Dwarfs

Not to be confused with Dwarves.

Sewer Dwarfs
These dwarfs hide in the sewers from the dangerous world above, they are hardy, dirty, often slimy and can eat anything, even the most disgusting of trash. They ride in boats between sewer-towns often fighting against the mutant beasts of the sewers that come down from the world above and are always escorting merchants between sewer towns to keep trade flowing. They are battered survivalists, willing to kill anyone or anything to live in this post-apocalyptic sewer world and are known for their explorers who best know their way around the labyrinthine depths of the sewers, ladders, tunnels and paths of this trashy underworld and for their ability to make slime pies.

Vineyard Dwarfs
Dwarfs are not a united culture, for a dwarf is what happens when you bury someone in the middle of a vineyard, the life essence and bone and alcohol mix to form a dwarf with green hair who pops out of the dirt, completely naked. the dwarf only contains some memories of the person who was buried, but always is the gender of the person who was buried, and holds much of the knowledge that the dead person had, allowing them to speak at "birth". Dwarfs are good workers as long you can keep feeding them alcoholic beverages, for while the dwarf needs no other substance to survive, if they don't drink alcohol long enough they die, for their very blood is wine. And very tasty wine at that, which often means the Vineyard dwarf is hunted by wine connoisseurs wanting to taste the unique kind of wine that is a dwarf's blood

All Dwarfs:

A) Can communicate with other Dwarfs, wordlessly, as for a Communicate spell. MEL and EL are dependent on the Character’s characteristics. If either Dwarf succeeds when the skill is used, communication occurs.

B) Are prone to Controllable Battle Fury when they encounter a hated enemy of their race.

NOTE -- Goblins are the primary enemy that applies here. The Referee, at his discretion, may expand this hatred to include all Chaos and Kotothi creatures that can be encountered underground.

C) Speak Dwarf Elder at EL80.

D) Have a starting Level as a Miner or an Armorer.

E) Have a maximum EL currently possible in Mountain Survival and both forms of Underground Survival.

F) Can enter the Lower World, MEL and EL dependent on the Character’s characteristics.

G) Have all attributes of the Dwarf that are specified in Book Three.

Appearance
The classical Dwarf of norse myth. Dwarfs are three and a half to four feet in height, heavily built and well-muscled. They are commonly bearded with long hair. They are noted for their ability as artisans and warriors.

Special
Dwarfs are resistant to Poison, Disease and Plague. Triple the MDV when they are resisting these powers. They are also resistant to Fire. Any damage that they suffer from fire of any kind, excluding Astral Fire, is reduced 50%, rounded down.

Language
All Dwarfs speak Dwarf Elder and the Tongue of Dvalinn. Dwarf Elder is related to the common Elder tongue and the tongue of the Faerry Sidh. The tongue of Dvalinn is only used by Dwarfs when they are speaking to another Dwarf. It is not related to any other language. It is their magical tongue and is sacred to them. No Dwarf will ever lie when he speaks in this tongue. No non-Dwarf will ever be taught it willingly.

Magic
The magic of Dwarfdom is learned by Dwarfs that are skilled as armorers when they achieve an EL of 50 or higher. It allows them to place permanent magics on items that they manufacture. It is only rarely used to cast any magic other than permanent magic rites. ( Such debasement of these sacred rites is commonly frowned upon by the Dwarf. It is moral only in the most dire emergencies ).

NOTE -- A Dwarf character that reaches EL50 as an Armorer can learn these rites. To do so he must complete a 150 expertise point initiation and training session. There- after, he is a Rune Master and can use Elder Magics and Permanent Magic as magic-users. Any Dwarf who becomes a Rune Master will increase his station to six if it is lower. Dwarfs never use any missile weapon except spears and daggers. (The bow, after all, was an insidious invention of immoral, dishonorable elves). If the Referee allows, Dwarfs may make and use crossbows.

IMPORTANT -- Dwarf society places a great emphasis on personal property. The most heinous crime in their society is theft. No Dwarf will steal from another creature without due payment for the item taken. (Regaining one’s own property, with possible interest and definite penalty, is expected. It is not theft).

Only male Dwarfs are taught the magic arts of their race. Females are excluded from them at all levels.

Table 2.4: Native Ability Modifiers

Table 2.5a: Constitution Multipliers

Table 2.5b: Appearance Multipliers

Table 2.9: Height Factors A Dwarfs' Height equals: ((Native Strength+Native Stamina)/2) +Height factor

Table 2.10: BMI

Table 2.11: Racial BMI Ranges * Underweight Dwarfs multiply their BAp by 0.9.

** Overweight Dwarfs multiply their BAp by 1.1.

Table 2.20: Movement Rate