Gully Dwarves in the campaign - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Gully Dwarves in the campaign

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Jul 19, 2003 2:55:41 This is just a general wondering on my part. How many of you make use of gully dwarves in your DL campaigns, no matter how insignificant?.

Do you use them as a PC race, as NPC's, or maybe as villains (although I really don't know how that would go)?.

No matter how you make use of these funny little curiosities, I want to hear about it.

;)
#2
talinthas
Jul 19, 2003 3:09:07 gullys have been major plots in my games for a long time. they're always at the center of the best sessions i run =)
#3
zombiegleemax
Jul 19, 2003 3:24:13 What roles do they normally play in your campaigns?.
#4
jonesy
Jul 19, 2003 3:48:15 Informants. Nobody ever notices them, and they can eavesdrop easily. Getting the information from them is the PC's problem.

Guides in a city. They might not lead you were you want to go, but they'll certainly take you someplace interesting.

Seers. Have you read Murder in Tarsis?

PC's. Those rare gullies with some semblance of brains actually make quite good adventurers. One of the players in our group had a gully monk once. Great fun. :D

Villains. Rogues working for a BBEG. Or how about a gully assassin? ;)
#5
talinthas
Jul 19, 2003 3:54:58 well, there was that one clan that moved into a rundown abandoned brothel in daltigoth, and that one group which happened to set up camp in the former HQ of the local circle of KoT and...
#6
zombiegleemax
Jul 19, 2003 4:41:06 jonesy said -
Have you read Murder in Tarsis?

Actually I haven't, no. What do you mean by seers?. I assume this means something like visionaries, and/or prophets.
#7
jonesy
Jul 19, 2003 4:51:05
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Actually I haven't, no. What do you mean by seers?. I assume this means something like visionaries, and/or prophets.

Or fortune teller or somesuch. Anyway MiT is a murder mystery. There was this crazy gully dwarf lady seer who gives the answers midway through the book, except that she says it in a way that made it as vague as humanly (gullyly?) possible.
#8
zombiegleemax
Jul 19, 2003 6:34:59 not bad MiT and the seer was fun :P
#9
Dragonhelm
Jul 19, 2003 7:23:01 I've played a gully dwarf once, and the task isn't easy. I find it difficult playing stupid races, but maybe that's just me.

The difficulty in playing a gully dwarf is the stereotype of the race (stupid, dirty, etc.).

One idea I had for them goes back to my Dark Lance setup. In there, gully dwarves would be plague-carriers, cursed by Morgion. Everywhere they would go, they would carry disease with them. Gully dwarves would be feared, despised, and destroyed whenever possible.

Remember, too, that sometimes heroes come from the most unlikely sources. After all, who would have ever thought a kender could be a hero? ;)
#10
zombiegleemax
Jul 19, 2003 9:45:56 That's what I had always thought about gully dwarves as PC's, trying to overcome the typical sterotype as seeing them as nothing more than little 'dirty and grubby' annoyances.
#11
zombiegleemax
Jul 19, 2003 9:54:11 I am seeing some really interesting uses for gully dwarves in my campaign though, from this discussion. I like the idea of plague carriers (maybe even going so far as saying that they serve Morgion, instead of just being cursed). I also like the idea of using them as informants, as well.

Tell me though, would they make very good spies?. Being an informant is one thing, by spying is a little more complicated and may be above their comprehension. Perhaps a few levels of rogue could also be tacked on to these funny little creatures and have them operating as a vast underground spy and thief network, maybe dedicated to some dark god.

What do you think?.
#12
B-naa
Jul 19, 2003 10:42:22 I've played a Gully Dwarf once, that was great fun. It was rather difficult, the rules for Creating Gully Dwarf characters in Tales of The Lance were a lot less forgiving then the rules are in the DLCS (Yes my copy arrived yesterday :D).

I could see Gully Dwarves spies, apparently they can make pretty good cooks if directed properly, so if someone wanted to use them as spies, they may need to keep an eye on them, but I think that it could be possible.
#13
Dragonhelm
Jul 19, 2003 12:30:34
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Tell me though, would they make very good spies?. Being an informant is one thing, by spying is a little more complicated and may be above their comprehension. Perhaps a few levels of rogue could also be tacked on to these funny little creatures and have them operating as a vast underground spy and thief network, maybe dedicated to some dark god.

What do you think?.

I think gully dwarves would be good spies insomuch as they wouldn't know they were spies. I could see a wizard or con artist manipulating a gully dwarf, gaining info from him. Nobody would pay any attention to a gully dwarf, so they might be able to go unnoticed.
#14
carteeg
Jul 19, 2003 18:19:19 I DMed a gully dwarf bard (named Thudd) during the Tarsis/Icewall section of the original modules. It was..... interesting. His bardic professional focus was on percussional instruments....

