Sky Dwarves

The **Sky Dwarves** are a subrace of reclusive Dwarves that are found in Sky Holds. Very few people know of the isolated Sky Dwarf communities, and fewer still have ever encountered one. Though Dwarven Holds have records describing Sky Dwarves, they are sparse and are often very biased. Even the Elven explorer Wut Jayvara has never laid eyes on a Sky Hold or a Sky Dwarf. Though they are distinguishable by culture, there are very few physical aspects that separates them from other Dwarves aside from their height being higher on average.

### Society

Sky Dwarves venerate very few altruistic traits unlike their Hill and Mountain brethren. Sky Dwarves value business first and foremost, and there is a strict social hierarchy based on wealth. The extremely wealthy, also called Coin Barons, are expected to make investments for the survival of the Sky Hold, and to offer competitive wages to those lower on the hierarchy so that their businesses thrive. The extremely wealthy are also proprietors of businesses under multiple trades, as their position necessitates versatility.

There are executives beneath the extremely wealthy who manage a single business's finances, followed by every step on the corporate ladder down to the lowliest worker. A Sky Hold can have anywhere between one and a dozen or so Coin Barons, and their positions are unstable if an aspect of their corporation is not properly managed. Since this free market can potentially lead to the rise and fall of many, this means that the insulated society of Sky Dwarves is very fluid. The only ones that cannot advance from their lot is the Exile class, barring a vote from the Duma with 3/4s of votes in the affirmative to return an Exile class Sky Dwarf to regular society.

If a Sky Dwarf is a member of the merchant class or greater, then they have the Right of Campaign. The Right of Campaign means that a Sky Dwarf can challenge the position of any boyar of the 300 member Duma at least 3 months away from the following year. This challenge is to be answered by the beginning of the following year, or the challenged loses their seat in the Duma automatically. Otherwise, the challenger and the challenged will campaign to democratically elected or re-elected. The election will lead to the Sky Dwarf advertising his capabilities to garner votes from any Sky Dwarf above the Exile class. If the challenger wins, he or she becomes a junior boyar, and their position cannot be challenged for four calendar years. It is generally expected that a merchant will challenge the position of someone near his economic position or below it, as challenging someone far higher up could lead to disastrous consequences, aside from a loss. Multiple Sky Dwarves can challenge for the same seat at once, though it is uncommon.

The Duma itself must come to financial and cultural decisions on behalf of the entire Sky Hold. Since the wealthiest are practically guaranteed a spot on the Duma, they are the ones that tend to form voting blocs. Conversely, a Coin Baron may never attend an Duma meeting despite being a boyar, as they don't find it a practical use of their time when they have other business (or luxuries) to attend to.

The Duma's primary objective is to accrue resources to keep the Sky Hold safe. An investment voted on by the Duma is an investment of all 300 boyars' coffers. If an expedition for food, ore, or other items needs to be made, then the Duma must vote on which crews should participate and what they should be equipped with. This also means that the investment is subject to the goal of getting a return on said investment, and many expeditions become extremely complicated endeavors so that the Scions can benefit.

A Crew is a step above the working class, and is the most common profession of the most adventurous of Sky Dwarves. Crews can be rigidly locked into a business mindset, though they can also be some of the least restrictive parts of this highly capitalistic society. A Crew will pilot and man airships, choppers, and other masterworks of aeronautic artifice. Aside the potential danger to their lives, a Crew's class can entirely rely on the success of each expedition. If an expedition becomes a sunk cost, Crews have to make up the difference out of their own pockets. The only exception to paying for an expedition is for a Captain to make a claim of mutiny or sabotage, which can lead to the exile of the mutineers or saboteur. Regardless of the immediate consequences, a Crew that becomes known for its failures may rarely get hired, and only for extremely dangerous expeditions with very little investment. Failed Crews often have to become bottom class laborers to avoid being exiled.

This also means that the Exile class is composed of many former Crewmates, as well as individuals whose reputations were ruined by the Duma, the upper class, or a career defining failure. The only way an Exile can return to normal society is through a vote from the Duma that has extreme difficulty in passing. Even if an Exile does somehow return to general society, they will always carry a magical brand on their forehead to denote their former exile.

