I have a strange character concept in my head. A pike-wielding dwarf obsessed with the sky. I see him being raised above-ground with a bird animal companion (that he wants to train to ride) and feathers braided into his beard.
My first draft of the build for this character was a Cleric of Erastil with the Feather domain, and the Adopted(gnome) trait so I could get the "Animal Friend" gnome race trait.
While I love dwarves and roleplaying them, I know very little about gnomes. I would love some roleplaying advice as to how a dwarf raised by gnomes would act. Thank you.
First, check out the Gnomes of Golarion book.
Second, remember that a large percentage of Gnomes are Sensates, and love to experience things, for the sake of experiencing them.
That's a start.
So a dwarf that wants to feel the wind in his beard as he flew on the back of his Roc is acting with a Gnomish desire to experiencing something unique?
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So a dwarf that wants to feel the wind in his beard as he flew on the back of his Roc is acting with a Gnomish desire to experiencing something unique?First, check out the Gnomes of Golarion book.
Second, remember that a large percentage of Gnomes are Sensates, and love to experience things, for the sake of experiencing them.
That's a start.
That would work. Gnomes at middle age or older can actually die of boredom. It is a racial disease known as "The Bleaching".
Being taught to experience as much as life has to offer, is something that would have been taught to you.
Also, Gnomes are very often worshipers of Shelyn, the god of beauty, art, love, and music. Consider this as a Deity.
Also, consider the Sky Sentinel alternate racial trait.
Gnomes in Golarion often have an extreme "quest" that they work towards to fend of the "bleaching". (It is a fey first world thing and you can read all about it in Gnomes of Golarion.)
So a dwarf who is raised by gnomes could very easily Quest for the Sky and be all nuts about birds without too much trouble. He could go on and on about different types of birds, clouds, things that fly other then birds, how the air actually tastes different at night vs day.
That is the pathfinder take on tinker gnomes or practical joker gnomes. They choose to focus in specific traditional areas. If you have the Classic Treasure Revisited book there is a nice little story about a gnome obsessed with magic items in it.
Could make for a good build just have fun with it. :)
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My first thought is that your description fits just fine.
@ How a dwarf raised by gnomes would act.
I don't think you could out-gnome a gnome. Their thirst for experience would be greater, and their oddity in humor would be unreachable, even if one was raised by them. It'd be like having a really weird family who you loved, but didn't understand.
Given that your Dwarf is a Dwarf raised among Gnomes, I think he would eventually learn acceptance, and learn to love the chaotic nature of life and the living. Perhaps this is one reason he loves the Sky so -- It is also free and chaotic, but ever present and reliable, much like his gnome family. Connecting the Dwarf's family with his love of the Sky seems like it'd be sufficient motivation for him becoming a cleric related to said principle.
But one question that comes up is whether your Dwarf is obsessed with the sky, with birds, or with experiencing the sky as birds experience it? That's one thing which I'm confused about, but which I think matters.
I think he'd also learn to assume the best in people, even if he couldn't understand them. Whereas gnomes pursue new things with an obsession, I expect your Dwarf might pursue things with a calm, open minded and laid back optimism. He'd be good natured where another dwarf might be grumpy. This is how he's learned to live among gnomes.
I've advocated how your Dwarf should be a Dwarf and not a Gnome, but I think he should follow some of the cues laid out in the Players Handbook, for how gnomes relate to other races. Basically, I think it'd be neat if he stuck out like a Gnome when he's among Dwarves..
edit: There are a variety of ways a character could develop from there, so I'll end my post. I'm partial towards gnomes, but your character might resent his family, or find somewhere else he likes better. There a variety of places you might find your character developing naturally, over the course of game play.
I think he should have a massive superiority complex, since growing up, he was the only one who could reach the top shelf.
be the ultimate straight man. be spockier than spock.
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Actually, the whole Quest for Sky thing is the reason that there are surface Dwarves.
Those Dwarves that stayed deep in the Darklands, became Duergar.