Gold Dwarf

Regions: Dragon Coast (region), Dwarf (gold) (region), Unther (region), Western Heartlands (region).

Gold dwarves native to the Great Rift should select the

gold dwarf region.

Racial Feats: Hammer Fist, Metallurgy, Skyrider, Stoneshaper. Racial Prestige Class: Battlerager.

Found largely in the South in the immediate vicinity of the

Great Rift, gold dwarves are the dominant southern branch of

the Stout Folk. Renowned not only for their smithwork and

craftsmanship but also for their military prowess and legendary

wealth, gold dwarves have maintained their empire for millennia,

unbowed by the passage of time.

For generations, the Deep Kingdom of the gold dwarves has

stood unconquered, dominating the surface lands and subterranean

caverns that surround the Great Rift. As their numbers never

declined in the face of endless warfare like their northern

cousins, the Thunder Blessing has actually filled the great caverns

of the Deep Kingdom beyond their capacity. As a result, for

the first time in many years, large numbers of gold dwarves are

setting out to establish new strongholds across the South and the

rest of Faerûn, including the Smoking Mountains of Unther and

the Giant’s Run Mountains of the Shining Plains.

Averaging 4 feet tall and weighing as much as an adult

human, gold dwarves are stocky and muscular. The skin of a

gold dwarf is light brown or deeply tanned, and her eyes are usually

brown or hazel. Both genders wear their hair long, and

males (and some females) have long, carefully groomed beards

and mustaches. Hair color ranges from black to gray or brown,

with all shades fading to light gray as time progresses.

Like their northern kin, gold dwarves harbor a great deal of

pride, both in their own accomplishments and those of their

ancestors. They also share the philosophy that anything worth

doing is worth doing well, and that the natural world is but raw

material to be worked into objects of great beauty. Unlike the

long-beleaguered shield dwarves, gold dwarves have not faced a

serious challenge to their way of life for thousands of years. Confident

and secure in their isolated realm, gold dwarves do not

share the pessimism or fatalism of their shield dwarven

brethren. To the contrary, having seen the rise and fall of countless

elven, human, and shield dwarven empires, their endurance

has fostered a deep-seated belief that their traditions and culture

are superior to those of all other races.

Gold dwarves have the life expectancy, age categories, height,

and weight defined for dwarves.

Random Starting Ages Aging Effects Random Height and Weight

Abilities and Racial Features

Racial Abilities Gold dwarves have all the dwarven racial traits

except as follows:

• +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity: Gold dwarves are stout and tough, but not as quick or agile as other races.

• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against aberrations: Gold dwarves are trained in special combat techniques against the many bizarre creatures that live in the Underdark. (This replaces the attack bonus against orcs and goblinoids.)

• Automatic Languages: Dwarven (language), Common (language), home region. Bonus Languages: Giant (language), Gnome (language), Goblin (langauge), Shaaran, Terran, Untheric.

History

Founded more than sixteen thousand years ago, the original

dwarven homeland of Bhaerynden occupied a vast cavern deep

beneath the southern plains ruled by the elves of Ilythiir.

Bhaerynden claimed great swaths of the Underdark, but

remained largely unknown in the Realms Above. Little is known

about the history of Bhaerynden except that a great exodus of

dwarves led by Taark Shanat the Crusader left to found a new

kingdom in the west about –11,000 DR. The end of the elven

Crown Wars and the Descent of the Drow in the years after

–10,000 DR directly precipitated the fall of Bhaerynden. The

first drow civilizations arose in the southern Underdark around

–9600 DR, but the drow quickly directed their anger against the

Stout Folk. Within the space of six centuries, the Stout Folk had

been scattered and the drow empire of Telantiwar ruled supreme

in the dwarf-carved halls of fallen Bhaerynden.

The collapse of the cavern of Bhaerynden destroyed Telantiwar

and created the Great Rift, scattering the drow around

–7600 DR. Gold dwarves believe Moradin destroyed Telantiwar

with a blow of his axe, but scholars of other races have suggested

that the drow weakened the cavern roof through excessive tunneling

and reliance on magic to support the ceiling’s weight. In

the aftermath of Telantiwar’s fall, there was a great scramble to

claim new territory in the Underdark. The Stout Folk quickly

returned to their ancestral home and established the Deep

Realm, occupying lesser caverns and miles of tunnels spreading

out under the Eastern Shaar. Drow refugees claimed lesser caverns

to the north, south, and west of the Great Rift, establishing

cities in nearby lands.

