Dwarves

The dwarves, also called Stone Men or Mostali, are one of the inhuman peoples inhabiting Glorantha, typically underground. Dwarves are skilled craftsmen, able to work exotic metals, like iron. All dwarves worship the same god, Mostal, and cooperate with one another, so the divisions that exist between humans confuse them.

Ride Like the Wind[]

In Ride Like the Wind, dwarves are one of the ancestral foes you can pick during clan creation.

The Mole spirit will help you in your dealings with dwarves.

Dwarves can raid you but you cannot, outside of events, raid the dwarves back.

After the Skyquake event has happened, you may hear the following rumor:

“

Dwarves entered the lands of the <Other> clan, searching for remnants of the fallen sky. Though ordinarily the <Other>s would resist such an incursion with unrelenting force, the losses they suffered from the disaster left them reluctant to pick up their swords. The dwarves used strange instruments to dig up buried sky pieces, and departed without acknowledging their trespass.

”

Lore[]

Your clan circle can say this about dwarves:

"Dwarves, who call themselves Mostali, embody the stasis rune, and seek to return the world to its original immobility."
"Supposedly dwarves are logical, but I can never figure them out."
"Dwarves show what happens when laws can never change."
"Dwarves are tough opponents, and if you kill them, the dwarf god just makes more."
"Dwarves think of their god as a contraption that everyone else broke, just by existing."
"Dwarves are toughest in their underground domain."
"Dwarves burrow through the earth without respecting her."

Events[]

Dwarves appear in the following Ride Like the Wind events:

Myths & Rituals[]

Dwarves figure prominently in the endgame ritual A threat to crops and forests. They also make a minor appearance in another endgame ritual, Rivalry between warlords. You may also stumble upon them if you become lost in the Gods War, see Gods War: Dwarves and Moon.

In Battle[]

The dwarves will raid you often if they are your ancestral foe, and rarely otherwise.

They fight on foot, wielding axes and firesticks. While they will never berserk attack and can't be parleyed with, they don't favor any combat option in particular. Their unique ritual, Battle Grid, causes the battlefield to light up in a pattern of glowing squares. Presumably this orderly magic gives the dwarves an advantage in battle.

You can't raid them under normal circumstances, though the option may show up in events.

The Sparking Sword treasure helps you in battle against dwarves and the Dwarf Hurler Banner decreases the magnitude of any potential defeats when defending against them.

There are a couple of Heroic Combat scenes dealing with dwarves: Heroic Combat: Dwarves.

Lights Going Out[]

In the backstory of Lights Going Out, dwarves were forced by Beren and Redalda to construct your fortress of Berenstead, including warding it against one of your ancient foes. You pick which of these foes to ward against during the game's clan creation. One of the possible choices are dwarves themselves.

Due to Beren's past actions, your clan starts with belligerent relations with the dwarves. However, it is possible to seek amends with them through certain events.

Unlike in Ride Like the Wind, dwarves will never raid you in Lights Going Out.