Dwarven focus

[SMuz]

OK, just wanted to ask one thing. Is it possible for a dwarf to change his focus? Let's say, for example, my dwarf started off with the focus of killing all templars because he thinks all of them are evil. Later on a templar saved his life from a raider or so, so he realizes that he maybe he was wrong after all.

Should it be possible at all to change his focus? Would he simply make an exception not to kill the templar who saved him? Or would he maybe change his focus.. albeit after a month of soul-searching and being traumatized?

[Zoltan]

In my opinion, the only thing that could change a dwarf's focus is the accomplishment of that focus. Maybe, just maybe, a horribly traumatic event could effect it somewhat. But that would be rare. Again, that's just my two 'sids.

[fourTwenty]

OK, just wanted to ask one thing. Is it possible for a dwarf to change his focus? Let's say, for example, my dwarf started off with the focus of killing all templars because he thinks all of them are evil. Later on a templar saved his life from a raider or so, so he realizes that he maybe he was wrong after all.

Should it be possible at all to change his focus? Would he simply make an exception not to kill the templar who saved him? Or would he maybe change his focus.. albeit after a month of soul-searching and being traumatized?

Seriously drunk fucking dwarf.

[musashi]

I think the idea of a focus is that it's an unwavering, irrational obsession ... and not prone to change. It's one of those things that makes dwarves what they are in Arm so in my opinion, nah ... I don't know it should be changable unless you actually fufilled it.

[Thunkkin]

Probably the situation would just inspire a paranoid response. "He saved me for a reason. An evil reason.  It's all part of their evil plan to persecute me."

[Zira]

Probably the situation would just inspire a paranoid response. "He saved me for a reason. An evil reason.  It's all part of their evil plan to persecute me."

I have never played a dwarf in Arm, but I fully agree with this. It just seems to fit.

Granted, a dwarf with a focus like that probably wouldn't live to long:



>Kill templar
You swing at the tall, muscular templar and miss.
The tall muscular templar calls down the thunder, and turns you into a steaming pile of ash.

Welcome to Armageddon!

[Tlaloc]

In short, no, not really. These should help you out.

http://www.armageddon.org/general/races.html#dwarf

http://www.armageddon.org/rp/racial/dwarf.html

[FantasyWriter]

(DarkSun answer)
A dwarf that does not complete his/her focus (in their belief, if not reality) will become either a goul or a a gollum (cant remember which) upon death, destined to live in eternal torment.

There were a few instances where dwarves chose not to complete theirs for reasons similar to yours (one, who was a slave, betrayed his focus for his freedom).  They believed their souls were still doomed.

Someone who has read more, correct me if I am wrong.

[Bilanthri]

The task to which a dwarf is presently committed is referred to as his focus. A dwarf's focus must be a feat requiring at least one week to complete. Shorter term goals cannot be considered a focus....
Actually, a dwarf's focus is based in his physiology- those who complete their lives before they complete their foci live out their afterlives as banshees in the wastes, haunting their unfinished works!
...An Athasian dwarf takes notice of other beings based upon his focus. If the other being is also actively committed to the dwarf's focus, the dwarf will consider him a sensible and dependable companion. If, however, the other being is vehemently opposed to the dwarf's focus, the two will be irrevocably at odds until one or the other is dead. There is very little room for compromise in the mind of a dwarf.

Heh....knew I kept those old printings for a reason.

[SMuz]

...An Athasian dwarf takes notice of other beings based upon his focus. If the other being is also actively committed to the dwarf's focus, the dwarf will consider him a sensible and dependable companion. If, however, the other being is vehemently opposed to the dwarf's focus, the two will be irrevocably at odds until one or the other is dead. There is very little room for compromise in the mind of a dwarf.

:O So if it means my focus is to be the greatest warrior, then all other warriors are my enemy?

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

...An Athasian dwarf takes notice of other beings based upon his focus. If the other being is also actively committed to the dwarf's focus, the dwarf will consider him a sensible and dependable companion. If, however, the other being is vehemently opposed to the dwarf's focus, the two will be irrevocably at odds until one or the other is dead. There is very little room for compromise in the mind of a dwarf.

:O So if it means my focus is to be the greatest warrior, then all other warriors are my enemy?

No, but your closest competition sure is, after you start actually thinking you are among the best.

