There's an add-on for the KS Blessed Lands book that will let you play a Tultipetan Dwarf. For those who weren't involved in the previous campaign I will be concise and blunt. Some idiots (and that is the nicest term I can use on this board), thought it would be a good idea to free a Dragon. I understand they felt it was the only way to meet the goals of the mod, but seriously?! Just what were you thinking! Anyhow the predictable occurred, the mass destruction of an entire Dwarven Enclave. Not exactly a heroic outcome. That being said the offering of the cert got me thinking, just how to play this guy. I always saw these Dwarves as calm cool customers, what with all that prophecy business, but now? Part of me wants to build a character that would make Reavers look like pacifists. To be clear he would have no problem "protecting" the vast majority of humanity. But I'm thinking his goal would be vengeance against any and all connected with the release of the Dragon. That includes descendants of the original characters. I understand the no PVP rule and I get the real world issues with that (we're all here to have fun after all). But how to best role-play this so I have fun, make the character come to life, yet not screw up the table for everybody else. Any thoughts or suggestions? I just can't see these Dwarves being cool with the destruction of their enclave, that just doesn't make sense. Although I'm not sure how their worship of Larissa as prophetess would play into this, that's a wrinkle I haven't worked out yet.

How do you identify what people are the descendants from that old Living Arcanis Module? I know a few of us are deliberately playing descendants from the first campaign but I think most of us are not. Personally I think it would be frustrating never meeting the targets of your goals ... or not being able to do anything about it do to PvP violence rules. Persoanlly I don't really think the sins of the father are passed on directly to their offspring either, though a character could certainly think differently ...

Okay. Some of these issues that you mention have come up in the Crusader Arc. I won't drop potentially significant spoilers ... but we've already faced a really bitter Tultipetan Dwarf villian out for revenge. I assume you have met that NPC. That encounter and the secrets uncovered in the Valley of Nis should both (in my opinion) inform how you play a Tultipetan dwarf.

Some of my thoughts on the "big questions" I think a Tulipetan character needs to figure out:

1) How do you cast the events from the last arc? Yes *we* know the last arc was about preventing Manetas from leading civilization into a dead end where entropy consumes Arcanis and a few val'Assante flee to serve as Manetas' toys in some other world. Does your character have that big view? Or something smaller? You might reasonably decide your enclave was sacrificed to save the Coryani Empire (perhaps a good trade ... or perhaps not). I think the bigger view leads to more acceptance and honest grieving. I think the later view leads to more acrimony and enduring hatred. What do you want to play?

2) How do you view Prognostication? The Tultipetan dwarves were never able to see their own future. Now they are destroyed. Do you still see the ability to see futures one of the pillars of who you are? Or do you think it was a waste of time that ultimately did nothing to advance or protect your enclave? Maybe you want to be out doing, and screw what people think fate has in mind. Or maybe you think the enclave was complacent and if it had really been on the ball some diviners would have foreseen Smaug coming.

3)There is also the related issue of how you see Larissa and the Pantheon of Man. All the other enclaves have had a divine "intervention" of some sort. For the Solani it's all about earning Illiir's forgiveness. For the Encali, there is Sarish's bargain. For the Tir Betoqi, they have a Legend that Hurrian has promised to intervene on their behalf if they do a good enough job at protecting humanity. The Nol Dappans have their experience with the Blade of Nier. Presumably Tultipet has some encounter with Larissa in its collective past. Do you still believe the Goddess has plans for you? Or do you believe you've been abandoned? How do you feel about the human gods as a whole?

4) There were certain events that happened in the Valley of Nis. Do you know about them? Are you interested in finding another *spoilerspoilerspoiler*

5) How interested are you in the events of the past versus the events of the future? If you are looking more to the past then you are probably more rigid and events here and now are relatively less important. If you are focused on future events then you are probably more flexible in your responses but you have goals you are potentially desperate to achieve.

6) How much time do you think you have? All dwarves have to bath in the light of the Elder's heartstone every few decades or they wither and die. More than any other racial group your life as a Tutipetan dwarf is on a ticking clock.

I give you questions instead of answers, but hope you find them interesting to muse.

Good points all Eric, much food for thought. I have not played the mod you mentioned, which one is it? I can get our GM to schedule it and it might give me some insight. While I have not decided his exact personality I do know I will be taking a Divine Archetype, an Initiate of the Gods background, and most likely the Fatespinner and Adorned Seer paths. To make things more interesting my roommate Beth will be playing my wife, a Tultipetan Dwarf cleric of Cadic. The fact that we are a married couple who survived and still has each other may well make us both less bitter. Still I'll have to ponder the issues you raise. These sorts of things are one the reasons we all love this campaign right?

This is aimed at Henry. Good sir, Eric (and to be truthful it was on my mind as well) raised the heartstone issue. How is it 40+ years later there are any Tultipetans left? The text says "every few decades" which to my mind is less than 4. Is there something else going on behind the scenes that are keeping them alive? Personally I think that would make for a cool mystery to solve/investigate. Perhaps a motivating factor for these dwarves to continue to protect humanity rather than turn into a bunch of kamikazes with nothing to lose. Just some thoughts here. I look forward to your wisdom good sir.

P.S. While we missed out on the KS opening (and Beth was bummed out she can't play a psionic Ss'Ressen), we are planning to pledge some money before the window closes. I just have to save up some money, since I'm not as flush as I used to be.

Hello Michael,

Thank you for your consideration in pledging and I'm sorry Beth missed out on those Ss'ressen.

As to your question, I wrote about the devastated enclave of Tultipet, but for the life of me I can't find it. Maybe it was a forum post in our previous website.

Bottom line, even the fire of a True Dragon cannot destroy that which Illiir has proclaimed to be eternal, i.e. the Tultipetan Elder frozen in a perfect moment of anguish and agony. The Tultipetans still descend into the blasted crater and kneel upon the slag and ashes that were their brethren to bathe in that life-extending light.

Some believe that the lucky ones were the dwarves who died in an instant, rather than those who must revisit their tomb every decade.

Enjoy!

it was not simply a majority of of players that chose to free the dragon but all but one table, add that majority included some tultipetans. if I recall correctly, the precise outcome was not known at the time of releasing the dragon. but the dragon was angry for a reason, so even for npcs, actions have consequences.

arcanis is comprised of morally grey choices, and most people belived they we choosing to save the world rather than sacrificing an enclave (that was both cursed, and heavily infiltrated by the silence)

Wow if I read you right Josh, we must have been the only table to accomplish the mission and NOT free the dragon. We must have been real creative at that game! To be honest my cleric of Hurrian made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was not letting anybody free that dragon. As I recall I was pretty blunt on that point and was willing to engage in PVP and lose the character over that issue. Actions have consequences and I was not willing to live with the fact that I unleashed a dragon.

Actually, there were at least 2 tables at the appropriate Origins which didn't free the Dragon, as a friend of mine was GMing those two tables

We were GMing a lot in the old campaign, it's possible we slot zeroed it and didn't get credit (as in a Critical Event Summary). I don't seem to recall filling out a lot of those, which would be a bummer if our table would have made the difference.

By the way Cody who was your GM friend?