In the millennia that followed, the Stout Folk of the Deep

Realm became known as gold dwarves. Once the borders of their

realm were firmly established and defended, they set about building

great subterranean cities and harvesting the bounty of the

earth. While external threats from the drow and other Underdark

races such as aboleths, cloakers, illithids, ixzans, and kuo-toa

never entirely abated, no other race could match the unity of

purpose evinced by the gold dwarves, and the sanctity of the

Deep Realm was never challenged. The dwarves profited in trade

with each successive human empire that reached their Great

Rift, including ancient Jhaamdath, the folk of Mulhorand and

Unther in their heyday, the Shoon Imperium at its height, and

in more recent centuries the mercantile Chondathan nations of

the Inner Sea.

In 1306 DR, the Thunder Blessing shook the gold dwarves out

of their millennia-long quiescence. In the decades that followed,

a burgeoning population forced the gold dwarves to seek out new

caverns to claim and settle across the South, upsetting the long held

status quo of the southern Underdark. The largest exodus

to date from the Deep Realm began in 1369 DR, when the

Army of Gold set out on a great crusade to reclaim the caverns

of Taark Shanat and restore the glory of Shanatar, the ancient

kingdom of the shield dwarves. That expedition has become

bogged down in warfare with the Army of Steel, dispatched by

the gray dwarves of Underspires. Fierce battles rage in the tunnels

beneath the Lake of Steam and the Cloven Mountains.

Outlook

Gold dwarves measure others by how much honor and wealth

each individual garners as well as the status of his or her bloodline

and clan. To gold dwarves, life is best lived through adherence

to the ancient traditions of the Deep Realm. The very

persistence of their own way of life indicates that other short-lived

cultures are inherently flawed. As such, those who lack a

meaningful cultural tradition or reject their elders’ dictates are

untrustworthy and possibly dangerous.

From birth, gold dwarves are taught to conform to the traditional

strictures of their society. Every important decision,

from choice of profession to their mate, is dictated by the circumstances

of their birth. Those who do not act honorably in

their dealings are shunned from an early age, breeding a tremendous

societal pressure to fit in.

Gold dwarves lack the longstanding tradition of adventuring

found in their shield dwarf cousins in the north. However, population

pressures induced by the Thunder Blessing have given

birth to a new generation of gold dwarf adventurers. Most gold

dwarves who wander beyond the familiar confines of the Deep

Realm do so in order to found new strongholds of their own, but

many find the lure of adventuring hard to ignore once it has

entered into their blood.

Gold Dwarf Characters

Gold dwarves are painfully aware that many once-proud

empires have been brought low, and they are therefore vigilant

about maintaining their own. The keen awareness gold dwarves

hold of the dangers to their eternal rule ensure that all gold

dwarves are trained to fight from a young age. Most are trained

as fighters, although clerics, paladins, rangers, rogues, and even

the occasional arcane spellcaster play important roles in

defending the Deep Realm. Gold dwarf sorcerers usually trace

their ancestry back to a powerful dragon or some creature of elemental

earth or fire. Common multiclass combinations include

fighter/cleric, fighter/paladin, and fighter/expert.

Favored Class: A gold dwarf’s favored class is fighter. Only a

strong and fierce military tradition has kept the Deep Realm

secure from its enemies above and below, a result of generations

of gold dwarves training as fighters.

Prestige Classes: Battleragers are legendary dwarven warriors

who can enter a battle frenzy through ritual singing. Given to

drinking, rowdy and boisterous singing, and drunken dancing,

battleragers love to plunge into close-quarters battle, heedless of

any danger. Most battleragers are shield dwarves, but a small

number of gold dwarves rebelling against the discipline and tradition

of their society have joined the ranks of the berserkers.

More disciplined gold dwarves lean toward the dwarven

defender or divine champion classes.

