Dwarf
, Plains
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Climate / Terrain: |
Broken Plains |
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Frequency: |
Common |
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Organization: |
Clans |
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Activity Cycle: |
Any |
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Diet: |
Omnivorous |
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Intelligence: |
Very (11-12) |
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Treasure: |
M, Q |
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Alignment: |
Lawful (Any) |
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# Appearing: |
40-400 |
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Armor Class: |
6 (10) |
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Movement: |
6 |
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Hit Dice: |
1 |
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THAC0: |
20 |
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# Attacks: |
1 |
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Damage / Attack: |
By Weapon |
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Special Attacks: |
None |
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Special Defenses: |
None |
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Magic Resistance: |
None |
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Size: |
S (4’ tall) |
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Morale: |
Average (8) |
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XP Value: |
65 |
Appearance: Plains dwarves originated in strongholds underground, and are descendants of mountain dwarven lineage, although no mountain dwarf will admit to this. Due to the influence of Abbathor, the god of greed, these dwarves fell into ways of treachery and betrayal. Plains dwarves had weakened themselves due to infighting, and have since been forced to leave the harsh lands of their former homes, and take up residence on the surface.
These dwarves stand about four feet in height, and weigh in at around one hundred and twenty pounds. Hair, eye color, and skin tones of any shade of brown are most common, although hair in the shades of dark green and black are not unknown. Plains dwarven clothing tends to be simple and functional, and often wear dull brown or gray colors.
Plains dwarves are pitiable creatures when held up to the standards of most dwarves, causing the more honorable dwarves to shun them, and even go so far as to refute the fact that the relation exists at all. Even gnomes, who often express their relation to dwarves, have never been known to say so about the forsaken plains dwarves.
Plains dwarves have been known to shave their beards in various fashions, so as to separate themselves further from their ancient namesake. Some say that this is due to shame for the plains dwarves lost honor, while most believe it is due to constant threats from the more standard races of dwarves, who wish for the plains dwarves to remain as separate an entity from themselves as dwarvenly possible.
Plains dwarves are quicker and less constituous than their ancient dwarven kindred, receiving the same base ability scores as men, aside from most goodly races having a lower opinion of the dwarves, resulting in a deduction from their initial Charisma attribute (-1). Plains dwarves are assumed to have an even lower Charisma (-3) when dealing with dwarves of other kinds.
Combat: Unlike most dwarves, these dwarves have lost most of their skills as warriors, due to their constant practice in the arts of thievery, and frequent assassination attempts on members of their own kind during the War of the Axe. These dwarves are clearly not above resorting to backstabbing and any underhanded tactics or trickery as their method of warfare. As such, plains dwarves are rarely encountered on the front lines of any war, and will abstain from frequenting direct conflict whenever possible. They usually favor hit and run tactics, and when possible use overwhelming odds to overbear opponents. One of the plains dwarves favorite tactics is to attack in groups of three, hiding to ambush their opponents from behind. Two plains dwarves will strike at the opponent's legs, while the third strikes their victim in the head. Weapons employed by plains dwarves are of the quick and sharp variety, favoring short swords, daggers, and knives. A common feature among the weapons employed by the darker of their kind are internal poison reserves, utilized in the form of spring out spikes or a hollow blade. It is also not uncommon for a dwarf to have hidden on his body various blades, some with spring sheaths, and others hidden as various different objects on their body.
Most plains dwarves have lost all of the battle honor commonly found in most dwarves, and as such will usually not attack anything larger than themselves, but, if necessary, will strike an opponent from behind. The exception to this rule does exist, but is extremely rare, and are not openly so, in order to not stick out among his kindred, as this would surely make him a target of misdeeds performed by his own people.
Years of imbitterment have caused these dwarves to attain a volatile attitude, one which manifest itself in many forms. Plains dwarves rarely forget a slight, and are life-long foes once crossed. The danger in this is that a victim may not even be aware that they have angered one of the diminutive kin, until the dwarf has gathered enough resources to be a threat, when it is too late. It is not uncommon for a dwarf of this variety to stalk it's victim for years, waiting for the appropriate opportunity to redeem itself.
Like most other dwarves, the plains variety has a natural aversion to magic, and as such never uses magical spells or train as wizards. They also receive the natural bonus to all saving throws against magical wands, staves, rods, and spells. They receive the common bonus of one point for every three and a half points of constitution to their saving throws. This bonus also applies to any saves against poisons. Plains dwarves do not, however receive the innate underground abilities of most dwarves, nor are they any longer able to make the crafts that dwarves love so much. Plains dwarf infravision has deteriorated as well, and their range in such endeavors only reaches a range of thirty feet.
Habitat / Society: Plains dwarves originated under the mountains, but now live on the surface, and specialize in trade between the lands underground and the surface lands. Goods from the surface are traded to underground societies as well as the opposite, the origin of these goods often in question. These traders are notorious black market dealers, specializing in the sale of stolen merchandise and otherwise immorally obtained goods. Traders among their kind are scarcely trusted as far as they can be thrown, and if another method of transporting goods was available, the majority of plains dwarves customers would seek other avenues of commerce. Occasionally small groups of independents will attempt to trade directly with the surface, or directly with the natives under the earth, and exclude the plains dwarves from their dealings. These groups will soon be the unfortunate victims of 'accidents,' having been subjected to such things as staged cave-ins as well as the more obvious ambush. The plains dwarves do not take lightly to some upstart attempting to overtake the dwarves primary means of commerce. Plains dwarves will form alliances to suit their need, with anyone that is willing, so long as the plains dwarves have something to gain, the bond will not be broken.
When these dwarves lived beneath the surface, they were the finest crafters in all the lands, but have since lost most if not all of the crafting abilities for which they were known. A good portion of these dwarves are still seeking the Axe of Ghundar, which was lost to them in the War of the Axe. Some of these dwarves even make an active career out of searching for this lost treasure, which when found is believed to restore all of the honor these dwarves once held dear.
Ecology: Plains dwarves interact with almost all of the other races, in order to trade with them, and their own language is a slight variant of the Mountain dwarven tongue.
The Plains dwarf is one whose primary form of commerce is that of trading goods and merchandise. They deal in all manner of items, ranging from everyday items to stolen goods to flat out illegal merchandise. They have no preference as to whom they sell to, anyone that can meet their price can obtain their services. These goods never include items of their own make, as the plains dwarves have long forgotten the arts of craft making and weaponsmithing.
See Also:
