Dwarf

Dwarves hail from the depths of the earth, and have lived there for ages beyond count. Much like the stone they resemble, dwarves possess great fortitude and an indomitable will of granite. They are a proud, loyal, and honorable people, with lives said to be as long as the tunnels they delve beneath wind-scoured mountains. Renowned for their stonework and metal crafting, dwarves expend much of their  lives perfecting their skills and mining ever deeper for rare ores and gems. There, in those dark recesses, the dwarves have unearthed many abominations and clashed with ferocious enemies, for the underworld is home to innumerable, and usually baneful creatures, who consider dwarves their mortal foes.

Description: Dwarves resemble the rock and stone they so love. They are short, stocky and muscled from years of labor at the forge, or from tunnelling through the earth. Dwarves grow long beards and moustaches that are considered a symbol of maturity and honor; the most renowned dwarves have great, thick beards sweeping to their feet. Dwarven skin is a varied as the stone they work. Their deep-set eyes tend to be blue, hazel or gray and sharp enough to pierce the gloom of the underworld.
Personality: Dwarves are bound by codes of honor that obligate them to kin and kingdom. They consider themselves eternally beholden to their parents and immediate kin, for their parents brought them into the world. Likewise, the dwarven kingdom serves as both guardian and a source of succor, so an enormous debt is also owed to the dwarf’s kingdom and homeland. These are debts many dwarves consider irredeemable. At its most extreme, the code obliges dwarves to sacrifice all in the name of kith, kin and kingdom, even if the cause is unjust or hopeless. The dwarves are also bound to another code that, at its simplest, requires just compensation to be paid for service dutifully rendered. This code guides all of their business and interpersonal dealings.
Dwarves place high value on their skills both as craftsmen and warriors – and rightly so. Dwarves are meticulous and patient. All possess an expert’s attention to detail, and granite determination, regardless of the undertaking at hand. Their expertise in crafting metal or stone is without equal in the world, and their steadfastness in battle is as certain as a mountain is strong.
Dwarven stubbornness is nothing more than an expression of the codes of loyalty, debt, obligation and the determination they project into their daily lives. Dwarves are slow to shift loyalties and loathe breaking oaths, doing so only in dire circumstances. The word of a dwarf is as valuable as gold and gems, flowing from generations of tradition and belief. Many mistake the dwarven disposition for greed and avariciousness, and some believe dwarves simply take advantage of all they can in both business and war. In reality, the dwarven personality stems from a sense of duty, loyalty and just compensation enforced by centuries of tradition.
Racial Affinities: Dwarves associate with many demi-humans and humanoids, though their relations are poor with almost all of them. Relations with elves are often strained – dwarves do not understand elven psychology, and do not consider their codes of honor to be particular or reliable. Dwarves work well with halflings in business matters, but tend to limit interactions to commercial relationships. Human cultures and society vary widely, so dwarven relationships with humans vary widely as well. To dwarves, humans can appear as honorable as any dwarf, or as loathsome as a goblin. Dwarves often consider gnomes to be their friends and allies. Gnomish culture most closely mirrors dwarven social and cultural mores. However, certain gnomish characteristics can ignite a dwarf’s short temper, particularly if gnomes and dwarves find themselves coveting the same resources. Dwarves bear great enmity for goblins, orcs and their kin, for they are locked in a timeless struggle beneath the earth. With these creatures, dwarves have few dealings other than by the sharp edge of a sword or axe. Another hated enemy of the dwarves are the ogres and giants often found in mountainous passes. Giants treat dwarves as a tasty food source, and ogres prey upon tempting dwarven caravans. Dwarves are always wary of these enemies, and war with them constantly.
Environment: Most often, dwarves live beneath the earth in great halls of stone, stretching for miles under expansive mountain chains. These dwarven kingdoms often extend deep into the bowels of the earth as they mine ever further for precious metals and stones. Some clans, however, spend much of their lives above ground, building tunnels only for mining, and not as abodes. These dwarves live in areas where massive underground stoneworks are difficult to build, due to lack of proper stone or simple impracticality. Small dwarven communities can be found in even the most remote of environs, for dwarves explore the world’s borderlands, ever searching for new veins of ore.

RACIAL TRAITS AND ABILITIES

Animosity (Elves): The disparate personalities of dwarves and elves have resulted in eons of misunderstandings, squabbles and even wars between the two races. Dwarves consider elves to be disloyal and untrustworthy partners in war or trade. As a result, dwarves suffer a -2 penalty to charisma checks when dealing with elves to whom they are not closely associated.
Deepvision: Ages spent beneath the earth in the dark and quiet places of the world have imbued dwarves with the ability to see in darkness where a human would find it impenetrable. This vision extends up to 120 feet in even the darkest of nights and deepest of tunnels. Colors tend to erode with deepvision, and objects appear in shades of gray. It is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function well with no light at all. Bright lights, such as from a lantern or other light source, spoil deepvision. A dwarf requires one minute to adjust their eyes when a light source is extinguished before gaining full use of deepvision.
Determine Depth And Direction: The world beneath mountains and in the deeps of the earth is the natural home of the dwarf. Dwarves can sense their approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up. The dwarf can determine direction underground just as easily. Enmity (Goblins/Orcs): Eternal wars against goblins and orcs have created an undying crucible of hatred for these vile creatures. When in combat against goblins or orcs, this fury and hatred allows dwarves a +1 bonus to hit these creatures. Dwarves have a similar distrust of half-orcs. Dwarves find inter-breeding with goblinoids to be the worst of all sins, and their powerful antipathy towards pure goblinoids negatively affects dwarven relations with half-orcs. Dwarves suffer a -4 to charisma checks when interacting with half-orcs, goblins and orcs.
Defensive Expertise (Giants/Ogres): Long regarded as a food source by many giants, dwarves have developed considerable expertise in fighting them. Combined with their small size, this tactical expertise allows dwarves to offer resistance to the powerful giants. When fighting giants or ogres, dwarves receive a +4 bonus to armor class.
Resistant To Arcane Magic: As unshakeable as granite or iron, dwarves are particularly resistant to arcane magic. They receive a +3 bonus to all saving throws against arcane spells and spelllike effects.
Resistant To Fear: Dwarven loyalty, duty, stubbornness and honor lend them courage where other races might falter. Dwarves receive a +2 bonus to all saving throws against fear. Resistant To Poisons: Dwarves are imbued with great constitutional fortitude. Poisons that might fell a normal human are less likely to affect a dwarf. Dwarves receive a +2 bonus to all poison saving throws.
Stonecraft (Wisdom): Dwarves spend much of their lives carving halls, castles and underground fortresses out of solid rock, so they possess an extensive knowledge of stoneworking and construction. They possess almost a sixth sense in this regard which gives them various bonuses and abilities. Dwarves are capable of spotting unusual or unique construction or stonework features including new construction, unfamiliar architecture, sliding walls, stonework traps, unsafe stone surfaces, unstable ceilings and secret or concealed doorways constructed or disguised as stone. A dwarf passing within 10 feet of one of these features is entitled to a wisdom check at +2 to recognize the feature, as if actively looking for it. Should a dwarf actively search for these features, the bonus to the wisdom check is +4. When examining a feature, a successful wisdom check reveals other bits of knowledge, such as which race created the feature, its approximate age, and if applicable, the approximate value of a stone or metal object.
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblinoid, Halfling, Elven, Ogrish, Giant, Troll
Size: Small
Movement: 20 Feet
Typical Classes: Fighter, Rogue, Barbarian, Cleric, Bard
Attribute Modifiers: +1 Constitution, -1 Dexterity
Ability Modifier: +2 Find Traps In Structures Only