A pair of Gûndre. Art by Magdalena Partyka. http://werdandi.deviantart.com/
If there is one word to describe the Dwarven people of Sidereus, it is indomitable. The Dwarves, or Gûndre as they call themselves, have endured countless trials and tribulations over the ages. The sole living creation of Sûldin the Landforger, the Gûndre have provoked the ire of Xi’rian the Stormbringer by their existence alone. Since the dawn of the Second Age, Xi’rian has sent his progeny the Naga to plague the Gûndre people in their halls of stone beneath the earth. The Gûndre faced down the Naga at every turn, slaughtering thousands of the vicious creatures before they were finally forced to retreat. In the latter half of the Third Age the machinations of Xi’rian allowed the Naga hordes to return. In an act of near genocide the Naga flooded the halls of the Gûndre, trapping thousands in watery graves.
Since the beginning of the Fourth Age, the Gûndre have returned with a renewed sense of determination and vigor. With the displaced Gûndre Clans having spread across the surface of Sidereus, the Gûndre have begun to reclaim their lost halls. The Gûndre Clans who did not lose their homes have made a small fortune opening up their halls as trade routes for those who wish to travel safely through the Wyld without relying on the magic of the Portals. Gûndre have made the best of their unfortunate fate, using this opportunity to vastly increase their material wealth and improve their amazing craft skills.
A group of Gûndre males. Art by Magdalena Partyka. http://werdandi.deviantart.com/
Due to the blessing of the Overgod at the time of their creation, the Gûndre have skin of organic stone. When a Gûndre suffers her final death, her body calcifies, hardening into a stone-like shroud. Outsiders often see this as a terrible loss. What they do not understand is that this process also converts the heart of the Gûndre in question into a large precious gem, roughly the size of a fist. Gûndre call these gems heart-stones. These gems hold within them the essence of a Gûndre spirit. The “Sanctuary Arc” at the center of every Gûndre hall holds the heart-stones of all of the deceased ancestors of that clan. It is said that due to the magic of the Sanctuary Arc, the spirits of the deceased Gûndre may be awakened in times of need. Despite being called Dwarves in the common tongue, Gûndre come in all shapes and sizes, though they do tend toward stockier builds. Gûndre skin is made of an organic stone-like material making them very tough and incredibly resistant to physical damage.
Gûndre tend to prefer heavy armor and heavier weapons. Axes, hammers, and other smashing and rending weapons are ideal to a Gûndre who is preparing for battle. Gûndre often forge their armors and weapons out of a valuable metal they have called Illithium. Illithium is an incredibly strong metal that is said to be even more durable than steel and lighter than any other metal. Gûndre armor and weapons crafted from Illithium often demand a high price in open trade, which is one of the reasons the Gûndre clans have attained so much in the way of material wealth over the past centuries.
A group of Gûndre females. Art by Magdalena Partyka. http://werdandi.deviantart.com/
The Gûndre culture is not as liberal in thought as their Elven or Chatûl cousins when it comes to gender equality. This is not to say that Gûndre women are not respected in Gûndre society, rather Gûndre women are generally expected to be homemakers and mothers rather than warriors and adventurers. It is not entirely uncommon to see a Gûndre woman adventuring, though it is often frowned on by polite Gûndre society. The number of Gûndre adventurers has increased substantially since the end of the Third Age. A select number of Gûndre adventurers called “Heart Seekers” are given the honor and duty of delving into the old Gûndre halls to recover the heart-stones lost to the various clans. Heart-stones are considered to be more valuable to a Gûndre than gold or gems of three times their weight, so these Gûndre seekers are often highly regarded and respected by the rest of Gûndre society.
The majority of Gûndre across Sidereus give their devotion to Sûldin, the god who created the Gûndre. Priests of Sûldin are very common among Gûndre males, particularly among the nobility. There are female Gûndre priestesses of Sûldin, though female Gûndre who feel called to religious life will more often choose to follow Zörena, the Fateweaver. In recent years, a movement has begun among various Gûndre clans as some females devote themselves to the worship of Gilana, mourning for families and loved ones lost to the Naga and Xi’rian’s treachery. The Queen of Despair has favored these Gûndre supplicants for reasons that no one seems to understand, even granting them healing spells. This is directly counter to the powers that Gilana’s other followers call upon, and is the subject of much debate.
