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Angelalex242 wrote:The problem with Axe of Az is that silly attribute cap.

I don't disagree. In my game I raised it from 6 to 7 which brings in a few of the lower-end major adversaries (ie, Great Orc, Cave Troll, and Hill Troll), which I find thematically fitting for my campaign.

Just a personal observation from my game...

Thogrim Stonehammer the Dwarf
Axe: 3
Parry: 5
Damage Rating: 6
Endurance: 31
Armour: 5d + 4 (Mail Hauberk plus Great Helm)

Now his encumbrance is 24, so he gets Wearied fairly quickly - generally after suffering 2 blows.

The wearied state doesn't make a blind bit of difference to him in combat. He moves into Forward Stance (for a base TN of 6) so he still hits his foe(s). Granted, they hit him as well but I have never Wounded him and very rarely reduced him to zero Endurance as he deals more damage than most opponents so outlasts them and even Wearied he makes his Protection Tests with relative ease.

You'd think wearying him would be a good thing. Nope, it just makes him more aggressive! I *love* this mechanic.

I play a dwarf who is 6/4/4 and originally took the dwarf 2h axe as my 1st reward. My concept for the character when i started out was that i was always the first one into a fight and thus would be in forward stance. Upon always trying to act 1st i would also be the one who would get hit first due to me playing the character in a bold way.

Through time and learning how the game worked, i was finding more and more that i would go into either open and defensive stance until it came to a point i was always in defensive stance due to my low parry of 4 and having no shield.

Eventually i spoke to my GM explaining my thoughts on how my character had become more defensive over time when i started out trying to play him a certain way. He agreed that i could trade in my reward 2h axe for a reinforced shield and normal 1h axe. I also changed one of my traits from Determined to Bold, as determined seemed to suit all situations to a point where we mocked the triat.

Since then i feel that i enjoy my character alot more as he's back to being at the front of the lines and takes on any challenge set upon him.

1 thing i did change though which i agree with alot of people, is my armour. I started off with a mail coat and helm but found that i'd get weary far too easily. I have since downgraded down to a mail shirt as 3d6+4 is more than enough protection. However, with a total endurance of 34 (resilence virtue boost) and fatigue of 17, i was considering dropping my protection stats down further by replacing my mail shirt with a leather corset or my helm with a iron/leather cap giving me a fatigue rating of 13 (after i deduct my favoured heart). This would leave me with 3d6+1 or 2d6+4 armour. I'm still trying to decide which i should go for though if anyone can offer suggestions?

One of the questions i have that would help me decide is whether dwarfs would consider using leather armour over mail or do dwarfs primarily stick to mail all the time since it's a cultural thing? From a logical sense looking at the stats, i feel a 2d6+4 protection from armour would be more suitable as i'm only losing +1 to the roll on average between the two but i'd have the option of dropping my helm to gain 3 endurance back during a fight. However, my decision would more likely be based upon dwarfs stigma of using mail over leather if anyone can answer this please?

AFAIK, Tolkien never wrote anything about a stigma per say. The Dwarves normally wore chain during the battles as published, & Gimli did as well during most of the Fellowship of the Ring & the war.

That said, however, he's your character & you can always so play him. People debate just how heavily armored the Dwarves in The Hobbit journeyed - one interpretation is that they didn't even wear anything heavier than leather until they entered Erebor (from Not at Home):

Now the dwarves took down mail and weapons from the walls, and armed themselves.