ST +3 (30 points)
IQ -1 (-10 points)
Racial Advantages:
Attentive (1 point)
Cool (1 point)
Charisma +3 (15 points)
Extra Encumberance (5 points)
Extra Fatigue +2 (10 points)
Damage Resistance +2 (6 points)
Hard to Kill +2 (10 points)
Imunity to Posion (25 points)
Magic Resistance +5 (10 points)
Night Vision (10 points)
Unusual background: Acess to very Fine Katana (5 points)
Racial Disadvantages:
Bowlegged (-5 points)
Cannot Swim (-1 point)
Code of Honor (-10 points)
Honesty (-10 points)
Illiteracy (-5 points)
OPH: Boating -1 (-5 points)
Primitive, Tech Level -2 (-10 points)
Racial Reputation -1 (as wild, unkept barbarians -5 points)
Sense of Duty to Nature (-10 points)
Social Stigma, Barbarian (-15 points)
Racial Quirks:
Carry Grudges Forever (-1 point)
Hard worker (-1 point)
Never Forget An Insult or Favor (-1 point)
Never Shave Beards (-1 point)
Proud (-1 point)
Suspicious of Elves and Goblins (-1 point)
Racially Learned Skill:
Katana at DX +1 (4 points)
Naturalistist at IQ +3 (10 points)
Most members of other races react to Yellow Dwarves at -4 but if the Yellow Dwarf has a chance to use his charisma and the person reacting knows of the honesty of Yellow Dwarves the reaction penality can be reduced to -1 in many cases.
The Yellow Dwarves are a race of Oriental Dwarves, who have a wild, unkept primitive appearance. Their average height is 4 feet 2 inches and average weight is 180 lbs. Hair color is black, dark brown or rarely reddish-brown. Eyes are usually sightly slanted and are commonly black, light to dark brown or hazel with other colors possible but rarely seen. Complexions range from tan to light brown to yellow.
In appearance, the Yellow Dwarves have stocky builds, with thier arms and legs slightly longer in proportion to their bodies than a human's. They are covered in body hair and their arms and legs are very hairy. Both males and females have long bushy beards. In fact few can tell the females from the males even at close range. They are bowlegged, and their bodies are too dense to swim. When not in armor, the Yellow Dwarves dress in leather buckskins and furs with feathers, beads, primitive jewelery, animal teeth and claws used for decoration.
The Yellow Dwarves are known to have a strong Sense of Humor and they enjoy a good laugh, whether the joke is on them or someone else. They also entertain each other with boasts of their abilities, skills, adventeres, romantic encounters, etc. This is considered an art form with a true master claiming the near impossible and then having an explaination to prove that his boasts is not only possible, but very likely. It is considered good form to stretch the truth a little, in order to make the story more entertaining.
Living in vast jungles, remote islands, snowy mountain forrests or barren wilderness areas, Yellow Dwarves seldom come into contact with other races. They prefer remote and forbiding sites of natural beauty and usually live in simple villages or nomadic camps, moving only when forced to by poor hunting or enemies. As a race the Yellow Dwarves do not have the "Gold Greed" amd "Miserliness" which the Dwarven race is noted for and many are quite open and generous to those in need, willing to share their last meal and drink of water with their companions.
Since the Yellow Dwarves normally perfer to avoid contact with other races and generally like to keep to themselves (and the general conceit of other races), most races consider the Yellow Dwarves to be backwards primitives and rarely accept them as equals. They are typically seen as rude, untruthful, pugnacious, boastful and somewhat comical by the rest of the world.
The Yellow Dwarves are by nature less susceptible to magic and posion than most other races. They are a strong, tough and hearty race of outdoorsmen. They have Night Vision and are steady in most situtaions. They have no written lanaguage of their own and others learn their lanaguage as a Mental Average skill.
Generally, the Yellow Dwarves are much less advanced than most of their neighbors in the civilized arts. Most Yellow Dwarves are part-time craftsmen that create simple pieces of art and craft (TL 2) which they barder for whatever trade goods they may fancy. Their only noteworthy craft skill is their katana making which is at high TL 4 - low TL 5. Their katanas are legandary for their caftsmanship, balance and beauty, however they never sell or trade their katanas, only gifting them to those whom have done them a great service and proven themselves to be a true friend. They will not share or trade their katana making skills with any, preffering death to betraying such racial secrets.
