Dwarf
Kingdoms rich in ancient grandeur, halls carved into the roots of mountains, the echoing of picks and hammers in deep mines and blazing forges, a commitment to clan and tradition, and a burning hatred of goblins and ores—these common threads unite all dwarves.
Short and Stout
Bold and hardy, dwarves are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Though they stand well under 5 feet tall, dwarves are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as a human standing nearly two feet taller. Their courage and endurance are also easily a match for any of the larger folk.
Dwarven skin ranges from deep brown to a paler hue tinged with red, but the most common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male dwarves value their beards highly and groom them carefully.
Long Memory, Long Grudges
Dwarves can live to be more than 400 years old, so the oldest living dwarves often remember a very different world. For example, some of the oldest dwarves living in Citadel Felbarr (in the world of the Forgotten Realms) can recall the day, more than three centuries ago, when arcs conquered the fortress and drove them into an exile that lasted over 250 years. This longevity grants them a perspective on the world that shorter-lived races such as humans and halflings lack.
Dwarves are solid and enduring like the mountains they love, weathering the passage of centuries with stoic endurance and little change. They respect the traditions of their clans, tracing their ancestry back to the founding of their most ancient strongholds in the youth of the world, and don't abandon those traditions lightly. Part of those traditions is devotion to the gods of the dwarves, who uphold the dwarven ideals of industrious labor, skill in battle, and devotion to the forge.
Individual dwarves are determined and loyal, true to their word and decisive in action, sometimes to the point of stubbornness. Many dwarves have a strong sense of justice, and they are slow to forget wrongs they have suffered. A wrong done to one dwarf is a wrong done to the dwarf's entire clan, so what begins as one dwarf's hunt for vengeance can become a full-blown clan feud.
Clans and Kingdoms
Dwarven kingdoms stretch deep beneath the mountains where the dwarves mine gems and precious metals and forge items of wonder. They love the beauty and artistry of precious metals and fine jewelry, and in some dwarves this love festers into avarice. Whatever wealth they can't find in their mountains, they gain through trade. They dislike boats, so enterprising humans and halflings frequently handle trade in dwarven goods along water routes. Trustworthy members of other races are welcome in dwarf settlements, though some areas are off limits even to them.
The chief unit of dwarven society is the clan, and dwarves highly value social standing. Even dwarves who live far from their own kingdoms cherish their clan identities and affiliations, recognize related dwarves, and invoke their ancestors' names in oaths and curses. To be clanless is the worst fate that can befall a dwarf.
Dwarves in other lands are typically artisans, especially weaponsmiths, armorers, and jewelers. Some become mercenaries or bodyguards, highly sought after for their courage and loyalty.
Gods, Gold, and Clan
Dwarves who take up the adventuring life might be motivated by a desire for treasure —for its own sake, for a specific purpose, or even out of an altruistic desire to help others. Other dwarves are driven by the command or inspiration of a deity, a direct calling or simply a desire to bring glory to one of the dwarf gods. Clan and ancestry are also important motivators. A dwarf might seek to restore a clan's lost honor, avenge an ancient wrong the clan suffered, or earn a new place within the clan after having been exiled. Or a dwarf might search for the axe wielded by a mighty ancestor. lost on the field of battle centuries ago.
Dwarf Names
A dwarf's name is granted by a clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper dwarven name has been used and reused down through the generations. A dwarf's name belongs to the clan, not to the individual. A dwarf who misuses or brings shame to a clan name is stripped of the name and forbidden by law to use any dwarven name in its place.
Male Names: Adrik, Alberich, Baern, Barendd, Brottor, Bruenor, Dain, Darrak, Delg, Eberk. Einkil, Fargrim, Flint, Gardain, Harbek, Kildrak, Morgran, Orsik, Oskar, Rangrim, Rurik, Taklinn, Thoradin, Thorin, Tordek, Traubon, Travok, Ulfgar, Veit, Vandal
Female Names: Amber, Artin, Audhild, Bardryn. Dagnal. Diesa, Eldeth, Falkrunn, Finellen, Gunnloda, Gurdis, Helja, Hlin, Kathra, Kristryd, Ilde, Liftrasa, Mardred, Riswynn, Sannl, Torbera, Torgga, Vistra
Clan Names: Balderk, Battlehammer, Brawnanvil, Dankil, Fireforge, Frostbeard, Gorunn, Holderhek, Ironfist, Loderr, Lutgehr, Rumnaheim, Strakeln, Torunn, Ungart
Slow to Trust
Dwarves get along passably well with most other races. "The difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years," is a dwarf saying that might be hyperbole, but certainly points to how difficult it can be for a member of a short-lived race like humans to earn a dwarf's trust.
