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Dwarf

2023-05-15T14:45:06Z

2607:FB91:1A7D:1AE4:8CBD:231C:2ED6:E7FF: /* Gallery */

[[Image:Tordek.jpg|thumb|right|Fig. 1.1: A dwarf. Note the prominent beard, the ornate axe, and the helmet covering everything above the ears.]]
{{Topquote|He has an accent."<br>"He likes beer."<br>"He worships Thor."<br>"And hates trees!"<br> "Can you tell me ''anything'' about him that differentiates him from '''every other dwarf?'''|Conversation from The Order of the Stick}}
A '''Dwarf''' (or more properly, '''Dorf''') is a short guy who is made of muscle and beard and alcohol and awesome. No member of dwarf society can function without alcohol. Even their infants are made to chug a whole keg of ale down before Mommy ever lets the baby near her nipples (although, given the liquor intake of the average dwarven mother, she probably lactates eggnog). They like to live in [[Dwarf Fortress|fortresses]]. Dwarf characters should have one or a combination of the words "beer", "beard", "bronze", "stone", "Urist", "Mc/Mac", "iron", "hammer", or "axe" in their names. A good example would be Hammer McShieldbearded. They are one of the most iconic non-human races in fantasy media, alongside their eternal rivals, the [[elf|elves]]. Popularized by the works of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] and [[Gary Gygax]], dwarves are fundamental to most fantasy games and have earned themselves a place of eternal love on [[/tg/]].

=Mythological Origins=
The basic name "Dwarf" stems from the Germanic and/or Nordic mythologies of ancient Europe, where they were envisioned as a race of short, magical beings who came into being after the death of Ymir (the giant whose corpse formed the world after the gods slew him); once the father of all [[giant]]s had his body turned into the earth, the maggots boring through his flesh were transformed into diminutive, pallid humanoids - the first dwarves. That said, the dwarven archetype is, frankly, kind of wide-spread; most cultures have some kind of diminutive [[fey]]-type entity, and what's worse is that their nature as "short magical people" means the dwarven "lineage" is a confusing tangle that interconnects with [[elves]], [[gnome]]s and even [[goblin]]s - many dwarves have been described as hideously ugly, or turning into stone when exposed to sunlight, like certain breeds of [[troll]].

The most famous dwarf is the aforementioned Germanic/Nordic dwarf. Resembling a short, long-bearded old man, these dwarves are fierce-tempered and quite strong, despite their stature, as well as being renowned for their ability to craft magical items, and their love of precious stones and metals, which they mine incessantly. These traits were popularized by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], who used them as the basis for his dwarves in [[The Lord of the Rings]]. What he left out of his dwarves is the fact that, in the mythology, dwarves are often hideously ugly, sometimes turn into stone when exposed to sunlight, and are often skilled sorcerers as well as crafters of magic items. Dwarves forged Odin's spear and Thor's hammer, as well as many other magical treasures of the Nordic gods, including the fetter that binds the Fenris Wolf and hair of living gold for Thor's wife after Loki sheared her bald. European tales of dwarves often depict them as superhumanly strong and with an affinity for illusion and shapeshifting.

[[Leprechaun]]s are dwarf-like in appearance, but are mischievous tricksters who use their sorcerous talents to prank humans, especially when they are sought out for their legendary hidden treasures, which are usually depicted as soup cauldrons full of gold coins. Unlike the smithing and mining Nordic Dwarf, leprechauns are more associated with cobbling and tailoring, making them an Irish relative of the [[Brownie]]. They have a cousin called the Clurichaun, which is a booze-fiend who likes to make a nuisance of itself by hiding in wine and beer cellars to guzzle the liquor.

Domovoi and Dvorovoi are Russian [[fey]] who visibly resemble dwarves. Domovoi are house spirits, kind of like [[Brownie]]s; so long as they feel a house's owner is hardworking and respectful, they will guard the house from mundane and magical harm, especially focused on protecting the children or battling evil fey. Dvorovoi are a more fearsome relative of the Domovoi who inhabit farmsteads; unlike Domovoi, they stay outside, looking after the animals and protecting against threats from outside... but also playing pranks and killing animals they take a dislike to.

Ancient Egypt also had dwarves, as well as a patron god of dwarves: Bes. Egyptian dwarves were more like Japanese [[Tanuki]] than anything else; they were lucky, jovial, and had tremendous bedroom prowess supported by enormous genitals. This was fortunate for the Egyptians that were born with dwarfism as it afforded them a kind of revered and protected status in society.

Asia's legendaria, like the Norse, have dwarfish humanoids with their own crossover with other fey and even demonic beings. China has the god Kuei Xing who is described as ugly but brilliant dwarf, being a patron god of learning, scholars and examination. India too has a semi-deity called Apasmara which is described as dwarfish and represents ignorance that needs to be quashed but not killed in order to uphold the balance between knowledge and ignorance. The Ainu people of Hokkaido have the "Korpokkur" who were described as having lived there before the Ainu - being small, agile and proficient in fishing, they also lived in pits with thatched roofs and traded with the Ainu on occasions.

Lastly, the mythological image of dwarves as reclusive diminutive people may have some historical basis as we know of at least one diminutive archaic human species - Homo Floresiensis which lived 50.000 years ago in Indonesia, right as anatomically modern humans began to predominate the world. It is not difficult to theorise that this and potential other similar offshoots of humanity may have been the inspirational seed for the Dwarf we all know and love today.

=Physiology=
Let's start with the obvious; dwarves are most readily distinguished from humans by their stature, being notably shorter than the human average. Over the editions, this has fluctated somewhat, but in general dwarves have a height range between 4 and 5 feet - which still makes them taller than [[gnomes]] and [[halflings]], who average closer to the 3ft-4ft mark. Combined with their strong builds and stocky frames, dwarves are technically considered Medium creatures rather than Small ones, although usually they're slower than "full-sized" Medium races. If you want to over examine things, this works well with the dwarf association with heavy armor. Shorter size, less surface area, less metal needed to give equal protection to that of a human size species, and due to their greater strength for their size, they can wear thicker armor and yet have it weigh and even cost the same as armor for a human that gives overall less protection.

Dwarves are noted for their rugged natures; their [[Constitution]] is higher than the average human's and even beyond that, they're inherently resistant to poisons (which suggests that their food should, in fact, be more flavourful than humans; however, dwarven food is often portrayed as bland). This, incidentally, may play a part in their famous love of alcohol. In earlier editions, dwarves are also strongly resistant to magical energy, due to a combination of physical and mental fortitude; this aspect has died away over the editions as it was mostly used to justify dwarves not being able to play [[wizard]]s or [[bard]]s (in fact in the minds of many [[grognard|grognards]] a dwarven wizard is as big an oxymoron as something like a [[celestial]] [[fiend]] or an arachnophobic [[drow]]).

One of the most famous aspects of dwarven physiology is the beard. Dwarven men are prone to male pattern baldness, but compensate for it with the ability to readily grow thick, luscious, bushy beards and/or moustaches. Why? Well... because dwarves are just associated with beards (goes back to their folkloric roots). You can have cleanshaven dwarves - in fact, the dwarves of [[Dark Sun]] are naturally hairless - but the image is quite subversive.

Dwarves are often depicted as having difficulties reproducing - they may not be formally considered a "dying" race, but they often have either a slow population growth rate, or a dearth of females (it should be noted that in real life species with this sort of asymmetric population ratio, the rarer sex is usually significantly larger on average and keeps a harem of the more common sex, which in the case of bigger and rarer females would likely result in a matriarchal society if sapience develops), if not both. In [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons|traditional D&D lore]], dwarf women make up only one ''third'' of the dwarf population, which is not good when it takes a year for them to give birth after getting pregnant. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] in the same era, lore from the splatbook "Dwarves Deep" states that not only do dwarf men outnumber the women (only 3 in 10 dwarves are female), but also that 55% of the total population has fertility issues so bad that they might as well be sterile when interbreeding with each other.

Mind you, Forgotten Realms actually gives a reason for this in the "Spawn Wars"; an ancient dwarven civil war where the dwarves used aberrations called Deepspawn to produce huge armies of clone soldiers. When the war ended, they were left with not only a surplus of males, but interbreeding with these clones (and clones of clones of clones) damaged their genetic stock, leaving the dwarves with their current damaged fertility. Until 3rd edition basically retconned all the damage away, at least, courtesy of a divine intervention called "the Thunder Blessing".

Likewise, 3e dumped the "dwarf men outnumber the women" angle, and it's never been seen since.

As part of this, dwarves usually aren't depicted as being capable of crossbreeding with other races, as elaborated on the [[half-dwarf]] page.

==The Bearded Females Debate==
[[file:FemaleDwarf.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Frigga loves wrestling, drinking and flower-pressing.]]

If you bring up Dwarves anywhere, chances are, you'll hear somebody mocking them for the idea that their womenfolk have beards. This stems from Tolkien, whose works established that Dwarven women visually resemble Dwarven men to the extent that human eyes can't tell them apart at a casual glance. Its not explicitly stated however that "female Dwarves have beards", so among Tolkien fans there tends to be debate on if he meant they have full beards or just that they are just masculine; Peter Jackson's portrayal in the movies took the middle ground, giving them a small amount of wispy hair that looks like a human beard, although the massive and thick styled beards of the males along with the females wearing feminine clothing make it clear to the audience which is which.

Because [[Dungeons & Dragons]] was inspired by Tolkien, to an arguable extent, you probably think D&D popularized the idea, right? Well... yes and no. In fact, D&D books are actually all over the place on the subject. The [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 1e PHB doesn't even mention the concept (though the DMG does), and it's likewise absent from the 1e Monster Manual. In [[Complete Book Series|The Complete Book of Dwarves]], it's stated that only the Deep Dwarves strain possess bearded women - or, admittedly, a cultural trait of women ''keeping'' their beards; the exact line goes "the females wear their beards long, unlike other dwarf women (who are typically clean-shaven)". In [[Dragonlance]], it was established that female dwarves don't grow beards proper, but instead merely have very bushy sideburns. But then there were the [[Forgotten Realms]]... here, [[splatbook]]s like "Dwarves Deep" establish Faerunian female dwarves as having beards, although this is not culturally required and many do shave. This is further cemented by books like "Demihuman Deities", which portrays all of the female members of the [[Morndinsamman]] as being bearded.

When WoTC took over, they did their best to sweep this under the rug. All references to dwarven female beards were retconned away, pointedly left absent even from the 3e update of the Realms. When [[Eberron]] was released, it was explicitly stated that the native dwarves do '''not''' have bearded women. When 4th edition was rolled out, female dwarf beards were officially stricken from the canon of D&D - they even devoted a section of "Wizards Presents: Races & Classes" to it - and this seems to be one 4e change that has since been preserved by 5e.

As an aside, 4th edition actually made its female dwarves surprisingly attractive, which, given that [[mul]]s also lost their [[Grimdark#Grimderp|grimderp]] "sterile and usually kill the mother in birth" lore, should have made human/dwarf relationships a lot more common...

The evolution of most current fantasy race tropes usually goes to [[Warhammer Fantasy]], but WFB opted to take a different route and instead made Dwarf women super rare rather than bearded as an excuse to make no([[The Grudge Of Drong|t many]]) female Dwarf miniatures. Of course Citadel's Dwarf miniatures originated as the old lines made when [[Games Workshop]] was the sole distributor of D&D minis in Europe, and their original Dwarf females also lacked beards. Canonically female Dwarfs instead grow their hair into plaits, and judge them by said plaits the same way male Dwarfs do beards (which is a bit unfair since female Slayers must shave their hair into a mohawk despite male Dwarfs getting to keep their beards, unless said beard being shaved is why they're taking the Oath anyway).

[[file:Girlbreard_PF2nd.png|thumb|right|350px|Apologies for any weird feelings this gives you.]]
[[Warcraft]] only began showing female Dwarves with the release of [[World of Warcraft]], where they were a player race. Although unbearded, there are jokes in the game that some ancient heroic Dwarf females had beards (which makes sense, they are descended from a visually all-male race of magic metal/stone robots that were corrupted by Lovecraftian horrors into flesh animals (makes only a bit more sense in-context)), jokes that they just shave, and jokes that their beard [[/d/|isn't on their face]].

Why does the [[meme]] persist? Grandfather clause, basically; while many fans argue it's a defining aspect of what makes dwarves unique, citing that if it was good enough for [[Tolkien]], [[Gygax]] and [[Terry Pratchett]], it should be good enough for the modern DM, just as many fans rebut that D&D isn't Tolkien anymore and that "bearded women" are never really anything deeper than a silly joke. As with any meme that persists on /tg/ to this day, nobody will give an inch.

To date, [[Hackmaster]] remains the primary setting to find bearded female Dwarves as far as active tabletop gaming, although given the setting was created mostly as a parody originating in [[Knights Of The Dinner Table]] comics it obviously isn't being played straight.

In its 2nd edition, [[Pathfinder]] is giving it a go in the character art. Now it varies from culture to culture. Grondaksen(Undeground) Dwarf women often go bearded, Ergaksen(Surface) and Holtaksen(Mountain) women usually don't.

As a side-note, if you want to put an interesting spin on the "dwarves all look alike" cliche, you could always try reversing it. Thus, instead of bearded dwarf women being mistaken for menfolk, you have dwarf men who, due to facial features and cultural values of appropriate dress/accessories/behavior/etc, are easily mistaken for their womenfolk... at least until their pants come off. This will likely get you called out on [[Magical Realm]], especially if you're also slapping dwarves with the [[shortstack]] build at the same time (for example, male dwarf tits are actually fat-based mating displays; the bigger his tits, the more successful that dwarf is, and so the better a catch he is for a lady dwarf), but, hey, it's your table, and if your party doesn't mind, who cares? Consider also having a traditional hairstyle being to braid the hair of their head beneath the chin like its a beard, or having the soldiers have helmets that depict a beard regardless of the gender of the wearer.

=Psychology=
Dwarves are generally described as a naturally Lawful race, if you put stock in [[alignment]]. Specifically, dwarves tend to be focused, disciplined, organized, and naturally driven. When they start something, they devote their whole attention to it, and they hate to either leave something unfinished or give it anything less than their best. Furthermore, dwarves tend to be deeply conservative; they don't like change very much and are deep believers in the importance of tradition.

In contrast to the elves, dwarves are usually described as being a very stoic and emotionally closed off sort of race. Which is rather weird given how cheerful and friendly the dwarves are in Tolkien's original "The Hobbit" - most sources try to rectify the discrepancy by claiming that dwarves are naturally suspicious and so only let their hair down around people they feel they can truly trust. All of these factors combine to form the stereotype of the dwarf as a grumpy, surly, hard-working yet unpleasant little bugger.

=Culture=
Dwarf culture is usually described as fairly monolithic, although settings do play around with the basics - [[Dragonlance]] in particularly gives dwarves a very fleshed out history and culture.

Typically, dwarven culture is clannish, where extended family groupings form the foundation of greater dwarf society. Clans may be independent nation-states in their own right, or they may be used to form specific divisions of skill in dwarf society as a whole; for example, one clan may actually mine the ore, a second smiths it, a third trades with other races, and a fourth clan produces livestock.

Dwarven leadership is usually a form of parlimentarian monarchy, with clan-chiefs forming councils that advise but ultimately answer to a single reigning dwarf king. Dwarven culture may also have some aspects of a gerontocracy, although being a full-fledged case of "rulership by the eldest" is actually rarely seen.

Because dwarves don't like change much, dwarven society is usually depicted as being at best conservative and at worst stubbornly hidebound. Whether this is admirable, a surmountable issue or a fatal flaw tends to depend on what the setting designer thinks of dwarven conservatism.

Mining and smithing are usually portrayed as hugely important to dwarven culture, which is mythologically true. Of course, in the hands of some authors, this can be taken to silly extents - in [[Mystara]], originally, the Dwarves of Rockholm valued mining and smithing so much that the single clan responsible for herding livestock and farming was considered second-class and literally treated as a bunch of near-criminals. This eventually changed when reality ensued and the farmer-clan barricaded the smiths in their underground tunnels, telling them "Okay you shits, let's see you '''eat''' that fucking gold!" Once the smiths learned they couldn't actually eat gold, coal or iron, they were forced to admit that the farmers actually were an important part of the dwarven society.

In general, dwarf culture usually borrows a lot of themes and concepts from [[Viking|Nordic cultures]], seeing as how the fantasy dwarf is most closely derived from the Nordic dwarf. Depending on a DM's taste, they may supplement or replace this influence with Germanic, Scottish or Welsh attributes. This is interesting, since the popular image of Dwarves derives in great part from Tolkien's work, who described them as being allegories for the Jews. Quote: "The dwarves of course are quite obviously - wouldn't you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic obviously, constructed to be Semitic." Consider...they speak the local language but with an accent, are at once considered locals and yet outsiders who have lost their homeland, have a propensity for being Craftsmen (a common trade for Jews who couldn't own land in medieval times) and of course the greed for gold based off stereotypes of usury. Tolkien seemed to have made several positive statements about Jews (and notably sent a scathing letter to the Nazi government when asked to confirm he was not Jewish for the Hobbit's publishing in Germany), and the Dwarves in LoTR are generally portrayed positively.

==Robots==
Given where we got our notion of dwarves from (see below), several settings have had them cook up their own ''[[golem]]s''. Usually out of stone, sometimes metal. Not flesh so much.

The [[Fiend Factory]] had the Grey Sqaargs, which may have evolved to the rune golems in [[Warhammer]]. The dwarves of [[Warlords of the Accordlands]] make [[gargoyle]]s. World of Warcraft and Dragon Age (yeah, we know, /v/, but both have /tg/ translations) also feature dwarven golems.

[[Warhammer 40,000]] continues the trend, with the [[Leagues of Votann]] having both flesh-and-blood and [[Ironkin|robot]] Kin living side-by-side.

=Flaws=
The dwarves are not without their share of moral failings, no matter what their legions of fanboys may think. From the perspective of narrative this is a good thing.

One of the most prominent of these is avarice: dwarves '''love''' gold and gems and other valuable materials - it's why they're so obsessed with mining in the first place. The sight of gold make's a typical dwarf's palms get sweaty, and they are notorious for their greed. If a dwarf is motivated to do something dickish, at least 7 times out of 10, it'll be for the love of money. Even in the Complete Book of Dwarves, it was admitted that gold has an almost spell-like pull on the dwarven psyche. This mainly comes from the Nordic and Germanic myths, where the dwarven lust for gold is quite pronounced; they are greedy little bastards, most exemplified by the story of Sigurd, where the root of all the trouble comes from a dwarf named Fafnir, who murders his father to steal the weregild (treasure paid as restitution for murder) given to his father for the murder of his brother Otar, transforming into a dragon to better guard his wealth, only to be murdered by Sigurd, who was put up to the task by Fafnir's other brother Regin. Oh, and the gold was cursed because it was originally stolen from another dwarf, Andar. But, of course, like most "standard" dwarf traits, it was popularized in Tolkien's work, where the mental and cultural fixation dwarves have for gold is said to be the result of the corrupting influence of the seven rings of dark power that Sauron gave them.

