Meandering Commentary on Dwarves in My Campaign World

I was never a huge fan of dwarves. Or at least that's what I said. But when I started peopling my gaming world of Yria (Old Gnarl) I quickly realized that I must love the bearded bastards. When I ran my first Labyrinth Lord game dwarves turned out to be a key component.

The dwarves of Yria are of two varieties: western Rock Hardy dwarves and eastern Lightning Spire dwarves.

The western mountains are the Rock Hardies and those are populated by redneck dwarves who love to fight. Each mountaintop is dominated by a clan and the clans stage elaborate battles with one another over unclaimed hills and mountains... or just for fun. Dwarves here, a place just south of Frimmsreach (where the Ice Forest would be found), have names that are fun to make up. Here are some names of dwarves that appeared as NPCs in my first LabLord campaign:

Boomer Earthcleaver

Zapper Earthcleaver

Shank Earthcleaver

Bart Barrackbomb

Loots Doorbreaker

Brickwallow Stormshot

Tankfellow Stormshot

Hulktall Stormshot

Bruiser Barrackbomb

Killminster Barrackbomb

Urfnozzle Doorbreaker

Nabby Doorbreaker

Brickwallow Stormshot was the leader of the dwarves. I think only 1 or 2 of them were still alive by the end of it, but there was a cool episode in which the party's dwarven cleric, Frothgar, summoned the slain spirits of this party of dwarves for an epic battle against an army of trolls and giants.

Now, the eastern dwarves dwell in the great Lightning Spires, a range of thunderous mountains that dwarfs the Rock Hardies (pun intended). These are your aloof, snotty dwarves. They have high standards. They have culture and learning and are exceedingly concerned with craft and tradition. They don't actually interact much with the rest of the world and thus I have no fun things to say about them. But they would have names like Dalan of the Silver Sky or Myyra the Masterworker. None of this Doorbreaker bullshit.

On my good days I think about doing a comic strip series to explore the world of Yria. And in fact I've stuck my toes into that water more than once. Having done a lot of comics and comic strips over the years I'm stymied by one great obstacle... comics are a lot of work.

Seriously. If you know a person who makes a lot of comics or manages to do a "regularly scheduled" comic, you need to give 'em a big hug. If you are that person, here's a virtual hug: [hug].