: This is one of the most interesting flavor tags, isn't
: it? The way I always read it was that it was not done
: intentionally but was a side effect of some massive
: counter-strike against the ghols. To me it suggested
: both the incredible courage and outstanding
: recklessness of dwarves--the same thing I got from the
: "certain kind of maniac" flavor for the
: dwarf mortars. It makes me think of an episode of...
: er... Red Dwarf (no pun intended) where Lister, having
: had his fear sucked out by the polymorph, decides to
: go kill the thing: "Just strap a nuclear bomb to
: me forehead and I'll go down there and headbutt it
: into oblivion!"
That sounds like a dorf who has had a few cocktails to many.
: A couple of other thoughts on this: A long time ago
: somebody (my apologies to the author but my memory for
: names is awful) suggested that this barbican was the
: entrance to a very large cavern and that the trapped
: dwarves didn't die--they were just sealed off under a
: giant plug of rock to keep the ghols from getting in.
I remember that, it turned into a big discussion over if the dwarves could surrvive traped in a cave for any amount of time. I dont think it was ever resolved.
Another point. Back when Balins Bar was still up and runing there was a story posted that preposed an intreaging idea. The story had a group of adventers get into a keep using a underground network bult by the dwarves called "the underway". I have always thought the dorfs had a similer network in their kingdomes, at least conecting Myrgard and Stoneheim. That would explain why the dwarves at stoneheim knew of the fall of myrgard just hours after the event.
: Also, I can't remember the exact way the flavor was
: worded: is it possible that "thousands of their
: number" or whatever actually refers to crushed
: ghols, not dwarves? SiliconDream is back--maybe he
: could give us a grammatical analysis.
"...collaped the barbacan, entombing ten thousand of their number under as many tons of rock." I think we can assume that this refers to the number of Dwarves traped in the battle, but I would also assume they fixed it to were they could take a lot of ghols with them.
: Oh, and a question--anybody with Gurps want to tell us
: about the later history of Stoneheim? One imagines the
: dwarves rebuilt within the year after Balor's defeat
: but I don't remember seeing any evidence for this
: fact. Were there any survivors? It seems to me that
: the dwarven population must be seriously depleted
: after all these horrible losses.
Stoneheim was never retaken, and apperently the Ghols have managed to unearth some of it because GURPS says the ghols liveing there have taken on "civilising attributes".
The Dwarves are currently arming for a massave campain to retake the city.
As for the dwarven losses. They certenly took a beating in the Great war. But I think they were able to defend Myrgard during Soulblighters attacks, so their losses then were probably limeted to the solders that died.
Thats it for now.
Drunken Ghol