Another common dwarven flaw is being direct and orderly to a fault. Not in terms of tyranny (which does manifest on occasion, but is far from the norm) but in terms of rigidness and inflexibility. Dwarves like tradition, they like honest dealings, they like cultivating their skills and they like putting the raw chaotic mess of the world into order, which they have long ago mastered. The problem is that problems keep coming up which mar their efforts, from humans that don't make their payments to orcs raiding their mountain homes. The view they cultivate is not to adapt to the changing situation, but to dig in and stew in indignation.

One manifestation of that, and the one that /tg/ often has the hardest time admitting, is arrogance. Just like their fellow "Elder Race", the [[elf|elves]], dwarves take a huge amount of pride in their long history, their skills and their close ties to their patron god(s). They look down on many other races, and often demand respect and recognition - sometimes in far greater proportion than is actually warranted. This can make some dwarves quite braggadocios.

Dwarves are not conventionally attractive. They ''make'' beautiful things, are not hideous or monstrous, there are exceptions to the rule and there are people out there which are going to be into short, robust fellows with severe features and a beard you could loose a chicken in, but as a general rule your average Dwarf is pretty far removed from the classical ideals of beauty. Contrast them with elves which are either idealized humans or possess a etheric willowy grace to them.

Less universal failings include stubbornness, low self-esteem, hypocrisy and vindictiveness. Once a dwarf makes up his mind, he will rarely back down, sometimes well beyond the point of stupidity. Likewise, if a dwarf fails at something, it can often be hard for them to get over to it, leading to everything from maudlin self-pity to self-destructive behavior, or simply blaming everyone for it, especially other races that are close enough to blame). Finally, dwarves are associated with [[Book_of_Grudges|bearing grudges for a reason]].

Though most dwarf failings are mental, cultural failings aren't unheard of either. There are two major forms that this tends to take.

The first is strict social calcification. Dwarven culture can easily slip into a strict caste structure, where some or all of the population is treated like crap just because of how the dwarves view their culture. [[Mystara]]n dwarves are a good example of this; they used to treat any dwarf who wasn't involved in mining as little better than a criminal.

The second, somewhat more common form, is over-conservatism. Dwarves are pretty much universally depicted as proud of their traditions and cautious about changing, but in some dwarven cultures, this can go to almost suicidal lengths, to the point where dwarves practically consider "progress" and "change" to be dirty words.

It should bear mentioning that just how prominent these traits are, and how crippling they are, depends a lot on the setting. [[Dark Fantasy]] settings in particular tend to use this to make dwarves seem "appropriately flawed". The [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dawi]] of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] are perfect examples of just how these traits can turn a normally admirable race into a bunch of petty little assholes when cranked up. For example, in Warhammer the [[High Elves (Warhammer)|High Elves]] - who have the standard elven arrogance - acknowledge the existence of the [[Dark Elves (Warhammer)|Dark Elves]] and the infighting they originated from, but the Dwarfs pretend [[Chaos Dwarfs]] don't exist and get very butthurt if they're even mentioned.

=Diplomacy=
Dwarves may not be the most conventionally charismatic of races, but they are still part of the [[demihuman]]s crowd, which means that the default expectation is that they're good guys, and thus they're expected to interact with other races like rational people.

Typically, dwarves often get portrayed as the "grumpy but loving conservative grandpa" in the general hierarchy of demihumans; the other races respect them, even like them, but they don't always get along, and they're not afraid to call them out on their shit.

Dwarves usually get on the best with [[human]]s, more or less. They find the human lack of respect for tradition exasperating, and it actually bugs them that humans don't live so long - you start getting to like one, and then the next thing you know, he's dead. Still, the human drive and passion, combined with their admiration for dwarven prowess and skill, means the races do respect each other. Plus, when they team up, they can ''really'' get shit done, as many settings show. Honestly, with how well the two races get on, it really is odd that [[half-dwarf|human/dwarf mating]] isn't as common as [[half-elf|human/elf mating]] - or even more so. In short, if Dwarfs are the best then humans are a close second with anyone in third being far more distant.

Dwarves and [[elf|elves]] have a... complicated relationship. Despite what you'd think, dwarves and elves don't actually go to war much in D&D. The two races actually have a lot in common; their shared longevity - and thus, preference to look at the long term when it comes to making decisions - gives them a common attitude towards dealing with problems, and dwarves can appreciate the fact that elves put a lot of work into their craft as well. It's the difference in work ethic and priorities that causes the races to have troubles communicating; dwarves don't understand the "play first, work later" general attitude of elves, and it annoys them that, rather than sitting down at something and getting it done, elves will drift back and forth between projects as their interest waxes and wanes. Still, they can tolerate each other, and when they deign to work together, great shit happens. If the Elves are of the manlier, bearded variety this alliance will be a solid wall against whatever bad guy attacks that day.

Dwarves are probably closest to their [[gnome]] cousins, but even then, it's a somewhat rocky relationship. The gnomish love of humor and obsession with magic of leaves dwarves dumbfounded and sighing at their "silliness".

Dwarves usually don't even think about [[halfling]]s. The two races just don't move in the same terrain, never mind the same circles. When together, it is usually a shared love of strong drink and great food that forms the basis of friendships.

Perhaps the most consistent and reliable relationship that dwarves have is their enmity with [[orc]]s and [[goblinoid]]s. They fight in almost '''every''' fantasy setting you care to name, and this actually makes a lot of sense. Beyond the fact that the races are natural foils for each other (long-lived, slow-breeding, orderly, skilled crafter dwarves vs. short-lived, fast-breeding, anarchic, crude crafter orcs/goblins), it also reflects nature. See, both dwarves and orcs/goblins live in the mountains, and as the latter races are by nature opportunists, it makes sense that they would consider it more expedient to oust dwarves and take over their well-made, long-lasting homes than go to the trouble of digging out their own cave-cities.

=Religion=
Dwarven religion usually centers around implicit or explicit ancestor worship. Dwarf gods tend to exemplify what dwarves consider both the proper way to behave and the iconic virtues of their race. In D&D lore, the traditional leader of the dwarf gods is [[Moradin]] (or [[Reorx]], on Krynn); a gruff, no-nonsense creator-deity obsessed with making stuff and ensuring the multiverse is filled with creation.

Other deities tend to be subordinate to Moradin and usually a lot more forgettable, being just "dwarfy" takes on standard archetypes like the War God or the Love Goddess.

In [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]], it was established that dwarves refer to their pantheon as the '''[[Morndinsamman]]'''.

An exception is in [[Forgotten Realms]] via the Mulhorandi (Egyptian) pantheon. There, the god Bes is the patron god of dwarves and is affable, personable, lucky, and has enormous genitals. Which is because he's a shameless rip-off of the Egyptian god Bes, who was a god of sex, happiness, music, dancing, partying, fertility, childbirth, and the protection of women and children, who was portrayed in religious as a dusky-skinned dwarf with a huge set of male sexual organs.

=Dwarves vs. Gnomes=
Casuals who stumble across [[Dungeons & Dragons]] may find themselves wondering why there are ''two'' races of mechanically adept artisic short hairy men in the game, the dwarves and the [[gnomes]]. Well, the answer is fairly simple.

See, in mythology, "dwarves" and dwarf-like beings cover a wide spectrum of critters. They're usually considered a kind of [[fey|faerie]], and thusly in many cultures, dwarves are depicted not as the stern, grim, magical craftsmen of [[Viking]] lore, but as surprisingly down-to-earth people, but possessed of many magical abilities. There are many stories of dwarves in European cultures weaving illusions and changing shapes and otherwise performing all manner of mystical feats. Now, [[Gygax]] and his buddies were big mythology buffs, and they knew these stories. But, at the same time, they were also huge [[Tolkien]] fans, and their vision for the prototype of D&D was to use the Tolkienian model for dwarves. So, in the end, they said "fuck it", and just brought the magical yet down to earth dwarves of Europe into D&D as gnomes, whilst dwarves in the Tolkien model were allowed to retain their name. And it has continued ever since out of tradition.

The highlight of this has to be found in [[Mystara]], the very first campaign setting of [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. In this setting, originally, the dwarves were a people known as the Kogolor, who dwelled in cities they established on the mountains. Physically and mentally, they were more like the gnomes of the present day; outgoing, cheerful, talkative and gregarious. They had no particular resistance to magic or toxin, nor any great focus on craftsmanship, although they were (and remain) great brewers of liquor. During the Rain of Colorless Fire, their numbers began to drop rapidly, as the poisons released by the [[Blackmoor]] disaster devastated their number. An Immortal named [[Kagyar]] decided that he could use the dwarves to create a race to his design; one shaped to survive against future disasters of this scale. He took the hardiest of the Kogolor and made them tougher still, granting them resistance to magic and toxin. He filled their minds with an obsession to craft lasting works in stone and metal - things would survive the passage of time - and made them feel an instinctive yearning for the shelter of deep caves, that they would naturally gravitate towards homes that doubled as fallout shelters. He made them stubborn, conservative, and xenophobic, inclined to shun others and to cling to tradition above all else, that they would not stray from this mold. Satisfied with his work, he dubbed them "dwarves" and returned them to claim the mountains of Mystara, whilst the Kogolor he absent-mindedly swept away and discarded in the Hollow World. This did not sit particularly well with one of Kagyar's students, Garal Glitterlode - the prototype for [[Garl Glittergold]], himself an ascended Kogolor. Since his former people were gone, he recreated them, this time shaping them to be smaller and more flexible, to seek out shelter in forests as well as mountains, and thus were born the first gnomes, as a more "true to the original" descendant of the original Kogolor.

=Subraces=
Though the dwarven concept is regarded as fairly homogenous, the truth is that dwarves do have some racial diversity - perhaps not so much as the [[elf]] or [[gnome]] races, but they've had their fair share of variant cultures and subraces over the years.

Tolkien himself gives one example in the [[Silmarillion]], the Petty-Dwarves, who aren't a subspecies so much as some clans who were cast out by the other clans. For the rest of their history, see the [[Middle Earth]] page section on them.

The most classic dwarf subraces are the '''Hill Dwarf''' and the '''Mountain Dwarf'''. Both adhere to the same basic outline established elsewhere on this thread. The difference is their choice of living habits and their personality.

''Hill Dwarves'' live in hill-country, and tend to live closer to the surface - or even on the surface - as well as being the most "wanderlusty" of the dwarven subraces; instead of staying cooped up in cavern homes all the time, hill dwarves have been known to travel regularly, either for work or just for the sake of seeing the sights! They are the most common dwarven subrace, and also the most diplomatic; they have the most contact with other [[demihuman]] races and so are the most friendly and open-minded of the dwarves. You know, by comparison. Hill dwarves tend to put comparatively less focus on mining, or occupy themselves with more "practical" mining pursuits - coal, iron, and copper. Smithcraft is usually more important, as they tend to make more money through trade.

''Mountain Dwarves'', as the name suggests, occupy the high mountainous regions of the world, where they accommodate the lack of horizontal terrain by burrowing into the cliffs and occupying completely subterranean homes. Mountain Dwarves are typically richer than hill dwarves, as their homes are better sources of gemstones and precious metals. Add in that their choice of landscape abounds in [[dragon]]s, [[orc]]s and [[goblinoid]]s (amongst other monsters), and it makes sense that they tend to be both more professionally war-like and more suspicious of outsiders. Mountain dwarves often are (or at least claim to be) the "original" version of the dwarf race, and feuding with their hill dwarf cousins isn't unheard of. In fact, in the [[Dragonlance]] setting, the mountain/hill dwarf feuds are more bitter and bloody than the elf/dwarf feuds!

'''[[Duergar]]''' are the third of the "core" dwarf subraces. They're covered in more detail on their own page, but in a nutshell, they are the obligatory "evil [[Underdark]] subrace", the dwarven analogue to [[Drow]]. Interesting in part for their characterization as the worst impulses of the dwarf race, but without their cousins' redeeming qualities. Notably the most psychic of the dwarves.

'''Deep Dwarves''' are a dwarven strain that has adapted to life in the [[Underdark]]. They're more or less the dwarf equivalent of [[Svirfneblin]]; they live down in the dark but they're not evil, just somewhat justifiably reclusive and xenophobic. Introduce in AD&D, the deep dwarves miraculously made it into 3e based solely on their presence in the [[Forgotten Realms]], but because they lack any cultural nuance beyond being "non-evil duergar", they never really caught on and have basically been forgotten ever since.

'''Sunderered Dwarves''' are a subrace introduced in [[The Complete Book of]] Dwarves, and are basically former clans of hill or mountain dwarves who have been forced to live exclusively on the surface after some catastrophic event chased them away. In fact they are now incapable of handling prolonged periods underground, suffering racially from claustrophobia, which compels them to inhabit surface settlements and often live alongside other races. You'd think that this would make them much more socially adept than other dwarves, but nope; they're just described as miserable, tortured creatures full of self-loathing. The idea was so badly handled that they never were revived.

'''[[Derro]]''' are another [[Underdark]]-dwelling species of short humanoids, who may or may not be part of the dwarf family tree; it depends on edition.

'''Arctic Dwarves''' (who call themselves "Innugaakalikurit") are, as the name suggests, a tundra dwelling dwarf subrace who have forsaken the traditional miner's lifestyle of their kin for a simpler life as hunter-gatherers. Described as short and squat even by dwarf standards, these white-haired dwarves favor the harpoon and the bow over the axe and the pick. They love to sunbathe, being impervious to both the cold and to the pain that should normally result when their skin turns red from an overexposure to the sun. This subrace was native to the [[Forgotten Realms]], and appeared in an AD&D [[splatbook]] relating to "The Great Glacier", but the concept of an arctic dwarf has been touched upon in a more setting neutral fashion in 3rd edition. In Eberron the '''Glacier Dwarves''', or "Toldun Nordorthak", are those who remained on the Frostfell and continued to adapt to it instead migrating south. They aren't given a stat block, but presumably are just the 3E Arctic Dwarves.

'''Wild Dwarves''' are another Faerunian subrace; primitive, jungle-dwelling tribals who pursue an almost feral existence in the tropical forests of Chult, and to the Mhair and Black Jungles. Wielding poisoned weapons and going about naked, they worship their own patron god, [[Thard Harr]] and do little other than hunt, mate and sleep. Introduced in "Dwarves Deep" for AD&D, their resemble to [[/pol/|pygmy stereotypes]] has made them increasingly uncomfortable to many players.

'''Chultan Dwarves''' are albino dwarves native to the jungles of Chult in the [[Forgotten Realms]], who first appeared in the splatbook "Jungles of Chult". Whilst they lack the abundant metal resources of their kin, they are not as primitive as their Wild Dwarf cousins. Based on their recent reappearance in 5e's [[Tomb of Annihilation]], where they were described as more primitive than they had been in AD&D, WoTC may be planning to make them subsume the "jungle dwarf" aspect from their Wild Dwarf cousins.

'''Desert Dwarves''' are another Faerunian dwarf subrace, consisting of stranded dwarves who have adapted to survive in the desert cliffs of [[Maztica]]. Aside from their darker skin, they're basically identical to normal dwarves, which has led to their being forgotten; 3e did touch upon the archetype with both Desert Dwarves in [[Unearthed Arcana]] and Badlands Dwarves in Sandstorm.

'''[[Gully Dwarves]]''' are the most infamous and hated of all the dwarf subraces. Originating from dwarves breeding with gnomes in the [[Dragonlance]] setting, they can be basically described as "what if dwarves had devolved to fill the role normally taken by [[goblin]]s?" Dirty, slovenly, stupid creatures, [[gully dwarves]] are regarded in-universe and out as an embarrassment, huddling in ruins or the trash-heaps of other races and grubbing out a meager existence on the leavings of other, greater peoples. The fact that they sound like they were written by a goddamn [[nazi]] geneticist is probably why they haven't been mentioned in recent editions.

'''[[Kogolor]]s''' (Or "Kogolor Dwarves") are technically the oldest dwarves in all of D&D; native to [[Mystara]], these dwarves are literally the ancestor species of the modern dwarf, and are much more like gnomes in behavior... which is fitting because they're also the ancestor of gnomes, too. Most notably, they lack the dwarven knack for craftsmanship - save in brewing beer, ale and wine - and are cheerful, outgoing, friendly and welcoming. Also, absurdly Alpine German, to the point of dressing in lederhosen and having a special proficiency in yodelling. Because of the Great Rain of Fire and the intervention of [[Kagyar]] the Artisan, they only survive in the [[Hollow World]], having been abandoned there after being replaced with "conventional" dwarves.

Though the above is pretty much the standard template for dwarves, some settings have shown some deviance from them... usually in the form of sub-races or offshoot clans.

==Elemental Dwarves==
Since the dawn of the game, the [[Element]]al Plane of Fire has been home to [[Azer]]s, who look like bronze-skinned dwarves with great flaming beards & hair. For most editions, they have been officially classified as "not dwarves", with Pathfinder describing them as a race of elemental constructs who just happen to look like dwarves (a step 5e basically stole). 4e, however, went and said "yes, they're dwarves; at the dawn of time, dwarves were slaves to [[giant]]s (who're [[elemental]]s) - the ones who didn't get away in time eventually became elementals themselves".

There's also the oft-forgotten Earth elemental the [[Galeb Duhr]], who became a rock-elemental dwarf in 3e and stayed that way in 4e.

Dwarves mutated into elemental beings or otherwise [[planetouched]] have always been a minor concept, but do exist. The most obvious are the [[Azerblood]]s, dwarven fire [[genasi]] descended from [[azer]]s, in 3rd edition. The oldest are the earth-manipulating, god-touched [[Urdunnir]] of the [[Forgotten Realms]]. 3rd edition introduced the obscure [[Frost Dwarf|Frost Dwarves]] as an extraplanar race, as well as obscure elementally-touched variant dwarf races. 4th edition introduced the [[Eisk Jaat]], an icy counterpart to the Azer and Galeb Duhr who, like them, descends from dwarves that mutated due to being trapped in the [[Elemental Chaos]] by the [[giant]]s.

[[Dragon Magazine]] #383 contains the rules and lore for Forgeborn Dwarves, a dwarfin variant representing clans who didn't ''quite'' get away from the Giants in time. They basically took a racial feat that gave them resistance to Acid, Cold, Fire and Lightning damage and let them deal bonus elemental damage whenever they hit someone once per encounter.

==Unique Strains==
For obvious reasons, this page has mostly talked about dwarves as depicted in [[Dungeons & Dragons]], which is the most widespread of /tg/ games and thus the most iconic depiction of dwarves. But, there are other games on /tg/ that have more unique depictions of dwarves...

