Tapster's Tavern - For all your dwarven needs !

Kal Sharok is fascinating. They were isolated for hundreds of years and their culture, which came from the same roots as Orzammar's, evolved in a different way. We don't know too many details, other than they don't have the caste system that Orzammar does, and the way they identify paragons is really different. There's such potential there for dwarven conflict esp since it was Orzammar that shut them out. Their lives must be very different, and much harder in a lot of ways.... and there are some theories that their exposure to the taint changed them, although idk how much I want that to be. (Ie I don't want them to feel too alien, but of course, it's not my story)

Plus, yes, since it's resurfaced, the only meaningful contact it has had with the outside world is with Tevinter.

Well, the dwarves don't give much credence to the idea of gods to begin with. To them, the Stone is the closest they come -- it is all around them, and when they say they are the Children of the Stone they mean that literally. Like some ancient myths in our world claim that humanity was formed from clay, the dwarves believe that they are quite literally born of the stone. When someone dies, their spirit returns to the stone. Those who are worthy make the stone stronger, while those who are unworthy make the stone weaker. An important concept in a world where the strength of the roof over your head determines not only your own surviveability but also that of your family and community. The most worthy, the Paragons, are those who add the most to the Stone when they die. Thus they are worthy of reverance, and held up as an ideal for other dwarves to aspire to.


Much like the elven myths, however, the dwarven notion of the Stone -- while anthropomorphized considerably into a sort-of deity, not surprising considering the idea that the rock around the dwarves gives them everything they exist in -- doesn't contradict the idea that a creator might have created the Stone itself. They just don't believe that. The Stone is right there, around them and supporting them, and some creator...? Who is such a being to the dwarves?

In a time only the Stone remembers, a warrior named Gason won honor and glory for his house. He won a dozen Provings and defended his thaig against a legion of darkspawn. But though he was bold, Gason was also selfish and unkind, with a temper like spitting magma. He would rant and rage, mock and malign, until eventually Gason's friends turned their backs on him, his house crumbled, and he was cast into the Deep Roads.

There in the great darkness, Gason's anger roared up so bright it blinded him. He snatched up his sword and began to attack the carvings honoring noble Paragons that lined the walls. One! Two! With each blow of his sword, he cursed the Paragons and the Stone Herself in a voice that echoed from one end of the Deep Roads to the other.

But the Stone always hears the voices of Her children, for good or for ill. As the carvings fell in ruins at Gason's feet, each chunk of wood uncoiled, becoming a horrid creature with a maw full of teeth. One! Two! Hundreds rose and surrounded Gason in a pack, devouring him bite by bite before scattering into the dark.

The creatures, which we call tezpadam, stalk the Deep Roads to this day. They can curl of like tiny stones, waiting to pounce upon trespassers as they pounced upon Gason so long ago. And that's why you're not to play noisy games near the entrance to the Deep Roads. They just might toggle you up too.

Veata tezpadam translates to "Stop, deepstalker!" in the common tongue.
Mindless he wanders, all unwary,
Where small dwarven children should not tarry.
Veata, Tezpadam!

Your eyes are shining, bright and merry.
The quarters' light distant and dim,
Here in the cave he's wandered in.
Veata, Tezpadam!

How quick you are on silent limb.
Small hands collide with cavern wall.
Upon the ground, a missing ball.
Veata, Tezpadam!

Your brothers hear the high-pitched call.
He turns to see they've circled round,
All grinning at his wimming sound.
Veata, Tezpadam!

What becomes of you who found?
Within the quarter, heard no more
Are songs behind the nursery door.
Veata, Tezpadam!

Asleep upon the cavern floor.

- Special conversation with Josephine. You can choose to believe in the Stone, Maker, or be agnostic.

- You can choose if you've ever been to Orzammar or not. (Varric has never been, for example.)

- You can choose your level of involvement in the Carta: violent thug, strictly surface goods with wealthy houses, or "none of your business."

- Varric will acknowledge your Carta background in the prologue after he joins your group.

- There are brief comments when you clear the Carta. (They're not of Cadash's clan so you're not going to run into anyone Cadash knows.)

- There will be dwarf NPCs in Haven and Skyhold and to a lesser extent, Val Royeaux, that will provide banter on the dwarven perspective.

- The war table missions for dwarves are fine. It provides context for why Cadash was at the Conclave at the first place and why Cadash is no longer a part of the Carta. The person writing to you gives off a Leske vibe, that someone that is looking out for you. Pay attention to which advisors you choose. Cullen will end things early.

