scottoro-ramblings

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Artificial Beast-Men are the last in my series of Dungeon Meshi races I adapted for the His Majesty the Worm TTRGP, and thus the last in my set of tarot card illustrations illustrations! It's been very fun, and certainly have a lot more art planned for this project!

Two of Pentacles is perfect for artificial beast-men with thier duel natures as animal and human souls bound together, matching the themes of balance and duality. This is actually a reworked image, because the original was just in his human form and when I finally got around posting it seemed kind of lame. That original drawing, along with the usual lore and mechanics, is below the cut. Let me know which one you like more!

*Mild Worldbuilding Spoilers in the lore

Artificial Beast-Men

Souls are far from immutable, they can be damaged, stretched or even mixed. That is when we see the most fascinating interactions. -Tainnel Solas, disbarred ancient magic researcher

Artificial beast-men are not a people, they are a consequence. Certain types of taboo and often illegal ancient magic can meld the souls of people and beasts together, and the resulting mixture creates a new type of being. The particulars of this new being depends on the process, but the result is always the meshing of traits from the two source creatures.

Ancient and Taboo

In the distant past the creation of beast-men was much more common, with whole divisions of them made as shock troops for the front lines of battles. Due to the devastation caused by these ancient warriors, and the lasting mental effects on the transformed, this practice fell out of favor. The magic was banned in most realms, and remains highly obscure in others. In modern times only disreputable types seeking an edge at any cost modify themselves in this way. Illegal black mages, underground pit fighters, and bounty hunters make up the majority of the population. There is no unified culture for artificial beast-men and no settlements of them, unless you count the seedy establishments that tolerate the practice.

Artificial Beast-Men Names

As they are sourced from people across the world, artificial beast-men do not have a consistent naming scheme. Some will modify their name or give themselves a nickname reflecting their new beast part, but that is far from universal.

Artificial Beast-Man Kin

Different ancient magic rituals produce different types of beast men, and while there are records implying the existence of many variations, in the modern day only two are recorded.

Shifters

In the rituals to create a shifter beast-man, a beast is sacrificed and its soul is loosely bound to the recipient by a set of arcane tattoos. At the conclusion of the ritual the recipient will not look noticeably different, but will be able to pull on the power of the beast soul to transform into a powerful hybrid body. The specifics depend on the type of beast transformed into, but all of the hybrid forms feature supernatural toughness and enhanced abilities. Some animal forms require specific builds to function, like bear and tiger forms requiring exceptional musculature, so wolf forms are the most common. Smaller people are limited to smaller forms, with half-foots limited to small speedy animals like rats. All forms leave a mark psychologically, and even outside the hybrid form shifters will display some animal instincts.

Kin Talent: Were-Beast

Choose another kith and kin, this is your original form. When not in your hybrid form, you can spend a resolve to use that kin’s Talent for a watch. Spend a resolve to transform into your hybrid form, to stay in this form as a watch passes you must spend another. Upon transforming you automatically drop your pack and any armor you wear. While transformed you cannot wear armor but gain the following benefits.

Your choice of swords or pentacles increases by 2, which can increase the value past 4, and cups and wands decreases by 1

You can wound this talent 2 times before it stops functioning and you are forced back into your regular form. When not transformed this talent can be healed with a single charge

While transformed you never count as unarmed, and attacks with your hybrid forms natural weapons deal 2 wounds against any target which is unarmed or Tripped

Soul Chimera

Far rarer than shifters and almost never sought out, soul chimeras are a type of artificial beast-man produced by a rituals where a person is sacrificed and their soul is tightly bound to a beast. The beast then painfully morphs into a humanoid approximation of the sacrificed person, retaining features like fur, claws and a tail. Because sentient souls are more powerful, the resultant being usually thinks of itself as the sacrificed person and retains most of their memories, but also will display far stronger animal instincts than other beast-men. While the lack of arcane tattoos makes soul chimeras less obviously artificial, their unique morphology and detectable traces of black magic will make it obvious with careful inspection. Because of deep bonding of their souls, the process of making a soul chimera is almost always irreversible.

Kin Talent: _____ as a _____

Write the beast you are fused with in the second blank and a trait that beast is associated with in the first blank. You can use the name of this talent as an additional motif. Additional your beast traits can give you a natural weapon. If it does you never count as unarmed and when your Attack value is at least twice that of your opponents initiative, your natural weapon deals Piercing damage.

Arete

Artificial beast-men gain arete by preforming the following deeds:

Defeating the type of beast you are melded with in single combat or at a task they are known to be skilled at

Uncovering the secrets behind your creation

Being adopted into a family, or being recognized as a hero in a settlement

When an artificial beast-man accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain one the following talents:

Shifter arete talent: Sliver Hide

Shifters who have truly mastered their hybrid forms are able to project energy from their soul bond into their hide, making it impervious to most mortal weapons. You cannot be dealt wounds from non-silvered iron or steel weapons.

Soul Chimera arete talent: Perfect Instinct

When a soul chimera is fully at peace with themselves and their form, they are able to make the most of their animalistic traits. Whenever you draw with favor due to your kin talent, the value of any card is treated as 9 if not already higher.

Shifter role-playing concepts

There is a sizable subculture on the south central continent of shifter underground pit fighters. Tiger and bear forms are the biggest crowd pleasers, but they are less common than wolf forms due to the psychological effects and physical requirements.

While half-foots with rat hybrid forms often work for these same arenas they rarely fight. They don’t get a significant strength boost and are rare, so they are far more valuable entertaining the crowd.

The hybrid forms’ features depend on the physicality of their base form. A large muscled bear hybrid form reflects a hulking build, while a wolf hybrid form built off an elf would be slender with longer ears.

Shifter enchantments are not inherited, as the beast soul is only loosely bound and does not fundamentally change the nature of their base form.

Shifters normally try to hide their tattoos while in public, as they are evidence of procuring illegal black magic

Soul Chimera role-playing concepts

The process of creating a soul chimera involves the death of the original person, so despite the creation of a new being with those memories, most nations consider creating one murder.

As most soul chimeras were forced into the ritual, they tend to resent their new bodies and animal instincts.

Unlike shifters, the animalistic traits of soul chimeras are rumored to be inheritable. Thus this magic has been suggested as the origin of demi-humans like Kobolds and Orcs.

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This is the second to last of these Dungeon Meshi tarot card illustrations, this one dedicated to the Half-foots. This pair is having a particularly rough time of it, but its never easy to be the smallest and shortest lived group of people in the world.

Lore/mechanics below the cut

Half-Foots

There exists no people in the wide world more widely looked down on then the half-foots, and of course I mean that in both the physical and figurative sense. -Flint's Guide for the Practical Traveler

Half-foots are the smallest, weakest, and shortest lived of all the human races. Additionally their large eyes, wide faces, and lessened sexual dimorphism makes them look similar to the children of tall-men, who themselves are viewed as clumsy and childlike by the robust dwarfs and graceful elves. In their homelands where there is nothing to compare to, these traits cause little issue, but things get difficult when they live among other peoples.

Most half-foots take great care to highlight their maturity, by wearing formal serious clothes, or using course language, but there is a small portion that revels in being underestimated. Scammers who prey on peoples’ sympathy for children, pickpockets who know folk don't tend to look down, even assassins who use their innocent charm to get close to targets. This group of scammers and scoundrels are more likely to travel far and wide, seeking new marks, so tend to be most communities introduction to half-foots. Thus the reputation of half-foots is soiled by the time more honest folk arrive, causing all of them to be treated with suspicion or disdain.

Thieves, Servants and Scouts

The actions of criminal half-foots limits the options for those seeking legitimate work, as most businesses owners would prefer to hire others if possible. Some find work as scouts for armies or lookouts on ships, where their superior senses can be a valuable asset. Others do service work where their small size is an asset, like sweeping chimneys or cleaning sewers. There is even a niche of being an amusingly tiny butler or maid for a noble family, but most half-foots find sewer cleaning less demeaning.

Being a forward scout for dungeons is a lucrative but dangerous profession which has grown increasingly popular. Half-foots are too light to set off most traps, and their enhanced senses can provide forewarning of monsters or hidden mechanisms, so just about any party could benefit from one. But their diminutive size means that they can do little to harm most monsters, and their reputation as greedy swindlers generally puts them low on healing priority if they do get injured. Half-foot guides must rely on their party more than most adventurers, but can trust them less.

Proper Paranoia

Being small and frail in a world of big dangerous creatures, able to hear every footfall of approaching danger but unable to do much about it, has left a permanent nervous edge in the half-foot psyche. While this certainly has manifested in negative ways, such as prevalent alcoholism in half-foot communities as they try to find peace in oblivion, it has also fueled their uniquely impressive set of folktales.

Half-foot folktales have be adapted for and enjoyed by all races, where somewhat sanitized versions now comprise the bulk of children’s fairy tales. Amusingly this has cause some misconceptions of early half-foot communities to spread. Like the existence of demi-human monsters called trolls, which is based on early hostile interactions with tall-men, or changelings, which aren't creatures at all but a consequence of a type magical mushroom.

Half-Foot Names

Traditional half foot names follow a three part naming scheme. The first part of a name can be used alone by family or very close friends, but as it implies a great deal of intimacy the general use personal name attaches a second part. This full personal name is joined by a last name derived from the half-foot's father. The last name is the first part of their fathers name, plus a z or s.

For example a half-foot who has a father named Chilchuck, could be named Puckpatti Chilz, and be called Puckpatti by most and Puck her family and closest friends.

