[Guide] Dwarf Roleplaying by Thunderbraid
Table of contents:
- Introduction
- The Bronzebeard Clan
- The Wildhammer Clan
- The Dark Iron Clan
- Dwarves and the Horde
- Dwarves and the Alliance
Introduction:
I will start off by quoting this, from WoWwiki, drawn from the RPG:
"Dwarves are short and stout creatures mostly inhabiting Khaz Modan in the Eastern Kingdoms. They are shorter than humans but taller than gnomes, taking advantage of their size when possible and relying on their robustness and strength when not. The average dwarf is steady, observant and composed both during work and combat, yet able to rage with fierce zeal and persistence when the situation calls for it. While a dwarf prefers to plan forward to overcome challenges, many of them easily lose their temperament and self-restraint when exposed to conditions stirring their feelings and concerns.
In past ages, the dwarves rarely left the safety of their mountain fortresses, spending their time on refining metal and stone into powerful weapons and beautiful jewelry. However, when the call to battle sounded, they rose up to defend their friends and allies with unmatched courage and valor. dwarves like drinking, Mining, finding treasure. But the things the dwarves are most interested about is them and their past with the Titans."
As we can see already, dwarves in World of Warcraft are different to dwarves in other fantasy settings. They are not dying out and they are not obsessed with mining and blacksmithing even if they are still good at it. Also, by being called ‘dwarves’ and not ‘dwarfs’.
We can also see that dwarves are not so obsessed with beer that they drink it even when fighting. Beer is an alcoholic. Alcohol effects dwarves the same way it effects humans, it does not make them stronger and more aware. So drop that now. A dwarf is composed and intellectual, they live longer than humans, meaning they can learn more.
In the regards to magic: At no point in World of Warcraft has it been stated that dwarves hate magic like they do in other fantasy settings. They have lived with their gnomish cousins for many years, after all. They of course detest demons with a passion like any Alliance race.
In regards to the accent: It does not matter, humans have many accents also, it is quite possible for dwarves to have varying accents. I will take Thunderbraid as an example - He is highly educated from the upper rings of Ironforge, and if we look at a good example of this - Senator Barin Redstone - His quest text does not contain any accent what-so-ever. Similary there will be more ‘common’ dwarves, and they will have the stereotypical accent, however, there is no need to overdo this accent if you do not wish to, if you read the quest text of dwarf NPCs, it is not unreadable. There is the occasional ‘ye’ and others like it, but little else.
It is possible to roleplay a dwarf without ruining your immersion by not using an accent.
The Bronzebeard Clan
I will not bore you with history, you can read up on it easily elsewhere. Suffice to say that the Bronzebeard Clan are the most populous Clan in World of Warcraft, the Stormpikes are part of the Bronzebeard Clan.
The tendancies of the Bronzebeard Dwarves are explained well enough above, in the quote from WoWwiki. They are composed and intelligent, yet are able to rage with fierce and frightening zeal when the situation calls for it.
Archetypes:
The Soldier: A Dwarf soldier is well trained, disciplined and dutiful. Dwarven soldiers are trained by dwarven weapon masters, and as a result, are superior to human soldiers and quite capable of beating an orc in a fair fight, this may factor in to roleplay if you wish it. It is easy to roleplay a dwarf as a loveable ally, and you can do that, but some may wish to take a more hardline with their dwarf, and regard humans are children (To be honest, they are, if you compare ages), a dwarf is quite capable of being arrogant and confident of himself.
The Craftsman: Dwarf craftsmen (and women) are the best. No doubt about it. This can factor into roleplay, you will want good money for your work, you will be proud of your work - possibly bordering on arrogance.
The Engineer: The eccentric end of dwarven society. They like inventing things. They have the best relations with their gnomish cousins, and as a result will likely hate goblins more than any other race in the world.
The Archaeologist: Another eccentric, but highly respected, role in dwarven society. They discover the mysteries of the Titans, for crying out loud. Archaeologists can range from the educated scholary types to bat-crazy bomb wielding ‘miners’, possibly driven slightly cuckoo by what they have uncovered.
The Politicians: Yes. There are politicians in dwarven society. Senator Barin Redstone. These suffer from all the flaws you would expect, they are involved in underhand dealings, bribings, backstabbings and all the nasty stuff you would expect from a fantasy political field.
The Rogues: As honourable as a Bronzebeard Dwarf can be, there will be of course criminals, who have turned to crime through all the usual manners - Lack of work, dishonour, revenge, money. Dwarf bandits and highwaymen that are not Dark Irons exist. I have met many great roleplayers of such a kind in the past.