He banged rocks.
#15
zombiegleemax
Jul 19, 2003 22:37:54 Dragonhelm said -
I think gully dwarves would be good spies insomuch as they wouldn't know they were spies. I could see a wizard or con artist manipulating a gully dwarf, gaining info from him.

That's a good point. It is also another interesting perspective to explore when using gully dwarves in the campaign.

Still, could they operate as a network of spies and informants, or is that simply too complex a notion for gully dwarves to understand?.

Keeping with that idea, at what point, would you say, could a gully dwarf no longer comprehend or understand something (like magic for example)?. Basically what is their level of understanding about the world around them?.
#16
zombiegleemax
Jul 21, 2003 23:22:06 I have used gully dwarves in my campaign as either slaves by evil guys or as cooks (gully dwarves are the best cooks!). I have yet to have gully dwarves play a major role in my campaign.
#17
zombiegleemax
Jul 22, 2003 1:57:23 That is why I created this thread. I was just curious as to the uses that people make of the Gully Dwarf race in their campaigns.

Still, has anybody thought about the question I posed at the end of my last post?..
#18
zombiegleemax
Jul 22, 2003 4:40:23 I see them as an NPC race, I really cannot see anyone playing them as a PC race only beacuse I do not see gully dwarves beeing adventuristic. I mean, I guess I could see them as an adventurer, but as an extremely rare case.
#19
shugi
Jul 22, 2003 13:25:38 I consider gully dwarves to have a nature that is simply alien to the rest of Krynn. They don't necessarily understand "less" of the world, but their own concepts give that understanding its own unique slant. Likewise, their world is perfectly understandable to them, but the rest of Krynn simply doesn't get it. In this scenario, the average gully dwarf is actually more receptive to others than is the average human, elf, or dwarf.

In addition, this could happen regardless of the gully dwarf's INT and WIS scores. A genius gully dwarf (Int 14) may very well understand the concept of numbers, but have no personal need or use for them and thus still use "gully binary".
#20
zombiegleemax
Jul 23, 2003 1:46:29 Hmm...that's an interesting point. I suppose the same could also be said for the learning of magic within a Gully Dwarf community then?.

