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Though the tools of the dwarven blacksmith are similar to those of humans, the sacred holiness of the dwarven forge is readily apparent to even casual visitors; Dwarves are very noisy when they work. The songs which they sing are songs of praise for the keeper of the first forge, the all-father, and other hymns of reverence and piety. The chants keep the rhythm steady when a team of smiths is using multiple hammers on a single piece of iron or when any other combined efforts are being performed by dwarven craftsmen and workers. When combined with the chant of dwarven priests or master smiths, the hammer chants used every day are themselves touched by the divine, magical. In many respects, the hammer chant is like 'ritual casting' (below), but it is not actual spellcasting. Rather, the reverence of the chants invoked by the deeply religious dwarves, can invoke magical effects through song. The effects of Hammer chants are similar to spells, and in some cases cannot be performed by any but a dwarven priest. The chants listed below are just a sampling of the many chants which dwarves perform, and many more can be found in daily use in a typical delve. Dwarves never teach this skill to non-dwarves. Hammer ChantsHammerDC: 10 The most basic of chants, up to seven dwarven craftsmen and/or priests combine their abilities so that one of them can more effectively perform other chants. If no priest is present, the length of the chant is doubled before it becomes effective. The highest-ranking priest or craftsman stands at the forge, hammering out time on the anvil, while others work the bellows and tend to other forge tasks. The dwarf performing the hammering is the focus of the chant's magic (and the one who must successfully make a perform check against the DC of 10). After the chant is completed, the leader gains a +2 bonus to his Perform (Hammer Chant) for each other dwarf involved in the Hammer chant for the next chant performed immediately after this one. This chant requires a hammer, an anvil and a forges fire to be performed. These items must be of dwarven make and consecrated to the dwarven gods. Makeshift forges, abandoned holdings, or the smithies of other races will not suffice. [TOP] Miner's ChantDC: 12 The miner's chant is often conducted at the forge by a forge-priest before a group of miners goes off to the tunnels to begin the days work. The chant is an invocation of blessings and protection, but it also hardens and improves the miner's tools, increasing their effectiveness and decreasing their chance of becoming blunted. Miners under the influence of the miner's chant can operate without fatigue, and dig 50% faster while they do so. [TOP] StainlessDC: 15 This chant, when performed while working with metal, grants the metal an enduring, bright shine (akin to chrome) and protects the metal against corrosion and decay. However, it is rarely used because of its cost. Imbuing metal with the Stainless chant requires the sacrifice of a weight of platinum equal to the weight of the metal to be protected. Once protected, no rust, acid, or decay can harm the metal, not even that produced by oozes, rust monsters, and the like. The use of this chant is generally reserved for clan heirlooms, chieftain's weapons, and other highly important metalwork. Naturally, metals which are not normally susceptible to corrosion, such as gold and mithral, are not treated with this chant. Note that the chant requires 2 hours for every pound of metal to be so protected. A skill check is required each 2 hours, with any failure requiring the entire chanting process be started over, while the sacrificial platinum is still lost! (Thus, a 5 pound weapon would require 5 successful skill checks in a row before protected. Each failure would increase the amount of platinum to be sacrificed by 100%.) [TOP] SuregripDC: 15 This chant, when performed while smithing, makes a weapon or shield stick to its wielder's hand until he voluntarily releases it, making it difficult for the wielder to be disarmed by an opponent or to drop the weapon. Weapons or shields protected with Suregrip grant the wielder a +4 bonus to their opposed rolls for disarm checks, and +4 to saving throws vs. spell effects such as Fumble. Note that the chant requires 2 hours for every pound of metal to be so protected. A skill check is required each 2 hours, with any failure requiring the entire chanting process be started over. [TOP] EversharpDC: 20 If performed while a weapon is forged, this chant enhances the edge of a single weapon and helps the weapon to maintain its sharpness through use and time. A weapon so enhanced need never be sharpened. [TOP] Moradin's MetalDC: 20 This chant creates a mass of unworked metal atop the forge. The metal just 'appears' on top of the forge, and most dwarves believe it is a gift directly from the All-Father. The chant works only once per year, during the dwarven High Holidays. In most cases, it produces a small quantity of mithral or adamantite. In many dwarfholds, this metal is used only create sacred objects. Failure on the skill check results in no such metal being granted to the delve for the year; this is considered a bad portend by the citizens of the delve. [TOP] Bellows BreathDC: 20 This chant creates a wind to fan the flames, increasing the heat and size of an existing fire. If the skill check succeeds, the forge fire's heat increased to the level required to forge mithral and adamantite. If the check fails, the fire is blown out completely. [TOP] Glass SteelDC: 25 This chant transforms an ordinary piece of iron into a metal with unusual properties. The metal, called nephelium, has all of the attributes of iron, except that it is as transparent as glass. Thus, nephelium plate-mail appears glasslike, but provides the same protection as a full suit of such armor made of steel. Purposely adding impurities to nephelium can produce shades of sapphire, emerald, and ruby; allowing for a truly wondrous appearance to weapons and armor made from such metals. The chant must be performed for 1 hour per oz. of iron to be transformed, and a successful skill check must be performed each hour. A failure results in the loss of 1 oz of mithral completely for that hour. (note: Nephelium is a naturally occurring ore as well, found only in the rarest of veins in areas saturated with magic). [TOP] Dark AlloyDC: 25 This chant transforms an ordinary piece of mithral into a metal with a number of unusual properties. The material becomes invisible in bright light and sunlight, but glows in conditions of darkness, whether the darkness is natural or magical. The metal is called Dunchalcor, and is often used to make secret runes for dwarven shines, to filigree special weapons, etc. The chant must be performed for 1 hour per oz. of mithral to be transformed, and a successful skill check must be performed each hour. A failure results in the loss of 1 oz of mithral completely for that hour. (note: Dunchalcor is a naturally occurring ore as well, found only in ultra rare veins deep, deep below the earth in areas with massive saturations of magic.) [TOP] Purifying FireDC: Special, see below This chant destroys the magical power of a metal item by bathing it in a cleansing flame. The chant alters the color of the forge-fire from orange to an odd mix of orange and rich purple. This change in color indicates that the chant has succeeded. No matter how flammable an item might be, it does not burn or melt while held in the purifying fire. This chant functions just as dispel magic, but the result of the hammer chant skill check is used in place of the dispel check. [TOP] MasterworkDC: 30 The masterwork chant represents enormous effort by a team of smiths, working in shifts for months, under the direction of a master smith to create an item of such perfection that it becomes imbued by magical power, as if the item had been actually enchanted. The chant permits the creation of a magical item of up to 1,000 gp value / 2 ranks which the master smith has in the requisite craft skill. (Consult the DMG for the gp value of magical items). However, magical spells which nullify or destroy normal magical items (wand of negation, Mordenkainen's Disjunction, etc.) have no effect on items produced by the Masterwork chant. Normal craft checks are required during the creation of the item, however the 'base cost' of the masterwork component is tripled, thus also increasing the length of time needed to craft it. After the completion of the crafting, the master smith must make the chant check. Success means the item produces is completely as desired, including all magical effects. Failure means that the item produced is no more than an ordinary masterwork item, despite the fact that it cost much more than normal. This chant alone is what earned the dwarves their reputation for producing the finest of magical arms and armor, despite the rarity of spellcasters amongst their race. Those not of dwarven origin tend to assume it is the dwarven priests producing all of the fine dwarven metalwork, but the dwarves know that their master smiths, whether ordained clerics or not, are capable of such wonders. [TOP] |
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Much of the background music on the pages of this site was composed by Bjorn Lynne. View
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