Dwarves
Resilient and bearded folk who forge their own destinies. Gold and crafted treasures are almost as valuable to the Dwarves as their strong communities and relationships.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
Dwarves are resilient against poisons, as they often encounter toxic vapors or minerals underground. Their resistance to magic is also noteworthy.
Biological Cycle
Dwarves have a secret. Even their own legends don't tell the whole story. But if a Dwarf focuses more on their greed and power, a metamorphosis begins to take place. Maybe one in a hundred Dwarves will become a Duergar, rejecting the community and usually finding a path down and deep into the Underdark. Duergar are spiny and grey Dwarves, with innate magic. They begin to age more slowly, sometimes establishing strongholds far beneath the surface. And a Duergar who amasses enough wealth, who becomes a mighty mage or warrior, will feel a call. These legendary figures always follow different paths - an invented ritual, a quest to some unknown geode cavern full of creation energy, or something even stranger. But they eventually become something that lives in history and myth: a Dragon.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Dwarves can see in the dark.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
The fortified city of Ironburg in the mountains of Dorend is almost entirely Dwarvish in population and culture.
Gender Ideals
Dwarves of Estier traditionally identify as men, women, or a third neutral gender.
Dwarves of Dorend have a different system of genders, perhaps because they have been more isolated from other folk. They have different fashion standards and traditional behavior for children, miners, masons, workers of iron, lorekeepers (including elders), workers of jewels and artists, those who work with food (including alchemists), warriors, and those who work with wood or clothing. Each has a different pronoun in Dwarvish, but in other languages some overlap occurs for the sake of familiarity. A Dwarf speaking of their child in Common would say "they" for example. Sometimes code-switching like this leads to confusion - not all human blacksmiths want to be called "she" by their Dwarf friends.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Dwarvish is an old language and there are few differences between the major populations.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Dwarven culture is well suited to the teachings of Berronar Truesilver, their patron deity. Most towns with a large Dwarf population will have a temple to her, which is a place of gatherings and pacts. The best known pact is between two or more partners in a marriage, with the iconic silver rings. However, Berronar also witnesses commitments of friendship, adoption, vengeance, apprenticeship, and other promises.
History
Dwarves were created by Berronar Truesilver in the Founding Era. They have always had strong hearts and hard heads, caring deeply and slow to change. While the Dwarves may seem insular or unwelcoming, they do actually enjoy the company of other folk. However, it takes an adjustment for outsiders to fit into a Dwarven citadel or settlement. Everyone has a role, a purpose. They support six of their family members and neighbors, and are in turn supported by a dozen others, in a complex mesh (or, less charitably, like cogs in a machine). "It takes a village" could be a Dwarvish motto, but any Dwarf making such a statement would be like a fish saying "Just keep swimming".
Perhaps because promises are so important in Dwarven communities, they were the first folk to invent writing. Their stone slabs and carved manuscripts contain the oldest histories of Tephra. Many lorekeepers among the Dwarves would give their lives to recover a Founding Era text from some of the lost or flooded cities deep beneath the mountains.
Perhaps because promises are so important in Dwarven communities, they were the first folk to invent writing. Their stone slabs and carved manuscripts contain the oldest histories of Tephra. Many lorekeepers among the Dwarves would give their lives to recover a Founding Era text from some of the lost or flooded cities deep beneath the mountains.
Lifespan
Dwarves live about twice as long as humans, 150 to 200 years.
Average Height
4 to 4.5 feet
Average Weight
140 to 200 lb
+2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity. Dwarves are often solid and inflexible of mind and body.
As Medium creatures, Dwarves receive no special size bonuses or penalties.
Base land speed of 20 feet, but this is not reduced by armor or other weight they carry.
Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark within 60 feet, in perfect clarity (but without color).
Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if they were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing their approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells and spell-like effects.
+2 racial bonus to Appraise checks and one Profession specialty, chosen at character creation.
Dwarves can automatically speak one Common language and their own speech, Dwarvish. Bonus languages include Eastern Orcish, Western Orcish, Union Standard, and Draconic.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments