Dwarven Subraces

[--Ashe--]

DERRO - a race of subterranean dwarves that appear to be a ghoulish mix of humans and dwarves, only in sickly proportions. Their skin is cool and clammy with a white to bluish tinged colouration. Their hair is ruddy white with bleached out earth tones. Their eyes are owlishly large lacking any pupil or iris giving the impression of being blind, however they grant the Derro the ability to gather all light available to see in the darkest of dark places. Their ears are grotesquely out of proportion with the rest of their features, allowing the Derro to hear the slightest of sounds in its environ.

The Derro are known for their extreme cruelty to other races, taking out their long held jealousy of the terranian and surface races out upon any they can enslave, torture or kill. Even those Derro who are not necessarily evil are extremely caustic to be around. Most races find the Derro to be craven and deprived, not tolerating their existence.

+2 Dex, +2 Wis, -4 cha
+4 Listen (a Derro's hearing is attuned to the slightest reverberations of sound that travel through rock or air)
-4 Spot
Blindfight feat free (millenia of fighting in the lightless abound)
May cast Ultravision on self 1/day
Light sensitivity treated as drow/duergar.
Sound sensitivity: 10% vulnerability to sonic attacks. 10% chance of confusion if struck by sound based spells. (years of attuned hearing in the silence of the Subterra make the Derro susceptible and confused by high pitched noises)





VOID DWARF: A planar race of unknown origin which has existed for years in the endless silent abound of the Void. Their appearance is slight, appearing almost as an undernourished dwarf. Their skin is as dark and reflective as hardened onyx, the pressures of space can do them no harm. Motes of energy swirl and sparkle in every changing patterns within the depths of their skin, a form of communication which they use in the depths of the starry expanse. Their eyes are lusterless and devoid of colour. Most striking, however, is their adaptation to the lack of sound in the Void... for they have no ears.

Largely loners and nontribal, the Void are seekers of truth and knowledge, which they readily share in an almost gloating fashion.

+2 Dex, +2 Int, +2 Con , -2 Str, -2 Wis
Spell Resistance of 5 +1/lvl
Silence aura as the spell upon self only. (Duration/Strength?)
Immunity to Sound based spells/Sonic damage
Unable to Cast using Audibles (cannot speak) must take Silent Spell as caster.

[Daltian]

Not bad. Although silence aura is a bit too much.

[VagaStorm]

Not bad. Although silence aura is a bit too much.

Silence aura is a doule edged sword.... neither you or your alies will be able to cast in it. In adition, this race can never be neither cursed nor buffed by a bard, nor by any other spells with a werbal component....

[--Ashe--]

Nor can it be a bard that sings since it neither hears nor speaks (reliably since its not used to doing so in its environ). Yes, cannot be cursed, also cannot be beneficially amped by bard song. Cannot buff self with audible spells unless has silent spells feats, or should use potions. Could swap SILENCE for Silent Spell Feat (not the autos, just the primary feat). Others can buff it with their casts.

[--Ashe--]

VALKYRIC - a race of celestial dwarves rumored to be outcasts of the heavenly Valhalla, for drinking all the mead and ambrosia. Renowned for their bawdy battle hymns and rallying odes, these dwarves are ever prepared to sing throughout the final battle as they cleave their enemies in twain. Those that hear a Valkyric speak swear that everything uttered is in harmony with an unheard celestial song.

Valkyric appear as any other dwarf in form, stout and solid with an abundance of facial hair. Their skin is the colour of molten gold, their hair the hue of amber mead. Their eyes glow with a celestial fury.

Valkyric love to fight, constantly brawling with one another over the slightest of things. Though their battle prowess is something to behold, they are renowned for being extremely naive, almost childlike in demeanour. Many a Valkyric has been tricked out of his very armor for a few baubles of questionable value.

It is rumored that all Valkyric seek the lost Celestial notes, a quest that forces them to cross the planes seeking out every song ever sung in an attempt to find the long sought notes surely hidden in each.

+2 Cha, +2 Con, +2 Str, -2 Int
Spell Resistance of 5 +1/lvl
Vulnerability to Illusions (naivete' leads them to believe all illusions are surely real)
Battletide 1/day, level 20 becomes extended battletide.



