Dwarf

The underground denizens of the mountains, who constantly fight against mechanized corruption

Base Racial Traits

Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -4 Charisma): Dwarves, their bodies modified and augmented from a young age, are strong and hardy as well as wise but lack dexterity and are extremely unseemly and off-putting to others.
Size: Dwarves are medium-sized creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Type: Dwarves are humanoid creatures with the dwarf subtype.
Speed: Dwarves have a base land speed of 20ft, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumberance.
Vision: Dwarves, adapted to life underground, gain Darkvision out to 60ft.
Languages: Elves begin play speaking the Regional Language that reflects their origins ONLY(See Languages of Numiastra for more info). Dwarves with High INT Can select from either Low Ironite, Modulo, Sylvan, or Giant as bonus languages.
Personalized Crashplates: In a paltry imitation of the mountain-sized plates used to defend their citadels from bombardment, Dwarven skin hardens in response to sudden physical trauma - Dwarves force all firearm attacks made against them to resolve against their full AC instead of their touch AC so long as they are within the hostile firearm's first range increment.
Smogsmucker Pipes: Having connected pipes directly into their circulatory system to filter airborne toxins and contaminants, Dwarves project a bubble of clean air as per the Air Bubble spell in a 5ft radius around themselves. This grants them and any being completely within this radius immunity to inhaled poisons and harmful airborne effects such as cloudkill. Using this effect produces significant amounts of noise while in operation, though Dwarves can stop or start this effect as a full-round action that does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity.
Wavecrusher Uplink: Installed with the most cutting-edge radio transceivers in their bodies, Dwarves can communicate with all others of their kind(Or any other creatures with a Wavecrusher Uplink) within a 5 mile radius as if they had a constant extraordinary telepathic connection, and can use basic radio communication to any device within 1 mile. Additionally, Dwarves can use their Wavecrusher Uplink to detect magical and mundane telepathic/radio communication(or anything similar) within the same radius - this only gives them the frequency of the connection(Or the general power of the sender and recipient if it is a magical effect) and the loose distance and direction it is originating from or going to(Whichever is closer). They can also use this Uplink to communicate with Technological Devices and control them remotely(If properly authorized to do so).
Machine Savants: Dwarves, blessed with a natural understanding of machines and excellent eyesight, gain a racial +2 to both Knowledge(Engineering) and Perception and gain both as class skills if they weren't already. Dwarves automatically identify the material composition of objects they study for one full minute as well as their general health(Functioning, Malfunctioning, Disabled, Etc).
Offensive Protocols: As their bodies rapidly ossify into metal and wire, Dwarven Techsmiths have discovered the existence of unique "programs" running within their bodies, and learned to wield them offensively - so long as a Dwarf is within 100ft of a secured line of communication(Such as Radio, Sending/Message, Etc), they can attempt a contested d20 roll adding their HD against the originator of the effect or the creator of the radio/device; on a success, they crack the encryption and can listen in without arousing notice. Dwarves can also break into secured areas protected with encryption or security protocols in much the same way, though it takes exponentially more time depending on the strength of the security and some may prove uncrackable(GM Discretion). Dwarves can take CON damage to increase the power and speed of this security cracking.
The Old Ways: Whenever Dwarves make a melee attack after a charge, they can do so off of the target's touch AC instead of their normal AC. If they have pounce or something that would give them a full-attack on a charge, this only applies to one of those attacks at their discretion. Dwarves may also charge through allied squares and can charge 3x their movement speed instead of 2x.
Visualization: Blessed with unique brains that allow them to visualize a phenomenal amount of information, Dwarves can literally "see" the histories and possibilities of objects - they treat all Craft and Profession Skills as class skills, can craft all items both mundane and magical in 25% less time than usual(rounding up), and can do so at 5% reduced cost. This ability also allows them to, by focusing for a minute on an object or area, look into that object or area's past and see the object's past functions(if it was once part of a whole) or its previous uses or users(Gaining vague information on them as people unless they left a particularly strong imprint on the object, GM discretion). For areas, they can examine their surroundings and reconstruct events that occured nearby up to 1 month per HD they possess in the past - since this comes from extraordinary deductive reasoning, it only allows for a factual reconstruction of events that happened and does not infer details aside from clearly observable forensic information(Such as shoe size, gait, etc). Areas that have been thoroughly and supernaturally cleansed may have this duration shortened, GM Discretion.
The Quiet Death: All Dwarves begin play with The Steelsoul Corruption(Described below).