The few cultures that often see a Sky Hold or a Sky Dwarf are some of the intelligent people living on Mu, as Sky Dwarves will congregate on the continent for cross-hold Dumas and repairs. Many intelligent people from Mu who see the Sky Dwarves revile them, as they often rest their Sky Holds atop a Koga Roost.

### Alignment & Religion

Sky Dwarf religion gluts itself on the donations of other Sky Dwarfs. Most temples are owned by the extremely wealthy, and are a funnel to their own coffers. To donate to a temple is mostly a means to flaunt your own wealth and to get the attention of a Coin Baron or his underlings. Sky Dwarves mostly dedicate their worship to Qanun, Vordak, and rarely Koga, but Sky Dwarf society teaches all to covet wealth to an almost zealous degree.

The most reverent a Sky Dwarf can be is usually towards a Verkho Sudit, the leader of the Duma, who is a lifetime official that controls the Duma, enforces its rules, and represents the Sky Hold in a cross-hold Duma. A Verkho Sudit's title can only be passed down on death, and the previous Verkho Sudit selects three infants from anywhere in the Sky Hold to succeed him, and they are all tutored to become impartial Verkho Sudits come their time. Then the Duma votes in one of the three candidates as the new Verkho Sudit, with the other two becoming his Custodians. That Verkho Sudit is said to be given the soul of all previous Verkho Sudits by Qanun. This position is as much legislative as it is religious.

Due to this, Sky Dwarves are often Lawful in nature, as they follow strict cultural expectations to make money as quickly and voraciously as possible. It is not uncommon for Coin Barons and other wealthy to be Evil, as more often than not they have gained their wealth through cutthroat business practices and ruined lives for the sake of making it to the top. Conversely, the poorer the Sky Dwarves are, the more likely they are to be Good in nature. Many impoverished Sky Dwarves aid other Sky Dwarves to accrue favors for the future, and constantly build through teamwork to achieve their goals. Sky Dwarves as a whole tend towards being Lawful Neutral, as most Sky Dwarves see their means to accruing wealth as conditional and dependent on their personal relationships.

Exile Sky Dwarves can make up any form of alignment, though most tend towards lawbreaking tendencies to survive, thus making them Chaotic more often than not.

### Physical Characteristics

Sky Dwarves are very similar to their surface and subterranean kin. The only differences between a Sky Dwarf and any other average Dwarf is their height, melanin range, resistance to the cold, and their eye & hair color.

Sky Dwarves are 2 inches taller on average than their cousins, but generally weigh the same. Some theorize that this is due to the Sky Dwarves being further from the gravitational pull of Ladiris, and their spines are decompressed and give them some extra height; however, this is not confirmed by any major study.

Sky Dwarves are often extremely pale amongst the wealthy and progressively tanner amongst the middle class, and then a mix of both amongst the lower class and Exiles. Sky Dwarves in the upper class are often inside their palatial extensions to Sky Holds, or personal air homes, and the descendants of the original upper class and those who stayed thereafter became paler to absorb more sunlight, as darker Sky Dwarves in the upper class often became sick due to lack of vitamin D; erstwhile, the middle class contains most members of an airship crew, and they were subject to more sunlight. Those that were born pale were more likely to burn, and quickly tumbled into the lower classes if they couldn't keep up with sun sickness. The lower class and Exiles are the result of those tumbling down the social ladder or reaching a point where their melanin did not affect their day-to-day lives. Albinism is a common condition amongst many Sky Dwarves.

Sky Dwarves must endure bitter cold in and outside of their Sky Hold. Even a pressurized environment cannot protect from the extreme cold just outside. Sky Dwarves developed a natural resistance to the cold over time to accommodate this way of living.

Common hair colors often range from white, silver, platinum blond, blond, very light browns, dirty blond, and light oranges. Eye colors are often white, grey, baby blue, sky blue, red, and some light browns. Red eyes and darker shades of eye color are coveted, as the former are a sign of aristocracy and the latter are considered rare and attractive.

### Standard Racial Traits

**Ability Score Modifiers:** Sky Dwarf characters gain either a +2 bonus to their Dexterity or a +2 bonus to their Charisma, but suffer a -2 penalty to Constitution or a -2 penalty to Charisma.

