Dwarves

Dwarves, Dwemer in their own language, are one of the eldest races of Illlria. They took to the mountains and caves where most took to the plains and forests, and as such the Dwarves have become scarce in the world. They separate into clans and tribes, and in better ages they served as craftspeople, merchants, and sages for the world.

Lore
Dwemer are naturally aligned to the world itself. This grants them a sometimes-rigid, but always-patient outlook on the world, as well as a lifespan that averages 300 years. Some elders claim to be a thousand years old.

Dwarves tend toward the worship of the Gradeos over other pantheons, however many also worship a being called Tertia, Mother of Dwemer. Her nature is a matter of much speculation of non-dwarves, however nearly all Dwemer feel her presence to some extent.

Dwarves, perhaps due to their temperament, are a people slow to growth and progress, even on an individual scale. They are few and those few are behind the times in many ways. This patience is missing from young Dwarves(Sometimes called Gnomes) however, who quickly jump onto any new trends they can find. This makes progress for dwarves highly generational, and because Dwemer are highly talented, it leads to an odd adage; In 100 years, Dwarves will take 10 steps back, because in 300 years, the Dwemer will be 100 steps ahead of the rest of the world.

Dwemer Kingdoms
The Kingdoms of the Dwarves are few, but once there were many. The two known to survive today are Tir Alghor and Niv Kashtur. Translated from Dwemer to Common, the names are simply "Our Island" and "New Peninsula" or so. Dwemer's conjugation structure is able to imply much more detail.

Tir Alghor, as suggested by it's name, is a large island populated almost entirely by Dwarves. Now, people of all sorts are allowed on the surface of the island, but the incredible network of tunnels and mountains which define the island are only available to Dwarves, mostly. Specific people and specific areas are more allowing, and many young Dwemer say that they'll open the tunnels sometime within their lifetimes. Humans and other short-lived races don't take much hope, considering a single Dwemer life is 10 generations.

Niv Kashtur, on the other hand, is a larger and more involved nation spread across a peninsula. There are a lot of Elves and Beastmen there, not as many Humans. Niv Kashtur is an odd place.

Dwemer Language
The language of the Dwarves is a strange one, with a highly archaic foundation. It has a hundred levels of conjugation, as each race is supposed to conjugate in a different manner, and in several separate tenses. Like everything else, younger Dwemer heavily change it every generation, with one exception; The writing. The writing hasn't had any major changes in millenia, and Dwemer-readers today can still understand most everything that was once written.

Dwemer is kinda hell to translate into other languages, though, mostly because of the aforementioned conjugation. For example, just to say a random word, like "Door," you've gotta specify other things. They have separate conjugations to imply the door is your door, a friend's door, a rival's door, an enemy's door, a family member's door, or a stranger's door, AND a separate conjugation structure to imply distance and size. Just saying Door in Dwemer is the equivalent of saying "my friend's 3 ft. by 8 ft. by 2 inch door 20 feet away" but they say it all in a single word. If the door is made by or owned by non-Dwemer, you then add one or two extra syllables, so a Dwarf with an Elf-friend in a Human Kingdom would say "Door" but it actually means "My elf-friend's human-made 3 by 8 by 2 inch door 20 feet away" IN ONE WORD. Hell to translate. HELL I TELL YOU.

Mechanics
Younger Dwarves are a bit different than older dwarves. If you are a young dwemer, you have the following traits;


 * +1 to Constitution Score
 * -1 to Dexterity Score
 * 4 + Constitution Modifier Racial Hit Points
 * Natural Physical Shield equal to 1/4th maximum hit points. This Shield is regained at the end of a long rest.
 * 60 feet of Lowlight Vision
 * Proficiency with one Skill and one Tool passed down through your family

Old Dwarves are modified in the following way


 * +1 to Strength Score
 * +2 Racial Hit Points
 * Natural Physical Shield improved by 1/4th maximum hit points. This Shield is regained at the end of a long rest.
 * +60 feet of Lowlight Vision
 * Extra damage to Dragons, Giants, Beastmen, and Dreadwalkers equal to proficiency modifier
 * All Feats cost extra Experience to buy, equal to the Feat's level

The Half-Dwarf Template also has the following traits. As typical for Half-breeds, this is added to the other Half-Template in use. Half-dwarves do not gain additional traits as they age.


 * +1 to Strength Score
 * -1 to Dexterity Score
 * 4 + (Constitution Modifier/2) Racial Hit Points
 * Natural Physical Shield equal to 1/4th maximum hit points. This Shield is regained at the end of a long rest.
 * Proficiency with one Skill and one Tool passed down through your family