Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Dwarven Effigies

All the treasures of the deep dark depths are not fully functional or crafted to be of direct utility to adventurers or others at all. Among the dwarves and the hoards of those that rob them one will find the occasional effigy. A dwarven effigy will be a miniature, half-sized, three-quarter sized or even full sized representation of a object of dwarven desire.

A dwarven effigy is usually constructed by an individual dwarf to hold in place of some object they desire and seek to have later in life. Sometimes these effigies will be passed on to others as a promise of later works. It's not unusual to find an effigy of a battle-axe, helmet, crown or even a throne carved from stone, wood or even fashioned in metal. Some effigies can be quite valuable and may indeed be valuable enough to purchase the analog of the effigy itself.

The value an effigy itself isn't in the materials and workmanship of the effigy to the dwarf in possession of it, the value to a dwarf is found in the value of the item it represents as it is a goal of personal achievement that can be held in secret until the true object is achieved or displayed in pride when the true object is put to use or safely stored away.

In some dwarf-holds these effigies will be buried with the dead and the true items passed on to new owners. It is customary among some dwarves to construct an effigy of any valuable gift received and return that effigy to the gift-giver or their family within a dozen or so years time of the giving of the original gift.

Random Determination of Effigies:
1 per 20 dwarves would be appropriate.
1d10 in a notable dwarven grave.
2d12 among a hoard looted from a dwarven vault.

Dwarven Effigy Table (1d1000)
1-50......Wooden Battle-Axe
51-75.....Stone Throwing-Axe
76-150...Ivory War Axe
151-250...Miniature wooden hammer
251-300...Miniature Ivory Anvil
301-350...Clay Bridal Effigy
351-380...Wooden Bridal Effigy
381-400...Stone Bridal Effigy
401-415...Ivory Bridal Effigy
416-425... Bronze Bridal Effigy
426-430...Silver Bridal Effigy
431-435... Gold Bridal Effigy
436-450... Clay Infant Effigy
451-460...Wooden Infant Effigy
461-462... Well Painted Wooden Infant Effigy
463-465... Stone Infant Effigy
466-470... Gold Infant Effigy
471-480...Miniature Wooden Crown
481...... Wooden Crown
482-483... Miniature Stone Crown
484-485... Miniature Silver Crown
486-500... Miniature Gold Crown
501-550... Miniature Clay Goat
551-580... Miniature Wooden Goat
581-600... Half-sized Wooden Goat
601-620... Miniature Stone Goat
621........... Life-sized Stone Ram
622-640...Miniature Wooden Cart
641-680... Miniature Wooden Helmet
681-690... Miniature Silver Helmet
691-697... Basket of Wooden Apples
698-700... Basket of Miniature Silver Walnuts
701-730... Miniature Clay Beer Stein
731-740... Miniature Wooden Beer Stein
741-770... Miniature Stone Beer Stein
771-775... Miniature Crystal Beer Stein
776-790... Miniature Silver Beer Stein
791-799... Miniature Gold Beer Stein
800..... Miniature Wooden Ship
801-880... 1/2 Sized Stone War-Pony
881-890... Life-sized Wooden War-Pony
891-896.... A Dozen Miniature clay dwarf shield bearers
897.....1/2 sized Wooden dwarf shield bearer
898-900... A Dozen Miniature stone dwarf shield-bearers
901-950... 1/2 sized Wooden crossbow
951-970... Miniature Stone Chariot
971-990... 1/2 sized Wooden Chariot
991... Miniature Wooden Throne
992-995... Miniature Stone Throne
996-997... Miniature Ivory Throne
998-999... Miniature Silver Throne
1000........ Miniature Gold Throne

Some items are symbolic and not meant to be taken as literal desire but the exact meaning of that symbolic meaning can vary wildly across dwarven domains.

2 comments:

  1. This reminds me of people who post a picture of a place they want to visit on their bathroom mirror, to inspire them to pursue their goal and avoid distractions.

    Very clever. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @BV, glad you liked it. I hope folks find it a useful addition to dungeon treasures and dressing up dwarven habitation.

    ReplyDelete