Half-Foot male names

Archalek, Bowjack, Branlin, Chilchuck, Dandan, Darman, Maxmur, Mattjan, Mickbell, Norscott, Robaac, Samwise, Timtuck, Tomabob, Waywes

Half-Foot female names

Caitcat, Dorabel, Flertom, Halluna, Hazhanna, Joelena, Kathkari, Puckpatti, Magimar, Marglili, Meijack, Melbella, Skysaunder, Tamlinn, Wyrwinnie

Being small and frail in a world of big dangerous creatures, able to hear every footfall of approaching danger but unable to do much about it, has left a permanent nervous edge in the half-foot psyche. While this certainly has manifested in negative ways, such as prevalent alcoholism in half-foot communities as they try to find peace in oblivion, it has also fueled their uniquely impressive set of folktales.

Half-foot folktales have be adapted for and enjoyed by all races, where somewhat sanitized versions now comprise the bulk of children’s fairy tales. Amusingly this has cause some misconceptions of early half-foot communities to spread. Like the existence of demi-human monsters called trolls, which is based on early hostile interactions with tall-men, or changelings, which aren't creatures at all but a consequence of a type magical mushroom.

Half-Foot Names

Traditional half foot names follow a three part naming scheme. The first part of a name can be used alone by family or very close friends, but as it implies a great deal of intimacy, the general use personal name attaches a second part. This full personal name is joined by a last name derived from the half-foot's father. The last name is the first part of their fathers name, plus a z or s.

For example a half-foot who has a father named Chilchuck, could be named Puckpatti Chilz, and be called Puckpatti by most and Puck her family and closest friends.

Half-Foot male names

Archalek, Bowjack, Branlin, Chilchuck, Dandan, Darman, Maxmur, Mattjan, Mickbell, Norscott, Robaac, Samwise, Timtuck, Tomabob, Waywes

Half-Foot female names

Caitcat, Dorabel, Flertom, Halluna, Hazhanna, Joelena, Kathkari, Puckpatti, Magimar, Marglili, Meijack, Melbella, Skysaunder, Tamlinn, Wyrwinnie

Half Foot role-playing concepts

Most of the world is not sized for half-foots. Downside, your feet won't touch the ground once you climb on most chairs. Upside, beer comes in pints!

Half-Foots generally have little understanding of magic. Part of this is due to poor education and a short lifespan, but their low innate mana reservoir also means they tend to make themselves sick if they experiment with magic.

Most half-foot populations idolize dwarves as the height of strength, reliability, and handsomeness.

Due to their bad reputation and shorter lives half-foots are viewed as more disposable by other races, to the point that some adventurers intentionally use them as bait.

Some adventuring half-foots have been organizing unions to ensure better treatment, requiring proper pay and protections if a parties wants to hire any half-foot guide.

These unions normally include the most experienced half-foot guides, but there are plenty of scabs willing to undercut union rates to avoid paying dues.

*Below are the His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the world building feel free to stop

Half-Foot Kin

There are half-foot populations across the world, with nearly as much variation as tall-men in language, skin tone, and facial features. The largest populations are in the hill-lands of the Eastern Continent and deltas of the West Southern Continent, but small populations exist everywhere. Despite this, all half-foots are defined mostly by their stature and exceptional senses.

Kin Talent: Ear Out for Danger

Half-foots are adept at using their heightened senses to avoid and locate danger. You have favor on tests of fate to perceive things using your five senses. Additionally you hear and are effected by auditory charms and effects from two zones farther away than normal.

Arete

Half-foots gain arete by preforming the following deeds:

Saving someone's life though trickery or stealth

Be recognized by everyone in your guild as an expert at your job

Gifting something very valuable to someone in need

When a Half Foot accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain the following talent:

Half-Foot arete talent: Nimble-stepper

Spend a Resolve to automatically succeed on a test of fate where failure could cause you physical harm.

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She's waiting for you, why not get a little closer?

Ultimately decided to go with the bug drawing for the final PDF version, but still pretty happy with how the illusion version turned out!

*His Majesty the Worm Stat Page below*

Succubus

Also known as Qarinah or Tempters

Beast Strategist

Succubi are rumored to be shape-shifting demons which take the form of your deepest desire to lure you away and steal your soul, but the truth is actually far weirder. They are actually magical parasitic insects with an innate and powerful command of illusion magic.

With these illusions they distract and enthrall their victims, until they can get close enough bite. But even running their prey though with a barbed proboscis isn’t enough to shatter the illusion, as they produce a secretion which overwhelms their victim with euphoric bliss, leaving them helpless till the last dregs of life are sucked away.

Succubus

Beast {Insecta} Strategist

Attributes: SWORDS 1 PENTACLES 2 CUPS 1 WANDS 4

Health/Defense: 1/0

Likes: Flowers, the color Red, Flushed Skin, Bananas, Beer, its Nymphs

Hates: Cold, Dry, Garlic

Notes

Irresistible*. When a succubus sees a group of adventurers it will choose one at random, and project an illusion of that persons’ greatest desires. Attempting to move away from or take a hostile action towards a succubus projecting thier illusion causes that action to fail and the adventurer to be Stunned.

*These illusions do not affect those with two souls, like Soul Chimera Artificial Beast-men.

Less Lethal. Whenever a Succubus would deal a fatal wound the target is Knocked-Out instead.

Lesser Dooms

Euphoric Anesthetic. On a successful attack the adventurer spends 1 resolve and can also remove Stressed. One watch after suffering this doom the adventurer becomes Stressed as massive welts appear.

Greater Dooms

Reorient. The succubus changes their illusion to match the desires of another adventurer, see Irresistible*.

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Probably my favorite of these tarot card illustrations I've been making for my His Majesty the Worm Setting conversion to the Dungeon Meshi World! I've actually had this one for a while (using it as a blog profile background for a while. Its probably the silly hat!

Lore/mechanics below the cut

Gnomes

Lacking the arrogance of the elves and the greed of the dwarves, gnomes seem less threatening. But their combination of magical power and righteous conviction ensures you’ll have hell to pay if they think you’ve done wrong -Darman Ways’ Peddler’s Handbook

The second shortest of all humans, being slightly shorter then dwarves but lacking their muscular bulk, gnomes are primarily distinguished by their strong connection with the spirits which has made them impressive mages. Unlike elves who view magic as commanding physical phenomena, gnomes it as a co-operative act. Careful stewardship of the spirits and their environment is forges a connection with a mage, who can call on them for power.

As a result of their focus on understanding and maintaining maintaining relationships with spirits, gnomish societies have a strong religious focus. Parishes are the primary structure of gnomish society, responsible for maintaining the local spirits in addition to secular responsibilities like maintaining communal spaces, licensing businesses, and defense against external threats. While parishes often join together into congregations to share resources and collaborate on larger efforts, these are voluntary organizations and their borders are neither continuous nor stable.

Due to a strong cultural taboo against violence towards other gnomes, and long standing tradition of settling disputes by consulting the spirits, wars between different congregations or parishes are unheard of. These protections do not extend beyond their own people, and gnomes have frequently warred with outsiders especially if they are seen as mistreating their local spirits.

In Harmony with Spirits

While magic is not used quite as causally as it is in eleven lands, gnomish settlements still seem miraculous to most who visit them. Undines flit though gardens sprinkling water wherever needed, Salamanders crackle from ovens where they brown bread and kilns where they melt glass, and walls grow up from the dirt as earth elementals build them. Maintaining these elementals requires some concessions to keep the spirits happy and thriving, but gnomes are well used to sacred forests winding through the city city, or relying on rainwater to keep a holy stream unpolluted. Most parishes even have complex waste management systems that collect every last bit of mana to feed their elementals.

These elementals are the most obvious sign of how partnership with spirits has benefited gnomes, but it has also allowed them to excel at many other forms of magic. Magical healing is accessible and commonplace, with gnomish healers being well known for doing truly miraculous work. Construct magic is another area where they excel. Gnomish golems are world renowned for their strength and ease of command, though some errors caused by desperate attempts to keep up with demand have diminished their popularity.

The convenience offered by magic and their religions focus on simple harmonious living means most gnomes can live lives of relative ease and reflection, confident that their parish will provide a safety net if needed. Most gnomes use this to live comfortable lives at a relaxed pace, and generally stay in their own tight knit communities. Those who leave tend to be either ambitious social climbers seeking more than a comfortable life, ideological radicals who would be shunned in their home parish, or bleeding-hearts who are looking to help less fortunate peoples.

Helping Hands

While elves and dwarves are known for their continuous interference in global affairs, gnomes can seem largely absent on a world stage for one of the three long-lived races. In clashes between the other two, gnomes usually side with the dwarves, as eleven magic is blasphemous to them due to is disregard of the spirits, but they still manage to position them selves as a third party. They may supply magic devices, mediate disputes, or train others in their magic, but it is rare that they instigate anything.

While some of this can be chalked up to gnomes’ less competitive societies, its also an intentional strategy for most congregations. By staying out at of the spotlight gnomes are widely accepted everywhere, and by only helping other factions along they dodge much of the blame when things go poorly. Even their conquests on the southern and western continents have produced surprisingly little bad blood, as their parishes only took over areas that where being mismanaged by their dwarven allies after the war. Arriving with food and offerings to placate the angry local spirits.

The positive perception of gnomes also bolstered by their greater willingness to share their knowledge with others. While dwarves would sooner die than share the secrets of their technology, and elves rarely tolerate the short-lived learning their arts, gnomes happily teach their magic to all of humanity. While half-foots struggle to wield enough mana, and ogres are to rare and isolated to make common students, tall-men have taken full advantage of gnomish instruction. The majority of tall-men mages work with some variety of gnomish magic, most of whom where taught directly by gnomes. While the benefits to the tall-men kingdoms are obvious, this practice is also hugely beneficial to gnomes. Not only does it further their reputation as wise and generous, it also ensures that they’ll have allies in pretty much every tall-man noble court and center of learning.

