Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tuerny" data-source="post: 878739" data-attributes="member: 674">Deep DwarvesAppearance:     The typical Deep Dwarf male is between 4’1” and 4’7” tall with females being about 2” shorter. They are as resilient and stout as the earth from which they arose, with large, bulky frames and little in the way of grace and agility. Hair is worn long, with married individuals wearing a single braid to indicate their betrothal. Hair colors tend towards earthy colors, with brown or black being the most common. Eyes share similar tones, though rare individuals have flecks of gold or silver across the iris. These individuals are seen as being blessed by the gods and typically end up becoming priests. Facial features tend to be round and full with some individuals having features that would almost be described as “hard” or cold. Facial hair, worn long and wild, is found only among dwarven males, despite jokes to the contrary. History:    The true origin of the Deep Dwarves is lost in the mist of time, though they claim that they were pulled from the earth fully formed by their god Grummok. For as long as the dwarves can remember the history of the Deep Dwarves was that of the Thanedom of Durom Malar. They carved their kingdom from the stone beneath the Mosai Basin, widening natural passages into the glorious halls that would one day become their kingdom. Eventually they dug too deep and opened their caverns up to the horrors known as the illithid, the mind flayers. The war against the mind flayers was short and brutal. The dwarves knew that they had met their match and responded accordingly, binding themselves to the Dragon of Endless Depths in exchange for his aid against the illithid. With its aid they were able to drive back their foes, sealing them back into the earth from which they came. The price that the dwarves paid for the Dragon of Endless Depth’s aid was great. A hundred temples and a great holy city were built to the Dragon of Endless Depth’s and one tenth of the dwarven population dedicated itself to homage of the great Dragon. With the power granted by this worship, the Dragon was able to exceed the final hurdle needed to become a god. Even today the dwarves pay this price, as worship of the Dragon has become as much a part of their culture as worship of Grummok.With the departure of the Dragon, the dwarves were free to turn their immense craftsmanship to a new task. They did so, tunneling up away from the center of the earth rather than towards it. After several years of constant work (and dozens of mineral discoveries), they found something they never expected: the Surface. A place of endless horizons and thousands of bizarre and dangerous creatures, some dwarven nobles argued that the dwarves should collapse the passages they built and retreat beneath the surface, never to return. Others argued that the dwarves should immediately seize the territory around their entrance as a defense against potential attacks. Still others, who were in favor with the current Thane, argued that they should send small scouting parties out to gauge the attitudes of the natives. The latter group won out and three dozen scouting parties scoured the surface, looking for signs of non-hostile intelligent life. What they found were the Moshi of Kuru. After initial suspicions were overcome, the Kurites and dwarves became strong allies, especially once the dwarves discovered had access to two ores that dwarves didn’t: adamantine and mithral. This alliance was so strong that the dwarves offered seven sieges (each of 1,000 troops) in defense of Kuru when the gray orcs invaded the region. With the dwarves’ aid, Kuru was the only city able to resist the might of the gray orcish invasion. Kuru has never forgotten and to this day the cities are the strongest of allies. Jealous neighboring cities whisper that Kuru is now nothing more than a vassal state, but whispers are all that they are. Kuru and the dwarves are strong allies, nothing more nothing less. Modern Deep Dwarves:    The Deep Dwarves of today serve as vital partners with the people of the Mosai Basin. They have extended their general partnership with Kuru to include several other cities, though none can be considered as close as Kuru is. They have even opened a small number of trading posts on the far side of the Dawn Mist Mountains, allowing them to trade with the Tygaeran horse barbarians. They share the distrust that many Moshi have for the Gray Orcs, however, and to this day refuse to, as a nation, have any sort of non-hostile contact with them. As befits their roots, the Deep Dwarves maintain their strong connection to the earth. Mining and crafting are the primary focus of the life of most Deep Dwarves. Only a rare few look beyond the confines of Durom Malar to the surface. Even those that find their way to the surface find that the open sky makes them uncomfortable, even after years of living under it. Something about the great emptiness leaves a gnawing fear in the pit of their stomach. Most are loath to admit this however, instead claiming the sky is unnatural or that their periodic bouts of paleness are a result of “some strange surface disease that attempts to strike down a dwarf in his prime!”Dwarven art is expressed in their weapons, armor, and buildings. They gain a subtle pleasure at looking upon a well-crafted building or weapon, with true awe being reserved for items that are both lovely to behold and fashioned well enough to serve through a thousand battles. Dwarven dweamorcrafters are especially well thought of in this regard, as they are able to infuse their creations with something beyond beauty and standard craftsmanship; the imbued essence of a god. Deep Dwarven clothing is utilitarian and simple, as befits a culture that is devoted to hard, dirty labor (in the dark). Wealth and power are expressed through gems and jewelry, with particularly wealthy dwarves possessing higher and higher quality gems, with the most powerful and influential dwarves bedecked with earthblood and dragontears set in mithral or adamantite. Some wealthy dwarves have also taken to studding their clothes with various small gemstones and pieces of precious metal, allowing them to show off both their wealth and their strength. A prominent place in dwarven culture is held by a sect of noble warriors known as the drengr. The drengr are chosen by the deep dwarven ancestor spirits to serve as a new generation of nobility, consecrated to lead the dwarves into the future. The deep dwarves respect their ancestor’s choices, and train the drengr well, teaching them of the arts of war and leadership so that they will be ready to assume the rule ordained to them. Some among the drengr decide to serve dwarven society rather than leave it. These individuals train to join the elite Dwarven Defenders in manning the fortresses that guard