Campaign guide plight of the tuatha (1) 22

Chapter One: The Lands of Aeliode
The dwarves are the chosen of the Volsung aspect of
their god. His path is one of crafting, hunting, and building these islands till they reach the sky. The dwarves of the
Ostmen help the islands grow ever larger and are devoted
to the earth and stone which they and Volsung bring forth.
Fomoire are devoted to Balar. They follow him across
the sea. They submerge themselves in the blood lust of
Balar and strive to cause the blood of man and elves to flow
over the land. They were brought forth from the sea and
are the masters of the oceans. They long for the day that
the oceans cover all the lands of creation; the seas will rise
with the blood of their foes.
Humans and half-fomoire are caught in the middle
of the warring natures of Volsung Who Is Balar. Some
are drawn to the destruction of Balar and his tumultuous
oceans. Their bodies change to resemble Balar’s as the salt
air penetrates them. Humans transform into half-fomoire,
half-fomoire into fomoire. Others follow the creation of
Volsung, forging the islands and creating objects of great
beauty. They feel called to the ways of the dwarves.

Races
Dwarf
With their calloused hands and skin stained from the dust
of ancient stone, dwarves are the very manifestation of
tenacity, devotion, and the power that can be had through
honest labor. Their backs are as strong as the mountains
their ancestor rose from the ocean floor.
Physiology
Stocky and thick-skinned, the dwarves from the Ostmen
Isles are as tough and resilient as their homeland. Common

hair colors range from dark brown to white while black or
red hair is uncommon. Most dwarven eyes are a shade of
grey. The appearance of blue eyes is considered unlucky as
it is thought such a dwarf has too much of the sea in them.

Society
The dwarves of the Ostmen Isles are a highly religious
and tight-knit clan society. While most worship the god
Volsung, many honor other gods of the Ostmen Islands.
Most dwarves consider it a divine cause to help raise the
land out of the raging sea. While high priests of Volsung
weave together blessings and mystical energies to bring new
stone into existence, many other dwarves of the faith take it
upon themselves to move these creations to locations where
they are needed to hold back the destructive influence of
the seas and oceans.

While Ostmen Dwarves live in such a way as to
celebrate life, through holding great feasts and competitions of skill and wit, they are aware of the darker side of
these activities and the call of the god Balar. On occasion
a dwarf ’s passion for life transforms into a lust and from
a lust into a rage. A dwarf whose blood is filled with rage
is in danger of heeding the call of Balar and undergoing
a physical transformation into a fomoire. Much as is it
when Volsung transforms into Balar, a dwarf whose lust
and rage reshapes them into a fomoire begins to worship
the chaos and rage of the sea and seeks to destroy all they
once wished to build.

Arts

Ostmen dwarves find great beauty in angular geometric
designs and tend to place them wherever they can, carved
into stone walls and wooden doors, sewn into clothing,
forged into the hilts of their blades, most anywhere. While
many of these designs do not obviously depict specific
things in the world, many of them do represent abstract
concepts such as “the dominance of land over the sea,” “the
purity of the roots of the Oldewood,” or “the strength of
the Four Pillars of the Fjallbarn.”
Jewelry, tattoos, and other bodily adornments are
common, especially hollow cylinders which are woven
into the hair and beards. Usually made from metal, though
sometimes also crafted from leather or wood, these hair
and beard rings are sometimes seen as a status symbol or
declaration of one’s achievements in life. Runes or scenes
are etched into the ring telling a bit of one’s history.

History
It is said in dwarven halls that the Ostmen Islands are not
their original home. Dwarves believe that all land that one
can find on Aeliode was raised from the depths of the ocean
by their dwarven ancestors. The lands in which they currently dwell are the lands which Volsung has directed for
them to bring forth next.
For centuries, the dwarves have had occasional conflicts with fomoire tribes. Most of these conflicts were due
to the limited resources available in the region, but none of
these conflicts were long lived. Most lasted no more than
a season or two.
Ostmen Dwarves also played a key role in the survival
of the Huldufólk Elves during their migration from the
land of TirYdrail to their current home in the Godspine

Mountains. Nearly 15000 years ago the elves reached the
dwarven settlement of Grimaland. The dwarves welcomed
the elves into their halls and shared their food with the
destitute masses. For 1700 years the elves and the dwarves

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