Gnome Names

Gnome names tend to be relatively simple, and follow the same personal-name surname pattern seen in dwarves and tall-men. Despite this they put far less stock in bloodline than dwarves do, and introductions normally end at the personal name unless more information is needed. Because gnomes consider long names unwieldy and impious they will regularly shorten names and omit titles when speaking to other races.

Gnome male names

Aber, Bizen, Dwale, Ford, Guad, Ham, Hatt, Holm, Mino, Null, Pinion, Saltern, Seto, Tansu, Tre

Gnome female names

Bee, Bindle, Firth, Honba, Ita, Leder, Mede, Nara, Pike, River, Te, Verd, Washi, Wick, Yarn

Gnome surnames

Barmkin, Blanding, Buffe, By, Cester, Dodger, Feil, Floke, Glynde, Lesning, Rundle, Russet, Sangen, Sanshin, Yawl

*Below are His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the headcanon feel free to stop

Gnome Kin

While gnomes now live across the world, with settlements as far off as the western continent, this is a relatively new development. Gnomish culture has had little time to drift since they settled in these far off lands alongside the Dwarves after their counter-offensive, and the religious disputes that cause the majority of gnomish division generally seem trivial to outsiders. Thus regardless of where you come from as gnome you have the following kin talent.

Kin Talent: Beloved of Spirits

Whenever you spend resolve on casting a spell or using a talent you can choose to draw from the minor arcana deck. If you drew a King or Queen you get the resolve spent back, but if you draw an Ace or below the spell or talent fails. If you draw the Fool you take a piercing wound as the angry spirits take their due in blood.

Arete

Gnomes gain arete by preforming the following deeds:

Befriending a powerful and ancient spirit

Having or adopting a child

Winning a religious debate with a local leader

When a gnome accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain the following talent:

Gnome arete talent: Medium

You can communicate with spirits, even if they cannot normally speak. Additionally you can spend a resolve to immediately change the disposition of a spirit by two steps.

Gnome role-playing concepts

Gnomes tend to have worse eyesight then other humans, and as such have developed an expertise in making glasses.

Formal gnome clothing consists of a conical red hat and loose fitting robes. While new styles featuring wild shapes appear occasionally, they never seem to stick around.

Gnomes have large hands relative to their body size, which makes them a bit clumsy with precise movements and fine details.

Rounder features are generally considered more beautiful for gnomes, particularly for ears where too sharp of a point is seen as ugly.

Given their relatively similar sizes and stockier builds, many who are unfamiliar with gnomes mistake them for dwarves. ◦ Though considering that gnomes and dwarves can have fertile offspring there may be some truth to this misconception.

[scottoro-ramblings]

Another tarot card Illustration that I did for my His Majesty the Worm Setting conversion to the Dungeon Meshi World. I had the black and white version of this card done for months, but really struggled struggled with coloring for some reason. Anyway high time we covered the powerful and steadfast dwarves!

Lore/mechanics below the cut!

Dwarfs

Dwarf loyalty is legendary, there is no length they won't go to defend their clan or true companions. But that loyalty is hard-won, and dwarven society has no place for those who stray.

This strength was crucial during their wars with the elves. Despite their lack of magical talent, and being a loose defensive alliance against an united empire, the Dwarves pride themselves in giving as good as they got. These wars also tempered dwarf society into the structured, reliable, and prescriptive form that it currently takes.

Bonds of Blood and Iron

Collectively dwarfs are a major world power, so many are surprised to learn just how decentralized their governments are. It's rare that a dwarven government controls more than a city and its hinterlands, and their leaders do not have the level of control that an elven magistrate or even tall-man king can muster. But this is because any dwarf society must accommodate the true core and seat of power, the clans.

Clans are technically extended families, though as each one has a primary trade, and will regularly adopt dwarves with no relation if the have valuable skills, their function is some ways more like a guild. Clans can have a vast degree of power, enforcing laws, choosing jobs, and even arranging marriages for its members. While larger and less traditional clans allow their members far more autonomy, arrangements between clans still underpin dwarven societies. Villages will often be populated one or two clans, while cities will have dozens or hundreds held together in complex alliances and hierarchies.

One's rank in dwarven society depends on the power of your clan, and your standing within it, and there is usually very little mobility. Each dwarf has a personal sigil issued by their clan, which affirms their membership and rank to any other dwarf that reads it. This sigil is normally set once a dwarf reaches 40 years, and their rank alongside it, barring exceptional circumstances.

The efficient set structure of dwarf society has produced some of the finest smiths, artisans, and engineers in the world. They can draw on generations of experience to prefect their craft, and their mastery has earned dwarf made goods a reputation for excellence across the world. Assuming they play their role it also provides exceptional stability and support to individuals.

Technical Wonders

Like all long-lived races, most dwarves have a standard of living your average tall-man or half-foot would struggle to imagine. Some find this surprising, considering that the power and privilege of elves and gnomes is tied to their talent for magic, which dwarfs famously lack. But, as is apparent to anyone who has been to a dwarven city, their technical expertise fully makes up for their poor personal command of magic.

Dwarf buildings can be over a dozen stories high, assuming they don't build down into old mine-shafts and conquered dungeons instead, and thanks to a complex series of water towers and aqueducts most even have running water. Hot water and personal stoves are less common, but public baths and restaurants are so plentiful that these personal luxuries are hardly missed. Transportation is also remarkably advanced, with networks of lightning trams and funiculars sprawling under and though ever city. Assuming you have the right combination of passes for each clan’s lines, you can get anywhere in even the most sprawling dwarven city in under an hour. Like many of the most impressive dwarven constructs, these transports rely on ancient magic devices maintained by gnomish magic, and their mechanisms and nature are a highly guarded secret.

Those who Stray

As with any perfectly tuned machine, dwarf society cannot abide cogs that don't mesh. These are the outcasts, those exiled by their clans for major crimes or dishonoring them, as well as their unfortunate children. Outcasts are viewed with suspicion by other dwarves, who usually assume they are criminals, and are only willing to give them the most menial and lowly of work. While outcasts can eventually rejoin a clan if they prove themselves loyal and hardworking, in the decades it takes they are unable to get a consistent job, buy property, or even shop at dwarven markets; all of which require showing a sigil of your clan.

As rejoining the dwarven clans once you are exiled ranges from difficult to impossible, most exiles find other ways to support themselves. Some commit fully to a life of crime, becoming bandits who prey upon the trade routes between the grand dwarven cities. Though this tends to end poorly once the big clans send out mercenaries to deal with the threat to thier business. More outcasts have been traveling out to lands ruled by short-lived races, accepting the drop in living standards for more acceptance. Becoming an adventurer is also a popular option for outcasts, to the point that the majority of dwarven adventurers are outcasts despite being a small fraction of dwarves overall. Adventuring is dangerous work, but the gamble can pay off if you win enough gold or glory to regain your former standing.

Dwarf Names

Dwarf names tend to be simple, based either on minerals or professions, and in place of last name they use the town of their birth. No-one is quite sure why they don't use surnames, especially given that they value blood ties more than many who do. Some suggest it was an ineffectual attempt to combat clan factionalism in cities, or due to folktales of fae spirits stealing your true name, but the true reasoning is lost to time.

Dwarf male names

Ardit, Brigan, Corun, Feld, Galen, Gillin, Invar, Ishiku, Kol, Senshi, Suigin, Totan, Tourm, Voski

Dwarf female names

Beryl, Daya, Electra, Fidda, Fluori, Garnet, Kaba, Kaolin, Kin, Mica, Namari, Pyrope, Shinsu, Suzu

Major dwarf cities

Anhk-Mourn, Bonnario, Dolom Trak, Dozahk, Farra Brud, Izganda, Kakha Brud, Karst, Lotzanno, Magnierna, Rundom, Sadena, Spars, Tektio, Yutkana

*Below are His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the headcanon feel free to stop

Dwarf Kin

While dwarf cities and clans are deeply independent, and vary significantly in traditions and structure, the ties between them are strong. Economic agreements and ancient communication technologies, alongside the biological adaptations for cramped underground conditions and heavy lifting, have keep dwarf societies relatively consistent. Thus regardless of where you come from you have a following kin talent.

Kin Talent: Hotblooded

Dwarfs run hot, granting them heat resistance and exceptional strength, at the cost of quickly running out of steam. You take one less wound from heat based harm, be it dragonfire or boiling gravy. Additionally in Challenges you draw one additional card at the start of the first round, and then one fewer at the star start of each of the following rounds, to a minimum of two cards.

Arete

Dwarfs gain arete by preforming the following deeds:

Winning the support of local leaders and being officially honored by them

Being recognized as a master at your craft

Restoring an ancient dwarf artifact to proper functioning

When a gnome accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain the following talent:

Dwarf arete talent: Clan Backing

Your achievements earned you a place of privilege within your clan. Your clan will cover a Common level of upkeep during your city phase, and any items you commission from artisans in the clan can have an additional 5 syllables of detail for no additional cost.

Variant Dwarf arete talent: Outcast Together If you gain arete while being outcast from your clan you can choose to create your own clan with other outcasts. You can choose a trade and design a sigil for your clan. They don't have the resources of an established clan, but can scrounge around to find just about anything you need. Each city phase they can gift you one piece of Luxurious gear regardless what upkeep you paid for.

