Test: Dwarf

Dwarves

Dwarves in Trinity are conceptual descendents of D&D, WoW, and Tolkienian dwarves.

Dwarves

"The ores of the earth sing to my bones. Craftsmanship is our birthright."

Gruff, tough, and stoic, the dwarves are a somewhat rare sight in Trinity, choosing to stay relatively hidden in their mountainous homes. While dwarves can be found in a variety of places, the majority are found in the mountains of Sarteri, Ashkar, and Molandum. Dwarves are creatures of order and rational thought, of reasonable progress and stoic resistance to the supernatural. Where other races are prone to superstition, dwarves are prone to consider the how's and why's of the natural order.

In the most essential, basic terms, dwarves and gnomes are intellectual cousins - both seek to understand the basic framework of the universe. However, where gnomes seek to understand the world on an esoteric, intellectual level, dwarves seek to understand it on an application-based scale. In regards to science, a gnome is the philosopher to the dwarf's engineer: direct, obvious application is more important than esoteric, theoretical framework.

It is due to this rigorous method of considering application instead of theory that dwarves are the foremost engineers, miners, and architects of the world. While they largely keep to themselves, their minimal contact with the outside world allows their concepts to be brought to the fore, and it is often enough sound and effective enough such that other races listen when dwarven theories are presented within the admittedly narrow range that dwarven thinking is paramount.

Due to these qualities, dwarven metrics are used throughout the known worlds, even in applications that are almost left untouched by dwarven hands, such as airship and spacecraft design. Those who study the more esoteric Forces, such as those in the Trinities of Philosophy or Remembrance, largely ingore dwarven philosophy, while those who are study the Trinity of Reality are often keenly aware of the dwarven take as being strongly against the supernatural as a whole. Dwarves are largely acknowledged as one of the few races strongly aligned with a given Force (in this case, Technology) without being racially aligned to it, in the sense that they have no actual resistance to Forces in the given Trinity.

Personality: Dwarves pace themselves, taking everything in stride. They are slow to anger, slow to act, and slow to respond to rapid changes in their situation. They fight neither recklessly nor timidly, but with a careful courage and tenacity. Their sense of justice is strong, but at its worst it can turn into a thirst for vengeance. Dwarves trust in their weapons, tools, and skills, and are often distrustful of things Forces beyond Technology, whose explanation they cannot see or touch with their hands.

Vital Statistics
		Starting Age			Aging Effects
	Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex	Middle Age	Old	Venerable	Max Age
Age	40 years	+3d6	+5d6	+7d6	125 years	188 years	250 years	+2d%
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	Base Height		Height Modifier		Base Weight		Weight Modifier
Male	3' 9"		+2d4"		130 lbs.		x(2d6) lbs.
Female	3' 7"		+2d4"		100 lbs.		x(2d6) lbs.

Physical Description: Dwarves stand only 4 to 4 1/2 feet tall, but they are so broad and compact that they are, on average, almost as heavy as humans. Dwarven men are slightly taller and noticeably heavier than dwarven women. Dwarves' skin is typically deep tan or light brown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black, gray, or brown, and worn long. Dwarven men value their beards highly and groom them very carefully. Dwarves favor simple styles for their hair, beards, and clothes. Dwarves are considered adults at about age 50, and they can live to be over 400 years old.

Relations: Dwarves tend to get along well enough with other technologically-minded races, though this is not always the case - they are often irritated by moogles and gremlins, who are much shorter-lived than dwarves, and thus often lack the intellectual devotion to concepts that they hold dear. They are slightly uneasy around orcs and half-orcs, given that dwarves and orcs warred against each other in the time of the Woodland League, though these differences have mostly been reconciled. Dwarves get along reasonably well with gnomes and halflings - gnomes, due to their veneration of knowledge in all its forms, and halflings, as the short folk tend to respect dwarven innovation, though dwarves admittedly have their differences with both races: gnomes, due to their preference for "pure" knowledge over applicable knowledge, and halflings with their drive to protect their essentially tribal groups over a general goal of progressing Technological thought. The enmity between dwarves and elves is renowned, given that elves typically prefer Magic over Technology, while dwarves denounce such "superstitious" thought.