Gold Dwarf Society

Gold dwarf culture does not exhibit a great deal of variability,

the result of generations of gold dwarves insulated from outside

influences. Class and clan divisions are strong among gold

dwarves, and great importance is attributed to bloodlines when

ascribing social status. However, the Deep Realm is so swamped

with petty, decadent royals and nobles that little real power is

invested in anyone but the governing council of clan elders.

Commerce and craftsmanship both play an important role in

gold dwarf society, as does the never-satiated grasping for more

riches. Pride and honor play an important role in all aspects of

daily life, for disgrace applies not only to oneself, but also to kin,

clan, and long-dead ancestors.

Gold dwarves are raised in tight family units, but the clan

elders play an important oversight role in the upbringing of

every child. Book learning is common, as is an apprenticeship to

learn a trade. All adults are expected to support themselves and

their family as well as bring honor and riches to the clan. Ostentatious

displays of wealth are important for maintaining one’s

prestige, so poorer gold dwarves often scrimp and save to keep

up appearances. As gold dwarves age, they are accorded increasing

respect for their wisdom. Clan elders form a ruling gerontocracy

that strongly enforces traditional practices. Families and

clans are expected to honor their elders in death with elaborate

funereal rites and tombs befitting the deceased’s reputation.

Outside the Deep Realm, gold dwarves hold themselves apart,

forming small, insular enclaves that attempt to replicate traditional

clan life. Few gold dwarves have any interest in adopting

local practices except where it furthers their ability to hawk

their wares.

Language and Literacy

Like all dwarves, gold dwarves speak a dialect of Dwarven and

employ the Dethek rune alphabet. They also speak Common, the

trade language of the Realms Above. The primary gold dwarven

dialect (sometimes referred to as Riftspeak) has changed little

since the glory days of Bhaerynden. Gold dwarves dwelling in the

colonies in Unther and the Giant’s Run often learn the languages

of the nearby lands.

Common secondary languages reflect the extensive trading

contacts maintained by gold dwarves with their neighbors in the

South and include Shaaran, Untheric, and, to a lesser extent,

Durpari, Dambrathan, Mulhorandi, Halfling (language), and Halruaan (language).

Gold dwarves who have extensive contact with other subterranean

races often learn Terran, Gnome (language), or Undercommon.

All gold dwarf characters are literate except barbarians (who

are very unusual among the folk of this ancient civilization).

Gold Dwarf Magic and Lore

Gold dwarves have a strong divine spellcasting tradition, with

many of the Stout Folk called to serve the Morndinsamman as

clerics, paladins, runecasters, or runesmiths. Arcane spellcasters

are much rarer, but they do exist.

Spells and Spellcasting

Gold dwarves favor spells that aid their abilities in combat

or assist in craftwork or mining. Most are divine spellcasters,

but the gold dwarves’ millennia-old civilization has

ensured both ancient libraries of wizardry and strange,

sorcerous bloodlines.

Spellcasting Tradition: Many gold dwarves take the Gold

Dwarf Dweomersmith feat, which grants them

advantages when creating or enhancing weapons with magic.

Unique Spells: Gold dwarves have created many spells over

the years, many of which are now employed by the Stout Folk

across Faerûn. One such example is detect metals and minerals" href="detect metals and minerals">detect metals and minerals.

Gold Dwarf Magic Items

Gold dwarves favor magic items that aid in combat, facilitate

craftwork, provide personal protection or comfort, guard

against theft, or are adorned with fine metals and gems. Blades

and axes are commonly crafted with keen, holy, lawful, mighty

cleaving, sundering, and stunning special abilities. Hammers

and maces are commonly crafted with holy, impact, lawful,

returning, stunning, sundering, and throwing special abilities.

Armor is typically crafted with fortification, invulnerability,

reflection, and spell resistance (special ability) special abilities, reflecting a

long tradition of battles against the drow and other creatures

of the Underdark.

Common Magic Items: Magic items particularly prevalent in

the Great Rift and the trade cities at its edge include anvil of the

blacksmith, belt of dwarvenkind, forge of smithing, hammer of

the weaponsmith, and tongs of the armorer. These items can be

purchased at a 10% discount in the Great Rift.

