Dwarf

Our size defines us, aye. Every day I rue the fact I must look up to talk to most of you. But, we were giants, once. Taller than the hills you call homes, our very bodies carved from the metals below us. Living mountains, so strong our kin felt the need to break us down. To this day, they come to destroy our homes we built in these rocks. They continue to forget that when you break a mountain, you get an avalanche. - Voljra, Iron-Eye

Dwarves share their body with the very earth, their bodies transmuting into ore as they live and die. To dishonor one’s clan is to decompose into weak metals, and so a dwarf’s highest pride is the success of their family and close friends. The care for one’s honour is paramount, with a dwarf’s coming of age being to mine and forge the remains of an ancestor into a suit of armor or weapon. For a dwarf, there lies no greater joy after death than to protect your future generations.

Compressed Steel

Short and stout is certainly a way to describe dwarves. Just under 5 feet tall at their best, a dwarf's size is rounded by their sheer density. Behind their hair and beards of varying mountainous hues, a dwarf's body is akin to metal given flesh. Tales of dwarves with skin of colors like platinum, brass, gold, or bronze are exaggerated in only aspect; they gain this tone only in death.

Since the first moment they draw breath, dwarves slowly transmute into metal. This change is rarely prominent in the two-thirds of their lives, only becoming apparent near and after death. Decades after their last day, a dwarf's body will fully become any ore one may find in the mountains they live. Culturally, dwarves believe the quality of their metal after death is bound to how honourable they were in life. A dwarf that abandoned his clan or left it to die may turn into lead or mercury, while one who protected and helped it prosper may find themselves turning into mythical mithril or high-grade iron.

The First Exiles

What binds a dwarf to metal? An ancestry to the giants of the east. Dwarves claim their ancestry to banished giants eon ago, forsaken by their kin for guiding mortals how to weave the earth under their feet into tools and armor. This banishment stripped them of their stature and their weave, forsaking their innate ability to control raw metal around them like a second limb. All that remains of this primal heritage is a transmutation bound in death, and so it comes to no surprise that dwarves hold a special hatred for giants and their kin.

This lineage stands out when comparing dwarves to their banished-kindred of orcs and oni. It may take two dwarves to rival an orc in height and three for an oni, and so an unconscious jealously lies in their rocky hearts. Rivalry between the three are the stuff of legends, but so are the conflicts one may find all three allied together.

Dwarven clans and residences almost always reside near mountains or other naturally high places, with each their own deeply secluded tombs. Perhaps living in such elevated places make them remember the stature they once had, but such locations also allows a clan to secure their past and future in a safe place. A dwarf's legacy in life remains long after death, for their descendants may one day mine them out of their honored tomb. Young dwarves will do their best to forge their ancestors into pristine weapons and armor, so that they may continue to protect their kin long after they have left our world.

Blood and Stone

With a hatred for giants and a life bound to the earth, a purpose for adventuring is not hard to find for a dwarf. Many may seek out dungeons and other dangerous crypts perhaps to claim hidden wealth for their family, but also to reclaim a lost tomb of theirs and metalized ancestors of old. Some dwarven warriors of prosperous clans are seen as guardian envoys, sent to protect other cities and folks so that they may not fall to greed in protecting their wealthy clan.

Perhaps a dwarf was banished from their clan for a unspeakable crime, knowing their metal after death would be too foul to bury alongside their honoured kin. Will this adventuring dwarf seek to reclaim their honor so that they may still die a worthy metal? Will they ravage the countryside in life, just as their body will poison the very soil long after their death?

Dwarven Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.
Age. Dwarves claim they may live for nearly half a century, but the standard lifespan has shown to be just under three hundred.
Creature Type. You are Humanoid, but count as a Giant for the purposes of being detected.
Rarity. Common. Being one of the first humanoids in Galdera, dwarves are spread far across the continent.
Size. Your ancestry betrays you, having maimed your true form millennia ago. You are Small.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
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.
Clan Metal. Be it your own deeds or that of your close parentage, your body exhibits surnatural traits associated on specific metals. Choose one of the following.
- Heart of Gold. Your Hit Point Maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level. Whenever you expend a hit dice, you regain 1 hit point.
- Iron Will. You may use your Constitution modifier when making saving throws against being Charmed, Frightened, or Petrified.
- Lead Foot. You count as two sizes larger for the purpose of grappling and shoving. Moreover, you can perform either of these actions as a bonus action.
- Silver Tongue. You gain proficiency in two Charisma skills of your choice. Moreover, you may instead choose to use your Constitution modifier instead of your Charisma modifier when rolling for these skills.
- Tin Head. You gain resistance to psychic damage, and have advantage on Intelligence saving throws.
Forged of the Earth. Choose Poison or Acid. You gain resistance against that damage type. You also have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned.
Giant Lineage. You count as two sizes larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

d6	Dwarven Characteristics
1	The axe I made of my long-gone spouse has been stolen. I will stop at nothing to find it.
2	I fear open bodies of water, not because I will sink, but that I may come out rusty.
3	I see bad care for one's armor and weapons as someone who despises their family.
4	I plundered the grave of another clan and claimed the wondrous steel was my grandfather, so that I may continue the lie of the honor he had in life.
5	I try my best to bake, but my allies unironically think I give them rocks to eat.
6	I insult allies and opponents alike that I will wear them like jewelry.