The last chapter of the DPG, chapter 6, on dwarf religion. Before I get started on it though, I've discovered something interesting: there's no temporary runes. Despite being mentioned as a thing that exists two times in the book (and one time mentioned as something that doesn't exist), there's no rules for them at all. I think certain things got forgotten during development, or it was developed by different people and wasn't properly harmonised.
Anyway, we start off at the start of the chapter, page 133, which places the ancestors relative to the dwarves.
Dwarfs believe in a spirit world beneath the roots of the mountains where the Ancestor Gods rule and the spirits of their clan ancestors reside (called 'Hall of Ancestors' or Gromthikhaz). They also hold that the spirit world is close enough for the ancestors to watch over them, judge their achievements, and determine if they have lived honourable lives. Dwarfs do not believe the ancestors intervene in any meaningful way, which is fine with them. After all, it is up to the Dwarf to succeed in whatever task they have set for themselves.
Nothing you couldn't piece together from elsewhere, but good to see it laid out in plain.
Dwarfs certainly do not believe in the manling practice of Dooming or the (unseemly) fixation with Star Signs and discount most prophecy out of hand, save that credited to the keen insight of the Ancestors.
Now this is an odd one. Not caring about Dooming is normal and on its face star signs is the same, but then you remember the Imperial calendar, which was taken from the dwarves and is based on equinoxes and the like. If the dwarves place enough stock on astrology to base their calendar around it, why do they exclude star signs from mattering? You could put it down to some Zorn-era practice, but record-keeping only began once they moved into mountain holds, so I'm not sure to what extent that could hold up.
Grungni is the first of the Ancestor Gods to rise and the principal deity of the Dwarf pantheon. [...]
Valaya was the second Ancestor God to arise.
The ancestor gods "arose" and there was an order to it.
Grimnir protected the Dwarfs from threats like Giants, Dragons, and Trolls during the time when the Dwarfs began to spread northwards along the World's Edge Mountains.
More interesting and concerning was that Grimnir was protecting the dwarves from giants during the initial colonisation period. This'd be happening from -5000 to -4500 IC according to The Old World Rulebook, while the rulebook says the Great Maw only became a thing in -2750, so dwarves and giants would've been fighting way before the ogres and sky titans started fighting. What caused this conflict? Are giants and sky titans in fact two different groups rather than the former merely being degenerate descendents of the latter?
Page 134
The last Ancestor God to rise was Gazul, brother to the Grungni, Valaya, and Grimnir. Protector of the Dead, Gazul established the Dwarf tradition of venerating their ancestors, whether living or dead. Embracing his role, Gazul left no descendants and established the ritual of burial which assisted the departed's spirit transition to the spirit world. Whilst Gazul may be considered alongside Grungni, Valaya, and Grimnir in terms of his age, he is not held in the hearts and minds of Dwarfs to the same degree of fondness. For all the importance of his role in managing the realm of the Dwarf dead he is considered somehow lesser to the main three Ancestor Gods.
The Shaper of Ore, Smednir was the first of the second generation of Ancestor Gods and son of Grungni and Valaya. Learning from his father, Smednir took the art of metalcraft, jewelcraft, and refining ore to new heights. Smednir elevated Dwarf craftsmanship.
Thungni is the younger son of Grungni and Valaya. He is the Ancestor God of Runic Magic and Runesmithing. According to Dwarf legend, Thungni ventured deep into the earth before the Dwarf 's spread from the south of the World's Edge Mountains and spent considerable time in a place he called Ankor Bryn ('Glittering Realm'). When he returned, Thungni brought the secrets of Runic Magic to the Dwarfs. Legends further tell of Thungni learning craftsmanship and metalworking from his brother, Smednir. Together, the two brothers crafted most of the great runic weapons of the Dwarf Ancestor Gods and the future legendary Dwarf kings. In time, Thungni learned that only he and his future descendants had the gift to inscribe Runic Magic.
Gazul is one of the four "risen" Ancestor Gods. I think he isn't venerated as much simply because no dwarves are related to him. He isn't one of their ancestors.
Smednir wasn't just a great smelter, he improved on ways to make finished products. Honestly not unexpected, given that he made
the Warhammer.