Elves. "It's not wise to depend on the elves. No telling what an elf will do next; when the hammer meets the orc's head, they're as apt to start singing as to pull out a sword. They're flighty and frivolous. Two things to be said for them, though: They don't have many smiths, but the ones they have do very fine work. And when orcs or goblins come streaming down out of the mountains, an elf's good to have at your back. Not as good as a dwarf, maybe, but no doubt they hate the orcs as much as we do"
Halflings. "Sure, they're pleasant folk. But show me a halfling hero. An empire, a triumphant army. Even a treasure for the ages made by halfling hands. Nothing. How can you take them seriously?"
Humans. "You take the time to get to know a human, and by then the human's on her deathbed. If you're lucky, she's got kin —a daughter or granddaughter, maybe— who's got hands and heart as good as hers. That's when you can make a human friend. And watch them go! They set their hearts on something, they'll get it, whether it's a dragon's hoard or an empire's throne. You have to admire that kind of dedication, even if it gets them in trouble more often than not."
Dwarf Traits
Your dwarf character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of dwarven nature.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
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 base walking speed is 25 feet. 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 (explained in chapter 9 of the Player's Handbook).
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.
Subrace. Four main subraces of dwarves populate the worlds of D&D: ember dwarves, hill dwarves, mountain dwarves, duergar (gray dwarves), stone dwarf, tundra dwarf, and Kundarak. Choose one of these subraces.
Ember Dwarf
The ember dwarves fill varying roles in different worlds. In most worlds, they are a race of dwarves that were taken from their homes by efreeti after the azer and efreeti stopped their cooperation, in an effort to recreate the azer as loyal servants. In other worlds, ember dwarves are born to normal dwarf parents when latent elemental or fiendish bloodlines activate in the child There are even worlds where some dwarven clans have grown accustomed to a volcanic home by ancient elemental magic, thus turning themselves into ember dwarves over time.
As an ember dwarf, your connection to the elements of fire and earth shines through in your very body. Ember dwarves are often erroneously called half-azer because of their appearance. They have dark, ashen skin, with fiery red or orange hair. When they access the fiery power latent within them, their hair transforms into bright vibrant flames that don't burn them or their equipment. They usually have orange, yellow, or red eyes dotted with ashen flecks of black.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score or your Charisma score increases by 1 (your choice}
Elemental Hybrid. You have two creature types: humanoid (dwarf) and elemental (fire} You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types.
Fire Resistance. You have resistance to fire damage.
Heated Body. When a creature starts its turn while it is grappling you or you are grappling it, you may choose to deal it fire damage equal to your proficiency bonus. Once you have used this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Hot-Footed. Your base walking speed increases to 30 feet.
Hill Dwarf
As a hill dwarf, you have keen senses, deep intuition, and remarkable resilience. The gold dwarves of Faerein in their mighty southern kingdom are hill dwarves, as are the exiled Neidar and the debased Klar of Krynn in the Dragonlance setting.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Dwarven Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.
Mountain Dwarf
As a mountain dwarf, you're strong and hardy, accustomed to a difficult life in rugged terrain. You're probably on the tall side (for a dwarf). and tend toward lighter coloration. The shield dwarves of northern Faerun, as well as the ruling Hylar clan and the noble Daewar clan of Dragonlance, are mountain dwarves.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
Dwarven Armor Training. You have proficiency with light and medium armor.
Stone Dwarf
While all dwarves have an innate connection to the stone and rock of the earth, there are some varieties that are more than just connected to it - they are made of it. The stone dwarves are made of living stone instead of flesh. They still eat, drink, and breathe the way a dwarf of flesh does, and they grow and age the same as other dwarves, but their organs are stone, and they have no blood at all to poison. A stone dwarf's brain is made of electrified copper, and this enables some of them to think more quickly than a brain of flesh.
In some of the worlds they inhabit, stone dwarves are the most ancient and purest form of dwarf to have ever existed - the first dwarves, crafted by the gods of yore, from whom the other subraces of dwarf have all descended In other worlds, the stone dwarves were born to an ancient clan that was cursed by powerful magic to live as earth elementals. Yet in other worlds, the stone dwarves are not a hereditary lineage, but are instead born to dwarven parents at random, considered by some dwarves to be a blessing from the gods, and by others to be a curse from the dao.