Dwarf role-playing concepts

It is a popular rumor that dwarf women also grow beards, but most don't grow much more facial hair than could be found on gnome or tall-men women.

Given that dwarf cities are far too densely packed for livestock, most lower rank dwarfs get most of their protein from small rat-like creatures called cavys. Which are traditionally served with a sweet and sour tomato sauce.

To help navigate complex clan negotiations dwarfs have created equally complex economic arrangements. They are particularly fond of joint-stock companies which have been used to finance everything from mine-shaft expansions, to colonies, to even military campaigns.

Dwarf miners often stumble across ancient buried dungeons, and because of that have some of the most experienced adventurers in the world. ◦ There are even a few clans that specialize in it as their primary trade. ◦ Reactions from locals when dwarf expeditions awaken a nearby dungeon tend to be mixed.

[scottoro-ramblings]

Just a harmless little bunny, isn't it?

*His Majesty the Worm Stat Page below*

Dungeon Rabbit

Also known as the Headhunter Rabbit, or The Blurring Death

Beast Brute

Should you ever venture deep into the dungeon and spot what looks to be a peaceful field of rabbits hopping about, you should turn right around and run. For, those are no ordinary rabbits! They are most foul, cruel and bad tempered rodents you’ll ever set eyes on! Most adventurers underestimate them due to their appearance, but even the wary rarely survive an encounter with these beasts. Once one leaps upon you, digging their razor sharp spurs into your neck, death is only instants away. Many have watered the grass of dungeon rabbit meadows with their blood, and fewer still have their tales of these vicious creatures believed.

Dungeon Rabbit

Beast {Mammalia} Brute

Attributes: SWORDS 1 PENTACLE 5 CUPS 0 WANDS 0

Health/Defense: 2/0

Likes: Fresh Clover, Sunlight, Boxing for Dominance, Its Own Poop

Hates: Anything Larger than it, Loud Noises, Dancing (don’t ask)

Notes

Easy Squeezy!. If engaged with a dungeon rabbit an adventurer can deal it Critical damage with a successful attack Extreme Speed. Adds pentacles to all attacks Headhunter. Unless the target is wearing a Reinforced Gorget, or a Helm and a full set of metal Armor, whenever a dungeon rabbit would deal a wound it deals Critical Damage instead.

Lesser Dooms

Second Spur. On a successful attack, if dungeon rabbit’s total attack value is double the Initiative of the target deal an additional wound.

Greater Dooms

Evasive. Dungeon rabbits can play a greater doom as a Dodge action

Cook's Corner

Prep: Standard

Other than thier supernatural speed and lethal spurs, dungeon rabbits are largely normal rabbits and anatomically and can be butchered and cooked as such

Servings: 1

Special Effects: Very Delicious (grants favor to cooking)

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Dungeon Meshi World Map

The map is largely based on the fantastic map by Ashen_Onion of Reddit, with me checking their sources in the Adventurer's Bible to confirm. It basically contains everything we know in canon, and as you can see our information is pretty strongly concentrated in the Eastern Continent.

Given that the story takes place entirely on one tiny island (excluding a few flashbacks), this is actually pretty impressive! But it still falls a bit short if someone is, for example, trying to write a TTRPG setting guide that could take place anywhere on this world.

With that in mind, let me present my brand new

Expanded Dungeon Meshi World Map

Fully based on my personal headcanon and general vibe for each region; this map adds markers and names for major cities, notable dungeons, and mage academies for every continent. It also is intended to be closer to an in-universe document, so details that are only really relevant to character backstories like character birthplaces and sealed dungeons are ommited.

I'm planning on making a political map, little descriptions of notable locations, and dungeon breakdowns for all 21 dungeons, eventually so stay tuned for that! In the meantime I've included some rambling details on things I've added below the cut.

Several of the dungeon names are based on classic D&D adventures. Let me know if you can spot any of them!

Anhk Mouru is the largest city in the world, populated primary by dwarfs. The Adventure's Bible says the southern continent has the largest dwarf city, and that island in the strait between the two halves was seemed the prefect place to set it. I picture it as halfway between Istanbul and NYC, though yes the name is a Discworld refence.

Which the exception of the eleven universities, all of the magical academies reference mythological and folkloric witches. I choose Befana Academy for the canon magic school because the old gnome instructor gave me similar vibes to the kindly witch, and Italian vibes for favorite elf!

A few names in the Eastern Archipelago are ripped straight from the Journey to the West! I also put the names in Chinese characters as I imagine them having a shared writing system (just like how most of East Asia used Chinese characters before developing thier own systems) despite several local languages being spoken.

All the noted ruins except for Utaya are remains of the ancient Ogre Empire, which I am imagining once ruled the majority of the world before they collapsed.

I also have no idea why the large island of the northern continent is described as completely uninhabited in the adventure's bible. I went back and forth on it being a inhabited by another demi-human race we haven't seen, or it being a magical wasteland like the exclusion zone around Utaya. I felt that either would have been important enough to be at least mention in official sources, so just decided to keep it vague. Might change that later so let me know if you have a preference.

[scottoro-ramblings]

Continuing with my series of Tarot Card illustrations that I did for my His Majesty the Worm setting conversion to the Dungeon Meshi world. Back to the short lived races with the Ogres, who once ruled by virtue of thier brawn but have starved down to shell of thier former selves.

Lore below!

Ogres (Oni)

Bigger is rarely better, the bleached bones of the long dead ogre empire is proof enough of that.

Ogres, or Oni as they are called in the eastern archipelago, were once amongst the mightiest races in the world. Their vast strength allowed them to build massive monuments and forts which still underlay most of the worlds grandest cities. Their ancient warriors continue to feature in legends and tall tales as unstoppable conquerors or ghoulish monsters.

In light of all this, their current condition is rather pathetic. There are only two small pockets of this race of giants left, one in the far north of the western continent, the other on a scattering of islands in the eastern archipelago. The reason for their fall is the same as their rise, their very biology.

Fall of an Empire

Ogres are indisputably the tallest and strongest race in the world, standing at least a head higher than tall men with the strength of two dwarves. But those massive frames require a lot of food, so even in good years ogre farmers are on the edge of famine. The old empire got around this by forcing smaller races to feed them, but their mighty appetites made them weak to sieges and supply chain distribution. As rebels became more organized they found they could field armies twice the size as their foes with the supplies they normally gave in tribute to the Ogres. And those numbers mattered, for while an Ogre warrior could overpower any single smaller foe, they died just as swiftly as anyone when outnumbered and outflanked.

What remained of the ogres retreated to the small defensible pockets where they remain today, or integrated and interbred with the tall-men who now ruled the area. To this day there are several lineages of unusually large tall-men who claim descent from Ogres. Some elven scholars go as far to claim this is the reason for the overall height of all tall-men, but this idea is heavily disputed

Oni of the Eastern Archipelago

While most ogres on the western continent live simple lives as herdsmen in small villages, the oni of the eastern archipelago have a far more complex relationship with their neighbors. Tall-men make up the vast majority of the population and interact little with other races, so to them Oni are a dangerous and exotic people. While in most of the world ogres are considered human, in the eastern archipelago that term solely applies to tall-men, and the oni do not receive the rights afforded to human inhabitants.

Despite this fear and alienation the strength of oni is greatly admired. Nobles have oni bodyguards, and traditional oni wrestling has been adapted into sumo wrestling, which enjoys popularity across the islands. With ogre communities so closed off, an oni accompanying a noble is just about the only way one can see the world. But this admiration also causes issues for the oni. Tall-man warriors display trophy skulls taken from battles with oni warriors to prove their martial lineage, often provoking fights to get a chance to prove their skill, and demand for oni gladiators and servants fuels a robust trade in oni slaves.

Ogre Names

In the old empire ogre empire ogres had surnames, dynasties and titles, but in a world where the largest ogre settlements are less then a hundred strong they are just not needed anymore. In fact these days most ogres just follow the naming conventions of nearby tall-men, but a few stick to the old ways.

Traditional ogre names are one short word, adding at most the name of their parent when more distinction is required. For example if there are two ogres in a village named Org one may be called Org Surk's-Son. Slightly different names are popular with oni due to their long isolation, but they follow the same general scheme.

Ogre male names Bentul, Dhal, Forurk, Grendal, Lundal, Mulhn, Nolug, Og, Org, Poulag, Reag, Surk, Trog, Ur, Uraldal

Ogre female names Bahyag, Brienag, Burl, Burral, Das, Fornag, Lond, Loreh, Onag, Os, Pos, Ral, Rhas, Ulnag, Ulreh

Oni male names Bentu, Dahali, Dai, Doji, Dokka, Ludai, Mulnu, Oai, Po, Rei, Surkai, Suro, Tro, Ura, Uradalo

Oni female names Baha, Birei, Buri, Dashi, Hoji, Lorei, Mu, Oshi, Osu, Poju, Rala, Rashu, Suri, Uluna, Ulurei

Ogre Kin

Ogres have two main distinct groups, the western ogres and the oni of the eastern archipelago, though the distinction between them is largely their surroundings. Both groups have similar strengths and struggles, and are so few in number that any further delineations lose meaning.

*Below are the His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the headcanon feel free to stop*

Kin Talent: Ravenous Strength

Ogres are not fast or subtle but when it comes to raw strength they are unmatched. At the start of a challenge round you may discard any non swords card and draw another card, repeating until you gain a swords card. You may do this as long as you have non-swords cards.

Such massive strength requires great nourishment, you must eat two rations every time you break bread to avoid becoming Stressed from starving.