The Glittering Realm is somewhere beneath the earth, and he and Smednir worked together to make stuff. The last sentence implies that none of the other Ancestor Gods could make runes. Surprisingly enough, I've checked and this isn't technically contradicted by Ghal Maraz's creation myth in Empire in Ruins. It begins by saying "After more days of sweat, Smednir formed the hammer and began to set the runes. This was a grand endeavour the likes of which had never been attempted before.", proceeds to call it an insurmountable task in the context of Sheerargetru showing up to offer help, and then concludes by saying Smednir finished the hammer with the help of the other Ancestor Gods.
The first Dwarf engineer, Morgrim was the last of the second generation of Ancestor Gods, the son of Grimnir.
No info on the lad's mum.
With the closing of the Warpgate and the creation of the Vortex, the three-millennia-long Time of the Ancestor Gods was over. Grungni and Valaya were the first to descend into the deep earth where they found their way to the Hall of Ancestors with Gazul's help and joined the spirits of the Dwarfs who departed before them. Smednir, Thungni, and Morgrim soon made their own journey to the deep in the company of Gazul.
Before his final departure, Gazul travelled to each Dwarf hold to train a priesthood dedicated to each of the Ancestor Gods, including himself. Their task was to ensure that Dwarfs remained true to the traditions laid down by the Ancestor Gods and to one another. Once his task, Gazul himself journeyed to the deep so he too could join his brethren in the Hall of Ancestors.
Caledor created the Great Vortex in -4420 IC, so the Ancestor Gods were around since approximately -7420, during the time that the Old Ones were doing all their terraforming and species/civilisation-creating. Gazul was the one who founded the priesthoods for all the gods, including himself, so I think the fact that some holds don't worship him means that such holds are exclusively in (some of) the Norse and/or New holds.
Continuing page 134's density of interesting lore, we've got info on priests and rune magic.
When forming the priesthood for the Ancestor Gods, Gazul selected members of the Runesmith clan to undertake this critical role. He foresaw the need for the priesthood to have some ability to craft magic runes and deliberately chose those of limited ability. Gazul knew that the few Runesmiths with greater ability needed to focus on their craft without undue distractions.
[...]
Dwarf priests can inscribe Runic Magic of limited power. The collection of available Runes is specific to the Ancestor God of the priest. Taught to the novice priest during the latter years of their apprenticeship. Apprentice priests must successfully undergo a rite that elevates them to priesthood before they are able to inscribe runic magic. Dwarf priests cannot create new magic runes.
The runesmith equivalent of perpetual apprentices get shovelled off into the priesthood.
Page 135 tells us that priests tied to a hold's temple only leaves during military expeditions. However, there are travelling priests that do get around, and it's their job to minister to the smaller settlements. It also tells us this:
In the manling realms, Grungni priests support all the religious needs that are usually undertaken by the other Ancestor Gods. The only exceptions to this are the tasks usually assigned to Gazul priests as these involve the important work of tending to the dying and burying the dead. Large cities and towns have fixed underground temples and burial vaults. Yet, many Imperial Dwarfs reside in villages and hamlets.
Grungni priests do the job of all priests in the Empire, and there are indeed Imperial dwarves who live in villages and hamlets.
We have names for the moons and the Morrslieb perigrees! God but I wish we had the same for the elves.
Though not as apprehensive as superstitious manlings, Dwarfs are wary of travelling during Hexensnacht (Hexesdrazh) and Geheimnisnacht (Skraksdrazh) given the abominations that are abroad during the night when both Mannslieb (Gormlhune) and Morrslieb (Mhornalhune) are full.
Page 136 says that the entire priesthood are members of the runesmith clans.
Page 137
In his martial aspect, Grungni is armed with his runic warhammer, Drongrundum ('Thunder Hammer').
I like this because 40k.
Page 138, Valaya
Major Festivals: Mitterfruhl (Materfran) and Mittherbst (Materhazt)
Common Holy Symbols: Shield with 'Ancestor Queen' (Gromthi Rinn) runes, sheaf of hops or barley, stylised hearth, Valaya's rune.
[...]
Valaya carries a rune-axe called Kradskonti ('Peacemaker').
[...]
The entrance of Dwarf hold libraries have statues of Valaya depicted with a stylus-chisel in one hand and an open book with foil pages in the other. These acknowledge Valaya's role in developing picture runes (Agrurhun) and the basic runic alphabet (Klinkarhun) for writing.
Khazalid, and Valaya is the library goddess just like in DL.
