D&D General what is a hill dwarf?

[Scott Christian]

Just the same as mountain dwarves but other stats.
I fully expect them to unite in 5.5e

Same stats. +1hp will replace con bonus.

Mountain dwarves have nothing special beyond "great for fighter or otherwise unarmored classes".
+1 hp is actually sonething tangible

And if you look very closely and ignore armor proficiency, both subraces are worth half a feat.

I'm confused. You think 5.5 will have less variety?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I'm confused. You think 5.5 will have less variety?

No. It has more variety, because you can put your stats where you want and get tangible benefits instead.
Bot subraces don't give a lot. I expect hill dwarves to be baseline dwarf abilities.

You just don't need intangible features and subraces just to justify a different stat bonus.

 

[Seramus]

I always handled it as:
Mountain Dwarves = Tolkien Stereotype. Living in the great halls of mountains, culture of experienced miners, often gruff and somewhat xenophobic, possibly a bit greedy. Thorin is the archetypal Mountain Dwarf.
Hill Dwarves = The dwarves that got used to living with other people. They are hanging out in your cities with many other races, possibly as merchants or blacksmiths, but ultimately cosmopolitan compared to their isolationist mountain cousins.

So basically "This one culture group stereotype" and then "All the other guys in general."

 

[Mind of tempest]

I always handled it as:
Mountain Dwarves = Tolkien Stereotype. Living in the great halls of mountains, culture of experienced miners, often gruff and somewhat xenophobic, possibly a bit greedy. Thorin is the archetypal Mountain Dwarf.
Hill Dwarves = The dwarves that got used to living with other people. They are hanging out in your cities with many other races, possibly as merchants or blacksmiths, but ultimately cosmopolitan compared to their isolationist mountain cousins.

So basically "This one culture group stereotype" and then "All the other guys in general."

all the other guys is not a concept it describes by the absence of a thing.

 

[Scott Christian]

No. It has more variety, because you can put your stats where you want and get tangible benefits instead.
Bot subraces don't give a lot. I expect hill dwarves to be baseline dwarf abilities.

You just don't need intangible features and subraces just to justify a different stat bonus.

Sorry. Poorly worded question on my part.
Do you think 5.5 will consolidate (lessen choices) regarding the subraces? Obviously, you do think this for dwarves. How about elves? Gnomes? Halflings?
Thanks.

 

[Staffan]

Mountain dwarves have nothing special beyond "great for fighter or otherwise unarmored classes".

*Which usually does nothing for characters that want +2 str.

I actually think that's a pretty sweet bit of design, since that gives something for (almost) everyone. There are few classes where neither a Strength bonus nor armor proficiency is useful, and even fewer classes where both are.

 

[Zardnaar]

I actually think that's a pretty sweet bit of design, since that gives something for (almost) everyone. There are few classes where neither a Strength bonus nor armor proficiency is useful, and even fewer classes where both are.

They're great without Tasha's it's actually hard to make a decent mountain dwarf matter with racial stuff. All the classes strength is useful for get the armor proficiency anyway.

The few that don't have no use for a strength bonus.

Outside of goofy sorcerer builds the Mountain Dwarf is a bit pants just using the phb. Tasha's turns them into a top tier race.

 

[Staffan]

They're great without Tasha's it's actually hard to make a decent mountain dwarf matter with racial stuff. All the classes strength is useful for get the armor proficiency anyway.

The few that don't have no use for a strength bonus.

That's my point. Either the Strength bonus or the armor proficiency is useful. There should be more races like that.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm confused. You think 5.5 will have less variety?

Yes, in terms of packages you can choose from. I expect an all e carte sort of thing that lets you pick from a menu, as apparently actually having specific heritages with their own meaning is no longer cool. Individual self expression is seen by WotC to be the most important consideration regarding character to the new players WotC is trying to court.

 

[bedir than]

They're great without Tasha's it's actually hard to make a decent mountain dwarf matter with racial stuff. All the classes strength is useful for get the armor proficiency anyway.

The few that don't have no use for a strength bonus.

Outside of goofy sorcerer builds the Mountain Dwarf is a bit pants just using the phb. Tasha's turns them into a top tier race.

Bladesinger mountain dwarf