The dwarves of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|have their own page]], but in a nutshell can be described as taking the D&D dwarf stereotype and cranking the knobs up a couple of notches. They are Grudge-obsessed, culturally unchanging, and absolutely racist fucks who only barely tolerate humans and hate every single other thing, especially each other when they have a reason, to varying degrees. They almost wiped themselves out just out of their inability to resolve conflicts such as those caused by an insult given by accident ten generations ago while a third invading force was on the march causing a three-way fight where the Dwarfs could only lose. But out of sheer tenacity and refusal to admit weakness or being wrong, they managed to make it to the [[End Times|death of the setting]] as a powerful force.

Their cousins, the evil [[Chaos Dwarfs]], force magic into their own bodies unnaturally (as Warhammer Dwarf bodies and minds resist and nullify magic) which slowly turns them to stone. They have an intense hatred of all other races but instead of good old boy conservatism/Grudge induced racism it's straight up [[Nazi]] tier, to the point of being like their kin with an even bigger Grudge. They are based on Mesopotamians, and the size and type of their hat is more important to them than a beard.

In [[Shadowrun]], the dwarven fondness for crafting and artisanship has led to them mostly abandoning old-fashioning smithing and turning to cybernetics and digital engineering - the iconic dwarf is a cybered-up hacker, not a warrior or a smith. Also, beards are basically unimportant to dwarves, but the males usually wear beards in order to stop humans from mistaking them for children.

In [[Castle Falkenstein]], dwarves are an all-male race of [[artificer]]s, who do the mining and smithing thing mostly to support their love of being mad scientist engineers. In fact, they used to be magical fairies, but they gave up their magic and their immortality (although they still live a long time) to be able to work with iron. They couldn't give two shits about their beards, are immune to fire and magic, are superhumanly strong, have goose-like feet (which they're very embarrassed about, so '''don't mention them'''), and reproduce by interbreeding with female fairies; sons are dwarves, daughters are fairies. Incidentally, this is why they tend to be so obsessed with making their mark on the world; this is the only way they can change their name to what they want, instead of being stuck with a typical fairy name like "Morningblossom" or "Buttercup". Also, rather than an axe, an angry dwarf will usually try and club you to death with a fuck-off-huge wrench.

In ''[[Wicked Fantasy]]'', they're called uvandir; don't call them dwarves if you value your kneecaps. They arrived in the Reign of Men along with the [[halfling|haffuns]] and [[gnome]]s when they popped through the wall of a mine shaft, having dug their way through the world to escape their alien masters. They integrated into human culture and improved on every human craft they encountered. They are immortal, tireless craftsmen who have no time for anything that isn't productive. They will suffer physically if they spend too much time ''not'' working, to the point of sitting down, lost in deep melancholy, until they literally turn to stone. The only thing that they'll do other than work is drink beer. The setting book sets aside a whole page for "THE UVANDIR LOVE BEER" in massive text. Uvandir miners don't just dig for precious stones and metals, they are also digging in search of sleeping brothers and their god.

''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' (hey, it has an official tabletop) has a race of elves that were called dwarves by the setting's [[Giant|giants]], and the name stuck. Properly referred to as "Dwemer", they are most notable for studying Creation until they found specific musical notes that change the very laws of nature, for being [[Malal#Necoho|die-hard atheists in a world filled with gods]], and for vaporising their entire people by building a colossal robot that flat-out denied out of existence everything it saw - including itself, linear time, [[Not as planned|and the race that built it]]. Thousands of years later their abandoned subterranean cities still stand, powered by geothermal steam, lit with gas lamps or arc lights, and patrolled by maintenance bots, murder bots and the occasional ghost. An insular and xenophobic people, the Dwemer weren't on good terms with anyone, seeing the other races either as idiots, savages, slaves, or test subjects. For an example of what happened to those who trusted them, the Dwemer [[Grimlock| alchemically blinded, then enslaved]] another elven race, the Falmer, on the brink of extinction just so they wouldn't have to share their knowledge or even the sight of their underground cities.

=PC Stats=
==BECMI==
The BD&D Dwarf is essentially a [[Fighter]] (since back then every non-human race was a class) with a few special gimmicks. Requiring a base [[Constitution]] of 9 to qualify for, and treating Strength as its primary requisite, the BD&D Dwarf's main advantage over the standard fighter is its toughness; it has a d8 hit dice mechanic, and at Attack Rank G (1,400,000 XP) it halves all damage taken from spells and magical attacks (quartering it on a save). It also has infravision and a 1-in-3 chance to detect hidden/secret doors, traps or other stonework related details. It technically maxes out its level at level 12, but can keep gaining XP to increase its Attack Rank up to AR M

The [[Known World Gazetteers|Dwarves of Rockhome]] introduced a variant dwarf class, in the form of the Dwarf-[[Cleric]]; able to cast clerical magic, if not to the same potency as the human cleric... whilst also mandated to hide this ability from other races. Needless to say, if you weren't running an all-dwarf campaign or didn't have a DM who waived that bit of fluff, this made you all but unplayable. Yes, you were allowed to waive this rule if the party's survival depended on you revealing you can cast clerical magic, but let's be honest, a lot of DMs were willing to dick you over about this.

Mechanically, the dwarf-cleric functions as a sort of proto-prestige class. It follows all of the same rules as a standard dwarf, but requires an extra amount of XP to advance a level, and from 2nd level onwards gains access to clerical magic. This is tabled up below. Due to TSR's "one true wayism" approach to racial & class crunch 'n' fluff, dwarf-cleric PCs can only belong to [[Kagyar]], even though NPC dwarf-clerics of the Chaotic Immortals respected by dwarves do exist. For this reason, dwarf-clerics are... discouraged... from using Destruction type clerical spells, especially the Reversed form of appropriate spells (Inflict Wounds, Harm, Bane, etcetera). As in, if you use these abilities "too frequently" for the DM's liking, they are encouraged to slap you with everything from warning dreams of Kagyar's displeasure to a divine geas/quest to seek redemption, to just arbitrarily taking away your clerical powers '''permanently'''. Yeah, you got to deal with the same shit as the [[Paladin]], how nice is that?

Dwarf-clerics cannot raise members of any race except dwarves when they cast Raise Dead spells, and they cannot [[Turn Undead]]. They require [[Strength]] 9 and [[Wisdom]] 9 to qualify for the racial class, and treat these ability scores as primary requisites; dwarf-clerics need ''both'' Str and Wis to be 13+ for their +5% EXP boost, and they need Wisdom 16+ for their +10% EXP boost. Dwarf-clerics have access to all forms of armor, abut are culturally restricted to hammers and axes for weapons; they normally use the Character Hit Rolls table column for a [[Fighter]] when fighting with hammers & axes, but if they are forced to use some other weapon, they use the "normal" CHR table column instead. Unlike normal dwarves, dwarf-clerics only have a D6 hit dice, but they still use the Fighter's saving throw table. Their high level bonus traits are effectively identical to the standard dwarf, but they gain dwarven magic resistance at Attack Rank C.

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::Level: Bonus EXP Required: Spells
::1: 0: 0
::2: 4,000: 1 First Level Spell
::3: 8,000: 2 First Level Spells
::4: 16,000: 2 First Level Spells, 1 Second Level Spell
::5: 32,000: 2 First Level Spells, 2 Second Level Spells
::6: 64,000: 2 First Level Spells, 2 Second Level Spells, 1 Third Level Spell
::7: 120,000: 2 First Level Spells, 2 Second Level Spells, 2 Third Level Spells
::8: 250,000: 2 First Level Spells, 2 Second Level Spells, 2 Third Level Spells, 1 Fourth Level Spell
::9: 400,000: 3 First Level Spells, 2 Second Level Spells, 2 Third Level Spells, 2 Fourth Level Spells
::10: 600,000: 3 First Level Spells, 3 Second Level Spells, 2 Third Level Spells, 2 Fourth Level Spells, 1 Fifth Level Spell
::11: 800,000: 4 First Level Spells, 3 Second Level Spells, 3 Third Level Spells, 2 Fourth Level Spells, 2 Fifth Level Spell
::12: 1,000,000: 4 First Level Spells, 4 Second Level Spells, 3 Third Level Spells, 3 Fourth Level Spells, 2 Fifth Level Spell, 1 Sixth Level Spell
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{{D&D1e-Races}}

==AD&D==
The dwarf PC first appeared in the AD&D [[Player's Handbook]], specifically with the classic subraces of Hill Dwarf and Mountain Dwarf. Rules would later be expanded upon with their own dedicated sourcebook, [[the Complete Book of]] Dwarves, which provided not only a collection of dwarfin cultural notes, but also dedicated dwarf [[kits]] and complete ability score writeups for the six extant dwarven subraces of the time; Mountain Dwarf, Hill Dwarf, Deep Dwarf (a non-evil [[Underdark]]-dwelling dwarf, which would be phased out in subsequent editions), Sundered Dwarf (surface-dwelling culturally shattered dwarves), Gully Dwarf (degenerate and stupid dwarf-kin originating from [[Dragonlance]]), and [[Duergar]].

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::Dwarven Hardiness: All Dwarves receive a bonus to their saving throws against poison and magical attacks determined by their Constitution modifier; +1 for Con 4-6, +2 for Con 7-10, +3 for Con 11-13, +4 for Con 14-17, and +5 for Constitution 18-19.
::Racial Enmity: [[Ogre]]s, [[troll]]s, [[oni]], [[giant]]s and [[titan]]s suffer a -4 penalty on attack rolls against dwarves. Dwarves receive a +1 bonus to attack rolls made against [[orc]]s, [[half-orc]]s, [[goblin]]s and [[hobgoblin]]s.
::Magical Interference: When a dwarf attempts to use a magic item that is ''not'' either specifically intended for the dwarf's class or else a weapon, shield, armor, gauntlet or girdle, there is a 20% chance that it will instead dramatically fail. A check is made each time the dwarf attempts to use an item; if it fails one time, it may work the next, and vice-versa.
::Stonecunning: Dwarves are naturally adept at surviving underground, and can attempt to identify specific aspects of their environment by rolling a d6. A dwarf can detect the gradient or slope of a passage on a 1-5, detect new tunnels or other construction on a 1-5, identify sliding/shifting walls and rooms on a 1-4, locate stonework traps/pits/deadfalls on a 1-3, and estimate just how deep underground they are on a 1-3.
::Dwarves have a base movement rate of 6, and encumbrance affects their movement rate as follows: Light (None), Moderate (-1/3rd), Heavy (-1/2) and Severe (-2/3rds).
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;Hill Dwarf
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::Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Constitution, -1 Charisma
::Ability Score Minimums/Maximums: Strength 8/18, Dexterity 3/17, Constitution 11/18, Intelligence 3/18, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/17
::Infravision: 60 feet
::Class/Level Limits: Warrior 15, Priest 10, Thief 12
::Thief Skill Adjustments: +10% Open Locks, +15% Find/Remove Traps, -10% Climb Walls, -5% Read Languages
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;Mountain Dwarf
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::Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Constitution, -1 Charisma
::Ability Score Minimums/Maximums: Strength 8/18, Dexterity 3/17, Constitution 11/19, Intelligence 3/18, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/16
::Infravision: 60 feet
::Class/Level Limits: Warrior 16, Priest 10, Thief 12
::Thief Skill Adjustments: +10% Open Locks, +15% Find/Remove Traps, -10% Climb Walls, -5% Read Languages
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;Deep Dwarf
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::Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma
::Ability Score Minimums/Maximums: Strength 8/18, Dexterity 3/16, Constitution 13/19, Intelligence 3/18, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/15
::Infravision: 90 feet
::Special Advantage: +1 to the dwarven saving throw bonus against poison and magical attacks.
::Special Disadvantage: -1 penalty on attack rolls when within Sunlight or Continual Light spells.
::Class/Level Limits: Warrior 14, Priest 12, Thief 10
::Thief Skill Adjustments: +5% Pick Pockets, +10% Find/Remove Traps, +5% Hide In Shadows, -10% Climb Walls, -15% Read Languages
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;Sundered Dwarf
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::Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -1 Charisma
::Ability Score Minimums/Maximums: Strength 8/18, Dexterity 3/17, Constitution 11/18, Intelligence 3/16, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/16
::Infravision: 30 feet
::Special Disadvantage: Sundered Dwarves are Claustrophobic; they must successfully save vs. death in order to overcome their fear before they can enter any underground locale, be it a dungeon, cave or tomb. Furthermore, when underground, a sundered dwarf suffers a -2 penalty to its attack rolls. Each day they remain underground, they must make another save vs. death to master their claustrophobia; if they fail, then their attack penalty increases by -1 for each additional day spent underground. Once a sundered dwarf has panicked like this, the saving throw vs. death to try and master its claustrophobia takes a penalty equal to the attack roll penalty.
::Class/Level Limits: Warrior 14, Priest 10, Thief 15
::Thief Skill Adjustments: +5% Open Locks, +10% Find/Remove Traps, +5% Move Silently, +5% Hide in Shadows, -10% Read Languages
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;Gully Dwarf
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::Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, -2 Charisma
::Ability Score Minimums/Maximums: Strength 6/18, Dexterity 6/18, Constitution 8/16, Intelligence 3/12, Wisdom 3/14, Charisma 3/12
::Infravision: 60 feet
::Special Advantage: Gully dwarves excel at the art of groveling, and can attempt to avoid being attacked by mock-fainting or putting on a pitiful display of pleading. All hostile creatures must succeed on a save vs. spells, with a penalty depending on the gully dwarf's level (-2 at level 5-8, -3 at level 9-12, -5 at level 13+) or be incapable of actually harming the gully dwarf, though they can still capture or otherwise restrain it.
::Special Disadvantage: Gully dwarves are legendarily stupid, and even if a gully dwarf PC is uncommonly smart for its kind, it should still be portrayed as a dimwitted simpleton. Additionally, gully dwarves are so wretched that magic items have a 40% chance of failing to work for them, rather than the normal 20% chance.
::Class/Level Limits: Warrior 8, Priest 8, Thief 16
::Thief Skill Adjustments: +10% Pick Pockets, -5% Open Locks, +5% Find/Remove Traps, -5% Hide In Shadows, -5% Climb Walls, -25% Read Languages
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'''Innugaakalikurit''' (aka '''Arctic Dwarf'''):
Whilst not presented in the Complete Book of Dwarves, the Innugaakalikurit did receive a brief PC writeup in "The Great Glacier", a guide to the pseudo-Arctic Circle region of the [[Forgotten Realms]] released for AD&D.
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::Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -1 Dexterity, -1 Charisma
::Ability Score Minimums/Maximums: Strength 14/18, Dexterity 3/16, Constitution 13/18, Intelligence 3/18, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/14
::Special Advantage: Arctic Dwarves are Immune to Cold, including magically generated cold such as spells or the breath of [[Chromatic Dragon|White Dragons]].
::Class/Level Limits: [[Fighter]] Unlimited, [[Ranger]] 8, [[Rogue|Thief]] 8
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{{D&D2e-Races}}

==3rd Edition==
In 3.5, dwarves changed a little from their 3.0 selves, mostly in the form of tightening up their rules, but the end-result was fundamentally the same.

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::+2 Constitution, -2 Charisma
::Humanoid (Dwarf)
::Medium
::Base Speed 20 feet, but ignore the movement penalties from medium & heavy armor and loads
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a [[rogue]] can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
::Weapon Familiarity: Dwarven Waraxes and Urgoshes count as Martial Weapons for a dwarf, rather than Exotic Weapons.
::Stability: +4 racial bonus on checks made to resist being Bull Rushed or Tripped when standing on solid ground.
::+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like effects.
::+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against [[orc]]s and [[goblinoid]]s.
::+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against creatures of the [[Giant]] type.
::+2 racial bonus on Appraise and Craft checks relating to stone or metal.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Fighter]]
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After humans (who are considered the best race in the entire game, or at least the top 5), dwarves are likely the most powerful PHB race, though this isn't much of a challenge since the other PHB races are very weak. Their defensive (and search) bonuses are universally good and only 3 classes even care about losing charisma (and Cleric doesn't care all THAT much). Their bonus on search applies almost always, since underground caves and buildings constructed of stones are the vast majority of adventure locations. Aside from the obvious melee classes dwarves, unusually enough, make for good [[Rogue]]s. Their defensive abilities offset how squishy rogues are, and aside from half-orcs (which are terrible) the only PHB race with darkvision, which is invaluable for sneaking around in the dark and (more importantly) get around the rule oddity that rogues can't use sneak attack in darkness without it.

The above stats applies to both Hill Dwarves and Mountain Dwarves equally. However, myriad dwarven subraces exist in 3.5, and they all tweak the formula in some way.

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'''Aquatic Dwarves''' were underwater-dwelling versions of the dwarf introduced in the 3e [[Unearthed Arcana]] sourcebook. In addition to the normal dwarven statblock, they gain +2 Strength, suffer -4 Dexterity, and possess the Aquatic subtype, the Water-Breather racial trait (breathe water instead of air, can survive out of 2 rounds per Constitution point before starting to suffocate), a Swim speed of 20 feet, the ability to "run" whilst swimming, +8 racial bonus on Swim checks and the ability to Take 10 when swimming.

'''Arctic Dwarves''', also from the 3e Unearthed Arcana, gain +2 Strength and suffer -4 Dexterity in addition to the normal dwarf modifiers, and tweak their statblock in various ways. Their racial attack bonus is against ''[[kobold]]s'' and goblinoids instead of orcs & goblinoids, they also apply their Appraise & Craft check bonus to ice, they have the Cold Endurance trait (+4 racial bonus on Fort checks against cold and exposure), and the Icecunning trait, which is literally "Stonecunning but with Ice". This is a generic version of the arctic dwarf, and not based on the original Innugaakalikurit, who hail from the [[Forgotten Realms]].

'''Badlands Dwarves''' are a version of dwarf that has adapted to life in the hot, barren badland regions - essentially a more focused and arguably better designed version of the Desert Dwarf from Unearthed Arcana. These guys appeared in the Sandstorm splatbook, and mostly change their racial traits; they lose Stonecunning and gain Waterwise, which is essentially Stonecunning but for finding water and water conduits, and lose their Appraise & Craft bonuses in favor of Heat Endurance and the ability to go for 2 days + Constitution score hours before thirst starts affecting them.

'''Deep Dwarves''', the non-evil [[Underdark]] dwarves mentioned above, appeared in the 3.5 [[Monster Manual]], and have the most meager changes of any dwarven subrace; their resistance to poison and magic increases to +3, their Darkvision increases to 90 feet, and they gain the Light Sensitivity trait.

