Been reading about Dwarven Greed mechanics here in the forums and at some point there seems to have been a consensus that a Dwarf who hits Greed 10 turns into a Dragon. Am I reading too much into a throwaway discussion or is that canon?
That’s not canon, but something I introduced in Burning Thaco, loosely inspired by the story of Fáfnir.
That sounds awesome. But yeah, it’s not set in stone what happens at Greed 10.
It’s stated that Dwarves at 10 Greed shut themselves in their halls forever, but there’s some interesting room there still. Elves waste away or leave. Orcs go down in an orgy of violence. But Dwarves? They are certainly no longer traveling. They might be quite mad. But they’re not gone forever. They don’t die. They might well still play some role in Dwarven society.
A master artisan twisted by Greed? Sure, he’ll never let you use so much as a spoon from his forge, but the clan can take the long view. Keep him well-supplied and he’s little trouble. You can even completely seal in his halls, save for a grate to pass food, fuel, and materials. He’ll probably thank you, seeing it as safeguards for his masterpieces rather than imprisonment. Then one day he will die, and think of what treasures you might find left behind?
That’s a really neat concept.
But not quite what I was thinking. I am working on a con one-shot where the twist is that the actions of the PCs COULD push the Dwarven Prince in who’s hold this all takes place over the edge using the greed mechanics and turns him into a monster.
But it was that concept of him becoming a dragon that really interested me. So Anthony if you don’t mind I’ll steal it from you and run with it a little.
I was thinking of using a de powered Wyrm as the monster.
You might talk to Mad Jay over PM or something and see what he has in store for our current all-Dwarf campaign. My Dwarf is just a routine test away from hitting Greed 10 and we don’t know, yet, what will happen, though there has been a little bit of foreshadowing here and there.
[QUOTE=Wayfarer;144505
A master artisan twisted by Greed? Sure, he’ll never let you use so much as a spoon from his forge, but the clan can take the long view. Keep him well-supplied and he’s little trouble. You can even completely seal in his halls, save for a grate to pass food, fuel, and materials. He’ll probably thank you, seeing it as safeguards for his masterpieces rather than imprisonment. Then one day he will die, and think of what treasures you might find left behind?[/QUOTE]
IC: “What is this filth? You’re trying to poison me. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Fools! You only want what I have and you’ll murder me for it. I must take precautions. Yes. Tonight. I’ll see to it that no one in this hall will ever steal one ounce of what is rightfully mine…”
Not the best neighbor to have, but certainly would be an AMAZING villain for a scenario.
As a primary antagonist I’m not sure a mad Dwarf works all that well. My favorite villains have all been more rational or more grandly evil than that. He’d be more like a monster—a tiny dragon in his hoard, if you will. Sometimes there’s nothing to do but take up axes and put the beast down, but sometimes it can be propitiated with offerings and handled very gently.
Now I’m envisioning a mad Dwarf who’s made some mighty dragon-slaying weapon. Which is needed, seeing as there’s a rampaging dragon. Good luck figuring out how to traverse the Greedy bastard’s trap-filled hold and deal with him to get what you need.
Now THAT sounds like a fun game!
It does. But it also sounds more like a TB game than a BW game. But you guys have given me some ideas that totally changes what I wanted to do.
I could see the master artisan gone mad with greed building constructs that tunnel into the treasuries of other dwarves reclaiming those items that he and his ancestors had made throughout the ages, gathering artifacts that only he truly deserves or even understands.
An army of constructs, protecting a mad, but powerful dwarf who has the one item that can save the day but his greed won’t let him part with it.
Throw in a damsel in distress and a rampaging dragon and it sounds like an epic adventure!