[SMuz]

No, wait, I worded that wrong. Lol, it's kinda like he thinks that people are doing something the wrong way and wants to correct it.. but he can't really correct it if everyone else is doing it better than him. And those people spent their whole lives training at doing what they do, so they won't let him correct them either. In a sense, everyone around him is hindering his focus. Seeing how well everyone else is doing what they do without his advice would make the average humanoid give up.. but apparently looking over it a few times, that's definitely not going to stop him. His char wisdom means that he'll be less single-minded, which simply means he'll be a lot more devious and patient with it

Speaking of the focus - another question. Some people say that dwarves are supposed to openly talk about their focus, but the RP documentation says that they don't even realize that they have a focus. I personally avoid talking about it because it's strongly against the OOC and IC motives of some characters.

Also, at what age do they get their focus? I take it that it's something that slips into their head some time in their lives and never gets out. So, is it like possible that a dwarf could live for 30 years without getting a focus?

[Lizzie]

It's an obsession. People who have obsessions, will talk about whatever that obsession is - but they won't spend all day telling people "I have an obsession." They may not even realize they're obsessed.

A dwarven focus is the same. A dwarf knows he *must* accomplish something specific. He will be obsessed with it, and his life will revolve around accomplishing it. But he won't be sitting at the bar saying things like, "You must help me complete my focus!" If he's looking for a job, he won't tell his employer "my focus requires that I work for you." But he might tell the employer, "I want to work for you, because I really -really- love chopping trees, and I know your House is the official tree-chopping house of the north."

As for other warriors being his enemy, no. More like they would be the -perfect- tools to help him complete his focus. He might pick out certain ones and attempt to get into their good graces, so that they can teach him how to be as good as they are - and THEN - he can work on being better than they are. Until he's better than all of them. At that point, they won't be enemies either, because he's already completed his focus and would shift to a new one. If he runs up against someone who insists she is the best warrior in the world, then maybe he can incorporate her claim into his focus - "Oh - okay so now I know what it will take to be the best. I'll have to be better than she is." - that doesn't mean you have to kill her. It just means you have to be better. Of course killing the competition is always possible - but it isn't always necessary.

[Bilanthri]

Also, at what age do they get their focus? I take it that it's something that slips into their head some time in their lives and never gets out. So, is it like possible that a dwarf could live for 30 years without getting a focus?

The dwarven mindset that causes them to develop foci is inherent to their race. Dwarven children would develop short-term foci, like "learn to ride", "best all my friends in wrestling", and "craft a pot worth selling at market". Don't be mistaken in thinking that a dwarf only gets one focus in his/her lifetime. Many dwarves regularly complete their current focus and move on to the next. It's about obsessing over what ever your current goal is, until that  goal is complete.

I think the idea of a singular focus stems from the common "hero" characters that choose foci that are nigh unattainable. However, there are examples of dwarves gaining new foci in DS literature. The dwarves that study the ancient dwarven citadel in "The Crimson Legion" change their focus when Rikus shows up and becomes the chosen heir.

[Marauder Moe]

I think it helps to remember that the word "focus" is not a term used in-game.  A dwarf won't up and say something like "I'm obsessed with building houses!", because that much is obvious, as though you had said something like "I have a nose!".  He may, however, ramble on about construction material, ways of acquiring cheap labor, paint colors, or whatever.  Or, he may have a focus that he realizes would be bad to talk about, like learning sorcery or something, in which case he would definitely not talk about it casually.

[evil_erdlu]

I'd like to ask something similar.. May a dwarf's focus improve? Like, a dwarf is obsessed with being the best wagonmaker in the known world. Time passes and he finds out the best wagon is the one with an unpickable lock, so may his focus become: "Making the best wagon with the door having the strongest lock in the known world." from "Making the best wagon in the known world"? Damn.. Not the best example, but may a dwarf attach similar goals to his main goal during his life? What do you say?

[Tisiphone]

I'd like to ask something similar.. May a dwarf's focus improve? Like, a dwarf is obsessed with being the best wagonmaker in the known world. Time passes and he finds out the best wagon is the one with an unpickable lock, so may his focus become: "Making the best wagon with the door having the strongest lock in the known world." from "Making the best wagon in the known world"? Damn.. Not the best example, but may a dwarf attach similar goals to his main goal during his life? What do you say?

Absolutely. This is especially true in the case of lack of knowledge: let's say a dwarf has lived in Red Storm East all his life, and his focus is to obtain the best pair of boots in the world. Problem is, his whole world is RSE - he's never been outside of it. So, when he finally hears about Tuluk, and how they make boots known for their quality, (bear with me here) his focus expands.