As a stone dwarf, you exist between the realm of dwarf and elemental Despite their hardened biology and immunity to poisons, stone dwarves are made of brittle and crumbly rock, and aren't much physically tougher than a regular dwarf. They also weigh more than the average dwarf, since their stony flesh is heavier than regular flesh. They often have moss, lichen, or vines growing where a normal dwarf would grow hair, but otherwise look like living, moving statues carved to resemble normal dwarves.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score or your Intelligence score increases by 1 (your choice}
Elemental Hybrid. You have two creature types: humanoid (dwarf) and elemental (earth} You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types.
Stone Body. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
In addition, your earthen metabolism grants you the following benefits:
- You have no blood and you cannot be petrified
- You have advantage on saving throws made against disease.
Tundra Dwarf
In the farthest icy reaches of the world, where hordes of humanoid barbarians rove in bands hunting massive blubbery beasts and battling the environment itself, the sturdy tundra dwarves can be found eking out a stable life together. Many clans of tundra dwarves live in strongholds of stone or ice, often underground, but some clans make their way as nomads across the tundra, keeping warm with fur tents and animal blubber. In some worlds they live near other dwarves, especially mountain dwarves, but in other worlds tundra dwarves survive on their own.
As a tundra dwarf, you owe your heartiness and endurance in the cold to your dwarven ancestors who first settled in the frozen tundras. Tundra dwarves usually have white or blond hair, but some have orange hair, and brown hair is uncommon but not especially rare. They are slightly tall for dwarves, with mostly pale skin and blue eyes. Some clans of tundra dwarves are exceptions, with mostly tan skin, black or white hair, and brown eyes.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score or your Wisdom score increases by 1 (your choice}
Cold Resistance. You have resistance to cold damage.
Icecunning. Your dwarf Stonecunning trait also applies to checks about the origin of ice carvings. And you have advantage on Survival (Wisdom) checks to navigate tundra biomes or find food or shelter while in a tundra biome.
Snow Treader. You can move across icy or snowy difficult terrain without expending extra movement, and you have advantage on saving throws to avoid hazards caused by frozen ground, such as falling prone.
Duergar (Gray Dwarf)
Those duergar who become adventurers are almost invariably exiles from their society. The duergar have no patience for those who fail to conduct themselves with an appropriate amount of ambition and cruelty.
Any gray dwarves who leave the Underdark and take up adventuring, after having been raised among their own kind, are paranoid about possible treachery from within the party. One might insist on sleeping separately from the rest of the group, never displaying or sharing treasure, and trying to hoard treasures that can help survival, such as potions and items or spells that can allow the user to teleport to safety.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.
Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write Undercommon.
Duergar Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against illusions and against being charmed or paralyzed.
Duergar Magic. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Enlarge/Reduce spell on yourself once with this trait, using only the spell's Enlarge option. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Invisibility spell on yourself once with this trait. You don't need material components for either spell, and you can't cast them while you're in direct sunlight, although sunlight has no effect on them once cast. You regain the ability to cast these spells with this trait when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
House of Kundarak
If you want to keep something safe —jewels, secrets, prisoners— Kundarak is there to help. The Defenders Guild of House Kundarak trains locksmiths, security specialists, and more. It maintains the infamous prison of Dreadhold, along with a number of smaller prisons. As useful as these services are, it’s the Banking Guild that truly defines the house. Kundarak’s lands in the Mror Holds include deep veins of precious metals and stones, and the dwarves have used this wealth to establish the banking industry of Khorvaire. Anyone who makes a living from coin — from bankers to goldsmiths — likely learned their skills at House Kundarak. The security of Kundarak banks is legendary. The house also provides a special service to those who can afford it: a system of extradimensional vaults, allowing a client to store their goods in one location and retrieve them at any other Kundarak enclave.
House Kundarak has a close alliance with House Sivis. Like the House of Scribing, Kundarak has worked to earn the trust of its clients and to establish a reputation for unshakeable integrity. The house has no love of renegade dwarves using their marks to turn a profit, and such rogues will want to avoid the eye of Kundarak.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity and Intelligence scores increase by 1.
Master of Locks. When you make an Intelligence (History), Intelligence (Investigation), or Thieves’ Tools check involving lock and trap mechanisms, you can roll one Intuition die, a d4, and add the number rolled to the ability check.
Wards and Seals. You can use your mark to cast the Alarm spell as a ritual. Starting at 3rd level you can cast Arcane Lock once with this trait and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Homebrew Changes
Subrace Changes
- Added the Ember, Stone, and Tundra dwarf from The Elements and Beyond Compendium