'''Desert Dwarves''' are another of the many "environmental variant" subraces to appear in 3e's [[Unearthed Arcana]]. These dwarves trade their Charisma penalty for a -2 penalty to Dexterity, lose Stonecunning, change the target of their racial attack bonus from orcs & goblinoids to reptilian humanoids & dragons, change the target of their racial defense bonus from giants to dragons, change their bonus to Craft checks for a +2 bonus on Knowledge (Architecture, Engineering & Dungeoneering) and Profession (Miner), and gain the Heat Endurance trait.

'''Dream Dwarves''' are a mystical, sagely dwarven subrace introduced in Races of Stone. These dwarves lack the inherent craftsmanship or warlike skills of their kin, but are valued for their innate magical powers and spiritual connection to the earth. Dream Dwarves trade their -2 Charisma for -2 Dexterity, increase their Darkvision to 90 feet, and trade their racial saving bonuses, Craft bonus, Appraise bonus, attack roll bonus and dodge bonus for +1 Caster Level with Divination type spells, a +1 racial bonus to Diplomacy checks against Earth subtype creatures, and the ability to see ethereal creatures at will. Additionally, their favored class is [[Druid]] rather than fighter.

'''Frost Dwarves''', introduced in the Planar Handbook, are a race of [[planetouched]] dwarves native to the icy layers of the [[Abyss]]. The ability modifiers for these dwarves is +4 Constitution, -4 Charisma, they gain the Extraplanar subtype, their Darkvision increases to 120 feet, and they gain Cold Resistance 10, +4 to Move Silently checks, Light Sensitivity, and the ability to cast Chill Touch and Obscuring Mist 1/day each at Charater Level +2 (minimum of 3rd). Needless to say, these dwarves get a [[Level Adjustment]] of +1.

'''Earth Dwarves''' are, as the name suggests, [[planetouched]] dwarves with earth elemental ancestry, and are yet another Unearthed Arcana variant. They get +2 Strength and -2 Dexterity on top of the normal dwarf ability modifiers, their Stonecunning modifier is +4, their Stability modifier is +8, they change the target of their racial attack bonus from orcs & goblinoids to creatures with the Air subtype, their Appraise & Craft bonuses increase to +4, and their racial saving bonus against spells is replaced with a -2 racial penalty on saving throws vs spells, spell-like abilities or supernatural abilitys that either have the Air subtype or come from a creature with the Air subtype.

'''Glacier Dwarves''' are, like Badlands Dwarves, a second attempt at an environmental based dwarven subrace in the wake of those done by Unearthed Arcana. They're closer to the Innugaakalikurit than the Arctice Dwarves are, but still not a perfect conversion. Appearing in the Frostburn sourcebook, Glacier Dwarves replace Stonecunning with Icecunning (same thing, but using ice instead of stone), change their Appraise & Craft bonuses to applying to ice, snow & other frostfell materials, trade their save bonus vs. poison for a +2 racial bonus on saves vs. cold damage & cold-based effects, can comfortably survive in conditions ranging from "severe cold" to "hot" without needing a Fortitude save, and are always considered to have the Cold Endurance feat in order to meet prerequisites for feats & prestige classes.

'''Gold Dwarves''' appeared in the [[Dungeon Master's Guide]], and represent either dwarves at the very height of their power, the ancestral form of dwarves, or some other form of deep-dwelling dwarf-kin. The only real changes they make are suffering -2 Dexterity intead of -2 Charisma, and changing their attack roll bonus target to [[aberration]]s instead of orcs & goblinoids.

'''Jungle Dwarves''' are the last of the environmental variants introduced in Unearthed Arcana. These dwarves lose Stonecunning, downgrade their Darkvision to Low-light Vision, trade their Craft bonus for a +2 racial bonus on Heal, Knowledge (Nature), Spot & Survival checks, and switch their favored class from Fighter to [[Ranger]].

'''Seacliff Dwarves''' are coastal dwarves introduced in the Stormwrack sourcebook, and are essentially an alternative to Aquatic Dwarves, like the Badlands & Glacier Dwarves before them. These dwarves lose their racial attack roll bonus and instead gain the Strong Swimmer racial trait; +2 racial bonus on Swim checks and the ability to hold their breath for twice their Constitution score.

'''Innugaakalikurit''', or Faerunian Arctic Dwarves, appeared in the Races of Faerun sourcebook. These have the normal abilities of a dwarf, even though their traditional lore says they shouldn't have Stonecunning, but their ability scores are +4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution and -2 Charisma, they are Small instead of Medium, they are Immune To Cold, their Favored Class is Ranger, and they have a [[Level Adjustment]] of +2.

'''Urdunnir''' are [[Planetouched]], or at least very magical, dwarves native to the [[Forgotten Realms]]. Presented as a PC race in Races of Faerun, Urdunnir have all the normal dwarven racial abilities, but their saving throw bonus against Poison is increased to +4, they have the Stone Walk supernatural ability, can cast Stone Shape and Shape Metal, both at-will and with the power of an 8th level sorcerer, their favored class is Expert, and their Level Adjustment is +4.

'''Wild Dwarves''' are feral dwarves native to the tropical jungles of Chult in the [[Forgotten Realms]] and appeared in Races of Faerun alongside the Innugaakalikurit and the Urdunnir. These dwarves are Small, are affected by medium/heavy armor & loads, replace the standard dwarven weapon familiarity trait with free prociency in the handgun and blowgun, have the Poison Use trait, have Fire Resistance 5, have a +3 bonus to saves against poison, are immune to Wild Dwarf Knockout Poison, have a +4 racial bonus to saving throws against disease, lack the Stonecunning trait and the bonuses to Appraise and Craft, and their Favored Class is [[Barbarian]].
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==Pathfinder==
[[Pathfinder]], for obvious reasons, mostly used the 3.5 version of the dwarf, but tweaked it. Since it was the second most powerful anyways and had a lot of features, it didn't really get much new stuff compared to the other races. Past the core rules, Pathfinder introduced the idea of variant racial traits you could swap in for more unusual versions of the dwarf. As a core race, these alternate traits are everywhere; the Advanced Race Guide, Inner Sea Races, even Horror Adventurers had a few dwarfin variant abilities. Compared to the other core races, Dwarves didn't get much variety here though they do get the ability to make their Defensive Training/Hatred abilities work on a few different monsters.

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::+2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
::Medium
::Slow & Steady: Base speed is 20 feet, but medium/heavy armor and loads don't affect this speed.
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Defensive Training: +4 Dodge bonus to AC against Giants.
::Greed: +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
::Hatred: +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against Orcs and [[Goblinoid]]s.
::Hardy: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells and spell-like abilities.
::Stability: +4 racial bonus to Combat Maneuver Defense against Bull Rush and Trip when standing on solid ground.
::Stonecunning: +2 racial bonus on Perception checks made to notice unusual stonework, and can make a check to notice such things whenever they pass within 10 feet of them.
::Weapon Familiarity: Proficient with Battleaxe, Heavy Pick and Warhammer, treat any weapon with "Dwarven" in its name as a Martial Weapon.
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The main additions were an extra ability score boost (standard for PF races), some free martial weapons (even better for a medium BAB class not proficient with martial weapons) and better "Dwarven" exotic weapons (Dwarven Longhammer is a greatsword with bludgeoning damage and reach, taking a good weapon and making it better.). With these boosts Dwarves make even better Clerics and Rogues than they did in 3E. Dwarves make natural [[Warpriest]], since that uses charisma even less than a cleric.

A survey of Pathfinder characters determined Dwarves were the 6th most popular race in the game (losing to Human, Half-Elf, Elf, [[Half-Orc]] and the non-core [[Tiefling]]). Dwarves mostly fall so low since Half-Orc is now a viable race for most beatstick classes as well and they split the non-human beatstick percentage. Naturally Dwarf Clerics and Warpriests are exceptionally common. Weirdly Dwarves are popular fighters even though fighters already get the ability to wear heavy armor without speed penalty. Despite making excellent [[Druid]]s, Dwarf druids are exceptionally rare.

{{Pathfinder-Races}}
{{Starfinder-Races}}

==Starfinder==

==4th Edition==
Iconic, well-defined, and readily adapted, the dwarf took pride of place in the very first Player's Handbook, where they were the second PC race option only because [[Dragonborn]] alphabetically precedes them. This version of the dwarf didn't have the flashy racial powers that most other races of the edition had, but emphasized its traditional strengths with lots of racial traits, which made them one of the hardiest races in the game, and yet also surprisingly good at being [[Cleric]]s, [[Shaman]]s and [[Druid]]s.

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::Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom (or +2 Strength, post Essentials Update)
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 5 squares (25 feet)
::Vision: Low-Light
::Skill Bonuses: +2 Dungeoneering, +2 Endurance
::Cast-Iron Stomach: +5 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
::Dwarven Resilience: Triggering 2nd Wind only costs you a minor action.
::Dwarven Weapon Proficiency: You have proficiency with the throwing hammer and the warhammer.
::Encumbered Speed: You ignore the normal movement penalties caused by armor or carrying a heavy load.
::Stand Your Ground: You can choose to reduce the effects of all forced movements (pull, push, slide) by -1 square; this can negate an effect that would normally only move you 1 square. Additionally, you can immediately make saving throws against attacks that would knock you prone.
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4e also introduced the concept of subraces in two different ways.

[[Dragon Magazine]] #383 introduced the ''Forgeborn'' subrace for dwarves, representing dwarves whose ancestors hadn't been freed from their slavery to the [[Archomental|Primordials]] before elemental energy had contaminated them, turning them into essentially the dwarven equivalent of [[genasi]]. This version of a subrace took advantage of the plethora of feats that 4e characters received. A forgeborn dwarf was defined by taking a normal dwarf and then taking the ''Forgeborn Heritage'' feat; this gave them the Elemental Legacy racial power (1/encounter, when you hit an enemy with an attack, inflict +3/tier Acid, Cold, Fire or Lighting damage - your choice of which element) as well as minor resistance to Acid, Cold, Fire and Lightning damage simultaneously. Not much - 2 points of damage resistance, increasing to DR 3 at 11th level and to DR 5 at 21st level.

Of course, the racial feat ''Iron Hide Resilience'' boosted this damage resistance to 5 points per character tier; still inferior to the fire resistance of [[tiefling]]s or the cold resistance of winterkin [[eladrin]], but hey, you're getting '''four''' types of damage resistance for the price of two feats; don't get greedy!

Other forgeborn feats include ''Ancestral Wrath'' (+1 speed when bloodied), ''Keen Hatred'' (using Elemental Legacy grants a +2 bonus to your next attack roll), ''Wrathful Legacy'' (Elemental Legacy recharges the first time you are bloodied), ''Improved Legacy'' (boosted damage with Elemental Legacy) and ''Wrathful Resurgence'' (gain temporary hitpoints when you use 2nd Wind).

The forgeborn also have a racial [[Paragon Path]] in the ''Fireforged Champion'', which is very focused on withstanding and dishing out fire damage - very reminiscent of the [[azer]]s.

The [[Neverwinter]] campaign setting was much simpler, instead presenting alternate racial traits that a dwarf could simply "swap in" that represented the Gold and Shield Dwarves of the [[Forgotten Realms]].

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'''Gold Dwarf Alternate Traits'''
::Replace Cast-Iron Stomach with Cast-Iron Mind (+5 racial bonus to saves against ongoing psychic damage)
::Replace Dwarven Weapon Proficiency with Gold Dwarf Weapon Proficiency (War Pick and the Maul)
'''Shield Dwarf Alternate Features'''
::Replace Dwarven Weapon Proficiency with either Dwarven Weapon Proficiency (Axe and Battleaxe) or Shield Proficiency (Light Shield)
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{{D&D4e-Races}}

==5th Edition==
Your trusty dwarf, of course, once again appeared in the [[Player's Handbook]], with the Mountain Dwarf and Hill Dwarf subraces. The [[Forgotten Realms|Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide]] added the [[Duergar]] subrace as well.

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::Ability Score: +2 Constitution
::Typical Alignment: Favor Lawful Good.
::Size: Medium. Listed as being between 4 and 5 feet tall, and average 150 pounds.
::Speed: 25 feet
::Darkvision
::Dwarven Resilience: Advantage on saving throws against poison, and resistance against poison damage.
::Dwarven Combat Training: Proficiency with Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, and, of course, Warhammer.
::Free tool proficiency with choice of smith's, brewer's or mason's tools.
::Stonecunning: Double Proficiency bonus when making history checks on the origin of stonework.
::Languages: Common and Dwarvish.

Of course, subraces get their own bonuses.

'''Hill Dwarf'''
::Ability Score: +1 Wisdom
::Dwarven Toughness: Free +1 max hp every level.

'''Mountain Dwarf'''
::Ability Score: +2 Strength (only subrace which allows you to start with two +2 bonuses)
::Dwarven Armor Training: Free Proficiency with Light and Medium Armor.

The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide also gave info on the Duergar subrace, the dour, evil cousins of the dwarves that inhabit the Underdark.

'''Duergar'''
::Ability Score: +1 Strength
::Superior Darkvision (120 feet max instead of plain Darkvision's 60 feet)
::Duergar Resilience: Advantage on saves against illusions and being charmed or paralyzed.
::Duergar Magic: Free Enlarge/Reduce at 3rd level, and free Invisibility at 5th level, but has an interesting limitation: they cannot be cast when you are in direct sunlight. The spells still work while you're in sunlight if you cast them somewhere else, but while you're in the sun, nada. Both spells recharge on a long rest, and use Intelligence as their spellcasting Modifier.
::Sunlight Sensitivity: Disadvantage on attack rolls and Perception checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you're trying to perceive, is in direct sunlight.
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{{D&D5e-Races}}

===Eberron===
Dwarves of [[Eberron]] were [[Frost Dwarf|originally from the Frostfell (north pole)]] before moving south. They control the world's banking due to House Kundarak's Mark of Warding enhancing security and the vast mineral wealth of their homeland. Otherwise the Dwarves of Eberron don't differ too much from the norm.

One [[RPGA]] module has a scholar with the theory that, unlike the rest of Eberron's races, Dwarves were not formed from Eberron, but from [[Dragon Gods|Khyber]] and reforged by [[Dragon Gods|Eberron]] to fight other creations of Khyber. This scholar posits that the short, muscular frame of the Dwarves was to allow them to fight Khyber's other creations (fiends) in [[Underdark|Khyber]]. The text of the module explicitly says this may or may not be true.

===3rd Party Settings===
;Arkadia
The [[Dwarves]] of the world of [[Arkadia]] believe they were forged by [[Erebos]], the God of Fire and Craftsmanship, from the stone and bronze of Kor Erebos, the volcano that is their ancestral homeland. Whilst there is a passing implication that the traditional dwarven subraces of Mountain Dwarf and Hill Dwarf exist in Arkadia, the race is primarily divided between two unique subraces, with all of the lore being lavished upon them.

'''Volcano Dwarves''' are the original form of the race, although they have spread from their fiery mountain homelands and now tend to smithies and shops throughout the great city-states; whilst the smith-priests of Erebos work bronze and even [[orichalcum]] in Kor Erebos, lesser volcano dwarves can be found working with metal, jewelry and glass wherever there is a market for such things. They make crystal glass and beaten lead funeral masks in Crixos; jewelry in Corinth; and rams, nails, and all the tools needed to furnish Ithean ships. Their most common work, however, is found in Kryta and Hyperium, where the bronze of their swords and spears and armor is prized above all others. Volcano dwarves have relatively light complexions, but are typically seared into permanent partial tans by the molten metal and stone with which they work. Their hair and beards, black or reddish brown, is worn in matted locks. They cap these coils in heavy beads of gold, bronze, or mountain glass. They trade with humans for royal colors of cloth and adorn themselves with thick rings and armbands, set with wide stones. In their native environment, volcano dwarves burrow into the deepest depths of the earth, tapping magma for heat, light, and raw minerals with which to work. Weirdly, it is stated that volcano dwarves are a "mysterious", "secretive" and "reclusive" folk, withdrawn from the daily life of other races. This then might explain the discrepancy noted above; it is possible that mountain and hill dwarves are considered volcano dwarves by culture, but "mountain" dwarves represent the warrior-clans, and "hill" dwarves represent those volcano dwarves who trade with humans or who have integrated into surface life.

'''Field Dwarves''' fill much the same role in Arkadia that [[halfling]]s fill elsewhere in the multiverse. Reputedly created when [[Phaedrus]], the God of Fae and Wilderness, lured away a portion of the dwarven race from their volcanic homes, these dwarves have become a simple folk who cherish wine, and growing things, and rich, dark earth. Forsaking metal and glass, field dwarves instead concern themselves with the shaping of clay and stone, or the cultivation of crops. The majority of the race live in the countryside as simple farmers, growing bounties of grapes, olives and other foodstuffs; those who have moved into the cities focus instead on masonry, pottery and sculpture. They are darker skinned and less ostentatious than their elder cousins, preferring loose hair and simple clothes in which they are comfortable.

The two races don't really like each other all that much. Volcano dwarves look down on field dwarves as lazy and unskilled, claiming they have forgotten their purpose in the world and are too addicted to the dark drink of wine. Field dwarves, in turn, think their volcano-dwelling cousins are stiff-necked stick-in-the-muds who need to loosen up and get over themselves.

Regardless of subrace, all Arkadian dwarves consider themselves Arkadians by blood if not by race, and thusly feel a strong kinship to the [[human]]s with whom they share their world.

Arkadian Dwarves have a unique take on the 5e dwarven core racial statblock: whilst it's mostly identical, it replaces Dwarven Weapon Proficiency with the following:

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::Arkadian Dwarven Weapon Proficiency: You are Proficient with the Sling, the (Bronze) Mace, the (Bronze) Sword and the (Bronze) Shortsword.

'''Volcano Dwarves''' have the following subrace traits:
::Added Tool Proficiency: You are Proficient with your choice of either Glassblower's Tools or Jeweler's Tools.
::Erebos' Gift: As a light activity during a long rest you may hone one simple or martial weapon. At the end of the long rest, the object becomes a magic item, if it is not already, granting a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls in addition to the weapon’s other effects. The weapon retains these benefits until you use this feature again. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

'''Field Dwarves''' have the following subrace traits:
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Wisdom
::Phaedrus' Gift: You may use your action to cause 4d4 magical grapes to grow from the soil at your feet. A creature can use its action to eat one or more of these grapes. Eating a grape restores 1 hit point, and the grape provides enough nourishment to sustain a creature for one day. You must finish a long rest before using this ability again. The grapes lose their potency if they have not been consumed within 24 hours of the use of this ability. The number of grapes created increases to 8d4 at 11th level and 16d4 at 17th level.
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;Midgard
The [[Midgard]] setting, having begun as a more nordic-inspired borderline [[Dark Fantasy]] setting, naturally has dwarfs in it. In fact, there are three major dwarven nations; the Northlanders, the Cantonals, and the Southlanders, although the Tome of Heroes added some more minor dwarven subraces.

