Hill Dwarves
The Harthak [Hill Folk] (har-THAK)
The Harthak, also known as hill dwarves, are the most common dwarf encountered and are found in most AD&D® campaign worlds.
Hill dwarves live in areas of rolling hills. Their strongholds are primarily located underground in very hilly areas, though they frequently have outposts on the surface.
Hill dwarves are closely related to their mountain dwarf cousins, having splintered off from that branch when they discovered hills that were abundant with gem and mineral wealth. This led them to forge closer ties with other surface races, namely the elves and the humans, something mountain dwarves look at with disdain. Trade became very profitable as their skill in creating flawless gems and jewelry spread across the lands. Hill dwarf gemcutters and jewelers were in high demand. Life was good.
Hill dwarves tend to be of lawful good alignment, but not every hill dwarf can be shoehorned into that alignment.
Whereas mountain dwarves are reclusive and isolationist, hill dwarves will open their strongholds to just about anyone willing to trade. Sometimes they will open their strongholds to groups passing through the area who need a place to stay for a day or two. They are not as suspicious as their cousins, but they are wary of certain races and hold some in utter contempt.
Hill dwarves don’t restrict themselves to their strongholds. Some will hire themselves out as thieves, or rather “locksmiths”. They can be found in just about any city working as gemcutters, merchants, jewelers, locksmiths, mercenaries, or any other vocation one can imagine. They will often hire on as caravan guards especially if the caravan must pass through giant or humanoid-infested lands.
Players who have existing hill dwarf characters generated by using the Player's Handbook need only make minor adjustments to their characters if they choose to use the information found in the Complete Book of Dwarves. These include height, weight, and age. Otherwise, keep the character as he is.
Hill Dwarf Ability Scores
Minimum/Maximum Ability Scores
| Ability | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 8 | 18 |
| Dexterity | 3 | 17 |
| Constitution | 11 | 18 |
| Intelligence | 3 | 18 |
| Wisdom | 3 | 18 |
| Charisma | 3 | 17 |
Ability Score Adjustments
The initial ability scores are modified by a -1 penalty to Charisma and a +1 bonus to Constitution. The minimum and maximum ability scores are shown in the table to the left.
Eligible Classes
Single Class Options
Fighter, Cleric/Priest, Thief
Multiclass Options
Fighter/Cleric, Fighter/Thief
Specialty priests may not multiclass.
Recommended Languages
Hill dwarf (dialect), common, gnomish, goblinoid, kobold, orcish.
From living underground, dwarves have found it useful to learn the languages of several of their neighbors, both friendly and hostile. The number of languages that can be learned is limited by the nonweapon proficiency slots allotted to languages and the maximum allowed number of languages as determined by Intelligence. However, their primary language should be their native tongue. A character's native tongue does not cost the character any nonweapon proficiency slots. This includes reading and writing in their native tongue.
Important note Being able to speak another language does not mean the character can read or write in that language. This will cost the character appropriate nonweapon proficiency slots.
Additionally, the kinds of languages hill dwarves may learn should be determined by the campaign background. If a character lives in a stronghold that has had no contact with goblins, he is unlikely to have learned goblinoid. The languages for dwarves listed should also be considered as suggestions only. Dwarves may learn any language that suits their background. Some suggested languages are: the deep tongue, drow, elven, the local human common tongue, trollish, ogrish, or even one or more of the dialects of their dwarven cousins.
Most of the different subraces of dwarves can usually communicate with each other with little difficulty, but some slang or jargon may vary from race to race or even from stronghold to stronghold. Think of the English language. For the most part, Americans, Canadians, Australians, the British, and New Zealanders can communicate with each other on a basic level, but each has its parlance. Even each variation has its subdialects.
Hill Dwarf Aging Effects
* -1 Str/Con; +1 Int/Wis
** -2 Str/Dex; -1 Con; +1 Wis
*** -1 Str/Dex/Con; +1 Int/Wis
| Starting Age | Middle Age* | Old Age** | Venerable Age*** | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40+5d6 | 125 | 167 | 250 | +2d100 |
Life Expectancy
350 years. Life expectancy is around the maximum age the character can expect to live, assuming nothing untoward happens to them.
Infravision
60 feet.
Special Advantages
Hill dwarves receive a +1 to hit orcs, half-orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins. This may be modified based on character background
Ogres, trolls, ogre magi, giants, and titans suffer a -4 penalty to attack hill dwarves.
