Moss Dwarf Class for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Moss Dwarf!
Inspired by the Moss Dwarf class found in Wormskin vol 1, by Norman and Gorgonmilk
*used with permission
Booyah!  The Moss Dwarf of Strathos are short, squat humanoids with brown wrinkly skin, long stringy green hair and beards, and often covered with all manner of moss, mold,  and fungus.  They typically forgo wearing clothes apart from a loin cloth, and never cut or crop their hair or beards, which are also tangled with creeping plants, and maybe a bird’s nest or two. Moss Dwarfs live for centuries; when they die, their bodies quickly rot away like fallen tree trunks, forming a rich compost. Moss Dwarf prefer to live in the darkest parts of the forest or underground in shallow, natural caves.
Zero level characters are rolled up as any other character. Moss Dwarf backgrounds replace those of the Elf on the background table. Starting coin, however is only 5d6 copper pieces. On the plus side, Moss Dwarf weapons and armor (as found in Wormskin vol.1) are half the price of their regular equivalents.
Moss Dwarf backgrounds replace numbers 29-38 on the DCC background table.
Roll
Occupation
Trained Weapon
Trade Goods
29
Forester
Staff
Herbs, 1 lbs
30, 31
Artisan
Trowel
Clay, 3 lbs
32, 33
Farmer, Mushroom
Shovel
Mushrooms, 8 oz
34, 35
Rancher, Worms
Hoe
Compost, 10 lbs sack
36, 37
Birdwatcher
Net
Loyal songbird
38, 39
Assistant Brewer
Large Paddle
Gallon of beer


Here is what you can do…
  • You can see in the dark!  Up to 60 feet.
  • You can speak the Moss Dwarf language, which is squelchy and wet and dank sounding. 
  • You as a Moss Dwarf can attempt to identify animals, monsters, or other beings native to Strathos as a Trained Skill.
  • You are invulnerable to harmful fungal poisons/infections and spores.
  • You are, however, have a curious vulnerability to metal. You suffer a -1 penalty to hit your opponent when wielding a metal weapon, and a -1 penalty to Armor Class (AC) when wearing metal armor. Moss Dwarf do make their own armor out of plant and animal materials, and weapons of wood and stone.
  • Weapon Training: While fighting isn’t usually a Moss Dwarfs first choice of action, living in wilderness areas gives them cause to defend themselves. You are trained in the following weapons; blackjack, blowgun, club, stone axe, sling, spear, and staff.
  • Hit Points: A Moss Dwarf gains 1d6 Hit Points each level.

At first level, roll on the Talent Tree table to determine your Moss Dwarf Talent. Talents can be thought of as natural magical powers innate to each Moss Dwarf. Each Talent Tree has a total of four Ranks before it is mastered. The talent you roll at first level is permanent and cannot be changed. At each subsequent level, you have the choice of rolling again on the Talent Tree table to start an additional Talent Tree at Rank One, or you may increase a currently known Talent Tree by one Rank. Talents of any particular tree must be learned in order. 

Note: In the source material, Talents are called Knacks. I’ve changed the terminology in this particular case because in this version of the class, there is no upper limit as to how many talents a Moss Dwarf character can have, unlike the source material. 
Level
Attack Bonus
Crit Die/Table
Action Dice
Reflex
Fortitude
Willpower
1
+1
D6/III
d20
+1
+1
+1
2
+1
D6/III
d20
+1
+1
+1
3
+2
D8/III
d20
+1
+2
+1
4
+2
D8/III
d20
+2
+2
+2
5
+3
D10/III
d20
+2
+3
+2
6
+3
D10/III
d20+d14
+2
+4
+2
7
+4
D12/III
d20+d16
+3
+4
+3
8
+5
D12/III
d20+d20
+3
+5
+3
9
+6
D14/III
d20+d20
+3
+5
+3
10
+7
D14/III
d20+d20
+4
+6
+4
Particular Talents are unchanged from Wormskin vol. 1 (where they are referred to as Knacks), so to see those, you should definitely purchase at least volume 1 of the series. Once you have that, though, you’ll probably buy the rest of them (like I did).
Unlike other classes, Moss Dwarf titles are based on Talents mastered, instead of level attained. Those titles include the following; Critter Friend, Lock Siren, True Sniffer, Pouch Filcher, Root Summoner, String Charmer, Timber Listener , Master Fermentor.

Author: everloss

I'm a dude that writes about stuff on the internet.

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