Northlander dwarves lean heavily into the Nordic/[[Viking]] element, but are more mystical than your typical dwarves; bearskin-clad [[berserker]]s and [[wizard]]s who use enchanted rings as focuses for their powers are major elements of their culture. Mechanically, these guys just use the standard ''Mountain Dwarf'' statblock.

'''Cantonal''' dwarves are from the Ironcrags, and are, well, more "generically dwarfy". They're a race of smiths, miners, merchants and mercenaries, heavily involved in local politics. They use the ''Hill Dwarf'' statblock.

'''Southland''' dwarves hail from the [[Southlands]], the not!Africa of Mdigard, and are very distinct from their more northerly kin. With dark skin and dark hair, they are renowned primarily as alchemists and mystics. They get a unique statblock in the Midgard Heroes Handbook (+1 Intelligence and the trait "Dwarven Msticism", which gives them proficiency with alchemist's supplies and one of two racial cantrips; Guidance or Resistance), but weirdly this wasn't repeated in the Southlands Player's Guide, even though it did feature a much larger cultural writeup on the Southlands dwarves.

'''Fireforge''' dwrves are one of the two dwarven subraces added in the Tome of Heroes, and descend from clans of dwarves that made the gamble of settling in and around volcanoes to exploit the ambient heat and rare metals. Generations of living amidst the molten rock, and possibly some interbreeding with [[azer]]s (they don't say it ''explicitly'', but the two fiery dwarfkin ''are'' close allies...) has given them some unique traits, as well as a more "fiery" color scheme. Fireforge dwarves get +1 Intelligence, and the traits Burned Vision (you lose Darkvision), Expert Artisan (you gain proficienc y in either glassblower's or smith's tools, and double your proficiency bonus with them), Forgeborn (Resistance: Fire), Friend to the Azer (Ignan as a bonus language), and Reforge (as an action, you can repair a broken metal item, as per the Mending cantrip).

'''Spindrift''' dwarves have forsaken the earth and stone of their ancestors and instead taken to the seas, living on coasts, islands and, if legen is to be believed, artificial floating islands of their own construction. They get +1 Dexterity, replace Dwarven Combat Training with Dwarven Marine Training (free proficiency with club, handaxe, hand crossbow, net, rapier and scimitar), replace Tool Proficiency with Nautical Proficiency (you have Proficiency with Water Vehicles and either Carpenter's, Navigator's or Woodcarver's Tools), replace Stonecunning with Shipwright (apply double your Proficiency bonus to Invesigation checks made to evaluate the craftsmanship or seaworthiness of a sailing vessel) and have the unique racial traits Rigger (you have a Climb speed equal to your base speed when not wearing heavy armor or using a shield), Sailor's Eyes (you lose Darkvision), and Spindrift Step (1/short rest, as a bonus action, you can walk on water for rounds equal to your level as a Concentration effect; if you use this power whilst submerged, it only costs a Reaction and you are instead propelled towards the surface at a rate of 60ft per round).

;World of Farland
In the [[World of Farland]], some tweaks are made to the standard 5e dwarf. Most notably, Stonecunning is not a core racial trait for the Farlandish dwarf, and they have the unique subraces of '''Khazak''' and '''Dwamok''' dwarves.

'''Khazak''' dwarves, whose name means "High Folk", are the "pureblood" dwarf subrace of Farland, and analogous to the Mountain Dwarves of core 5e. These are the only dwarves with the Stonecunning trait, and they also gain +1 Strength and the unique racial trait ''Magic Resistance'', which gives them Advantage on saving throws against spells of one school of magic, set at character creation.

'''Dwamok''', or "Shieldfolk", are the Farlandish equivalent of Hill Dwarves. They gain +1 Wisdom and the Hill Dwarf's Dwarven Toughness trait, but also have the unique racial trait of ''Stable'', which grants them Advantage on checks made to resist being pushed and knocked prone, and lets them reduce the distance of involuntary movement effects they are subjected to by -5 feet.

"War of the Immortals" also introduces two historical dwarven subraces. '''Kibil-Gunders''' are the "ur-dwarf" stock, the original dwarven strain who lived in and around active volcanoes. They gain +1 Strength, the Dwarven Armor Training and Stonecunning traits, and the Heat Resistance trait (Advantage on saves against Fire damage, Advantage on Constitution checks against natural heat). '''Shieldfolk''' are, despite the shared name, the ancestral stock of the Dwamoks from the modern era, and so they trade the Stable Trait for free Proficiency with either Insight or Perception.

;Scarred Lands
Dwarves of [[Scarred Lands|Scarn]] are largely the same as the core 5E dwarf, just with Dwarven Armor Training and Dwarven Weapon Training switching places. The Player's Guide introduces the Kelder and [[Charduni]] dwarves, with Yugman's Guide to Ghelspad adding the Broadreach dwarves.

'''Kelder''' or Mountain Dwarves are native to Ghelspad and most make their home in the Kelder Mountains. They gain +1 Wisdom, Dwarven Weapon Training, and the ''Steadfast'' trait, which gives them advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

'''Charduni''' originate from Termana, and came to Ghelspad to expand their tyrannical empire. If the name didn't spell it out, they worship [[Chardun]] almost exclusively. They gain +1 Strength, Dense Flesh, which is just renamed Dwarven Toughness, and ''Charduni Combat Training'', which gives them proficiency with the light hammer, warhammer, warscepter, and the spiked chain.

'''Broadreach''' or Wood Dwarves are descended from Kelder Dwarves that escaped from slavery in Glivid-Autel to the Hornsaw Forest where they settled to live alongside the local elves. They gain +1 Dexterity, replace Stonecunning with ''Woodcunning'', gain advantage when examining woodwork, and the ''Keen Senses'' trait, which gives them proficiency in Perception.

;Seas of Vodari
The swashbuckling [[pirate]]-themed setting of [[Seas of Vodari]] is home to not only the standard Hill and Mountain Dwarves of 5e, but also a unique subrace; the '''Aurirn''', or '''Sea Dwarves'''. They descend from clans of dwarves who were ambitious or crazy enough to try and mine the unique metals seeping from a volcanic crack in the seafloor, where exposure to magical radiation mixed with dwarven stubbornness mutated them into an amphibious race capable of surviving underwater on their own. They're still part of dwarven society, but have grown somewhat more reclusive... but they're so stinking rich that even the most grizzled of traditional dwarves is forced to accept the scaly-skinned, web-digited water-breathing freaks, and many honor them for the sheer dedication it took to pull off so crazy a stunt as to set up underwater mines in the first place.

A sea dwarf has the standard 5e dwarf core racial traits and these unique subrace traits:

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::Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
::From the Depths. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet, and you can breathe air and water. You ignore any of the drawbacks caused by a deep, underwater environment.
::Fireborn. Adapted to living along the boiling cracks of the seafloor, you have resistance to fire damage.
</div></div>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Dwarf ODD1.png|Original D&D
Hill dwarf monster card.jpg|1e
Dwarf MCV2.jpg|2e
Dwarf MM 2e.png
Wild dwarf MCAV2.jpg|Wild Dwarf
Ravenloft 3e Dwarves.png|3e
Female Charduni Dwarf.jpg
4e_Dwarves_1.jpg|4e
4e_Dwarves_2.jpg
4e_Dwarves_3.jpg
4e_Female_Dwarf_Rogue_Concept.jpg
4e Female_Dwarf_Cleric_Concept.jpg
4e_Female_Dwarf_Rampaging_Brute.jpg
4e_Female_Dwarf_Wizard.jpg
Eva_Widermann_4e_Female_Dwarves.jpg
4e_Dwarf_Warlock_Concept.png
5e Dwarf.png|5e
RacesDramagAthasdwarves.jpeg|[[Dark Sun]]
Dwarf_PF_2e.png|Pathfinder 2e, playing it straight for once
Dwarf_Monk.png|It's easy to reach your face once I've broken your balls and kneecaps, Manling!
Nhalmika Ironsight.png|Shortstack shotgun MILF, because why the hell ''not''?
Stafinder Dwarf.png|Starfinder, going Deep in the Galactic Rock
SF Dwarf Teacher.png
</gallery>

=Dwarf Fortress=
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
This is how Dwarves appear in [[Dwarf Fortress]].
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
===Dwarven Physiology===
[[Image:KHALID_OAKDICK.jpg|KHALID OAKDICK, BEARDKING OF THE KINGBEARD CLAN!|300px|thumb|right]]
Dwarves typically consist of seventeen main organs: The beard (yes, female dwarves have these too), the boozehole, the gratuitous Celtic accent, 13 livers and an axe. Many outsiders erroneously dismiss a dwarf's axe as an implement of the most common trade, but recent experiments probing into dwarven society (and consuming dwarven booze) have revealed that it is in fact a rare biological example of a fully detachable organ.

The beard is used primarily for attracting mates, and probably something to do with converting argon gas into vitamin C. I mean, these guys live on mead and rocks, so they gotta get antioxidants somehow, right? We'll just go with that. The only notable thing to remember about dwarf beards is that when a pansy human and a dwarf argue over whether or not shaved chicks are better, they're probably not on the same page. The thirteen livers do the same thing as a human liver, just thirteen times better (equaling 169 times the alcohol). Maybe other shit, too, but dwarves don't have time for boring biology crap. Moving on. Boozeholes are for booze. There's other shit you can throw in there too, but those things mostly just act like a sponge, hampering the booze-absorption process. If a particularly whiny dwarf feels the need to "not starve to death," he can fill his empty boozehole with some nice non-porous rocks, or maybe a stack of five wine and rendered fat biscuits if he's really desperate. The accent is used for interrace relations, since dorfs typically spice up their sentences with foul swears and oaths the incomprehensibility of the accent is the only reason a dorf-notdorf alliance was ever made.

==Mating Practices==
The dwarven male touches the female and promptly impregnate them. She then immediately falls in love with the dwarf male (love was originally something created for record keeping but has evolved into the ability to share one's room) and has a baby nine months later. Then the baby dies on a goblin's -copper spear-

Dwarfs do not [[half-dwarf|interbreed]] with the other races. Dwarf sperm is too corrosive to fertilize any woman that doesn't have +4 save vs. poison, and dwarven wombs don't even acknowledge the weak spoor of even the most fecund of human gigolos. The only [[half-dwarf]] is a bisected dwarf, likely from an unfortunate axeident.

==Society==
Dwarven cities, called "fortresses", are underground. Now, we're not talking nice little hillside retreats full of plenty of free cake and fat, chain-smoking midgets. I'm looking at you, "Ring Bearer." No, dwarves live in mountains they carve out themselves with their bare fucking hands. I kid you not. Those *copper picks* are purely status symbols.

Your average dwarf spends his free time wishing he had more to do or, ideally, has no free time. If a dwarf ain't busy building something huge, epically awesome and dwarfy, he ain't happy. Idleness in dwarves has been medically proven to result in depression, erectile dysfunction, chronic sobriety, facial pattern baldness and [[elves|pointy ears]].

Other honorable pursuits among dwarves include digging, metalworking, stoneworking, brewing booze, killing goblins, killing kobolds, thinking of new ways to kill giants, tragically neglecting safety protocol when visited by elven liaisons, swindling gullible elves and humans, and drinking contests.

Dwarven politics are a funny thing, even if they are obviously superior to all that sissy tall people "let's talk about our problems" bullshit. Upon visiting a [[Dwarf Fortress|dwarven stronghold]], you will notice a perhaps disproportionate number of dwarves running around draped in purple velvet and pimpin' bling. Absolutely fucking useless.

No, if you want to find the guy in charge, whip out your measuring stick, 'cause the largest beard you come across is likely attached to the boozehole giving the orders. The owners of these beautiful, shaggy neck blankets often go for bonus points by decking out their beards with thick braids and two-ton cast iron phallic symbols and whatever else their presumably dwarfy square jaws can support. If you need a question answered, these are the guys who'll tell you "no, fuck you, we're doing it my way."

==Religion==
[[File:Ironbeard_dwarfbreath.JPG|300px|thumb|right|Dwarves will build elaborate floodgates and use them as weapons, even as their clothes rot from their bodies.]]
In a time before time, the god of blood ([[Khorne|no, not that one... at least probably not]]) created the universe on a colossal anvil, and then molded the first dwarves with earth, blood, and magma. He also molded the other races out of mud and dust, but he was less than pleased with them. Then He sat back, and as the universe grew older and more peaceful, He grew bored.

He called his children around Him, and said. "Dwarves. This universe grows boring. I will remake it on the forge of creation, unless it becomes less boring"

The dwarves were obviously terrified. And then Urist, the firstborn and the bravest of them, had an idea. He asked His god how could they possibly make the universe less boring for Him.

So He gave His chosen people, the dwarves, their holy mission: to make this world a world of everlasting conflict, so He may escape divine boredom. He gave them their tools of war : the axe, the hammer, the floodgate and the lever, so they may shed blood and magma in His name.

Dwarves worship the stone and earth that surrounds them. Each strike of the pick is a psalm, and each tunnel is a sacrament, and the miner is the dwarves's priest.

Dwarves worship the fiery magma that they were made of. Magma is a purifying force and therefore they pour it on [[elf|elves]], kobolds, goblins and other less worthy creatures.

Dwarves also worship blood, as one of the elements of life, and shed the blood of lesser creatures because it pleases Him, else the universe will be set upon the anvil of creation to be reforged.

Everything a dwarf does is to please their god of blood.

The song of the pick and of the battle axe is music to His ears. The magma-charred corpse of an elf is food to His hunger. The spilled lifeblood of goblins is drink for His insatiable thirst.

PRAISE ARMOK! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
</div></div>

=Magic the Gathering=
Oddly enough, while Human, [[Elf]], and [[Goblin]] are all common, well defined creature types, Dwarfs are quite rare in [[Magic: The Gathering]]. Dwarfs have no solid theme and virtually no tribal effects (4, one of which isn't a Dwarf, compared to 64 Dwarf cards) either. Virtually all dwarfs come from early sets, [[Kaladesh]] or [[Shadowmoor|Eventide]]. They are (with the exception of one wizard and two Black vampires) all Red and/or (more commonly now) White. Why they were ever Red in the first place is unclear, since Dwarfs are traditionally the opposite of every single part of Red: Defensive, emotionally restrained, patient, traditionally minded and disinclined to raw offensive magic. Possibly because Dwarfs are associated with mountains, which are, of course, the Red mana producing land. Dwarves do show up once in one of the novels, where they help Urza's Coalition fight the Phyrexians, primarily by giant tunneling machines.

=Historical Comparison=
On the whole Dwarves across fiction tend to have the following tendencies...

* Are typically employed in metal related artisanry rather than as agricultural workers
** Additionally in fantasy settings with technology on higher level (warhammer fantasy is a good example) Dwarves are typically the ones with the most advanced. If any one has gun powder, they do.
* Tend to live in tightly-knit relatively insular communities and have interconnected extended families.
* Despite that, these communities work in conjunction and are dependent on other peoples (ale is made from barley, which - like all plants - tends not to grow well at the bottom of a mine without sunlight) which generally outnumber them, trading their metalworks and other products in exchange for food.
* While they can speak the languages of others that surround them quite well, they usually use their own language amongst themselves
* Are conservative (in that their society is the way that they like it, thank you very much, and seldom change it, if ever)
* Tend to put a great amount of emphasis on the written word
* Often have their communities come under assault by [[Orc|stupid brutish morons]]
* Grow long beards (depending on the universe, women included)
* Generally are a declining race having suffered some disaster at their golden age and are slowly dying off.

As such, if one thinks in terms of historical analogues, Dwarves come across as early Germanics, Australians and, in a more [[Tolkien]]-influenced work, Jews. Tolkien said that his "dwarves of course are quite obviously - wouldn't you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic obviously, constructed to be Semitic." The comparison was largely a stylistic choice - semitic languages are quite different in structure from Indo-European languages (being a linguist, he put a lot of thought into his made-up languages), while thematically, the loss of Erebor and the exile of Thorin's people resembled the plight of the post-Roman Jewish diaspora. Of course, [[SJW|some people]] suggest that the real reason for the comparison was racist in nature - both dwarves and the stereotype of Jews are that they're greedy. Tolkien however made it a point that his characters, while just as fallible as any other human being, were ultimately heroic and honorable.

On the other hand, much of Dwarven culture, like most aspects of Tolkien's major races, derives from early Germanic culture - Tolkien's Dwarves are even named after Dwarves from Norse mythology; nearly all dwarven names come directly from the Norse Eddas. In many fantasy universes, they tend to ape Scandinavian culture much more directly, which is fitting, considering the mythology they come from. [[Warhammer Fantasy|Even if there are already]] [[Warriors of Chaos|Scandinavian]] [[Warhammer Fantasy|people in the setting]].

Another common historical analogue are Celts, in particular Scots, living in clans, in the mountains, full of berserker rage when angered, hospitable when not, gruff, wear horned helmets, are drunkards, short, grippy with money, brew the strongest ales, skilled artificers and usually starters of anything remotely resembling industrialization, are fond of Celtic knotwork and of course speak in Scottish accents like many depictions of dwarves.

Of note is is the spelling: Dwarves VS Dwarfs. when in doubt, look for how it's used in the setting involved. Nearly everyone uses the first spelling when regarding the fantasy creature. The Dwarfs variation is mainly used in astronomy, biology (dwarfism), the Snow White animation movie, the Discworld novels, and the [[Warhammer_Fantasy_Battle|WFB]] race. The latter is actually the original, more common version. Tolkien viewed 'dwarfs' rather unsightly, and coined 'dwarves' (paralleling elf-> elves, and wolf -> wolves. Related: milf -> milves). Usually, Dwarf is the singular, Dwarves is the plural.

=Etymology=
The most common name for a dwarf on /tg/, however, is Dorf (plural: Dorfz), which results from psudophonetics, as do many /tg/ related words and [[meme]]s.

=Real Life Dwarves=
Dwarfism in humans is something that's been around for forever though (obviously) unlike in mythology and religion where they are often either a cousin-race of humans or a separate humanoid species - in real life they are a result of hormonal imbalances arising in early infancy or childhood. The average height of real-life dwarves is ~120cm/4ft though sizes up to +140cm/4.5ft can be reached as well. Additionally there are several types of dwarfism with the most common being ''achondroplasia'' or limb-shortening. There's also Homo floresiensis who, while yes were nicked named the human hobbit were talking about real life dwarves here not the halfling page, were a sub species of humanity who as far as we can tell were very, very short, the skeleton we found being just a bit over a meter.

Historically their treatment was all over the place, from being displayed for entertainment and generally shunned through being accepted as regular or even esteemed members of society (such as in ancient Egypt). In recent times, actors such as Peter Dinklage have brought much positive attention to dwarves and they are generally treated as equals in all but the most backwards countries.