Arete

Ogres gain arete by preforming the following deeds:

Defeating three or more foes unaided

Reclaiming a relic of the ancient ogre empire

Representing your guild in a negotiation with a powerful figure

When an ogre accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain the following talent:

Ogre arete talent: Ancient Glory

Your mighty feats have earned you one of the epithets granted to legendary ogres of the past. They can range from simple adjectives like “powerful,” or “swift-footed,” to full descriptions of feats like “shepherd of the people,” and “who marshals the highlands to victory.” When that epithet would be relevant to a test of fate, similar to a motif, you test with favor.

Ogre role-playing concepts

Ogres are too heavy for riding animals, and generally have trouble seeing domestic animals as anything but food.

The old ogre language did not have first person pronouns, requiring a speaker to always refer to themselves by their name. Ogres often carry this linguistic quirk into other languages.

Ogres traditionally use massive iron clubs in combat, which are meticulously maintained down the years. Even today many ogre families have clubs that are rumored to date back to the old empire.

There is a superstition that an Ogre’s strength is stored in their horns and sharp canines. Thus many ogres trying to seem less threatening will file down their horns and teeth.

Ogre ruins and monuments can found pretty much everywhere, often the sturdy foundation of modern settlements.

How do you feel when you see these ruins? Proud? Curious? Perhaps jealous of your people's former place in the world?

Ogres are rare and barely travel outside their tiny homelands

You are likely far from home, what brought you here?

[scottoro-ramblings]

A quick drawing of our favorite scab which I started back on his birthday on the 22nd! Didn't think he'd be the first cannon dungeon meshi character I post fan-art of, because he is definitely not my favorite character, but it was fun to try out some different brushes for coloring!

[scottoro-ramblings]

Continuing with my series of Tarot Card illustrations that I did for my His Majesty the Worm setting conversion to the Dungeon Meshi world. Here an elf with the world in his hand stares out to sea, thinking of an empire that reigned here centuries ago.

As with my other cards I'm attaching to this post all of the lore I attached to the race for the setting conversion. The western elves are interesting because there's a lot implied about thier culture, but not a ton explicitly said, so as usual I made a lot assumptions! If you have any suggestions, or things I missed from canon, let me know!

Elves

Never has there been a people more arrogantly convinced of their superiority, or dangerously close to providing themselves right.

Even among long lived races, elves are an anomaly.

Elves extended lifespan is not their only natural advantage, as they are also the race with the highest innate mana reservoir. This innate connection, combined with all the time they have to practice, makes elves unparalleled mages.

Magic is widely used in elvish societies, partially to compensate for their physical weakness and disinterest in high technology, but usually achieving results far beyond what could be expected of conventional techniques. Most elves feel no loss at their inability to build strength as easily as other races can. After all, if something can only be overcome with brute strength, instead of skill and precision, it was beneath their dignity anyway.

Subdued Superiority

Most elves, especially those from the central continents, are so convinced of their superiority that it is considered a self evident fact. While usually too committed to decency to directly insult them, elves will flagrantly disregard the authority and independence of short lived races, and consider dwarves and gnomes little better. In their minds, elven greatness is proven by their empire, which easily subsumed short lived races and triumphed over dwarven and gnomish armies with larger forces and better weapons.

To be an elf is to be beautiful, intelligent, and strong in all ways that matter. Those who deny this are just envious.

This view is not shared by all elves of course. Some have learned to see the humanity and worth in others, even if they don’t live nearly as long. Many elves that head off into the wider world to work as researchers or magic advisors develop this attitude eventually, as constant interaction opens their eyes to the person-hood of others.

There is also a growing group of elvish cynics in their homelands, who look back on centuries of conquest and rigid perfectionism and only see their own culture impoverished by it. These cynics make up a sizable political front in the southern central continent, which has recently been doubting its ancient alliance with the Dominion of the northern central continent.

Contentious Paradise

The widespread use of magic in elven societies makes them seem prefect. Food is plentiful, as groves and fields can largely tend themselves with enchanted branches. Water shaping enchantments ensure nearly every home has running water, and combined with the arcane heating circles hot water is just as accessible. Long range communication can be done though fairies, at near instant speed. Yet despite so many of the everyday essentials being so easily handled, most elves are less than positive on their nations.

Centuries of feuds and scheming ensures the noble population is always on edge, paranoid about a knife to the back, or worse disgrace in the royal court. Among the middle classes advancement is tied to success in a bureaucratic or magic academy, and competition to get in is so fierce families will near bankrupt themselves to buy tutors and books to ensure their child has a chance. Peasants are increasingly loosing farms tended to by their families for generations, as they are underbid by cheap imports from the imperial fringes. Meanwhile the urban poor are stuck competing with a growing population of short lived races who they blame for driving down wages, and driving up housing costs.

These issues seem trivial for those coming from kingdoms that still struggle with famine, plague and civil war, but the feeling of decline rippling though elvish societies cannot be denied.

Elf Names

As elven society is generally indifferent to gender, the majority of elven names are androgynous. The primary distinctions come from class. High Nobility are formally introduced with their house in the format of “___ of the House of ___". The lesser nobility, who make up about 10% of the elven population, simply use their house names alone like tall-men do surnames. Commoners have no house, and are distinguished by what Vale they were born in if necessary.

Elf personal names

Mithrun, Pattadol, Flamela, Milsiril, Fleki, Cithis, Fionil, Heimea, Misyl, Otta, Opa, Mikepas, Fungil, Pahsa, Pohsa, Yugin, Sita, Helki, Woidun, Quintyl

Elf noble houses (* for High Nobility)

Kerensil*, Vari*, Som*, Tol*, Bondeyl*, Ofri, Ifrit, Doldri, Lotna, Pon, Keri, Tur, Ternil, Zafris, Mor, Septil, Hepti, Fentil, Miondeyl, Disa

Elf Vales

North Woolly, Burning-Branches, Polis, Queens-Eye, Othens, Delkanti, Atlun, Splinter, Wailing-Peak, Tals-Alter, Sun-Wyrm, East Bent, Zagris, Near-Shadow, Takis, Least-Slighting

*Below are the His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the headcanon feel free to stop*

Elf Kin

While elven culture varies wildly, from the isolationist coastal western convenient elves, to the cannibalistic deep grove clans, to the imperialistic central continent elves, these differences are not what defines them in the eyes of the world. All elves have an innate connection with magic, which their mages use to impose elven will on the world.

Kin Talent: Mana Focus

Elves have an inherently large reservoir of mana. When casting spells and using at least 2+ Resolve, treat the effects as if you had spent 1 more Resolve. Additionally, you may choose to Wound this talent to immediately receive a point of Resolve. In order to utilize this talent you must have described what you did to clear your mind during you last camp phase. Common options include praying, styling your hair, reciting poetry, or consuming drugs.

Arete

Elves gain arete by preforming the following deeds:

Beating someone at a skill they have spent the majority of their life mastering

Mastering a rare magical technique

Being recognized by the Monarchy, for good or… for ill

When an elf accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain the following talent:

Elf arete talent: Perfectionist

Elves have all the time in the world to hone their skills to the peak of perfection, to the point that luck doesn't factor in at all. You can spend a resolve to automatically succeed a test of fate if you would have a +5 or higher bonus to it.

Elf role-playing concepts

Elves have smaller pores and more consistent skin pigmentation, causing naturally flawless skin that other races struggle to imitate with make-up.

As the least sexually dimorphic race, elves are often shocked by the physical differences, and confused by the societal impacts, they observe in others.

The dark black skin of the Elven Dominion’s royal family is seen nowhere else, and has by association made gray skin tones more prestigious.

While in the past it was common for social climbers to try to magically darken their skin, it is currently seen as desperate pretending to a noble bloodline, and has been outlawed in the Dominion.

While elves have never been very fertile, social tensions in the central continents over the past few centuries have caused the birth rate to fall well below replacement. As the population declines there is a lot of blame being thrown, but not much is being done to reverse the trend.

Traditionalist elves have much looser attitudes about many common taboos, from nudity to cannibalism.

[scottoro-ramblings]

A little fun guy!

Taking a break from sharing my tarot cards to show this walking mushroom I drew. No headcanons here, we all know thier deal

*His Majesty the Worm Stat Page below*

Walking mushrooms, as a result of their incredible range in shape and goofy tottering appearance are by far the most celebrated monster found in dungeons. Packs of ambulo-mycologists regularly descend on newly discovered dungeons just to document the new varieties and take back samples to share with fan clubs. The vast majority of walking mushrooms are small and weak, and pose little threat to all but the most amateur of adventurer. Unless they are unwise enough to eat a poisonous variety, of course.

Walking Mushroom

Elemental{Fungi} Minion

Attributes: SWORDS 0 PENTACLES 0 CUPS 0 WANDS 0

Health/Defense: 2/0

Likes: Corpses(tasty), Damp areas (cozy), Rotting Things, Running Around

Hates: Bright lights, Sulfur, Rosemary

Notes

Directional Mycelium. Takes an additional wound when an attack is specified to be aligned vertically.

Slow. The walking mushroom cannot Dash as a lesser doom

Lesser Dooms

Feeble Spore-cloud. Play a lesser doom card and compare its value with disfavor (-3) to the initiative of each character in the same zone. Adventurers it succeeds against are stunned.

Greater Dooms

Running Headbutt. When the walking mushroom Attacks, discard a greater doom card to try knocking the target away. If successful the target is Tripped or Displaced.

