Gray Dwarf

Gray dwarves are a diminutive, mystical race of people who visit Midgard searching for adventure and riches. They live in dark caverns and dank hovels deep inside their subterranean world of Nidavellir, where the ringing of anvils mingles with the mournful cries of their slaves. Gray dwarves love power, wealth, self indulgence, and cruel practical jokes. Before Odin blessed them with wisdom, purpose, and a humanoid form, gray dwarves were maggots feeding on Ymir’s corpse. Odin shaped the crawling bugs into legendary craftsmen, masters of stonecutting, and brilliant metalworkers. The gray dwarves became famous for their engineering, artisanship, and skill.

Repulsive and Vile

Gray dwarves are short, ugly creatures, with bent spines and gangly, misshapen limbs. A long, hooked nose, crooked teeth, and beady, coal-like eyes are often all that can be seen amid a gray dwarf’s thick mask of black whiskers typically worn to conceal their grotesque facial features; however, some go brazenly unshaven, proudly displaying their malformed features to horrified onlookers.

A gray dwarf’s hair is always black and their skin is deathly white. Gray dwarves often wear earth tones: greens, browns, and shades of grey.

Legendary Craftsmen, Epic Villains

Despite their physical deformities, or perhaps because of them, Gray dwarves are remarkably strong. They are also very wise, having witnessed the folly of mankind since the earliest age. Although it is a myth that sunlight turns Gray dwarves to stone, the sun’s rays do cause them significant discomfort. Gray dwarves are renowned for their artisanship and have forged several of the most famous weapons of legend including Mjolnir and Gungnir. They also find great humor in the suffering of others and are known for the cruel and hurtful games they play.

The Kingdom of Darkness

Gray dwarves live in the subterranean world of Nidavellir, also called Myrkheim or Svartalfheim, a land of vast caverns and endless tunnels that are connected to certain caves in Midgard. Gray dwarves live in small family units who make their homes in the caverns and halls of Nidavellir. Gray dwarves are a fiercely independent and resourceful people. Their culture is a confusing whirlwind of disparate ideologies, philosophies, and theories. Pranks, practical jokes, insult comedy, and riddles are all common ways of gaining status in gray dwarves society.

Excitement and Entertainment

Gray dwarves frequently visit Midgard for adventure and excitement. They see the world of men as a place for amusement, relaxation, and entertainment. It is a great land for treasure hunting and for playing pranks on foolish people. They also appreciate the fact that Midgard is a crossroads of cultures and they are always interested in meeting other travelers.

Gray Dwarf Racial Traits

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

Age. Gray 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.

Alignment. Gray dwarves are usually chaotic and as likely to be good as evil. Quite a few are chaotic neutral as well. Gray dwarves always worship the Norse gods.

Size. Gray dwarves average about three and a half feet tall and weigh about 50 pounds. Their size is Small.

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

Beguiling Liar. You add double your proficiency bonus to any Charisma (deception) checks you make, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Darkvision. Accustomed to dark caverns and lightless tunnels, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 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.

Cave Dweller. You gain double your proficiency bonus on any Wisdom (perception) and Wisdom (survival) checks made while underground.

Darklands Stalker. Moving through nonmagical difficult terrain while underground costs you no extra movement.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, jeweler’s tools, or mason’s tools.

Magically Enhanced. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the enhance ability spell as a 2nd level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Poison Resistance. You have a natural resistance to poison damage.

Light Sensitivity. If you, your opponent, or whatever you may be trying to perceive is in direct sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish and Germanic. Gray dwarves literature is primarily concerned with tales of heroic smiths and cunning pranksters. While some is written down, it is primarily an oral tradition. Their songs are particularly bawdy and crude.