2023-03-24 Episode 47

{.right} Halberds and Helmets Podcast

Dwarves are rich and paranoid. There’s also a long excursion about dwarves, elves, halflings and humans in the monster manual.

47-halberds-and-helmets.mp3

Links:

Internet Office Hours, a new podcast where referees get together and discuss stuff happening in their game
2016-10-29 Dwarf: “Have your players ever noticed this and decided to kill all the dwarves and take their stuff?”
“Scholars have noted that the Svartálfar (’black elves’) appear to be the same beings as dwarfs, given that both are described in the Prose Edda as the residents of Svartálfaheimr. Another potential synonym is dökkálfar (’dark elves’); however, it is unclear whether svartálfar and dökkálfar were considered the same at the time of the writing of the Prose Edda. The partial overlap of dwarfs in Eddic sources with elves is supported by the names of dwarfs recorded in the Dvergatal section of Völuspá, which include Álfr (’Elf’), Gandálfr (’Wand-elf’), Vindálf (’Wind-elf’).” – Dwarf on Wikipedia.
“In Norse cosmology, Niðavellir (anglic. as Nidavellir; probable compound of O.N. Nið - “new moon”, “the wane of the moon” (perhaps related to niðr - “down”) + Vellir (pl. of völlr) - “fields”: Dark Fields, Downward Fields), also called Myrkheim (Myrkheimr, O.N. compd. of myrkr - “darkness” + heimr - “home”: the world of darkness, Dark Abode), is the home of the Dwarves.” – Niðavellir, on Wikipedia
“This enchiridion of entities should only be used by DMs inclined towards malfeasance, sadism, and base wrongdoing.” – Teratic Tome by Rafael Chandler, on DriveThruRPG
Regarding cannibal halflings: “But in combination with the mentioned ‘witch doctor theme’ and basically everything else written about them, I can’t help but being reminded of that racist trope about ‘primitive jungle cannibals’.” – Dark Sun: Is the portrayal of halfings problematic?, on RPG.net
Halberds and Helmets: my homebrew rules with links to the PDF files

Internet Office Hours

Dark Sun: Is the portrayal of halfings problematic?

Halberds and Helmets

#Halberds and Helmets Podcast