Dwarves

Titan - King Khalid

Click King Khalid to hear him speak

King Khalid is the most famous Dwarven King in all the history of Etheria. After the Sundering, in the year of 1032, when the ground twisted and cracked, opening up tunnels beneath Drak-Dûm, it was Khalid who led his people out to search these dark unfriendly places. Armed with his Hammer of Lighting, Akhunatûn, Khalid cleansed the tunnels of the foul Orcs & Goblins he found infesting them, eventually paving the way for his kinsfolk to found the far-off citadels of Khaz-Agar, Khaz-Elenak, and even Khalil in the far north.

Race

Now look at matters from the Dwarve’s perspective (and please, no obvious jokes here). Their very name epitomizes shortness. They are perpetually compared and contrasted, usually unfavorably, with the tall, lissome and elegant Elves. They know that they’re actually taller than Goblins, Spriggans and others, but nobody credits it, even if they’re standing side by side.

A mythical story speaks of seven Dwarves, each of a different personality type. This story illustrates how unreliable myths are. There is only one Dwarvish personality type, and it’s ‘grumpy’. Scholars who claim to detect shades of difference such as ‘cranky’ or ‘angry’ are just kidding themselves.

So we have a bunch of grumpy short people with a chip on their shoulder, and an abiding hatred of Elves. With an attitude like this, they fit right into the maelstrom of conflict that is Etheria, a land where evolutionary pressures have long ago disposed of all the nice guys.

Pros: Make great siege machines, massed Rune Lords can be deadly.

Cons: Slow*, surprisingly weak armor.

• A note on Dwarven Speed. Dwarves can actually move a lot faster than they do, but they’re just such cross-grained awkward customers that they won’t hurry up for anybody.

To taunt a Dwarf: It’s just too easy really.

To make friends with a Dwarf: Amputation is the only way.

Motto: Death to the Stringbeans

Dwarf Smiths:

Dwarf Smiths have big brawny muscles, but they’re only good for belting nails, as the Smiths are as bad at fighting as the most emaciated Fey. They are good at building, digging and taking out the trash though, so they’ll make someone a perfect husband.

Dwarf Runners:

Dwarf Runners are a figment of the marketing department, because they can’t run. Dwarf Joggers might be closer to the mark, although the purchase of a couple of upgrades will see them actually able to break into a (somewhat lumbering) gallop.

Dwarf Infantry:

These guys can fight, (if their opponent consents and sticks around). If those opponents are Elves then sticking around is a really bad idea, since Dwarf Infantry do triple damage against Elves.

Dwarf Crossbow:

Dwarf Crossbows are a fairly standard missile unit. Unfortunately, because getting to the battlefield takes them so long, they never have time to put on any armor, a fact which handicaps their survival prospects. Fortunately, like all Dwarven units, they are inherently resistant (with or without armor) to magic, which makes them ideal for smiting armies like the Fey.

Dwarf Berserker:

These guys like to pick fights with trees, since they can’t run away. The tree is guaranteed to lose, as are a lot of other units if they can’t or won’t run away. Berserkers have huge amounts of Hit Points and good armor (apart from a distressing vulnerability to Fire).

Runelord:

Runelords can lick any magic user in the house. They have lots of HPs, good protection against Magic and Fire and two really useful spells, Summon Elemental and Doomstones. If they’d just take a chariot into battle, instead of trudging along like the other Dwarves they’d be really useful.

Dwarf Lord:

Once you take those silly metal gloves off the Dwarf Beserkers, and call them Dwarf Lords, then they actually fight better and walk faster (not fast, but faster). This weird fact contradicts the entire history of Etheria (and other places) where nothing has actually been improved by being ennobled. It must be magic. Dwarf Lords are the Dwarven General, so when they do finally reach a resource point, they can do something useful with it. A final point in the Dwarf Lords favor is that they are produced at your Keep, which frees up the Armory for producing lesser men.

Earth Elemental:

In a perverse way, the Earth Elemental’s chief drawback, which is its agonizing lack of speed, no longer matters. When the rest of the army can be overtaken any member of the class Gastropoda, the Earth Elemental’s pedestrian progress is no problem. When they do arrive at a battle Earth Elementals acquit themselves very well, doing quadruple damage against buildings.

Ballistas:

These are the first siege weapons available to the Dwarves, and it’s a useful weapon, mainly for its carry through damage, which is very handy for dealing with large numbers of low value enemies.

Catapults:

Catapults are perhaps slightly more favored by the discerning siege weapon user. Like the Ballista it has a long range, useful when dealing with towers, and does splash damage, which is also deadly against low Hit Point troops.

Battering Ram:

The Battering Ram does much the same thing as the Earth Elemental, with quadruple damage against buildings. Since you pay real resources for the Battering Ram, and only Mana for the Earth Elemental, if both are available then the choice is fairly clear.

Eagles:

The Eagle is four to five times faster than most Dwarven troops, and since it’s a builder, is the only unit to use for any extra base building. Do not group Eagles with Dwarf Infantry, as the Dwarfs become insanely jealous of the speed and grace of the Eagles, and throw rocks (or worse) at the hapless birds.

Griffons:

Griffons are even faster than Eagles, but no Dwarf is stupid enough to throw a rock at them. Indeed, Griffons are a favorite Dwarven unit, and a Griffon assault is often a warning that the main body of the Dwarven army could be only thirty minutes away.

Dragons:

Dwarves have an ambivalent attitude towards Dragons. They admire their combat power, but are always concerned that any surviving Dragons will scoop up most of the loot.

King Khalid:

King Khalid knows a few things about battles and leaders. He knows that not all battles will be won. He also knows that the most important unit on the battlefield is, (all modesty aside), himself, and therefore his survival is always of paramount importance. To this end he has himself carried around the battlefield by four strapping fellows at a pace consistent with his own preservation. Scholars have not recorded how many miles the King gets to a set of bearers, but just looking at him it can’t be many.
If the King does stick around for combat, then he is capable of causing Terror, ignoring armor and causing massive Magic damage at range.