**Size**: Dwarves are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

**Type**: Dwarves are humanoids with the dwarf subtype.

**Base Speed:** (Driven and Unsteady) Sky Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but they can increase their speed to 30 feet at the cost of being Staggered in the following round.

**Languages**: Dwarves begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Auran, and Undercommon.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

* **Barter**: Sky Dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on Persuasion checks made to barter the cost of goods from any store, and do not suffer the penalties of bartering with someone that does not share a common language.
* **Aeronaut Legacy:** Sky Dwarves are trained in Profession (Driver), and are also trained in an extra Profession skill.

Defense Racial Traits

* **Sky Treated**: Sky Dwarves gain a 10 damage resistance to Cold.
* **Hardy**: Dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.
* **Stability**: Dwarves gain a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.

Offense Racial Traits

* **Hatred**: Dwarves gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc and goblinoid subtypes because of their special training against these hated foes.
* **Weapon Familiarity**: Dwarves are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.

Senses Racial Traits

* **Darkvision**: Dwarves can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.

### Character Creation and Adventurers

Sky Dwarves are a very isolated society, and for good reason. Their safety relies heavily on their anonymity, and their exploitation of resources cannot be common knowledge. For this reason, Sky Dwarves have their most adventurous members of their race join Crews to fulfill their itch for travel; however, they have many rules regarding just how far they can travel and what they can do. Sky Dwarves are practically forbidden from interacting with other races, and are encouraged to only kill a monster or other person in self defense. If a Sky Dwarf is stranded and cannot return to their Sky Hold, the Duma will spend coin (which is a fine for the stranded Dwarf) to recover him or her.

Since this emphasis on stealth and anonymity is so important to Sky Dwarf society, Rogues and Wizards trained in Illusion Magic are extremely important and are trained regularly. It is one of the few societies where Rogues serve a professional and Lawful purpose.

Artificers are also extremely important, as they construct and enchant Sky Dwarf equipment and flying machines, as well as maintain the Hold itself. They often find themselves near the higher crust of society due to their craft's importance. An Artificer amongst Sky Dwarves is often a perfectionist, which can lead to mental breaks that turns a piece of artifice into a dangerous hazard. This could lead to an Artificer's Exile, thus removing them from society as a whole.

Fighters, Rangers, Hunters, and Slayers are all common as a form of law enforcement, cleanup for a crew, or hired muscle.

Magic users of any kind, whether they are Sorcerers, Arcanists, Magi, Oracles, some Druids, and even Witches are all treated normally, as their magical prowess is only seen as a boon to society. So long as they are useful to the economy or to the safety and anonymity of the Hold, they are valued.

Although extremely rare, the aristocracy can be home to a Vigilante.

Clerics, Monks, Paladins, Warpriests, and Inquisitors are extremely uncommon, as religion is not emphasized in Sky Dwarf society the way it would be in an average Dwarf's society. Most Clerics are one of only a handful, and cloister themselves.

Sky Dwarves have no great love for the arts outside of architecture, so Bards and Skalds are rarely successful. Only the greatest talents have potential in a Sky Dwarf society.

Brawlers are seen as practically useless, and are only a step above Barbarians and Bloodragers, who are seen as extremely dangerous to Sky Dwarf norms.

Shamans are revered in a sense, as the Verkho Sudit is trained as a Shaman; however, if you are not a Verkho Sudit or one of his candidates or Custodians, you are seen in about as good a light as a priest would be.

**Male Names:** Alexi, Boris, Dimitri, Miro, Stefan, Vladislav

**Female Names:** Anna, Ewa, Gosia, Karolina, Magda, Olga

#### Table: Random Starting Ages

Ages
(43 – 58 years)
(45 – 70 years)
(47 – 82 years)

1 This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers.

2 This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches.

3 This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.

#### Table: Random Height and Weight

Height Weight Table by Sex
 Male
(4 ft. 1 in. – 4 ft. 5 in.)
 Female
(3 ft. 11 in. – 4 ft. 5 in.)
(134 – 176 lbs.)