Mountain dwarves

Mountain dwarves, like the high elves and coastal humans, are said to be the ones that are closest to the original dwarves before the splitting of the races. They hold the oldest dwarven kingdom, the Kingdom of Vonrim, in the eastern corner of the mainland. While other nations have risen and fell in the passing of time, Vonrim has been as stable as the mountains it was built upon. Within the deep caverns, the mountain dwarves continue to mine for minerals to this day and keep the old traditions of runesmithing alive. The humans and dwarves have always been great allies while the elves have recently gained mistrust among them. Even so, the mountain dwarves of Vonrim try to keep stable relations with all and regulate the trade of metals and ore around the southern kingdoms.

## Physical description

The average mountain dwarf is quite similar to a short and stoic human at first glance. Both males and females are usually around 150 centimeters tall and weigh somewhere between 80 to 90 kilograms, with females being a little lighter. It is customary for a male to grow himself a long beard and hair. They may then be decorated with iron rings and links or braided in different parts. Males are generally quite hairy in all bodyparts, but the females are not. Both genders hair color varies between shades of red, blonde, brown and black. Mountain dwarves are also known for being tough and strong, like all dwarves. They live around 300 years on average. The oldest known mountain dwarf was their first king, Boragus, who claimed his eternal rest at the highly venerable age of 582 years.

## Society

Mountain dwarves live in a similar way to the gray elves, they are proud of their own people and generally don't wander off outside their own kingdoms. That is why the Kingdom of Vonrim is currently the largest, and generally, the only refuge of the mountain dwarves. There, the united mountain dwarves trade with others and fight against the tides of monsters that constantly invade their northern borders. The ratfolk are also a race that the mountain dwarves have no love for, as the pesky rodents like to infest dwarven colonies and mines abandoned. Partially for that reason, the dwarves have recently developed new weaponry with the help of a substance called gunpowder. These dwarven "boomsticks" were first seen during the Second Demon War when Thorgrim Ironfist brought the army of Vonrim down on Malzarak. The boomsticks have also proven effective against the infesting ratfolk as the booming sounds and flashing lights are a scary sight for these pests in the dark. They have begun to trade this new technology with the humans of El Sherdan, though in a very restrictive manner as it is truly a magnificent and devastating development in warfare.

## Rules

* **Ability Score Modifiers:** Mountain dwarves are both tough and wise, but also a bit gruff. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, and –2 Charisma.
* **Size:** Medium
* **Type:** Humanoid, dwarf
* **Base speed:** (Slow and Steady) Mountain dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
* **Languages:** Mountain dwarves begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Mountain dwarves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Giant, Halfling, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, Sherdanian and Undercommon.

* **Hardy:** Mountain dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.
* **Stability**: Mountain dwarves gain a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
* **Rock Stepper**: Mountain dwarves can ignore difficult terrain created by rubble, broken ground or steep stairs when they take a 5-foot step.
* **Greed:** Mountain dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks made to determine the price of non-magical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
* **Stonecunning:** Mountain dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks to notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking.
* **Metallurgy:** Mountain dwarves begin play with free points in Craft (armor) and Craft (weapons).
* **Hatred:** Mountain dwarves gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the ratfolk subtype.
* **Weapon Familiarity:** Mountain dwarves are proficient with battleaxes, pickaxes, picks (both light and heavy) and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” or "Vonrimian" in its name as a martial weapon.
* **Darkvision:** Mountain dwarves can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.

### Alternate Racial Traits

Mountain dwarves have access to all alternate racial traits normally available to dwarves. Consult your GM before selecting any new options.

