Dwarven Delver

Dwarven class — see Classes for the full list.

Prime Requisite:	DEX
Requirements:	CON 9
Hit Dice:	1d6
Maximum Level:	11

Beyond the confined vaults where dwarves live and work run labyrinthine caverns and winding tunnels stretching hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles under the earth. Even the most exhaustive of dwarven maps has charted only a fraction of these tunnels, and most have never been trod by dwarven boots. The dwarven delver is one of the brave few dwarves that explore and map these sepulchral lands, so far from the warm forges of home.

DELVER Level Progression

Experience	Title	Level	Hit Dice	Hiding	Sneaking	Climbing	Searching	Listening	Backstab
0	Dwarven Caver	1	1d6	17+	15+	4+	14+	12+	+1d
2,100	Dwarven Tunneler	2	2d6	16+	14+	3+	13+	11+	+1d
4,200	Dwarven Explorer	3	3d6	15+	13+	3+	12+	10+	+1d
8,400	Dwarven Undertaker	4	4d6	14+	12+	2+	11+	9+	+1d
16,800	Dwarven Spelunker	5	5d6	13+	11+	2+	10+	8+	+2d
33,600	Dwarven Expeditionary	6	6d6	12+	10+	2+	8+	7+	+2d
65,000	Dwarven Pathfinder	7	7d6	10+	8+	1+	6+	5+	+2d
130,000	Dwarven Delver	8	8d6	8+	6+	1+	4+	4+	+2d
260,000	Dwarven Pioneer	9	9d6	6+	4+	1+	2+	3+	+3d
390,000	Dwarven Pioneer, 10th lvl	10	9d6 + 1*	4+	2+	1+	1+	2+	+3d
520,000	Dwarven Pioneer, 11th lvl	11	9d6 + 2*	2+	1+	1+	1+	1+	+3d

Dwarven Delver Saving Throws and Attack Bonus

Level	Paralysis	Death	Blast	Implement	Spells	Attack Bonus
1-2	9+	9+	10+	10+	11+	+0
3-4	8+	8+	9+	9+	10+	+1
5-6	7+	7+	8+	8+	9+	+2
7-8	6+	6+	7+	7+	8+	+3
9-10	5+	5+	6+	6+	7+	+4
11	4+	4+	5+	5+	6+	+5

Combat Characteristics

Dwarven delvers are able combatants, although not so skilled as vaultguards. They value mobility and stealth over the false security of heavy armor and favor ambushes with missile-fire.

Armor and Weapon Proficiencies: Delvers can fight with all axes, hammers, flails, and maces, and with all missile weapons except longbows. They can wear light or very light armor. They can wield a weapon two-handed or wield a weapon in each hand but cannot wield a shield.

Combat Progression: Delvers advance in attack throws and saving throws like thieves, by two points every four levels. They may cleave after felling a foe a maximum of once per round per every two class levels.

Starting Class Powers

Attention to Detail: Delvers gain a +2 bonus on proficiency throws for any proficiencies they learn. (This bonus has already been factored into the delver’s class abilities.)

Backstabbing: Delvers are skilled at ambushing unprepared enemies. A delver who catches an opponent unaware of his presence, either by surprise or by moving silently and/or hiding in shadows, can attack that opponent with a +4 bonus to hit in melee or at up to short range. If the attack succeeds, the delver deals an additional die of damage for every four levels he has attained.

Endurance: Like many dwarves, delvers are inured to fatigue and hardship of labor. When exploring, a delver does not need to rest every 6 turns. A delver can force march for one day without penalty, plus one additional day for each point of Constitution bonus. (This class power is equivalent to the Endurance proficiency.)

Expert Caving: Years of experience spelunking through underground caves, cavern complexes, and rivers teaches delvers to keep maps in their heads of where they are and where they have been. A delver is able to accurately estimate length, width, and depth when he travels with almost no error. On a proficiency throw of 9+, a delver will be able to automatically know the route he has taken to get where he is, if he was conscious at the time. (This class power is equivalent to the Caving proficiency.)

