Homebrew Fallen Dwarf Species Details

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 orcs and anyone with beards—these common threads unite all fallen dwarves.

Short and Stout

Bold and hardy, fallen dwarves are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Though they stand well under 5 feet tall, fallen 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.

Fallen dwarf skin is black, due to a pact their ancestors made with devils, and as part of that pact, they lost the ability to grow hair and beards, and are thus vengeful towards anyone with a beard.

Long Memory, Long Grudges

Fallen dwarves can live to be more than 400 years old, so the oldest living fallen dwarves often remember a very different world. For example, some of the oldest fallen dwarves living in newer worlds might recall the day when their fathers made the pact with the archdevil Asmodeus. This longevity grants them a perspective on the world that shorter-lived races such as humans and halflings lack.

Fallen 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 devils of the Nine Hells, who uphold the fallen dwarf ideals of destruction, evildoing, and tyranny.

Individual fallen dwarves are determined but unloyal, almost always lying but decisive in action, sometimes to the point of stubbornness. Many fallen dwarves have a strong sense of false "justice", and they are slow to forget wrongs they have suffered. A wrong done to one fallen dwarf is a wrong done to the fallen dwarf’s entire clan, so what begins as one fallen dwarf’s hunt for vengeance can become a full-blown clan feud.

Clans and Kingdoms

Fallen dwarf kingdoms stretch deep beneath the mountains where the fallen 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 fallen dwarves this love festers into avarice. In fact, this love of gold is what drove them to make a pact with Asmodeus in the first place. Whatever wealth they can’t find in their mountains, they gain through trade, or pacts with other fiends. They dislike boats, so enterprising humans and halflings frequently handle trade in fallen dwarf goods along water routes.

The chief unit of a fallen dwarf society is the clan, and fallen dwarves highly value social standing. Even fallen dwarves who live far from their own kingdoms cherish their clan identities and affiliations, recognize related fallen dwarves, and invoke their ancestors’ names in oaths and curses. To be clanless is the worst fate that can befall a fallen dwarf.

Fallen dwarves in other lands are typically warriors, bent on revenge towards everyone with a beard.

Gods, Gold, and Clan

Fallen dwarves who take up the adventuring life might be motivated by a desire for treasure—for its own sake or for a specific purpose. Other fallen dwarves are driven by the command or inspiration of a fiend, a direct calling or simply a desire to bring glory to one of the fallen dwarf devils. Clan and ancestry are also important motivators. A fallen 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 fallen dwarf might search for the axe wielded by a mighty ancestor, lost on the field of battle centuries ago.

Fallen Dwarf Names

A fallen dwarf’s name is granted by a clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper fallen dwarf name has been used and reused down through the generations. A fallen dwarf’s name belongs to the clan, not to the individual. A fallen 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. Most fallen dwarves use regular dwarven names, in remembrance of better times. Other might use names from the Infernal or Abyssal languages, out of respect for the fiends that they worship.

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, Vondal

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

Fallen Dwarf Traits

Your fallen dwarf character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of fallen dwarf 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 fallen dwarves are lawful, believing firmly in the benefits of a well-ordered society. They tend toward evil as well, due the influences of their fiendish patrons.

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.

Fallen Dwarf Resilience

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

Fallen Dwarf 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.