Dwarves: Hill

Hill dwarves are the aloof, confident, and sometimes proud dwarven cousins of the Mountain dwarves. They are known to be arpticularly stalwart warriors and shrewd traders. Hill dwarves are stout, tough individuals like their Mountain dwarf brethren but are less off-putting and gruff in nature. Conversely, hill dwarves are often less agile than other dwarves. The average hill dwarf is about 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and as heavy as a full-grown human, making them somewhat squatter than the more common mountain dwarves. Hill dwarves are also distinguishable by their light brown or tanned skin, significantly darker than that of most dwarves, and their brown or hazel eyes. Hill dwarves have black, gray, or brown hair, which fade to light gray over time. Hill dwarf males and some females could grow beards, which are carefully groomed and grown to great lengths.
Their story beings with The Dwarven Word, when part of the dwarves ran away into the Elemental Plane of Fire, shedding their earthly skin and taking the fire completely becoming the Ember Dwarves, the Azer. During their time there, they would have fought many other creatures, including Fire Elementals and the Efreet as they weren't a welcomed race there. They quickly became slaves to the other races of fire. The great proud race, enslaved. One Ember Dwarf that was able to defeat many of the Efreet, captured one and unwittingly said "I wish..." Many speculate what the exact wording of his wish was, most theories point to wishing for his people to have bodies again. The captured noble Efreet, thinking that the fool damned his race, granted the wish to him. The Azer, beings of fire, suddenly had bodies made out brass and bronze. Instead of making them slower, more complaint to their masters, they gained much from this change and escaped. Some of these Azer would find themselves looking for a way out, they hated their new bodies and wished to go back. That was the moment Urist Thunder came to the Elemental Plane of Fire. With heavy hearts, they agreed, turning back into dwarves with mortal flesh and were teleported to the many hills of the Material Plane. They would rekindle friendship with their Mountain brethren but didn't see eye to eye with the hatred towards the Duergar, even after the many wars that the underground folk waged.

On Tethys

Hill dwarves more commonly work as traders than artisans, seeing greatness in craft from every race. They tend to have good relationships with the Mountain dwarves but try to keep similar relationships with other races. Some consider them greedy as many of the Hill dwarves seek out not adventure but treasures in their journeys and like to hoard the metal. Most would say they like the feel of the metal on their skin, probably a side-effect of the time their race was the Azer. Also, they have liking to hotter climates, thus they shy away from high mountains, preferring to live lover, especially on warm hills or in the deserts. There were few Hill dwarven nations over the millennia, as they tend to like working with other races, not only among their own clans. The most notable are Limâr-ilir, a great nation of brewers, or Limâr-zareth, the biggest Hill dwarf nation of merchants and rebuilders.

First World

The Hill dwarves on the First World Theory lost all of their lands, their cities were taken over by humans. They preferred to live in port cities.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Azer

Dwarf (Hill)

Ability Score Increase Con +2; Wis +1

Size Medium

Speed 25 ft.

---

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.
Alignment. Most dwarves are lawful, believing firmly in the benefits of a well-ordered society. They tend toward good as well, with a strong sense of fair play and a belief that everyone deserves to share in the benefits of a just order.
Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.
Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you 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 color in darkness, only shades of gray.
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 battleaxe, handaxe, light hammer, and warhammer.
Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: Smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.
Stonecunning. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, 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 Common 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 Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.