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The latest races to come into being, dwarves are methodical to a fault. They have carved out a niche for themselves with superior technology that brings life to barren lands, but their enmity with elder beings, combined with their natural pensiveness, prevents them from expanding too far. In addition to the regular +2 to a stat, -2 to a stat, and +2 to two skills, Dwarves gain Darkvision out to 60 feet and +2 to Intelligence. =Racial Characteristics= ==Appearance== Dwarves are short and stocky, with thick bushy hair and skin the colour of stone or earth. While dwarven females lack the signature dwarven beard, they grow out their hair to compensate. All dwarves braid beards in such elaborate patterns that it is often difficult to tell a genuine beard from long hair braided under the chin. Dwarves are very fond of jewellery - while precious stones and gold are reserved for formal occasions, dwarves will wear rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings of silver, brass, and bronze. Various dwarven communities have, over time, developed a sort of secret language, using these accessories to communicate things like their availability or mood, though the various "dialects" make it useless beyond specific urban centres. =Dwarven Lands and History= ==The Deeplands== The appearance of the dwarves into a more or less organized society that was familiar with the idea of record-keeping gave scholars an insight into the formation of the other races. Not a lot of insight – kobold scouts reported seeing glimpses of short, bearded humans far east of where humans were supposed to live, and within days, bands of these creatures were spotted wandering the mountains. A platoon ordered to capture all humans in the mountains returned in tatters with reports of a fortified mountain pass, staffed by these humanoids. Within a year, several of these fortifications had developed, some seized from the kobolds or orcs and others constructed in the stone cliffs. It took somewhat longer for these strongholds to become aware of one another, mostly because they were besieged by kobolds and orcs seeking to destroy this new enemy.<br> The current borders of the Deeplands were established only after a series of brutal wars against the kobolds and orcs. The dwarves had poor weapons, few numbers, and no resources, and managed to grab a foothold only through the element of surprise. Certain dwarves quickly emerged as inventors, cobbling together weapons and magical rites that were as powerful a they were unstable, and the remaining population of the strongholds eventually aligned itself into three castes – those that use the weapons, those that try to make them explode less, and those that make sure everyone else doesn’t starve. The genius inventors, and those military dwarves willing to use their weapons, gradually all blew themselves up, leaving the dwarves as a cautious race that emphasized safety and order over flashes of individual genius. The social structures of the old order remained, however, with each dwarven stronghold resembling a research institute more than a city. The scientists are indisputably in charge, led by a rector who has oversight of the chief warriors and administrators in addition to his researchers. The rectors of each city form a national council with a rotating chairmanship called the Lord Rector. <br> Dwarves do not settle new land much mainly because this arrangement results in resource allocation that benefits technological development and education more than it does any competent organization and expansion outside of the labs. Only when new resources or testing grounds are needed do dwarves actually start caring about that stuff. Dwarves that are not happy with this arrangement (i.e. the dwarves that would have blown themselves up building cool stuff) usually join merchant caravans as guards or traders, and leave in search of new resources to tap for the Lord Rector – a government contract is a very lucrative thing even for an adventurous dwarf.<br> Though the populations of dwarven strongholds have a low opinion of kobolds and orcs, their historical enemies, trader dwarves have let bygones be bygones. Gnomes and elves, with their decentralized and “primitive” lifestyles, have very little to offer to the dwarven culture. Dwarves dislike humans the least of all the great races, though the mountain range separating their lands makes any military assistance unlikely.<br> ====Adventuring in the Deeplands==== There is no shortage of artificers wanting to test out some golem or explosive in the Deeplands, which creates a reliable market for well-armed "research assistants". All the mining going on is also a surefire way to enrage some earth primordials, and the mountainous region combined with a high concentration of gold mines attracts dragons like few other things can. The Deeplands do not have a large frontier territory, but the insular dwarves very rarely bother to scout it, and will often delegate it to either adventurers or their machines (which sometimes go rogue and need to be put down). Their absent-mindedness and propensity for experimenting often results in magical caches and laboratories being abandoned to the elements without so much as putting up a warning sign...which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you ask.
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