Sundered Dwarves
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Sundered Dwarves

While citadel dwarves form the basis of most stereotypes about dwarves that are current among the other races of the world, the subrace of dwarf that most people living on the surface are likely to encounter are sundered dwarves. While they look much like citadel dwarves, sundered dwarves have been driven from their ancestral mountain homes in ages past for a conflict that neither they nor their citadel dwarven relatives will discuss. Cast off from traditional dwarven society, sundered dwarves have been forced to make do on the surface of Therafim, and have managed to carve out a niche there among other races as excellent craftworkers.

Personality
Having lost the insular communities of their ancestors, sundered dwarves tend to be friendly with everybody, though only to a degree. While sundered dwarves can be boisterously friendly and outgoing to surface appearances, they seldom share any real information about themselves or open up about their true feelings except around those that they trust. They are friendly, but it is a guarded sort of friendliness that can quickly turn to silent ignoring or outright hostility if the situation warrants it. Also, despite all their efforts to the contrary, most sundered dwarves are still a little awkward in social situations, being more used to working with things than with people.

While other dwarves tend to be a bit uncomfortable aboveground, sundered dwarves feel quite at home on the surface, the strong ties of most dwarves with the stone having been magically severed when they were exiled. Conversely, sundered dwarves tend to feel uncomfortable belowground, and dislike being unable to see the sky, though they are able to ignore this minor annoyance when the need arises.

Honor was for a long time less important to sundered dwarves than survival, and so many of them have lost the devotion to honor that citadel dwarves have. It is speculated by some that this might actually have been the reason for their initial banishment. Many sundered dwarves have neutral or even chaotic tendencies because of this, though most of them are still good in nature.

Physical Description
On average, sundered dwarves are much like citadel dwarves in appearance, except that they have far more humanlike colors of hair and eyes, and also tend to be slightly taller in stature.

About Sundered Dwarves
To survive after their exile ages ago, sundered dwarves have had to meld themselves into the cultures of the different races around them. Since this exile first took place around the time that humans arrived on Therafim (and is said by some to be a related event, though how is not clear), sundered dwarves allied themselves with many human communities early on, helping build some of the earliest human cities, while doing their best to play up the traditional dwarven stereotypes as an amusing pastime. Others made their homes among halflings, either traveling with halfling caravans, or else settling on the outskirts of their communities.

As part of their effort to make themselves indispensable to other surface-dwelling races, and as part of an effort to regain some of their lost connections to the world below the surface, sundered dwarves developed as master crafters of metal and stone. They also introduced many of their philosophies to lawful human societies, and taught the first starfallen humans how to survive when their high technology failed them on a world dominated by magic.

Sundered Dwarves:

  • +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma: Dwarves are both tough and wise, but also a bit gruff.
  • Medium: Dwarves are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Craftmanship: Because sundered dwarves have had to focus their skills in order to survive outside of their homes, and have lost many (though not all) of the instinctive ties to the stone where their ancestors lived, they receive a +2 racial bonus on all craft skills involving stone or metal rather than stonecunning.
  • Slow and Steady: Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
  • Darkvision: Sundered dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
  • Defensive Training: Dwarves get a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant type.
  • Easy Appraisals: Dwarves receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
  • Hatred: Dwarves receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc and goblinoid subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
  • Hardy: Sundered dwarves receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.
  • Stability: Sundered dwarves receive a +4 racial bonus when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
  • Weapon Familiarity: Sundered dwarves are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
  • Languages: Dwarves begin play speaking Common and Giant. Dwarves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Sylvan, Goblin, Wildlander, Terran, and Undercommon.