They would basically try to learn about magic and, anything that would assist them as a whole from this learning is utilised, while the rest is simply ignored, or is seen as being inapplicable.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 2:55:41	This is just a general wondering on my part. How many of you make use of gully dwarves in your DL campaigns, no matter how insignificant?. Do you use them as a PC race, as NPC's, or maybe as villains (although I really don't know how that would go)?. No matter how you make use of these funny little curiosities, I want to hear about it. ;)
#2 talinthas Jul 19, 2003 3:09:07	gullys have been major plots in my games for a long time. they're always at the center of the best sessions i run =)
#3 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 3:24:13	What roles do they normally play in your campaigns?.
#4 jonesy Jul 19, 2003 3:48:15	Informants. Nobody ever notices them, and they can eavesdrop easily. Getting the information from them is the PC's problem. Guides in a city. They might not lead you were you want to go, but they'll certainly take you someplace interesting. Seers. Have you read Murder in Tarsis? PC's. Those rare gullies with some semblance of brains actually make quite good adventurers. One of the players in our group had a gully monk once. Great fun. :D Villains. Rogues working for a BBEG. Or how about a gully assassin? ;)
#5 talinthas Jul 19, 2003 3:54:58	well, there was that one clan that moved into a rundown abandoned brothel in daltigoth, and that one group which happened to set up camp in the former HQ of the local circle of KoT and...
#6 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 4:41:06	jonesy said - Have you read Murder in Tarsis? Actually I haven't, no. What do you mean by seers?. I assume this means something like visionaries, and/or prophets.
#7 jonesy Jul 19, 2003 4:51:05	Originally posted by Bookwyrm Actually I haven't, no. What do you mean by seers?. I assume this means something like visionaries, and/or prophets. Or fortune teller or somesuch. Anyway MiT is a murder mystery. There was this crazy gully dwarf lady seer who gives the answers midway through the book, except that she says it in a way that made it as vague as humanly (gullyly?) possible.
#8 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 6:34:59	not bad MiT and the seer was fun :P
#9 Dragonhelm Jul 19, 2003 7:23:01	I've played a gully dwarf once, and the task isn't easy. I find it difficult playing stupid races, but maybe that's just me. The difficulty in playing a gully dwarf is the stereotype of the race (stupid, dirty, etc.). One idea I had for them goes back to my Dark Lance setup. In there, gully dwarves would be plague-carriers, cursed by Morgion. Everywhere they would go, they would carry disease with them. Gully dwarves would be feared, despised, and destroyed whenever possible. Remember, too, that sometimes heroes come from the most unlikely sources. After all, who would have ever thought a kender could be a hero? ;)
#10 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 9:45:56	That's what I had always thought about gully dwarves as PC's, trying to overcome the typical sterotype as seeing them as nothing more than little 'dirty and grubby' annoyances.
#11 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 9:54:11	I am seeing some really interesting uses for gully dwarves in my campaign though, from this discussion. I like the idea of plague carriers (maybe even going so far as saying that they serve Morgion, instead of just being cursed). I also like the idea of using them as informants, as well. Tell me though, would they make very good spies?. Being an informant is one thing, by spying is a little more complicated and may be above their comprehension. Perhaps a few levels of rogue could also be tacked on to these funny little creatures and have them operating as a vast underground spy and thief network, maybe dedicated to some dark god. What do you think?.
#12 B-naa Jul 19, 2003 10:42:22	I've played a Gully Dwarf once, that was great fun. It was rather difficult, the rules for Creating Gully Dwarf characters in Tales of The Lance were a lot less forgiving then the rules are in the DLCS (Yes my copy arrived yesterday :D). I could see Gully Dwarves spies, apparently they can make pretty good cooks if directed properly, so if someone wanted to use them as spies, they may need to keep an eye on them, but I think that it could be possible.
#13 Dragonhelm Jul 19, 2003 12:30:34	Originally posted by Bookwyrm Tell me though, would they make very good spies?. Being an informant is one thing, by spying is a little more complicated and may be above their comprehension. Perhaps a few levels of rogue could also be tacked on to these funny little creatures and have them operating as a vast underground spy and thief network, maybe dedicated to some dark god. What do you think?. I think gully dwarves would be good spies insomuch as they wouldn't know they were spies. I could see a wizard or con artist manipulating a gully dwarf, gaining info from him. Nobody would pay any attention to a gully dwarf, so they might be able to go unnoticed.
#14 carteeg Jul 19, 2003 18:19:19	I DMed a gully dwarf bard (named Thudd) during the Tarsis/Icewall section of the original modules. It was..... interesting. His bardic professional focus was on percussional instruments.... He banged rocks.
#15 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 22:37:54	Dragonhelm said - I think gully dwarves would be good spies insomuch as they wouldn't know they were spies. I could see a wizard or con artist manipulating a gully dwarf, gaining info from him. That's a good point. It is also another interesting perspective to explore when using gully dwarves in the campaign. Still, could they operate as a network of spies and informants, or is that simply too complex a notion for gully dwarves to understand?. Keeping with that idea, at what point, would you say, could a gully dwarf no longer comprehend or understand something (like magic for example)?. Basically what is their level of understanding about the world around them?.
#16 zombiegleemax Jul 21, 2003 23:22:06	I have used gully dwarves in my campaign as either slaves by evil guys or as cooks (gully dwarves are the best cooks!). I have yet to have gully dwarves play a major role in my campaign.
#17 zombiegleemax Jul 22, 2003 1:57:23	That is why I created this thread. I was just curious as to the uses that people make of the Gully Dwarf race in their campaigns. Still, has anybody thought about the question I posed at the end of my last post?..
#18 zombiegleemax Jul 22, 2003 4:40:23	I see them as an NPC race, I really cannot see anyone playing them as a PC race only beacuse I do not see gully dwarves beeing adventuristic. I mean, I guess I could see them as an adventurer, but as an extremely rare case.
#19 shugi Jul 22, 2003 13:25:38	I consider gully dwarves to have a nature that is simply alien to the rest of Krynn. They don't necessarily understand "less" of the world, but their own concepts give that understanding its own unique slant. Likewise, their world is perfectly understandable to them, but the rest of Krynn simply doesn't get it. In this scenario, the average gully dwarf is actually more receptive to others than is the average human, elf, or dwarf. In addition, this could happen regardless of the gully dwarf's INT and WIS scores. A genius gully dwarf (Int 14) may very well understand the concept of numbers, but have no personal need or use for them and thus still use "gully binary".
#20 zombiegleemax Jul 23, 2003 1:46:29	Hmm...that's an interesting point. I suppose the same could also be said for the learning of magic within a Gully Dwarf community then?. They would basically try to learn about magic and, anything that would assist them as a whole from this learning is utilised, while the rest is simply ignored, or is seen as being inapplicable.