Dweorg

Physical Description

Dweorg are anywhere between four and five feet in tall, with stout shoulders and bodies that defy their diminished height. Their hair colors are commonly brunettes or blondes, but some clans sport great red manes that weave into their beards. Nearly all dweorg men wear beards, often carefully tended to with rings of precious metals stylized to honor their ancestors or traditions. Both genders are tough and possess strong core muscles; the color of a dweorg’s skin ranges from pale to reddish white and olive. They favor armors made from metal and pride themselves on craftsmanship, often wearing expertly crafted equipment made by their own hands.

Society

Smithing and craftsmanship are the backbone of dweorg society, but these dwarves are keen on all of the aspects each entails. They are well-known for having keen eyes for gems, ores and precious stones of all kinds, as well as a penchant for trading them. Their warriors and defenders pose a threat alone or at the backs of allies, each with an instinctive understanding of their equipment (often forging their weapons and armor themselves). Miners and engineers are just as common as soldiers, known throughout both the Upperworld and Underworld for their natural penchant to intellectually grasp the complex calculations required for large-scale excavation and construction.

Relations

Though their past is filled with hardship, dweorg maintain the friendliest demeanor of all the dwarves. While travelers are normally granted only temporary asylum within their settlements, they have been known to accept foreigners into their cities-so long as they embrace dweorg culture and tradition.

They are a just people filled with pride and often able to recite their lineages to the founders of their settlement (and in the case of nobility, even farther). This isn’t always fully understood, and sometimes their strange ways isolate the dweorg but more often than not, they are openly accepted into upperworlder society, valued for their talents at the forge and staunch loyalty.

Alignment and Religion

While they can be of any alignment, most are Lawful Neutral. While there are some that pursue the arcane arts, most tend to frown at a reliance on magic and only show their respect for the mystical arts to devout members of the clergy.

Adventurers

Many dweorg leave their homes to act as scouts or wardens, trekking across the underworld to map out emerging cave systems, identify dangerous geological movements and locate threats both old and new that prowl the depths close to the dwarven cities.

Others endeavor to expand the reach of their clan by establishing new trade routes both above and below the surface, or take to lives as mercenaries with ambitions to bring back glory to their family’s name. While they are not disposed to ostracizing, dweorg society doesn’t treat those without a reverence for history very well and dwarves that defy traditions often leave of their own accord.

Names

Male Names: Alvis, Brocker, Danik, Frednir, Maylorin, Otis

Female Names: Bridgette, Edna, Franlina, Hlazel, Normja, Ragnarose

Dweorg close to the surface tend to marry traditional dvergr names with those of the surface dwellers, so names can differ wildly from region to region.

Age

Living nearer to the surface than any of their kin, dweorg enjoy slightly longer lifespans than their counterparts deeper in the Underworld (as well as those from other material planes). Depending on how much interaction they have with humanity and the other surface races, sometimes dweorg find the spans of their lives to be significantly reduced by upperworlder assaults or dangers awakened by meddling explorers.

Dweorg Traits

As a dweorg, you belong to the most numerous of dwarven subraces and tend to live close to the surface. When a surface-dweller thinks “dwarf, ” you and your kin are likely what comes to mind. You have all the standard dwarf traits. Additionally, you have the following Dweorg subrace traits.

• Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
• Efficient Crafter. You double the rate with which you craft items. For every day of downtime you spend crafting, you can craft one or more items with a total market value not exceeding 10 gp instead of the usual 5 gp.