A mix: It is possible to mix archetypes together, taking Thunderbraid again - He’s an odd mix of soldier and politician, the latter being somewhat unwillingly, as he’s a General, he needs to deal with Senators, to deal with Senators, he sometimes has to stoop to their level.
As I hinted on, archaeologist engineers are a popular choice to roleplay, and are capable of both being serious and hilarious to roleplay with.
The Wildhammer Clan
Ah, the Wildhammers. They are the least populous of the Clans. And they’ve had a hard lot in life. When they were in Ironforge, they were confined to outside the city. When they finally left Ironforge and forged their own city to match it, it got infested with dark spirits and other nasties. Now, however, the Wildhammers are settled and are regarded as crazy, backwards and wild by their Bronzebeard cousins. But the two are not mortal enemies, they are like, as it was put in the Tides of Darkness book - Quarrelsome siblings, they love each other, but cannot resist taking jabs at each other.
I would imagine Wildhammers to be somewhat less educated than the Bronzebeard Dwarves, with very few ‘Senator Barin Redstone’ type characters among them, if any at all. Wildhammers are still dwarves, however, and they are dwarves that fight from the backs of gryphons. Wildhammers love their gryphons, and their stormhammers. In that order. They are skilled and powerful fighters, they have no need for armour, though we have seen Wildhammers in the Alliance using plate armour, this shows that they can adapt as well as any other dwarf to changing situations. They care not for the secrets of the Titans, and instead keep to the present.
In regards to archetypes, Wildhammers care deeply for nature, and will fight to preserve it. It could be possible to say that they are somewhat less arrogant than a Bronzebeard Dwarf can be, and are more ‘humble’, but they are still more unpredictable than a Bronzebeard Dwarf, it is hard to figure out how a Wildhammer will react to certain situations.
The Dark Iron Clan
I love all dwarves in WoW. And the Dark Irons are no exception; they are, in my honest opinion, a masterpiece of lore from Blizzard. They are scheming, dishonourable and downright nasty bunch of dwarves – Which have often been portrayed as honourable in most other fantasy settings. It’s why I love the Dourhands from LOTRO so much. They’re different!
Dark Irons are hated by the two other Dwarven Clans, for previous transgressions of which there are many and of differing severity. They have no accent, and I, for some reason, always pictured them having either a distinctly evil, moustache twirling sounding English accent, or a German accent.
Roleplaying a Dark Iron was unfeasible in vanilla, TBC and Wrath, because they were exclusively enemies with the exception of the reclusive Thorium Brotherhood. But now, with Cataclysm, the Dark Iron Dwarves have split, with one following the Twilight’s Hammer and Cho’gall, and the other following Moira [and now being accessible as an allied race]. Details of this can be found in the book The Shattering: A Prelude to Cataclysm. An awesome book by Christie Golden.
Dark Irons are naturally inclined to be secretive, arrogant and scornful of every other race, but there can always be some bright lights in a black hole. Franclorn Forgewright springs to mind here. He is the one who designed the Stonewrought Dam, a Dark Iron! Designing the Stonewrought Dam! I bet most non-Dwarves don’t know this, as it may be a cause for mocking from Dark Irons and shame for the Bronzebeards. Who knows!
One thing is for sure, Dark Irons who stay with Moira will be distrusted and hated by the two other Dwarven Clans, you must be prepared to accept this if you roleplay, do not take all the insults that are bound to fly your way OOCly, and everything will be all fine and dandy.
Dwarves and the Horde
The Dwarves are part of the Alliance for a reason. The Horde is hated, I will not try to explain how they may get along in some parrelel universe. But this is World of Warcraft, so I will explain why a Dwarf is justified in hating or disliking every race on the Horde side.
The Orcs: No brainer here. The orcs invaded Khaz Modan after they sacked Stormwind in the First War. A period of time that is woefully unrecorded by Blizzard, during this time, the Horde sacked all the dwarven strongholds aside from Ironforge, earning the eternal ire of the dwarven race.
The Trolls: The trolls are simply a savage, unpredictable and revolting race of degenerate blueskins, added to this, the dwarves have been eternally hounded by the persistent Frostmane Trolls. The hatred for trolls on the side of the dwarves is unsurprising and natural. Where the dwarves are civilised, the trolls are not. Civilised societies in a fantasy setting will naturally have disdain for those who are not as ‘smart’ as them.