Cook’s Corner

Prep: Standard

Due to their wide distribution, relative ease in slaying, and apparent commonality to standard foodstuffs, walking mushrooms are often the first monster desperate dungeon delvers experiment with. For some it is also their last.

Contuary to pouplar belief there are several posionious varieties, and a few hallucinogenic ones, so care should always be taken to identify them first.

Servings: 2

Special Effects

When eaten (or identited by someone familiar with mushrooms via a CUPS test) draw from the major arcana. The result idicates the special effect for this walking mushroom

The Devil XV- Suffer 2 pericing wounds

The Moon XVIII or The Tower XVI- Suffer 1 peircing wound

The World XXI- Experince wild halluciantions for a watch. While hallucinating you are functionally defended and blinded but once they wear off you can clear the stressed condition.

Other- No additional effect

[scottoro-ramblings]

It's just a guy! Perhaps I should have chosen a more dynamic subject for my tall-man, given they look just like irl-people, but I think it featuring a random farmer fits the vibe.

As with all my cards in this series I'm attaching my lore head-canon and His Majesty the Worm Mechanics under the read more. It was pretty interesting because unlike the other fantasy races which have one main face to thier culture in the series, we get a good look at two distinct Tall-men cultures, people from the Northern Continent (Laios and Falin Touden) and the Eastern Archipelago (Toshiro+ his retainers). We also have a bunch of cultures mentioned briefly (Westerners like Kabru, the mountain people Laios' village fought with, the wanderers Kiki and Kaka were born to), and more implied by the population maps (what are the tall-men on the southern continent doing, or those pockets on the elf majority central continents?). So naturally I had to make up cultures for all of these, warning of lots of rambling ahead! (If the name of the blog wasn't warning enough)

Tall-Men

Short-lived, gangly, frail, most find little to admire in tall-men. Which only makes it more surprising how they manage to thrive in places others struggle to survive.

Despite their towering height, tall-men fill in the cracks in world. They live in the margins of more powerful dwarven or elvish nations, eking out an existence in the places too cold, too dry, too distant, or too dangerous for the long lived races to settle in. But in these margins they have thrived. Tall-men cultures have adapted to these conditions, and used them to learn new ways to travel, farm, and trade. Tall-men merchants, bards, and mercenaries can be found in port cities around the world, and their languages are large contributors to local common tongues.

As a result you can say that tall-men are the most powerful short lived race. Though just like the tallest half-foot, how much that matters is up for debate. With the exception of the very isolated nations of the eastern archipelago, tall-men nations work around the interests of those ruled by the long lived races. Some small tall-men run nations even exist as explicit compromises between two long lived races, granted disputed territory to act as a neutral buffer state.

Nothing Too Special

In many ways Tall-men seem less exceptional than other humans. Even their namesake tallness is eclipsed by ogres, and that height doesn't deliver much strength. They have no innate talent for magic, but can be capable students of the arcane. Their senses are dull, and reflexes unexceptional. But tall-men do have several less obvious advantages. Firstly their long limbs give them exceptional reach, and that reach doesn't come at the cost of speed. A tall-man could juggle knives above the reach of a half-foot, assuming they know how to juggle. Tall-men also have impressive endurance, able to travel vast distances without tiring and fight in pitched battles well after most would collapse from exhaustion. Many also say that tall-men are exceptional musicians and dancers, but whether they actually have any better sense of rhythm is debated.

Tall-man Cultures and Names

Because their populations are so scattered and their lifestyles so adapted to their local environments, tall-men show the greatest range between their various cultures. There is not one tall-men language, naming scheme, or lifestyle. There are several, and most of them are convinced that they are only ones doing things right.

Easterners 2,4,5

The tall-men of the eastern archipelago are in a unique position, as other than dwindling population of oni they have the entire massive island chain to themselves. Within the islands they only consider tall-men to be human, and are generally quite surprised to see that most societies are swarming with people who are at least a head shorter then them. They are also unique in that they are the only group of tall-men to make their own magic technique, which compels spirits by means of prayers and charms written on paper slips. While there is great interest from other short-lived cultures in this method of channeling magic, its reliance on the uniquely complex easterner writing system and the reluctance of its creators to teach outsiders has kept it limited to the islands. Easterners are chiefly farmers and fishermen, with rice and millet being the staple crops, though among the nobles there is a proud warrior tradition which has produced many of the best swordsmen in the world. Most islands are currently undergoing an isolationist period, but if an easterner does travel abroad they can be easily distinguished by their straight jet-black hair and pale to tan skin.

Easterner Male Names Bataar, Duri, Enkh, Eun, Haru, Ji-Hun, Putera, Toshinzane, Toshituki, Toshiro Easterner Female Names Davaa, Hijoushi, Iyo, Izutsumi, Jae, Matsu, Naka, Oyuun, Yong, Rinsha Easterner Surnames Aoki, Bai, Cho, Hashimoto, Jin, Kubo, Moon, Mori, Nakamoto, Okazaki, Ren, Shen, Wattana, Xu, Fara

Northerners 1,4,6

The top half of the northern continent is a bleak and desolate tundra, and the bottom half is nearly as hard and rugged of a land. The bitter winters and rocky soil of this land held little interest for the long lived races, so tall-men rule the entire continent. However, unlike the eastern archipelago, there are sizable minorities of all the human races. Many are only there temporarily, dwarven smiths selling quality metalwork, gnomish missionaries seeking to commune with spirits of the deep woods, half-foots seeking money to send back home, but there are plenty who stay as well. Dwarves have had a particularly strong influence on northerner culture, with most of the cities dotting the southern coast hosting a dwarven quarter of significant size. Northerners are well known as seafarers, often showing up in unexpected places where they settled after initially coming to trade or pillage, but most are farmers or shepherds. Tubers, wheat, dairy, and mutton make up much of the diet, with pork and seafood being more popular along the southern coast. Northerners typically have fair hair, and pale skin which tends to burn in sunnier climates.

Northerner Male Names Alban, Bjoern, Brik, Dominik, Emil, Gero, Liaos, Mattis, Rodolf, Doni Northerner Female Names Celine, Corina, Doris, Franzi, Hedwig, Ida, Livia, Marcille, Wiltrud, Falin Northerner Surnames Acconcio, Becker, Bergmann, Caro, Dioli, Donato, Egger, Forstner, Fusco, Motta, Nardi, Touden, Wirt

Southerners 1,3,5

The southern continent is defined by the rift which splits the landmass, and its tall-man population, in two. On the western landmass the tall-man population has been displaced up into the highlands, and has closest ties with the half-foots that live among the foothills and deltas. In contrast the tall-men of the eastern landmass control a long stretch of coastline, along with they have long traded and intermarried with tall-men from the eastern archipelago. This separation has led to clear differences between the two groups, those on the eastern landmass have straighter hair and live off fish, sweet potato and pork, in contrast to the tall-men of the western highlands that tend shorter from their half-foot ancestry and rely on cattle and grain. Yet both groups of southerners have a great deal in common as well, not just their dark eyes and brown skin, but also many of the same struggles. If you asked most people around the world to picture someone from the southern continent, they would likely imagine a dwarf or a gnome. Which makes sense as all the best territory of the continent is ruled by them. Dwarven mines snake below the surface, extracting copper and precious gems, and gnomish orchards and plantations produce fruit and spices that grace the plates of the wealthy and powerful across the world. While they make up a smaller portion of the population than the short lived races their magic and technology have ensured their dominance.

Southerner Male Names Aadan, Agung, Berhanu, Cali, Harta, Joko, Nuur, Omondi, Tafari, Tamrat Southerner Female Names Abeba, Awiti, Bulan, Citra, Dwi, Hawo, Hiwot, Indra, Lishan, Saynab Southerner Surnames Ag, Botha, Faie, Gajah, Gulo, Idowu, Isk, Kamau, Khoe, Maina, Mawar, Mwangi, Nangka, Okeke, Sari

Westerners 2,5,8

The western continent is massive, and the vast majority of its lands are ruled by tall-men, but its not the great center of tall-men culture one might expect. Firstly there is a reason that the long lived races have mostly ignored the continent. The interior is largely desert and monster infested badlands, and mountains make travel difficult and mudslides and avalanches common. Most places only have enough water and arable land for a scattering of small villages, or a few feuding kobold clans. Secondly most of it is not as independent as it would first appear. The continent is heavily influenced by elven culture and several kingdoms are direct tributaries of the elves; especially in the northeast. As a result the western continent only hosts slightly more tall-men then the eastern archipelago, and has roughly as much influence on the rest of the world. Living in such a rugged environment required westerners to learn a wide variety of survival skills, leading to their reputation as exceptional overland navigators, hardy soldiers and clever irrigation engineers. Aside from a preference for drought resistant crops and livestock, there are as few commonalities in the local cuisine as the local population. Westerners have the largest variance in height and skin-tone of any tall-men group, ranging from light tan in the snowy north to deep brown along the southern coast, though all of them tend to have dark wavy hair.

Westerner Male Names Anjan, Ashok, Bal, Hari, Indra, Inuk, Kabru, Malik, Notah, Raj Westerner Female Names Ajei, Asiri, Chandra, Dezba, Kiran, Lina, Maya, Puja, Sayen, Usha Westerner Surnames Adakai, Chey, Das, Devi, Gupta, Iyer, Joshi, Khan, Klah, Kumar, Mishra, Nez, Sharma, Shonto, Singh

Other Tall-Men Cultures

While the above cultures are the largest groups among tall-men, there are a wide range of other cultures throughout the world. Some of the more distinct are noted below.

Central Tall-men- 3,7,8 The tall-men native to the Central Continents. While a large group in terms of population they have always been politically subservient to the elven nations, and thus relatively irrelevant on the world stage. They tend to have light skin and brown or red hair.