the borders of dwarven territory. Occasionally, a dwarf will chose to disrespect their ancestors and refuse the honor of becoming a drengr these individuals are given an option. They can either be cast out of dwarven society never to return or they can join the cave scouts. Those who choose to be cast out are tattooed with a broken anvil to show their treason to dwarven culture and society. They are then brought to the edge of dwarven territory and cast out with a warning to never return. The others are trained for the dangerous life of a cave scout. The cave scouts are the outlanders and explorers of dwarven society, trained to constantly expand the borders of dwarven territory and discover potential threats to the dwarven people before those threats discover the dwarves. Not all, or even most, cave scouts are brought from those who chose to serve dwarven society without becoming a drengr, but enough of them are to leave a distinct aura of distrust of the cave scouts from other members of dwarven society. After all, any one of them could be one of those few who chose to refuse the duty of becoming a drengr.Deep Dwarven Religion:     There are three primary focuses of dwarven devotion. The most prominent of these is Grummok, father of the dwarves, but the Dragon of the Endless Depths and the Dwarven Ancestors also receive official worship. Typically each dwarf venerates Grummok or the Dragon of Endless Depths above all other deities but maintains a secondary respect for the other dwarven deity. The Dwarven Ancestors are venerated by all dwarves, respected for the contributions that they have made in building the past and what they currently do to guide the future. Every dwarven city has temples to the Dragon of Endless Depths and Grummok with numerous assorted shrines dedicated to the individual ancestor spirits who are important to the city. Grummok, Father of the Dwarves, is venerated as the Great God of Craftsmanship, the King of the Earth Gods, and the Keeper of the Perfected Unity. He is the one who pulled the dwarves fully formed from the earth and infused them with the Unity, granting them life. He has kept the dwarves united where the other races have sundered. For this the dwarves are thankful. The earth priests of Grummok are omni-present in everyday dwarven life. They bless the forges, mediate disputes, and provide the earth magic needed to make sure the cavernous metropolises of the dwarves continue to shelter the people from the malevolent gods of madness and the darkest depths. Most importantly they interact with the alien lesser earth gods, those beings who lace the earth with gems and ores, and release earthquakes against those who anger them or their King. The most favored of Grummok’s priests, called the Eldest Son, sits to the left of the Thane of Durom Malar.The Dragon of Endless Depths is not a traditional god, and outsiders typically have a hard time understanding it. The Dragon isn’t a god of the earth, air, water, or fire. It is not a god of society or mortal living. It is instead a god of the abstract, of the moment between existence and action. It is the Void. It is the moment of calm before a warrior makes the perfect strike. It is the moment of panic before an orator knows just what to say to talk down a belligerent crowd. It is the moment of confusion before the priest knows which of his thousands of ancestors he needs to call upon. True dedication to the Dragon is not taken upon by traditional priests who speak to the gods and make invocations in their name. Instead, the Dragon is served by the void priests, those who seek to gain true understanding of the Dragon through mastery of the moment. In dwarven society, the Dragon is seen as a path to what the dwarves will become. Grummok is what they were and are, the Dragon is what they will be. The Grand Master of the Endless Depths, the highest ranking void priest, sits to the right of the Thane of Durom Malar.The Dwarven Ancestors are those dwarves who have passed into the realm of the honored dead. They have proven their worth to the dwarven people and now seek to guide them from beyond the grave. Each dwarf is expected to know the names of his entire lineage, back to the First Dwarves, with particular attention paid to those dwarves who have brought great honor to their lineage. Dwarves are supposed to think of and honor in day-to-day life, with special care taken once a month on a day unique to a particular family. On this day the dwarf spends the day sequestered in prayer and communion, thanking them for their benedictions and asking them for guidance in the month to follow. In addition, each family typically has a single member who takes special care to honor the ancestors that other family members are lax in their acknowledgment of. They tend to the family shrine, perform tasks that the ancestors give to them, and generally make sure that the ancestors feel that they are being honored. The shrine priest of the Thane’s family stands behind the Thane, so that he might whisper the words of the ancestors into the Thane’s ear. Deep Dwarven Characteristics:•    +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma; Deep Dwarves are both hardy and resilient and wise in the ways of mortal nature. They suffer, however, from their close ties to the earth, finding it difficult to assert themselves and make a large individual impact on the world around them.•    Darkvision: Deep Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function fine without any light.•    Stonecunning grants dwarves a +2 racial bonus to all checks involving stonework, including related craft checks. A dwarf who even passes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a check as if he were actively searching. In addition a dwarf can use the search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue would. A dwarf can naturally intuit their depth underground as easily as a human would sense what direction was up.•    +2 racial saving throw bonus vs. poison. Dwarves are hardy and resistant to toxins. •    +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against aberrations. The illithids are just one among the many bizarre creatures spawned from the depths that the dwarves are trained to fight.•    +2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal. Dwarves are especially capable with stonework and metalwork.•    Bonus Void Use or Ancestor feat. The Deep Dwarves have a special connection to their ancestors and the Dragon of Endless Depths. At first level a Deep Dwarf may take any Ancestor feat or the Void Use feat as a bonus in addition to any feats they would normally gain.•    Dwarves may take the samurai character class if they are among the drengr and the inkyo character class if they are among the void priests. •    Automatic Languages: Dwaervan. Bonus Languages: Goblin, Orcish, Moshi, Terran.</blockquote>

Verification