The Steelsoul Corruption

Cure: There is, much to the chagrin of Dwarves everywhere, no currently known cure for The Steelsoul Corruption - once it has its roots within a creature the only hope for them to live a normal life is to alleviate its effects with careful discipline and healthy living. There exists seldom and precious few ways to reverse the effects of this corruption - but none can reduce it below Stage I.

• The first and most commonly known way is via invasive surgery - this surgery must be performed by a creature with at least as many HD as the corrupted creature, who must succeed on a Difficult Skill Challenge (12 Successes vs 3 Failures, one skill of which MUST be Heal) and be supplied with an amount of valuable parts and components and tinctures equal to at least 1,000 GP per HD of the corrupted creature. If this check is successful, their corruption is reduced by one stage and cannot be reduced again for one month's time in this manner. On a failure, the stage is not reduced and this method cannot be tried again for 1 week.


• The second and rarer method is via powerful magic such as Regenerate - which, upon casting will automatically reverse the effects of this corruption by 1 stage to a minimum of stage I. GM has discretion on any other spells or magics that can reduce this corruption, but it should at least be about as powerful or hard to acquire as regenerate. When using this method, the casting creature must roll a 1d100 - on a roll of 1-10, the caster must make a DC (15 + their HD) Fortitude Save or progress to Stage I of this corruption. Being within an Antitech Field or within the radius of a Hallow spell reduces this to a roll of a 1 instead of 1-10.


• Any other methods, if they exist, are likely exclusive to the Dwarves of Numiastra - rumors exist of such miraculous devices, but any devices, if they exist, have never been confirmed.

Progression: Each time a creature with the Steelsoul Corruption falls below 0HP or fails a fortitude save against any effect except the save for this corruption, they must succeed on a Fortitude Save(DC 15 + their HD) or progress to the next stage of the corruption in 3 days time from the point of failing the save. If, before this three day period is up, the creature spends 8 full hours replacing the failing organic parts of their body with constructed replacements(Which must be crafted or found, and of a decently high quality, GM Discretion), they gain a 50% chance to not progress to the next stage at the end of the 3 day period. If they do not progress, the DC of the above Fortitude Save increases by 2 until they advance to the next stage.

• Stage I: At this stage, the curse has turned several minor parts of the affected's body into metal and has begun to transform them in small and minor ways - creatures otherwise take no effects but find themselves easily falling into routines, performing repetitive actions easily, and obsessing over fine details and semantics more often than most, or any other construct-themed flavor effects at the affected creature's discretion(To determine their own RP drawback, essentially).


• Stage II: At this stage, the affected creature finds their emotions and feelings slowly deadening as all they once loved and cared for ceases to move or interest them. They gain a +4 on saves vs mind-affecting or emotion effects and gain +4 natural armor(Which applies to touch AC as well), but take a -4 on all reflex saves to avoid AoE damaging effects and can be affected by spells and effects as if they were a metallic construct.


• Stage III: The creature's body swells with mechanized power, and they grow one size category and gain DR 10/Adamantine as their body becomes bulky and metallic. They become entirely immune to poisons, bleed, and diseases, no longer need to eat, drink, or sleep, and automatically stabilize when below 0HP. However, they can no longer benefit from potions, elixirs, extracts, or any other beneficial item that requires consumption. Additionally, they take automatic damage each of their turns they remain in combat equal to 2x their HD.


• Stage IV: Terminal - the creature's body is fully mechanized and they are for all intents and purposes considered dead. Their body becomes a mindless, soulless automaton and switches type to construct. The creature at this stage is treated as if its body was destroyed and thus can only be restored to life via True Resurrection, Miracle, or Wish.

