Aysle dwarves

[Stormchild]

As I am always ranting about how much information Torg lacks, I thought I should begin with filling the gaps. So I made up some background for a dwarven culture.

Lately I came up with some ideas. And of course, this is only meant as an idea to build upon or rip it apart. I have tried for an unique approach instead of using the usual dwarf stereotype. (It is based loosely on a short story I once read, though I don?t know which it was. It could have been ?The Masquerade on Dicantropus? by Jack Vance, but I am not sure. It was about a planet without any monetary system, instead people are wearing masques showing their social status. People can elevate their status when giving presents to those of higher status.)

As it is quite long, I will split it into some parts.

[Stormchild]

What information is there in the Torg material to begin with?

They

live long, some 100 years
are small and stocky
are one of the three dominant races (together with humans and giants)
have no reputation as warriors but are fierce and tenacious
make up in cunning what they lack in brawn (with sabotage and the tunnels are booby-trapped)
do not all wear beards
are secular believers (meaning they know the gods exist but don?t care about them)
like to live underground
are very social (they are mostly featured in groups)
love storytelling
have their own house (Vareth, led by Duke Dwyvan Vareth and his son Taleron, in mistrust of the other dark houses but surely not alligned with the light Houses. ?The Vareths currently hold the rimward and sunward portion of the continent under the Earth star, along with the island of Vareth in the Frozen Sea. The island has remained dark despite the flux, and is the site of the city of Tuonetar, home of the Vareth clan.? Vareth has many spies in the Land Between whom they keep in thrall by a hostage-system)
are bitterly divided (between the Vareth slavers and free dwarves, Vareth raid the deep dwarves every few weeks)
resent Ardinay, though some accept she was not herself
are good merchants and enthusiastic tinkerers (build and dismantle traps, are interested in any tech)
believe they are the oldest race
love drinking and singing (maybe dancing too but I can?t find any reference to it)
hate giants and elves (they had a war with the giants and there is reference to a rivalry with the elves)
are organized in clans, ruled by councils of elders or war-bands led by the strongest or richest
there is reference to a kingdom but this is not outlined, I surmis this to be a loose term that is not based on a real kingdom
farm mushrooms and moss for food and trade or forage into Upper Aysle when food is scarce, especially when they live in the Dark regions
they use their abundant mineral resources and their craftmanship for trade. ?Their most lucrative pursuit is ship repair, particularly with the Freetraders taking such a pound-ing from the Vikings and Corsairs. A team of dwarves can patch a hull in a matter of minutes, and a number of Freetraders have taken dwarves on as crew members to effect emergency repairs.?
are seen as cheap mages (the material doesn?t say if this is due to them being worse with magic than other races or if this is based on prejudice. Their cheap spells are notorious for being less effective or erratic)
share the Land Between with Half-folk and Lesser-folk though they avoid contact
there is rumour about a revolution led by Gutterby (at the time of the Aysle sourcebook)
find it easy to work in Core Earth as stock traders



And how could this information be used to build upon?
See the next post

[Stormchild]

Dwarves can be catalogued into 8 groups


Land Between dwarves called deep dwarves by Ayslish or dverngallarc – unburned in the dwarven tongue.
House Vareth, slavers, called hragwavs – wormspit by deep dwarves.
Dwarves that live on the Land Above, called sun dwarves by Ayslish or rallarc by deep dwarves, meaning out in the sun.
Dwarves that are alligned to the Light, called hrogwarags, avengers by themselves and the deep dwarves
Dwarves that are alligned to the Dark, called dark dwarves by Ayslish, deep dwarves call them dworgorog – mole in the bright light
Refugees
Non-alligned Land Above dwarves
Wandering bands of Land Between dwarves (the last three have no name as groups but are rather adopting names for their tribe or band, often named after a leader)


I will concentrate on the Land Between dwarves as they are the only ones with a distinct culture. Any other group has retained some characteristics of this culture.

Their obvious behaviour traits are mistrust due to slave raids while being very hospitable when someone has earned their trust. Rituals are deeply intertwined into their culture, many have to do with testing the trustworthiness of strangers. They are very careful and accurate due to the inherent dangers in an underground live.

[Stormchild]

Trade: Deep Dwarves have a ritualised system of trading without any money. This is part of the rituals of friendship. For them, a fair trade is when everybody gives the same percentage of his wealth and it is seen as a sign of trustworthiness when one tries to get less for his offer. In order to show how small a percentage this offer is and how much more potential there is in further trade, the dwarves have developed a culture of bragging. As this can be easily exploited, dwarves have learned to use other methods of trading with non-dwarves. Normally they won?t give up bragging when dealing with humans but they turn it around. Instead of bragging about their wealth they exaggerate the worth of their merchandise. This has led to dwarves being seen as greedy which is far from the truth. Every trade begins with an extensive round of bragging.

Rituals of friendship: There are 8 stages of friendship. As a dwarven saying goes: ?a stranger is but a friend you haven?t gifted yet?

