Dwarves

Dwarves
"The Gods saw that they had made the Elves too close to themselves, so they bade Laessah to make new beings to help the serve the Elves. ' Thus were created the race of Dwarves, a strong race meant for the working of the earth. They were hard workers and did their job well, so the Gods rewarded them with many gifts. Yet, once again the Gods gave the Dwarves too much of their own power. The Dwarves soon became great craftsmen, with metalworking finer than even the Elves. They, like the elder brethren, the Elves, began to turn from the tilling of the ground and the care-taking of the animals. Soon, they wished only to dig deep in the earth for the precious metals and gems from which they created their masterpieces." - The Wanderer Between Truth and Reality (Working Title) - Morgan Puckett'''

The Dwarves of Ontearis come from two distinct regions: The Mithril Mountains in the west and The Iron Mountains in the east.

The Mithril Kingdom Dwarves
The Dwarves of The Mithril Kingdom are known as the “Frost Dwarves” because their kingdom is situated on the high Camvinodian Plateau and up into the icy Mithril Mountains—it is one of the coldest places on Ontearis, siting at such a high elevation and latitude, and also receiving cold air currents from the Icy Sea and the Northern part of the Great Sea. Due to the cold weather, these Dwarves prefer to live underground, unlike their eastern brethren. They are masters of architecture and construction and their cities are engineering marvels. All underground cities in the Mithril Kingdom are geothermically heated and contain complex ventilation systems which release harmful gasses and stale air out through vents in the mountains. They are master armorers and produce the finest mithril armor on Ontearis.

The Kingdom of Hammers Dwarves
The Dwarves of the Kingdom of Hammers are known as the “Sunlit Dwarves” because, unlike their western brethren, they build the majority of their cities above ground. They are master architects and can do amazing things with stone. Their cities are built to reflect and blend with the subtle beauty of the surround countryside. They are also master artisans and masters of the forge. They are capable of crafting the finest jewelry and also the deadliest of weapons. The live primarily in large industrial cities.

· ''+2 Constitution,+2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. ''

· ''Medium: As Medium creatures, dwarves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. ''

· ''Dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations). ''

· ''Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function just fine with no light at all. ''

· ''Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up. ''

· ''Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons. ''

· ''Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground). ''

· ''+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison. ''

· ''+2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects. ''

· ''+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids. ''

· ''+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too. ''

· ''+2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items. ''

· ''+2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal. ''

· ''Automatic Languages: Common and Dwarven. ''

''Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass dwarf’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multi-classing''