Mountain People- 2,4,6 While they also hail from the Northern Continent, the mountain people have long fought with the northerners and current relations are so hostile northerners normally kill them on sight. They look relatively similar to northerners, but are distinguished by their language which is unintelligible to them.

Wanderers- 1,2,6 Originally hailing from the eastern half of the southern continent, the wanderers fled long ago from an ancient war and now live in nomadic groups across several continents. They normally make a living as merchants or entertainers, but the prosperity of their clans varies widely, dependent on the goodwill of the lands they travel through.

*Below are the His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the headcanon feel free to stop*

Tall-Men kin

While tall-men have immense cultural variation, they are very similar in most ways that matter. Regardless of culture, tall-men characters begin the game with the following talent:

Kin Talent: Exceptional Reach

The long limbs of tall-men allow them strike and weave through the battlefield, dancing out of the reach of their foes. After you make a melee attack you can choose to immediately become disengaged. Additional you have favor on any test of fate to reach or grab an object.

Tall-man Arete

Tall-men cultures vary wildly on what is considered a great accomplishment, when you make your character choose three of the following feats. Typical feats for each culture are indicated the three orange numbers by their name. You gain arete by preforming the three feats previously selected. • Getting married • Fulfilling a sacred oath • Buying or being granted land • Defeating a foe far larger then you in single combat • Gaining a title of nobility • Having a song composed in your honor • Creating something that will outlive you • Winning the respect of an important person from a long lived race

Arete Talent: Tireless

Tall-men’s exceptional endurance allows them to push though struggles others cannot bear. You can wound this talent to recover from being Exhausted, if the effect is permanent it will return after a Watch.

Tall-man role-playing concepts

• While some rural villages still fear magic, most most tall-men rulers in larger settlements have seen the utility of magic and trying use it to their advantage. • Tall-men typically use gnomish magic, as their less precise methods allow tall-men mages to get results relatively quickly. • Any sort of group bond, like that present for half-foots or even orcs, is wholly absent for tall-men. Tall-men readily make war on each other at the slightest provocation, even if they are closely related groups. • Tall-men usually find tall people with long legs attractive, most others find this rather weird.

[scottoro-ramblings]

Continuing with my series of Tarot Card illustrations, I did for my His Majesty the Worm setting conversion to the Dungeon Meshi world. Here featuring three orc women toasting to a victory while a warg naps in the foreground.

As with my Kobold card, I'm attaching to this post all of the lore I attached to the race for the setting conversion, and the majority of that lore is just my wild speculation because the actual information is pretty sparse. If you have any suggestions, or things I missed from canon, let me know!

Orcs

Both the hunted and the hunters, orcs are well used to fighting for survival. Pushed to the brink they will do whatever it takes to make sure they don't end up prey.

Squat and wide, with tusks and pig-like snouts, but built of muscle not fat, orcs are demi-humans with a reputation as fierce and ruthless fighters. So fierce and ruthless in-fact, that most other kith consider them little more than monsters. Adventures are regularly paid bounties to kill orc tribes that settle in dungeons, and in most places killing a lone orc is seen as a sensible precaution in case they are a scout for a raiding party.

This hostility justifies further violence from the orcs. As anyone who discovers their camps or traveling bands could doom the entire tribe, witnesses are quickly silenced and fed to the wargs. Without the option to barter, anything that orcs cannot get from the environment must be stolen. After generations of raiding most orcs are proud of their martial strength and cunning, but if one were unwise enough to question the morality of their actions, they would be swiftly reminded orcs don't have other options.

Disputed Origins

Orcs don't know where they originate and generally do not care. Such questions do not factor into their daily survival, and orcs tend away from superstition and speculation. They certainly once had a much larger distribution than the few scattered pockets they live in now, but how and why that is the case is a topic of much debate.

Dwarven historians claim that elves made orcs as weapons of war, fusing boars and humans with black magic to create super soldiers to use against their foes. This would handily explain why there are no old orcish ruins, or traces of them in ancient records, as well as making orcs entirely elves’ responsibility. Elvish scholars claim that orcs are native to the eastern continent and were transported across the sea to cause chaos in the lands of their enemies. Any discrepancy in dwarven records is easily explained by later censorship to hide fault.

Other human races generally believe the explanation of whatever long lived race they are closest to, but are primarily concerned with keeping orcs from razing their villages. The blame for their actions is far less important than getting them out.

Regimented Society

While orc tribes tend to be small, to keep travel quick and quiet, they have a strict chain of command. As orcs are also polygamous these ranks can be easily distinguished by their number of mates. A ruling chief could have four or more wives, his top enforcers two, all the way down to unmarried low ranked orcs. Sometimes the rank of male orcs can also be distinguished by their number of horns, though in most tribes they are purely aesthetic. These horns are not natural but instead are lumps of sterilized bone sewn under the forehead.

A higher ranked orc can order any lower ranked orc around, and those orders must be obeyed unless the orc is trying to challenge their position. Orcs primarily gain ranks by aiding the groups survival, such as by exceptional feats in battle or finding a secure home. Orcs can lose ranks if they work against the tribe, such as by causing infighting or harming a tribe member without justification. Children, and those rare guests that won the trust of an orc tribe, are outside the hierarchy. They are treated with kindness by all, but have no authority over others or say in decisions.

While orc society is both hierarchical and suspicious of outsiders, it can be surprisingly accepting as well. Any guest that proves valuable to the tribe will be fully inducted into the tribe and given a rank that suits their contributions, regardless of their kith. Ogres, seeking a society where their strength would be admired not feared, are the most common but stories abound of tall-man or even dwarf bandits and exiles who have found a new home amongst an orc tribe.

Orc Names

Orc names vary significantly between genders, though both tend to be rather short. Male names have harsher consonant sounds, while female names are smoother and frequently have double vowel sounds. While descent is important in orc tribes, generational glory wanes quickly, so in place of surnames orcs just take the name of their higher ranked parent.

Orc male names

Bahay, Bahr, Gark, Gohark, Gurn, Kahkark, Kon, Kor, Lazay, Loz, Lunyr, Nor, Nyr, Rark, Rohay, Rok, Rozyr, Zarn, Zlor, Zon

Orc female names

Bayd, Boahee, Boorlay, Gaarn, Geer, Goolay, Kayl, Keer, Koahay, Laarn, Leed, Loor, Nayd, Nayr, Noor, Xeen, Xoor, Zayd, Zleer, Zlolay

Orc Kin

While orcs are widely dispersed across the world, the pressures of survival have keep their cultures relatively similar. Orcs generally recognize each other as kin, and avoid conflict between tribes unless necessary for survival.

*Below are the His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the headcanon feel free to stop*

Kin Talent: Ultimate Survivalist

While orcs rarely get the chance for any sort of formal education, living off the land gives them a wide set of practical knowledge. You can bid lore to determine the edibility of anything, or to check the safety of a particular location. The safety check is a matter of gut instinct so the GM does not need to describe the nature of the environmental hazards should they be hidden, merely if any of significance are present.

Arete

Orcs gain arete by preforming the following deeds:

Getting married

Creating a fully stocked and secured safe-house

Gaining the right to publicly dwell in a human settlement

When an orc accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain the following talent:

Orc arete talent: Pigheaded

Orcs can be tremendous stubborn when set on the path they have determined to be best. Whenever you fail a test of fate you can spend a resolve to draw again in place of your original result. This cannot save you from a great failure caused by pushing fate and getting the fool.

Orc role-playing concepts

Orcs often travel with massive canines called wargs, which are normally not fully domesticated. The wargs clean up bodies for the orcs and alert them to danger, and orcs make sure the warg pack eats and heal wounded pack members.

Orc tribes often find refugee in dungeons, which seem to be less hostile to them than most adventurers for unknown reason.

Items of luxury and wealth have little use to orc tribes who have no-one to trade with. It isn't uncommon for orcs to rob a merchant and steal crates of potatoes while leaving gold scattered across the floor.

Orcs have divergent beauty standards to most races, considering wide snouts, small shapely ears, and a solid build with plenty of muscle and fat to be the height of attractiveness. As a result they consider elves very ugly.

[scottoro-ramblings]

Yes!! I'm answering on a separate post cause submissions act weird on tumblr but @room-surprise​ actually brought that to my attention recently.

Namari and Daya are from two different places that aren’t even that close to each other, like you said they're on opposite shores of the continent

So in the original Daya's profile says "ナマリと同族の、ドワーフの女性" which google translates as “A dwarf woman of the same race as Namari.“ from what I could gather the keyword here is “同族“ which was really hard for me to figure out the meaning (google translates as “Cognate“) but what shows up is “Same Family / Race / Tribe / Type” so there is a meaning of same tribe in there but the word used for dwarf clans is 氏族 in Namari’s extra and the word for tribe is 一族 in Daya's

I think 一族 as it was used in Daya's probably translates better as family (blood related?) than tribe, but again: I am basically a newbie in japanese I don't know

Anyway Yen Press translates both 同族 and 一族 as tribe so it makes it seem like Namari is from the same tribe they talk about at the start of Daya's extra?? which is isn't at all.

