Dwarven Monks

Monk: Astral Self, Drunken Master, Cobalt Soul, Long Death, Sun Soul, Living Weapon.
Astral Self dwarves most often come from the Clan Cragmantle were once proud owners over all of the land the dwarven nation now claims as sovereign territory. Placed there in order to serve as barons, they managed the kingdom’s interests in the area for centuries. During this time they adapted the local ritual of weathering, wherein they would submit themselves to the cruel blast of the wasteland’s harsh winds for days at a time darkening their skin and making themselves tougher. This in turn, supposedly enhanced their will to such a degree that they have almost magic like abilities, and though this claim is dubious, it is also true that their skill with Ki is unmatched.
Drunken Masters are called Windriders, a term used mostly to deride these monks for wasting their time blowing hot air. Though mostly a joke, there does exist an actual school of fighters born after the Bronze Street Massacre. Drow spies had infiltrated the city of Dornhallow and started a riot in the marketplace by unleashing several enraged Urden and using the chaos to go after a well-renowned general. Fortunately for the individual in question, he was drinking at the Shattered Keg Tavern, a drinking hole famed for near-constant fights. Patrons have to physically fight the bouncer to gain entry the first time they sought access, and after that had to join at least one bare-knuckle fight a month in order to be allowed to keep their membership to the tavern. Upon entry, the surprised drow assassins found themselves attacked from all sides by drunken dwarves halfway through a four-day bender. In the end, only a handful of patrons were injured in the initial fight, while all the assassins were killed or captured. It is noted that the resulting celebration caused more injuries and deaths than the Drow assassination attempt.
The Way Of The Cobalt Soul are called the Walkers Of The Fourfold Path, or simply Walkers to most dwarves. These rare individuals study in the hidden neutral city of Everdark, a safe haven for any seeking refuge during the constant warfare that plagues the Underdark. Within this city is the Vault of Kings, a repository of ancient knowledge garnered from scavenged libraries of both drow and dwarven origin. There they walk the fourfold path, aligning themselves spiritually with the practices of neutrality, knowledge, will, and finally strength. All who study there walk such a path, though it is only the walkers who do all four, and truly complete their training. Now warriors armed with knowledge lost to most races, they go out in search of more lost tomes to return home. These quests may take years or even centuries, while others leave in order to pen their own texts and study strange phenomena themselves. Either way, they are tolerated by drow and dwarves, but welcomed by most other societies eager to learn what they know.
The Way Of The Long Death originated from the dwarves of Deephold, a strategically unimportant backwater city forgotten by most dwarves. They were beset by The Dark Ones, and Gray Dwarves/The Forgotten, only for a ragtag group of dwarves to emerge some twenty years later from the now destroyed settlement. Though they lived, the group emerged different, altered by their experience. Dark rings surrounded their eyes, and their skin had turned an ashy grey color. Their hair is always black, even when they near the end of their long lives, having become older than most. The dwarves of Deephold gained a strange longevity, a grim countenance, and an unnerving manner of speech. They also learned a strange method of fighting that came with their close, intimate relationship with death. Clan Deephold was born that day, but the way of the long death was also founded at the same time. Since then others outside the clan have studied and mastered the way and though they do not gain the same appearance as the way’s founders, they almost always become grim, quiet, and macabre.
Way of Sun Soul is called the Enkindled in dwarven society, the practice having emerged from a group of blacksmiths known for their skill in crafting weapons especially strong against demons and other conjured horrors. The Brightheart family rode this success into clandhood, and eventually even started to see that their most skilled blacksmiths were becoming strangely empowered. Working with Sunstone for so long had awakened something inside of them, and through meditation and training, they found that they could emit blasts of luminous fire. Since then many young dwarves have come in order to try and become one of the enkindled. Some desire the power to smite their enemies, others to add to their arsenal, while a few try to reach the rank of master so that they may be inducted into Clan Brightheart.
Way of the Living Weapon, or Foregeborn, as it is known to the dwarves, is a monastic tradition born from a very unlikely action. Long ago, at the beginning of The War Of Darkened Halls, there was a skilled blacksmith by the name of Avalasia of Clan Redforge. Renowned for their ability to give weapons an edge so keen it could bypass even the most well-constructed piece of armor, their services were in high demand. Unfortunately, they were also afflicted with the Dark Iron Curse, a type of werecurse. Though most creatures become animals or gain animal-like characteristics for a limited time, the Dark Iron curse drives the individual mad with pain and rage for twenty-four hours once every few weeks. Those with an especially powerful will can control it, but most turn into monstrous half-metal creatures with barely any semblance of personhood. Avalasia was one such individual and was turning at an unexpected time while watching their children. With no other choice, they threw themselves into the forge, hoping to save their children from their own rage. Surprisingly they did not die, and were instead transformed once again, regaining their sanity and gaining control over the curse. Though not nearly as strong, they were able to focus their curse into different parts of their body.
ascendant dragon
four elements
kensie
mercy
open hand
shadow
tranquility