Why dwarves are awesome

Nothing could be further from the truth when speaking about Dwarves. Insightful, tough, resilient and reliable are better words to describe Dwarven kin.

In looking at the characteristics of this noble folk you realize that not only would you enjoy an evening of pints with a Dwarf, but you also want them watching your back. Phenomenal stuff! Dwarves receive two great attribute bonuses in Constitution and Wisdom. These are perhaps the two best attributes to receive a bonus in. All characters benefit from more hit points and healing surges, and the only two skills that the character sheet has listed with passive numbers are both on Wisdom.

If we break down the numbers of what classes use these two attributes, we see that only one class, the Battlemind, uses Constitution as a primary attribute.

Ten classes use Wisdom as a secondary attribute and 12 classes use Constitution. This allows you to make other choices during skill training. In my mind Dwarves have some of the most useful racial benefits. Some of these powers can be used multiple times in an encounter. Unlike other races who can only use their racial power once per encounter. Any bonus to saving throws is a good thing. Probably one of the best racial benefits in the game.

A minor action will suffice, this makes Dwarves much more versatile in combat. With the tactical nature of 4e combat, being able to control your movement is like having an ace up your sleeve.

The Dwarven racial feature Stand Your Ground allows you to reduce forced movement by 1 square. This gives Dwarves a greater degree of control when forced movement comes into play, frustrating opponents with their sheer resilience and stubbornness about being moved. Add in the ability to make an immediate saving throw to avoid falling prone and Dwarves are a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

The player who selects a Dwarf as his race has a great deal of classes available to them. Stereotypically Dwarves are known as great warriors on the battlefield. With the racial bonuses in 4e, Dwarves do make great Fighters. The attribute bonuses Dwarves receive allow them to focus on increasing Strength since Constitution and Wisdom are taken care of. If we consider class choice from a role perspective Dwarves make excellent defenders. Racial benefits allow Dwarven defenders to stay in the thick of things where they belong.

There is a reason that stereotypes exist, there is usually a grain of truth to them. In this case the stereotype does hold true.

Dwarves make decent strikers. Dwarven attribute bonuses only work to the advantage of the Monk and Ranger. The only leader classes that Dwarves excel at are Cleric and Shaman. They certainly have the appropriate bonuses to allow them to play the Warlord or Artificer. With the exception of Cleric you will probably find that your Dwarf only makes a mediocre leader. Surprisingly Dwarves make decent controllers. Primarily from the divine and primal powers.

Wisdom is a primary attribute for the Druid, Invoker and Seeker. In The Lord of the Rings , both elves and dwarves have basically retreated from helping humankind because they have been betrayed and know that their time in Middle-Earth is ending.

However, the dwarves are more selfish about this than the elves. The elves, while they might not do a ton, do have people like Galadriel and Elrond who try to ensure that Middle-Earth is saved from Sauron. While elves are very smart and mostly good, they live so long they become very detached from the world.

Because of this, they as a whole had more of a drive to succeed and create in a shorter period of time than most elves did. They were made to be immortal and wise. While this is naturally in their make-up, their extremely long lives also give them wisdom that none of the other races could achieve.

While wisdom and intelligence are great qualities, there is also something to be said for people who can contribute to the world in a more tangible way. The dwarves were the most talented blacksmiths and jewelers, and their work with mithril was astounding.

They might not seem as delicate when it comes to craftsmanship as the elves, but they were able to create many useful and also beautiful items and halls. This whole article has been a bit of an unfocused love letter to the Dwarvish race; however the point should be very clear. They get some awesome bonuses and, if you only take one thing away from this article, take away that Dwarven Armour Training and Dwarven Weapon Training are incredibly valuable traits.

They make Dwarves forces to be reckoned with, no matter what class you decide to go with. Those two bonuses alone give Dwarves a significant combat bonus. It allows for you to use your valuable dice roles for other stats to specialise as the class you want, and still be as hardy as you can with the bonuses.

Do you like Dwarves or do you prefer other races? Let me know in the comments below. Board game nerd, comic book geek, Rubik's Cube solver, Splendor player, and Blogger.

View all posts by Luke. Email Address:. An Elf would go underground, where a Dwarf dare not. When writing fantasy fiction, I felt it was imperative that I featured some distinctive dwarves in the cast Originally, Gandalf was one of the most notable dwarves in Norse mythology — Tolkien could not resist borrowing the name!

Like Liked by 2 people. Like Liked by 1 person. Like Like. Each brings its own story to be told. What level is he? Ooo high level. High dexterity and constitution? I think they have a resilience that is difficult to beat. Gnomes are my second favourite class. Just out of interest — why have you never played anything else? Is there a reason, or just always preferred Dwarves? You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account.

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