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A guide to RP'ing dwarves.
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Post by
Monday
A guide to RP’ing a Dwarf.
Overview
Dwarves are one of the older races of Azeroth. They were originally Earthen infected with the Curse of Flesh, turning them to the Dwarves we know now.
Race
There are a few races of dwarves, but only 3 are commonly seen (the others being Earthen, Iron, Steel and Frost).
The most commonly seen are:
Bronzebeard. WoW playable, they live underground in Ironforge and worship the Holy Light. They interact with the Alliance more often than their cousins, and have a special interest in Archaeology, mining and engineering.
Wildhammer. Cousins to the Bronzebeards, they originally lived in Grim Batol, which was tainted in the War of 3 Hammers, and then moved further north, establishing Aerie Peak in the Hinterlands. They get along with High Elves more than the rest of the Dwarves, and also have a special relationship with the Gyphons of the area.
The Dark Irons. They are the “black sheep” of the family. They have been at unofficial war with the other two clans for several hundred years. They summoned Ragnaros into Azeroth, and live in the burning remains. They practice Sorcery, and their armor and weapons are generally made of the ore that their name comes from, Dark Iron.
Name
Most often, Dwarven last names are a combination of noun/verb such as Hammerthrower, or noun/noun such as Bronzebeard. First names vary, but M’s and K’s are seen a lot. R’s and N’s are around too. While dwarves like alcohol, don’t name your dwarf Beerthrower or something like that. There are very few alcohol related dwarf names.
Personality
Dwarves are often bluff, jovial figures. They speak their mind when they feel like it. They are generally merry people, but there are also those who have an incredibly bad personality, just like in any race. They are also loyal, and won't give up on helping a friend or ally.
Faith
Bronzebeards generally worship the Holy Light (seeing as their only spellcasters in WoW are Priests/Paladins), however come Cataclysm they will have Shamans and Mages and possibly Warlocks, which shows that the Bronzebeards are open to most forms of Religion (seeing as how Druidism will be pretty much the only form of “worship” not seen.)
Wildhammers are Shamanistic, druidistic and some (but very very few) practice the Holy Light. They kind of take the role of the Night Elves and Tauren in the Eastern Kingdoms, bringing nature worship.
The Dark Irons have, until recently, and perhaps still, worshiped the Elemental Being Ragnaros as a god. Now that he has been banished, it remains to be seen what they are.
A Few Things to Consider for Your Character
Your character will most likely be a Bronzebeard or a Wildhammer. I can imagine a Dark Iron mercenary, but I doubt any redeemed Dark Iron warrior turned shaman will work.
Keep in mind that while dwarves love their brew, it is generally not a crippling weakness (note: there are quite a few exceptions to this).
Your dwarf does not have to be a miner/blacksmith/explorer. While these are the largest professions, if your character does something else it won’t matter too much.
Dwarves aren’t known for tact. Get over it.
Dwarves are generally physically stronger than almost all Alliance races, and can be on par with Orcs for pure muscle, (size is another matter).
Your dwarf will most likely have an innate understanding of machinery to the point where s/he can drive most vehicles after a little training (although you can’t just make some random device out of nowhere).
Dwarf women aren’t known for their beauty. This does not mean there are no beautiful dwarf women.
There is a split between dwarves who travel and those who don’t. Generally, they like to stay in Khaz Modan, especially Dun Morogh. However, there are many dwarves who travel outside as Explorers. While a priest is unlikely to be an explorer (although traveling priest I guess…) your hunter probably will. It all depends on what you feel like.
Quick Class Breakdowns
Warrior: All dwarves have warriors. What they fight with varies, but most often what they wear involves plate for Bronzebeard, Leather for Wildhammers and chain for Dark Iron (this is purely personal experience from WoW).
Hunter: Bronzebeards are the Marksmen spec generally, as the sharpshooters from W3 were Bronzebeard, and the Wildhammers will most likely be Beast Master because of their ties with nature. I have seen no accounts of Dark Iron hunters. (Note, the specs listed are WoW only, in RP I just base them off of that spec without actually saying what they are.)
Priest: Only Bronzebeard, sorry. Most Wildhammer seem to go the way of Shamanism, and the Dark Irons don't seem to have any spiritual connections at all, relying on sorcery.
Mage:
At the moment, only Dark Iron, sorry. Most Dark Iron mages are known as Sorcerers and practice generally only Arcane magic. Cryomancers/Pyromancers are rare.
UPDATE: With Cataclysm, Bronzebeard dwarves can now train to be mages. This appears to be from an influx of Dark Iron refugees.
Druid:
Only Wildhammer, sorry (not enough information is known about Wildhammer druids for me to say much).
Not enough information on this. There appear to be no dwarven druids.
Rogue: This is interesting. No accounts of Wildhammer rogues have been given, but there is a plethora of Dark Iron rogues. Bronzebeard rogues are seen less, but still seen. All in all, it isn’t a bad thing to pick, but it isn’t exactly popular. They could be played as a fighter who likes the maneuverability of leather armor and one handed weapons, or a thief, both have been seen.
