A lot of words inbound so those of you verbally adverse should look away, look away.
I figured somebody would be interested in knowing what motivations I gave dwarf-Minty, and why, since these guided how I played while I was overseer. Or at least how I would explain the various death machines I hid everywhere. Plus I remember a couple of people claimed to like the character.
I waited until after the dwarf’s death to blatantly detail it because I didn’t want to influence how his body was treated one way or the other (both were acceptable outcomes to me, though it would make most sense for him to haunt the shit out of you for not entombing him).
My ultimate goal was to create a character that wasn’t perfectly sane or well-adjusted, but not the crackpot dictator we see every other time. I also wanted his personality based on the events that surround the dwarf, rather than imposing a pre-conceived personality.
The Refugee
Minty arrived to Gemclod in the Second Migration of 262. According to Markus, this was a bunch victimized by the Arrogant Ones.
I remembered this group to be haggard and ill-fed, but apparently that was the Screaming Beakdogs of the First Migration. Oops. Not the first time I share an iffy memory with dwarf-Minty, which I guess works out in the end. Anyway, he went from fat to corpulent, so I’ll just say he perceived himself to be skinny. Yeah, that’s the ticket! Otherwise, his features were rather… elegant.
His personality was defined, on top of the before-said iffy memory, as short tempered and lots of willpower, but easily stressed-out and unassertive. That screams passive-aggressive to me.
His profession when he arrived was a trapper, which in game terms means “hauler” since there is absolutely no reason to trap vermin, but which seems to me a lonesome job where you spend a lot of time in nature.
So now we have a delicate-featured dwarf who runs around in trees rather than holes and is self-conscience and desires acceptance, during a time when elves have just about wiped out his race. Yeah, this guy is going to overcompensate on his dwarvenness.
Minty upon arrival to Gemclod
The Recruit
First thing Minty does is get conscripted to Gemclod’s militia, to train under Enzer. Enzer winds up being a very important character to his development, but not as a friend (Minty had no friends but his dogs and cats).
Markus’s “The Diamond Air”
During his first taste of battle, Minty rescued a fellow soldier. What’s more dwarvenly than rescuing fellow dwarfs from danger in the heat of battle? Minty jumped into the role of a soldier, taking on every stereotype, even if it conflicted with his own interests.
It was also this period of training and battle that Minty began to bulk up (well, muscularly) and be accepted (lots and lots of sparring and demonstrations and such), so his feelings of undwarvenness should be less pronounced by this point. His martial achievements are even lauded by the leaders. He’s feelin’ pretty good at this point.
So, I begin to look at dwarvenness on a social level. Dwarven society, at its peak, and to every player’s dismay, is pretty blatantly stratified into a working class and a ruling noble class. Coupled with his worship of Etur as opposed to Kudust, I figured this would point to a desire to join this noble class, this pinnacle of dwarven culture and achievement, which would quash any doubts to his dwarvenness.
Minty as a soldier of the Diamond Air
The Resentment
At this point, Enzer’s and Minty’s name were always spoken in the same breath.
Probably the greatest test during his soldiering career was during the summer of 264, when he and Enzer defended the gates of Gemclod from a squad of elven scouts. Rather than being a heroic moment of triumph, Minty winds up falling into the moat and nearly drowns. He is only spared by Enzer’s efforts. He tries to rectify his earlier embarrassment by claiming the elephant mount, but runs into some difficulty and only brings it down with Enzer’s assistance.
It wasn’t ever quite the same after that. It was always Enzer who came to the rescue first. It was always Enzer who brought the killing blow, even to enemies Minty had already subdued.
No longer was it Enzer and Minty. It was Enzer, always Enzer!
So came the 20th of Sandstone, 264. What should have been a happy day for Minty, with his promotion to one of the lowest ranking nobles, a militia captain, and being given command over his own squad of dwarves, the Gilded Men, was in fact bitter.
Chance II’s “Elf Kill Krew”
His jealousy and hatred of her began to consume him to the point that even his beloved pets couldn’t bring him comfort, and so when they fell after following him in battle, he cared little. (I’m guessing this is around the point where he also gained the “doesn’t really care about anything anymore” trait).
He directs his frustrations instead into harsh physical training of himself and his “Men.”
Minty as captain of the Gilded Men
The rest will go on a different page.