DWARVES
"No one ever got anywhere by trusting an Elf. We trusted them once. Look what it brought us?" Dwarves are short but still massive humanoids whose heads barely reach a mans chest even though they easily exceed his weight in muscle and bone. They prefer to wear their hair an beards long.
DWARF RACIAL TRAITS · +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Cha
· Size Class: Medium
· Type: Humanoid with the Dwarf Subtypes
· Base Land speed 30 ft.
· Incapable of Magic (Ex): Dwarves cannot learn or use Spells, Spell-Like Abilities or Supernatural Abilities. For whatever reason they are incapable of magic.
· Armored Comfort (Ex): Dwarves take no movement or Check Penalties from Medium or Light Armor, and half the Penalty from Heavy Armor. They can even sleep in it without penalty. They begin proficient with all Armor (but no Shields).
· Dwarves gain a +2 Racial Bonus to all Craft and Profession Skills, and to Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering).
· Dwarves gain a +2 Racial Bonus to all Fortitude and Willpower Saves. They also take half the penalties from the Pain condition (which will be detailed later).
· Automatic and Bonus Languages: Dwarves speak Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Elven, Harpy, Horn, Human (any dialect), Moonlander, Orcish, Wormish.
· Level Adjustment: +0
· Typical Classes: Iron Hammer, Alchemist, Technomancer, Seeker, Engineer
· Typical Prestige Classes: Order of the Axe, Order of the Tower, War Hero, Artillery Crew, Tank Crew
STARTING AGE Adulthood: 20
Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer: +2d4
Bard, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger: +3d6
Cleric, Druid, Monk, Wizard: +4d6
AGING EFFECTS Middle Age: 50
Old: 75
Venerable: 100
Maximum Age: +5d20 years
HEIGHT AND WEIGHT Base Height: Male: 3'9" Female: 3'7"
Height Modifier: +2d4"
Base Weight: Male: 150lbs. Female: 110 lbs.
Weight Modifier: x (2d6) lbs.
DWARF CHARACTERS If you want access to technology, a Dwarf is your only real choice. They pretty much have a lock on it. Also, if you want to play Heavy Infantry of some sort, the Dwarves are renowned for theirs. On the downside you'll be asked to test out new inventions which may explode in your face.
Adventuring Race: Dwarves rarely venture from their Holds without desperate cause. Should an Artifact related to Chaos arise nearby, or some sort of monsters or demons set up camp, they will venture out, but not for any other reason. Generally Dwarves who are adventuring are cast out, on orders from their military or Guild, testing out some new device, or have been cut off and gotten lost and are unsure how to get home.
Character Development: You're a walking tank. Make use of that if you can. Regardless of class you're used to wearing fairly heavy armor, so even in less than military classes you can still walk around fairly well protected.
Character Names:
Male: Abjorn, Agnarr, Arnbjorn, Austbjorn, Balli, Beggi, Finnbjorn, Freybjorn, Gamli, Gilli, Halmi, Hogunn, Jarngrimr.
Female: Aesa, Alfrun, Berghildr, Borghildr, Edda, Evja, Finna, Freydis, Frida, Frosthildr, Grima, GUnnhildr, Sigunnr.
Surnames: Dwarves generally use their Clan Name as their Surname.
ROLEPLAYING A DWARF The Elves held you down for years, You always knew their rule would end like this. They stifled Dwarven creativity and development not to prevent you from creating something too dangerous like they claimed, but to prevent you from interfering with their far more dangerous experiments. The world above is ruined, and it can be only so long before the Demons come seeking you in your underground realms as well.
Personality: Dwarves are stubborn due to years of Elven interference in their culture. They will not willingly break an Oath, and those who do are considered cursed unless they repent by giving their own lives in battle. They know they will need the aid of the other races to overcome the Demons, but after so many years of warring with the Humans and Orcs they have too many wounds to overcome prejudices easily.
Behaviors: Dwarves are always tinkering, always trying to make things better or different. They are also paranoid to a fault, and very socially conservative despite their innovative minds.
Language: The Dwarven tongue is generally similar to Old Norse.
DWARF SOCIETY Occupation in Dwarven society is hereditary, an each occupation has it's Guild. You don't choose your job, you're born to it. Each Guild elects a Master, who is their representative in Parliament. The Grand master of Parliament represents the Dwarves to the outside world. He is also the only one he secret police report to. Dwarven society appears democratic, but this is an illusion. Every Guild has the same vote and sway in Parliament regardless of how many members it has, or even if it's obsolete. Dwarves are expected to spend 1 year in 5 in the Guard, the militia defending the Dwarfholds. This ensures virtually all Dwarves have at least some form of military training in case of attack.
Alignment : Dwarves care mostly about protecting their own, and as such have a strong tendency towards Neutrality. They also obsess over rules and regulations, and are therefore usually a Lawful society as well.
Lands : Dwarves prefer to dwell in underground cities carved from the rock in high mountain passes which are difficult or inaccessible (and therefore easy to defend).
Settlements : Dwarves rarely settle, but if so it must be mountainous terrain, or some other easily defended area they can tunnel in. The soil must also be able to support their fungi crops, and the water must be potable and have enough oxygen to raise the blind cave fish they eat.
Beliefs : The Dwarves worship The Source, an impersonal manifestation of the grand design of the Universe. It has no representation and has never manifested, and only the Dwarves truly believe in it. Also worshiped is Mekanizur, the Machine God. Mekanizur is also largely worshiped only by Dwarves, but some Templars may provide him with prayers as well.
Relations: Elves thwarted Dwarven invention and technological advancement for years. Between that and the wars, and the Fallen, they despise the Elves. Since humans tend to be the Elves preferred military force (being more easily manipulated than Dwarves) they aren't fond of them either. They don't like the Orcs and Goblins as they have fought many wars with them, but seem to have a grudging respect for their toughness.
DWARF ADVENTURES · The Guild has an experimental new spell eating engine they need to test out, which means they need to find a Witch or Elven Sorcerer to fight. You've been chosen to escort the Technomancers running the engines, and keep them alive, and the engines out of enemy hands.
· The military has some experimental new 'improvements' the Technomancers want to try out, and your unit has been equipped with new Blunderbuses and Grenades. There are three Elves who've been spotted in the area, and you''re to test the new weapons on them (with another group standing by just in case things go wrong). But the other unit never shows, and neither do the Elves. And you're a little too far outside the Hold for comfort...
· You're unit is contacted to guard a mine when odd, monstrous corpses are found buried in the earth. Accidents have killed miners and rumors are flowing freely, but what's frightens you is that the corpses are in different places when you see them. They don't move while you're watching, so you wonder if they're not really dead, o someone is playing an odd joke to take advantage of the situation. But such a joke would likely require magic, and Dwarves can't use magic..
