Rockhome Dwarves

[argentmantle]

This is a comparison between the Dwarf class as presented in the D&D
rules Cyclopedia and the 4E Player's Handbook. Hopefully, it will
yield an amalgamation of the two that is more true to the Rockhome
dwarf.

Dwarves
The following has been pulled from the Rules Cyclopedia
A Dwarf is a sturdy, squat demihuman.
Sturdy and squat... so short and tough.

A dwarf is short and stocky, standing about 4' tall and weighing about
150 pounds.
We know the size of the Dwarves.

"Male dwarves wear long beards. Their skin is ruddy or earth-colored
and their hair is dark brown, gray, or black."
We know what they look like.

"Stubborn but practical, dwarves are fond of good food and drink. They
value craftsmanship and love gold. "
We know that they fond of creature comforts and like finely crafted
things.

"Dwarves are sturdy fighters and are resistant to magic."
Meat and potatoes.

Dwarven families are organized in Clans.
That isn't overly helpful for developing mechanics.

Moving on to the rules:
Class Details
Class details gets us a quick blurb reminding us that dwarves can't
use large weapons... (no longbow or two-handed sword) and can wear any
type of armor. But he can wield that big ol'crossbow though.

Special Attacks
"Dwarves are good fighters."

Special Defenses
"Experienced dwarves become more resistant to magic..."

Languages: Common, Alignment, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, and Kobold

Infravision
So I can see underground...

Detection
"Dwarves can sometimes detect traps..."

Gazetteer 6 is not overly helpful for providing more 'mechanical'
goodness to creating a 4E dwarf, so I guess will have to use the
system mechanics in the Cyclopedia. But I did find this tidbit...

"For this reason, a dwarf-cleric may only use axes and warhammers
under ordinary circumstances... throwing hammer, the halberd, the pole
axe, the bardiche, and the lochaber axe."

RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 4´3˝-4´9˝
So, the 4E dwarves go taller.
Average Weight: 160-220 lb.
And put on a few pounds.

Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom
We know they are stalwart, tough, and could become clerics... not too
bad
Size: Medium
Well... hmmmm... what is the difference between Medium and Small in 4E?
Speed: 5 squares
And got slower, but than again everybody else did... everybody used to
move 40'.
Vision: Low-light
So living underground... your whole dang life and you still need to
carry a torch... but you see farther by it? I know Dwarven cities are
well lit, but come on!

Languages: Common, Dwarven
Considering the new language system and the reduction of alignment
tongues, this almost makes sense.
Skill Bonuses: +2 Dungeoneering, +2 Endurance
So dwarves are tougher than the average man and are pretty good an
most things relating to being underground.
Cast-Iron Stomach: +5 racial bonus to saving throws against poison.
Don't remember reading anything about being overly resistant to
poison, thought it was magic they were resistant to.
Dwarven Resilience: You can use your second wind as a minor action
instead of a standard action.
Second wind is a power that allows you to heal a bit and focus on your
defenses... not too bad for a 'sturdy' little fighter.
Dwarven Weapon Proficiency: You gain proficiency with the throwing
hammer and the warhammer.
What happened to axes
Encumbered Speed: You move at your normal speed even when it would
normally be reduced by armor or a heavy load. Other effects that limit
speed (such as difficult terrain or magical effects) affect you
normally.
So dwarves are good at carrying things...
Stand Your Ground: When an effect forces you to move--through a pull, a
push, or a slide--you can move 1 square less than the effect specifies.
This means an effect that normally pulls, pushes, or slides a target 1
square does not force you to move unless you want to.

In addition, when an attack would knock you prone, you can immediately
make a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
And hard to shove... short... heavy... like hard to get leverage on maybe???

Alright... so let me begin.

MYSTARAN DWARF
RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height:3'9"-4'2 (44+1d6 inches)
Average Weight: 135-160 lb. (130+5d6 lb.)

Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom (Seemed right)
Size: Small (when I decreased them back to size out of the Cyclopedia,
they ended up being about the same height as a halfling)
Speed: 5 squares No need to change that.[/]
Vision: Darkvision [i]Well... I had to.

Languages: Common, Dwarven With additional languages costing a feat...
I'll leave this alone.
Skill Bonuses: +2 Dungeoneering, +2 Endurance This is a goody
Dwarven Resistance: You gain use of the Dwarven Resistance as an At-
Will power. This is a hard effect to take into account, since attacks
are no longer defined as spells, spell-like, or magical; I would say
leave it up to the GM to decide if an Eye Tyrant's attacks are spell-
like effects or not, but I am giving this a shot. So I am including
another version of this below, just I have not balanced this out.

Dwarven Resistance Dwarven Racial Power
You are especially resistant to magical damage.
At Will
Immediate Action Personal
Trigger:When you are hit by an attack.
Effect:Dwarves gain Variable Resistance 2.
At 11th level the resistance improves to 4.
At 21st level the resistance improves to 6.

Dwarven Weapon Proficiency: You gain proficiency in battle axe and
hand axe or throwing hammer and warhammer. Not the most graceful, I
know.
Encumbered Speed: You move at your normal speed even when it would
normally be reduced by armor or a heavy load. Other effects that limit
speed (such as difficult terrain or magical effects) affect you
normally.
It's the closest we are going to get to non-combat effecting
mechanics.
Trap Sense:You gain a +2 bonus to Perception checks involving
Searching. This fits more into the lines of the original ability.
Stand Your Ground: When an effect forces you to move--through a pull, a
push, or a slide--you can move 1 square less than the effect specifies.
This means an effect that normally pulls, pushes, or slides a target 1
square does not force you to move unless you want to.

In addition, when an attack would knock you prone, you can immediately
make a saving throw to avoid falling prone.Remember, short... squat...
hard to push or knockover.

Well, this is my attempt at making the 4E dwarf a bit more like the
dwarves that I started with and have lost sight of and that many here
are hopefully still using... enjoy!

[David Knott]

I am thinking that you may be missing a few things
from the big picture by looking that closely at
dwarves. Most of the features of Mystaran
dwarves are present in some form in 4E.

A few examples:

Size: In every edition of D&D, including 4th,
dwarves are taller than halflings and shorter
than elves. I think i would avoid messing
around with their height in 4th edition,
especially if it resulted in a size category
change.

Vision: I think darkvision was reserved for
races that actually wander around in total
darkness -- the well-lit dwarven underground
cities would be hard to justify as a mere
convenience for human visitors. Still, I
suppose for your purposes it might make
sense to reference 3e vision types?

Dwarven Resistance: Interesting. I never
thought of giving dwarves any sort of damage
resistance, as the source of their magic resistance
in OD&D was their superior saving throws,
which would translate into improved defenses
in 4e -- something too tightly balanced in 4E
to translate well. Since there is no "magic"
damage per se in 4e, you might make this an
encounter power triggered as an immediate
interrupt by the dwarf being hit by an attack
with the implement keyword. But what do we
give up for it? O&D dwarves had improved
saves vs. poison as well as spells.

Dwarven Weapon Proficiency: I think the Dwarven
Weapon Training feat already covers what you are
after here. It is a very desirable feat for a dwarf to
select and makes axes as well as hammers favored
weapons for that race.

Trap Sense: I think the Dungeoneering skill bonus is
adequate for that purpose -- take a look at the skill
description.