Dwarf, Arctic

Dwarves are an ancient people with a rich and varied history. Whether the tales that they were formed by a god from the very stone are true or not, dwarves have since spread far and wide, though they are most often found in or near rocky and subterranean environments. At least a few dwarven cultures and communities have settled in arctic regions, where their members tend to adapt to their frigid environs.

Dwarven Ancestral Traits

People of dwarven ancestry tend to be somewhat shorter and stockier than humans, often featuring beards or braids or both. Folks of dwarven ancestry tend to have certain traits.

Age. Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they’re considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.

Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.

Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage, most likely a feature of you ancestors’ diet.

Dwarven Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level, due in large part to the long history of difficult labor required to survive underground for generations.

Arctic Dwarven Cultural Traits

A few communities founded by dwarves, or that have taken up historically dwarven ways, settled in the far, icy north long ago. Over the many centuries, these communities have developed their own cultural practices, distinct from those of dwarven-related communities elsewhere.

Arctic dwarven communities tend to be open and welcoming places. Those that can survive and thrive in such harsh conditions must band together, many in these communities believe, and so they welcome all who would wish to join them with open arms. These settlements are to be found on vast snow fields or glaciers and are identifiable by their use of ice and packed snow to build their structures. Some communities subsist on ice fishing, others on hunting, and still others use dogsleds to travel great distances to trade goods. And many, of course, use all of these to thrive. Those who grow up in or adopt arctic dwarven culture share the following traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength by 1.

Alignment. Arctic dwarven culture is friendly and communal, without being overly restrictive. Its members tend toward goodness.

Child of the Ice. Those who spend their lives in arctic dwarven communities become inured to the cold. Some arctic dwarven communities even use practices of repeated short-term exposures to extreme cold to help facilitate this process. You have resistance to cold damage.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarvish.