Island Dwarves

### In the Story So Far

Island Dwarves have been mentioned several times, namely by Winki, who in particular noted that the community of Island Dwarves welcomed him with open arms when he arrived to Palma Flores as a broken man. No one else on the island seems particularly interested in talking about the Dwarves. This is likely because Island Dwarves frown mightily upon the practice of shark-hunting, which they see as killing for sport, and a highly wasteful and disrespectful practice.

The Island Dwarf Coastal Patrol (IDCP) is a naval force active in the Palma Archipelago, which tracks known pirate ships. Despite being named after them, there are many non-Island Dwarves that are members of the Corps, especially officers.

### Origins

Thousands of years of settlement and separation divided dwarves into different subraces, and the Island Dwarves, (or Beach Dwarves, as they are sometimes known) are no different.

The ancestral home of the Island Dwarves is the numerous atolls and islands of the Palma Archipelago, the namesake of Palma Flora. The Island Dwarves themselves have a particular attachment to the volcanic island of Palma Luisa, which they view as representative of their ancestral home, though numerous other islands lay claim to that as well. Dwarven scholars indicate it alongside Palma Noor, and the twin islands of Duz Palmas as potentials due to the age and size of dwarven settlements on those islands.

According to their own legends they were formed of lava from the volcanoes of the Palma Archipelago itself, evidence they see in their natural resistance to heat and fire, and elevated body temperature, which causes sea water to steam off of their skin when they emerge from the water, leaving them naturally salt-encrusted at times.

Unlike their dwarven cousins from the mainland, island dwarves are mostly hairless, with the exception of beautiful, shiny, curly hair atop their heads.

### Habitat and Culture

#### Island Life

Island Dwarves have a culture of being extremely laid back. With a respect for, and an understanding of their position in nature, and the balance of all natural things, they tend to favor lawful neutral, or true neutral alignments.Island Dwarves typically keep to their islands, though on rare occasions some more adventurous ones have taken to the seas, and can be found in many parts of the world. Traditionally, they tend to stick to the islands themselves, as a low birth rate has meant that straying too far from the islands puts their entire race at risk of extinction.

Island Dwarves tend to stay in settlements built at the base of volcanoes, which they carve their homes into the sides of. The most important dwarves in any society will live further into the volcano itself, and their homes become dry saunas from the heat of the earth.

#### Clothing

Island Dwarves tend to wear very little clothing regardless of where they are, and prefer loose, linen clothing, even in more temporate climates, which allows them to maintain their sense of style regardless of where they are. Traditionally they wore skirts woven from the palm trees of the islands, but those are mainly ceremonial in modern times.

#### Cuisine

Besides for the farms on the islands, the starchy roots they grow everywhere, coconuts, and fish, Island Dwarves employ lobster boxes throughout the ocean as their main source of protein, which they cook in dozens of different ways. Island Dwarf cuisine is notably refreshing, and can be very spicy at times. When travelling by boat within the archipelago, it is not unusual to see these fishing supplies abandoned on small atolls.

#### Taboos

Despite being largely neutral and laid back, there are a few things that annoy Island Dwarves.

**Shark Hunting:** Island Dwarves are culturally sensitive to shark hunting, which they see as a disrepectful, and wasteful practice.

**Leaving the Islands in search of Adventure:** Due to a low birth rate, Island Dwarves highly encourage their kind to not stray far from the islands, and to settle down with other Island Dwarves.

**Overcooking Lobster:** Island Dwarves revere the spiny lobsters of the Palma Archipelago, and can get violent when their lobster is overcooked, or when it takes too long to prepare. It is for this reason that there is a well-known saying in the Palma Archipelago: Never bring lobster to an Island Dwarf Luau, which translates to "know your audience".

**People who tell them to "chill out":** Besides believing this to be a dig at their elevated body temperature, Island Dwarves know that they are the chillest dwarves out there, and take great offense to people telling them to chill out. Hence the saying "Chill as an Island Dwarf in a kimono".

#### Island Dwarf Names

**Males:** Manrique?

### Traits

#### Ability Score Increase

Strength or Constitution scores increases by 2

#### Not So Superior Darkvision

Darkvision has a radius of 20 ft, and there is no penalty for being in the sun, which Island Dwarves love. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

#### Languages

You can speak, read, and write in the archaic Island Dwarven rune-language, which is largely useless outside of the Palma Archipelago, and even within, as the vast majority of Island Dwarves also speak, read, and write in Common.

Island Dwarvish is full of laid back articulation, and slurred consonants, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak, often times making them seem lazy. Which they also are.

#### Island Dwarven Resilience

You have advantage on saving throws involving fire (including Fireball), and have resistance against fire damage.

#### Bouyant

Island Dwarves are natural swimmers, and their swim speed is 20ft.

#### Incredible Balance

Island Dwarves have been built for surfing, and have an unnatural sense of balance, giving them advantage to saves against being knocked prone.

#### Dwarven Combat Training

You have proficiency with the weapons of the island, including spears, tridents, nets, and scimitars.

#### Tool Proficiency

You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: sandcastle tools, distiller's supplies, or mason’s tools.

### Other Island Dwarf Stuff

#### Dwarven Skin Salt

Sea Salt that develops on the skin of island dwarves when they emerge from saltwater is medicinal in large quantities (50g, any more than that and it is unpalatble), and highly valued, though difficult to come by. When scraped off the skin of dwarves who have recently emerged from the sea, it comes off in a very fine and delicate powder, rather than in flakes, and is easily dispersed in the wind. Unlike other salts, it does not crystalize any further than this, and so it is impossible to manufacture.

Despite being a salt, it has a mild, slightly sweet flavor, and is a major source of umami, making it prized not only for its alchemical properties, but also in cuisine. Given that it must be painstakingly and delicately scraped off the skin of dwarves, it is what many would call an acquired taste.

When the fine powdered island dwarf salt is airborne in a cloud, it has been found to be explosive, in large quantities.

Licking the salt off an Island Dwarf's skin can be as refreshing as a glass of water, though not nearly as hydrating.

2g of Dwarven Skin Salt (approximately 2 full dwarven bodies worth of salt!) can be snorted through your nose and provides the same benefit as a short rest.

50g of Dwarven Skin Salt saturated into water can produce a healing potion.

#### Sleeve Tattoos

A small number of dwarven artisans are skilled in the production of decorative sleeve tattoos, and even fewer can produce magical tattoos that can imbue island dwarves with cold magic, which lowers their body temperature to a still balmy 105F (normally 130F), and results in them being unable to produce skin salt, which none of them care about anyway. These tattoos will almost certainly freeze the blood of non-island dwarves. Sleeve Tattoos prices are largely at the whim of the artisan.

***Absorbing Tattoo (Magical):*** While the tattoo is on your skin, you have resistance to cold