Dwarves
The people of the five Dwarven Kingdoms — see Dwarven Kingdoms document for the nations, government, and culture.
Body¶
Build: Short — around four and a half feet, the shortest of the playable peoples — but not round. Compact, solid, and far heavier than they look. A Dwarf weighs like someone half again their size.
Iron and lodestone: The root of everything else. Dwarven bone is dense and iron-heavy, threaded with lodestone, and their blood runs iron-rich. It's what makes them hard to break and slow to wear out, and it's what tunes them to stone and metal.
Long-lived and hardy: That dense, iron-bound body takes a great deal of punishment and ages slowly. Dwarves live around 250 years; one reaching 300 is as rare as a human reaching 120. See World History for how much of the Long War living Dwarves remember.
Stone-sense: Dense bone carries vibration. With feet, hands, or a hammer against stone, a Dwarf feels the rock around them — hollow spaces, the passage ahead, footsteps two rooms over, a ceiling about to give. Miners everywhere sound rock by tapping it; a Dwarf does it with the whole skeleton.
Lodestone sense: The lodestone in their bones pulls toward iron and toward north. A Dwarf always knows which way north lies, feels ore veins and worked metal nearby, and can judge metal by touch — its purity, where it was mined, and whether it came fresh from the ground or was recycled. That's why Dwarven buyers can't be cheated on ore, and why fresh Dwarven ore commands the price it does. Compass needles drift near a Dwarf; ship's navigators learn to keep them away from the binnacle.
In the dark: Dwarves see no better than humans. Their cities are lit by luminescent stone and magitech, and when the lights go out, a Dwarf is blind but not lost — they know the shape of the stone around them and anything moving across it, and they can always find the way out.
Dwarves sink. Too dense to float, Dwarves can't swim. Deep water is the one place a Dwarf is genuinely afraid of.
Origin Focus — Dwarf¶
Taken like any other Origin Focus, with a normal Focus pick. No bonus skill. Their height carries no mechanical effect.
Level 1: - Iron Constitution. Roll Physical saves twice and take the better — except against spells, Arts, and other magic. - Stone-Sense. While touching stone or earth, you sense the shape of the space and anything moving across the ground within 30 feet. In darkness you're blind but not lost: you can move, find your way, and fight what's next to you. You always know how deep you are, and you feel stone about to give before it does. - Lodestone. You always know which way is north. You sense iron, ore veins, and worked metal within 30 feet, and you can judge any metal's purity and origin by touch. - Sinks Like Iron. You can't swim. In deep water you sink, and must climb, wade, or be pulled out.
Level 2 — Immovable: On solid ground, no mundane force can shove you, knock you down, or drag you against your will.