Basic Information

Anatomy

A short and stocky race, Dwarves stand shorter than most other races - possessing wide and compact bodies that account for their burly appearance as well as powerful muscles to support their short frames. They tend to have denser and thicker bone structures than other races, but otherwise occupy a similar anatomical makeup to other humanoid races - possessing two arms and two legs connected to a central torso with a head located atop the same torso. Rather notably, Dwarves are incredibly hairy beings - their hair is believed to grow at a rate at least four times faster than the human average for reasons that are not entirely clear.
In the best of times, this would be all that could be said of Dwarves - yet, the Dwarves of Numiastra now all carry the insidious "quiet death" known as The Steelsoul Corruption - a virus of the most esoteric and alien kind that hides within their bodies always. This virus, ever-adapting and changing, is well-known to be slowly and methodically altering the anatomical makeup of every single dwarf in existence - growing over the course of each dwarves' life as it slowly converts their organic proteins, skeletal system, musculature, and more into more metallic and automata-like components in processes which even the Dwarves themselves do not fully understand. As such, the anatomy of modern dwarves can be a confusing thing - a mess of haphazardly added and transformed metallic parts strung out across their organic bodies and oddly blended with those same organic parts as their corrupted bodies slowly transform.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dwarves as a species do not have as low a sex drive as Elves so as to be called Asexual, but lack the overwhelming drive humans have for the same...due to their long lives and typical xenophobia that plagues most Dwarven communities, Dwarves are not above having sex for pleasure but rarely fraternize outside of their own species. "Mongrel" is a very common insult thrown around to Dwarves born of unions between dwarves and non-dwarves, and due to this intense discrimination they face coupled with the immense difficultly they face in reproducing with other species Dwarves rarely reproduce with other species both for cultural reasons as well as practical ones - children born of these unions are often mutated or malformed, and more commonly simply they cannot concieve with non-dwarves. Otherwise, though, Dwarves reproduce through sexual reproduction - Dwarve Females carry their children for anywhere between 10 - 14 months before giving birth in special "Stone Circles", where the child is taken and encased as fast as possible in a "Stone Seed" - a casing made of bedrock and other stone that the child is encased in for an additional month or two to help it finish developing, absorbing minerals and power from the ground to finish its growth into a fully fledged baby dwarf. Once this final maturation is finished, the Stone Seed is cracked open and the child is retrieved, having been kept alive and sustained by the power of the rock and stone. Thus, the locations of these "Stone Circles" - large underground ritual chambers where females go to give birth and where infant dwarves are kept in their seeds - are kept highly secret and well-protected. Even in times of antiquity, as many Dwarves once migrated aboveground, this practice endured and the Stone Circles were built underneath their aboveground homes in points where leylines intersected or natural mana was at its strongest.

Growth Rate & Stages

Once born from their stone seed, Dwarves grow at a much slower rate compared to humans and do not reach physical maturity until around age 30. Dwarves typically hit middle age around age 125, become old around age 188, and reach venerable around age 250, after which they can live for anywhere between 2 to 200 years further depending on luck and bodily health.

Ecology and Habitats

Dwarves are most ideally found living underground, and act as industrious mining engineers in these underground environments - they diligently take to mining, surveying, and cataloguing the surrounding area and expanding outwards in a diligent, highly efficient pattern that maximizes the rate of expansion and minimizes the time and complexity of doing so. They are industrious and highly ordered, mining out vast underground tunnels, caverns, and mining networks with armies of miners and workers.
Though dwarves in days of yore once spread out in countless directions above and below ground, Dwarves of the modern day have returned to their underground roots and largely reside in Protectorate of Zur - though they are capable of dwelling in most climates they are usually only found there, though many scholars actually theorize that Dwarves as a species as they exist on Numiastra evolved to thrive in a cold or arctic climate.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Dwarves are omnivores and can eat most anything - notably, they can gain nutrients from the consumption of solid stone as well as other calcite and mineral formations - and ancestral dwarven cuisine as a result is all but inedible to non-dwarves, as bowls of flavored boulder-soups and mineral deposit-based hearty meals, seasoned and cooked in various ways, formed the basis of dwarven meals for time untold.
WIth the advent of The Steelsoul Corruption, however, Dwarves find themselves growing less and less dependant on food and water until, at later stages of the corruption, their need for such things fades entirely.

Biological Cycle

Though once the Dwarven biological cycle was a simple thing of increasing amounts of hair and greying, wrinkled skin, it now stands as disgusting perversion of all a given Dwarf stood for during their lifetime - ironically, old age and the progression of their biological cycle only tends to slow the progression of the Steelsoul Corruption that they suffer from; meaning that the best way for a Dwarf to resist the Steelsoul Corruption is, in many ways, apathy and indolence as their aging bodies grow decrepit enough that the conversion process of the corruption seemingly slows down or stops converting them entirely, deeming their aging flesh too infirm for the process.
Most Dwarves, however, consider this fate a disgrace - and while only the most zealous of Dwarves consider the metallicization process a desirable thing, many Dwarves view it as a great deal more honorable than withering away in abject disgrace.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Dwarven Faces, though they were always known to be rugged and brutish and full of hair, were one of the first victims of The Steelsoul Corruption - oftentimes, their scalp or parts of their face have been turned into metallic plates in ugly blends of flesh and steel which many dwarves elect to hide with clothing, longer hair, or other coverings. Their skin tends to be thick and callous, especially around sites of impending transformation across their bodies, and their eyes tend to be dark and muted, earthen colors. Dwarves who have more fully transformed under the effects of the Steelsoul Corruption tend to lose pupils altogether as their vision transforms or gain oddly colored sclera that grow to resemble robot lenses - though these more-affected dwarves prefer full-facial coverings to hide their increasingly corrupted faces.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Dwarves as they are now in modern Numiastra are found almost exclusively in the distant Protectorate of Zur, their last surviving homeland which has become something of a rallying homeland for any who stand in defiance of The Iron Empire's tyrannical expansion yet have no desire to ally with The Vrýkus Throne. The rare few dwarves who can be found outside this isolated and well-protected homeland are typically wanderers, undercover agents, or captured servants working for The Iron Empire
A few, rare handfuls of Dwarves have escaped further to the north in the Suzerainty of Ruatiwanga, but only a lucky handful.

