Standing Stone Games showed up to Indy’s GenCon this week — and dropped some huge announcements for both Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online.

For LOTRO, the studio revealed that a new race is in the works: the Stout Axe Dwarves . According to LOTRO Players, these Dwarves “refused to return their Dwarf ring, having lived in the far east of Middle-earth. [They are] more grim, taller, and hardened by their captivity. They will have a new starting area.” Word is that this Dwarf race will also include a female version , a first for the playable side of the game. Also, race changes are in the works, although these will be constricted by class limitations.

It’s even more crazy over in DDO’s neck of the woods. An Alchemist class will be throwing flasks and bombs in the near future. What’s more than that, a special hardcore league permadeath server is coming to the game for the DDO subset that seems to enjoy an extra-scary challenge. This shard will go for 90 days and offer special rewards for those who reach certain goals. Players can get a first look at this when it goes into testing next week.