WILD DWARF - a race of dwarves long lost in the unmapped jungles of the world. They are far more rugged than the standard dwarf, with longer arms, presumably to aid them in climbing and perching in trees. Their bodies are covered in tribal tattoos each declaring their family affiliation and marking their battle victories for all to see. Their skin is deeply tanned, their hair is dark as coal.

The hustle and bustle of civilization causes great stress to the Wild Dwarf... their silent and calm demeanour not used to the hectic nature of the nonwild life.

+2 Dex, +2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Cha
+4 Animal Empathy
-1 Mind Affect
Camouflage self




GULLY DWARF - A race of dwarves often disavowed by all others as miscreants and deviants, the Gully Dwarf appears to be a mix between a goblinoid and a dwarf, though through magical abomination or scandalous interaction betwixt the two long-warring races, neither has ever been confirmed.

The Gully populate the sewers, docks and back alleys of society, preying on the unwary with the ever ready blackjack or dagger. They are considered social vermin, and often happily keep rodents as pets to further disgust passersby. They oft pass themselves off as simple beggars and grifters of games of chance.

Gully dwarves are diminutive, lithe of muscle, with pot bellies. Their hair is often matted and dirty, their clothes always tattered and unkempt. Their features are exaggerated, with bulbous noses, large lobed ears, drooping cheeks, shifty eyes. Their fingers are thin and nimble, surely the tools of a thief. Their skin colour ranges from sickly greens and yellows to earthy browns... though a Gully has rarely been clean enough to know its true appearance, it may all just be from rolling about in the detritus of the sewers.

Universally detested and untrustworthy, it is never a good thing when a Gully is near.

+2 Dex, +2 Int, -4 Cha
+4 Pickpocket
+2 Hide
+2 Move Silent

[Dalan]

Nice work, Ashe!

Tis nice to see players showing an interest in having more of the stout folk for character building.

Know, that I'm in your corner, fighting for more RK racial choices.

In the meantime: Get ye down to Underhome an' work yer fingers ta tha bone trainin' warriors for tha Kin!

[frogofpeace]

VALKYRIC - a race of celestial dwarves rumored to be outcasts of the heavenly Valhalla, for drinking all the mead and ambrosia.

Sounds like DW

GULLY DWARF - A race of dwarves ... disavowed by all others as miscreants and deviants ...The Gully populate the sewers, docks and back alleys of society, preying on the unwary with the ever ready blackjack or dagger. They are considered social vermin, and often happily keep rodents as pets to further disgust passersby ... diminutive ... with pot bellies ... hair is often matted and dirty, their clothes always tattered and unkempt ... features are exaggerated, with bulbous noses, large lobed ears, drooping cheeks, shifty eyes ... rarely been clean enough to know its true appearance, it may all just be from rolling about in the detritus of the sewers.

Universally detested and untrustworthy, it is never a good thing when a Gully is near.

Best description off BB i ever read!

[Shamed Monkey]

Best description off BB i ever read!

Aww, you're just saying that.

[--Ashe--]

WATCHER
Watchers are creations of ancient dwarven magiks, binding the soul of a proven dwarven patriot to the vessel of a deceased gargoyle. The rite, steeped in great mystery and difficult trials, is considered amongst the highest of honours a dwarf can attain, for only Watcher's are used to protect the most sacred of Dwarven secrets and artifacts.

Watchers appear as a stoney dwarven statue bearing the wings of a gargoyle. Their skin is the colour and texture of granite or marble, their hair stoney hues. They speak with gravelly, reverberating, almost hollow voices. They are extremely rugged, however tend to be flighty of mind.

Watchers are extremely patient, able to hold position for years guarding their assignment. They pride themselves on stolidly surviving any torment, and often brag about how their suffering surpasses that of any other, for they have lived through it and revel in adapting to its affects. Theirs is the enjoyment in defeating hardship, so they continuously seek it out. They are oft considered morose and depressing, not the highlight to have in any party, however attempts to treat a Watcher badly only feed into its sense of impending accomplishment.

Watcher's are as keen of sense as an elf, they miss very little, for the protection of their charge from the hands of thieves is their greatest mission.

+4 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Int
+2 Natural Armor Bonus (stone to flesh will negate)
+2 Spot, +2 Concentration
-4 Move Silent (flesh of stone cannot move silently easily)
Keen Senses



DURZAGON
The Durzagon are the progeny of devils and deceived duergar. They are slightly taller than the average duergar, have rust coloured skin, hallowed eyes, with hands that end in flesh rending claws. A Durzagon's beard is greyish in hue with fire red streaks, its consistancy that of wiry quills each filled with a sulfuric poison that drains the strength of its victims.

