Dwarves

**Dwarves**, bold, hardy, short, and stout, are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. They reside in magnificent mountain halls and cities, claiming both the mountain peaks and the depths below as their own. Their tunnel networks can stretch from one end of a continent to the other, and delve far below the surface to seek the riches below, often finding wealth and danger in plentiful amounts.

## Description

Bold and hardy, dwarves are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Though on average they stand well under 5 feet tall, dwarves are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as a human standing nearly two feet taller. Their courage and endurance are also easily a match for any of the larger folk.

Dwarven skin ranges from deep brown to a paler hue tinged with red, but the most comm on shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male dwarves value their beards highly and groom them carefully.

## Culture & Society

Dwarves are solid and enduring like the mountains they love, weathering the passage of centuries with stoic endurance and little change. They respect the traditions of their clans, tracing their ancestry back to the founding of their most ancient strongholds in the youth of the world, and don't abandon those traditions lightly. Individual dwarves are determined and loyal, true to their word and decisive in action, sometimes to the point of stubbornness. Many dwarves have a strong sense of justice, and they are slow to forget wrongs they have suffered.

Dwarven kingdoms stretch deep beneath the mountains where the dwarves mine gems and precious metals and forge items of wonder, but their cities are built high in the mountain peaks, often on precarious slopes and cliff edges in impressive feats of engineering and architecture.They love the beauty and artistry of precious metals and fine jewelry, and in some dwarves this love festers into avarice. Whatever wealth they can’t find in their mountains, they gain through trade, though their relationship with other races is often one of distrust.

The chief unit of dwarven society is the clan, and dwarves highly value social standing. Even dwarves who live far from their own kingdoms cherish their clan identities and affiliations, recognize related dwarves, and invoke their ancestors’ names in oaths and curses. To be clanless is the worst fate that can befall a dwarf.

## Subraces

### Mountain Dwarves

Mountain dwarves, sometimes known also as *Gold Dwarves*, are strong and hardy, accustomed to a difficult life in rugged terrain. They tend towards the tall side (for a dwarf), and toward lighter coloration of skin and hair. They are native to the Celcaras mountain range, living in great cities built high in the mountains.

### Hill Dwarves

Hill dwarves, sometimes known also as *Shield Dwarves*, have keen senses and remarkable resilience, able to adapt to different terrains and lifestyles on the fly. They are typically shorter and stockier than other subraces, with tanned skin and rugged brown or ginger hair. They are native to the mountains around Scedon, and have a mutual friendly relationship with the Sea Elves of the area.

### Iron Dwarves

Iron Dwarves, sometimes known also as *Grey Dwarves,* are grim, efficient and disciplined, with a love of battle, an ambition for conquest, and an aptitude for engineering machines of war. They tend towards the tall side (for a dwarf), but are often more slender than their cousins in Maíandir, with darker hair and complexions. They are native to the eastern coast of Almeras, the territories of the Aldwyran Empire.

## Properties

### Mountain Dwarves

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 2.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armour.
* ***Darkvision.*** Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.
* ***Dwarven Resilience.*** You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
* ***Tool Proficiency.*** You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.
* ***Stonecunning.*** Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
* ***Dwarven Combat Training.*** You have proficiency with the battleaxe, bearded axe, bec de corbin, and war hammer.
* ***Dwarven Armor Training.*** You have proficiency with light and medium armour.

### Hill Dwarves

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armour.
* ***Darkvision.*** Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.
* ***Dwarven Resilience.*** You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
* ***Tool Proficiency.*** You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.
* ***Stonecunning.*** Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
* ***Dwarven Combat Training.*** You have proficiency with the battleaxe, bearded axe, bec de corbin, and war hammer.
* ***Dwarven Toughness.*** Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.

### Iron Dwarves

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armour.
* ***Darkvision.*** Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.
* ***Dwarven Resilience.*** You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
* ***Tool Proficiency.*** You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: tinker's tools, smith's tools, or mason's tools.
* ***Metalwork.*** Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the workings of machinery, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
* ***Dwarven Combat Training.*** You have proficiency with the battleaxe, bearded axe, bec de corbin, and war hammer.
* ***Iron Will.*** You have advantage on saving throws against illusions and against being charmed or paralyzed.
* ***Wehrmacht.*** The aptitude of your people with black powder and the frequency of firearms gives you an innate knowledge of firearms. You have proficiency with all firearms that are not classified as artillery, and have advantage on checks made to repair them.