In which the Author is Revealed as a Shameless Nerd

Hello, my name is pseudonymous, and I am a gamer. Yes, yes, I know you're all shocked. Today, not only will your world be filled with thoughts of Why isn't she talking knitting up in here? Is this not a knitblog? but also you will be forced to endure the loopy mind-wanderings of the Gamer in her natural habitat - trying to make a new character. Today, it shall be a dwarf.

So, Dwarves. What's stereotypical about dwarves? They have beards. They live in mountains, consuming large amounts of roasted meat and strong beer. They like gems and fine handiwork (can't argue with that) and think elves are pansies (no argument there either). They are direct and honest, very straightforward in and out of battle, to a degree that makes their intelligence honestly surprising. Typically not magic-users or theives. Stubborn. Strong moral compass, but still have feudalist government.

Assuming that all of the different "races" (dwarves, elves, etc) have self-sustaining societies, dwarves sure seem to go through a whole mess of meat, leather, and malt-based substances to be living exclusively underground. Ergo, some dwarves at least have to live primarily above the mountain, in food production roles. Most notably, this must happen below the tree line, and in places fertile enough to support not only the support-class of dwarves, but the consumer-class underhill, so likely not on the side of a rocky mountain. Trade is likely composed of agrarian materials for stone and metal and the like, since the demand is basically one-sided the support-class likely receives back more finished luxury goods in exchange for food and raw materials. Possibly few to none of the support dwarves have blacksmithing skills beyond fixing plows and horseshoes. Weapons still likely to be axes and hammers, supplemented by staves, bows, clubs, grosse messir, and other weapon types often worn by peasantry. Skill in spinning and fiber arts very likely (told you this was a knitblog). Strong familial ties and sense of community, love of simplicity. Possibly socialist tendancies, ignored for the ease of the lifestyle.

Women have beards. I just like beards on dwarven women, okay? So I'm playing an Overhill dwarf (likely her last name as well), strong sturdy woman. Probably more pastoral, tends the livestock, slings full-grown animals over her shoulders when the need arises. Her big selling point for the game (i.e. why she's usefull) is likely her strength and practicality. I don't mind playing a meat shield now and then :)

Hmm... personal backstory. I did mention socialist views, had I not? Say she tried to start a socialist movement. Maybe it works not by viewing the whole society as a unit, but rather turns the small agrarian communities into self-sustaining socialist units, which then trade with each other and the underhill societies, the profit shared within the unit. Yeah, that sounds plausible. So then maybe the more volatile, probably younger dwarves get ahold of her idea (but can't get ahold of her in person to talk things out), maybe they try to be a little more revolutionary and militant than she'd expected (likely she wasn't expecting the need for military activity at all), and that's when things go bad. The king/council/governing body has to put down the uprising, and since the ideas the guerillas were spreading were hers, the king put an official stop to the socialist methods and exiled her (likely turning a blind eye to the villages continuing her lifestyle, so long as they don't get violent). She accepts her exile freely, knowing how things would have had to throw down in this situation, and journeys to the human lands. Her prodigous strength keeps her in plenty of work, her political views keep her moving. Thus she is when she gets the call to Darin, to fight the good fight against evil wizardry and help save an innocent populace. Like she's going to turn down a chance like that?