Dwarf

Legend goes that when the elves came to the world of Dreugh to warn the inhabitants of its impending doom, in jest, the dwarves only agreed to accompany the elves on their journey under one condition: the elves would have to take Dreugh’s largest mountain as well. To the chagrin of the dwarves, the elves easily accomplished this and a portion of each dwarven clan, honor-bound, reluctantly left home.

But they refused to call themselves refugees or immigrants. With pomp and ceremony, these dwarves declared themselves diplomats of the Dwarven people. They refused to believe Dreugh was no more and this expedition, albeit long, was only temporary.

Their mountain, Magnus Montem, now lies on the planet Aedra in the center of the Barrier Range between Yorr and Espora – the only substantial quantity of earth and rock not of that world. It has become a pivotal aspect of dwarven culture and religion, considered extraterritorial, still part of the planet Dreugh, and the heritage of all dwarven people.

Bitter feuds are fought between the clans for control of the mountain. It is symbolic of the dwarven people’s refusal to acknowledge Aedra as their new home. There isno ‘King of the Mountain,’ as that title belongs to the leading member of the royal family, supposedly still on Dreugh. Instead they have a Great Ambassador, charged with representing Dwarven interests on Aedra and preserving the heritage of the Dwarven people.

Not all clans have preserved this ideology; some have declared Aedra their new home. The Great Ambassador has declared these dwarves traitors to their own kind. Dwarves that remain loyal to the mountain, or ‘of the mountain’ as they describe it, are called Mountain Dwarfs. Those dwarven clans deemed traitors to the Mountain are derogatorily known as Hill Dwarves, a reference to their stunted position in proper dwarven culture.

Druidic religion

The dwarven priesthood are druids. Druids from hill dwarf clans draw their power from Aedra as is normal for druids of other races, but druids from mountain dwarf clans draw their power straight from their great mountain, Magnus Montem. This is a poorly understood phenomena, and some suggest that perhaps this proves all planets have a life force similar to Aedra.

Clans and kinsmen

There are three distinct races of dwarves: iron, bronze, and gold. Each race has distinct physical characteristics and a propensity for certain kinds of professions. There are mountain and hill dwarfs of each race.

• Iron dwarves have dark grey or black hair and grey eyes. They place emphasis on martial prowess and are known for producing some of the finest dwarven soldiers.
• Bronze dwarves have red and brown hair and males tend to go bald by middle age. They are great miners, sculptors, and architects. The intricacy and sturdiness of their underground structures are famous.
• Gold dwarves have blond and copper hair. They prefer to live topside, albeit at great heights, and are generally well tanned. They are renowned smiths and crafters. Weapons, armor, tools, and jewelry of gold dwarf make are always in high demand.

Dwarven Traits

Dwarves in mirrorworld possess all of the traits found in the Player’s Handbook, pages 19 and 20, except darkvision. In lieu of this, this they possess the the traits below.

Dwarven Nose: Dwarves have long noses with an exceptional sense of smell adapted to life underground. When underground or in an area of predominant earth and stone they can detect the presence of creatures nearby even if they are making no sound and are out of line of sight.

When the dwarf is near hidden creatures, the DM will secretly make a skill check of the dwarf’s perception against the hidden creature’s stealth. In the case of success, the DM will inform the dwarf he smells something nearby.

The DM may inform the dwarf of the type of creature(s) hidden if the dwarf is familiar with the creature. The stealth roll of the hidden creature(s) may be modified based on distance and other factors.

The dwarf will not be able to use this ability when other odors permeate the area, such as those of plants, animals, and people the dwarf is not familiar with.

Besides creatures, the dwarf has a chance to detect dangerous gases common underground that are odorless to humans, such as methane and carbon monoxide. A successful Perception test will inform the dwarf of the presence of such gasses.

Gold Biter: Dwarves can taste different kinds of metals and can determine the composition of a metal alloy on a successful Insight check.

 

Hill Dwarf

Hill dwarves are the most common dwarves to be encountered by other races. They are generally friendly people that try to be part of the greater world.

Many hill dwarves travel upon reaching adulthood, to experience and learn about the world they now consider home. Their journeys are recorded in historical chronicles back at their clan’s hold. No detail is considered trivial. To have one’s name written in one of these tomes is to be immortalized among the dwarven kind.

Hill dwarves have their own king and royal line, obviously unrecognized by the mountain dwarves, which unite all hill dwarf clans.

They consider mountain dwarves as backwards zealots, lost in the past and incapable of adapting to the current situations.

It is customary of hill dwarves to sprinkle a little earth on their food before meals, to symbolize their new union with Aedra.

Mountain Dwarf

While not openly hostile to other races, mountain dwarves are highly territorial, especially when it comes to their mountain, Magnus Montem. The are very formal and take great pains to address others by their proper title, and expect others to treat them the same.

Mountain dwarf clans see each other either as allies or enemies, but never friends. Members of different clans will be highly competitive in all things, be it eating, combat, or tests of endurance. These situations can become quite comical and sometimes deadly.

Each clan keeps relics made of homestone, rock of Magnus Montem, usually as statues of their honored ancestors. Individuals will carry a small pendant of homestone with them as a physical connection to Magnus Montehm. They will go to great lengths to retrieve it if stolen or lost.

Mountains dwarves believe their homeworld, Dreugh, survived the assault of the gods and that someday they will return to it. Most homes have globes of Dreugh and children memorize the geography of it at an early age. Claiming their homeworld is no more is considered a great insult to mountain dwarves.