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The Beginning

The Tempering began far from Sanctuary in the Deep Realms beneath the Great Rift. An ancient faith that long held that the the All-Gods of the Tempering is the one TRUE faith of the dwarven gods. However due to their remote location far from the center of politics in the Great Rift their influence and power within the society at large was fairly minimal. More than content to occupy themselves in brutal raids on foes of the Great Rift in the depths near and far.

That quickly changed after the Darkening and the rise of the Dread Empire. The faith of the Tempering and the All-Gods began to spread like wildfire through the society of the Great RIft as cracks began to show in the Morndinsamman faithful. Political strife and turmoil began to grip the Great Rift as tensions between the two interpretations of the dwarven gods began to clash. Hungry to please their gods and growing bored of the political quagmire while war raged outside their stronghold; the Tempering left on a holy crusade to strike at the heart of the foes of all dwarf kind, to spread the doctrine of the Tempering and to herald the Unmaking - an apocalyptic catastrophe of elemental fury prophesied to be nearing.

Arrival in Sanctuary

The Tempering arrived in Sanctuary with a quiet but purposeful beginning. Slowly their numbers have grown. While initially raiding the Lower Dark on a regular basis their raids have grown fewer and their focus shifting more to the faith and threats closer to Sanctuary. Their faithful have spread themselves throughout the various organizations of Sanctuary and beyond to pursue the goals of the Tempering in their own ways; yet always returning to come together in times of raids, moots and joined purpose of faith when any of the Tempering is threatened.

OOC Summation

The Tempering is an "old" faith of the Great Rift that holds the gods  as eternal entities without mortal names that value strength,  adversity, war, raiding and sacrifice above all else. A strong emphasis on the elements (stone, flame, ice and  thunder) is woven into the culture of the Tempering - in one form or another. One of the core beliefs that the world goes through an eternal cycle of making an  unmaking through apocalyptic events of elemental fury and only by serving the  All-Gods faithfully can they be made worthy and spared the wrath of these  events. This is where the Tempering receives it's namesake from; to temper themselves in pursuit of being made from fragile flesh to something worthy of being protected from the Unmaking. That is to say: no dwarf was crafted being worthy of rememberance and salvation from the Unmaking, they must earn that right in the flames of the Tempering.

However it should be noted that the Tempering is less a "clan" and more a  clergy of faithful. The members have very distinct and individual goals  and aims, often joining factions, groups and agendas that are even at  complete odds against one another. Everything from criminals, stewards,  watchers and more have called the Tempering their home. This lends the  faction to feeling more like a zealous family of religious dwarves than  that of a faction with a singular and united purpose. Whatever  differences they hold, in the end they are linked through their faith  and devotion to the All-Gods.

Quote
Morndinsamman to All-Gods Primer

[INDENT]IC book detailing the All-Gods (//%22http://www.efupw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92454%22)
Dumathoin : The Worldstone
Moradin : The Creator
Berronar Truesilver : The Lawbringer
Clangeddin Silverbeard : The Destroyer
Laduguer : The Exile
Sharindlar : The Herald
Gorm Gulthyn : The Mortal Wound
Haela Brightaxe : The Valkyrja
Marthammor Duin: The Witness
Abbathor : The Trove Lord
Dugmaren Brightmantle : The Sage
Vergadain : The Merchant Lord
[/INDENT]

OOC Information:

• Alignment: Any*
  • Lawful preferred but not strictly necessary
• Race: Gold Dwarf strongly preferred
  • Shield Dwarf and other non-dwarf converts are possible but would have to convert to the faith IG rather than begin as faithful
• Class: Any*
  • Paladin may be harder with some internal conflicts
• Special: Reject the Morndinsamman ways and accept the All-Gods and the Tempering as the one true faith of the dwarven gods.
  
• Help: Join #dwarves if you're interested in making a Tempering concept, there's usually at least a couple people around to answer questions and help concept.

Sample Concepts

• Merchant of the Trove Lord or Merchant Lord: A rogue merchant working towards the Merchant Lord perk, worshiping the trove lord and attempting to worm his way into the politics of Sanctuary to bring about an iron grip on the economical and societal powers of Sanctuary for the Tempering. Perhaps trying to take over the banking system or open a competing bank opened outside Sanctuary. Investing in potential projects with the potential for positive return in theme of the "Iron Bank".
  
• Barbarian or Ranger of the Destroyer: A barbarian or ranger who wields a double axe and stylizes them self as a warrior of the tempest. A whirling dervish of utter chaos and destruction on the battlefield, rending foes flesh with the ease of butter. Hint: The Ranger favored enemy of elemental would work great for this!
  
• Druid of Elemental Fury: Either specializing in one of the four elements of the Destroyer or taking all of the elements under his care. A druid who works with the wrath of the elements and seeking to keep them in perfect balance to ensure the Making and Unmaking of the world continues on for eternity without interruption by the ignorant and meddling hands of mortals.
  
• Priest of the All-Gods: A priest of any of the All-Gods faith who wishes to strongly oppose the Morndinsamman and decry their faith as heresy would be amazing, there are only a few Morndinsamman faithful around but with some strong and vocal priests some people might take the hint and make some to oppose us!
  
• Delver, Seeker of the Worldstone: An expert miner (rogue trap/specialist type), delver and searcher of the secrets of the stone. Believing that his one purpose in life is to find the Worldstone to guide the dwarves there to take refuge so they may be spared the wrath of the apocalyptic event of the Unmaking.
  
• Morndinsamman Saboteur: An intensely devout follower of the Morndinsamman from the Great Rift who has stumbled upon the place the Tempering landed after their holy exodus from the home of the gold dwarves. Now he has determined to find a way to subvert the faith and their agenda by joining them as a secret faithful.

seems dope and a really great spin-off from traditional dwarves with potential for some really unique concepts

I'm having fun being the conservative opposition to this. Lots of dwarfing to be opened up by this beyond axes and ale.