Dwarf enemies/npc's

[mikemacdee]

One of my new campaigns features a clan of douchey dwarves, and I ended up developing them more than I expected. It got me to thinking "hey, there's elf enemies...why not dwarf enemies?"
So here's what I came up with: though it varies from region to region, Dwarf societies are generally clan-based with a distinct hierarchy. All the terms are based very loosely on Norse culture and mythology ("j" is pronounced "y"), which seemed appropriate.

STATTED
CHURL. Common clan members: miners, soldiers, smithies, etcetera. Churls generally aspire to become Thanes themselves.
MOVE 8 :: ATTK 2 :: DEF 2 :: BODY 2 :: MIND 3

THANE. Dwarf equivalent to knights: high-ranking warriors with command over one or more parts of the clan's livelihood (mining, weapon/armor smithing, dungeoneering, etc) who also have a small league of Churls to boss around.
MOVE 6 :: ATTK 3 :: DEF 3 :: BODY 2 :: MIND 3
Can throw hand axes (2 combat dice)

THUNDERHAMMER. Thanes who serve as master smithies and weapon/armor specialists. In combat, Thunderhammers tend to act as support troops in one form or another.
MOVE 5 :: ATTK 4 :: DEF 3 :: BODY 2 :: MIND 4
Ability varies depending on clan's weapon/armor specialties (black powder weapons, extra-tough armor, etc)

EINERJAR. Ruling elite and greatest warriors of the clan. Einerjar answer directly to the clan chief.
MOVE 6 :: ATTK 5 :: DEF 5 :: BODY 3 :: MIND 4
Can attack diagonally.

NON-STATTED
(either stats vary depending on clan/quest, or stats are similar to the above)
JOTUN. Derogatory term for clan outcasts or renegades (or any outsider if the clan is especially xenophobic). Commonly used as a term for the criminal element in large Dwarf societies.
VOLUR. Seers and spellcasters of the clan. Not all clans have wizards and such, but they generally all have a seer or two.
ELDORMAN. The clan chief, usually by blood, by default, or by some underhanded nastiness. The Eldorman is among the oldest of the clan and may have graduated from the Thanes, Thunderhammers, or Einerjar.

[Daedalus]

I was under the impression that Jotun refers to the giant race.

I'd say some of these Dwarves would work great for a Dwarf expansion pack. Toco learned something about it. Either an alternate Hero (I think unlikely) or a Dwarven Warrior is depicted in Rick Grayson's concept art.

[mikemacdee]

The Jotunn are giants, but they're also outcasts of the Aesir and Vanir, which is why they were always the bad guys. So in that regard the name fit.

[toco]

There is an official unreleased expansion set based on the Dwarf character. The only things that are certain are:

1) The concept art by Rick Grayson. And the artist does not have any more information that the picture itself. He doesn't know anything about it anymore or for what it was created.
2) There are 4 unrevealed prototypes in existance. And chances are large one of those is the hammerwielding Dwarf from Rick Grayson.

I'm out of options and my quest ended. I have no more leads. I tried MANY. The unrevealed prototypes in possession by user "SkyKnight" (Rodney) are THE ONLY lead since Stephen Baker is not available.

ps: Do not bother Rodney with inquiries. He won't budge.

[Sjeng]

Hey Toco, welcome back. Good to see you on our forum again

[Daedalus]

I don't even see Stephen Baker as a lead since he was involved with the EU side of Hero Quest. It's too bad Rodney is sworn to secrecy by those at Hasbro who gifted him with the prototypes, but at least he has been helpful in verifying correct leads that were independently found by Toco. Who was/were the sculptor(s) of the EQP and BQP miniatures? That lead could provide new art or other information. From there Rodney might help again.

Heck, the sculptor's initials may even be incribed on the bottom side of the prototypes, as Rodney had mentioned something was written on them (I've read inscribing initials was practiced by some sculptors). I imagine he could confirm a likely candidate, if he wasn't pestered with random guesses. I'd say if anyone has good reason to suspect whose style is represented, post it here or PM Toco.

My feeling is there may be a sculpting/miniatures/toy trade magazine from '90 or '91 that may have mentioned which sculptors worked with or freelanced for Milton Bradley/Hasbro in the US. (I got this idea perusing a Frothers Unite! thread when I came across a possible publication name, but of course I forgot it.) Battlemasters minis have a similar style and were also produced by MB at that time. The problem is finding the correct title of such a publication, so that an archival check can be attempted (if archives for such a thing are even available online). My efforts haven't yet turned up anything. The best I could manage was finding the sculptor of the Darkworld minis--similar, but clearly derivative.