The Tauren: Perhaps the most difficult to justify. I will go with ‘Guilty by Association’. The Tauren are aiding the orcs, as a result, they are just as bad, the tauren have also slaughtered dwarven archaeologists for intruding on land that until recently, wasn’t the tauren’s at all. Some dwarves may rightly feel anger at this, despite the peace reached by Brann Bronzebeard.
The Forsaken: They are undead. Plain and simple, the dwarves believe in the Light, the Forsaken are an affront to the Light. Some may even venture to say they are an affront to the Titans, because they shouldn’t rightly exist. The Forsaken also attack Dun Garok regulary, many dwarven lives are on their hands.
The Blood Elves: The dwarves enjoyed good relations with the High Elves, particulary the Wildhammers (Though the Bronzebeard Dwarves are said to have had good relations also) so it may be right that they view the ‘betrayal’ of the Blood Elves with shock and disgust, added to that, they collaborate with demons. Dwarves do not like demons.
The Bilgewater Cartel: Guilty by Association. Also, they’re thieving little greenskins that scam good dwarf merchants of their money. Now we have a good reason to kill them all!
(Note, all these arguments have been said from a purely dwarf point of view, few objective points have been raised for a reason. Yes, the tauren were justified in killing dwarves, but the dwarves may not think that.)
Dwarves and the Alliance
Same as with the Horde. I will explain how dwarves like Alliance races more than they do others, yet I will also hint on disagreements. The Alliance is not a happy union of all races where they can all live freely under the banner of freedom and democracy.
The Humans: The Dwarves and the Humans have always been allies, they aid each other when needed, this is the same as any other fantasy universe. HOWEVER. There are differences between allies, and best friends. Warhammer Dwarfs regard Humans with variation, some are right honourable, good folk, others are spindly, cowardly manlings. Lord of the Rings Dwarves also: The men of Arnor were good and honourable. The men of Gondor as they were during the War of the Ring were weak-willed and ready to fall.
The same can be said for dwarves in WoW, dwarves greatly respected Lord Lothar, Lord Uther and King Terenas, but they are dead. Similary. Depending on an individuals experience of humans, his/her opinion will be different. A dwarf who was called a ‘brainless dwarf’ by Garithos or was attacked by a Scarlet Crusader would have a different opinion of humans than one who had fought beside Lord Turalyon or Danath Trollbane.
As hinted on before, some dwarves may feel themselves ‘superior’ to humans, because on the whole, a dwarf will be more skilled and learned than your average human.
The Gnomes: No brainer here again. The gnomes and the dwarves get along brilliantly.
The Night Elves (High Elves, too): An interesting one. I’ve seen many roleplayers play their dwarf as hating Night/High Elves with a passion, again, this comes down to experience. If the dwarf was on the receiving end of a Night Elf Sentinel before the Battle of Mount Hyjal, then yes, he/she might dislike the Night Elves.
For the most part, however. Night Elves and Dwarves are hinted to get along very well. Wildhammers may have a closer relationship like they did with the High Elves because of similar ties to nature, but the Bronzebeards too - For example, Magni Bronzebeard was said to of greatly respected both Tyrande Whisperwind and the Night Elf people as a whole in The Shattering: A Prelude to Cataclysm book, Magni being the King of the Dwarves, it is possible to draw the conclusion his view represent that of the majority of his people.
The Draenei: An odd one. The closest tie I can think of is the Light. The dwarves might also respect the tenacity of the Draenei, and find common ground in the hatred of demons and orcs.
The Worgen: Same as humans, with the added oddity that they are slavering monsters. The dwarves as a race have had very little contact with feral Worgen, and they had little contact with the humans of Gilneas. I would say that dwarves would view Gilnean Worgen with careful interest.
Dwarves and the Future
The future is very interesting for the dwarves, arguably I would say they’re more interesting than the orcs or the humans.
We still know little about the Titans, the dwarves once being Earthen, servants of the Titans, they are clearly the most connected to their creators, and anything involving the Titans and Azeroth will inevitably include the dwarves as well.
There is also the matter of Moira, Muradin and Falstad, the Council of Three Hammers. What will happen in a Cataclysm content patch? Will Moira turn out to be an alright sort? Will she turn out to be a scheming little beep that only wants Ironforge for herself? Will we see a surprisingly development with her baby forming an attachment not with her, but with Falstad or Muradin? What will this child become? Will he become a force that unites the Dwarven Race? Or will he split it again? Warrior? Shaman? Mage? The possibilities for his character are endless, and the implications for Dwarf RP, even with him at his young age, are immense [this is in particular where this guide shows it’s age - just imagine how many threads can be pulled for RP from here :)].