Craftsmanship
I gave mine the Artificer talent from basic (two levels) -- but that's a 10 point talent. What skills are included in your 5 point talent? I suspect it isn't broad enough for my taste.

I hope some of that is helpful.
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Old 06-28-2007, 09:01 PM   #45
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi
They also have a sign language, Iglishmek, which I think all dwarves learned as children. Like Khuzdul, this was a language they almost never taught to outsiders. It is described in War of the Jewels which also states that Dwarves are all Nearsighted.
Okay. I need to take my pen and hiligher to People of Middle Earth and War of the Jewels.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi
Because they do not have domestic animals, I think they must be Lactose Intolerant. Does anybody remember any passages where it is mentioned whether dwarves can drink milk? Probably not.
Finally, I recommend Stubbornness, Chauvinistic (-1), and Quirk (hates and fears the sound of the sea).
Lactose Intolerant?? Nope, I don't remember anything about Dwarves drinking milk, but it might just work well enough to fit in. Cool! The hates and fears the sound of the sea was noted in my working copy of the Silmarillion for inclusion in the next revision.

I hope you are just as willing to tear into my other templates. They can only be improved by your input.
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Old 06-29-2007, 01:21 PM   #46
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi
I would not make Overweight a racial trait of dwarves. How can an entire race deviate from it's own racial average weight? It is logically a contradiction. Their average weight is their average healthy weight, however much it may differ from humans.
Overweight is a game mechanic. The effect is saying that they aren't 'fat', but that they are heavier for their height than humans typically are for that same height, which are the baseline for all races in GURPS. So, it's not a logical contradiction.
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Old 06-29-2007, 04:09 PM   #47
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaldrin
Overweight is a game mechanic. The effect is saying that they aren't 'fat', but that they are heavier for their height than humans typically are for that same height, which are the baseline for all races in GURPS. So, it's not a logical contradiction.
The text on p19 might make it seem so, but the beginning text under the heading Build (on p18), as well as that in Racial Advantages and Disadvantages (p452) points out that the build-related traits are supposed to be for individuals, reflecting deviations from racial norms.

Last edited by Not another shrubbery; 06-29-2007 at 05:19 PM. Reason: grammar
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Old 06-29-2007, 06:05 PM   #48
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi
Because they do not have domestic animals, I think they must be Lactose Intolerant.
Why? I can think of an evolutionary reason, but that sort of thing hardly applies in Middle-earth. The dwarves didn't evolve, they were made by Aulė.

Twenty-odd years ago, when I first read The Selfish Gene, I calculated what chromosomal combinations male and female dwarves would have to have for the stated sex-ratio in dwarves to be an evolutionarily stable strategy. This is not the sort of logic one ought to apply to Middle-earth.
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Old 06-29-2007, 06:06 PM   #49
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Default Re: Lord of the Rings Dwarf Template

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi
Concerning magic, the dwarves did use some "magic" of the crafty sort similar to what elves did. They crafted the doors of Moria, and had moon-runes and the door of the Lonely Mountain that was only visible in moonlight.
On the map, not the door.
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