Dwarf

**Dwarves** are stout, long-lived folk who reflect the hues of the earth, found across the world. Their bodies are partially formed from rock, crystal, and soil, which they eventually become in their entirety as they age, petrifying over decades. Rock-like Mountain Dwarves are primarily found in Titanbath, while earth-like Hill Dwarves can be found elsewhere in smaller communities.

## **Flesh and Stone**

Dwarves have a deep connection to the earth, as is evident by their bodies.

While a Dwarf is born as all flesh, parts of them begin to turn to stone as they get older. These changes are pronounced and noticeable even in adolescent Dwarves, though there is no single way in which they manifest. A Dwarf might have bands of rock across their skin, or have a whole chunk of their face made of stone.

There are as many types of stone found in Dwarves as there are in the world, though the mineral that a Dwarf develops is determined by their family. Members of various Dwarven families - or Houses, if you come from Titanbath  - tend to share a single mineral.

### **In Mountain Dwarves**

Mountain Dwarves reflect hard rock found deep within the earth. Some possess relied-upon, useful minerals like basalt, granite, marble and slate. Others possess less immediately useful veins like quartz, sandstone and, rarely, precious stones like malachite and lapis lazuli. Sometimes - though not always - the stones of Dwarves reflect the materials found where they live.

### **In Hill Dwarves**

Hill Dwarves tend to reflect soil, rather than hard stone. Plants often grow out of this earth, and many Hill Dwarves treat their ‘gardens’ the way one might take care of their hair or skin.

## **Old Age and Death**

As Dwarves age, they continue to petrify. Their lifespans are longer due to their mineral elements.

### **In Mountain Dwarves**

A Mountain Dwarf that dies of ‘old age’ is one that turns entirely into a stone statue of themselves. This is considered a ‘good death’ in Titanbath, since such Dwarves are placed in their Hall of the Dead - a huge structure containing thousands of such statues of Dwarves that have passed on. Mountain Dwarves believe that if Titanbath  is ever threatened, the dead will come to life to defend their home.
Dwarves that have not died from old age can be turned into statues through ritual, though this is of course less preferable to a ‘good death’.

### **In Hill Dwarves**

Hill Dwarves turn entirely into earth in old age, and are thus one of the few peoples in Cleocadia  who bury their dead. Burials of Hill Dwarves enrich the soil, allowing plants to grow from it in abundance - this is seen as a way of giving new life after death.

## **Stonecunning**

Dwarves are known for their intimate, almost instinctive knowledge for stone - they know it as well as they know their own bodies, after all. This means that Dwarves can often glean information about each other by examining one another’s stone elements. A Dwarf with veins of white marble in their skin, for instance, might be from House Wightsbane in Titanbath, known for their warriors who fight undead.

Statistically, a Dwarf player character can use their Stonecunning trait to find out information about other Dwarves.

## **Dwarf Traits**

Dwarf traits are identical to those found in the Player's Handbook.