Shaman:
Wildhammer only at the moment. There are several Wildhammer Shamans, and they will teach their cousins, the Bronzebeards, shamanism (some say the Draenei will. /shrug I still believe it is the Wildhammers).
UPDATE: As of Cataclysm, Bronzebeard dwarves can now train to be shamans, most likely from the increased association with the Wildhammer clan.
Paladin: There are dwarven Paladins, all Bronzebeard. Because of their believing in the Holy Light, but also their views on martial prowess, Paladin becomes a perfect choice for many dwarves. I see most as Retribution, using holy magic to smite and enemy, along with their weapons.
Priest:
There are a few Wildhammer priests, but the vast majority are Bronzebeard. There generally aren’t too many priests, but it isn’t the “odd’ thing to do.
Priests have become much more prevalent in dwarven culture. This is a valid choice. There don't appear to be any Wildhammer or Dark Iron priests at all, but there could be some living under the radar.
Warlock: With the Cataclysm, dwarves can now train to be Warlocks. This is most likely because of the Dark Iron dwarves living with them now, although I imagine that it is still taboo to be a Warlock, perhaps even more so than among the humans.
(If I missed a class please tell me).
Notes
Your dwarf does in fact need a Scottish accent, even if you are bad, effort goes a long way.
Beards are an important part of dwarven society, as there are no male dwarves without beards. Some crop them short, but it is really only the military, which is an honor enough for them to shave their beards to a manageable level.
That concludes my guide, if you have any info/tips/problems post it and I’ll edit it in.
Post by
Aimsyr
Just read through all of that, it was interesting and no doubt it will be useful for people planning on roleplaying as a dwarf
Maybe you should go into explaining accents and so on a bit, also the only class you missed was Death Knight or did you miss that on purpose?
Post by
313143
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Aimsyr
Just read through all of that, it was interesting and no doubt it will be useful for people planning on roleplaying as a dwarf
Maybe you should go into explaining accents and so on a bit, also the only class you missed was Death Knight or did you miss that on purpose?
Because Death Knights are the same for every race :P
Their personalities would not necessarily be the same, nor how the view the leaders of their respective races and in what ways they believe they can redeem themselves in the eyes of others.
Post by
Rankkor
roleplaying a dwarf aint so hard, just use a thick stereotipical irish/scottish accent, and have a fondness for alcohol that rivals winnie the pooh's fondness for honey :D
In a more serious tone, good guide funden, but you are kinda wrong here: Thane: Pretty much Magni/Muradin only. No info on Brann yet.
Brann IS a thane (he's an explorer and wowwiki classifies him as a hunter (that somehow can stealth.........) but you are kinda confusing the terms Thane with Mountain King, I can assure you they aren't exactly the same.
Magni/Muradin are hardly the only thanes in existance, warcraft III had a ton of them, and I'm fairly sure that vandar stormpike is one too.
there's quite a few thanes in lore, and in-game.
Thanes don't have to be mountain kings though, that's a diference. Thanes are basically the leadership of both dwarves and vrykul, any individual clan leader, while the High Thane(dwarf) or Overthane(Vrykul) is the leader of all clans.
all mountain kings have a place of honor among dwarven society though, so every single mountain king has the honorary title of Thane even if they aren't leaders of any clan. In other words, all mountain kings are thanes, but not all thanes are mountain kings.
so, even non-mountain kings are considered thanes if they lead a clan or are part of the royal family, Thaurisian is a sorceror but he's High Thane of the dark iron clan, Balagarde is a berserker, but he's Overthane of the chosen branch of the vrykul. Even Falstad Wildhammer, is also a Thane even when he's absolutely not a mountain king, he's a gryphon rider. Moira is also part of the royal family so she's a Thane too.
also there's a thane in the wildhammer stronghold on shadowmoon valley (Thane Yoregar).
and then there's also enemy thanes like Thane Korth'azz (one of the 4 horsemen of naxx) or Iron Thane furyhammer of the iron dwarves.
so there it is :P a thane is not a class, is a position in society, like king, or prince, or overlord, or warchief, the title is given regardless of what your actual skills and fighting technique are.
Post by
Patty
Well, in all honesty; dwarven accents are required unless you have a good excuse for them not to have one (such as being brought up elsewhere, perhaps Lordaeron or Stormwind. Habituation has a dramatic impact on accent. However, if everyone did that it would be ridiculous to not see a dwarf from dwarven lands.)
Scottish accents and dialects are actually pretty easy, to be honest
.
Aberdeen accents are the most similar to 'dwarvish' in my experience. :P
Another thing to note is pride in their beards. Although it's not really shown in WarCraft, dwarves have always prided their beards (LotR, for instance; which is the stem of the fantasy genre that WC falls into.) This is likely something which impresses the ladies. Perhaps for dwarves, a long beard shows virility. Dwarves also have different perceptions of beauty to other races, as is true for many races; I don't think the typical hourglass of a draenei, elf or even human is as attractive to a dwarf as a nice bit of facial hair and an expansive booty.
"Ock, ye' be wantin' a quick tug o' it, pretty lass?"
"Aye, but ye' only be havin' a wee one!"
Post by
Rankkor
about dwarven beards, in almost all dwarf related lore on other fantasy settings, Female Dwarves are suposed to ALSO have a beard, xD and have a voice and complexion that makes them really hard to distinguish from males if you're not a dwarf yourself, male dwarves find the female beards REALLY HOT, and see shaved females as one would look at a bald woman these days.
beards are important on both sexes, ofc I can understand blizzard's desition to leave dwarven females beardless and with a slightly femenine body xD as it is finding female dwarves is almost imposible, can you imagine how non-existant fem-dwarves would be if they had a beard had masculine anatomy?
Post by
Adamsm
about dwarven beards, in almost all dwarf related lore on other fantasy settings, Female Dwarves are suposed to ALSO have a beard, xD and have a voice and complexion that makes them really hard to distinguish from males if you're not a dwarf yourself, male dwarves find the female beards REALLY HOT, and see shaved females as one would look at a bald woman these days.
beards are important on both sexes, ofc I can understand blizzard's desition to leave dwarven females beardless and with a slightly femenine body xD as it is finding female dwarves is almost imposible, can you imagine how non-existant fem-dwarves would be if they had a beard had masculine anatomy?
There is only a reference to two female dwarves with beards, and those are from the RP books; might as well just consider it for Warcraft that only the males have them heh.
Post by
382219
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Adamsm
Shaman: Wildhammer only at the moment. There are several Wildhammer Shamans, and they will teach their cousins, the Bronzebeards, shamanism (some say the Draenei will. /shrug I still believe it is the Wildhammers).
Had nothing to do, so here it goes :
Magni will sacrifice himself to grant the Blessing of the Elements on his People. Right after, his daughter will unite all the 3 "Races", and she will be assassinated by Varian.
Seems that Muradin will lead the Dwarves.
The Best Alliance Race deserves a good King.
That's still not completely confirmed... and if it is true..... Blizzard is really screwing up.
Post by
Rankkor
That's not confirmed whatsoever in any way or shape... and if it is true..... Blizzard has gone the same way as Disney.
fixed that for ya bro' xD
Post by
Monday
Shaman: Wildhammer only at the moment. There are several Wildhammer Shamans, and they will teach their cousins, the Bronzebeards, shamanism (some say the Draenei will. /shrug I still believe it is the Wildhammers).
Had nothing to do, so here it goes :
Magni will sacrifice himself to grant the Blessing of the Elements on his People. Right after, his daughter will unite all the 3 "Races", and she will be assassinated by Varian.
Seems that Muradin will lead the Dwarves.
The Best Alliance Race deserves a good King.
Um, tbh I don't see that happening.
And for the Death Knights, we don't really know enough about how dwarves react to death knights for me to really say anything.
And I'll edit the accents/beard/thane (thanks for the info all).
Post by
Joemaster240
dwarves are very proud of there beards. It is uncommon for Ironforge female dwarves to have beards, but it is not unheard of. And when they do have beards usually they let them grow out because they are a sign of beauty.
Source
Post by
336987
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Skreeran
To RP a Dwarf: Say "Och" a lot.
A
lot
.
Post by
Monday
To RP a Dwarf: Say "Och" a lot.
A
lot
.
Aye, along with yer, ta(e) and lad/lass.
Post by
Morec0
To RP a Dwarf: Say "Och" a lot.
A
lot
.
Aye, along with yer, ta(e) and lad/lass.
Heh, I have a number of edits to make to Chapter 3 of TFN, then.
But what does Ta(e) substitute for? Or is it just an added expression, like och?
Post by
Monday
To RP a Dwarf: Say "Och" a lot.
A
lot
.
Aye, along with yer, ta(e) and lad/lass.
Heh, I have a number of edits to make to Chapter 3 of TFN, then.
But what does Ta(e) substitute for? Or is it just an added expression, like och?
Ta(e) replaces "to".
Post by
Aimsyr
To RP a Dwarf: Say "Och" a lot.
A
lot
.
Aye, along with yer, ta(e) and lad/lass.
Heh, I have a number of edits to make to Chapter 3 of TFN, then.
But what does Ta(e) substitute for? Or is it just an added expression, like och?
Ta(e) replaces "to".
And dinnae (don't) works too
Just think of a Scottish based accent, also sometimes leaving letters off certain words helps improve the accent. I also find that changing the a sounds in certain words to more of an e sound works well.
It all depends on how thick the character's accent is
Post by
OgreSound
Correct me if I'm wrong... but Dwarven last names are given to them for something they do or look like by some clan leader or something, right?
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