DWARVEN SUBRACES

Four new dwarven subraces,

ranging from the exotic to the creepy

The four following subraces are meant to explore new, interesting concepts behind a
dwarf character.
The bronzekin is a strange halfbreed, one whose heritage transcends parentage and
hints at an unexplored link between dwarf and azer.
The oathsworn comes from a clan of priests and keeper of traditions, and is highly
respected in every dwarven community.
The pactbond clans, however, are the creepiest secret hidden by all the dwarves, for
they are the ones that succumbed to madness and adoration of aberrant horrors,
leaving the future grey dwarves to be enslaved in order to save themselves.
Finally, a spellwright is a very peculiar dwarf, a proud scholar of magic traditions and
secrets.

by FEDERICO PILLERI
arts by
Earl Geier and Jeff Preston
used with permission

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BRONZEKIN DWARF
“You have to do better than this, dragon! Your
fire is colder than an icy mountain peak!”
Bronzekin are a strange kind of dwarves that
show remarkable affinities with the elemental
creatures known as azers: their skin is naturally
tanned and light makes it shine like metal, while
their eyes and hair show the red and yellow
shades of flame itself. Given that azers are
crafted rather than born, scholars still debate
about the exact origins of bronzekins, as the
resemblance is too striking to be overlooked,
and yet nobody could tell how it was possible
for dwarves and azers to interbreed, as the
latter don't breed at all. Sages believe that
potent magic was at work behind the origins of
this strange subrace, however no one has a real
clue about the birth of such a splice.
Individual bronzekins are documented
through the whole dwarven history; as they are
incapable of breeding true, their birth is always
an unexpected event. According to the
chronicles, nearly every single bronzekin lived a
somehow astonishing life, thus supporting the
theory that the very conceiving of those
dwarves conceals a secret of power.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength
score increases by 1; your muscles are strong as
metal.
Fireforged. You have resistance to fire
damage. Your very body is somehow
impervious to the flames, further highlighting
your ties with the creatures of elemental fire
known as azers.
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OATHSWORN DWARF
“In the days of yore, we were the chosen priests,
the rightful speakers of the god. We still follow
the tradition, we still honor the oath swore by
ours forefathers.”
In dwarven culture, tradition is very important:
a clan is a family as much as it is a guild devoted
to a specific profession, a field in which its
members are highly specialized. What strangers
don't know, however, is that among such a
conservative race even the call of the gods may
became a family tradition: the sons and
daughters of those who swore an oath of
service to the gods are expected to do the same,
and the heir of a priest is encouraged to be his
successor at the shrine.
Generations of traditions thus gave
birth to families and clan whose traditional role
is that of ministers of the faith; and, while not
every member of those clans will one day be
chosen by the gods to their cleric and a miracle-
worker, all those oathsworn dwarves learn in
their youths the fundamental orations and
prayers of their traditional cult, and are
rewarded with the ability to manifesting a small
ounce of divine power.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom
score increases by 1; theological truths and
speculations were a fundamental part of your
education.
Cantrip. The gods always reward their
followers, and thus you are capable of casting
one cantrip of your choice from the cleric spell
list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.
Extra Language. You can speak, read,
and write Celestial in addition to Common and
Dwarfish. For every oathsworn dwarf must be
able to speak with the gods.
DWARVEN SUBRACES
PACTBOND DWARF
“We were in dire need, and we asked, we begged
Moradin for help. He didn't answer. But
something else did. May its name be blessed
forever in the depths! Ya! Ya!”
Grim was the fate of the deep dwarves, when
the aberrant horrors of the Underdark
assaulted and enslaved them. However, not all
the clans fell prey to the enemies: they all
prayed the gods of their fathers for help, but
when the gods kept silent some dwarves were
desperate enough to raise their preys to other
entities, entities that were closer to them as the
depths of the abyssal underworld were their
home.
And, from the unspeakable horrors that
first spawned their very assailants, came
salvation for the desperate dwarves. The
ancient being gave them the power to resist and
counterattack the enemy, the power to survive
in the direst recesses of the Underdark, the
power to be slaves for life. For, in escaping deep
below, those dwarves found themselves
entrapped by the cities of their enemies, unable
to reach the surface and join the other clans,
unable to find salvation without subjugation to
a greater evil. Centuries and generations of
servitude shaped a new lineage of dwarves, a
breed shaped by madness and dire need, a race
of albino degenerates that revel in madness
disgusting even the gray dwarves, those who
suffered enslavement and broke their chains by
themselves.
While the majority of the – fittingly
named – pactbond dwarves are vile and
deranged cultists, some of them reject the way
of their kind and struggle to a new life, free
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from their legacy... a legacy whose dubious
“blessings” will haunt them for life.
Ability Score Increase. Your
Intelligence score increases by 1. For you have
seen, and you know things, things that while
eroding your sanity greatly opened your mind.
Blessings of the Deep Lord. The gifts
of the Unearthly Savior run deep in your blood.
You know the minor illusion cantrip. When you
reach 3rd level, you can cast the arms of Hadar
spell once per day. When you reach 5th level,
you can also cast the alter self spell once per
day. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for
these spells.
Extra Languages. You can speak, read,
and write Deep Speech and Undercommon in
addition to Common and Dwarfish. The tongues
of the Underdark horrors are you native ones.
Nightmares of Madness. As the
inherited memories accompany you forever,
your sleep is plagued by nightmares and half-
forgotten recollections of what the pact forced
you and your kin to do. Nightmares, sleepwalk
and horrible screams are your companions at
night. Whenever you take a long rest, you can
choose to ignore and fight those nightmares, or
embrace them; if you resist, you need 2
additional hours to calm yourself, and so you
will need 10 hours to complete a long rest. If
you succumb to your dreams, 8 hours of
screams, maniacal laughs and creepy
somnambulism will be enough for you, but it
will be impossible for everybody else to rest
properly in your proximity.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have
disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom
(Perception) checks that rely on sight when
you, the target of your attack, or whatever you
are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
DWARVEN SUBRACES
SPELLWRIGHT DWARF
“But of course it could be dangerous, you fool.
This is a portal after all, potent magic is at work
here. And now, please, keep silent: I need to
concentrate on the right formula.”

Some dwarven clans, shunned and condemned

by common dwarfs, have long since practiced
the arcane arts. Often seen as vile mages, they
are more commonly dedicated scholars that live
in seclusion within the secrecy of their own
hidden cities, for few dwarven communities will
accept them.
Spellwright dwarves claim to be the
follower of the ancient way, the last keepers of
the forgotten dwarven wizard tradition, while
the other clans say that they are a seditious
group that left behind the ancient traditions of
their proud folk. And perhaps both claims are
true, for there is a whole Multiverse out there,
an endless canvas where everything is possible.
Ability Score Increase. Your
Intelligence score increases by 1. Spellwright
clans put great effort in the education of the
young.
Cantrip. Every spellwright dwarf
possesses a basic magical training. You know
one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell
list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for
it.
Extra Language. You can speak, read,
and write Draconic in addition to Common and
Dwarfish. The ancient tongue of magic is well
known among your clan, and often employed
when secrecy is essential.

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