7/30/2005
7/15/2005
The Thundering
Gold Dwarves
Sneak Peak
Unlike the shield dwarves, the gold dwarves maintained their great kingdom in the Great Rift and did not suffer declines due to terrible wars against evil humanoids, and while they practiced some magic, it was never to an extent that caused the downfall of some human nations. Confident and secure in their remote home, few mixed with the other people of the Realms, and gained a reputation for haughtiness and pride. The truth is that most gold dwarves long considered the shield dwarves to be cursed, given the latter's troubles with goblinoids and other evil races, and this contributed to the reluctance of gold dwarves to leave their homeland in the Great Rift. This opinion has started to change in the past few decades.
Since the Thundering, many young gold dwarves have left the Great Rift and are exploring the rest of Faerûn, where people have discovered that while some gold dwarves are aloof, for the most part they are as outgoing as any other race.
Gold dwarves use the standard dwarven racial traits listed on page 14 of the Player's Handbook except as follows:
+2 Constitution, +0 Charisma: Gold dwarves are stout and tough, but not gruff and reserved like their shield dwarf cousins.
+1 racial bonus to attack rolls against aberrations: Gold dwarves are trained in special combat techniques against the many bizarre creatures that live in the Underdark. (replaces bonus against orcs and goblinoids)
No bonuses against giants: Gold dwarves never had to face the challenges the shield dwarves face and never learned those special techniques.
Basics About the Dwarves of Faerûn
Dwarves
Many sages suspect that the first dwarves came to Faerûn millennia ago in a great migration from another plane. Since that time, a small number of dwarves from other planes have come to Toril and mixed with the acclimatized population. However, this all occurred so long ago that evidence of this is almost nonexistent, and meanwhile the dwarves insist they are as natural a part of the Realms as the mountains themselves.
Some female dwarves of Faerûn can grow beards. Some of these choose to shave their beards to match human-style expectations of beauty, while others glory in luxurious plaited beards that match their hair, or wear sharply cut goatees. Some wear beards in order to pass as males among the races of the surface lands.
The two main subraces are the shield dwarves of northern Faerûn and the gold dwarves of the far south. The less common Underdark race of dwarves are the gray dwarves, and are generally evil, although a few exiles are less corrupt than most.
Although for many decades the dwarven race was considered to be in decline, recent evidence indicates that this trend has reversed. In the Year of Thunder (1306 DR), the great god Moradin bestowed a new blessing upon his chosen people. The dwarves tell different stories about the source of this blessing, which they refer to as "The Forge" or "The Thundering." Some say that it was the result of a mighty quest by a dwarven heroine. Others say that Moradin had planned to reforge his peoples' souls all along. Whatever the source of the blessing, the birthrate among dwarves has soared until it is now nearly half as high as typical human rates of reproduction.
The new generation of dwarven youth is commonly referred to as the "thunder children." In addition, nearly a fifth of dwarven births after the Thundering have resulted in identical or fraternal twins. The new generation of dwarves tends not to share the fear and distrust of arcane magic possessed by their parents and ancestors. Most dwarves still feel more comfortable wielding an axe instead of a wand, but many thunder children, particularly the twins, have taken to studying wizardry or developed sorcerer abilities. In the past few years these thunder children have come of age, and dwarves are once again a common sight in the Realms, with many young stout folk leaving their homes in groups of a hundred or more to found new clans in hills unclaimed by other dwarves. Others have chosen to wander the world, seeking glory and showing others the advantage of dwarven skill and prowess.
Sneak Peak
Unlike the shield dwarves, the gold dwarves maintained their great kingdom in the Great Rift and did not suffer declines due to terrible wars against evil humanoids, and while they practiced some magic, it was never to an extent that caused the downfall of some human nations. Confident and secure in their remote home, few mixed with the other people of the Realms, and gained a reputation for haughtiness and pride. The truth is that most gold dwarves long considered the shield dwarves to be cursed, given the latter's troubles with goblinoids and other evil races, and this contributed to the reluctance of gold dwarves to leave their homeland in the Great Rift. This opinion has started to change in the past few decades.
Since the Thundering, many young gold dwarves have left the Great Rift and are exploring the rest of Faerûn, where people have discovered that while some gold dwarves are aloof, for the most part they are as outgoing as any other race.
Gold dwarves use the standard dwarven racial traits listed on page 14 of the Player's Handbook except as follows:
+2 Constitution, +0 Charisma: Gold dwarves are stout and tough, but not gruff and reserved like their shield dwarf cousins.
+1 racial bonus to attack rolls against aberrations: Gold dwarves are trained in special combat techniques against the many bizarre creatures that live in the Underdark. (replaces bonus against orcs and goblinoids)
No bonuses against giants: Gold dwarves never had to face the challenges the shield dwarves face and never learned those special techniques.
Basics About the Dwarves of Faerûn
Dwarves
Many sages suspect that the first dwarves came to Faerûn millennia ago in a great migration from another plane. Since that time, a small number of dwarves from other planes have come to Toril and mixed with the acclimatized population. However, this all occurred so long ago that evidence of this is almost nonexistent, and meanwhile the dwarves insist they are as natural a part of the Realms as the mountains themselves.
Some female dwarves of Faerûn can grow beards. Some of these choose to shave their beards to match human-style expectations of beauty, while others glory in luxurious plaited beards that match their hair, or wear sharply cut goatees. Some wear beards in order to pass as males among the races of the surface lands.
The two main subraces are the shield dwarves of northern Faerûn and the gold dwarves of the far south. The less common Underdark race of dwarves are the gray dwarves, and are generally evil, although a few exiles are less corrupt than most.
Although for many decades the dwarven race was considered to be in decline, recent evidence indicates that this trend has reversed. In the Year of Thunder (1306 DR), the great god Moradin bestowed a new blessing upon his chosen people. The dwarves tell different stories about the source of this blessing, which they refer to as "The Forge" or "The Thundering." Some say that it was the result of a mighty quest by a dwarven heroine. Others say that Moradin had planned to reforge his peoples' souls all along. Whatever the source of the blessing, the birthrate among dwarves has soared until it is now nearly half as high as typical human rates of reproduction.
The new generation of dwarven youth is commonly referred to as the "thunder children." In addition, nearly a fifth of dwarven births after the Thundering have resulted in identical or fraternal twins. The new generation of dwarves tends not to share the fear and distrust of arcane magic possessed by their parents and ancestors. Most dwarves still feel more comfortable wielding an axe instead of a wand, but many thunder children, particularly the twins, have taken to studying wizardry or developed sorcerer abilities. In the past few years these thunder children have come of age, and dwarves are once again a common sight in the Realms, with many young stout folk leaving their homes in groups of a hundred or more to found new clans in hills unclaimed by other dwarves. Others have chosen to wander the world, seeking glory and showing others the advantage of dwarven skill and prowess.
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