Game Mechanics Summary: Base Movement of 9//, base AC of 8, very durable in combat, but low Dexterity and Charisma, resistant to poisons, infrared vision, innate sense of direction, master craftsmen, highly resistant to empathic attacks, generally structurally-aligned, fearful of water (because they sink in it), rather short-lived.
Dwarves are short and stocky lot. They are built much heavier than humans, and also much shorter. In many ways, Dwarves are as dense as Changelings are light. The average height for a Dwarf is about 4'3". A Dwarf body is strangely disproportional; they tend to have hands, feet, and a head that seems a too large in comparison with the rest of the body.
Dwarf muscle and bone is much more dense than that of a Human. Because of this, they sink in water rather than float. Thus Dwarves have an innate fear of the vast oceans of Gaianar, much like a Changeling's fear of caves and crevices.
A strange thing about a Dwarf's appearance is that no matter how young he or she may be the Dwarf will look gray and gnarled. Why this is, no one knows. Dwarven males begin growing a thick iron-gray beard around age seven or eight. Even the women are hairy, sprouting thick sideburns and hair on their knuckles and toes.
Dwarves and Elves have had notorious scuffles in the past over the disposition of natural resources. Dwarves believe nature is something to be harnessed and subjugated. They are renowned for their skill in mining and construction. They do not always consider the environmental consequences when undertaking their grandiose schemes. They have great aptitude in metalwork and gem crafting as well. All such crafting checks made by a Dwarf are at a +2 bonus.
Dwarves, for the most part, are honest and hard working, despite their frequently gruff and abrasive demeanor. They have a tendency to tell the truth without the use of euphemism. The most common alignments for Dwarves are Ordered, Saintly, and Benevolent.
The Dwarven race was once part of standard Humanity, for there was once a time when Gaianar was populated with but one race. However, because the people who later became the Dwarves had spent so many generations tunneling into the earth, they have been changed by the lack of light and the saturation of heavy elements in their diet.
Accustomed to their dim, subterranean demesnes, the Dwarves have lost some of their normal sight. A Dwarf is completely incapable of seeing blue or purple; their retinas no longer have the cone receptors necessary for perceiving that kind of light. However, their eyes have instead become sensitized to lower wavelength light, giving them the ability to perceive reds that Humans, Elves, Fey, and Changelings cannot; This expanded perception gives them the ability to see body heat and temperature differentials on surfaces at up to 100' (10//) away. They can see large heat sources at three times that distance. Additionally, they have an innate sense of magnetism. They can automatically detect a magnetic source at up to 150' (15//) distance. If a Dwarf spends an entire round concentrating, he is able to detect the presence of steel and iron within 50', even through stone. Because their magnetic sense also lets them constantly detect magnetic north, a Dwarf almost never gets lost.
One final note on Dwarves: because of their long-standing work with minerals, heavy metals, and harsh tunnel gasses, a Dwarf has a 20% chance to resist any poison or toxin, whether inhaled, ingested or injected. Against skin contact poisons, Dwarves fair even better, having a 30% resistance.
An average Dwarf lives for approximately 85 years. Of the five races, they live the shortest lives. Due to their hardheaded nature, they enjoy a 15% resistance to empathic powers.