Shadowy Senses: Since the bright light of torches will reveal their positions, delvers learn to rely on superior night-vision, keen hearing and smell, and echolocation to slowly scout through lightless caves and dungeons. When moving at combat speed or exploration speed, a delver can “see” as if he were carrying a candle that sheds dim light in a 30’ radius. Shadowy senses can be used to fight, probe for traps, and so on. However, shadowy senses cannot be used to discern colors, faces, markings, or flat images (such as frescoes and murals) or to read books, maps, or scrolls. Shadowy senses does not function if the delver is charging or running, if deafened, or if in an area of bright light, magical darkness, or magical silence.

Thief Skills: Delvers have several skills in common with the human class of thieves, although these skills are not commonly employed for criminal enterprises.

• Because dwarven delvers prefer to evade foes where possible, they learn to hide and sneak.

• Chasms, sinkholes, and chimneys abound in the subterranean world, so every delver also learns to climb.

• Decades of training in lightless environments teach delvers to listen for noises that others miss.

• Subterranean dwellers are notorious for creating deadfalls, pits, and snares to capture or kill unwary trespassers, so dwarven delvers become expert at searching for traps and other secrets. (Unlike thieves, delvers generally avoid or bypass traps and have no skill at disarming them.)

The Dwarven Delver Level Progression table shows the target values by level for each of their thief skills. Except as noted, a delver’s thief skills function according to the same rules as a human thief’s.

Underdark Lore: The delver is knowledgeable of the flora and fauna common to the underdark, such as bats, insects, and molds. He can identify edible and poison foods, healing herbs, and signs of unnatural danger (such as unusual quiet, atypical animal behavior, etc.) in subterranean environments with a proficiency throw of 9+. (This class power is equivalent to the Naturalism proficiency.)

Additional Class Powers

Renown (9^th): The delver’s fame begins to attract dwarves from far and wide to his service. If the delver has already established a domain with a vault under his rule, 1d4+1 x 10 dwarven mercenaries and 1d6 dwarven delvers of 1^st - 3^rd level arrive to serve him as followers within 1d3 months of him reaching 9^th level. If the delver has not yet established a domain, the followers arrive to serve him within 1d3 months of doing so. If hired, the delver must pay them the ordinary rates for mercenaries and henchmen.

Racial Traits

As dwarves, delvers have certain powers and drawbacks associated with their race.

Dwarf Tongues: Dwarves can speak the Common and Dwarvish tongue and, because of their frequent interaction underground with beastmen, can also speak Goblin, Gnome, and Kobold.

Hardy: Dwarves are tough. The target values for all their saving throws versus Blast/Breath are reduced by 3, while the target values for all their other saving throws are reduced by 4. (These adjustments are already factored into the saving throws on the Dwarven Delver Attack and Saving Throws table.)

Sensitivity to Rock and Stone: Dwarves gain a +1 bonus to surprise rolls when underground. When using Adventuring proficiency to search or listen, they succeed on a proficiency throw of 14+ (instead of the usual 18+). If separately proficient in Searching they gain a +4 bonus to their throw instead. If separately proficient in Listening, they gain a +2 bonus to their throw instead. These bonuses are already figured into the Delver’s Searching and Listening throws in the table above.

Class Proficiencies

Proficiency Progression: At 1^st level, delvers gain one class proficiency from their class proficiency list and one general proficiency from the general proficiency list (as indicated by the template rolled). They select an additional class proficiency at 4^th and 8^th level. They select an additional general proficiency at 5^th and 9^th level.