Durzagon are extremely intelligent, seeking to manipulate and control battles from behind the ranks. They are exceedingly deviant and cruel, holding all races in contempt, except their devilish kin whom they continue to serve throughout their life.

+2 Int, +2 Con, -4 Cha, -2 Wis
Must be Evil
Light Sensitivity as duergar
Imm Poison, Paralysis
20% imm fire
Darkness
+4 Move Silent, +1 Listen, +1 Spot



GEODE
The Geode are a race of dwarves that frequent the plane of Earth. They are of squat and portly dwarven build, with solid granite features, sparkling emerald eyes, and flaxen hair. Their smile betrays teeth of the hardest natural adamantine, which they use to devour the minerals and gems which they mine about the planes.

The Geode are voracious in their appetite, which is never appeased. They have adapted their special diet to their advantage, absorbing the natural energies of that which they devour to their defense. The affects however, are short lived, forcing the ever ravenous dwarves to seek out more. In their quest for nourishment, they are not above raiding treasure troves, city treasuries, or dragon hordes.

The Geode are easily swayed to misdeeds and misconduct by the promise of treasure, for the hunger must ever be fed, irrespective of the cost to others.

+2 Con, +2 Str, -4 Cha

Gains % imm to an energy type based upon the colour of a gem it devours (red/fire, green/acid, white/positive, yellow/lightning, purple/negative, etc.). The greater the stone value, the stronger the immunity (greatest stones are 5% energy imm + 1/level, weak stones have a set immunity amount). Duration of Immunity is dependent upon character level.

Geode may only devour one gem type per rest, as their bodies cannot contain the power released in the absorption of more than one energy type at a time. As a Geode grows in power, it takes more stones to satiate its hunger and activate its immunity. (1 stone to 20th level, 2 stones to 40th)

[--Ashe--]

INNUGAA (In-NOO-Ja -- Arctic Dwarf)
The Innugaa are a race of dwarves that make their homes in the eternal ice of the polar ice caps. Of all the dwarves, Innugaa are the most diminutive - very stout and small of stature. Their squat build and small legs grant them a nearly perfect center of gravity, enabling them to maintain balance on the slipperiest of ice or terrain.

Innugaa have white hair and beards the colour of new fallen snow. Their ears and noses are diminutive, to ensure little heat loss in their frozen lands. Their skin is pale to bluish tinged, but often becomes a rosey red from head to toe when the Innugaa lie out in the sun (much like a basking walrus.) They shrug off the effects of their freezing environ with little more than a guffaw.

The Innugaa pride themselves on their artistic carvings, creating elaborate works of scrimshaw upon the tusks of walruses and narwhal horns. They most often wear polar bear and elk hides, interwoven with the rare bits of volcanic rock or shell that they can find. A tribe of hunters and survivalists, the Innugaa are avid ocean riders, stalking their prey from ice flows and large canoes. Innugaa abhor waste, as supplies are ever in demand in the hostile north, everything has a use to an Innugaa.

The Arctic Dwarves are a peaceful and loving people, not wasting energy on fighting or other heat-losing behaviors unless it is absolutely necessary. They maintain, however, their determinable dwarven spirit, much as their southern cousins, making them just as formidable in battle. Unlike other dwarven tribes, the Innugaa are not seeing a loss of numbers in their society, ever surrounded by multiple children in their skin/hide tents, a trend to which they accredit to the long arctic night and the freezing polar blizzards, followed by a wink and a smile.

+2 Con, +2 Dex
Treated as a small race as opposed to a dwarf size, gain the advantages and disadvantages of small race:
(+1 to attacks, +1 to AC, +4 Hide, Weapon use treated as small statured)
50% immunity to cold
Immunity to grease



URDUNNIR
The Urdunnir are the chosen children of Dumaithon. They appear much like shield dwarves, with greyish skin tones, ashen beards and silvery hued eyes. They wear garments and armor of innately magical stone, usually in one piece that flows as form-fittingly and seamlessly as cloth.

The Urdunnir revel in their cavernous living, becoming one with the rock and ores about them in glorious worship of their Lord Dumaithon. Their affinity to stone lore has granted them many advantages that emulate the geology about them. Other dwarves consider them magical, however, their abilities are innate and understood only by the secretive Urdunnir and Dumaithon himself. Whispers speak of the Urdunnir's ability to walk through stone itself, as if it were air, however no other race has ever witnessed this act.

+4 Con, +2 Str, -2 Int
+4 Search
+4 vs Poisons
+1 Natural Armor
Stone Shape - May assume the form of an earth elemental type at level 15. Becomes a Stone Golem at level 30.




ZANKEER (Desert Dwarf)
The Zankeer populate the rugged dunes and sparse oasis of the burning sands of the realms. Ever nomadic, the Zankeer continuously follow the winds across the desert, shepherding their reptilian beasts of burden.

Often mistaken for a very old or ancient dwarf, the Desert Dwarf is lithe of body and form, its skin is brazen red, dark brown or even black in colour and often the consistency of dry parchment. They have neither hair nor beard. The Zankeer's eyes are aqueous blues, their features sharp, their ears tapered and long. They wear sparse clothing of lizard hide, allowing the heat of the desert to radiate away from their bodies.

The Desert Dwarves are extremely gruff. They keep to themselves and disavow any interest in social activities, preferring the company of their lizard herds to that of other races.

The Zankeer have adapted to their desert environ in many ways. A nictating membrane protects their eyes from the glare of the blazing sun off the reflective sands, protecting them from blindness. Zankeer can also produce magnificent weapons of unbreakable glassteel by heating the sands about them in magical molds.

+2 Dex, +2 Wis, -4 Cha
Immunity to blindness
+4 Animal Empathy
+2 Tumble
5% imm to fire
25% vuln ice/water attacks
Encrust: Once per day, Zankeer can encrust a weapon with glassteel shards which cause a wounding effect on an enemy (weapon may not be darkfired/flame weaponed, etc). Must have supply of sand from Angmar to complete the enchantment.



MAELUTH (planetouched)
Maeluth are descended of devils and dwarves. They have fiendish features, an angular face and ears, firey red eyes, tapered hands, and are nearly hairless. They are a deviant race, much as their devilish blood demands, revelling in causing pain and destruction. It is their exceptional intelligence which makes them the most dangerous, for they are profound strategists, devising means to defeat and overwhelm every foe.

Their ways are not those of deception, they are openly and overtly wicked, preferring to best enemies in battle. A Maeluth is not content to plan out a battle and order others to the fight, it will always partake in the bloodletting in gleeful bliss.

Maeluth amuse themselves by enfeebling and confusing the minds of their foes, and pitting the victim against their allies, often placing blood wagers on the winner. They despise the Illithid, whom they consider to be abhorrent to their own sense of intellectual superiority. The Durzagon are also held in contempt, thought by the Maeluth to be lazy half-breeds with little drive to carry out their own evil mechanations.

The Maeluth are extremely dedicated to each other as a race, and have fended off, through cut-throat strategy and tenacious spirit, the countless attempts of other devilish and terranean races to overthrow their militaristic society.

+2 Con, +2 Dex, +2 Int, -4 Cha, -2 Wis
Must be evil
Spell Resistance of 5 +1/lvl
May cast Feeblemind and Confusion
immunity to mind affecting

[Celorn]

GAWD!!@

Can someone PLEASE find a PRETTY race of dorfs to add to NS4?!?

I'd love to have a +4 CHA dorf.... -2 str -2 con +2 dex +4 cha would be ideal, throw in keen sense and ecl2 is fine as well, maybe some DR/AC shield and SR (ecl3..). hehe

[VagaStorm]

GAWD!!@

Can someone PLEASE find a PRETTY race of dorfs to add to NS4?!?

I'd love to have a +4 CHA dorf.... -2 str -2 con +2 dex +4 cha would be ideal, throw in keen sense and ecl2 is fine as well, maybe some DR/AC shield and SR (ecl3..). hehe

This actualy maks some sence since rk now is one of only 2 fractions that can do pally I belive.

[--Ashe--]

Would be nice to have a dex based dwarf for rogue variants with DD. Also a planar touched with SR would be nice too. Gnomes are fine, but you can't explore the benefits of your prestige class with a gnome, need more dwarf variables to mix up DD types.

*throws his lot in with the RK members to get more dwarf types*

[Dalan]

*sheds tear*