Homebrew Arkos Dwarf Species Details

"Many speak of the songs of elves and while those compositions are beautiful and haunting, nothing has moved me to bone deep sorrow as The Dirge of the Dwarrow.

Long did I stay with the dwarven tome-keepers, going over their texts of the Ascension and speaking with them for long hours to know their opinions, bartering with them really as is their custom. So long had I stayed beneath the earth without the sun and moon to acknowledge the passing of time nor the inherent skill to note such things as the dwarves have and thus, I was taken by surprise when in the middle of the great chasm of Gagaroth hung the viewing platform which was typically reserved only for the ruling court but instead on that day had a whole host of dwarves all wearing the solemn color of white somewhere on their persons. Before I could recover from my stunned surprise and ask after it a resounding hum began. The dwarves have such a skill for humming, their barrel chests creating such a rumbling trill in all their songcraft, and immediately my foreign ears were enraptured.  

To further my amazement the tome-keepers I had been walking with also paused but not to listen, to instead pick up the song and echoing them, from unseen halls, came the voices of many other dwarves. All the dwarves I dare say joined their voices as one and that alone made my throat work. Even without words it was as if I was hearing them say: 'I am here my brothers and sisters and siblings, I am here and I hear you.' Then the words actually began and immediately I realized that when I had stepped out of the library moments ago, I had not heard the falling of hammers nor the hiss of the hearths working. I realized because the dwarves all sang of beauty and wonder and life all lost now. They sang of death and destruction and doom. They sang of their people who were gone now but they also sang of hope and longing and joy. Hope that other free dwarves still lived out there in the mist, longing to find them, and joy to care for them once more whether they be dead or alive. I realized almost just as swiftly that it was the day of the Ascension and that it had snuck up on me, catching me unaware. I wept then and I have wept every time I have heard it since."

— The Great Chronicler 

 

Deep and Determined

Just as Terra intended Dwarves are dependable and dedicated. As a whole their race was once the most connected and accomplished, though much of their labor went unnoticed by humanoids, orcai, or elves due to all their great works being hidden deep under the earth. At one point they had a seemingly endless system of tunnels that connected clans and kingdoms. Unlike humans when dwarves stumbled upon large pockets of their own kind, they did not wish to take them under one banner but to instead understand them. Not in a caring and altruistic manner but in a clinical and curious way. Dwarves are creators, crafters and builders at heart. They have an unspoken desire to accomplish all to the best of their ability, at times this desire can be polluted and become egotistical, but it is typically not so. When clan met clan or kingdom met kingdom it oftentimes became a sort of bartering for information, probing tunnels would soon be developed into highways and the trade between their peoples would grow exponentially. War was often avoided as insults were usually handled before they could ever grow into anything bigger as their practical nature saw the devastation of war for what it was: A set back. While things could be gained from it so much could be lost, Dwarves saw other beliefs and ways of thinking not as an affront or mistake in need of correcting but instead saw it as a gift. A new perspective, a slew of new ideas, and improvement in one way or another. Thus, the Deep Roads were born, a system of tunnels that once connected all known dwarves together. 

When the Sundering ruined Arkos, these Deep Roads cracked apart and let in the mist the dwarves had hoped they would be safe from. Truly they were doomed. Desperately they sacrificed their people, cutting off entire swathes of population to seal tunnels, anything to stop the mist. Yet with every new stronger earthquake it was all for naught, their cities crumbled around them, mist filling every gap and so many were lost. Only the dwarves of Gagaroth are known to have survived. Being so high up into the peak of their mountain they remained relatively unbroken by the earthquakes, at least in comparison to what the other cities undoubtedly faced. Another factor in their survival was the massive lake that resides at the peak of Mt. Gagaroth. With stone they sealed the lower tunnels but also flooded certain areas of said tunnels to keep the Mist at bay as it leaked throughout the Deep Roads. 

 

Structure and Standing

Dwarves are a stalwart people and respect rules and structure in their society even if from the outside it seems chaotic with guilds battling over everything. They have complex forms of unspoken etiquette where one might show their appreciation for a gift by refusing it and saying it is too grand a gift even if it is not something they truly intend to refuse. The gifter must then encourage them to take it regardless, it is said that this exchange happening four times is often the sign of a good gift. If one accepts a gift right away it is seen as the recipient not valuing the item. As well a dwarvish engagement is quite an endeavor. Gift giving is a staple across all written records of dwarven courting, even if before the Ascension the patterns of girt giving and the types of gifts varied far more than now. Today in Gagaroth  (they are a culture that prizes bartering as a skill and can seem abrasive to those outside their culture even if its polite to be argumentative {because this shows you care over the subject even if you agree with the other person}) 

 

Dutiful and Devout

Dwarves have obsessions as occupations and give themselves wholly to their work, oftentimes remaining solitary in their private lives because of this.  A dwarf's occupation to an outsider may seem to mean everything to them and for many they would not be wrong. While standing is not tied to the type of occupation one chooses, it is tied to how good a dwarf is at said occupation, and thus dwarves are culturally driven to give their all to a craft. It is this ideology which has brought about many dwarven wonders and their far-reaching renown as the best crafters. It comes with its downsides of course as their can only be one Guildmaster and only a handful of master crafters in any one trade. Thus, deep rooted frustration and shame is an undertone in their society, well hidden by determination and pride. 

