Dwarf

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General Appearance

True people of the land, Dwarves are stout in stature and heart. Having the same racial diversity in colour as Humans, though of a smaller size. Dwarves of both sexes value good strong beards, for outsiders the only way to tell them apart is the adornments in the beard with male dwarves using metal beard clasps and female dwarves using more elaborate and often wooden clasps and clips to style their beards.

Racial Attributes

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age. Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they're considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.

Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Darkvision. Despite not living underground, dwarves have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.

Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Dwarven Combat Training. You have proficiency with the battle-axe, hand axe, light hammer, and warhammer.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: farmer's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.

Groundcunning. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework or fieldwork to determine it's usage and suitability for crops, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Trade Basic and Dwarvish. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak.

Dwarven Ethnic Groups

Hill Dwarf

Hill Dwarves are the farmers, field hands and landscapers in the Dwarven world. It's by the sweat of their brow that the plates of Dwarves, Halflings and Gnomes are filled with all the fruits of the earth. Stouter than Mountain Dwarves, these dwarves are not generally given to flights of fancy and adventure, preferring to do an honest days labour.

• Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

• Dwarven Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.

Mountain Dwarf

Mountain Dwarves are the hot headed, adventurous types that generally don't get along with sitting in a field all day watching turnips grow. Taller and generally stronger than Hill Dwarves, the Mountain Dwarves have taken on the role of protector and vanguard of the Dwarvish races. When the Gnomes need a new tunnel cleared out, or a pack of wolves or bears threatens the hill homes of Halflings, it's the Mountain Dwarves that step up, don their armour and clear out any threats.

• Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.

• Dwarven Armor Training. You have proficiency with light and medium armour.

Dwarven Society

Broad Overview

The Dwarves of Werlyth are a largely peaceful farming community, not driven to excesses of wealth, or exploration, Dwarves are seemingly content to work the land as perfectly as possible. The entirety of Dwarf, Halfling and Gnomish races are collected under one nation, Khalan which has been ruled over by a council of each group since time immemorial. As such, these groups have not had even a single war since their inception, and while there have been disputes (usually about farmland, or hill ownership, or which Gnome specifically found that large gold seam) these have been resolved within the council or by local burghers working as regional managers on behalf of the council. Every citizen in Khalan has their place and their purpose and these are managed by the Guilds, groups that ensure that the nation is kept at optimal operation. Guilds exist for every possible profession in the Dwarvish nation and are tightly managed.

Largely Peaceful

Despite the good work of the council over the years, and the generally peaceful nature of Dwarvishkind, Khalan is not without it's intrigue and the sly, shifty and downright nefarious are to be found everywhere. The Guilds are not immune to corruption and are often vying to fill roles and get the best people under their banner, Dwarves have a low birthrate and thus every child is precious. This has led to underhanded bribes, quiet assassinations and the occasional kidnapping, but luckily not all out war. Everyone seems to know this is the way it works, but nobody dares to rock the boat.

The Effects of The Return

The Dwarves returned to a disaster, while there wasn't a lot of immediate death, hill and mountain homes being very resilient, there were no crops and all stores had long since rotted away. The ensuing famine as all of Dwarvishkind struggled in vain to restore their fields and foodstores decimated the populations of Dwarves, Halflings and Gnomes alike. These famines lasted a number of years and caused a minor exodus of Dwarves seeking to find salvation elsewhere in the world.

Several members of the council perished following The Return and there has been a quiet discord in the nation as things rebuild. The Guilds are understaffed and the Council is missing members. This is the largest crisis since the 30000 BC blights.