=Monstergirls=
{{Monstergirls}}
[[File:MGE Dwarf.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Ravioli ravioli do not lewd the hammer loli(No, not even if she asks!).]]
Whether or not dwarves can be [[monstergirls]] is an issue of.. some debate on /tg/. See, whereas the [[elf]] races have always been portrayed as full of beautiful women (and men, depending on your preferences), and female elves are the archetype for elfin characters, dwarves are considered an incredibly masculine race; there's doubtlessly only one female dwarf character at most that you can name for every ten male ones. Add to it the ancient lore of dwarven women being bearded, and female dwarves have generally been in the sad position of being considered ''less'' inherently fuggable than female [[goblin]]s and [[orc]]s.

But this is /tg/, and fantasy has moved on. As editions have gone past, D&D dwarves have gotten hotter and sexier, their fembeard past consigned to [[Discworld|one particular comic relief section of fantasy]] and the desks of the most hardcore [[grognard]]s, and /tg/ has slowly begun to open to the idea that dwarf women can be hot.

The monstergirl dwarf typically fills what is called the [[shortstack]] niche; small yet truly curvaceous women (which was actually the canon direction D&D 4e took for them) who let their stature work ''for'' them in terms of being sexy. The modern iteration of the dwarf monstergirl often incorporates aspects of either the [[musclegirl]] (a strong yet sexy woman), the ladette (a hot woman who nonetheless acts like one of the guys), or both; the end result is a hard-playing hot woman who will sit on the couch with you, nestled neatly into your lap as she cheers on the wrestling or the monster trucks of whatever, eating spicy wings and chugging beer by the gallon, and who'll then drag you into bed and fuck you until the bed breaks (then fixing it afterwards), all whilst being the perfect height you can pick her up and carry her around. Or she can give you boobsex without even needing to bend down.

Or there's the Japanese take on the idea, where your female dwarf is a spunky, super-strong [[loli]] with an elaborately oversized hairdo, as seen in hentai like [[Queen's Blade]]. The [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]] infamously went this route for its dwarf mamono, creating one of the youngest-looking lolis in its archive until the even-more-controversial [[Slime|Humpty Egg]] was released. The MGE Dwarf is a [[succubus]]-type mamono who specializes in applying its dexterous fingers to give absolutely incredible handjobs, although it relishes the chance to show off its [[goblin]]-like stretchiness by making even the biggest manhood disappear.

A third option is the dirndl-clad traditional lady, often carrying several large tankards of ale for the thirsty men. This plays more to their German roots and caters to an entirely different kind of taste. Incidentally, male dwarves wearing the ''tracht'' that form the counterparts of said dresses (think something like lederhosen) is rather uncommon.

Ironically, despite the existence of Bes above, dwarf monstergirls as dusky-skinned skimpily clad party girl [[shortstack]]s has never appeared on /tg/.

=See Also=
* [[Unified_Setting/Dwarf]]
* [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)]]
* [[Dwarf Fortress]]
* [[Squat]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWz0qVvBZ0 Diggy Diggy Hole], a song based on a one-note joke in a Yogscast video on [[Minecraft]], but manages to summarize the true dwarven way of life perfectly, it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34CZjsEI1yU has eventually gone on to be covered by a full metal band].

=Gallery=
<center>
<gallery>
-Neanderthal-Comparison-2.jpg|Some choose to believe that Neanderthals were the forefathers of the concept of the Dwarves, and they rightfully look like one too... God bless our extinct stone-age brethren.
</gallery>
</center>

[[Category:Dwarves]][[Category:Dwarf Fortress]][[Category:Scarred Lands Races]][[Category:Monsters]]

RIFTS

2023-05-15T14:31:59Z

2607:FB91:1A7D:1AE4:8CBD:231C:2ED6:E7FF: /* Races and Monsters */

[[File:Rifts_Cover_Large.jpg|thumb|A Splugorth Slaver and his bitches]]
'''RIFTS''' is a [[RPG|roleplaying game]] made by the [[Palladium Books]] publishing company. Rifts takes place on earth about 300 years after a nuclear holocaust caused a magical reawakening and killed over two thirds of humanity. In the course of the apocalypse many things changed in the world, Atlantis rose out of the ocean which flooded most Atlantic coastlines (killing even more people), the four horsemen appeared in Africa (where they killed more people), the Lord of the Deep was awakened (He didn't kill anyone at the time), and most importantly Rifts began to open up which let numerous alien races spill out into the world. Where many of them were and are still being killed.

Rifts, for which the game is named, are what makes Rifts Earth so incredibly crazy. These Rifts allow for dimensional travel and allow everything from friendly fluff balls to malevolent alien gods out for a stroll onto Earth. So all the while the people who thought their lives couldn't get any worse now have to compete with displaced extra-dimensional beings trapped here. Those not content with just being friends with everybody chose to fight even the nicest of D-Bee's (Slang term for dimensional beings). Thus the Coalition was formed. Made up of a bunch of pricks who managed to take control of ancient super-city/fortresses wage constant war against Aliens, supernatural beings and magic users. Meanwhile all kinds of other horrible things go on all across Rifts Earth. [[grimdark|This is a really shitty place to live]].

==Disclaimer==
Every Rifts book begins with a disclaimer that warns that the book contains violence, war, magic and the supernatural. Which is redundant since every cover of every source book contains an image that shows at least one, or more commonly all four of them. The disclaimer is often accompanied by some artwork that depicts some violence or one of the other four as well. This disclaimer was a response to the wave of [[Dark Dungeons|anti-RPG]] [[Mazes and Monsters|hysteria]] in the 80s and early 90s, and its inclusion in saner times is one of many things that shows the game's age.

==Character Classes==
Rifts has a huge selection of character classes, almost as many as it does playable races. Usually a half-dozen or more with nearly every book. Some are basic Occupational Character Classes, others are Racial Character Classes that are tied to the character's race.

Character Classes is Rifts are typically very front-loaded. You'll get 90% or more of a Class' features(if it has any) right off the bat at first level. Growth is measured by an increase of those abilities and Skill proficiency.

And there are a ''lot'' of skills. Class Skills are divided into "O.C.C. Skills", which form the backbone of the class and typically have fairly hefty bonuses to use them. This usually also includes weapon proficiencies and combat skills; O.C.C. Related Skills, secondary areas of training; and "Other" Skills, which are more like personal areas of interest for the character.

Any attempt to list them all will inevitably be spun off into it's own page, but some of the more notable are:

*'''Body Fixer:''' A travelling doctor and Xenology expert. Is technically the party healer, if not for the fact that most weapons in Rifts will turn your body to a fine mist once your armor goes down. But if you happen to get sick, he's your man.
*'''Borg''': A 'Borg is a warrior who has given up their squishy human body for one of Mega-Damage alloys, becoming a twenty-four hour war machine. This shreds their magical juice, but also lets them upgrade themselves almost endlessly with extra parts and stat increases, limited only by the game's byzantine and granular rules and the depth of their wallets. It also replaces many of their physical stats, so the RNG won't screw you as hard. Your Robot Strength isn't as good as Supernatural Strength in many ways (the ''incoherent'' carrying capacity charts will fuck you particularly hard), but unlike Supernatural Strength you can still apply numerical bonuses, and yours doesn't stop working in anti-magic worlds or zones.
** '''Anti-Monster''': A Techno-Wizard cyborg warrior from Colombia. Their bodies are transformed into hulking supernatural beings, with a few magical abilities on top. When the Minion War came to Earth(again), more than three-quarters of the Anti-Monsters went AWOL to fight the demons, and the ones left behind started petitioning the Colombian government to make more.
** '''Dragon Borg''': A Japanese 'Borg with a powerful Dragon-shaped body.
** '''Mining Borg''': A 'Borg who got his body in an attempt to strike it rich mining for precious metals, minerals, and the like. But beware, anything that can dig holes in a mountain can do the same to ''you''.
*'''Burster''': A master psychic with a focus on pyrokinesis. A burster can shoot fire, control fire, and sheathe themselves in a fiery aura. For those who want to watch the world burn, or put it out.
**'''Zapper''': Pretty much the same as a Burster, but his power is ''Electro''kinesis, with a hefty dose of Telekinesis as well.
**'''Surger''': Hydrokinesis Burster. Most of these aren't found on dry land, for some reason. So you get a lot in Lemuria.
*'''City Rat''': Your typical Cyberpunk gang member found in high-tech cities or the 'Burbs outside the Coalition's Fortress-cities, usually a teenager or young adult.
*'''Coalition RPA Pilot''': The elite Mecha and Power Armor pilots of the Coalition States.
*'''Cosmo-Knight''': One of the game's more infamous classes, these are basically [[Paladin]]s gone Silver Surfer. Called to serve in the Three Galaxies by an engine of creation known as the Cosmic Forge, Cosmo-Knights can fly through space, shoot energy blasts, and because they only take [[Damage Reduction |one hundredth damage from energy weapons]], can fight battlecruisers single-handed.
[[File:Cyber_v_Juice.png|thumb|A Cyber-Knight battles a Coalition Juicer]]
*'''Crazy''': One of the many forms of Human Augmentation developed before the Great Cataclysm, The '''Mind Over Matter''' system manipulates the recipient's brain to improve their reflexes and let them push their bodies to their limits. It even throws in a few psychic powers. Unfortunately, it also drives them crazy. Like, ''Deadpool''/''Looney Tunes'' crazy. One of the few player options to get automatic dodge, but the random side effects and roleplay requirements are harsh. Notably, lots of crazies eventually end up killing someone innocent and cute thanks to their paranoia and super-reflexes, which eventually drives them to suicide or homicidal insanity. There are crazy variants of many other classes, like the gunslinger.
*'''Cyber-Doc''': Much like a Body Fixer, the main difference being, as the name suggests, is that the Cyber-Doc is primarily skilled in the implantation, repair, and maintenance of cybernetics and bionics. He can even make them more effective. If your party has a good number of cybernetics, he's pretty much a must.
*'''Cyber-Knight''': A cross between a [[Paladin]] and a Jedi. Cyber-Knights are defenders of the weak and innocent. At first, they were known by their cybernetically-implanted armor and psychic energy swords, a later sourcebook gave them additional powers, notably a force-like ability to know when any technological device was turned against them.
*'''Dog Boy''': [[Furry|Mutant dogs]] created by the Coalition to hunt magic-users, Dog Boys can sense the presence of magic-users and supernatural beings like a hunting dog sniffing out prey.
*'''Dolphin/Orca/Humpback Whale''': Yes, the game lets you play as a fucking whale. Dolphins have innate magic, while all three know various abilities they can use on Ley Lines. Some seaborne Human kingdoms will even outfit friendly Dolphins and Orcas with special underwater Power Armor just for them.
**'''Pneuma-Biform''': A fusion of Cetacean and Human created to be minions by the Deep-Sea horror known as the Lord of the Deep. Unlike its other monsters however, their souls merged too, allowing them to retain their free will. Of course, the Lord of the Deep didn't find that out until he had already created thousands of them. Pneuma-Biforms can change can transform into a Human form for a few hours, allowing players to be able to play as a Whale without missing much too much action on dry land(might wanna keep a ''large'' water tank handy if they wanna leave the coast, though). They also have some innate magic, so that's a plus.
*'''Dragon Hatchling''': Yes, you can play a [[Dragon]], albeit one only up to just over a month old(and as young as literally born yesterday). Dragon Hatchings have innate magical abilities, a body that can go toe-to-toe with a suit of power armor and stand a good chance of winning, and a number of other (super)natural abilities depending on their individual species.
*'''Elemental Fusionist''': A while back, Rifts actually got a video game, and by all accounts from those who played it, it was pretty good. Unfortunately, it came out on the ''Nokia N-Gage'', a would-be competitor to the Game Boy Advance which of course suffered the fate of every other system that tried to take Nintendo on in the handheld area(to say nothing of the memes making fun of its crappy-ass design). But it did leave a legacy in this class, which the makers of the game got to make up themselves. Elemental Fusionists are wilderness spellcasters who channel the latent Elemental energy of the planet. They also combine these elements, but always in clashing pairs(i.e.: Fire/Water or Air/Earth).
*'''Gizmoteer''': A sort of Psychic [[Artificer]] from an alien colony in South America. What sets this guy apart is its ability to charge any direct energy weapon to use Psychic energy instead of a power pack. The only drawback to this is that you have to pay a power points cost equal to its payload in order to fuel it. However the ''very same book it was introduced in'' also features a potent Anti-Tank laser rifle on par with the Glitter Boy's, that comes with the drawback of a payload of only one shot(that is to say, it drains an entire E-Clip, which can give most guns 20-30 shots, in one blast). You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to abuse this combination.
*'''Glitter Boy''': Rarely has a class been so defined by it's equipment. The Glitter Boy is the pilot of a suit of power-armor of the same name, a ten-foot-tall beast wrapped in gleaming laser-resistant armor and carrying a powerful railgun that can core a modern battle tank in a single shot. Some Glitter Boys are part of long-standing family traditions stretching all the way back to the Great Cataclysm.
*'''[[Gunslinger]]''': One of the best classes from the New West sourcebooks, most of whom boil down to "Gunslingers but less good at fighting." They have the somewhat unique ability to fight, parry, and riposte with two pistols at once, and they're super-fast quickdraw artists with a Fear rating.
**'''Psi-Slinger''': A variant of the Gunslinger who augments his shooting abilities with psionic power, such as firing energy bolts from his fingers and altering the power of energy attacks that hit him. Not quite as good at gunslinging ''as'' the Gunslinger, but gets psionics as well as fucking mind bullets.
**'''Wired Sligner''': Somebody thought that giving Crazy-style implants to a ''Gunslinger'' was a good idea. They basically are Crazies that swap out the psychic powers for a Gunslinger's sharp-shooting abilities. Not as funny as the vanilla Crazy, there are just some jittery adrenaline junkies. Who are also more than a little insane.
*'''Headhunter''': This started out as he basic [[Fighter]] of the game, i.e. "Dude with a gun". Over time however, the class evolved into a bionically-augmented tech-warrior and monster slayer.
*'''Juicer''': Juicers are warriors who wear a harness that feeds them a steady drip of a cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs to push their bodies well past the human limit. Unfortunately, this burns their body out and kills them in five to seven years. Since then, people have refined the formula, tweaking the transformation for faster speed, more muscle mass(and metal to lace the skeleton enough to carry all that), and even supernatural strength and toughness(but when you burn out, you ''literally'' burn out, eventually exploding like a small bomb). Some dude even figured out a way to make a juicer powered by the blood of Dragons. Another of the rare methods of getting automatic dodge.
*'''Ley Line Walker''': Rifts' fancy way of saying [[Wizard]]. But they do come with a lot of abilities that deal with manipulating the energy from Ley Lines, including the ability to float or walk in the air along them. So at least the class earns its name.
*'''Mercenary Soldier/Robot Pilot''': With the expansion of the Headhunter Class, Palladium needed a new basic "Man with a Gun and Guts" O.C.C.. So in the Ultimate Edition we got these two. Not much special to them feature-wise, but they have a number of skills, and are pretty damn good with them. Robot Pilots, as you may have guessed, are the guys who get to pilots mechs and power armor. If [[Gundam]] or [[Battletech]] is your thing, this class is a good place to start.
*'''Lycanmorph''': A weird, armor plated being commonly found in Europe with a simple, childlike temperament. They have the ability to cocoon themselves to heal themselves or metamorphosis into a beetle-like flying creature or a heavily-armored battle form.
*'''Mind Melter''': An incredibly powerful psychic, who can have weakened versions of the Burster or Zapper's powers, move objects with his mind, Create an energy sword like a Cyber-Knight, Fire bolts of mind energy like a Psi-Slinger, read your mind, erase your memories, hypnotize you or straight-up possess your body like a ghost, mentally operate machines, fuck up your nervous system, erect energy fields, keep other Mind Melters from doing all the above to ''them''(and his friends) and more. All at the same time.
*'''Mystic''': A combination of both Psychic and Mage. A bit like a [[Sorcerer]] in concept, They can also open themselves to the supernatural world around them, making them something like a magic radar.
*'''Nega-Psychic''': In Palladium's contemporary Horror RPG '''Beyond the Supernatural''', were a type of skeptic in psionics, magic and the supernatural whom ironically was himself Psychic. This disbelief fed his power, unconsciously disrupting the powers of magic-users, psychics and supernatural beings around him. In ''Rifts'', however, there's too much going on for ''anybody'' to deny, so Rifts Nega-Psychics are fueled instead by defiance. Less "They don't exist!", and more "I don't give a fuck!".
*'''Operator''': A skilled mechanic class. Given the necessity of high-tech weapons and equipment in this game, he's almost your party healer. Some Operators have psionics that allow them to work better or even mentally interface with machines.
*'''Psi-Stalker''': A mutant human subspecies that feeds on the psychic energy used to power magic and supernatural beings. Because of their abilities to detect their prey, the Coalition often recruits Psi-Stalkers to lead packs of Dog Boys.
*'''Rogue Scholar/Scientist''': The Knowledge- and Skill-Monkey of the game. Pretty much a [[Bard]] without the magic. This being Rifts, however, there are a lot of people around willing to kill for what you know and/or are trying to learn(or teach). so they're not useless in a fight.
*'''Shifter''': Think a summoner mixed in with 90's goth callbacks, this is the class that edgy "shoot up the school" kid we all know would play. Summons monsters and demons through rifts and bends them to his will. He can also make deals with powerful supernatural beings (Gods, Alien Intelligences, and the like) to give him personal power.
*'''Tattooed Man''': Also known as a ''T-Man'', this is a warrior whose body is covered in magic tattoos, which can create weapons or attack creatures among other effects. Many T-Men are servants or slaves of the Splugorth, most of the others includes True Atlanteans( who were teached how create their tattoos by a race of dragon far before Atlantis'fall) of several occupations, in particular Undead Slayers .
*'''Techno-Wizard''': A spellcaster-mechanic who combines magic and technology to make magic weapons(basically a Cyberpunk [[Artificer]]. These can range from a flaming sword to magic-powered mecha. For some reason, they like dressing like WWII-era bomber pilots.
*'''Vagabond''': You're pretty much a hobo. Just a dude wandering around doing whatever, who's only Class Feature is "Eyeball a Fella". Yeah, after all the classes listed above, you ain't picking this one.
*'''Warlock''': Not exactly like [[Warlock|those guys]]. A spellcaster who makes a connection with beings from the [[Elemental Planes]] Their spells are often powerful, but naturally limited by their focus.
*'''Wilderness Scout''': As the name implies, these are the men and women who have gone out and mastered the monster-infested wilds between the towns and cities(so yeah, pretty much a [[Ranger]]). Unless you plan to keep your adventures tied to one city, consider bringing one along.
*'''Wolfen Quatoria''': From the Three Galaxies setting, these a basically itinerant Law-Wolf Cyborgs.