 Despite their abrasive culture and penchant for aromantic lifestyles, when dwarves love they are faithfully romantic and loyal. Often times when a dwarf finds their one in another, they never reach the same heights as their kin who find their one in their work. To those that find they are lacking something in their trade however they may turn to one of the most respected professions, childbearing and rearing. If a dwarven couple shows success in conceiving more than one or two children, they will be funded by the ruling court to continue doing so as dwarves are not so typically blessed and extinction through birthrates is always a threat.

 

Gems and Gifts

The Sálarhøll is a special place in Gagaroth Mountain, a place that the Golems alone tend like a garden. There the Sálgim or Soul Gems are painstakingly cultivated awaiting the day that a particular dwarf will step inside and hear their call. Some claim it is a similar process to what Wild Elves experience with heartsongs, yet this comparison never comes from the mouth of dwarves who dismiss the idea readily. They say that the resonating of their soul gem causes their body to hum, the ends of their fingers to tingle, and their mind to buzz. When practiced crafters touch their soul gem for the first time, they claim to glimpse what shape the gem would wish to become and sense its quiet urging to be shaped thus even when not in contact with it. Often the task of cutting it consumes a dwarf soon after, interestingly enough the gem is always perfectly worked even if the dwarf only knows the basics of gem cutting. The process is described as something euphoric like the stretching of a long-tensed muscle. 

Those who find a one in their craft, their Sálgim is a gem which will be used in the creation of their life's Masterpiece. Those who find their one in another dwarrow will use the gem in their engagement gift. Those who are born to be riders will find no gem in the Sálarhøll but instead the Keldur, the place of soul eggs. There a gem dragons' egg will call out to a dwarf. Dwarven riders are rare and are almost exclusively riders of Guldrek or gem dragons, there have only been a handful of dwarves who bonded with other breeds in written memory.

 

Dwarf Names

Dwarves are typically named after their parentage often times their names do not have a secondary meaning as is typical for most cultures. Instead, names are used to connect all of them together, a family tree of names so to speak though dwarves would prefer the term pyramid. Darrow take their fathers naming convention and dams take their mothers typically, though in truth the child may be named after whoever the parents prefer. Nonbinary genders may take both. Dwarvish is loosely based on the Japanese language.

Adult Names: Harlon (Son of Barlon, Grandson of Vurlon, etc.), Myri (Daughter of Lyri, Granddaughter of Vyri, etc.), Kirila (Child of Biri and Huala)

Arkos Dwarf Traits

Your dwarf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of Terra's influence over them.

Age

Dwarves of Arkos reach maturity around age 40 and become elders around the 200th year, typically living for another half century on average. 

Size

Dwarves are the shortest of the sinescale races, ranging from three and a half feet to five feet tall upon reaching adulthood.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Accustomed to dimly lit mushroom caverns and dark cervices of the earth, 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.

Chant of Creation

Due to the belief in dedication to ones craft Dwarves often master a tool of their choosing at a young age, a tool they will often follow into a suitable field of craft.  

Stone Sense

Dwarves have long claimed that they can hear the song of the earth and that it's voice never steers them wrong. It is a knack which before the Ascension helped dwarves find precious minerals and metals. And more so is said to be what crafters hear when they begin creating objects of wonder, as if the gem or material has always hoped to become something specfic and are not coaxing the Dwarf to make it so. 

Set Your Feet

When a dwarf sets their mind to something they become immovable. When you take a bonus action to set your feet you gain advantage on athletics checks, as well your crit chance increases to 18-20 for melee weapons/19-20 for ranged weapons. During this time until you unset your feet by using another bonus action you are unable to move and have disadvantage to dexterity checks. 

Tireless

You only need four hours of sleep and have advantage against affects which would cause exhaustion. Also, as long as you are not currently under the effects of exhaustion you may choose to ignore a point of exhaustion gained through the absence of sleep. Once you have used this trait you may not use it again until you have rested an equal amount to the sleep lost in addition to your regular sleep needs. You also fallow once per year.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish and one other language. Dwarvish at its roots is a symbolic language, its foundation born from words rather than letters but has evolved into something that could be reshaped as other languages work.