Hill dwarves receive saving throw bonuses for Constitution and are highly resistant to poisons.
Special Disadvantages
20% chance of a magic item not specifically made for dwarves or their specific class malfunctioning.
Racial Enmities
Orcs, half-orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins, derro, duergar, and/or any race determined by the player.
Although some dwarves, particularly mountain dwarves have a racial antipathy and disdain for elves, hill dwarves get along with elves in general.
Hill Dwarf Level Limits
| Fighter | Priest | Thief |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 10 | 12 |
Bonus Levels
| Prime Requisite | Bonus Levels |
|---|---|
| 14, 15 | +1 |
| 16, 17 | +2 |
| 18 | +3 |
| 19 | +4 |
Additional Experience Cost
None.
Hill Dwarf Level Limits
Racial level limits are not enforced in this campaign and are included here for completeness. The DM reserves the right to enforce these limits at any time in the future.
Hill dwarves are limited in level to 15th level as fighters, 10th level as clerics/priests, and 12th level as thieves.
These level limits apply no matter if the character is single classed or multiclassed.
Exceeding Level Limits (Optional)
A character may exceed maximum level limits if he has extremely high ability scores in his prime requisites. For example, a hill dwarf warrior is limited to 15th level. With a Strength of 18, he may be allowed three bonus levels and advance to 18th level.
A multiclassed dwarf that meets all ability score requirements can advance higher in both classes.
Hill Dwarf Average Height & Weight
Male/Female
| Height (in.) | Weight (lbs.) |
|---|---|
| 43/41 (+1d10) | 130/105 (+4d10) |
Appearance
A typical hill dwarf stands 4 feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds. He is stocky and muscular. His skin is a deep tan or light brown and he has ruddy cheeks and bright eyes due to more exposure to sunlight on the surface than others of their kind. His hair could be black, gray, or brown and worn long, though not long enough to impair vision in any way.
Dwarves favor long beards and mustaches, too. Dwarves value their
Dwarven clothing tends to be simple and functional. They often wear dark, somber, earth tones, and their clothes are considered rough by many other races, especially men and elves. Dwarves usually wear one or more pieces of jewelry, though these items are usually not of any great value or very ostentatious. Though dwarves value gems and precious metals, they consider it in bad taste to flaunt wealth.
While hill dwarves will tattoo different parts of their bodies, they will never have their faces tattooed. This is because they paint their faces before battle (see below) and they may choose to change the designs they paint on their faces.
When preparing for battle, hill dwarves, like their cousins, the mountain dwarves, will paint their faces in dark black or blue colors, surrounding or emanating from their eyes, often in the form of runic symbols that are considered holy and will bring good fortune in the coming battle.
Hill Dwarf Thieving Skill Adjustments
| Skill | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Pick Pockets | --- |
| Open Locks | +10% |
| Find/Remove Traps | +15% |
| Move Silently | --- |
| Hide in Shadows | --- |
| Detect Noise | --- |
| Climb Walls | -10% |
| Read Languages | -5% |
Thieving Skills
Hill dwarves detest being called 'thieves". This is not to say there are no hill dwarf thieves out of necessity (or out of simple greed), but these individuals are not found within hill dwarf society since any dwarf caught stealing in the stronghold is banished after summary judgment.
Dwarves are fantastic at working with their hands. This skill is not only found at the forge but also in their passion for mechanical devices. Because dwarves are so talented at working with mechanical devices, they gain a bonus for opening locks and finding (but not removing) traps.
Hill dwarves, however, because of their stature and general stockiness are not as good at climbing walls, suffering a penalty for this skill.
Hill dwarves are far from illiterate but are not well-versed in reading foreign or ancient languages. Accordingly, hill dwarves suffer a penalty for this skill as well.
General Life
Hill dwarves have adapted well to life above and below ground. They claim that they have always lived in the hills, but they may have migrated there either by traveling above ground or via underground passages. Either way, they are probably closely related to or descended from mountain dwarves.
General Alignment
The alignment of the hill dwarves is usually lawful good, but there is no reason they cannot be of another alignment. So long as the majority of them remain lawful good, strongholds of chaotic, neutral, or evil dwarves will not unbalance a campaign and will give it more flavor and variety.
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