==Races and Monsters==

Rifts has a '''LOT''' of playable races. Aside from Humans, Psi-Stalkers(Human mutants) and Dog Boys, there are tons of D-Bees(Dimensional Beings), Basically aliens from other dimensions that were yanked to Earth from their homeworlds during the Great Cataclysm, or explorers and refugees that came after. These range from Fantasy races such as Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Ogres and Giants, to strangers things like insect- or plant-people, giant slugs, Ectoplasmic creatures, demons, and more.

*'''Alien Intelligence''': Eldritch horrors of incredible power, and more than often enough evil. Your average Alien Intelligence can be described as "A giant mass of flesh with more eyes and tentacles than anything should ever need". Many are powerful enough to rival Gods(and some, like Chronos and Aspu, ''are'' Gods). One type is responsible for Vampires. Another type (the one that tends to come up the most in gameplay and lore) is the Splugorth, who are basically cosmic horrors as asshole capitalist imperialist slavers, with a uniform but highly diverse set of minions shared between all members of the "species".

*'''Alterans''': These Blind Warrior Women are (mostly) loyal slaves of the Splugorth. They look almost just like Humans, but are bald and reproduce asexually via cloning.

*'''Arkhons''': Lizard-Cat aliens that tried to invade Earth thousands of years ago, but got defeated by the Nazca Lines. In 74 PA, a disgraced Arkhon clan decided to try again, not knowing how much the Earth had changed since then. Needless to say, it didn't go well. But several of their ships managed to force a landing in South America and carved out their own little kingdom with their Cyborg hunters, psychic operatives, and hybrid energy weapons. A few more landed on Mars, which is currently overrun by mutant insects unleashed centuries ago by a mad scientist.

*'''True Atlantean''': The descendants of the original civilization of Atlantis. These guys are effectively Elves in Human form. They are one of the originators of Tattoo and Stone Magic.

*'''Cactus People''': A peaceful race of plant people who live out in the New West. Unfortunately for them, their blood is delicious, and this has led evil or desperate people to kill them as a source of water or sustenance in the deserts.

* '''Chasseur Vert''': Oddly French Plant-people. Lived on the same world as the Spinne, and warred with them for centuries because, well, they're delicious. But that was a long time ago, and they get along now(mostly). Chasseur Vert are nature-loving hedonists who can shoot sticky sap from their hands, and have more than their share of artists and philosophers.

*'''Cyber-Horsemen''': Somewhere out in Canada(around British Columbia) is a High-tech city of Centaurs called '''Ixion'''. Unlike their more rustic kin often found around Canada and the Northern US, the Cyber-Horsemen often augment their bodies with cybernetics.

*'''D'Norr''': Often called "Devilmen" due to their red skin and small horns(kinda look like [[Tieflings]], except they don't have hair, and the backs of their heads are spikey and slightly elongated). Extremely charismatic but have ''no'' supernatural abilities. The D'Norr had never evem heard of magic before coming to Earth, and are fascinated by it. As such, nearly half of them are magic-users. Needless to say, this puts them near the top of the Coalition's shit list.

*'''[[Giant]]s''': Mostly hail from the Palladium World, but can be found on Earth from time to time.
**'''Algor''': These [[Frost Giant]]s are named after a cold(in nearly every sense of the word) and aloof God in the Palladium Fantasy RPG world. They stand 14-16' tall and can breathe blasts of bone-chilling frost in combat.
**'''Cyclops''': The classic One-Eyed giant. Have the ability to create lightning arrows and javelins. Anyone else who tries to learn the art gets fucked up by Demons.
**'''Jotan''': Hill Giants. The largest and toughest of the Giants. And unlike other breeds of Hill Giant, fairly smart too. Their crafts skills are second only to Dwarves.
**'''Gigantes''': Bizzare(and often insane) mutants. Gigates have a dizzying array of appearances and abilities, such as turning invisible, having a second mouth, or looking like a giant ape. It is rare to find two with the same mutations/abilities.
**'''Nimro''': Fire-breathing [[Fire Giant]]s. A group of them have established their own kingdom in Turkey.
**'''Rahu-Men''': A rare race of four-armed Giants. A Rahu-Man named "General" Rasheen lives in the NGR and is pretty much Martin Luther King as a giant four-armed Cyber-Knight.
**'''Titan''': A race of handsome and good Giants. One runs a city in what was once Houston, Texas.

*'''Grackle-Tooth(Jin-Roh)''': These good-natured Dinosaur-like people stand eight to ten feet tall and up to 800 lbs of pure muscle with a prehensile tail. They mostly live in the New West.

*'''Iktektumiks''': Also known as Iktek Diggers. These Armadillo-like creatures came from the Deific Realm of a forgotten god, where, at 7-9 feet tall and nearly as tough as a 'Borg, they were among the ''smallest'' creatures there and preyed upon by pretty much everything.

*'''Kraks (Quartigo Cephlapodans)''': A short race of Green to Brown-skinned D-Bees with two tentacles coming from their cheeks. They are big-time social mimics who rapidly adopt the languages, dress, and customs of those around them. They're basically [[Halfling]]s that in their youth chose to be Squids rather than Kids.

*'''Kreeghor''': A race of heavily-armored humanoids that were originally slaves of the Splugorth, but managed to fight for their own freedom with the help of the suddenly-appearing "Royal" Kreeghor subspecies. They then promptly began a campaign of galactic conquest to inflict that same misery on the rest of the Three Galaxies.

*'''Larmac''': You know every stereotype about the poor, various immigrants and/or ethnic minorities that are not the speaker being lazy and shiftless? With these lizard men, that's pretty much true. But even they can be inspired to great efforts... if you promise them some time off afterwards.

*'''Loronids''': These mutant parrots were created by the Achilles Project under ''Project: Norwegian Blue''. They were made to be essentially superior data analysts, skilled in number crunching and pattern recognition. These remarkable birds have the needed data-crunching and analysis skills, beautiful plumage, and a number of psychic powers, but unfortunately they also turned out to essentially have severe Attention Deficit Disorder as a standard mental state, causing them to be either very lazy(prefers keeping on their backs) or motivated to get the hell out of there and explore. Subsequently those that weren't nailed to their perches soon went ''VOOM'', eventually spreading north as far as North America. They also have the ability to enter a death-like state of suspended animation. Or maybe they're just [[Monty_Python|pining for the Fjords]]...

*'''Lyn-Srial''': A race of flying, four-armed featherless bird-headed people who have used their Cloud Magic to build a city for themselves in the Grand Canyon. Lyn-Srial tend to be Good by nature.

*'''Millennium Trees''': Giant sentient(and mostly benevolent) trees stretching thousands of feet tall. They grow on Ley Lines and Nexuses, and like having people live in their boughs and branches, to the point of growing places for them to live. Their twigs, leaves and branches can be used to make powerful magic items, but they tend to object ''explosively'' to people taking them without permission. They can be found in England, Africa, Europe, and Asia. The Yggdrasil of Norse mythology is a particularly large and ancient one. There's an evil and twisted one in Germany's Black Forest.

*'''N'retas''': Anteater-people who mostly live in and around Mexico. N'retas have almost entirely assimilated into the life and culture of Earth, to the point most of them are Catholic. Being mortal beings in Mexico, a number of them have indeed been turned into Vampires, which is not easy on them due to lacking teeth.

*'''Octomen''': Many-tentacled, good-hearted, butt-ugly child-to-man-sized octopus people with limited regeneration. They were brought to Earth as slaves of the Splugorth, but some of them have gotten free. Notable for their ability to take Paired Weapon skills and turn them into four weapons for min-maxing; the game even mentions they enjoy warm, dry climates and therefore make geographic sense as Gunslingers.

*'''Phoenixi''': These giant bird-men are born servants of the Egyptian Goddess Bennu. As such, they are as tough as a young dragon, Have several Psionic powers, ALL Fire magic, and an insane amount of PPE to cast it, can engulf themselves in flames, and can instantly regenerate from near-death to full life. Yes, this is one of the more overpowered races in the game, but since it was from a book almost nobody read(Africa), they are hardly used.

*'''Pogtal Dragon Slayers''': These giants(13-28 feet tall) grew up on a forested world full of Dragons and similar large reptilian predators. Subsequently, they developed an immunity to fire of all kinds, an invisible field that protects them as well as turning any weapon they have into an MDC weapon. But their most striking feature is their huge mouth full of two rows of sharp teeth.

*'''Power Leeches''': Cute, childlike D-Bees with potbellies and bald heads. They absorb energy, which makes them grow bigger and more powerful. This includes energy weapons fired near(or ''at'') them.

*'''Quick-Flex Aliens''': These D-Bees look extremely close to Humans, save for smaller/slighter builds and tiny noses. They are however very agile, with reflexes that rival Juicers or Crazies(i.e.: they get an automatic dodge right off the bat). They make great pilots and gun-fighters(especially Gunslingers!), but can do little else. The temperament for things like magic or technical/scholarly pursuits just isn't there.

*'''Shemarrans''': These cyborg warrior women riding metal dinosaurs are believed to be D-Bees from another world, but are actually robots created by Archie Three.

*'''Simvan''': Savage, cannibalistic nomads with an ability to tame animals and monsters of various kinds.

*'''Spinne''': Oddly German Spider-people. They are arguably two races; the ''Starke'', a bookish bloodline descended from web-building spiders, and the ''Schnellig'', who came from hunting spiders. As noted above, lived and warred with the Chasseur Vert for centuries in the past of their homeworld.

*'''Wolfen''': A race of giant (7-9 feet tall) Wolf-people. They're prominent in both the Palladium Fantasy and Three Galaxies universes, and as such many have made it to Rifts' Earth. In particular Italy where they use an organization similar to Ancient Rome.

*'''Yeno''': A scaley/armored race of aliens with short tempers and the ability to naturally fire energy blasts or generate forcefields. There are plenty of sayings about how ill-tempered and vengeful Yeno can be. Many of them end with some variation of "and then the speaker was shot in the back by a nearby Yeno who overheard and took offense to that remark."

*'''Zembahk''': A three- to five-foot-long fleshy worm with a single white eye. They have impressive Psionic and magic powers, and are pretty nice guys in general. Unfortunately the Splugorth discovered them, and worse, that they make excellent components for their horrific Bio-Wizardry.

==Setting(s)==
As noted before, the primary setting of the world is Earth, specifically North America (mostly Eastern-to-Middle America and Canada). A few other dimensions got looked into from time to time as well. On top of that, compatibility between Palladium systems means that every other game, from ''Heroes Unlimited'' and ''Ninjas and Superspies'' to ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' and ''Robotech'' are also part of the Palladium Megaverse, copyright permitting on those last two (but if you got the books, who's gonna stop you?).

One of the most important new old features of the transformed Earth are the ''Ley Lines'', lines crisscrossing the Earth that act as a network of magical energy. In the supercharged magic levels of Rifts' Earth, Ley Lines appear as huge walls of energy miles long, and half a mile wide, that glow blue-white in the night. Where two ley lines meet, they form a ''Nexus'', a powerful font of magic power that sometimes open into Rifts leading to other dimensions, where monsters and peoples can enter the world, sometimes whether they want to or not. Where three ley lines crisscross each other like a triangle, things get even weirder. Bermuda Triangle-weird.

But if one wants to save this broken world, you need the right tools. Rifts is a world of both technology and magic, so naturally, you get to chose from both. The most common weapons are or course guns, with the standard being laser weapons. There are also Ion weapons, which are typically slightly more powerful than lasers, but at the cost of range. For those who prefer close-in combat, there's a wide range of ''Vibro-blades'', knives, swords, and other weapons covered by a powered field that vibrates the blade at a high frequency, allowing them to slice through even Mega-damage alloys and hides. Since there's a plethora of large targets in Rifts, from Dragons and Elementals to Tanks and Giant Robots, there's also a need for heavy weapons. These usually take the form of Plasma or Particle Beam cannons and missile launchers. For heavy-duty anti-personnel work there are railguns, which in Rifts are almost universally used as mega-damage machineguns.

Then there is Techno-Wizardry. Magic focused through and/or powering technology. This is your primary source of magic weapons. Overall attitudes in Rifts aren't quite Style over Substance, but definitely lean towards Substance with Style. So you almost never get a simple "+1 Sword". Instead, you will be getting a lightsaber-style hilt with a Sapphire on one end that when activated creates a blade of pure magical ice. Guns can be made to shoot fire, ice shards, lightning, healing energy, or invisible bolts of pure force. Your truck can be made to drive in the air, turn invisible, call lightning from the sky, or generate a magical force field. With time, skill, and a handful of gems, nearly any spell in the book can be applied through technology. The only true drawback is that said magic runs on the same PPE(magic energy) that magic users use. So it does eventually run out, and will need to be recharged by either a mage, a stone pyramid, or on a ley line.

===Coalition States (North America)===
The former United States is completely broken, with a few new kingdoms and empires clawing their way out of the Post-Apocalypse. The largest of these is the '''Coalition States''', a Nazi-like state that keeps its people illiterate, lies about history, and is genocidally vehement against Magic and non-human beings. If you didn't get the memo about them being bad guys before, their soldiers also wear all-black Stormtrooper armor with a skeleton motif, and they like putting skulls on the front of their vehicles and mechs whenever possible. The Coalition States are:
* Chi-Town: Claiming Iowa and parts of Illinois, Chi-Town is a massive fortress-city near the haunted ruins of actual Chicago that is the capital of the CS. Around Chi-Town (and many other fortress cities) are a scattered collection of communities and shantytowns known as '''The 'Burbs''', full of mutants, gangs, D-Bees (the fact that any D-Bee is willing to live so close to the powerbase of the dudes most eager to exterminate them should tell you how shit the rest of the world generally is), and many, many people hopeful to earn a place behind the safety of the city's walls.
* Missouri: Located in the eponymous state. Mostly farm and empty land earmarked for future development. Also notable for two independent city-states in its south, Whykin (mostly human, tech-based and getting cosier with the Coalition States all the time) and Kingsdale (melting pot of D-Bees, magical beings, wizards and sympathetic humans, probably next big target on Coalition's shit-list but a bit too close to Federation of Magic for immediate annihilation).
* Iron Heart: In southern Canada immediately north of Lake Huron. An industrialized state that cozies up to Chi-Town actively. Very happy that Free Quebec is on the outs.
* Arkansas/El Dorado: Most of Arkansas is forest wilderness, with scattered Human and D-Bee towns. The primary exception is the City-State of El Dorado, which was friendly with the Coalition for years, ultimately joining during the Tolkeen war.
* Lone Star: While the CS claims the entirety of the Lone Star State, in truth they only run the Panhandle and some the area south of it. The main reason they do so is the '''Tex-Am Complex''', a Pre-Rifts compound of Genetic Engineering labs, where the CS clones their army of Dog Boys. The man running the place, a Doctor Desmond Bradford, is a bit of a Mad Scientist.
* Free Quebec: Laying claim to the Canadian state with a legion of Glitter Boys (like, tens of thousands of them, plus unique variants they developped). Quebec is... well, it's ''Quebec''. Very French and very arrogant, they eventually split off from the Coalition, sparking a civil war (then kissed and made up with them due to a hilariously poorly thought out attempt at alliance by Tolkeen, [[FAIL|dooming themselves]] since after that the Coalition had only the one major military front left, which was the Western Front to Quebec's Eastern Front if Hitler had the resources of the US, Great Britain wasn't an island and Stalin had been less of a fucktard).

===Archie 3===
In the Aberdeen Proving Ground, the mega-corp Cyberworks created a powerful A.I. called A.R.C.H.I.E. Three. This A.I. was moved to the supreme headquarters of NEMA, an organization tasked with defending North America. On the bright side, the world ended before he went Skynet on us, on the down side, that didn't stop him from going crazy anyway. Archie has decided that the only way to make sense of this crazy world is to take it over, and he has command of a surprisingly well-preserved robot factory to do it. But rather than march across the country with an unending tide of tireless death machines, Archie has decided to be more subtle, starting with an army of [[monstergirls|hot]] [[robot]] [[Amazon|warrior women]] riding mechanical [[dinosaur]]s (the Shemarrians) as his front.

But Archie has a few disadvantages. He has trouble coming up with ideas of his own, and as such needs a Human "Idea Man" to link up and help him come up with new plots and minions. This might or might not just be a function of his insecurities, but he does tend to bond with his Idea Men. When he first debuted in RIFTS, he'd basically fired his old Idea Man, a crazy cyborg who wasn't all that creative, and replaced him with Hagan Lonovitch; a very inventive scavenger (the robot warrior women were his idea) with limited [[psionics]], notably "machine empathy/telepathy".

One such idea was the hire a Shifter to help them exploit the possibilities of other dimensions. Unfortunately, the very first portal he opened up led directly to the universe of '''The [[Mechanoids]]''', a genocidal race of cyborgs with a mad on against Humanoid life (Basically [[Doctor Who|Daleks Lite]], and not all ''that'' Lite). A small force of them managed to come thought the rift before one of them killed the Human shifter and thus closed the door. The Mechanoids took over Archie's factory and set about retooling it with their technology and cloning facilities to make more of themselves, triggering the first large-scale crisis on Rifts' Earth. For his part, Archie feigned compliance and sent out his Idea Man, Hagan, to resist the Mechanoids and to gather heroes to destroy them. Needless to say, they succeeded.

Notably, the gigantic robot brain-core at the center of his base is just a feint, which is why having it repeatedly destroyed hasn't inconvenienced him much; his real core is in a desk drawer somewhere. Even Hagan doesn't actually know that Archie's real core is a little black box.

===Federation of Magic===
The eastern banks of the Mississippi River across from Missouri and Arkansas, encompassing all of Kentucky, and most of Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio and parts of Tennessee is an area crisscrossed by ley lines and saturated in magic energies. This it is known as the '''Magic Zone'''.

When the Rifts opened, one big one opened right inside the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. This rift fused with the gate, rendering it indestructible, and never closed. The Coalition occupied the area around the gate (leaving the rest of the city in ruin), and use it as a Headquarters for the '''Rift Control Study Group''', a military division that seeks scientific means to control and close rifts.

Elsewhere in the Magic Zone is a loose confederation of Magic-using states referred to as the '''Federation of Magic'''. The most dangerous of which are '''Dweomer''', a mysterious city-state ruled by three God-like beings, with magic automatons in lieu of giant robots, '''Stormspire''', a city devoted to the creation and sale of Techno-Wizard equipment, run by a Lizard Mage with a robber baron mindset, and the so-called '''True Federation''', a cult-like force that consorts with demons, shadow-beasts and worse, led by the maniacal Alistair Dunscon, lord of the '''City of Brass'''.

