Alewelian Crafter Dwarves:

The Crafter Dwarves of Alewelia are creatures of the mountain bedrock, of the deep magic that binds the Discs together – sparks of the wyld burning within a substrate of stony order. The earth awoken and aware of itself.

The dwarves are a swarthy and stocky folk, their flesh dense, hard, and rough, their natures enduring and durable, and their minds stubborn. They are gifted with the wealth of the earth, with long lives, with constructs to guard them, and with considerable skill – but they prefer to live deep underground, in isolated fastnesses, surrounded by other dwarves. Just as tellingly, they have little use for Elven Wards, or Gnomish Trade, or even Halfling Productivity. Others may come to them if they need some mighty wonder in a hurry, but they have little need of others. Thus their deep halls are hidden, sealed away from the outside world, and filled with wonders that outsiders will never see. Many dwarves never deal with outsiders at all.

They are sometimes known as Mustali – “The Exalted Ones”. According to their legends… when cataclysms come, and the civilizations of the disc are under siege, and the enemies have gathered about the fastnesses of the Mustali, then are the armories of the Mustali opened, then are weapons and armor of legendary might given to the defenders of the disc, and then are the monsters driven back. They do not take credit for the heroes of such battles, merely for arming and armoring them. And for the Mustali… that is credit enough.

Crafter Dwarf Racial Template:

● Longevity: Immunity to Aging (Uncommon, Major, Trivial, 1 CP). Dwarves can live for about three centuries, although – thanks to the many dangers of the depths – their average life expectancy is only about two.
● The Songs Of Stone: Occult Sense/Elemental Earth, Specialized / Requires a reflexive skill check to yield information, 3 CP): Dwarves skilled in farming can sense the quality of soil, miners can sense seams of ore and other minerals, architects can sense stonework, and so on – allowing dwarves a reflexive skill check when passing near such things to detect and evaluate them.
● Universal Crafter: Equipage with Purchasing, Specialized and Corrupted for Reduced Cost / requires the use of a workshop and hours or days of work as determined by the game master (4 CP). While Crafter Dwarves must pay the full market price of what they produce, they are not limited by such petty concerns as “availability” and only a little by time. Theirs is the power of the primal runes, the symbols that others master only with long study are theirs instinctively.
● Treasures Of The Deep: Double Enthusiast, Specialized and Corrupted for Increased Effect (6 CP) / Only usable for two specific abilities, always starts as a Stipend, changes over to Action Hero (usually the Crafting option, although other forms have been known to appear) if – and only if – the user develops some form of the Spark. Dwarves create, even ordinary folk among them create wealth quickly and easily. Their Sparks forge wonders and legends.

● Baseline Stipend:

● Create Item, Specialized and Corrupted/only as a prerequisite (2 CP)

● Harvest of Artifice, Specialized and Corrupted/only for use with Transmutation, only for only provides “virtual” cash for use with Purchasing , requires regular work in a workshop (2 CP). This provides 100 XP a month that can only be used for “transmutation”.

● Transmutation, Specialized and Corrupted/only to produce virtual money for “purchasing” (2 CP).

● That lets a dwarf produce 200 GP worth of goods each month – and lets them start with an extra 2000 GP worth of starting cash.

● Call The Stones: Leadership, with Animated Objects and Constructs, Specialized for Reduced Cost / only for Animated Objects and Constructs, User must spend hours or days building them (6 CP). Dwarven runecraft can bring the stones themselves under their command.
● The Mountain’s Heart: +3d0 Hit Dice, Specialized in determining the user’s effective level for Leadership (6 CP).
● Pulse Of The World: Innate Enchantment (Up to 11500 GP Value, 12 CP). All effects Spell Level 1/2 or 1, Caster Level One, Unlimited-Use Use Activated.

