A new take on dwarves

[axlerowes]

In my D&D setting of finally called Parna (though I never named the world and Parna was just a single nation in the world).  Dwarves were different than men because they were created differently. The God the created dwarves gave them and entirely different purpose than the God that created humanity.  This effected their spiritual and metaphysical nature. Dwarven soul's didn't go to the after life, dwarves were re-incarnated  .  Dwarves did not have access to the miracles of the human gods.  But at the end of the day, as my players used dwarves and we had several great ones, they were still very human-Gorn and Ham. 
The emotional and mental functions and style never differed from that of the humans (aside from dwarven vertigo when ever they were not touching solid ground). So now that the Parna campaigns are finished and it exists only as an intellectual exercise I would like to restructure dwarves to make them even less human.   Culture would stay the same but their physical self would be very different.  Perhaps instead of being made of flesh and blood dwarves could be made of blood and stone.  Please review this sci-fi story and note the biological nature of the main character.

http://escapepod.org/2008/02/08/ep144-friction/

They wouldn't be exactly like these beings, but their age and time of death would be dictated directly by activity.
 

[Mourngrymn]

Dwarves can be really whatever you describe them as. In my setting and world I have no elves or dwarves. What I do have is a race called the Gison which resemble dwarves in similarities but are made of a stone like flesh. Depending on their culture and family line they tend to look like different forms of stone, granite, basalt, etc. Making a dwarf blood and stone is a unique alteration of a typical dnd or other fantasy setting that most gamers are used to. I say, sure make them different, they are your children and you are their God.

[axlerowes]

But once I join the dwarf guild I will be part of the dwarf collective!  The term dwarf won't be able to be tossed around to describe short people, stars that are still really big or mutant hamsters....the term Dwarf™ will become a brand.  Something we, the collective must up hold. Will my stone skin dwarves be accepted as Cannon by the Dwarf™ community, or it will go the way of Highlander 2. 

[Strolen]

Axle makes a good point difficult to argue against I must say.

That is a podcast story I saw. Unless there is a link I missed (gives it to usss my preciousssss) And I (sorry) don't have much patience for those.

I think the freakiest thing about aliens, in my mind, is their aloof and almost mindless ways when it comes to humans and others. Elfs can be aloof but they still interact. I mean to the point where humans are mostly ignored. No fear, no acknowledgement, just total and complete obliviousness to them and not caring. They would be incredibly alien if they didn't care about gold or other precious metals. Of course they need them for "trade" with the other races perhaps, but the value they have it is nothing compared with how others view it. Perhaps because they actually have so much and is easy for them to get ahold of.

So maybe the truest, most pure dwarves act like your typical grey aliens. Those dwarves that the folks interact with are a lower form that were made for the interaction and are considered a lesser species as well...but one they higher dwarves actually have discourse with....through mind bullets!

[axlerowes]

And if they are really foreign then you can forget about half breeds,

no Dwelfs, Hurfs, Dwobbits, or Dorks?  And you can't possibly have fantasy roleplaying dwarf guild without Dorks.  I guess with the mystical aspects of it all you could still have Dwagons, but over all maybe we can't make them too unhuman.