Dwarves

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### Speed

Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.

### Ability 1

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

### Ability 2

Defensive Training: Dwarves gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype.

### Ability 3

Craftsman: Dwarves are known for their superior craftsmanship when it comes to metallurgy and stonework. Dwarves with this racial trait receive a +2 racial bonus on all Craft or Profession checks related to metal or stone.

### Ability 4

Greed: Dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones. Dwarves also suffer a -4 penalty to Will saves meant to resist compulsion effects of cursed items.

### Ability 5

Lorekeeper: Dwarves keep extensive records about their history and the world around them. Dwarves with this racial trait receive a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (history) checks that pertain to dwarves or their enemies. They can make such skill checks untrained.

### Ability 6

Hardy: Dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.

### Ability 7

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.

### Ability 8

Stonecunning: Dwarves gain a +2 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.

### Ability 9

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.

### Ability 10

Languages: Dwarves begin play speaking Orinean and Dwarven. Dwarves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Ork, Escarian, Taramite, High Elven, Low Elven

The dwarves of the Young Plane are an old and diverse people. Though residing on much of the land the main concentration of dwarven folk is found in the Middle Kingdoms where 3 distinct dwarven nations reside. These nations of the Shining Peaks, Bravaire, and Dragos all share a commonality in their origin but in some web of time disagreements in ruler-ship caused a clear divide in the nations.

Dwarves are a traditional people who hold reverence to the gods and the stone alike. All three major nations are all revered for their craftsmanship and knowledge of the stone. Dwarves tend to live under ground and a majority of major dwarven cities and hold are located there.

In recent times the dwarven people have broken from strict nationalism and began opening up trade with other races, the humans of former Arvos being a large partner in these dealings. Due to this dwarven goods have flooded the markets of the Middle Kingdoms leaving many and adventure salivating at the chance to acquire high quality dwarven steel, or better yet Dragosan Adamantine.

## The Shining Peaks

Located on the eastern side of the mountain range of its namesake the Shining Peaks is by far the largest and most prominent of the three dwarven nations. Having many settlements above the surface these dwarves have become accustom to dealing with humans on a day to day basis. There have been large push backs to these recent changes though. The Shining Peaks have put large amounts of money towards colonizing the surface, yet many older dwarves don't see any profit in the land above the stone. Due to this there has been an increasing number of dwarven fundamentalists vying for power in the Shining Peaks, and recent tensions with the Arvosan civil war have only made matters worse.

Dwarves of the Shining Peaks are a proud people and defenders of the Deep Road, an dangerous underground road that connects the Shining Peaks with Bravaire. Due to this dwarves of the Shining Peaks have access to the following optional racial traits;

#### **Xenophobic**

Isolationist
dwarves despise non-dwarven humanoids. They speak only Dwarven and do not gain
any bonus languages from possessing a high Intelligence score. In addition,
they learn only one language per 2 ranks of Linguistics they possess. However,
their un-trusting nature gives them a +1 bonus against mind-affecting effects,
except for fear affects. This racial trait replaces a dwarf’s normal languages.

#### **Stubborn**

Dwarves are renowned for their stubbornness. Dwarves
with this racial trait receive a +2 racial bonus on Will saves to resist spells
and spell-like abilities of the enchantment (charm) and enchantment
(compulsion) schools. In addition, if they fail such a save, they receive
another save 1 round later to prematurely end the effect (assuming it has a duration
greater than 1 round). This second save is made at the same DC as the first. If
the dwarf has a similar ability from another source (such as a rogue’s slippery
mind), he can only use one of these abilities per round, but he can try the
other on the second round if the first reroll ability fails. This racial trait
replaces hardy.

#### **Minesight**

Dwarves with
this racial trait increase the range of their darkvision to 90 feet; however,
they are automatically dazzled in bright light and take a –2 penalty on saving
throws against effects with the light descriptor. This racial trait replaces
darkvision.

#### **Deep Warrior**

Dwarves with this racial trait grew up facing the
abominations that live deep beneath the surface. They receive a +2 dodge bonus
to AC against monsters of the aberration type and a +2 racial bonus on combat
maneuver checks made to grapple such creatures (or to continue a grapple). This
racial trait replaces defensive training.

## Bravaire

The dwarves of Bravaire are an unconventional bunch. Serving as a sort of ruling class in a complicated web of social and political intricacies the dwarves of Bravaire have developed a caste system to sort themselves out. There exist four distinct castes in the country; Gold, Jewel, Iron, and Human. The Gold caste refers to people of noble blood, families with stations far above their common folk with seemly endless wealth, thought details about when these families gained this wealth is uncharacteristically missing from Bravairi history books. The Jewel caste sits below the Gold caste and in modern times shares its tier with the Iron caste. Members of the Jewel caste tend to be merchants or artisans. Many of Bravaire's finest smiths spend their lives a member of this caste. The Iron caste contains the warrior clans of Bravaire. Though in modern times the need for dedicated military families has declined and many Iron caste families find themselves attempting to join the Jewel caste as merchants or artisans, while others go through the motions of unneeded military preparation. The Human caste denotes Bravaire's non-dwarven population, which is much of it. These humans tend to live on the harsh snowy mountains or tundra like flat lands surrounding the mountains. These humans rely much on the dwarves for good and supplies and the coexistence has been very successful for a number of generations.

The dwarves of Bravaire are sharp and refined and hold fast to the traditions of their people. Being more pious than many of their relative nations the Bravairi produce a large number of citizens with divine powers. Given the harshness of the outside climate and interactions with humans many Bravairi dwarves have become accustom to the mountains surrounding much of their keeps. Dwarves from Bravaire have access to the following optional racial traits;

#### **Rock Stepper**

Dwarves with this racial trait can skillfully negotiate
rocky terrain. They can ignore difficult terrain created by rubble, broken
ground, or steep stairs when they take a 5-foot step. This racial trait
replaces stonecunning.

#### **Magic Resistant**

Some of the older dwarven clans are particularly
resistant to magic. Dwarves with this racial trait gain spell resistance equal
to 5 + their character level. This resistance can be lowered for 1 round as a
standard action. Dwarves with this racial trait take a –2 penalty on all
concentration checks made in relation to arcane spells. This racial trait
replaces hardy.

#### **Surface Survivalist**

Some dwarves have dwelt so long above ground they have
lost their ability to see at night. However, their adaptation to extreme
environments allows them to treat wind conditions (when determining whether or
not they are checked or blown away) and cold climates as one step less severe.
This racial trait replaces darkvision.

## Dragos

Though by far the smallest of the dwarven nations inhabiting the Middle Kingdoms Dragos has made a name for itself as of late. Being the sole supplier of Adamantine to much of the kingdoms there is a high demand for trade agreements with the normally isolated dwarves. Located in the belly of a large volcano and surrounded by dragons one may not find the keeps of Dragos as pleasant place to stay, but tradition dictates that that dwarves of Dragos must keep working the land they were granted. Because of the dangers involved in getting to and from Dragos getting access of the Adamantine had proven difficult for many of the not dwarven nations. Dragos is supported primarily by Bravaire and ships most of its exports there along the coast. Due to this some clever bandits have taken to attacking these shipment, but it never seems to go well for them.

The dwarves of Dragos spend every day like it could be their last and the dangers of their homeland have formed them into some of the best warriors on the Young Plane, especially when it comes to fighting dragons. Dwarves from Dragos have access to the following optional racial traits;

#### **Wyrmscourged**

Dwarves with this
racial trait gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 dodge bonus to AC and on
saving throws against the exceptional, supernatural, and spell-like abilities
of dragons. They also gain a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (arcana) checks to
identify dragons and can make such checks untrained. This racial trait replaces
defensive training, craftsman, and stonecunning.

#### **Mountaineer**

Mountain dwarves are
skilled at climbing and navigating narrow ledges. Dwarves with this racial
trait are immune to altitude sickness and do not lose their Dexterity bonus to
AC when making Climb or Acrobatics checks to cross narrow or slippery surfaces.
This racial trait replaces stability.