What DO you DO for... Dwarves? [I'm baaaaack!!]

[Destil]

Count me soundly in the +2 Con -2 Dex camp.

I also changed the dodge bonus and weapon familiarly a bit:

Dwarves gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against any creature of size Large or greater.

Martial Tradition: A dwarf chooses a single exotic weapon (typically a dwarven waraxe or a mattoc), this weapon is treated as a martial weapon for them. A dwarf who does not not start with Martial Weapon Proficiency at 1st level need not choose this weapon until he acquires Martial Weapon Proficiency.

 

[borble]

Dwarves gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against any creature of size Large or greater.

they already get that, in fact, they get a +2.
ben

 

[javcs]

Dwarves gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against any creature of size Large or greater.

they already get that, in fact, they get a +2.
ben

Not as per RAW, as per some house-modded versions they do.

— +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against creatures of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants).

Relevant portion of their stats. Note that it is giant type, not large size.


As relevant to the topic, in my groups, we don't get many dwarves, so they get left alone. I could easily go along with the +2 Con, -2 Dex camp, or Nyaricus's variants.

 

[EvilGM]

Pretty much the same as the standard dwarf, with a few extras.

Dwarf
+2 Constitution, +1 Strength, -2 Dexterity, -1 Charisma
Medium-size creature
Speed 20'

Darkvision 90'
+2 racial bonus on all skill checks related to stone, metal, gems
Endurance (bonus feat)
Bonus Feat from the list below
Increased Carrying Capacity: effective Str for carrying capacity is 4 higher than their listed score
Stable: +4 vs. trip, bull rush, overrun
+1 racial bonus on attack rolls vs. goblinoids, orcs and ogres

Racial skills: Craft (armorsmithing), Craft (blacksmithing), Craft (stonemasonry), Craft (runesmithing), Craft (weaponsmithing), Knowledge (architecture and engineering), Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (local - dwarves), Sense Motive

Automatic Languages: Common, Dwarven; Bonus Languages: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon

Bonus Feat List (these may be taken even if you don't meet the prerequisites): Berzerk, Smite Giants, Hammer Specialist, Axe Focus, Racial Foes, Heavy Armor Expertise, Ancestral Knowledge, Battle Hardened, Clan Prestige, Dwarven Armor Proficiency, Moradin's Smile, Stocky, Titan Fighting, Tireless, Hardy Soul, Strong Soul, Survivor, Warrior Instinct, Axethrower, Blooded, Bullheaded, Dauntless, Fearless, Foe Hunter, Forgeheart, Furious Charge, Diehard

 

[Dog Moon]

Yay, welcome back Nyaricus! Don't forget you've still got to do Wizards too.

Actually, I was noting that too.

For my Dwarves, I basically have 3 different kinds.

1. Jungle Dwarves. Not really sure why I kept them, but I guess I liked the idea despite how ridiculous it sounds. Actually, I keep wanting to replace them with a completely different race, but I'm not quite sure what would be fitting yet and I already have a spot for my jungle humans.

2. Mountain Dwarves. Freakin' insane. Look at him the wrong way and he'll tear your throat out and eat it. They have powers of the earth and are fearsome foes. They're the Underground's most feared enemy atm. They've virtually annihilated the Drow, they've forced the Kobolds and Svirfneblin into the forests outside the mountains to which they're very slowly adapting, and even the Giants within the mountains are afraid of these Dwarves.

3. Frost Dwarves. These are more like the normal mining, gem-loving dwarves of norm. However, they are frosty. What makes them unique is that they have tamed numerous Xorn and have bred them within their own clans to make the Xorn more capable in what their clan does. Thus the Warrior Clan of the Frost Dwarves had bred the Xorn for combat and have even been able to use the Xorn as transportation through the stone. The Mining Clan of the Frost Dwarves have adapted the skills of the Xorn to be able to mine with rapid speeds through the toughest of materials.

I only have partial stats created for these 3 Dwarves and I will about posting them. I like the idea of the twisting Dwarf part and may add that into my campaign as well. It gives a logical reason as to why Dwarves fear Arcane Magic. They don't really remember why they should fear Magic - and of course the legends exaggerate it's bad effects too greatly for most of them to be true - but they know they should, rightfully so.

Dwarves that use Magic become insane.

 

[Nyaricus]

1. Jungle Dwarves. Not really sure why I kept them, but I guess I liked the idea despite how ridiculous it sounds. Actually, I keep wanting to replace them with a completely different race, but I'm not quite sure what would be fitting yet and I already have a spot for my jungle humans.

Small-sized gnolls with a HUGE bite attack sized for a medium creature; they also receive INA for their bite attacks as a free bonus feat.

Your players will fear you

 

[comrade raoul]

I'm also in the +2 Con/-2 Dex camp, but make two extra changes:
-- -1 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, and Gather Information checks.
-- Ability to treat the warhammer and battleaxe as simple weapons.

 

[Dog Moon]

Small-sized gnolls with a HUGE bite attack sized for a medium creature; they also receive INA for their bite attacks as a free bonus feat.

Your players will fear you

Not sure why, but I do like the idea of small-sized gnolls. Always have been fond of gnolls for some inexplicable reason...

I think a bite attack THAT painful is a little too much though.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I change their ability score adjustments to Con + 2, Dex -2, Cha -2. In tandem with changing the half-orc to only take a penalty on intelligence (and instead take a penalty on cha-based skills and a bonus on intimidate), hopefully there'll be more variety in what race the melee PCs choose. Relatively new changes, haven't play-tested yet.

Edit: Should also add, like all non-human and half-elf races, dwarves get to choose their favored class from a list, instead of being stuck with fighter.