Dwarf

Stocky, broad of body and extremely muscular, the short figure before you may lack in height but not in physical strength or presence. Wrapped in metal armor and armed with a waraxe, the humanoid has light brown skin, ruddy cheeks, and bright eyes, with black hair and a long, carefully groomed beard and mustache.

Dwarves are noble warriors who excel at metalcraft, stoneworking, and war. They tend to be serious, determined, and very honorable. Dwarves favor earth tones in their clothing and prefer simple and functional garb. The skin can be very dark, but it is always some shade of tan or brown. Hair color can be black, gray, or brown. Dwarves average 4 feet tall and weigh as much as adult humans.

Dwarves prefer to spend their time making masterpieces of stone, steel, and precious metals. They create durable weapons, craft beautiful jewelry, and cut superior gems. However, they consider it bad taste to flaunt wealth, so few wear jewelry other than one simple piece.

Dwarves speak Dwarven. Most who travel outside dwarven lands (as traders, mercenaries, or adventurers) know the Common tongue, while warriors in the dwarven cities usually learn Goblin to better interrogate and spy on those evil denizens of the deep caves.

Most dwarves encountered outside their home are warriors.

Combat

Dwarves are experts in combat, effectively using their environment and executing well-planned group attacks. They rarely use magic in fights, since they have few wizards or sorcerers (but dwarven clerics throw themselves into battle as heartily as their fellow warriors). If they have time to prepare, they may build deadfalls or other traps involving stone. In addition to the dwarven waraxe and thrown hammer, dwarves also use warhammers, picks, shortbows, heavy crossbows, and maces.

Dwarf Traits (Ex): Dwarves possess the following racial traits.

• +2 Constitution, –⁠2 Charisma.
• Medium size.
• A dwarf ’s base land speed is 20 feet. However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.
• Darkvision out to to 60 feet.
• Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up. Dwarves have a sixth sense about stonework, an innate ability that they get plenty of opportunity to practice and hone in their underground homes.
• Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.
• Stability: Dwarves are exceptionally stable on their feet. A dwarf has a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison. This is not reflected in the saving throw numbers given here.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects. This is not reflected in the saving throw numbers given here.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs (including half-orcs) and goblinoids (including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears).
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against creatures of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants).
• +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, Undercommon.
• Favored Class: Fighter.

Dwarf Society

Dwarves prefer living in underground cities that they build around mines (although some live on surface outposts). Carved into solid stone, these cities take centuries to complete but remain for ages. Dwarf society is organized into clans, with distinct family lines within each. A clan is led by a hereditary ruler, usually a king or queen who is a direct descendant of the clan’s founder. Dwarves are strongly loyal to their family, clan, monarch, and people as a whole; in conflicts with other races, even objective dwarves tend to side with their kinfolk. These ties have helped dwarves survive generations of warfare against the evil creatures that live under the earth.

A dwarven city has noncombatant members (usually the young, elderly, and a few adults) equal to 30% of the fighting population; female dwarves are as numerous as males and are accepted in any part of dwarf society, including warriors.

Dwarf clans usually focus on one or two types of craft, such as blacksmithing, making weapons or armor, creating jewelry, engineering, or stonemasonry. To avoid becoming overspecialized, dwarves apprentice some of their young ones to other clans; this practice also helps foster unity. Since dwarves live a long time, these apprenticeships can last many years, even well into adulthood.

The chief dwarven deity is Moradin, the god who created their race and the patron of smiths and other skilled craftworkers.

The dwarf warriors presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.

The statistics block below contains details for more than one shape, size, or type of this creature. Use the horizontal scrollbar below it to display the desired one or select from the links below that.

Dwarf (Hill) • Deep Dwarf • Duergar

Subraces

The information above is for hill dwarves, the most common variety. There are three other major dwarven subraces, which differ from hill dwarves as follows.

Deep Dwarf

These dwarves live far underground and tend to be more standoffish with nondwarves.

Deep dwarves are the same height as other dwarves, but leaner. Their skin sometimes has a reddish tinge, and their large eyes lack the brightness of those of their kindred, being a washed-out blue. Their hair color ranges from bright red to straw blond. They have little contact with surface dwellers, relying on hill dwarves or mountain dwarves to trade goods for them.

Deep dwarves speak Dwarven and Goblin, and occasionally Draconic or Undercommon.

Deep Dwarf Traits (Ex): These traits are in addition to the hill dwarf traits, except where noted.

• Racial bonus on saves against spells and spell-like abilities increases to +3. This is not reflected in the saving throw numbers given here.
• Racial bonus on Fortitude saves against poisons increases to +3. This is not reflected in the saving throw numbers given here.
• Darkvision out to 90 feet.
• Light Sensitivity: Deep dwarves are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.

Duergar

Sometimes called gray dwarves, these evil beings dwell in the underground.

Most duergar are bald (even the females), and they dress in drab clothing that is designed to blend into stone. In their lairs they may wear jewelry, but it is always kept dull. They war with other dwarves, even allying with other underground creatures from time to time.

The duergar revere the deity Laduguer, a joyless god who demands constant toil.

Duergar speak Dwarven and Undercommon.

Duergar Traits (Ex): These traits are in addition to the hill dwarf traits, except where noted.

• –⁠4 Charisma instead of –⁠2.
• Darkvision out to 120 feet.
• Immunity to paralysis, phantasms, and poison. This trait replaces the hill dwarf ’s +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
• +2 racial bonus on saves against spells and spell-like abilities.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day⁠—​enlarge person and invisibility as a wizard of twice the duergar’s class level (minimum caster level 3rd); these abilities affect only the duergar and whatever it carries.
• Light Sensitivity: Duergar are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
• +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.
• +1 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Dwarven, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Terran. This trait replaces the hill dwarf’s automatic and bonus languages.
• Favored Class: Fighter.
• Level adjustment +1.
• Unlike other dwarves, duergar do not have weapon familiarity with the dwarven waraxe and dwarven urgrosh.

The duergar warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.

Challenge Rating: Duergar with levels in NPC classes have a CR equal to their character level. Duergar with levels in PC classes have a CR equal to their character level +1.

Mountain Dwarf

Mountain dwarves live deeper under the mountains than hill dwarves but generally not as far underground as deep dwarves. They average about 4½ feet tall and have lighter skin and hair than hill dwarves, but the same general appearance. They claim they were the first dwarf race and that all other dwarves are descended from them, an attitude that contributes to their isolationism.

Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 91.