This page says that a "High Priest of Valaya" can inscribe the Master Rune of Valaya. "High priests" are mentioned occasionally throughout the book, but it doesn't say what level of a career that is, which is annoying now that it's tied to gameplay mechanics. I can only assume it's level 3 like for human priests.
One of Valaya's strictures is "Always assist a Dwarf-friend in need.", which implies that dwarf-friends existed during Valaya's (or maybe Gazul's) time. Elves, if I had to guess.
Page 140 says that Gazul high priests can inscribe the Master Rune of Banishment, but that rune doesn't exist. Could be it's talking about the Master Rune of Balance, but that's just an anti-spell rune, not something I think is associated with Gazul. I think this is an artefact of a rune that got cut.
One of his strictures is this:
Defy the tomb robber, ghoul, and necromancer, for they are enemies to be despised.
This was before Nagash invented necromancy, so I'm wondering if this is foresight on Gazul's part, a response to Drachenfels, or if it was a stricture added later on by his priesthood.
Smednir
Major Festivals: Hexenstag (Hekesdeg)
Same root word as the Empire, a common phenomenon, but surprising in this instance because Hekarti exists.
Smednir grips tongs holding a metal piece in his left hand while holding on to his runic hammer Azulokrid ('Metal Crafter') in his right.
Khazalid.
Page 141
Thungni is the younger son of Grungni and Valaya who learned metalcraft from his brother Smednir.
Not Grungni.
Thungni is portrayed as an elated Dwarf with bronze-coloured hair and beard. [...] Thungni holds a runic staff in his raised left hand symbolising his power and mastery of runesmithing. He holds the runic hammer, Karaz-Kazakrhun ('Enduring War Rune') in his relaxed right hand.
Quite surprised to see that the common depiction of any dwarf god is one where they're
elated. I don't know what a runic staff is; I suspect that it's what the guy on the cover is using, but I don't know what it does.
Temples of Thungni are only found in Dwarf holds with the largest in Karaz-a-Karak. A second, smaller temple in Karaz-a-Karak is found within Rhunriken Ankor ('Runesmith's Lair') where Master Runelord Kragg the Grimm power is unrivalled. The walls of Thungni temples have frescos illustrating Thungni's journey to the Glittering Realm and his triumphant return.
Ok so we have a historical chronicle of that journey, it's not some vague thing shrouded in mystery, at least not in-universe.
Morgrim
Major Festivals: Sonnstill (Zhomerstikul)
[...]
After Grungni's warning of the Coming of Chaos, Morgrim and his clan crafted bolt and stone throwers of all sizes.
Unlike Divided Loyalties where bolt throwers were only invented during the War of Vengeance as a response to dragons, the DPG has it that they were there from the start.
Morgrim has interesting strictures.
- Innovate, but be cautious as you go. Ambition should not come at the detriment of craft.
- All engineering knowledge is sacred and must be preserved, even at the cost of novel concepts.
- All construction phases of an engineer's craft must be accompanied by the recital of the appropriate Guild litany.
Second of these strictures implicitly allows innovations, first outright commands it, and the third reminds me of tech-priests.
Page 142, Ancestor Veneration
The 'Saga of Gotrek Gotreksson and the Recovery of Kazad Bebbanberk" takes the Kolgrund ('Black Hammer') brewing clan of Kraka Ravnsvake several hours to relate the tale, usually in song, while drinking copious amounts of ale and mead throughout. [...]
For example, Turstan Silverbeard of the Agrilhandaz ('Silver Hand') clan, one of two Silversmith Guildmasters in Meissen (the other is a manling), invites his children and their families to gather at his spacious townhouse in the Silberkelch district to honour family ancestors.
Some Khazalid.
And there we have it! All the interesting bits I could find in WFRP 4e: Dwarf Player's Guide. It was a good book overall and an excellent job on the part of the authors, though it had a bunch of errors that really needed cleaning up... but then again, perhaps that's simply being in-character. By the time I'd began playing the game, it'd become tradition for WFRP 4e books to have a bunch of errors. Can we really fault C7 for that? So that this paragraph isn't majority about errors by volume, I would like to emphasise that both the lore content and the mechanics are well-made, and good god is the cover gorgeous. The DPG is as definitive as it gets.
I also have something good to announce: I got a copy of Deft Steps, Light Fingers today! Came out just two days ago. It's a rogues and rangers book that also covers Ranald and Taal, so I'm quite looking forward to it. I'll be posting excerpts from it here, though it'll very probably take longer since I have other things to do.