Average Intelligence

Dwarves are typically moderately intelligent, on par with humanity.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

As a species that was originally adapted to life underground, Dwarves have excellent perception in dark spaces and can see in the dark incredibly well. Some dwarves, as they metallicize thanks to their Steelsoul Corruption, very occasionally develop beneficial ocular and/or sensory capabilities such as the ability to percieve magic or heat signatures and the like, such things are incredibly rare and not the norm.

Alternate Racial Trait List:
NOT YET BUILT.

Racial Feat List:
NOT YET BUILT.

Lifespan

250 Years

Conservation Status

Though once the Dwarves flourished across all of Numiastra, the Skyfall Calamity shattered their once mighty underground empire in violently literal fashion, sending their underground citadels drifting to the far corners of the land - and in the millennia since, most all of these citadels were collapsed and destroyed by the military conquests of The Iron Empire, who feared the Dwarves' ability to threaten them should they be allowed to even the technological playing field. Now, the only Dwarves that remain on Numiastra are either slaves or servants to the Iron Empire or, more commonly, are denizens of The Protectorate of Zur - their last stronghold and civilization.

Average Height

3.8ft - 4.4ft (1.15m - 1.34m)

Average Weight

140lbs - 206lbs (63.5kg - 93.4kg)

Average Physique

Dwarves are almost universally short and stocky, though not always muscular - they tend to be heavyset(Either muscle-wise or fat-wise) and rarely "thin" in the traditional sense as a Human or an Elf might be, and tend to be heavier than many would assume.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Dwarven bodies tend towards darker skin tones, with exceptionally rare and unique colors like jet-black obsidian not uncommon. Dwarves, fond of tattoos and body markings, enjoy decorating their skin and hair in whatever ways they can not only out of a simple cultural fondness for such things and the stories and deeds they represent, but to hide any visible effects of the Steelsoul Corruption as it spreads across their bodies.

A curse born of desperation

Perhaps the greatest tragedy to have afflicted the Dwarven people since The Skyfall Calamity so long ago, the Dwarves of Numiastra, though once they were numerous and their citadels spread across the land, have fallen from grace in a way almost no other race besides perhaps the Elves can truly understand - and much like their Elven brethren, the reason for their suffering can be traced back to The Iron Empire.
Though now only Protectorate of Zur remains as the last bastion of Dwarven Civilization on Numiastra, it was not always so - however, as The Iron Empire spread and its technology grew stronger and stronger, the Dwarves were among the first civilizations to truly collapse under the crushing weight of The Iron Empire's advance. Their mountain citadels, once considered impregnable and unassailable, proved little match in the face of the blackpowder weaponry of the modern age - and thus, each of the once-proud Dwarves Citadels across Numiastra were collapsed under withering Thumper-Cannon salvos one by one until only those of Zur remained.
Facing utter extinction at the hands of their most hated enemy, it was in this darkest of hours that the Dwarves of Zur made their penultimate breakthrough - studying the technology of The Fallen Skycity that caused The Skyfall Calamity, the Dwarves of Zur pioneered their now infamous Crashplates which, once woven into the mountain rock around their citadels, made them all but impregnable to the Thumper-Cannon fire of The Iron Empire through means still poorly understood by all but the Dwarves themselves. However, their experimentations with the ancient technology of the fallen Skycity came at a terrible cost, as their study awakened a virus that had laid dormant in the halls of the Skycity itself for thousands of years since the Calamity - infecting the entire Dwarven Population of Zur with a hideous transformative corruption that even now haunts them; dooming them to a slow death and transformation into mindless constructs unless a cure can eventually be found.
Though the Dwarves have spent centuries attempting to cure this most awful of diseases infecting their population, they have borne dishearteningly little fruit - this, combined with the ever-present threat of The Iron Empire at their doorstep waiting to exterminate or enslave them should they show weakness, has made the dwarves into a dour and brutalistic people who, true to their very natures, yearn and are compelled to find a solution to every problem - yet can envision no other ending to their current path but their own demise; the one problem they cannot solve: their own survival.