However, this is also the case with something like what you posted above. Let's say a dwarf has a focus to kill all of the mekillots. Well, he sits and thinks about it, and realizes that in order to kill all the mekillots, he'll need to be a hellishly good warrior. So his focus is 'modified' to becoming a hellishly good warrior, but still with the intent of killing all of the mekillots. Let's say then that he becomes really, really good. On his way to becoming really, really good, he hears someone say that metal armour can turn aside almost all blows. At the time this bit of information isn't important, but he has a good memory, and remembers this. So now his focus is to get a set of metal armour, but again, only because he sees that as part of the task of killing all of the mekillots.

Examples like this are borne out in the racial roleplay guidelines.

[fourTwenty]

I'd like to ask something similar.. May a dwarf's focus improve? Like, a dwarf is obsessed with being the best wagonmaker in the known world. Time passes and he finds out the best wagon is the one with an unpickable lock, so may his focus become: "Making the best wagon with the door having the strongest lock in the known world." from "Making the best wagon in the known world"? Damn.. Not the best example, but may a dwarf attach similar goals to his main goal during his life? What do you say?

I think this is the perfect example of how a dwarves focus would work. His focus wouldn't change from making the best wagon but he would become obsessed with finding/making an unpickable lock to help him achieve his focus. He might then want the strongest unbreakable door and then maybe the shiniest wheels. My favorite dwarves are ones that would obsess over every little thing in order to achieve their focus as a whole.

[Delstro]

I don't think a dwarf could change his focus completely. I really liked how the previous two posters summed it up.

Take a dwarf with the Focus of "Killing all Templar." How would he kill all the templar?
Become the Best warrior.
Stop the Creation of templars. (He could do this by destroying a city state, overthrowing the King, destroying the noble houses, kill all the newborn nobles.)
Kill each templar as they are made.
Kill each young noble of breeding age that is on the path to Templar-ity.
Scare children of nobles into believing that if they become a templar, they will die by torture.

[Bilanthri]

I don't think a dwarf could change his focus completely. I really liked how the previous two posters summed it up.

Take a dwarf with the Focus of "Killing all Templar." How would he kill all the templar?
Become the Best warrior.
Stop the Creation of templars. (He could do this by destroying a city state, overthrowing the King, destroying the noble houses, kill all the newborn nobles.)
Kill each templar as they are made.
Kill each young noble of breeding age that is on the path to Templar-ity.
Scare children of nobles into believing that if they become a templar, they will die by torture.

It seems a lot of people are of the mind that a dwarf picks -one- focus and spends his/her entire life working on it. This, I feel is the exception rather than the rule. For instance, lets say that the afore mentioned dwarf manages to actually kill all Templars and halt the production of more. Does he waste away, trying to figure out how to keep working on his focus when there's no more Templars around? Or does he choose his next obsession and move on with his dwarvish life?
Dwarven focus fulfillment has been written about in many of the DS game books and novels, and, while a dwarf will never be without a focus, they do strive to complete them. To think that every dwarf, known-world wide, works their whole life towards a goal, only to finish it at their demise would imply that the dwarven race is rather ineffectual, when they are actually some of the most industrious and effective workers on the planet.

Whether a dwarf acquires new foci in their lives is entirely dependent on what kind of focus they've chosen. Make the perfect wagon....okay....what next?

[Zoltan]

I'd like to ask something similar.. May a dwarf's focus improve? Like, a dwarf is obsessed with being the best wagonmaker in the known world. Time passes and he finds out the best wagon is the one with an unpickable lock, so may his focus become: "Making the best wagon with the door having the strongest lock in the known world." from "Making the best wagon in the known world"? Damn.. Not the best example, but may a dwarf attach similar goals to his main goal during his life? What do you say?

I think this is the perfect example of how a dwarves focus would work. His focus wouldn't change from making the best wagon but he would become obsessed with finding/making an unpickable lock to help him achieve his focus. He might then want the strongest unbreakable door and then maybe the shiniest wheels. My favorite dwarves are ones that would obsess over every little thing in order to achieve their focus as a whole.

Yeah, in my opinion dwarf RP is all about their obsession and the -tiniest- of details. I had a young dwarf that was focused on creating the ultimate party argosy. But what -is- the ultimate party argosy? So he would quest after the best booze and drugs. He'd drink to excess not to relax or let loose, but to test how truly awesome that booze was, and after deciding "it goes on the argosy" or "not quite good enough", he'd move on. Then he'd need whores. And dancers! And waiters and shit, but where would he find those? And oh fucking Krath, he's gotta learn how to pilot his fucking argosy. Gah, but he needs the 'sid to buy one first, right? How many wheels? What would be -perfect-?

