Gray Dwarves

Description

The Gray Dwarves, or 'Thaki' as they call themselves, are an off-shoot of the Pale Dwarves who have established a series of colonies deeper down into the Pale Mountains. They are a mixture of dwarves who were exiled, or dwarves who willingly ran from their holds due to the oppressive rule of the Kharaz. Initially they were content to just be able to survive in chasms far away from the watchful eye of the Kharaz's intelligence network. However as they have grown in population and have heard from these newcomers that more and more of the dwarfs have become fed up with the rule of the Kharaz, they have started to work towards an insurgency.

Culture

Life deep underground is difficult to say the least, but the Thaki have adapted to it well. They have observed the conditions under which the edible luminous moss that exists down here grows, and have managed to cultivate it for their own use. They also hunt the myriad of creatures that can be found here such as Umber Hulks, Staukata and the occasional Behir. Their lives are not easy and this has led to a culture to very much focuses on and admires strength. Leadership of their small clans is decided by strength as well, to become the leader one must defeat the current leader in single combat.
As they are all essentially runaways or descendants of runaways, Thaki communities share a sense of kinship and all are essentially equal. The only exception to this are traitors who tried to betray the Thaki in an attempt to endear themselves again to the Kharaz. These are branded and turned into slaves. Exile is not an option in these cases as the danger of them telling the Kharaz about their location would be far too high.
The Thaki are grim and somewhat pessimistic about their future. While they all talk about taking down the Kharaz and freeing Dwarven society, realistically the chance of them succeeding is rather low. As a result they have turned to the Gods for aid, even some of the more questionable ones. As the God of change and revolution, Larum (who they call 'Ghull-har') has been a key focus of their religion and the Thaki hold many extensive rituals in his name to ask for guidance. The women serve as his prophetesses and they try to divine his signs through extispicy of the entrails of the Staukata.

Statistics

Being a similar type as Duergar, they use the same statistics as the Underdark Dwarfs.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Unlike regular Dwarves, the Thaki that have lived underground for most of their lives are bald and their women have no facial hair.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Dwarves

Lifespan

300 years on average.

Average Height

1.2m-1.4m on average.

Average Weight

50-80 kg on average.

Average Physique

They are short and bulky, just like normal Dwarves. However due to the poor nutritional value of their diet of edible moss they are a bit thinner and have less muscle mass.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Their skin is more of a dull gray, likely due to living permanently underground..