Iconic Magic Items: Gold dwarves have fabricated many

unique magic items, but they are best known for the stonereaver

greataxes.

Gold Dwarf Deities

Gold dwarves have venerated the dwarven deities of the

Morndinsamman since the founding of Bhaerynden, but centuries

of relative isolation and security have made their culture

far less religious in nature than their shield dwarven kin. Among

gold dwarves the churches of Moradin and Berronar are so

predominant and have been for so long that many lesser dwarven

deities enjoy little more than token obeisance. High-ranking

clerics of both faiths command a great amount of institutional

authority in gold dwarf society. The clerics of Berronar’s faith

are responsible for preserving records of the extraordinarily

ancient genealogy of the noble families and serve as the

guardians of tradition in the home and community.

All gold dwarves revere the Soul Forger as the founder of the

dwarven race, and his church is the predominant faith of the

Deep Realm, centered in the monastic city of Thuulurn.

Moradin’s clerics sponsor many craftsfolk, particularly armorers

and weaponsmiths, and serve as the principal judges and magistrates

of gold dwarf society. The Soul Forger’s faithful are

drawn primarily from those who labor as smiths, craftsfolk, or

engineers, but he is also seen as the protector of the entire dwarven

race and is thus worshiped by many lawful good dwarves

regardless of profession.

Relations with Other Races

Confident and secure in their remote home, gold dwarves have

a well-deserved reputation for haughtiness and pride. They

look down on all other dwarves, even shield dwarves and gray

dwarves whose achievements and kingdoms have matched the

glory of their own. Gold dwarves regard elves and half-elves

with suspicion after generations spent battling their deep-dwelling

cousins. Gnomes, particularly deep gnomes, are well

regarded and welcomed as trading partners. Their impression

of halflings is shaped by the strongheart inhabitants of

Luiren, whom gold dwarves find to be suitably industrious and

forthright.

Gold dwarves know little of half-orcs, but usually lump them

in with the rest of orc and goblinoid scum. Gold dwarves are

very cautious in their dealings with humans, having found great

variability in their dealings with Chondathans, the folk of Dambrath,

Durpari, Mulan, Shaarans, and Halruaans. Planetouched

are almost unknown but are usually viewed in the same light as

the Mulan, since most planetouched the gold dwarves encounter

are either Mulan aasimar or earth genasi followers of Geb.

Gold Dwarf Equipment

The gold dwarf craft guilds have had centuries to master their

artisanship, so almost any finished good has some filigree, runic

mark, or other decoration that marks it as unmistakably the

work of the gold dwarves. Even a simple bucket will have carefully

marked gradations along the inside, graven runes identifying

its owner, and a curved handle shaped to fit a thick

dwarven hand.

Common Items: Sunrods, thunderstones. Unique Items: Gold dwarves commonly employ well engineered

equipment such as mobile braces and rope climbers.

The hippogriff-mounted skyriders of the Great Rift are

known to employ drogue wings and exotic

military saddles.

Arms and Armor

Gold dwarves favor a wide range of weapons, including battleaxes,

crossbows, gauntlets, handaxes, heavy picks, light hammers, light picks, mauls, throwing axes, and warhammers.

More unusual weapons include dwarven urgroshes and dwarven

waraxes. Typical forms of armor include breastplates,

half-plate, full plate, scale mail, large steel shields, and small steel shields. Common Items: Battleaxe, light crossbow, heavy pick, dwarven

urgrosh, scale mail, full plate armor. The gold dwarves manufacture

adamantine heavy picks and battleaxes for those who

can afford such things; adamantine weapons are available at a

10% discount in the Great Rift.

Animals and Pets

Gold dwarves favor small lizards such as the spitting crawler and

shocker lizard for pets and familiars. Deep rothé are the preferred

type of livestock. They employ pack lizards and mules as

beasts of burden, usually breeding the latter from Lhesperan or

Meth horses crossed with donkeys. Gold dwarves commonly use riding lizards as steeds in subterranean locales, and war ponies

for travel in the surface lands. The gold dwarf skyriders of the

Great Rift employ hippogriffs as aerial mounts.