They both share the kanji 族 which this site tells me means this

On reading compounds 族 【ゾク】 tribe, clan, band, family, (taxonomical) tribe, group (of the periodic table)

So by context and usage I think what that phrase is saying is basically "Daya is a dwarf woman the same as Namari" or "of the same kind (race) as Namari" or "of the same group (dwarves) as Namari"

And that's how EHScans translated it

This is all over the place as usual and if you're good at japanese please help (maybe I'm wrong) but hopefully you see that you can't fully trust yen press

[scottoro-ramblings]

I've been working on a series of tarot card illustrations for the various fantasy races in Dungeon Meshi (I'll post all of eventually) which accompanies mechanics I made to play them in the fantastic indie TTRPG His Majesty the Worm. Each of the Kiths (basically races) in that game come with a few pages of lore about thier culture, so I've also basically interpolated the official lore into a something that works like that for each race, which I'm attaching to each image in this series

In cases like the kobolds where the official lore is pretty light a lot of it is wild speculation. I'm curious what people think, so if you read the section below and have any suggestions or notice any lore inconsistencies let me know!

Kobolds

Pushed to the margins and left to fight for scraps, most kobolds live harsh lives in the Western Continents wastelands. But better to live free than die a slave.

Across the Northern and Eastern Continents there are rumors of a kingdom of talking dogs, and in major ports of these far off places you might even see one of these dog men, tied up in a slaver’s cart or bound in service to a noble with a flair for the exotic. In their homelands of the western continent kobolds are far more common, but still massively outnumbered by tall-men.

Never holding an empire of their own, kobold history, as told in howling sagas under the harsh desert sky, is one of desperate defense and bitter resistance against encroaching human nations. While their chances would be better if they could stand united against their neighbors, kobold society is built around familial clans to which fierce loyalty is the norm, making any greater organization difficult. Especially given that many clans have gotten used to enriching themselves by selling captives from rival clans to slavers.

Origins of Kobolds

Most kobold clans worship some form of the Moonmother, a goddess of light who was said to have given souls to the loyal wolves who guarded her as she shepherded the stars across the sky. With these souls kobolds learned to sing and teach, and could stand equal to the other races.

Naturally this explanation is given little credence among human scholars. Instead they compare the demi-human kobolds to the demi-human monsters that roam dungeons, like fishmen and mermaids, supposing that they were also made by magic in the ancient past and merely escaped into wider world. This conveniently means they’d have no true homeland, further justifying removing them from any contested areas.

Desirable Captives

While the near constant border skirmishes ensured that kobolds were always featured in slave markets, the last several decades have seen increased demand. A well disciplined kobold can be cute and exotic addition to a nobles retinue, with their variety in coat color allowing one to selected for particular styles to to match a beloved family dog. Kobold’s difficulty speaking the Common Tongue is widely considered a benefit as it makes it more difficult for them to conspire with other slaves. Even kobolds who are too old or strong-willed to obey are desired as gladiators, as they always put on an impressive show, fighting tooth and nail once their weapons fail them.

Places which have long have long kept kobold slaves have even started breeding them to suit certain tasks, or meet particular fashions. Despite the health problems these breeding programs can cause, these “domesticated” kobold lineages are highly desirable in the markets. After all a decade less of service is a small price to pay for style and obedience.

Kobold Names

Kobold names tend to relatively short, with sounds that are easy for them to pronounce. Because most humans do not understand Kobold, kobolds in their societies are normally given names which are easier for them to remember and pronounce. While kobolds have names for their clans, they do not introduce themselves with clan names like tall-men do with surnames, showing clan affiliation primarily with clothing style and fragrances.

Personal Names

Adara, Anat, Gefen, Jawdat, Karam, Liron, Lishan, Moran, Ohpir, Ravid, Rotem, Safa, Shamira, Shams, Shav, Simcha,Tamar, Yodan

Assigned Names

Bandit, Bard, Bear, Brute, Chips, Daisy, Hunter, Jaws, Kuro, Leo, Luna, Maron, Maru, Pochi, Quiet, Shadow, Snow, Spot, Velvet

Clan Names

Aidi, Barak, Borz, Colli, Cuvac, Dachs, Dain, Hygen, Laika, Lobito, Malakli, Pila, Saluki, Shai, Shar, Shiba, Tang, Tazi, Tosa, Vizsla

Kobold Kin

Kobolds have largely similar strengths and struggles across their entire population, but do vary significantly in both build and coat. There is incredible variation among them, but they fall into one of the following five categories.

Brushwood

The northernmost group of kobolds on the continent, the Brushwood kobolds inhabit a dry forest where they live as semi-nomadic hunters. Brushwood kobolds have the largest variation in size, and a sizable dewlap which resembles a ruff around their neck. Some clans who live higher up into the mountains have thicker coats to protect them during frigid nights.

Frostridge

Despite living at a subtropical latitude frostridge kobolds dwell in high altitude mountains where heavy snowfall is common. They have sharp wolf-like features and thick coats that offer good insulation during storms. After a difficult past, this group of kobolds has a better relationship with their neighbors than most, and they often ferry messages and supplies from the central coast to inland settlements over the snowy mountains.

Sandsea

The largest group in terms of area controlled, though not population, the sandsea kobolds live in the vast interior desert. Tall for kobolds but whip thin, sandsea kobolds can race across dunes and drylands at impressive speed even without horses.

While historically composed of feuding nomadic clans, 30 years ago they were united by Sultana Shamira of clan Tazi. So far the kingdom of Ardtazi has been stable, thanks to royal warriors keeping a strong boot on clan politics, if not particularly tolerant. The kingdom has recently sent messengers to clans across the western continent offering protection and unity in exchange for tribute, an offer which is being seriously considered.

Midgemire

The southernmost kobold kin, and the only one to hold a coastal territory, midgemire kobolds live as fishermen, lagoon farmers and hunters in a vast swampland. The region is host to swarms of biting flies, but kobolds are able to weather them due to their innate disease resistance. Midgemire kobolds tend to be small, with thin coats, or for a few isolated clans no fur at all.

Due to plentiful fishing and the protection afforded by the insect swarms, this swamp is host to the only proper kobold city. Razrani is a deary place, built on wooden pylons driven into the mud and said to be host to every illness known to human-kind. But it’s also the only place to resupply along the midgemire coast, so business is good. The sailors rarely stay, but that’s how the locals like it.

Domesticated

Kobolds which are the product of generations of slave breeding vary dramatically in build and coat, but free kobolds say they all have an unsettling doughy look around their eyes. What portion of that is genetic and what portion is just the obedience conditioning is anyone’s guess.

Most of these domesticated kobolds pride themselves on their service, and look down on free kobolds. Free kobolds view them as tragic deranged beings, to the point that they kill any encountered during their border conflicts, viewing that as a mercy compared to continued servitude. “Feral” domesticated kobolds, who escaped on their own volition, are given more respect, but still generally considered mind-sick and treated more like pups within kobold society.

*Below are the His Majesty the Worm Game Mechanics, so if you are just here for the headcanon feel free to stop*

Kin Talent: Dogged Resistance

Adapted to deal with the multitude of poisonous beasts and venomous serpents that call the western badlands home, Kobolds are functionally immune to most natural poisons.

You cannot be poisoned or suffer additional wounds from venomous attacks. Additionally you get one free charge whenever you take the rest and recover camp action to cure a non-magical affliction.

Arete

Kobolds gain arete by performing the following deeds:

Freeing a captive

Defeating an extremely dangerous foe with teamwork

Having a song composed in your honor

When a kobold accomplishes all three arete triggers, they gain the following talent:

Kobold arete talent: Packbond

Kobolds fight best and fiercest when they have trustworthy allies by their side. In a challenge you can spend a swords challenge card as a minor action to have a guild mate attack, and they can spend their swords challenge cards to have you attack, provided your bond with each other is charged. When you do so you can burn the bond to give your guild-mate’s attack favor.

Kobold role-playing concepts

Kobolds inhabit a world which they know views them as lesser. Some kobolds internalize this.

Many humans think kobolds are cute because of their dog-like features.

Kobolds struggle to speak most human languages, and tend to speak in broken phases even if they can understand it well. This causes many to underestimate their intellect.

The kingdom of Ardtazi offers a chance for kobolds to stand on equal footing to humans, provided they submit to Shamira’s rule. If this kingdom will survive beyond it’s now elderly founder, or if her tyranny is preferable to that of non-kobolds, is a matter of debate.

Most kobolds do not choose to leave their homelands and clans, and fewer still would choose to join outsiders on their quests

Did you choose this life?

What do you think of the clan you left behind?

[scottoro-ramblings]

Hi Cyan, just wanted to check if you knew if we ever got the name of any dwarf who wasn't an outcast? I was thinking it was odd that dwarves didn't have inherinherited surnames when the importantace of thier blood relatives was highlighted, but mabye you just lose the right to use your clan name when you are exiled.

Hello!

Officially dwarves are named after the place they're from, even the exiled ones seem to maintain that naming

The dwarf miners for example worked in Izganda before they left and the ones who were from there maintained that surname (Gillin, Senshi, Brigan and Invar)

This is my interpretation but I believe their sense of community has to with their local bonds and not just their blood ties? They say they respect local authority more than a king so I think that puts importance in proximity, after all is the location that unifies different families? Gillin and Senshi have no blood ties but both of them have the surname "of Izganda" for example so I'd say it's pretty important too.

From Daya we learn that blood ties are indeed important tho, especially when it comes to inheritance? ("leave an heir for the tribe") And her relative (the shadow governor) who also left their village helped her out once she arrived at the island even tho she was a distant relative.

My theory is that if they aren't nobles the local ties are about as important and that's why they use their homelands as a surname

Anyway I don't think we meet any dwarves that aren't outcasts, but I also think that makes sense, the type of dwarf who would end up adventuring in a party with other races is probably one that has problems with their own community? Same with the elves

I don't remember any dwarven clan being given a specific name.