Parent Race: Dwarf
As a tropical dwarf, you’re hardy and yet adaptable, accustomed to a difficult life in rugged terrain. You’re probably on the short side (for a dwarf), and tend toward darker ruddier coloration. You grew up live on or in volcanoes but your dwarven nature resisted both the toxic fumes and intense heat. Metal was more precious on the islands where tropical dwarves live and only the most talented could begin training, so many take on other pursuits for their creative dwarven urges. Many engage in wood working or leather craft.
This has lead to what is paradoxically their most dwarven and most unusual trait among other dwarves; tropical dwarves are prodigious builders, but they build with wood and plant fibers not stone or metal. They tip their spears with obsidian blades, and use the volcanic glass in their axes. Tropical dwarves are not, as a people, skilled in the use of stone or hammer and this is reflected in their proficiencies.
Tropical dwarves grow long beards which they weave together with their hair in lieu of shirts or at times any clothing, but do not go about exposed. Male and female alike have beards which they grow out and weave into coverings for their tops. Because of this they can often be seen like stout orangutans, as they leap from branch to branch hunting prey in their tropical domains.
Tropical dwarves don’t divide by clan or sept, but by island and tribe, both of which are far more fluid than the clans and septs of their mainland cousins. An tropical dwarf’s “inum” are the fellow dwarves accepted to live on the same island. They are exogamous and partially polygynous, traditionally marrying full sisters. When tropical dwarf males come of age they set out on the perilous adventure to explore the islands, braving the waters with their dragon turtles, krakens, and sea serpents, to find their spouses from different families and inumes. The young dwarves prove themselves to the new inum, usually with their craftsmanship or proving they skill as fishermen or huntsmen.
Tropical dwarves are sometimes called “Greenbeards” though in truth only 2% have green hair. The wild dwarves of the jungles on Faerûn, an be played as tropical dwarves.
Special Thanks:
A shout out to IamSposta, it started as advice on a user error glitch, and evolved into turning a minor feature of my campaign world into something other people probably could use in their games.
Art via Nightcafe edits made with GIMP2
Olórin’s Races: Tropical Dwarf Traits
Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 1
Dwarven Hunter Training
You have proficiency with the battleaxe, blowgun, handaxe, javelin, and spear.
(This replaces Dwarven Combat Training)
Jungle Conditioning
Your life on the island has conditioned you to moving more effectively both among the trees and in the seas, and adapted you to sweltering environments.
You have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks you make when climbing, swimming, and jumping, and on Dexterity (Athletics) checks you make when landing in difficult terrain as described in Special Types of Movement section in Chapter 8 of the Player’s Handbook.
In addition, you have advantage on Constitution saving throws you make to resist gaining levels of exhaustion from time spent in extreme heat as described in the Wilderness Survival section in Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Tropical Tool Proficiency
You gain proficiency with one of the following artisans tools of your choice: Brewer’s Supplies, Carpenter’s Tools, Leatherworker’s Tools, or Vehicles (water), .
(This replaces the Dwarf’s Tool Proficiency)
You can find IamSposta’s 100%-his-works on DM’s Guild at: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=IamSposta That’s a link to everything I’ve published on DM’s Guild
(Fair Warning: apparently it doesn’t direct properly all the time on mobile device. Work around appears to be to request the desktop version of the site. IDKY 🤷♂️).