Homebrew Dwarfling Species Details

 

Walking in two worlds but truly belonging to neither, dwarflings combine what some say are the best qualities of their halfling and dwarf parents: dwarf stalwart strength, love of earth, and artistic tastes tempered by the swiftness, love of food and drink, and luck of the halflings. Some dwarflings live among halflings, set apart by their emotional and physical differences, watching friends and loved ones age while time touches them gingerly. Others live with the dwarves, growing restless as they reach adulthood in the high dwarven realms, while their peers continue to live young. Many dwarflings, unable to fit into either society, choose lives of solitary wandering or join with other misfits and outcasts in the adventuring life.

Of Two Worlds

To dwarves, dwarflings look like halflings, and to halflings, they look dwarven. In height, they’re on par with both parents, though they’re neither as slim as halflings nor as broad as dwarves. They range from upper 3 feet to barely 5 feet tall, and from 60 to 140 pounds, with men only slightly taller and heavier than women. Dwarfling women can have facial hair, and sometimes grow beards to mask their halfling ancestry. Dwarfling coloration and features lie somewhere between their dwarf and halfling parents, and thus show a variety even more pronounced than that found among either race.

Diplomats or Wanderers

Dwarflings have no lands of their own, though they are welcome in halfling villages and somewhat less welcome in dwarven mountains. In large cities in regions where halflings and dwarves interact often, dwarflings are sometimes numerous enough to form small communities of their own. They enjoy the company of other dwarflings, the only people who truly understand what it is to live between these two worlds.

In most parts of the world, though, dwarflings are uncommon enough that one might live for years without meeting another. Some dwarflings prefer to avoid company altogether, wandering the plains as nomads, foragers, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like halflings, they are driven by the homebodiness that comes of their joyful community. Others, in contrast, throw themselves into the thick of society, putting their charisma and social skills to great use in diplomatic roles or as swindlers.

Dwarfling Names

Dwarflings use either dwarf or halfling naming conventions. As if to emphasize that they don’t really fit in to either society, dwarflings raised among dwarves are often given halfling names, and those raised among halflings often take dwarven names.

EXCELLENT AMBASSADORS

Many dwarflings learn at an early age to get along with everyone, defusing hostility and finding common ground. As a race, they have halfling rapidity without halfling giddiness and dwarven stoutness without dwarven rudeness. They often make excellent ambassadors and go-betweens (except between halflings and dwarves, since each side suspects the quarterling of favoring the other).

Dwarfling Traits

Your dwarfling character has some qualities in common with dwarves and some that are in common with halflings.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Age

Dwaflings mature at the same rate halflings do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than halflings, however, often exceeding 175 years.

Size

Dwarflings are about the same size as dwarves, ranging from upper 3 to lower 5 feet tall. Your size is Medium or Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Lucky

When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can preroll the die and you must use the new roll.

Dwarfling Nimbleness

You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Darkvision

Thanks to your dwarf blood, 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.

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, Halfling, and one extra language of your choice.