## Vonrimian Weapons

#### Boomstick, Vonrimian

**Cost:** 3000 gp  **Weight:** 14 lbs.
**Damage:** 1-3d8 (small), 1-3d10 (medium)  **Critical:** x4 (bullets), x2 (pellets)  **Type:** bludgeoning and piercing
**Range Increment:** 10-30 ft. (see text)  **Misfire:** 1-7 (10 ft.)  **Capacity:** 3
**Category:** ranged   **Proficiency:** exotic
**Weapon Group:** firearms
**Special:** scatter
*Vonrimian boomsticks were first seen in mass numbers during the Second Demon War and since then, firearms have come a long way within the Kingdom of Vonrim. These powerful but unreliable firearms are still used by some older mountain dwarves but younger generations tend to prefer newer designs.*
Vonrimian boomsticks have three barrels and they share the same firing mechanism, making it impossible to shoot one barrel at a time. When using bullets, boomsticks can fire accurately up to 10-30 ft. and when using pellets, they fire in the usual 15 ft. cone (scatter). Loading each barrel takes a full-round action (requiring three full-round actions to load all three barrels) that provokes attacks of opportunity. With the Rapid Reload feat, reloading a barrel becomes a standard action. If you can reload two-handed handed firearms or boomsticks as a free action (such as by using feats and class abilities), you can reload two barrels of a boomstick as swift action, or three barrels as a move action. This still allows you to perform a full-attack action with a boomstick by only using a single barrel for reloading. In addition to bullets and pellets, the barrels also need a single dose of black powder each.
The damage of a boomstick depends on how many barrels are loaded when fired. Each loaded barrel deals 1d8 (small), 1d10 (medium) damage individually and in order to deal the full 3d8 (small), 3d10 (medium) damage, all barrels need to be loaded before firing. When firing with more than one barrel, make a separate attack roll for each barrel and deal the appropriate damage (for example when firing with all three, if you miss with one of the barrels and hit with two, you deal 2d8 (small), 2d10 (medium) damage). Any damage modifiers apply to each of the barrels separately.
Similarly to its damage, the misfire chance of a boomstick also depends on how many barrels are loaded; with all three barrels loaded, the misfire chance is 1-7 as noted above and decreases to 1-5 with two barrels and 1-3 with just one barrel. When firing with more than one barrel loaded, a misfire can only occur if all of the attack rolls end up within the misfire range. A roll that falls within the misfire range is still an automatic miss.
The range increment of a boomstick is also dependant on the number of barrels loaded; with one barrel loaded, the range increment is 30 feet. With two barrels loaded, it decreases to 20 feet and with all three barrels loaded it decreases to 10 feet.

#### Linked hammer, Vonrimian

**Cost:** 40 gp  **Weight:** 6 lbs.
**Damage:** 1d4 (small), 1d6 (medium)  **Critical:** x3  **Type:** bludgeoning
**Range Increment:** 30 ft. or 15 ft. (see text)
**Category:** light  **Proficiency:** exotic
**Weapon Groups:** hammers, thrown
**Special:** trip
*A Vonrimian linked hammer is an ordinary hammer with a 6-foot chain attached to the end of its handle. It offers versatility to those that can master it and exceptionally skilled dwarves can sometimes be seen dual-wielding linked hammers attached to their armors for maximum efficiency.*
A linked hammer can be used in two different ways: to fight in close quarters or to be thrown with the help of its chain. Throwing a linked hammer requires a free hand with which to spin the chain to throw it effectively up to 30 feet. One can also throw a linked hammer with one hand, but this lowers its range increment to 15 feet. One can also attempt ranged trip attempts by using a linked hammer in this way (trip attempts can also be made while using a linked hammer as a melee weapon if it is not linked).
As a full-round action that triggers attacks of opportunity, linked hammers can be attached to (or detached from) a chain shirt, chain coat, chainmail, banded mail, half-plate, full plate, fortress plate, stone plate, or granite plate. Attaching a linked hammer effectively gives it the same bonuses as a Weapon Cord; if you are disarmed, you can retrieve the linked hammer as a move action that doesn't trigger attacks of opportunity and the linked hammer never moves any further away from you than an adjacent square. You can use a hand with an attached linked hammer, though a dangling hammer may interfere with some of your actions.
The chain of a linked hammer can be sundered or broken individually (hardness 10, HP 5, break DC 26) and if the chain is broken, the linked hammer turns into a chainless hammer that can be thrown effectively up to 15 feet without trip or any formerly mentioned special features (but retaining any enhancements, such as masterwork quality).
## Vonrimian Armor

#### Granite plate, Vonrimian

**Heavy Armor**
**Cost** 2000 gp; **Weight** 60 lbs.
**Armor Bonus** +10; **Max Dex Bonus** +0; **Armor Check Penalty** -7
**Arcane Spell Failure Chance** 40%; **Speed** 20 ft./15 ft.
*Granite plate is the pinnacle of armor crafting. No other armor can offer the kind of protection that a suit of granite worked by masterful dwarven armorsmiths does. Granite plate is not classified as metal armor and can be worn by druids.*

#### Hardcast Granite plate, Vonrimian

**Heavy Armor**
**Cost** 3000 gp; **Weight** 80 lbs.
**Armor Bonus** +11; **Max Dex Bonus** +0; **Armor Check Penalty** -8
**Arcane Spell Failure Chance** 50%; **Speed** 15 ft./10 ft.
*If granite plate was not enough, some dwarven smiths have produced an even heavier variant called hardcast granite plate, infusing granite with hardened metals. Hardcast granite plate truly tests its wearer's limits, and usually only dwarves are able to overcome the bulky design.*