Stage 1: Impolite rejection. Strangers show obvious distrust to each other
Stage 2: Bragging. Each side exaggerates what they can offer now and in future dealings. Not only wealth is exaggerated but also skills, information and everything else that could be helpful for the other side.
Stage 3: Impudent demands, to see how interested the other side is in the merchandise. It is often shocking for non-dwarves to see dwarves accept this deal. What they don?t understand is that the difference between this and a fair deal is seen as a debt, which is expected to be settled by gifts in later dealings.
Stage 4: The overcharged receives a gift which initializes a new trade. The one giving the present brags about how much he overcharged the other one on the last contact. From this point the trade is done exclusively with presents. The traders are now seen as guests and no one demands something from a guest, while a guest demonds nothing from his host. But they always brag about how much more they gained from the presents given to them. This is a polite way to scale the trade. It is seen as impolite to degrade a gift. When a dwarf brags too much, his fellows will laugh and show that he can?t be serious.
Stage 5: The former host brings a present to the former guest. Now he is treated as a guest and both declare friendship. Each clan has its own ritual for this declaration.
Stage 6: Normal trade (both start at neutral), but still pretending to give presents. Each trade begins with a round of bragging, where every side states how much they have profited from this friendship so far. The goal is to make the other accept further gifts which puts him in a gift-debt. Who fails to compensate accordingly loses face and can fall back in stages.
Stage 7: When both sides have achieved a certain amount of trust (both are loyal), rituals of acceptance begin. Each clan has its own rituals of acceptance to test the trustworthiness of the new friend.
Stage 8: The friend is initiated as a member of the clan. A dwarf may be member of many clans. Each clan has its own symbols and rituals to recognize members. Marriage is only possible between members of the same clan.

[Stormchild]

Courting: Bride and groom are tallied in their skills, productivity and whatever goes for him or her. Wealth does not count here. A friend of the courting’s initiator begins with bragging before the whole clan about his friend’s worth. Traditionally these are extremely tall tales with only a glimpse of truth. Then a friend of the other side brags about the other one. The clan then decides on the bride price that should be charged for each of the two. The difference is to be paid as a gift to the family of the one who is worth more. It doesn’t matter who pays this price. Often other dwarves pay in order to put the new family in a gift-debt. As with any other gifts this has to be compensated one day, even if this happens after centuries. This is one of the reasons why there are complex webs of debts not only between clans but also between the families in the clans. A family consists of many couples, grandparents and unmarried children. Successful families tend to grow ever more, as they receive newly-wed couples. When a family grows too large, they can decide to form an expedition, meaning some adventurous dwarves leave their home and search for a new home. They remain part of the clan but are no longer considered being part of the familiy.

Gift-debts: A dwarf loses face when he fails to compensate gift-debts or when he has to remind another dwarf to compensate a gift-debt but he will always brag about how much more he has gained from another. As long as a dwarf brags about gifts he has received, this is seen as enough compensation. He remembers that he is in a gift-debt, so nothing to worry. But if he tarries too long to compensate, it can happen that the creditor states this publicly. This is seen as one of the worst slights a dwarf can do to another and a loss of face for both. It is seen as good tradition that the creditor informs the obligor in advance that he will state it publicly, giving him time to avoid this. It is the job of the clan’s or family’s storyteller to give this advance warning. If this advance warning is not heeded, the storyteller can ask the obligor at a bragging feast if he wants to tell a story. This is the last chance he has to brag about the gift-debt. If he can tell about progress in paying back some amount of the gift-debt, he has avoided losing faith. But if he doesn't compensate now, the creditor will state publicly that the debtor did not compensate. The clan then decides what is to be done with the debtor. In extreme cases a debtor can be reduced to friend-stage, meaning he is no longer part of the clan.

Book of gifts: In order to keep this complex web of gifts updated, each dwarf keeps his own book of gifts. These tend to become more complex than the account books of most Core Earth companies. It is no wonder, dwarves find it easy to work as accountants or day-traders. Each family and each clan has a storyteller whose responsibility it is to keep track of gift-debts. The storytellers of each clan meet on a regular basis in order to compare the gift-debts of the clan’s families which is done by telling stories. At these meetings they also elect the clan’s storyteller. As good storytellers usually keep the post for a long time, these dwarves are mistaken for a court of elders by humans. And there really is not much of a difference, as they speak for their family in any respect and can make quick decisions on behalf of the family.

Bragging feasts: On regular holidays and on special unregular occasions (f.i. after some communal work has been finished), dwarves celebrate a gwaringal – a bragging feast. This is a merry feast with lots of drink, dance, song and storytelling. All public business is conducted here and it is a market that often attracts friends from other clans too.

Communal work: Life is hard for dwarves, they have to stick together in order to produce enough food and work the mines for valuable merchandise. Greater projects are done as communal work where the whole clan participates. In order to tally how much each dwarf has contributed and how the earnings are to be distributed, the work is also part of the gift-debt-system. When the communal work starts, a storyteller is elected. This person is often mistaken by humans to be a king or foreman of a dwarf mine. He not only keeps the Book of gifts for the communal work, he is also responsible to manage the whole project. In addition, he is often elected as the clan’s storyteller too.

Dragons: One of the roots of this system of gifts is the relationship dwarves have with Draconis Terra. They have learned very early in their history that it is possible to make deals with these dragons. But in order to do so you have to bring gifts and tread very carefully. Draconis Terra love rare metals and gems, this is the reason why dwarves started mining. Dragons often lair on rich soil which dwarves use for farming (and dragons provide loads of fertilizer too), while the dwarves help the dragons secure their air ducts. This accounts for the ancient hate between dwarves and elves as hunting Draconis Terra is seen as a heroic adventure by elves.

[skeloric]

Wow.
That is a lot of info.
I like how this ties into the already stated Dwarven traits and takes it in a direction that makes them iconic in Aysle rather than merely iconic in some sort of vague Tolkienesque fashion.

[Kansas Jim]

(It is based loosely on a short story I once read, though I don?t know which it was. It could have been ?The Masquerade on Dicantropus? by Jack Vance, but I am not sure. It was about a planet without any monetary system, instead people are wearing masques showing their social status. People can elevate their status when giving presents to those of higher status.)
That does sound Vancian, and I think I've read a short story somewhere like that with the masks and gifting, it sounds familiar. But I don't think I've read Dicantropus, at least the title doesn't ring any bells.

[Stormchild]

I don't have the book anymore. I tried to find any reference that could ring a bell on the net and the only one that came up was that. But no info about content anywhere.