● Ward Of Stone: Resist Energy (10), SL1 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x .7 Personal Only x..8 Abundant Magic = 1120 GP.
● Earth’s Resilience: Immortal Vigor I (Adds 12 + 2 x Con Mod HP, SL1 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x .7 Personal Only x..8 Abundant Magic = 1120 GP.
● Vulcanism (Produces L0 forge and flame related effects, such as Flare, Light, Mending, Dancing Lights, Ray Of Flame, Smoke Puff, Heating things, and many similar effects. SL1 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x ..8 Abundant Magic = 1600 GP.
● Hand Of The Earthquake: Rams Might: +2 Str, Unarmed attacks do normal damage and are considered armed. SL1 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x ..8 Abundant Magic = 1600 GP. With the earth’s strength and stony fists no dwarf is ever “unarmed”.
● Earthsblood (+2 Enhancement Bonus to Constitution) SL1 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x .7 Personal Only x..8 Abundant Magic = 1120 GP.
● Practical Mastery: +2 Competence Bonus to all Craft and Profession Skills (SL1/2 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x .7 Personal Only x..8 Abundant Magic = 560 GP. Dwarves shape the bones of the world and it bends to forge of their will.
● Martial Mastery: +2 Competence Bonus to all Martial Arts Skills SL1/2 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x .7 Personal Only x..8 Abundant Magic = 560 GP.
● Mastery Of The Earth: Master’s Touch (Grants effective proficiency with any weapon or shield, SL1 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited Use Use Activated x.7 only items made primarily of metal or stone x.8 Abundant Magic = 1120 GP. With items of the earth, a dwarf can feel the intent of the crafter and their purpose and instinctively knows their use.
● Long Enduring: Ring Of Sustenance (x.8 Abundant Magic = 2000 GP). Dwarves, sustained by the magics of the earth, need but little rest and food,
● Hands Of The Craftsman: Traveler’s Any-Tool (x.8 Abundant Magic = 160 GP). A dwarves hands, as strong and hard as steel, mean that a dwarf needs few tools.
● Hands Upon The Earth: Healing Belt (Variant, Repairs Objects and Constructs, +2 to rolls to repair things, x.8 Abundant Magic = 600 GP.
● Draught Of The Deeps: Healing Belt (x.8 Abundant Magic = 600 GP).
● Paths Of The Earth: Locate Self (SL1/2 x CL1 x 2000 GP Unlimited-Use Use-Activated x.8 Abundant Magic x.5 Only works where the Dwarves have left their mark upon the stone – in their underground cities, passages, and mines = 400 GP
● Mundane Gear:

● Camouflaged Personal “Tent” and “Bedroll” (15 GP): As creatures of stone, a Dwarf can simply ignore the elements and settle down to rest anywhere, seeming like nothing more than another boulder that, if looked at right, bears some resemblance to dwarf sitting cross-legged.
● Scent Cloak (20 GP): Dwarves smell of stone, of earth, of smoke, and of hot metal, not of meat or sweat.
● Compass (10 GP): Dwarves always know the direction of the Disc’s central rune.
● Whetstone and Polishing Stone (-): Dwarves may hone blades against their skin or between their fingers and polish materials by simply running their hands over them.
● Anvil and Blacksmith’s Tools (10 GP): In a pinch, a dwarf may simply use their knee as an anvil and handle hot metal with their bare hands – still gaining a +2 Masterwork Tools bonus from their “Anytool” ability. (Any necessary heat can be provided by their Vulcanism power).
● Spell Component Pouch (5 GP): As a minor aspect of their ability to craft things on demand, minor material components for spellcasting are not a concern for spellcasting dwarves.

● The Earth’s Fire: Immunity / Stacking limits when combining racial innate enchantment effects with external effects (Common, Minor, Trivial (only covers L0 and L1 effects, 2 CP). As with the other Alewelian races, this is a natural-law immunity – and, like most such, has an impact on the game far beyond it’s point cost. As usual, this should stay a “GM only” sort of thing, even if it is kind of required to make them competitive with those “build your own tailored race” humans.
● The Nature Of The Earth: Immunity/Dispelling and Antimagic (Common, Minor, Great, Specialized and Corrupted/only protects racial innate enchantments that provide personal augmentations, 4 CP).
● Inborn Strength: Immunity/the normal XP cost of Innate Enchantments (Uncommon, Minor, Trivial [only covers cantrips and first level effects at caster level one], Specialized/only to cover initial racial abilities, 1 CP).
● Instinctive Lore: Specific Knowledge (The Primal Runes,1 CP) and Speak Language (+1, Terran) (1 CP).
● -2 Cha (-6 CP). Dwarves are not the most expressive or communicative of folk, sharing as they do the obduracy of stones.

● Racial Disadvantages (-10 CP)

● Insane. Crafter Dwarves treat constructs like people, consider them alive, and get very upset if they are destroyed.
● Incompetent: Dwarves are not good at dealing with outsiders. They suffer a -3 penalty on social skill checks when dealing with anyone save other dwarves, creatures of the underworld, and creatures with magical affinities with earth or stone. .
● Inept (-5 Swim):Unsurprisingly, as creatures of stone, Dwarves cannot swim very well.

As usual for an Alewelian race, the Crafter Dwarves are quite powerful – but they aren’t the most likely adventurers. While they are quite formidable they are also very comfortable at home – and so are rarely out and about even before factoring in their isolationist tendencies. About the only exceptions are their Sparks and occasional war parties out to avenge attacks on their hidden settlements.

Mastercrafter Dwarven Cultural Package Deal:

Something of a default for most non-adventurous dwarves, this is still extremely useful – although some get some basic militia training in place of the two incidences of Skill Emphasis. Either way though, this is a bit dull, even if it does mean that dwarven cities are very very rich indeed.

● Increase their Crafting Stipend to 1200 GP / Month (6 CP).
● Skill Emphasis (x2): +2 bonus to any two skills.

Runechanter Dwarven Cultural Package Deal:

Those who have truly attuned themselves to the primal runes of the world may chant them as they work, channeling the power of the world into their labors – and thus achieving results undreamed of.

