Homebrew Dwarf (Dark Sun) Species Details

"The worst thing you can say to a dwarf is 'It can't be done.' If he's already decided to do it, he may never speak to you again. If he hasn't decided to take up the task, he may commit himself to it simply out of spite. 'Impossible' is not a concept most dwarves understand Anything can be done, with enough determination."

— Sha'len, Nibenese trader

On Athas, dwarves are not subterranean miners but rather, a long-lived, slowly dying race known for their relentless focus on a task to the single exclusion of all others. A dwarf's chief love is toil, and one is never happier when tasked with a cause he can approach with a stoic, single-mindedness for weeks, months, years, or even decades. Once his mind is committed to a task, it is near impossible to sway him away from it as he will fail to listen to reason. Dwarves live for their focus, for those who die unable to complete a focus return from the dead to haunt their unfinished work. A dwarf rarely divulges his focus to anyone.

SHORT AND STOUT

Short and powerful, dwarves stand between 4% and 5 feet tall Their frames are massive and an average dwarf weighs in the vicinity of 200 pounds. Life in the Athasian wastes makes them rugged, tanned, and callused Dwarves are hairless and find the very idea of it repulsive.

THE FOCUS

A dwarf's relation is often a function of his focus. Those who help him are respected, sensible companions. Those who hinder him are obstacles that must be removed. There is very little room for compromise in a dwarven mind.

FOCUS

Focus is the central point of your existence, and no simple job will suffice. Work with your DM to come up with a starting focus and a new one if completed. None should be easy to complete and should take at least 1 week or longer to finish to be worthwhile.

 For example, Grelak, protector of his village, makes the retrieval of a sacred book stolen by raiders his focus. After a week of gathering clues, he sets out to liberate the artifact from its current owner in a trading post weeks away. On the way there, he gains the benefit of his dwarven focus for anything that would slow him because he is trying to reach the book. Later, he stops in Nibenay to rest and gets in a brawl He doesn't receive any bonuses because he isn't actively pursuing his focus.

DWARVEN SOCIETY

Dwarves are close-knit, formed around clans and focused on family. Ties of blood are honored above all but the focus. Family honor or dishonor is passed down to generations. A community is led by the Urhnomous (over-leader), and each clan by an uhrnius (leader) There are 3 main dwarven settlements in the Tablelands: Kled near Tyr, and the twin villages of North and South Ledopolus on the southwestern edge. Dwarven oral tradition shares that they were once a mighty people living in vast cities, and many of these ancient ruins are still out there, buried and forgotten.

DWARF NAMES

Names are granted by the clan leader, the uhrnius, after completing one's first focus. Dwarves do not have a surname and like many on Athas prefer just one name, using a town (Drog of Kled) if distinction is needed.
Male Names: Baranus, Biirgaz, Bontar, Brul, Caelum, Caro, Daled, Drog. Fyra, Ghedran, Gralth, Gram, Jurgan, Lyanius, Murd, Nati. Portek, Rkard, Sa'ram, Sult, Veso.
Female Names: Ardin, Erda, Ghava, Greshin, Gudak, Lazra, N'kadir, Palashi, Vashara.

ROLEPLAYING A DWARF
Remember the intensity of your focus. Breaking it has      social,      philosophical,      and       spiritual repercussions. If you die before completion, your spirit will return as a banshee and you will have shamed your clan for generations to come. For someone to intentionally stand in the way of your focus is an assault on you. Your greatest satisfaction is completing the focus. Keep a serious attitude always. The only time you show your festive side (you have one) is when you have recently fulfilled a focus or between setting a new one. At this time, your full joy and humor show, but you are vulnerable in some ways because you are lost in purpose.

Dwarf (Dark Sun) Traits

Dwarves are nonmagical by nature and abhor arcane casters. They cannot take an arcane casting class. Their priests lean towards steady earth and avoid chaotic air, and they take to psionics with a vengeance. Dwarves leave villages at times to further a focus and to search for ancient dwarven ruins. They are highly prized as mercenaries because once contracted, their loyalty will never change.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and you choose to increase your Strength or Wisdom by 1.

Age

Dwarves mature around age 35 and live up to 250 years, though the dangers of Athas often claim them well before this time.

Allignment

Dwarves tend lawful and good to neutral Their devotion to an established hierarchy in villages means they tend to follow rules even to the point of ridicule.

Size

Dwarves stand about 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. You are not slowed by wearing heavy armor.

Darkvision

Despite living aboveground, your heritage allows you to see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if in bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Dwarven Focus

When making an ability check or saving throw directly related to your Focus, you are considered proficient and double your proficiency bonus.

Dwarven Resilience

You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage (explained in the “Combat” section).

Tool Proficiency

You gain proficiency with the artisan's tool of your choice: smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.

Dwarven Toughness

Your hit point maximum increases by 1 and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.

Languages

You can speak Common and Dwarvish. With DM permission, your character might be able to read Dwarvish with an appropriate background Dwarves keep a long and proud oral history, and they have an old written language mostly used for writing history that they will never share to outsiders. Their native language is deep and throaty. full of guttural sounds and harsh exclamations that cause most non-dwarves to get raw throats if spoken for long