Shattered Kingdoms

Yeah. I wonder if there's a way to add a tactical component?

Does bash actually even do damage to someone who isn't naked?

You could have the ability apply to maces and axes. That should cover all available classes and warhammers and such are standard dwarven weapons, too.

Sure. Create an axe roll manuever where a walking dwarf can tumble and chop at someone's feet. Perhaps along the lines of hamstring in terms of effect. Give dwarves both axe and the manuever.

As for earthbind, I think it needs to have some lag attached if it's going to work. Otherwise it's too easy to have macros like:
earthbind; bash
earthbind; flee

Earthbind would certainly have some amount of lag.

Humor:
Give dwarves "create bread". Edible weapons that can be thrown for damage.

Give dwarves a combat bonus if they're drunk, and their current weapon is an axe.

Practical: Since we're dancing around this, here's the way I see it.
Skill: Rock Stance

While in this stance, a dwarf focuses the center of his (because everyone knows all dwarves are male) gravity so that he cannot be moved by any physical means. He cannot suffer the ill effects of being bashed, or tripped - but is also unable to dodge blows.

Skill: Fulcrum Stance

This isn't a stance so much as it is a sight to see. While in this "stance", the dwarf takes a normally massive, unwieldly, two handed weapon (must be medium or large size), and spins around much like a uncontrollable top. His blade whirls around him at twice the speed (temporary haste), but each round consumes a certain amount of energy (PE drain). Alternatively, when in this stance, the weapon can be thrown, and the wielder will suffer temporary disorientation.(Dizziness, a lot like the result of a certain harlequin cabal spell)

innate:
axe (mastered)
specialize (mastered)

Just give all d0rfs a free specialization in all axes

d0rf barb battle ragers with great axes... just think about it.

Dwarves are rather well empowered as it is.

Aedus was quoted, and the changes having gone into the game only add on the potential of a dwarven mercenary, as far as I see. Though, granted, it's folly to bring up something that outdated.

At size small they have a bonus to evasion against anything except, what, a gnome, halfling, or a sprite? This makes them exceptionally bonused for tanking, on top of their constitution. With weapon accuracy now a larger component in the game, things can be slighted heavily in their favor when it comes to hitting/being hit. Now that haste is a viable buff for someone, they can have 23 dex.

Does no one remember sprite shaman/swashbucklers before they were destroyed to all hell by racial weaknesses? The two things that made them superb beyond all else was size and dex. They rarely needed to delve into their hit points because their armor and evasion was exceptional. Dwarves, now, have close to that potential with accuracy changes and the difference in potential is made up for multiple times over by having at least double the hit base for when hit points actually come into play.

Dwarves are now equally as empowered. They always had the size, and now that dex is a proper component, as well as the potential bonuses due to the weapon changes since Aedus, dwarves can rival that sort of evasion skill. They have absolutely no racial weaknesses. Their damage output is average, it will never be that of a giant but it's hardly short of any of the other races, and far above others yet. Why are we talking about the weakness of dwarves?

As a barbarian or a mercenary they are, in my eye, nearly unsurpassed.

Earthbind would be entirely useless for any class except shaman, so they could then spam 'spirit horde' without regard, and which in my eye would be a horrible thing to do. We'd see a dime a dozen dwarven shaman kamakazi-diving trying to take out a ton of people before they go down.

Warriors don't need to worry about getting bashed or tripped unless they want to word out, and the last thing we need would be an entire race having the potential some classes do, to be completely unfearful of being held in one place. What would a warlock, scout, priest, or bard need with this skill, or do with it?

The desirability of dwarves should not be focused on via increasing their fighting skill. They are top of the game in that.

The largest problem with dwarves is that the other classes that they can be, outside of the warrior profession, they are the bottom of the barrel next to sprites.

Scouts? What use is a dwarven scout, small sized arrows, horrible ranged damage, mediocre melee damage with only 3 attack melee potential at best? Benefit is a sick amount of PE, but that's useless when you have nothing to use it on. No one in their right mind is going to dump a PE pool fletching two hundred small arrows.

Shaman? No concentration, has to brew anything they want to keep up during a fight where they're tanking, low mana pool. Decent tanking options, with mana gear ANY race can be a decent healer, but they are absolutely horrible compared to the other races a shaman can be.

Warlock? Warlocks are concentration heavy, and the strength of their elementals relies on two stats - one in which they are the top of the game, the other in which they are the bottom. They're useless.

Bard? The two primary bard stats - dex and wis - are bottom of the barrel. And as a bard, even with 25 con they end up with lower durability than an elf rogue, forgetting racial weakness.

My two outdated cents on the matter, make the off classes more desirable for them to play. How? Well, that's what this thread is for, I'll open up on suggestions later.

My biggest suggestion would be open them up to hellions/paladins, or give them innate specialize limited to 1 weapon - or adding a 1 weapon bonus to a mercenary's selection of 2 - you would see a barrage of dwarves show up. Dwarf scouts would be top notch, consideration speaking, because they would have (at least) 1 more arrow attack above any other scout, bards would then have some decent combat prowess as a dwarf. It answers at least 2 of the class issues.

Maybe I don't know what's going on. Just my two cents.

Dont know about the second one but I like the idea of combat stance but introducing it for warriors. Then giving different races different bonuses to them. But I guess that is a different subject.


Dwarf earth bond would be alright but I dont see it improving numbers of dwarves to much. Dwarves take so long to level (low cha I dont know if they still have their other penalty) so long to master skills (Such a crappy int) that most people just arnt willing to invest that kind of time into them. Also low damage out put means you need to count on other people most players are not that happy with doing that. Anything you need to spend ages creating and then be left counting on others is a hard sell.

It seems to me that Will is the only smart one of everyone here, hes the only one thats provided solid proof, and before Dulrik considers doing all this to Dwarves, I'd seriously have him consider talking with a player that has played good dwarves before (Aka Will/Cannibal) because they know what they are talking about. Dwarves rock SK, players are just stupid, don't blame the dwarves, even my dwarf in the new coding destroyed [REDACTED].