Homebrew Dhaantar Species Details

Kingdoms rich in ancient grandeur, halls carved into the roots of mountains, the echoing of picks and hammers in deep mines, blazing forges and fierce sandstorms, the Dhaantar are an elaborate and ancient people.

Short and Stout

Bold and hardy, dhaantar are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Though they stand well under 5 feet tall, dhaantar are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as an alloran standing nearly two feet taller. Their courage and endurance are also easily a match for any of the larger folk.

Dhaantar skin ranges from deep brown to a paler hue tinged with red, but the most common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dhaantar often have red hair. Male dhaantar value their beards highly and groom them carefully.

Long Lives

Dhaantar can live to be more than 400 years old, so the oldest living dhaantar often remember a very different world. 

Dhaantar 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 gods of the dhaantar, who uphold the dhaantish ideals of industrious labor, skill in battle, and devotion to the forge.

Individual dhaantar are determined and loyal, true to their word and decisive in action, sometimes to the point of stubbornness. Many dhaantar have a strong sense of justice, and they are slow to forget wrongs they have suffered. A wrong done to one dhaantar is a wrong done to the dhaantar’s entire clan, so what begins as one dhaantar’s hunt for vengeance can become a full-blown clan feud.

Clans and Kingdoms

Dhaantar kingdoms stretch deep beneath the mountains and canyons where the dhaantar 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 dhaantar this love festers into avarice. Whatever wealth they can’t find underground, they gain through trade. 

The chief unit of dhaantar society is the clan, and dhaantar highly value social standing. Even dhaantar who live far from their own kingdoms cherish their clan identities and affiliations, recognize related dhaantar, and invoke their ancestors’ names in oaths and curses. To be without a clan is the worst fate that can befall a dhaantar, according to their traditional cultural norms.

Dhaantar in other lands are typically artisans, especially weaponsmiths, armorers, and jewelers. Some become mercenaries or bodyguards, highly sought after for their courage and loyalty.

Intense Drive

Dhaantar who take up the adventuring life might be motivated by a desire for treasure—for its own sake, for a specific purpose, or even out of an altruistic desire to help others. Other dhaantar are driven by the command or inspiration of a deity, a direct calling or simply a desire to bring glory to one of the dhaantar gods. Clan and ancestry are also important motivators. A dhaantar 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 dhaantar might search for the axe wielded by a mighty ancestor, lost on the field of battle centuries ago.

Dhaantar Names

A dhaantar’s name is granted by a clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper dhaantish name has been used and reused down through the generations. A dhaantar’s name belongs to the clan, not to the individual. A dhaantar who misuses or brings shame to a clan name is stripped of the name and forbidden by law to use any dhaantish name in its place.

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, Sandskin, Blackbeard

Subrace

Two main subraces of dhaantar populate my world: desert dhaantar, called rentar, and mountain dhaantar, called mountar. Choose one of these subraces during character creation.

Dhaantar Traits

Your dhaantar character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of dhaantish nature.

Iron Liver

The dhaantar loved their drink. They drank so much alcohol that they developed a tolerance that has blessed future generations of dhaantar. Due to this, you have resistance against poison damage and advantage on saving throws against poison.

Keenish Mind

Due to your cultures faith revolving around time of day and weather, you have an uncanny ability to tell time and weather. You always know how the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset, regardless of where you are. You can also make a Nature (Intelligence) check to tell what the weather will generally be like for the next 24 hours regardless of where you are, but you have advantage on this check when you are outside.

Age

Dhaantar mature at the same rate as allorans, but they’re considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years, but can reach nearly 500 under the right conditions.

Size

Dhaantar stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Natural Miners

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor. You also have a burrowing speed that is equal to one fifth of your walking speed. Dashing when just increasing burrowing speed is a bonus action.

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.

Miners, Smiths, Conquerers

Dhaantar are proud of their history, being the first to spread across the world. Because of the history being taught through the generations, you have proficiency with the battle axe, hand axe, light hammer, and war hammer. You also have proficiency in a tool of your choice between smith's tools or mason's tools.