Description: Waveforged Dwarves are short, broad-shouldered, and built like ship anchors; dense with muscle and weather-worn by sea air and forge heat alike. Their skin ranges from bronze to stone-gray, often scarred or sun-chapped, with hair that’s thick, long, and commonly braided with coral, bone, or metal trinkets. Both males and females may grow beards, and among the Waveforged, a well-tended beard, regardless of gender, is a mark of pride, not propriety. Some women go beardless by choice or genetics, and no shame follows either path. Their eyes shimmer like sea-glass or stormclouds, and tattoos, marking clan, kill, or craft, are as common as calluses. Whether at sea or at an anvil, Waveforged look like they were carved, not born.
Society: Though kin to the stone-blooded clans of the high mountains, Waveforged Dwarves are a breed all their own... hardened not only by the forge, but by the salt sting of ocean wind and the roar of storm-wracked coasts. Their cities rise from cliffside quarries and volcanic islands, with Stoneharbor as their shining jewel, carved into the bones of a broken seamount. Like their mountain cousins, Waveforged Dwarves treasure craftsmanship, tradition, and resilience, but add to that a briny streak of recklessness and grit, born from a lifetime battling both sea and steel.
Waveforged society is clan-based, with power earned through service, deeds, and craft, not lineage alone. Artisans and smiths are venerated alongside sailors and leviathan-slayers, and it's not uncommon for a Dwarf to have both a forge-name and a sea-name. Their ships are stone-plated, rune-bound vessels that ride the tides with brutal grace, often doubling as mobile foundries or siege platforms. Where others see the sea as chaos, the Waveforged see rhythm, pressure, and untamed potential, much like molten ore.
Children are raised communally within the clan’s Hearth Halls, often trained early in the arts of survival, metallurgy, or seamanship. And though their laws are strict, their feasts are legendary. To a Waveforged, life is a storm... and no Dwarf worth their beard shies from the thunder.
Relations: Waveforged Dwarves respect action over ancestry, and few things sour their mood faster than idle talk or ornamental diplomacy. They view humans with cautious appreciation; useful allies when they put in the work, but prone to arrogance and short memory. Elves and gnomes are often dismissed as “deck-clutter,” graceful but impractical, and rarely strong enough to haul their own weight in a storm. Halflings get more leniency thanks to their scrappy work ethic, but are still often treated like entertaining stowaways. Orcs, and by extension half-orcs, are seen as brutish sea-scourge, useful in a brawl, but impossible to trust near an open cask or an unlocked vault. Strangely, Waveforged sometimes find kinship with Demonkin, respecting the struggle behind their scars… so long as they don’t talk too much about fate or fire. They hold deep loyalty to those who prove themselves useful, honest, and durable, regardless of race. You earn your place with the Waveforged by weathering the storm, not by sweet-talking the crew.
Male Names: Durgath, Thorrik, Brannok
Female Names: Hanabyrn, Korga, Yeldra
Standard Racial Traits
- Ability Score Modifiers: +2 CON, +2 WIS, -2 CHA
- Type: Humanoid (Dwarf)
- Size: Medium
- Base Speed: 30ft
- Starting Languages: Dwarf and Common
Other Traits
All Waveforged Dwarf characters also can choose 3 of the following abilities. If multiple abilities affect an attribute or skill, only the highest bonus is applicable.
- Defensive Training: Gain a +4 Dodge bonus against creatures larger than your current size category.
- Greed: Gain a +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks, and items you sell go for 10% more.
- Hardy: Gain a +2 racial bonus to FORT saves.
- Hatred: Gain a +1 to Attack and Damage against Orcs and Goblins.
- Low-Light Vision: Gain the ability to see twice as far as normal in dim light.
- Offensive Training: Gain proficiency with all axes and heavy armor.
- Salt-forged Lungs: Swim is always a class skill. Double the amount of time you can hold your breath.
- Slow and Steady: Your base speed is reduced to 20ft, but you ignore armor check penalties.
- Stability: Gain a +4 to CMD.
- Thunderblooded: Once a day, take advantage on initiative. Declare this before the roll.