Dwaf

Overview

Dwafs are reckless, curious humanoids whose origins are unknown—even to themselves. They lack self-restraint and self-preservation in equal measure, driven by an irrepressible need to tinker, complicate, and detonate.

What would be lethal experimentation to other peoples is routine life to a Dwaf. Limbs are lost. Fingers regrow. Explosions are expected. Laughter follows.

Despite their gruesome tendencies, Dwafs are intensely communal, thriving in dense settlements defined by constant invention, shared failure, and collective amusement.

Culture & Society

• Curiosity without brakes: Dwafs pursue ideas far past practicality “because why not.”
• Overengineering as art: Locks are labyrinths. Tools have blades they don’t need. Everything is better if it explodes.
• Casual mutilation: Dismemberment, unconsciousness, and scarring are common and socially trivial.
• Deadly pranks: Dwafs routinely play pranks that would kill most other races, judging success by how close it came.
• Radical community focus: Harm is accepted, isolation is not. Dwafs rarely work alone.
• Festival of Failure: Weekly, science-fair–like gatherings where inventions are presented, tested, and usually destroyed.
  • Over a 13-month year, a Dwaf typically submits 3–4 projects.

Physiology

• Limbs and digits regenerate over time.
• Scars persist, often proudly displayed.
• As long as the head remains intact, survival is assumed.
• Pain is felt, acknowledged, and immediately ignored.

Dwaf Traits

Ability Score Increase INT +2
Size Small
Speed 20 ft.

Dwaf Resilience

Dwafs regenerate slowly but persistently.

• You regain 1 hit point per hour, provided you have at least 1 hit point.
• Lost fingers, toes, and limbs regrow over time at the DM’s discretion.

Improper Relationship with Death

Dwafs interact with death differently than other humanoids.

• When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you make death saving throws as normal, with the following changes:
  • 1 success stabilizes you
  • 5 failures result in death

This reflects their extreme durability paired with reckless exposure to harm—Dwafs usually stabilize, but when they don’t, it’s final.

Playing a Dwaf

Dwafs are ideal for players who want to:

• Lean into mad science, tinkering, and volatile creativity
• Accept frequent injury as part of roleplay
• Treat danger as comedy, not caution
• Belong to a culture where failure is celebrated and survival is assumed

Dwafs are not careful heroes.
They are persistent ones.