New Feat: Earthroot
Dwarf runeforgers study and master martial techniques related to the forms of the runes. One of the most well known, even famous, runeforger techniques used in battle is Earthroot.
Dwarves who learn and master the Earthroot form gain the ability to focus their will and resolve into fixing themselves in place to make them immovable. Dwarf players can select this as a Feat to enhance their combat abilities.
The Shieldwall Stand at Umble Pass
Dwarven legends speak of the great battle at Umble Pass where a small number of their people held off a dozen trolls for hours. The dwarves of the Ironknuckle clan had been chased from their hold, one they never named as losing it was dishonorable and they would not give that dishonor to their home. They were overrun by an army of goblins and trolls, overwhelmed by a difference in number even the greatest of warriors would have been hard-pressed to overcome.
Among the Ironknuckle clan was a unit of sacred warriors who trained using the runes as inspiration. One of the battlerune forms they trained in was Earthroot, a rune of the earthmother Eosta. Earthroot gave them the ability to attune with the land, the ground beneath them, and through the connection make themselves immovable.
As the clan fled, they noticed that the goblins stayed behind, but the trolls moved on. They followed the trolls to see where they were headed and tracked them moving on towards their neighbor hold of Thunderden, home to the Stormbellow clan. The clan Ironknuckle dwarves knew the path to Thunderden hold went through Umble Pass, a pinch point where the trolls could be delayed. The moved double time to outflank the trolls and beat them to the pass, sending one of their beards on to Thunderden hold to warn them.
A few dozen clan Ironknuckle dwarves made a shieldwall at the pass, setting themselves with their Earthroot formation, raising their shields and brandishing their spears. When the trolls finally made it to the pass, they found it blocked by the shieldwall. Unimpressed by the puny dwarves before them, they arrogantly charged into what they thought would be a quick fight. But they met an immovable wall of shields. The dwarves could not be pushed back, their shields protected them, and they would take their stabs with their spears when they could. The battle went on for hours. The clan Ironknuckle dwarves were finally vanquished, but only after taking out more than half the trolls. As the trolls moved through Umble Pass, they were met by the entire army of the dwarves of Thunderden hold who dispatched the trolls.
In honor of the clan Ironknuckle dwarves’ heroic stance, Thunderden hold erected a memorial wall, carved with shields in the stone: a wall of stone to honor the wall of flesh and blood that saved their hold.
Shieldwall Memorial to the Ironknuckle Clan at Umble Pass