===Lazlo===
Where the city of Toronto once stood is now the city of Lazlo, a self-styled City of Learning. Named after a pre-Rifts scholar who theorized the existence of Ley Lines and other supernatural phenomenon that later turned out to have been right all along, Lazlo is one of the birthplaces of Techno-Wizardry, and one of the unquestionably "Good" places on Rifts' Earth. It is also home to adventurer Erin Tarn. Ruled (well, he's the head of an elected council, but he's never lost an election because he's Just That Good, what with millenia of experience) by an ancient dragon who calls himself Plato.

===Mad Haven===
New York City got pretty much wiped off the map during the Great Cataclysm. Sometime during this, Manhattan Island itself somehow got slammed into the mainland, making it into a peninsula. The ruins, only lightly overgrown despite the centuries, are haunted by spirits, madness, and mutants.
[[File:Rifts ng downtown.jpg|thumb|Downtown Ishpeming]]
===Northern Gun/Manistique Imperium===
In that part of the northern half of the state of Michigan that kinda looks like a gun (get it?), The former Kingdom, now Republic, of '''Ishpeming''' is pretty much the bitch of the manufacturing giant Northern Gun. NG makes everything from tools and vehicles to guns, missiles, and giant robots, and is one of the biggest provider of weapons and gear to adventurers on the continent.

Right next to Ishpeming is the '''Manistique Imperium'''. At the tip of Michigan's "gun", The Imperium is a friendly neighbor to Ishpeming, but has recently entered the manufacturing market as well with Wellington Industries. Fortunately for Northern Gun, MI focuses more on projectile weapons and explosives rather than lasers and other energy weapons, which is NG's stock in trade.

===Pecos Empire===
The Coalition says they own all of Texas, but these guys are the reason why that's not true. The "Empire" is really several small armies of bandits and independent states run by a variety of leaders, from a giant paladin to a wannabe Mafia Don to the actual, time-displaced, real-life Sundance Kid (as in, "Butch Cassidy and the"). Kinda Mad Max-y mixed with Wild West for flavor.

===Psyscape===
A community of powerful psychic warriors somewhere in the Ohio Valley. Their main city exists partially within the Astral Plane, with the physical part anchored by a living Ley Line Nexus known as Psynex. Engaged in a secret war with the minions of Nxla, a soul-eating Alien Intelligence that's even worse than most of its kind (both more powerful and more evil) that's attempting to cross over to Earth for use as a megaversal all-you-can-eat buffet.

===Tolkeen===
Another center of Techno-Wizardry located in Minnesota. Tolkeen (real original, Kevin) was a place of acceptance and magic much like Lazlo, but found itself mostly isolated and way too close to the Coalition States. This inevitably led to war, which took Tolkeen's leaders down a dark path that ultimately failed to save it. After Tolkeen's destruction, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled west, with help from the Cyber-Knights and Lyn-Srial.

===Vampire Kingdoms===
Mexico is almost entirely overrun by [[Vampire]]s, who have established their own kingdoms where Humans and D-Bees are either willing vassals or cattle. The running water of the Rio Grande is the only thing keeping them from overrunning North America too.

===New Camelot(England)===
As it turns out, Merlin the Magician was in truth an Alien Intelligence tying to manipulate King Arthur into developing a kingdom that would eventually conquer the world. Unfortunately, the whole thing with Atlantis (well, aftershocks millenia after the facts, actually) happened before he could get to the evil parts. With the coming of the Rifts, he's giving it another try, complete with a new King Arr'Thuu and Camelot. And to make sure it goes off right, he's not only taking the role of Mrrlyn once more, but also the Lady of the Lake, and Queen Guinevere! Much of the rest of England has gone back to being like a medieval fairy tale as well (complete with Fairies), with Druids, giant insects, horned giant-controlling lizard-men, magical mountain-sized trees, and a Splugorth outpost in London for flavor. Oh, and the Formorians and Celtic Gods have come back to boot.

===The New German Republic===
Germany was one of the few nations of Earth not to fall in the Great Cataclysm, mostly due to the manufacturing might of the Industrial giant '''Triax'''. Arguably the most powerful Human nation on the planet, the NGR primarily struggles with the Gargoyle Empire that has laid claim to much of Western and Southern Europe. So yeah, for once having Germans roll over western Europe in an unstoppable tide of steel is a ''good'' thing. Somewhat Human supremacist, but more Apartheid than Genocide. Don't really give a damn about magic.

===The Gargoyle Empire===
Gargoyles in this game are a type of sub-demon that comes in five types:
* Your average Gargoyle stands about fifteen feet tall and is as tough as a suit of power armor.
* G'''u'''rgoyles (note the "u") are slightly shorter (about twelve feet) and wingless.
* Gargoyle Lords are the leaders of the flock, bigger, tougher, and have the ability to turn their bodies into living stone.
* Gargoyle Mages know some Earth Elemental magic, like a low-key Warlock. They can also turn to stone.
* Gargoylites are small (three feet) creatures that are surprisingly tough. Can also get stoned.

While most Gargoyles across the Megaverse (like those in Hades, for example) usually serve more powerful demons or mages, the Gargoyles of Europe have formed their own kingdom, stretching from the West of Germany (Belgium and Eastern France) and around the south (Austria and Northern Italy stretching down into the Balkans). They have also learned to use high-tech weapons and even manufacture their own mechs and power armor, which, along with a fast breeding rate, is why the Germans aren't anywhere near steamrolling them.

===The Brodkil Empire===
Another race of sub-demons who have carved out a territory in the south of Poland (many also live in North America and Russia, but not nearly as successful). The Brodkil are mostly helped by '''Mindwerks''', a Pre-Rifts company that still sees itself as the main rival to Triax, and developed the Mind Over Matter conversion that makes Crazies. Their leader is an insane Cyborg researcher calling herself the Angel of Death. Once close allies to the Gargoyles due to their shared enemy, they recently broke ties after the Brodkil started getting a big head. This allowed the Germans to make a big push (with the help of the New Navy and Coalition States [playing the good guys for once]) that led to them taking France (purely out of habit, we assume) and cutting the Gargoyle Empire in half.

===[[Atlantis]]===
Atlantis was a continent (in the Atlantic Ocean, duh) housing a Magically-empowered utopian-ish Human civilization on Earth thousands of years ago. Then they fucked with a rift they shouldn't have. They managed to fix the problem, but in doing so trapped Atlantis in a pocket dimension and pretty much tanked magic levels on Earth for millennia. When Atlantis came back (helping raise sea levels all over the world), it was first rediscovered by the Splugorth, in particular an Intelligence named Splynncryth. He decided to basically turn the continent into his capital/personal mansion.

Atlantis is a kingdom of Monsters. Populated by the Minions of Splugorth (Slavers, High Lords, Kydians, Kittani, Metzla, Gargoyles, etc.) and visitors from all over the Megaverse. But Humans and most "D-Bee" races are slaves at best, and food at worst. Atlantis is arguably the most powerful force on the planet, but Splynncryth likes using the Earth as his own personal Streaming service, so he has no intention of conquering/enslaving the entire world. This doesn't stop him from launching slave raids all over Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

===Japan===
Japan is a few Magical Girls and Kaiju short of going full-on Animeland. In the Kansai region, a '''New Empire''' has arisen in the shadow of a Milennium Tree, with the blessings of a new Emperor by Amaterasu herself. The Empire has deliberately gone back to their roots, a feudal Shogunate where technology from the Industrial Period onwards is forbidden. Instead, they depend on magic and the Ki powers of Monks, Samurai and Ninja to defend themselves. Meanwhile, most of the Chugoku region (particularly the cities of Hiroshima, Kure, Ichto, and Iwakuni) has been ''de''-displaced after the area disappeared because of a dimensional teleportation experiment that occurred at the exact beginning of the Great Cataclysm. Three days later, They re-appeared back on Earth, three hundred years into their future. Declaring themselves the '''Republic of Japan''', they attempt to make their own way in the changed world, defended by high-tech armies of soldiers, dragon-shaped cyborgs, and of course mecha (including Glitter Boys!). Ironically, despite their differences, the Empire and Republic are pretty close allies, even when they try to turn the other to their way of thinking. Sometime after this, the City of '''Ichto''' split off to form its own state, mostly so they could sell their mecha to wider markets around Japan.

In the Aichi and Gifu prefectures, however, they survived the hard way, and eventually formed the '''Otomo Shogunate'''. As this is RIFTS, the Otomo are assholes. They were the top dog technologically, with their company '''H-Brand''' (and if you know anything about modern Japanese Colloquialisms, you know how unfortunate that name is), and clans of Tech-Ninja. Then the Republic showed back up, knocking them down to number three. They are also really unhappy about the peaceful country of '''Takamatsu''', on the northern half of the island of Shikoku. Mostly because they have control of a rift that leads to an entire uninhabited planet (and the resources therein), that they have made bank supplying to everybody else. But Otomo has a plan, one that involves dealing with '''The Zone''', the Oni-ruled area of northwestern Honshu. This should end well.

===Australia===
As might be expected, Australia got even weirder. The interior of the country has become flooded by a shallow inland sea, with a magic projection of Ulluru (Ayer's Rock) visible in the middle right above it's location. Most of the technology has been knocked back to the stone age, which fits the Aboriginies just fine. But some tech remains, with the Whites split into three main groups: The paranoid residents of the two remaining cities, Melbourne and Perth; the Outbackers, which are the more "normal" people who both trade with and raid against the walled cities, and the Roadgangers, who are pretty much Mad Max with more giant carnivorous kangaroos. In the north of the continent, the '''Molokoi''', a race of magic alligator-men, have arrived, believing that the entire world is a gift from their gods. Won't ''they'' be surprised...

===South America===
Arguably THE absolute craziest place in the whole damn setting, the two books covering it represent both sides of the power creep and crazy ideas ramping up to truly ludicrous degrees, and with a huge variety of stuff that looks like a schizo patchwork. The first book, covering the northeastern half of the continent, is derivative, a bit empty (lots of space between most nations) and kinda boring, if mostly sane in its power levels (though it's where you find the ridiculously strong Anti-Monster cyborgs, but their cool factor and Brom-illustrated visual design makes them one of the best things in the book) and themes, while the second one, covering the southwestern half, has more batshit and overpowered stuff crammed in than any two of the other continents put together, so much so that probably the only thing keeping them from venturing out and kicking the teeth in of everybody else that's not Splugorth-ruled Atlantis is the fact that they're all stuck fighting each other over cramped living space and limited ressources.

===Lemuria===
An underwater contemporary of Atlantis, the Lemurians rushed to escape the Earth as its magic levels fell, coming back during the Great Cataclysm. The Lemurians are masters of the magic known as Biomancy, using magic to grow and shape living creatures harmlessly to suit their needs.

===The Lord of the Deep===
A.k.a. Kraken or Leviathan. An evil eldritch monstrosity with tentacles that can stretch for thousands of miles. It's slept at the bottom of the Marianas Trench for thousands of years, having been stranded there after it popped in to explore Earth right as the Magic levels tanked, and just in the right position for the fleeing Lemurians to run right into the rift leading to its home dimension and slam the door shut behind them. It naturally hates the Lemurians for that, but for now is content to reach out across the oceans and grab people to turn into minions or food.

===Naut'Yll===
An aquatic race with three tentacled mouths, the Naut'Yll have come to earth's oceans to conquer it with Particle-wave guns and coral magic. In a rare case for bad guys, they're a little outgunned, but not to be underestimated.

===The New Navy===
In the years before the Great Cataclysm, the United States Navy built a powerful submersible aircraft carrier named the ''U.S.S. Ticonderoga.'' The ship was so tough that it managed to ride out the Cataclysm, and made contact with two hidden bases, Salvation and Refuge, that had been developed to service the ship, and began rebuilding. Some time later, the son of the Ticonderoga's captain led an exploration team that got irradiated by the energies of a mysterious rift, which gave them (and their descendants) supernaturally-tough, seemingly immortal bodies (but since this isn't a comic book, no other superpowers). The ''Ticonderoga'' still sails to this day, commanded by Nemo Dobson, the leader of the original Sea Titans. Led by the ancient Super-ship, the New Navy continues to protect Humanity on the high seas.

===Tritonia===
A Pre-Rifts experimental floating city that survived the Great Cataclysm due to being far out in the ocean. Is home to a large number of Fish-based mutants due to some shady assholes in South America mutating people before the Cataclysm.

===Whale Singers===
A society of Pneuma-Biforms, Cetaceans, Humans, and D-Bees that seek the destroy the Lord of the Deep. To this end, they have develop special Spell-songs to battle it.

===Wormwood===
Wormwood is a living world. As in, the entire planet is a single biological organism, with Humans living on it like fleas on an elephant. Fortunately, the world seems to have been built for Human habitation, with food, water and shelter grown from the planet itself (hope you like bugs!). Unfortunately, the world is under attack by a demonic Host, who have the power to corrupt Wormwood's body for their own use. Protecting the world is a legion of brave knights, wormspeakers, symbiote-equipped warriors and living mecha. Somehow manages to be pretty boring by itself (apart from the living world gimmick everything else is mostly a bog-standard high fantasy/grimdark mix), plus most of the good stuff from there doesn't work on other worlds (living equipment and symbiotes die when away from the planet) so good luck using it elsewhere unless the GM says "fuck it" and houserules the problem away.

===The Three Galaxies===
For all your Star Wars needs. A Space Opera setting consisting of three galaxies; the '''Corkscrew''', the '''Anvil''', and the '''Thundercloud''', sitting oddly close together. There are three major power blocs, each controlling worlds in all three galaxies: The '''Transgalactic Empire''', your standard Evil Space Empire ruled by a powerful race called the ''Kreeghor'' and controlled behind the scenes by an evil Alien Intelligence; the '''Consortium of Civilized Worlds(CCW)''' a ''Star Trek''-like Federation of races allied for the betterment of all(and to protect their asses from the Empire); and the '''United Worlds of Warlock''', a collection of [[Eldar|Space Elves]], Space Dwarves, Space Minotaurs, and others who use magic and Techno-Wizardry. One of the central factors in the setting is the '''Cosmic Forge''', a legendary engine of creation that was built by the first race of sapient beings to ever exist, and used to create the entire Megaverse. The First were wiped out when one of their number discovered Evil, and tricked the Forge into unmaking the entire species. The Forge then wiped him out too in anger and hid itself away. Nobody knows where the Cosmic Forge is, but everyone wants to find it. Either for their own ends, or to keep any of the guys in the first group from doing so. And ever so often, it finds a Good person and calls them to fight evil as a Cosmo-Knight.
* '''Phase World''': The central planet of the setting. Phase World is the home of a race of powerful aliens known as the ''Prometheans'', who have master Phase Technology. The two most important parts of which are Phase Beamers and the Spacegate Jump system. The former are energy weapons that bypass all non-organic materials, meaning you can shoot a man right through his armor, or blast the crew of a starship through it's hull. The only thing that stops them are forcefields(which are admittedly semi-common) and your tender flesh. The latter are FTL drives that will instantly teleport your ship to Phase World from anywhere in the known universe. You have to be able to fly your own way ''back'', but hey, you just saved half your travelling time and fuel costs. This has made Phase World one of the major trade hubs in the Three Galaxies. On top of that is the city of '''Center''', a mile-tall arcology that features dimensional gateways to locations throughout the Megaverse, including Rifts' Earth.
* '''Charizolon System''': A dense and life-rich system with many worlds with nearly all harboring life. One race in the system, the Tarlok, has worked their way outwards, conquering the other worlds of the system and enslaving their peoples. Their latest conquest, Seeron, is a world with massive cities and three distinct subspecies of Humans. But the Tarlok may have made a critical mistake. A deadly virus they usually release to soften up a world's population for conquest has instead caused mutations, giving superpowers to a good portion of its people. Unable to fight the Tarlok through sheer military might, the government and Superbeings of Seeron have gone underground, fostering a Resistance and growing their powers until the day they can take back their world.

==Criticisms==
*Every now and then the fluff makes you feel like you stopped reading the book and started smoking a joint rolled from one of the pages. Some material is really weird. Like vampires with feet on their arms and hands on their legs. There's a mix of awesome, dumb, and awesome-dumb throughout.
*There is ''no'' balance between Races or Character Classes. '''NONE'''. You can literally have one player playing a demigod and another a hobo, with ''all'' the power disparity that implies. However, the GM is expected to have the final say in what's allowed or not, and to keep things balanced.
*The system is notorious for constantly one-upping itself. Every source book seems dedicated to making the weapons in the last source book look like a bunch of kitten launchers. It's not really a linear progression so much as up-and-down, but considering the books your players are most likely to pull out it's reputation for escalation is not unwarranted.
*It's very [[grimdark]]. Not as much as 40k- there's both good factions and hope around, some heroes would fit in well with [[Noblebright]] settings- but pretty much every continent has it's own extinction level threat or two, and the biggest power block on the planet by far is the Splugorth of Atlantis, who's leader Splynncryth is the answer to the question of "what if Cthulhu was a capitalist?". Having a continent-sized nation of interdimensional slave trading monsters under an eldritch abomination sounds like about as bad as things can get, but at least they don't want to rule everything (just raid it for live stock occasionally), and their presence discourages even ''worse'' eldritch abominations and supernatural hordes from descending on the planet en mass. They still descend upon the planet of course, just with more subtlety so they don't have to take the armies of Atlantis straight off.
*MOAR MEGADAMAGE! An infamous feature of the Palladium engine is the idea of Mega-Damage. Essentially [[Damage Reduction]] on steroids, it was originally designed for ''Robotech'' to reflect the idea of how conventional weapons are almost always useless against the gear of alien invaders, but the new/prototype weapons of the heroes work just fine. The gist of it is that every point of Mega-Damage(MDC) equals a hundred points of normal Structural Damage/Hitpoints(SDC). In short, traditional guns don't scratch an MDC being/mecha unless they go straight to anti-tank weaponry, while an MDC attack can wreck a tank in only a few shots/blows and generally turns normal Human bodies to paste in one. Rifts takes this and fucking ''runs'' with it. Even basic arms and armor inflict/take Mega-Damage, with the books explicitly stating that a man in body armor and carrying a laser rifle packs the toughness and firepower of a modern Main Battle Tank. Then Rifts stacks power armor, giant robots, and tanks on top of that, plus monsters and even ''playable races'' tough enough to be a threat to all of those.
*"I just spent 10 hours making a character. Oh, shit it's 4AM. When are we going to play? Never? OK then."
*TRADEMARK ALL THE THINGS!
*While it is about complex as DnD 3.5, the layout makes it seem more complicated than it actually is.
*There is a Savage Worlds edition now, in case you want a modern ruleset.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Rifts ng v7 hunter mobile gun color by chuckwalton-d6nmj8e.jpg|A Hunter Mobile Gun. No, it's not compensating for anything!
</gallery>

[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Savage Worlds]]