- The vibe they get is the same as a second-hand citizen. They're generally seen as greedy merchants or a criminal.

- Several of the companions will comment on your dwarf nature. Blackwall is the best with this because he has exclusive dialogue with both male and female Cadash about this precisely (human, elves, and qunari get a generic "thanks for recruiting me!" response). Dorian will be thrilled that you're challenging stereotypes. Cassandra will ask about your beliefs and you can point out in a couple of places that you're a dwarf. She will respect and acknowledge this later on in the game as well.

- I do remember reading notes while clearing out either Valammar or the fortress that the Carta has noticed the Herald is a dwarf. They're not sure what con you're pulling. It does get acknowledged.

- The Hissing Waste banter in the tombs is mostly companion specific. Cadash is discovering stuff like this just like everyone else so there's no real reason for Cadash to have special insight on the paragons of old.

- Scout Harding will comment on seeing a fellow dwarf. It's been pointed out that when meeting Dagna for the first time, the dwarf will see her directly (taller races will look side to side and then look down to see her). Kieran will tell the Cadash he/she is short and if you pick the middle option, you will hear the only reference to the Titans in the game.

- There is no dwarven throne to sit on in Skyhold. If it's strictly tied into judging people, then there aren't any dwarves to judge.

- Despite being from House Cadash, there is no mention of Shale at all.

- I remember reading a codex in one of the rooms in Skyhold, with someone writing to his parents talking about how inspired he is by Cadash and how he wants to join the Inquisition.

- If you are importing an Aeducan or Brosca world state, the dwarves at the Orlesian ball will comment on the current dwarven king and the current paragon.

- The letter from Hero of Ferelden (if dwarf) will acknowledge Cadash's dwarfness as well.

I can't really remember anything else off the top of my head. Humans still get better content and this game is heavy on elven-lore, which is good. I think dwarves will get their turn at some point. David Gaider has expressed an interest to return to the dwarven setting, perhaps Kal-Sharok, in the future, but said they'd need the right story to make that happen.

Gilsa Posted 30 April 2015 - 02:09 AM

Annnnnd I've got a fun treat for this thread since I know you guys love quotes and such! I used a save editor during Halamshiral and ran the character through all possible outcomes from A Paragon of Her Kind. The reason why we don't hear anything about the anvil or Branka is because our dwarf warden takes priority over Branka/Caridin. The dwarves will only give out information on one paragon. So to hear about Branka, you'd need to have a non-dwarf warden import.I knew Harrowmont was a weak king, but wow, total insincerity towards Aeducan. (WTF, man. Where's the gratitude! I am coming back for you, I swear it.)

Paragon Aeducan:

"Has there been news of Paragon Aeducan?"

"Not in months. The assembly insists on declaring the Paragon dead, but King Bhelen refuses to give up the search."

Paragon Aeducan, deceased:

"Is the statue of Paragon Aeducan as grand as they say?"

"More grand, probably. King Bhelen spared no expense. It is a second Paragon in his own house, after all."

Paragon Brosca:

"Has there been any news of Paragon Brosca?"

"Not a whisper. We could use the guidance of a paragon about now."

Paragon Brosca, deceased:

"I've heard the statue of Paragon Brosca has finally been unveiled to the public."

"It stands in front of the palace. King Bhelen wants all of Orzammar to venerate his wife's noble house."

Paragon Aeducan:

"Has there been news of Paragon Aeducan?"

"No. King Harrowmont has been forced to declare the Paragon dead."

Paragon Aeducan, deceased:

"Is the statue of Paragon Aeducan as grand as they say?"

"It's a little ... small. Several deshyrs have accused King Harrowmont of cutting costs."

Paragon Brosca:

"Has there been any news of Paragon Brosca?"

"Not a whisper. We could use the guidance of a paragon about now."

Paragon Brosca, deceased:

"I've heard the statue of Paragon Brosca has finally been unveiled to the public."

"Yes. King Harrowmont is quite proud of it. Not every king gets to add to the Hall of Heroes."

Non-dwarf warden imports only:

Paragon Branka (same dialogue for both kings):

"Any news of Paragon Branka?"

"Not since the king cut off her supply of casteless. Ghastly business."

(Note: The above line appears regardless of whether the Anvil of the Void was preserved or destroyed. Weird.)

Paragon Caridin (same dialogue for both kings):

"Is there any progress on the Helmi expedition to Amgarrak?"

"House Dace remains steadfast in blocking all attempts to get into the thaig."

