Dwarves

Dwarves are the children of the mountain god Daeder, created from his blood when the world was young. Racial Trait: Mining Proficiency - The Dwarven Character automatically gains a +1 to Skill-up when Mining ore or gems.

The dwarven kingdoms were some of the least impacted by the apocalyptic events that transpired on earth as a majority of their habitats were under the surface. The Shield Dwarf clan suffered the most severely when their Capital city was completely annihilated after a long siege by the Mages of the Black Bone. This city, known as "Kazad Corpen Menui " which most approximately translates to "City for the World to See", was built at the foot of the great mountains and most the easily accessible to attack. Uncharacteristically, during this time of great despair, the Shield dwarves have become the one clan that is most receptive to aiding the thousands of refugees seeking a place to rebuild their lives. The alliances they have formed with the human and elven races have placed the Shield Dwarves in a position of great political power and responsibility; a state they did not enjoy before the Magewar.

The gold dwarves were rarely seen before the Magewar by outsiders, their warrens are deep below the surface in places that few would care to travel. However, they are adept builders and miners and have a tendency to build massive, wondrous structures just to prove they can. Because their environment has always been a hostile one and as they have rarely had to parley with other races, they are suspicious and slow-trusting of the other races that have been forced into their underworld. They are ruled by an ancestral royal family with the kingship being passed down the line of the eldest male. Should the royal line die out for some reasons, the entire clan abandons the city to create a new home somewhere else under a new ruler. As the great flow of humanity invaded the dark reaches seeking to avoid the deadly surface world, some of these abandoned cities have become once again teeming with life. This has caused even greater tensions as the gold dwarves considered those places to be sacred.

The Duergar, also known as gray dwarves or silver dwarves, have a checkered past dotted with unscrupulous actions and traitorous deeds. Their political system insures that only the most devious and ruthless rise to power. The Duergar were an eager participant in the Magewar, with grand and misguided hopes of obtaining huge land grants from the victor. In true Duergar style, they actively supported both sides.


 * Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
 * Stonecunning: +2 bonus to Search checks when inside.
 * Weapon Familiarity: Dwarven waraxes are treated as Martial Weapons rather than Exotic Weapons.
 * Hardiness vs. Poisons: +2 racial bonus to saving throws against poison.
 * Hardiness vs. Spells: +2 racial bonus to saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.
 * Battle Training vs. Giants: +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants).
 * Battle Training vs. Orcs and Goblinoids: +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against orcs (including half-orcs) and goblinoids (including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears).
 * Skill Affinity Lore: +2 racial bonus to Lore checks.