The Yellow Dwarves believe that after death their souls find rest in their blades so their katanas are considered very special and holy to them. It is traditional for all Yellow Dwarven children to be given a katana on their first year birthday. As soon as they are big and strong enough to weild it they begin training with the katana. While they consider the katana their most prized possession, if it is lost, stolen or they otherwise lose possession of it, the lost of a kantana is generally not considered a big deal and it can be replaced with no shame or loss of honor (except to Yellow Dwarf Samuri who hold a much different view). However, if a fallen Yellow Dwarf is not buried with his weapon then the Yellow Dwarves believe that the fallen Yellow Dwarf's soul is a restless spirit and doomed to wander the night and cannot find eternal rest until his soul blade is returned to his tomb. Many a Yellow Dwarf has went on a quest to regain a comrade's or kin's katana...
The Yellow Dwarves hunt, gather and/or tend small farms in secluded areas. While usually the males hunt and generally the females gather and/or farm, there is very little sexual bias and members of either sex may follow whatever path they choose, some females are hunters, while some males farm or gather. If the Yellow Dwarves are attacked, their females fight effectively and well beside their male counterparts. The females (and for that matter all but the youngest children) blend in so well with each other that other races usually cannot tell the females from the males, especially in the heat of battle. It is believed that this is a survival mutation so that certain evil races which prefer to target females and children will have a very hard time using such tactics against the Yellow Dwarves.
The children of the Yellow Dwarves are generally larger for their age than is usual of most races's young. It is common for a 10 year old Yellow Dwarf to have a full beard and be adult sized and at least be able to defend themselves with their katana. Generally if attacked Yellow Dwarf children try to avoid the frontlines of the combat, having been taught to cover the backs and flanks of the adults, but if time comes when they must fight on their own, they usually do it in a calm, steady manner, holding their own until help comes or they fall. Many a foe has attempted to flank a Yellow Dwarf village or camp only to run into strong determined and effective resistance from the young Yellow Dwarves and more than a few such flank attacks have been beaten off, often with many fallen attackers. It should be noted that Yellow Dwarves have a normal lifespan (similiar to himans) and they do not live nearly as long as the members of the other races of Dwarves.
The Yellow Dwarves orgainze themselves into families and clans much the same as the other dwarves and some humans do. Some Yellow Dwarves become Samuri and a few ally themselves with human Samuri clans. Such Yellow Dwarf Samuri follow the samuri code coupled with their Sense of Duty to nature and are often respected as simpler, purer samuri by many of their friends and allied Samuri clans. Many Samuri clans consider them to be a mockery and find it deeply insulting for the Yellow Dwarves to take on the airs of a Samuri. Friend and foe alike usually learn to respect the Yellow Dwarves' abilities with the Katana, both their craftsmanship and their use of it.
Generally Yellow Dwarves (even their samuri) prefer leather armor, all Yellow Dwarves are normally armed with a very fine katana, with spears, short bows, blowguns and hammers often carried as secondary, ranged or back up weapons. Some Yellow Dwarves use shields, but most do not. Only their samuri carry two swords. There are Yellow Dwarves that study the Martial Arts and a few have even become legendary masters.
The Yellow Dwarves have a "country charm" about them, they are a simple, honest, open people, who are given to a little boasting and to streching the truth a bit. They tend to say what's on their minds, regardless of how others may take it. They are free and they enjoy natural beauity. They are a part of the land, giving back as much as they take. The Yellow Dwarves do not see any reason to become any more "civilized" than they already are, they believe their way is best and consider themselves to be as good or better than the more "civilized" races.
In many ways the Yellow Dwarves are closer to the Elves in their mind-set than they are to the other races of Dwarves. Often it is easier for the Yellow Dwarves do deal with Elves than with their dwarven cousins. The Yellow Dwarves do not care greatly that other races do not really understand them, for they know their place in the natural order of things and they are content to be what they are, caretakers of the wilderness and examples of how to live in harmony with nature.
Patyrsun's Main GURPS Page
My Main GURPS Index Page
The Adarian Campaign
The Index Page for my personal RPG Campaign that has been run for over 20 years....
This page has been visited 
times.