Chibi Elemental, on 28 Nov 2014 - 3:23 PM, said:
just for people curious about different class and spec combos I have actualy come up with a rather helpful list that I'll post here

each specialisation can be classified as defensive, offessive, or balanced

For rogue,
offense, Assassin
your offensive based spec is Assassin and can work well with both daggers and archery, as the activates generally work around your weapon of choice, while they do have some nice defensive moves they are almost exclusivly geared toward being offense.

Defensive, Tempest
I know what your thinking but chibi tempest is all about doing tons of damage quickly!? Well you are right but tempest is more focused around using your tonics in the correct order according to what is going on, and they also have tonics that increase your defense to were even in nightmare you take significantly less damage in comparison to other rogues indeed you even taunt all the enemies around you and gain a huge defensive bonus. These rogues are ment to be in the thick of the fight and spitting in the enemies eyes. And thus daggers are more suited for this spec not saying an archer can find ways to make the spec work but dagger rogue will get the most use out of all of the abilities in the tree.

Balance, Artificer
Artificer has a great balance of offensive and defensive capabilities from setting up traps mines and even a handy get out of jail free card. Bows work best with this specilationion as it provides handy escapes and tools to keep the enemy at bay, but why is it balanced you say? Well you can really use any of the abilities defensivly or offensivly where as tempest tends to just make you inharently tanky artificer does not, cc damage and teleports are what make this class great, now a dagger rogue can make great use of artificer in used smart, like fallback plan on mines spike trap fire mine and ice mine you can isolate and deal large ammounts of damage to a single target if prepared properly.

Warrior.

Offense, reaver

This should be obvious all of reavers abilities are about augmenting your ability to just murder everything around you, you are a killing machine and all of it is there to make you scary and agressive. while sword and board can make great use of this spec twohanders is where you will shine as the extra damage they deal is significant and devour will allow you to swing that damage stick almost as fast as a duel wield rogue though do stalk up on regen pots and regen grenades your gonna need them if you wish to spam that attack.

Defensive, Champion

Champion allows you to control the battlefield and also make you nearly unkillable if applied correctly, sword and board give you great surviability but a twohander build is possible in combination with its focus ability which is a fantastic counter attack focus. Your main focus is to be the best tank you can be while holding enemies attention for as long as you can.

Balance, Templar

Templar gets a great array of offensive and defensive party buffing capabilities, you can buff everyones damage, deal damage and cc oponents especially mages. demons and magical creatures. Your focus on the battlefield should be that of buffing and targeting those of the magically inclined. A great speck for either sword and board or even twohanded warriors check it out you may find you enjoying making your whole party into a steam rolling engine of destruction.

Mage

Offensive, necromancer

Rift mage can make a case for being the offensive but really in my opinion necro really takes the cake here as thier whole focus is on dots dots and moar dots that then turn into minions to do well more damage and to boot its all spirit damage! the real stratagy here is that you either as your other abilities focus on creating more panic with fire which then creates more damage for your necromancy spells which are most likely stacked on that archer or assasin you want to burn down quickly so they explode and then cuase others to well explode. Or team it up with lightning or cold to add in more cround control while your necro dots kill your target.

defensive, Knight enchanter

All off knight enchanters abilities are designed around improving barriers or making you harder to hit or even find on the battlefield, even the spirit blade has a defensive mechanic where you can hit projectiles to prevent and in turn send damage back to your enemies, I havn't myself played much of this spec and really want to find a build I find fun, it is powerful just not one of my personal favorites.

Balance, Rift mage
This class can deal serious damage however its primary focus is actually crowd control, the damage is just an added benefit, really that is all there is to say about this speck you can pull enemies together, throw stone fits at them knock them all down lots of cool field control and perhaps one of the more fun specs I have played in the game and really simple to get into. Just point click and watch things happen.

Hope that really helps all of you in your character planning also I am always willing to help with character builds and ideas as well as theory crafting

EmperorSahlertz Posted 04 December 2014 - 09:56 AM
it would seem that the major cities of the Dwarves all have the prefix "Kal-" followed by a moniker, while the smaller towns and outposts are just one word.
City Examples: Kal-Sharok, Kal-Hirol, Kal-Barosh.
Town and outpost examples: Orzammar*, Amgarrak, Gwaren.

*Orzammar is the odd-one-out here, since it started out as an outpost but since grew to be the second largest Dwarven city.

But it would seem that "Kal-" followed by the name of the ruling family of the Thaig is a common naming policy of the Dwarves.

DA Dwarves revere family and tradition, hence the tendency to name their thaigs after the ruling/founding families.