DWARVES

Moradin "The Soul Forger"

Greater god

ARMOR CLASS: -9
MOVE: 12"
HIT POINTS: 400
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-40 (+17)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Forged weapons cannot harm him
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 60%
SIZE: L (20')
ALIGNMENT: Lawful good
WORSHIPPER'S ALIGNMENT: Lawful good (dwarves)
SYMBOL: Hammer and anvil
PLANE: Seven Heavens
CLERIC/DRUID: 15th level cleric/14th level druid (777, 542) / (666, 654, 3)
FIGHTER: 20th level fighter (double specialization: war hammer) <>
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Archmage (MU19: 555, 553, 331)
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: VI
 

S: 25	I: 23	W: 20
D: 21	C: 25	CH: 19 (25 to dwarves)
Com:	-	-

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Moradin is the head of a fairly large pantheon of dwarven deities (The
exact members of this pantheon vary from clan to clan.) It is said that
Moradin created the race of dwarves from iron && mithral, forging them
in the fires at the center of the world. The dwarves' souls entered their
bodies when Moradin blew on his creations to cool them.

Moradin's symbol && weapon is a huge glowing hammer.
It is a +5 weapon and strikes for 4-40 points of damage.
It cannot be used by any save the god himself, as it disappears from others hands and returns to its owner.

He wears magical shield && armor of his own making, which gives him AC -9.
This equipment cannot be removed from his body by any save Moradin.

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Other dwarven gods include Clangeddin (god of battle),
Dumathoin (god of secrets under mountains),
and Abbathor (evil god of greed).

                                                              Clerics             Raiment                                                             Sacrifice/Propitiation

Sphere of Control	Animal	M	F	N-H	Head	Body	Color(s)	Holy Days	Frequency	Form	Place of Worship
dwarves	n/a	-	-	X	silvered helm	chain mail	earthy	crescent moon	monthly	melted metals	forges & hearths

The center of a shrine to Moradin is always a great ever-burning hearth && forge.
Sacrifices, be they of common or precious metal, are melted down at the forge and re-formed into shapes usable by the clergy of Moradin.
NPC dwarven clerics can rise as high as the 7th level, though this usu. takes hundreds of years.
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Nonhumans' Deities

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DDG

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Question: Why is the dwarven deity Moradin non-psionic while dwarves
can be?

Answer: Again, Roger Moore tackled this problem in his article by
suggesting that Moradin simply doesn’t let on that he has psio-
nic powers, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself. Without
assuming so much about what kind of a guy Moradin is, the
question can also be approached in this fashion:
    Dwarves and halflings are the only characters besides hu-
mans who can possess psionic ability, and only dwarves and
halflings of an “unusual” nature are eligible. “Unusual,” in this
case, can be taken to include those dwarves and halflings who
have a small amount of humAN blooD (due to some racial inter-
mixing at some time in the distant past), which affords them the
opportunity to have human-like psionic ability. (Why aren’t
psionics also possible for “unusual” gnomes, elves, half-elves,
and half-orcs on the same basis? Because some factor which
exists only in the biological makeups of dwarves and halflings
makes the “passing on” of psionic potential possible.) Of
course, any dwarf or halfling who is “unusual” in the genetic
sense would also have to meet the standard qualifications for
having psionics — intelligence, wisdom or charisma of 16 or
higher, and so forth.
    So, to answer the question, based on those assumptions:
Moradin isn’t psionic, just like the vast majority of dwarves are
non-psionic, because the god and most of the mortals who
worship him are full-blooded dwarves with no human blood in
their background.

Question: Concerning Moradin: “Worshiper’s Align” for him is listed as
“LG (dwarves).” Does this mean that only LG
dwarves may worship him, or that all dwarves and any other
LG character may worship him?

Answer: Well, it can mean both of those things (not at the same time),
and a few others besides. It depends on the circumstances of
the campaign. If Moradin is the only dwarven god in the DM’s
pantheon, then dwarves don’t have much choice if they want
(or feel a need) to worship a dwarven deity. Non-lawful, non-
good dwarves, such as PC thieves and assassins,
might have difficulty adhering to Moradin’s standards. Howev-
er, if Moradin is the only dwarven god, and he knows he’s the
only dwarven god, and if those dwarven thieves and assassins
don’t have another acceptable deity to turn to, then Moradin
might not look upon those dwarves with absolute disapproval,
and could be expected to understand their plight. He is LG, after all,
even if some dwarves might not be.
    In a campaign with a more fully developed dwarven pantheon
(possibly including those gods mentioned in the DDG, and others;
see the article on the following pages), where dwarves of non-lawful, non-good
alignments can worship a more “agreeable” deity, then it is
unlikely that Moradin would want to attract, or have to put up
with, any dwarves who aren’t LG.
    General guidelines for how to run the deities of a campaign
are virtually impossible to set forth because of the vast #number#
of variables involved.
    ** But it is probably safe to say that there are no foreseeable circumstances
where a non-dwarf (even a LG non-dwarf) would worship Moradin.
    Likewise, the “right” to worship a certain non-human deity is generally limit-
ed to members of that particular race (with exceptions and
additions as noted in the DDG book). But the prohibition can’t
always work the other way: Dwarves, for instance, can certainly
worship human or other non-dwarven deities, if that deity’s
outlook, alignment, etc., are in accordance with the character’s.
So, while not all dwarves must necessarily worship dwarven
gods, all the worshipers of any dwarven god will be dwarves
themselves.