Ethos: Dwarves are almost all universally strongly Blue-aligned and mildly White-aligned, valuing logic, technological progress, and order above all else. However, many dwarves tend to bleed over into the morality aspect of White or the parasatism aspect of Black, given their racial predispositions. As such, the most common conflicts in dwarven communities are between the virtues of White and Black philosophies, both given equal shrift by virtue of general dwarven thought. Rare is the dwarf that delves into Green-friendly White virtues or Red-friendly Black virtues; even rarer is the dwarf that espouses purely Red or Green virtues, both colors being generally opposed to the innate dwarven outlook.

Dwarven Lands: As a whole, dwarven society does not often show itself outside of the mountain ranges in which it finds itself. In the most general of terms, this means that dwarves are a general rarity outside of the Adnezian continents of Ashkar, Sarteri, and Molandum; however, since the Coldlands War, a number of dwarven colonies have appeared in the northern-most reaches of Lotharien, when the Coldlands Territory sought assistance from the psionicists of Lotharien. A smattering of dwarves were also among the colonists of Ganymede, and also among the passengers of the Arcturas, and thus are also present on the planet of Arcturas. It is strongly believed that the dwarves utilize the underground realm of Zakarnth to traverse Adnez, allowing them to be present in a good many areas that they would not otherwise occupy. It is also known that dwarven scholars that align themselves more with the gnomish schools of thought tend to travel with gnomish groups, and that regions with strong Technological-bents tend to attract rogue dwarves.

Religion: Dwarves, in general, are not prone to believing in the supernatural; as such, many dwarves tend towards Trinity atheism. Despite this, some sects on the continent of Molandum on Adnez split from their home clans due to religious disputes, holding that some Saints (and perhaps a Lucavi or two) are prone to promoting Technological advancement. As such, dwarves that call Molandum home are more likely to hold religious beliefs of one kind or another, while it is safe to assume that most other dwarves will be atheistic.

Language: Dwarves hold true to their racial tongue, Runic. While originally referred to as "Dwarven," the attention to accuracy and detail involved in the language has been sufficiently adapted to other tongues that the base concepts present in their language can no longer be held to a purely racial standard. Aspects of Runic have been incorporated into a diversity of languages, such as Ronkan; most often the influence of Runic can be felt in languages that are typically used to describe Technological principles. In some circles it is believed that Runic is a Lynaen-derived language that became focused on specific details and structuring of symbols - this belief is upheld by instances in which an understanding of Runic has granted a clearer understanding of Lynaen-like inscriptions involving numerals or logic.

Up to here has been edited...

Names:

Male Names:

Female Names:

Clan Names:

Adventurers:

Dwarven Culture

The following is a rough overview of some of the highlights of clavat culture.

• One: One.
• Two: Two.
• Three: Three.

Dwarves Are Responsible For...

...the metric system. Dwarven engineers invented a system of metrics that was incredibly handy, and allowed for unit conversions such that had never been seen before. Advanced engineering and mathematics almost always resorts to the dwarven metric system.

...two.

...three.

Dwarven Racial Traits (d20)

• -2 Cha, +2 Con, -2 Fai. Dwarves are incredibly hardy creatures, though they lack interpersonal skills and are often lacking in belief of the supernatural.
• Medium-size.
• A dwarf’s base land speed is 20 feet.
• Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves treat all weapons with "dwarven" in their name as one category simpler.
• Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet + 10 feet/+1 Perception modifier (a negative modifier reduces this distance). Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function just fine with no light at all.
• Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
• Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
• Poison resist 5. A dwarf gains a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against Poison effects that do not deal normal damage.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against non-Technology Force effects.
• +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft and Techcraft checks that are related to stone or metal.
• Techcraft is always considered a class skill for you. Dwarves have an instinctive understanding of how technology works, and even those with no training can comprehend even the most complex of devices.
• Automatic Languages: One Common language, one Trade language, Runic. Bonus Languages: Giant, Goblin, Orc, Lynaen, Terran, and Undercommon.

Favored Class: Choose one - defender, technologist.