Hey Game Fans, we’re taking a look at some world building ideas and concepts for the home setting i run. If you’ve checked out my other world building articles, this is the setting that focuses on Lakeport and the larger world around it. Today i’m going to take a look at one of the racial gods for the setting, Mourne Stonehall, the Lord of Dwarves. Before i get started on Mourne himself, let me give you a little background for the gods of this world.
Broadly speaking, the gods divide themselves into a variety of groupings and factions, but the grouping i am concerned about today is the old gods and the new gods. The Old gods predate one of the most important conflicts of the setting, the Fey War. These are the gods that originally found this world and shaped it to their designs and interests. They shaped the great forests and mountains, and populated the world with creatures in their own image. The first Gods to walk the world were the gods of Giantkind, the Fey themselves, and the three Elder Wyrms. A few other gods would appear after this first establishment, most notably Ahrimaius, the God of Creation. These are the Gods of antiquity, and they made the world the way it was, for good or for ill.
The Fey War began as internal issue between a small fey enclave and their neighbors. It spiraled out of control to a level of violence and bloodshed that would haunt the old places of the world forever. At the darkest point of the war, when the Me’Ah’Chin hordes looked ready to take the fight to the Gods themselves, the eldest of the Fey Gods, Grandfather Oak, cast the most powerful magic anyone had ever seen. He summoned heroes and champions from across time and space to the Garden where Oak had planted his first seeds. He made them a simple offer. If they would turn back the tide of darkness and save the world, he would bestow upon the seeds of godhood, and make them the new gods of the world.
Heroes to the end, most of these people died during the war to liberate the world. Heroes from thousands of worlds and cultures fought, bled, and died in a distant land to save it from the most terrible monsters they had ever encountered. When the last battle had been fought, and the dead tallied, less than fifty of the thousands of heroes and champions were still standing. A few would succumb to lingering injuries sustained in the war, and their number would be diminished even further by a tragic incident.
The survivors returned to the Garden, and Grandfather Oak kept his word. Each hero or champion became the living embodiment of an idea or a race. One by one, the new Gods and Goddesses organized themselves, and set about the work of trying to heal the lingering damage the war had caused. Some places were never completely healed, and there are distant parts of the world that still think that ancient war rages….but that’s a story for another time.
Mourne Stonehall, The Keeper of the Mountain
History
Before the War, Mourne was a Dwarf’s Dwarf. He spent his days toiling under the mountains of his homeland, digging tunnels and fighting off goblins, dark elves, and a host of other intruders. He spent his days studying the culture and traditions of his people, and while he had his reservations about the old ways, he kept his tongue and upheld those ancient traditions. When the call from Grandfather Oak came, Mourne led a company of his closest kin to the war.
During the War, Mourne and his kin took the fight to the Me’Ah;Chin in their foundries and mountains. They used their understanding of the deep places of the world to their advantage and helped collapse one of the larger Me’Ah’Chin complexes (the current locaiton of the Shattered Hills). As the war came to an end, he found himself the last surviving member of his company.
After the War, he turne his attention to the Dwarves of this world and in them saw a great potential. They were fighting to free themselves from the servitude of the giants, and in that struggle he saw great value. He, along with Seramesh and Lucky (and Thark) took the fight to the giants and helped free their servitor races. Mourne took his place as the Keeper of the Mountain, and has watched over the Dwarves ever since.
Relations with Others
The same infectious optimism that colors the Dwarves is found in Mourne. He has yet to find a challenge he’s unwilling to try and a battle he won’t fight. Most of the other racial deities find him to be either frustratingly chipper to irritatingly energetic. Seramesh and Lucky both count him as a close ally, as does Adelia, who consults him on matters about the Deep Earth. Despite their servitors having quarrels, he has no personal grudge against Face Bita’, the lord of the Orcs. He saves his greatest hatred for Pureheart for encouraging the continued slavery of the Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings.
Relations with Servants
Mourne’s few servants are constantly moving through the mountains and hills around the Hall that bears his name. They tap the veins of precious metals and the ores, and replenish them as needed. Some are slowly growing the broken mountains into new peaks, and someday they make succeed at rebuilding the mountains for Mourne and his people.
Relations with Mortals
Mourne expects Dwarves to maintain their attitudes and cheerfulness in all things. His clergy, the Stone Brotherhood serve as advisors and counsellors to the Dwarven clans. He is known to reward hard work and devotion to friends and families with rich veins of ore or unexpectedly good runs of brewcraft.
Unusual Sayings
“Can you dig it?” There is no challenge that Dwarves (and maybe other sentients) can accomplish when they keep their hearts open and their minds sharp. This is one of the oldest calls to action among the Dwarves and they embrace the challenge of it with their whole hearts.
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