Gloomvein Dwarf

Gloomvein dwarves are a vicious, degenerate branch of the mountain clans. They look like short, slightly brawny humans with grotesque features dominated by huge bulging eyes of gray or pale blue. Their skin is a bluish bone white and their hair pale yellow or tan, and they wear loose, dark clothes. Active by night because sunlight nauseates them, they have only 30-foot infravision. They consider themselves the greatest of dwarves, destined to rule the world.

They hunt in threes, ambushing from behind: two chop at the target's legs and the third strikes for its head. A single gloomvein avoids anything bigger than itself and, if it must fight, still tries to strike from the rear. Savants also attack from hiding, weakening prey with ice storm, cloudkill or lightning bolt before wading in with weapons.

Their favorite weapon is a repeating light crossbow with a 12-foot maximum range, six bolts and two shots each round for 1d3, its poisoned bolts adding 2d6 unless the target saves vs. poison. They also use daggers, spiked bucklers (1d4), hooked fauchards (1d4, with a 25% chance to unbalance man-sized or smaller foes), and a four-foot spiked, hooked aklys of their own (1d6, 15% chance to unbalance such foes). Leather is the usual armor, chain mail (AC 5) the exception.

They dwell in huge subterranean cities, often bordering other dwarven realms; two of their largest strongholds lie within the highborn mountain dwarves' kingdom. Females and young make up 40-50% of their numbers. Among 15 adult males are usually six 1st-level fighters, two of 2nd-4th level, two of 5th or more, a savant, two students, and two thieves and paladins of mixed levels. A group of 30 is 30% likely to hold 5d8 human slaves of 0 level.

Savants have innate magic. Each is a fighter, priest or thief of level 5-8 who knows 1d4+5 of these spells, all at 12th level: ESP, charm person and hypnotic pattern; blink, levitate, spider climb, invisibility and ventriloquism; light, shadow magic, minor creation and affect normal fires; lightning bolt, cloudkill and ice storm; repulsion, wall of fog, anti-magic shell and wall of force. Students are level 4-7. Savants carry two or three magical items and students one: a potion, scroll or wand, a ring of invisibility, spell storing or fire resistance, a shield +1 or studded leather +1, a +3 sword, a cloak of protection, a brooch of shielding or bracers of defense. A student is only 25% likely to manage an item unsuited to fighters.

The darkforge dwarves are the only folk who will keep company with them. They hate every other race, humans above all. They can eat any food but favor meat, raw or cooked, and their warriors are whispered to eat humans at drunken revels.