● 1d6+2 (6) Mana with Reality Editing Specialized for Double Effect (Each point counts as two for Reality Editing), Corrupted for Increased Effect (effects may be built up over time via chants and ritual behaviors) / only to produce effects associated with Skills, requires a minimum skill bonus of +5/+10/+15/+25 to make Minor/Notable/Major/Grandiose edits (9 CP)
● Rite of Chi with +2 Bonus Uses, Specialized and Corrupted for Reduced Cost / requires half an hour, only to restore the Mana pool above (3 CP).

With this ability a Runechanter might craft an arrow to slay a legendary beast, create a truly binding treaty, protect an area against divination, paint a carnival you can step into the painting to visit, or any of a thousand similar feats. While most such effects are of limited duration or number of uses, the effect is hugely versatile.

Runebinder Dwarven Cultural Package Deal:

A runebinder specializes in tapping into the power of the Primal Runes directly – binding that power into the physical world. While this is an immensely flexible form of magic, this is only the beginning of a runebinders studies.

● Ritual Magic (6 CP). This style involves – unsurprisingly – lots of runes. It’s usually run according to the Legends Of High Fantasy system.
● Mana, 1d6 (4), with Unskilled Magic (4 CP), Specialized for Increased Effect (efficient mana use – none is wasted and the side effects are usually merely visual) and Corrupted for Reduced Cost / Only for unskilled magic, mana must be invested in symbolic runic amulets each morning and can only be expended to produce effects symbolically appropriate to that type of runes, runic amulets can be taken away and require a bit of time to prepare – although that can be done in advance.
● Rite of Chi, Specialized and Corrupted / only to refill the Mana pool above, requires a brief ceremony in honor of the forces the Amulet Crafter draws upon (2 CP).

Rune Citadel Dwarven Cultural Package Deal:

● Inherent Spell (Runic Oath, a version of Malediction (Doom), as per The Practical Enchanter, 6 CP), Specialized and Corrupted for Increased Effect (level nine base)/may only be applied to the caster, only intervenes seven times, only usable for major tasks, causes backlash if not completed, only one such oath may be active at any one time, and it must be at least twenty-four hours since a prior oath was sworn even if the task was completed quite quickly.
● Emperors Star: Your Construct-Followers gain +1 to BAB, Saves, and AC as well as the Enveloping ability – allowing their owner to “wear” them and use their abilities as his or her own.

A Runic Oath allows the user to swear to complete a major task – holding a pass while the villagers flee, defeating a great beast, slaying a dark sorcerer – as long as that task is 1) of importance (swearing to finish making lunch is not generally sufficient), 2) could reasonably be completed within a month and a day, and 3) can be started within the next few days. For the duration, the Runebound Character will need no food, drink, or sleep (although he or she must rest to recover limited use abilities normally) and will be assisted by a level four or less spell effect of the GM’s choice up to seven times – although the Oath will, if necessary, compel the user to finish the task or even bring them back as an undead and bind them to the task until it is done (and he or she can pass on) if that is required.

Rune Priest Dwarven Cultural Package Deal:

A Rune Priest seeks to ride the tumultuous currents of possibility that the Primal Runes send flowing through the world as their energies wax and wane with the years, flowing with the currents of fate and turning them to his or her own purposes.

● Presence, Specialized and Corrupted for Increased Effect (affects a 30′ Radius), only triggers once every five rounds, and even then only when something important is happening – although it can be voluntarily triggered once per day. This produces an Improvisation effect on the user and on any nearby allies.
● 2d6 Mana (7) with Reality Editing, Specialized and Corrupted / only to invoke semi-random Whims of Fate (The player may spend 2 Mana to draw a Whimsy Card. Such cards may be used or discarded at any time, but the mana spent to draw them cannot be recovered until the card is either used or discarded (2 CP).
● Rite of Chi, Specialized and Corrupted / only to recover the Whimsy pool above, only functions during a nights rest (2 CP).

Talking with the scholars:

The scholars don’t have much to say about the dwarves. While they may somewhat overstate their role in the production of wonders (there ARE other sources of really powerful devices after all), they really do produce quite a lot of them – and when the hidden dwarven cities decide to step forward, they become near-bottomless arsenals, able to arm, supply, and support the armies of pretty much every other race put together. They may not supply many fighters, but an army needs quartermasters almost as much.

Some dwarves do make a religious claim to having been created from the primordial stone of the disc(s) before they were fully given form, to act as aids and servants of the creator powers. They were given their freedom, and endless wealth, as a reward when generations of labor had completed that task. It’s as good an explanation as most creation myths, and – given that even the current gods generally do not claim to remember the beginning – few see much point in arguing about it. Compared to the claims many of the other races make, this is fairly low key.

In actual play, the Crafter Dwarves are very much the classical dwarves of legend – rich, isolationist, creators of wonders, and defended by their many creations. And that is why they’re rarely found as adventurers. Still, they are as powerful as any of the other races of their world, and so are more than capable of adventuring. They just usually have no reason to bother.