- Dwarves are a noble race of demihumans who dwell under the earth, forging great cities and waging massive wars against the forces of their enemies. Dwarves also have much in common with the rocks and gems they love to work, for they are both hard and unyielding. It's often been said that it's easier to make a stone weep than it is to change a dwarf's mind.
- Dwarves are a declining race in Fälgorna. Low birth rates and continuous wars with their humanoid enemies have been the greatest contributing factors to the race's negative population growth. Due to the unsure status of their existence as a race, dwarves have become somber in personality, clannish, and xenophobic. They are a secretive race and strive to keep dwarven secrets out of the hands of non-dwarves. Most dwarves are more than a little arrogant and tend to attribute all things of above average craftsmanship to their dwarven ancestors.
- Dwarven clothing tends to be simple and functional. They often wear earth tones, and their cloth is considered rough by many other races, especially men and elves. Dwarves usually wear one or more pieces of jewelry, though these items are usually not of any great value or very ostentatious. Though dwarves value gems and precious metals they consider it in bad taste to flaunt wealth.
- Since much of their culture is focused on creating things from the earth, dwarves produce a large amount of useful, valuable trade material. Dwarves are skilled miners. Though they rarely sell the precious metals and rough gems they uncover, dwarven miners have been known to sell surpluses to local human communities. Dwarves are also skilled engineers and master builders--though they work almost exclusively with stone--and some dwarven architects work for humans quite frequently.
- Dwarves most often trade in finished goods. Many clans are dedicated to working as blacksmiths, silversmiths, goldsmiths, armorers, weaponmakers, and gemcutters. Dwarven products are highly valued for their workmanship. In human communities, these goods often demand premium prices. Many humans are willing to pay the high price for a suit of dwarven mail or a dwarven sword, because they know that the dwarf who forge the item made it to last a dwarven lifetime, so they'll never need to worry about it wearing out in theirs.
- The dwarven subraces available as PC races are: Hill Dwarf, Mountain Dwarf, Deep Dwarf, and Duergar. Hill Dwarves are the most common dwarves, but PCs may play any of the dwarven subraces listed above. The special abilities of the dwarven subraces, personality traits and other relevant information are described in greater detail in The Complete Book of Dwarves, The Monstrous Manual and the Forgotten Realms accessory Dwarves' Deep. The abilities of the various subraces are summarized below for convenience.
- All dwarven subraces share the following common abilities unless otherwise specified in a subrace's description.
- Dwarves have a high resistance to magic and gain a +1 bonus to saving throws vs. magical wands, staves, rods and spells for every 3.5 points of Constitution they have as detailed on Table 2.1 below.
- Magic not specifically suited to a dwarf's class has a 20% chance to malfunction every time an attempt is made to use it.
- Dwarves have a high resistance to toxic substances and gain a +1 bonus to saving throws vs. poison for every 3.5 points of Constitution they have as detailed on Table 2.1 below.
- Dwarves receive a +1 bonus to hit orcs, half-orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins.
- The small size of dwarves and their training since childhood in tactics for fighting the larger-sized humanoid enemies of their race gives them an advantage when combating ogres, trolls, ogre magi, giants, giant-kin and titans; these monsters modify their attack rolls by -4 when attempting to strike dwarves in combat due to the size difference and the dwarves' training in fighting such large foes.
- Dwarves have a movement rate of MV 6.
- Dwarves receive 300 skill points for racial detection abilities (See Chapter 5).
- Dwarves receive a bonus skills in Dwarf Runes, Endurance, and a craft skill of their choice.
Constitution
Score
Saving Throw
Bonus
4-6
+1
7-10
+2
11-13
+3
14-17
+4
18-20
+5
Score
Bonus
-
- Dwarves in general are a sturdy race and have higher Constitution scores than other races. However, because they are a solitary people Charisma is penalized when dealing with non-dwarves. Their strong will and spirit warrants a bonus to Ego for all but the Duergar. Consult the following table for dwarven racial ability score modifiers.
- Dwarves in general are a sturdy race and have higher Constitution scores than other races. However, because they are a solitary people Charisma is penalized when dealing with non-dwarves. Their strong will and spirit warrants a bonus to Ego for all but the Duergar. Consult the following table for dwarven racial ability score modifiers.
Hill
+1 Constitution, -1 Charisma, +1 Ego
Mountain
+1 Constitution, -1 Charisma, +2 Ego
Deep
+2 Constitution, -2 Charisma, +2 Ego
Duergar
+1 Constitution, -2 Charisma
- A dwarf's life centers around his family and clan. The honor of a dwarf's clan holds a position of great importance in the dwarven psyche and most dwarves will die defending that honor rather than live in shame or suffer the defamer of his clan name to live.
- Dwarven society is organized into clans which in human terms are the size of small kingdoms. Each dwarven clan consists of numerous lesser clans or septs made up of related families. Each sept is ruled by a dwarven lord and each family by a patriarch. A dwarven sept not already attached to a city or mine travels until it finds an outpost where it can begin to ply a trade. Septs of the same clan often settle close together since they usually need the same raw materials for their crafts. Septs very rarely settle in lands claimed by clans other than their own. However, the major dwarven clans are competitive, but very rarely war against one another.
- The septs usually specialize in a particular craft or skill; young dwarves are apprenticed at an early age to a master in their sept (or, occasionally, in another sept) to learn a trade. Since dwarves live so long, apprenticeships last for many years. Dwarves also consider political and military service a skilled trade, so soldiers and nobles are usually subjected to a long period of apprenticeship before they are considered professionals.
- To determine a dwarf's clan roll or pick a clan from the tables below. Several smaller clans do exist, but the largest of these counts fewer than 2,000 dwarves as members.
- Dwarven society is organized into clans which in human terms are the size of small kingdoms. Each dwarven clan consists of numerous lesser clans or septs made up of related families. Each sept is ruled by a dwarven lord and each family by a patriarch. A dwarven sept not already attached to a city or mine travels until it finds an outpost where it can begin to ply a trade. Septs of the same clan often settle close together since they usually need the same raw materials for their crafts. Septs very rarely settle in lands claimed by clans other than their own. However, the major dwarven clans are competitive, but very rarely war against one another.
Tumanzahar (Kent, Misty Mountains & Hills; population: 100,000)
Khuzduun (Het, Lower Black Mountains, Black Hills; population: 350,000)
Zlbregrunt (Crystal Hills & Boulder Hills; population: 40,000)
Gabilgathol (Zorgos, Lower Spineridge Mountains; population: 70,000)
Heselgartle (Upper Spineridge Mountains; population: 40,000)
Eriador (Coltus; population: 15,000)
Dzargritin (Upper Black Mountains; population: 100,000)
Skjölduzirk (population: 50,000)
Healfdene (population: 7,000)
Tryggvason (population: 35,000)
Olafzarirurik (population: 110,000)
Mygnach-tar-Skjörd (population: 60,000)
Iinidoran (population: 2,500)
Nyetren (population: 100,000)
Bejinorkan (population: 30,000)
Fiblaine (population: 16,000)
Ginerdorvinoth (population: 85,000)
Hvernodrik (population: 40,000)
Kjorgirdnisk (population: 4,000)
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