Dwarven Delver Proficiency List: Acrobatics, Alertness, Blind-Fighting, Cat Burglary, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (disarm, knock down), Contortionism, Dungeonbashing Expertise, Dwarven Brewing, Fighting Style Specialization, Goblin-Slaying, Illusion Resistance, Land Surveying, Mapping, Mountaineering, Navigation, Precise Shooting, Prospecting, Running, Skirmishing, Skulking, Sniping, Streetwise, Swashbuckling, Tracking, Trapfinding, Trapping, Vermin-Slaying, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus

Delver Templates

3d6	Template	Proficiencies	Starting Equipment
3 – 4	Survivalist	Sniping Survival	Crudely-crafted shortbow, quiver with 20 arrows, rusty hand axe, leather armor, tattered cloak, threadbare workborn tunic and pants, leather belt, scuffed high boots, backpack, tinderbox, 12 torches, 1 week’s iron rations, waterskin, 1gp (enc 6 st)
5 – 6	Prowler	Skulking Streetwise	Shortbow, quiver with 20 arrows, mace, 2 hand axes, leather armor, charcoal gray cloak, workborn tunic and pants, leather belt, high boots, backpack, 50’ climbing rope, crowbar, manacles, small hammer, 12 iron spikes, waterskin, tinderbox, 6 torches, 1 week’s iron rations, 5gp (enc 7 1/6 st)
7 – 8	Mountaineer	Mountaineering Endurance	Shortbow, quiver with 20 arrows, hand axe, leather armor, brown workborn tunic and pants, leather belt, leather gloves, high boots, delver’s harness, 100’ sturdy climbing rope, grappling hook, small hammer, 12 iron spikes, mallet and 4 stakes, waterskin, 2 small sacks, 1 week’s iron rations, waterskin, 1gp (enc 7 st)
9 – 10	Tunnel Runner	Running Mapping	Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, 10’ pole, battle axe, 2 hand axes, sturdy leather armor, miner’s helm, dusty workborn tunic and pants, leather belt, high boots, delver’s harness, 50’ rope, waterskin, tinderbox, 6 torches, 1 week’s iron rations, waterskin, 1gp (enc 8 2/6 st)
11 – 12	Pest Controller	Precise Shooting Animal Training	Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, 10’ pole, war hammer splattered with bug-guts, 2 hand axes, sturdy leather armor, tanned brown cloak, thick tunic and pants, leather belt, slightly chewed leather belt, high boots, backpack, delver’s harness, 2 small bug sacks, 50’ rope, small hammer, 12 iron spikes, waterskin, tinderbox, 6 torches, 2 flasks of military oil, 2 ill-tempered underterriers, 1 week’s iron rations, waterskin, 4gp (enc 8 1/6 st)
13 – 14	Treasure Hunter	Trapfinding Bargaining	Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, 10’ pole, battle axe, 2 hand axes, sturdy leather armor, tanned brown cloak, blue and green craftborn tunic and pants, leather belt, high boots, backpack, delver’s harness, 2 small treasure sacks, strange curio found in old tomb (15gp value), 50’ rope, grappling hook, small hammer, 12 iron spikes, waterskin, tinderbox, 12 torches, 2 flasks of military oil, 1 week’s iron rations, waterskin, 2gp (8 5/6 st)
15 – 16	Vermin Slayer	Vermin-slaying Trapping	Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, war hammer, leather armor, thick tunic and pants, leather belt, high boots, backpack, delver’s harness, 50’ rope, crowbar, grappling hook, small hammer, 12 iron spikes,waterskin, tinderbox, 6 torches, 2 flasks of military oil, 1 dose of giant centipede poison, 1 week’s iron rations, 1gp (7 3/6 st)
17 – 18	Patroller	Alertness Riding	Arbalest, case with 20 bolts, 10 darts, battle axe, leather armor, black oathsworn tunic and pants, leather belt, high boots, backpack, delver’s harness, tinderbox, lantern, 3 flasks of lantern oil, patroller’s whistle, sure-footed mule, riding saddle and tack, leather saddlebags, 1 week’s iron rations, 15gp (enc 5 5/6 st with rations on mule)

Notes: The pest controller’s underterriers are hunting dogs.