And though he would frequently bring it up in conversation (even when it wasn't warranted), he of course never conceptualized it as his "focus". It was just the coolest damn thing that -anyone- could do, and that was just the thing that was worthy of his life's work.

[Riev]

Zoltan plays dwarves how I play dwarves.

Its all in the intricate details. There is always a bunch of things leading UP to your goal that need to be accomplished, and if -those- aren't perfect... the goal could never be.

[Tisiphone]

Perfection's also an important part of the focus. Everything must be -perfect-.

That's not to say that the product of the focus need be perfect. You could even have a dwarf whose focus (in the medium-term sense) is, "Build a well that's good enough to water the village." However, that same dwarf will find and use and build EXACTLY and PRECISELY what he figures is "good enough," even if he would freely admit that the end product isn't the best of all possible wells.

[number13]

Dwarves can change focus, and their focus can be modified intentionally by external forces, or else they would make terrible slaves.  Clearly, they are pretty good slaves.

That's my take.

[musashi]

Maybe back in the day (during the Empire of Man) there was a magickal way to just implant a focus into a dwarf and that was sort of like mental programming for your little slave ...

But I don't imagine the process being so easy or precise in today's Arm. I'm game for a focus being able to change, but I don't think it should be arbitrary, and maybe the staff should get a heads up.

[Zoan]

I thought Dwarves didn't have focii during their servitude. It was post-slavery that they culturally developed the stigma, to define their existence.

[musashi]

Did they? I admit I don't know, but it always seemed to me like the conspiracy theory was they were designed that way to be a slave race.

[Zoan]

Yeah it's not actually defined in the docs. Who knows? That's just what I always thought.

[Tisiphone]

Dwarves can change focus, and their focus can be modified intentionally by external forces, or else they would make terrible slaves.  Clearly, they are pretty good slaves.

That's my take.

I actually take issue with the implication of the first portion of this. Yes, dwarven foci are often heavily influenced by their environment. Borsail finds it pretty easy to nudge dwarves into foci that amount to, "Serve House Borsail in this way." And yes, their foci can change, [/i]when they complete their foci[/i]. However, you can't force a dwarf's focus to change without being a powerful mindbender. Some of them are bad slaves.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

I think in that instance, particular in House Borsail, it would be more about finding the right dwarven slave to complete the task, rather than trying to influence the dwarf into the task that you want them to do.  I don't see why a dwarf would even have a problem with slavery if it allowed them to do what they want to do.  You would probably have a very bad dwarven slave on your hands if you were trying to prevent them from completing their focus, though.

You could probably eventually put a hole in your wall with a banana, if you put enough time and effort into it, but why would you want to use a banana when you have a handy sledgehammer?  It would seem to be more about using the tools you have effectively.  And House Borsail in particular would have a whole lot of tools to choose from 

I think to honestly influence the direction of a dwarf's focus, you'd have to catch them as a child.  Children are notoriously easier to mold, and I don't see why that wouldn't hold true for dwarven children either.

[evil_erdlu]

I think in that instance, particular in House Borsail, it would be more about finding the right dwarven slave to complete the task, rather than trying to influence the dwarf into the task that you want them to do.  I don't see why a dwarf would even have a problem with slavery if it allowed them to do what they want to do.  You would probably have a very bad dwarven slave on your hands if you were trying to prevent them from completing their focus, though.

You could probably eventually put a hole in your wall with a banana, if you put enough time and effort into it, but why would you want to use a banana when you have a handy sledgehammer?  It would seem to be more about using the tools you have effectively.  And House Borsail in particular would have a whole lot of tools to choose from 

I think to honestly influence the direction of a dwarf's focus, you'd have to catch them as a child.  Children are notoriously easier to mold, and I don't see why that wouldn't hold true for dwarven children either.

+1

My last dwarf accepted something that can be considered slavery just because that way it would be easier for him to accomplish his focus. What's the meaning of slavery compared to your focus?

Also I'm always writing dwarf backgrounds as they are influenced greatly by one certain event during their childhood, so they found their focus. Since all are accepted I'm positive staff accepts this approach.

A dwarven child may possible be influenced to have "Mine metal at last! Mine till you find metal!", "Be the best gardener. Grow actually green trees in a garden!" or "Learn to deflect 25 arrows aimed at someone else. Be the best guard!" as foci, becoming BEST slaves.

[Delstro]

I play my dwarves as if they can never complete their Focus, but there Focus is always evolving.

I may start out my dwarf at fifteen when his focus is "To Build the Best Wagon."
Then at thirty, his focus changed to "To own and maintain the best shop on the best wagon."
Then at 60 his focus is, "To control the best fleet of Wagons, manned with the best man, best armor, best mounts, etc."
Then when he is 90+, his focus is to have the best pleasure wagon.