Playing a Gûndre character can be a bit of a challenge in terms of role-playing interactions with other players. The Gûndre are a secretive and personal people with a long and elaborate history that any individual Gûndre would be shamed not to know by heart. Their lifestyle is one of constant toil, for they view good hard work as the best medicine for anything that may ail you. Much like Dwarves of other fantasy worlds, male Gûndre grow very long beards after they reach puberty, although there are some who may cut them short, and a rare few who will shave them off entirely. Gûndre females do not have beards, although other races may say so in the way of a jest or an insult.
The Gûndre have stony, tough skin, which is represented by cobble-like mottling in various places over their body. This mottling can be a simple difference in skin coloration or it can be actual rough, rocky protrusions from their skin.
Third-born race of Sidereus, Gûndre are the stubborn but intractable sons and daughters of Sûldin that dwell deep beneath the earth. Craftsmen beyond compare, Gûndre are most well known for the quality of their goods. With the exception of food, anything that is considered of Gûndre make or quality is considered to be the best of the best, particularly weapons and armor. However Gûndre are not only craftsmen and artisans, they are also warriors without compare – with a long and dignified history listing victory after victory under impossible odds. Gûndre citadels are built deep beneath the earth, crafted from stone at a scale that most mortal architects consider impossible. It is believed that the Gûndre talent for working with metal and stone is so significant that it even allows their magic to accomplish things that were once only possible with the aid of High Magic.
Like many of the races of Sidereus, the Gûndre have endured great difficulty and suffering throughout their existence. Constantly harassed and hunted down by the malicious servants of Xi’rian, the Gûndre have ever been at war with the brutal Naga. For thousands of years these wars have progressed, destroying one Gûndre hall after another until the present day where many hundreds of them remain lost to time. Were it not for the Gûndre tendency to persist regardless of the situation, the race may well have died out centuries ago. Most Gûndre worship is centered on Sûldin, the father of the Gûndre, though many revere Aarûn, Zörena, Selora, Gilana and Tallis.
Gûndre heroes are seen as exemplars of Sûldin’s will, and his agents in the mortal world. Successful Gûndre adventure through the world as immovable walls of adamantium and steel, or eventually find a hall of their own claiming their position among their kin as king (or queen). Gûndre heroes are raised in an environment of strict discipline where they are sternly directed toward their intended path. The birth of a hero is seen as a great boon in Gûndre society, as every Gûndre of such prestigious lineage adds to the greater glory of the people as a whole. Regardless of their origins, they are all determined and resolute sentinels who draw strength from the call of the hero in their hearts.
Your Gûndre hero may hail from nearly any region in Sidereus, though wherever they are from they most likely were raised *beneath* the realm of the surface world. Gûndre live underground, close to the region that delves even further below, known as the Abyss. Ultimately the decision is entirely up to you.
Cultural Advantages: Steadfast. The Gûndre are widely known and most respected for their determination and stubborn resolve. This does not always manifest toward the good, but it is nearly always present regardless of the individual Gûndre’s moral leanings.
Cultural Disadvantages: The same steadfast resolve that keeps Gûndre strong and focused can sometimes serve to cripple them in situations where flexibility is needed. They often hide away in their caves beneath the earth, staying far from other civilizations who they view as too flippant and unpredictable.
Common Skills: Every Gûndre has at least one craft or profession skill that they practice with great facility. Dwarven Lore is very common as well, as the Dwarves are a proud people – particularly when it comes to their cultural heritage. Almost all Gûndre have some skill with weapons, as martial prowess is considered to be a vital trait to these people.
Heroes: Gûndre heroes are fairly common, though like the majority of Dwarves, many never leave home. Gûndre heroes are frequently the only Gûndre that dare venture out of the Dwarven halls to embark on daring adventures, though this is not always the case. Since Gûndre tradition allows a particularly intrepid individual to found a hall of his/her own, many Gûndre kings and queens are heroes themselves.