Dwarf [Dark Sun]

Desert dwarves are short, enormously strong and famously obsessive, which makes them prized as reliable workers. They stand 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall but may weigh 200 pounds, their bodies bulging with muscle out of proportion to their height. Massive hands wield oversized weapons, broad feet keep them steady, and deep-set eyes seem always to be judging.

Apart from their build and usually bald heads they look fairly human, though endless labor under the blazing sun has left them deep copper-tanned and callused. Humans joke that dwarves need no whetstone, since they hone their blades on their own skin.

Their language is deep and guttural, its short sentences ending in hard consonants. It leaves other speakers hoarse within hours, so dwarves readily learn the merchants' common tongue, and they respect anyone who perseveres in speaking dwarven.

Dwarves fight as single-mindedly as they do everything else, giving and expecting no quarter and treating most battles as fights to the death. Mercy comes slowly, though a skilled, honorable loser may be spared.

They favor heavy, sturdy weapons that will not snap under their blows. Most deal 1d8 with a sword, axe, hammer or the like, plus +2 damage for their strength. Stone weapons, the most common, suffer -2 to hit and -1 damage. Dwarves love metal and are better at finding and forging it than most demihumans; for each dwarf encountered there is a 10% chance that 1d4 of the group carry arms and armor made from salvaged scrap. Oddly, they dislike bulky armor, preferring dune hulk hide or bone, or a few metal pieces such as a breastplate, bracers or greaves for AC 5, and spend any metal they find on weapons or shields first. Shields are common when a dwarf's hand is free.

No dwarf ever becomes an illusionist, defiler or preserver or casts wizard spells, though they happily use enchanted arms, believing the weapon masters whatever magic is in it, and respect the divine magic of clerics and templars. They gain +4 to saves against magic and +4 against disease and poison, though individuals may vary. They have 60-foot infravision.

In whole clans of 30-300, one dwarf in 10 is a sub-leader of 3+6 Hit Dice, THAC0 17, with a steel weapon. Each 50 dwarves also have a leader of 5+10 Hit Dice, THAC0 15, with a magical steel weapon and a 50% chance of psionic or clerical powers. Clans over 100 have an over-leader of 10+1 Hit Dice, THAC0 11, with a magical weapon, 1d4 magic items and the abilities of a 5th-level cleric and 5th-level psionicist. Clans over 200 have a 40% chance of a second over-leader, though only one holds the title and command.

A dwarf's greatest joy is hard work toward a goal. That goal, called a focus, may take a lifetime but must need longer than seven days; quicker chores get done but bring no satisfaction. A dwarf must always be advancing his focus, never turning aside longer than a few days. He may hold more than one related focus, such as building a new village while hunting for the best builders in the world to do it. While pursuing his focus he gains +1 to all saves and +2 to proficiency checks. One who dies with a focus unfinished becomes a banshee, roaming the wastes in a futile effort to complete it.

Free dwarves live in family clans, honoring blood above all but the focus; debts and glories pass down the generations, escaping them is unthinkable, and many foci serve the family.

Dwarves settle almost anywhere, from mountains to deserts to the outskirts of city-states, in communities rarely above 300, usually grown from a few related families whose shared forebear made founding the settlement his focus. Their metalwork is among the world's finest, and smiths enrich their clans by buying or scavenging scrap steel to forge. They hate haggling as a waste of time but set fair prices, usually within 10% of standard. City dwarves who do not work metal hire out as mercenaries, highly valued because their loyalty, once bought, cannot be bought away; some desperate ones sell themselves into the gladiatorial pits to send money home. They live about 250 years.