[SMuz]

I thought since dwarves were always so damn anal about their focus, they never actually get any accomplished. The dwarven slave child idea is good though... I think dwarves just feel lost without a focus. They probably pick up the first idea that comes to their minds and stick with it.

My dorf is wiser than most (according to stats), so he's a bit philosophical about being obsessed, and tries to keep a cool head about it. I'm finding that the most fun way to play a dwarf is like playing a teenager with a crush on someone.

1. Watch the focus from afar.
2. Approach focus.
3. "Oh my Krath.. I'm not ready for this, what if it fails?"
4. Plan, improve, get more skilled or better materials, etc.
5. Goto 2.

Refuse to accept the fact that the focus is "not my type/a stupid idea" until I succeed. Even if I do succeed, there's something missing.. I can't believe I did it, there's something wrong with this picture, something needs to be improved. Once I do truly succeed, I get bored with it and look for another focus

[Tlaloc]

Again, dwarves can, and occasionally do, complete a focus. Though they might be cautious in their approach, and they may not ever complete it (due to feeling things weren't "just right" - whatever that could mean), I think that, eventually, a dwarf *will* get to the point of fulfilling their focus. Yes, they will eventually ask the hot girl out on a date.

There would have to be a quintent of Tuluki master bards playing love songs which were lost since the Age of Man on hand-carved lutes with golden strings, Jihae and Lirathu would have to be full and at their apex in the night sky - pefectly framed between the Towers of Tektolnes and Whira, the best Arabet dancers would be acrobatically doing a fire-dance choreographed by the greatest choregorapher in the Known World, two crystal goblets perfectly formed from a combination of sand from the Red Desert, Great Wastes, and Black Sands of Death and melted by the fires of Suk-Krath would be filled to the brim with Oashi Gold year 1441, a seven course meal highlighting the tastiest fare from around the Known World would be served upon the rarest silk tablecloth money has to buy, and served upon a Lanturin table gilded with black pearls from the deepest parts of the Silt Sea, while the most well trained pleasure slaves massage her feet and rub rare scented oils created from the musk gland of an Albino Wyvern.

But he will ask her out.

Dwarves are a blast. I really recommend reading up on the dwarven roleplay document (if anyone hasn't yet), it answers just about everything...and it's an entertaining read, too.

http://www.armageddon.org/rp/racial/dwarf.html

[Ammut]

Dwarven focuses can evolve over time.  For instance, let's say you're a poor dwarf who grew up in a small family.  One day, your family is murdered and all your stuff is taken while you are away.  Your focus becomes to find out who killed your family, but later, as you interact with the game and find out who it was, your focus evolves into get revenge.

Ahh, but to get revenge, you need to know how to fight.

Learn of murderer's indentity-->Learn to fight-->Get revenge.

That's generally how I'd do something with a dwarven focus.  The murderer could be completely virtual, or if you feel so inclined, a real player that you've mistaken as the murderer.  Upon killing said person, you might realize it was the wrong person and start over at finding out who the murderer is. 

edit: it isn't a perpetual loop, but to a dwarf, if the end result doesn't feel right they will keep trying until it is perfect and done.

[Marauder Moe]

To me, that seems like from the start the dwarf's focus would just be "get revenge".  Learning the murderer's identity and learning how to fight are just steps towards that goal.  A good, playable focus should have many things required to complete it, some that can be done in parallel, so your dwarf has a varied and interesting daily life.

[Qzzrbl]

It possible to have two dwarven foci at the same time?

[SMuz]

I'd assume that it's not. I'd say that a dwarf has a main focus, and a bunch of sub-focuses, all on that goal. Having more than one focus would be against the single-minded nature of a dwarf to put all of his efforts on what he believes is the right thing to do.

Or the docs suggest something along the lines that a dwarf's focus could be about guarding a building (maintenance), but a minor focus would be on say, crafting something. I suppose that would be fine, as long as the minor focuses don't get in the way of the main focus. But he'd probably strongly consider whether his secondary focus would affect his primary focus before he picks it up.

[Thunkkin]

I'd assume that it's not. I'd say that a dwarf has a main focus, and a bunch of sub-focuses, all on that goal. Having more than one focus would be against the single-minded nature of a dwarf to put all of his efforts on what he believes is the right thing to do.

What if his focus was to have two focuses?

Hmm.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

I think they'd concentrate on the ability to concentrate on two things at once to the exclusion of anything else... making it a single focus