Dwarf

Overview

Dwarves trade reach for endurance. Raised Body and Willpower maximums make a dwarf hard to put down twice over: Body feeds the physical condition monitor at 8 plus half Body rounded up, and Willpower feeds the stun monitor on the same formula, so a dwarf soaks both kinds of damage longer than the metatype standing next to them. Willpower also resists spells, fear, and the feedback that magic and the Matrix inflict on their own users, which quietly makes dwarves excellent magicians and deckers rather than only good bodyguards. The stereotype of dwarven competence is a working advantage too: a dwarf in a technician's coveralls is the one cover nobody interrogates.

How it works

Attribute Maximums: Body and Willpower rise above the standard cap of 6, toward the racial ceiling of 8. Agility and Reaction get no metatype help. Edge: Below the human maximum, in exchange for the two raised attributes. Dwarven survivability comes from the condition monitors, not from spending luck. Qualities: Thermographic vision and a broad, low frame are the traditional dwarven traits. Record them in the free text Qualities field, since this builder does not attach mechanics to them. Condition Monitors: The best of any non troll metatype, because a dwarf can raise both of the attributes that set them: physical is 8 plus half Body, stun is 8 plus half Willpower, each rounded up.

Tips and playstyle

Best for: Magicians and technomancers who need Willpower to absorb drain, riggers and deckers who take feedback through the head, and anyone who expects to finish runs on their feet. Character concepts: A demolitions specialist who used to work legitimate mining, a dwarven combat mage who out-lasts every other caster in the room, a fixer's enforcer nobody photographs well. Synergies: Pair high Willpower with Sorcery or Cracking so the drain and biofeedback that stop other runners barely slow you, and let a faster teammate cover the ground a dwarf cannot.

Frequently asked questions