Dweren Dragonsblood, The Goldsniffing Dwarf

So, last Fall I decided to try something a little different in my Unusual Character Concepts posts. Rather than writing up a general idea that players could put their own spin on, I decided to put together a post all about a specific character. Gaspar Dell'Amore, the Black Rose of Edme, was a two-fisted enforcer with the divine on his side. Folks seemed to like him, so I figured I'd give the format another try.

Allow me to present Dweren Dragonsblood, the Goldsniffing Dwarf.

Mmm... smells like a Chellish cache. They cut their coins with lead to maintain weight.

A Nose For Treasure

Some dwarves are known for smithing steel and iron, but the Dragsonsblood clan are renowned for their skill with gold, silver, and other precious metals. Their mines yield only the purest of noble metals, and their artisans possess a near supernatural skill. Even the members of the clan who aren't smiths, though, tend to work in the precious trade. Security experts, forgery detectors, gem cutters, merchants, and miners give the Dragonsblood clan a firm hold from the time the ore is found, until it is put up at auction.

The legend goes that the clan draws its name, and its prowess, from a smattering of draconic heritage. Though where that heritage comes from depends on whom you ask. Rivals to the clan claim their need for dominance, their arrogance, and their greed tie them directly to the worst examples of dragonkind, whom they have made ancient pacts with. The clan itself tells several different tales. Some may tell you they were blessed by a good dragon they once aided, others that they uncovered an ancient artifact that is used to bless the clan's children, and still others will say they are, in fact, descendants of a forge-keeper dragon.

So, when Dweren was born, he was expected to follow in the family's trades. Broad-shouldered and strong, his hands were too blunt for the fine work of gem cutting, and he wasn't suited to gold or silver smithing. Ever since he was young, though. Dweren had a nose for treasure. The fine scent of gold was like spun sugar in his nose, and chaste silver was the candy smell of honey cakes. All he had to do was hold an ingot to his nostrils to tell whether it was cut with lead, or if there was an impurity. And if he was walking down a tunnel? He could smell the veins of metal, and find them with uncanny accuracy.

Check the bodies, they've got gold on them. No I don't know where!

Chasing The Dragon

The easiest place to start off with Dweren is with the alternative dwarf trait Treasure Sense. It gives you scent regarding precious metals, and replaces stonecutting and stability. Then you give him a few levels of fighter to represent the rigorous training dwarves go through to determine which ones will make good soldiers, and which ones should pursue other trades. Familiarity with the military pick gives him a weapon of choice that always feels comfortable in his hands. And if that weapon happens to be made of adamantine, well, then there is no stone it won't breach.

Of course, he may have more dragon's blood than he knows in him. While sorcerer is not an ideal class for a dwarf, given their racial negative to Charisma, it is a good place to begin manifesting his heritage. Especially if the goal is to eventually enter the Dragon Disciple prestige class, which allows you to mix martial might with magical muscle. But which of the myths are true? Are they the noble descendants of gold dragons? The domineering children of reds? Or something else entirely? Only the scales on his arms, and the weapon in his breath, will say for certain.

And then the dragonslayers come.

 

So what is Dweren's job? Well, when his family needs his nose, he seeks out new lines of ore, and he helps them detect forgeries. With his magic, his inherent toughness, and the gifts of his draconic forebears, though, he is an ideal enforcer on treasure hunting missions. Even better, though, there is no mimic that can fool his schnoz unless it chooses to fill itself with treasure.

Fortunately for him, most shape-shifting chests really aren't that smart.

 

And before you go, if you haven't taken a look at it yet, don't forget to check out my 5 Tips For Playing Better Dwarves!

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That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

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For A Change of Pace, Give Your Pathfinder PC Some Monster Feats

Anyone who's played Pathfinder knows that feats are often the key to an effective character build. Whether you want to smash through an enemy's spell resistance, cut foes in half with a single swing of your sword, or bullseye someone the wrong way through an arrow slit, feats are one of the biggest investments you're going to make.

Which is why it's so funny most players completely ignore the monster feats in the Bestiary.

The what feats, now?

If you've never been behind the screen, in the back of the Bestiary, there's a list of monster feats. These are feats that are typically available only to monsters; things like Awesome Blow, or Snatch which can give creatures the advantage in a fight. However, if you look at this list of monster feats, you'll notice something unique. Put simply, it isn't too hard for PCs to meet the prerequisites for a lot of these feats.

Who Needs Monster Feats?

Adventurers are a diverse lot, and some parties are made up entirely of characters who would be called monsters in most civilized places. The answer to the question, though, is that monster feats are often overlooked tools that can help you accomplish what you're trying to do with a little extra zing.

For example, say you were playing a half-orc with a bite attack (either through the Toothy trait, or by taking the feat Razortusk). You like being able to bite people, but you want more. So you decide to take the monster feat Improved Natural Attack to up your bite damage from 1d4 to 1d6. That's more like it. Then you decide to play a druid, and you take the feat Aspect of the Beast, which gives you 2 claw attacks. Now you have a 1d6 bite, and 2 claws that each do 1d4. But you want to beef them up, too, so you take Improved Natural Attack a second time, so all of them now do 1d6 damage. Now, if you want to fight with both weapons and natural attacks (something I covered in Natural Attacks Can Turn Your Pathfinder Character Into A Monster), you simply take Multiattack so that the penalty to your natural attacks is -2 instead of -5 per attack.

You now have an angry, orcish thresher. And we haven't even started statting out her bear.

Not pictured: The remains of the last encounter this smiling creature wiped.

But are monster feats good for more than just natural attacks? Well, what if your character gains a fly speed? Whether you have it as a racial benefit like a Wyveran, or you get it through a feat like the Bloodmarked Skinwalkers can, feats like Hover or Flyby Attack are great tricks to have up your sleeve if you want to keep the advantage against ground-borne targets. If you've ever said to yourself, "I want to build golems!" then you need to take the Craft Construct feat off the monster feats list.

It's not a small list, either, which is why I'd recommend giving it a long, hard look to see what tasty treats catch your eye, and open up entirely new concepts to you.

Some of My Favorite Monster Feats

I love the monster feats list, especially because it helps me create unique, unusual concepts. Some of my favorites off the list include:

- Scent of Fear: You automatically know the location of enemies within 30 feet of you, you gain bonuses to attacking creatures with a fear condition, and you gain a +2 on Will saves as long as someone shaken is nearby. Excellent feat for all those Intimidation lovers who have the Scent ability (Keen Scent feat will give it to a half-orc... just saying).

- Sow Terror: Anytime you win an opposed Stealth check by 5 or more, you can make subtle creakings and scratchings that worry away in someone's mind. If they fail a Will save, they're shaken for 1d4 rounds.

- Storm Soul: You gain immunity to electricity. This feat requires that you be considered a cloud or storm giant, both of which are humanoid races, and thus you could gain their subtype for prerequisites and effects with the feat Racial Heritage.

- Multiweapon Fighting: This is the feat that replaces two weapon fighting when you have more than two arms.

There are, of course, so many more monster feats that can supercharge a concept. Especially if your DM is allowing you a goblin, a tiefling, or other traditionally monstrous races like bugbears, hobgoblins, and even gnolls. There are no guarantees, but it can't hurt to look at some of those tools that occasionally slide to the back of your box, forgotten, but no less useful.

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