Dwarf (2024) Guide 5e
Published on November 29, 2024
The stalwart and resilient Dwarves have returned to the core lineup in the 2024 Player’s Handbook!
Grzegorz Rutkowski - Wizards of the Coast - Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
Looking for the legacy version of this article based on the 2014 rules? Click here.
What is this guide?
This guide is meant to give you an idea of whether or not the dwarf (2024) will be right for your 5e character build.
The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good that option will be for your dwarf (2024). This color coding isn’t a hard and fast rule; there are plenty of sub-optimized options out there that will be viable to your party and will be fun to play.
- Red : Isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
- Orange : Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
- Green : A good option
- Blue : A great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
- Sky Blue: An amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized
Table of Contents
Dwarves in the 2024 Player’s Handbook
While the updates to Dwarves don’t stray far from their original identity, there are a few exciting tweaks that bring their traditional toughness and connection to stonework into focus. Gone are the days of subraces, and like all races in the 2024 update, Ability Score Improvements (ASIs) are determined by your background, not your race. Let’s take a closer look at what makes the updated Dwarf tick and which classes can work best for these unflappable adventurers!
What are Dwarves in 5e?
Source: 2024 Player's Handbook
Bold and hardy, dwarves are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Dwarves typically stand around 4 to 5 feet tall but are built solidly enough that they match the strength of much larger creatures. They are deeply tied to the earth, both culturally and physically, thriving in mountainous halls, deep mines, or rugged outposts.
Dwarven skin ranges from deep brown to a paler hue tinged with red, but the most common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male dwarves value their beards highly and groom them carefully.
Dwarves are known for their resilience, craftsmanship, and strong sense of duty. They value tradition, honor, and community, often pursuing careers as warriors, clerics, and artisans. While some are content with the safety of their ancestral homes, others take up the adventuring life to protect their people or reclaim lost relics of their past.
Dwarf (2024) 5e Traits
Age: Dwarves are considered young until they are 50. They live about 350 years
Speed: 30 feet. Dwarves’ compact build no longer slows them down, a buff from the 2014 Player’s Handbook.
Darkvision: Dwarves can see in darkness up to 120 feet, double the range of many other races. This is excellent for dungeon delving or fighting in dim environments, especially for builds that can make use of the range advantage.
Dwarven Resilience: This trait grants Dwarves Resistance to Poison damage and Advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the Poisoned condition. A free resistance to a common damage type and condition is always a welcome addition to any classes survivability.
Dwarven Toughness: Dwarves gain an additional hit point at 1st level, and this bonus increases by 1 every time they level up. This used to be a trait exclusive to Mountain Dwarves but has been rolled into the base race because the subraces have been removed. Basically every class will love these extra Hit Points.
Stonecunning: Stonecunning got a huge upgrade in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Now, as a Bonus Action, Dwarves can gain Tremorsense (60 feet) for 10 minutes, provided they are on or touching a stone surface. This ability can be used a number of times equal to their Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest and is a huge buff when fighting in situations where sight is limited. Tremorsense allows you to detect enemies that are heavily obscured or Invisible, and stone surfaces are relatively common in adventuring environments.
Sources Used in This Guide
- 2024 PHB: 2024 Player's Handbook
- BR: Basic Rules
- GotG: Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
- SotDQ: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
- ERLW: Eberron: Rising from the Last War
- EEPC: Elemental Evil Player’s Companion
- EGtW: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
- FToD: Fizban's Treasury of Dragon
- GGtR: Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
- MotM: Monsters of the Multiverse
- MToF: Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
- MOoT: Mythic Odyessys of Theros
- PAitM: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
- PHB: Player's Handbook
- SAiS: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
- SCoC: Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
- SCAG: Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
- TCoE: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- TTP: The Tortle Package
- WBtW: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight
- VRGtR: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
- VGtM: Volo's Guide to Monsters
- XGtE: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything