Twilight of Elves and Dwarves for DCC RPG

I tried to do something different with the Luck stat for my Cyclops class, based on the awesome Krull movie. Basically, Cyclopes in fiction know when they are going to die, so instead of Luck they have something closer to Doom. When a Cyclops' Luck runs out is time to meet their Doom (and because of that they can have some extra tricks with the Luck rules).

A friend of mine read that article and gave me the idea of using Luck to modulate the fall or fading of Elder Races. In a more Tolkin-like campaign setting, races like Dwarves and Elves are disappearing from the world, while the Dominion of Man grows. Why not use Luck to reflect that flavor? That is, if you want a mechanic for that in the first place and if you want a different take than the DCC Core Rulebook. I always like to change stuff, so here is madness to reflect that.

Following that premise, only Humans and Halflings have Luck. Man is on the rise and Halflings are considered lucky, things that already work great for a Tolkien-like setting. Now, let's change Dwarves and Elves. The idea in settings that follow these rules is that both Dwarves and Elves are extremely rare creatures. You can probably see one or two in the biggest cities, but they don’t have cultures of their own, their realms faded away centuries ago. Probably in a generation or two there won’t be any more Dwarves or Elves.

Both variant Luck rules below use what I call Thresholds. You have 2 Thresholds, the 1st is when you reach half your Luck score, the 2nd is when you burn your last point of Luck. Also, by using these rules both Dwarves and Elves can’t use Luck to gain bonus to checks, like Humans and Halflings (the good news is that they can’t have their Luck reduced, unless they want, that includes things like curses and spells).

DWARVES

Dwarves here are like Ents. In the same way that Ents are going to sleep and become more tree-like with each Age, Dwarves were beings originally awakened from Stone. Actually, they believe that their creator, the Forger, placed in their hearts True Fire, awakening them. When that flame is finally spent, a Dwarf goes back to Stone, literally. Dwarves here have cold and grey skin, almost rock like. They are very heavy for their height and can’t swim. The good news is that they suffer half damage for bludgeoning or crushing attacks. When a Dwarves dies (i.e. their True Flame burns out), their flesh is instantaneously fossilized (usually trapping the enemy’s weapon within, although the Judge can allow a Refl save or Agility check).

Today, that original magic is being unraveled by Time itself (or maybe something those damn Humans did) and the few Dwarves still around are slowly going back to Stone. Usually a Dwarf could hope to live a few centuries, sometimes more if they lived underground. These days they are lucky if they reach a bit more than 100 winters. Dwarves know that they are their last generation.

If you want, go ahead and change Luck to Fire. Dwarves don’t count on Luck, that is for Humans and Halflings that live and see so little. Dwarves burn inside like Fire. When their Fire goes out, they die and go back to Stone. Here are rules for Fire (i.e. Luck) if you’re a Dwarf:

• Dwarves can burn 1 Luck to suffer half damage from magical fire or ignore non magical fire for 1 minute.
• They can burn 1 Luck to automatically ignore a petrifying attack or poison.
• Dwarves can burn 1 Luck to transform a critical hit in a normal hit.
• Dwarves reduced to 0 hit points can burn 1 Luck to automatically stabilize and survive (they still fall unconscious at the mercy of their enemies until healed and the Judge has the final say when this ability can be used; for example, it probably won't save you from a disintegration attack).
• When a Dwarves hits his 1st Threshold his AC is increased by +1d4 and his speed is reduced by half.
• When Dwarves burn his last point of Fire, they are invulnerable to all damage and effects for 1d4 rounds. That roll can explode (i.e., if you roll a 4, roll that again and add it). Effects include things like charm person for example. In other words, your Dwarf can’t be cut, smashed, pierced or controlled, but he can still be pinned, thrown far away or buried. Use your last point of Fire to go full heavy metal in a blaze of glory!
• Dwarves recover 1d3 Luck when they gain a new level. At the Judge’s choice, a Dwarf that reaches level 10th turns to stone after 7 days and 7 nights, unless he goes down to the underworld and never returns to the surface.

ELVES

Elves never belong to the mortal realm. Older than sun and moon, children of an eternal starlit kingdom, Time was always anathema to this Folk. It is remarkable that Elves remained in these realms for so long. Most of their people left eons ago, back to those timeless shores between Night and the Void, Dream and Madness.

Because they were born literally before Time, Elves never understood the linear way of thinking of Humans and Halflings. These always accused Elves of being aloof or even cruel, and they are probably right. Elves think that Humans and Halflings should live intensively and strongly, because they have so little time left, always so little time.

Even those Elves born in Time have minds and souls that stretch back to the original Night and Void. They see things no one sees and think in ways no one understands. But all Elves know they can’t defeat the Enemy - Time - without breaking the world. Oh, they tried, long ago and failed. That is why they are now fading. The few left are those that still believe they can break Time, or those that want to see the amazingly fast vicissitudes (for an Elf) of these constantly decaying mortal realms.

Elves don’t die of age but only through violence or when they can’t hold against Time. In the later case they Fade. Some still linger as maddened or sad spirits, most just remain as flavors or weirdly beautiful hauntings. Elves also don’t sleep or dream. For them Dream is a place, close to their original home. They need no rest and very little food or water in fact. Sometimes they seem to know things before they happen.

Because Elves came before Time, change is something hard for them. An Elf today is probably the same Elf a thousand years later. Those that change usually fade faster. That is why an Elf’s word is binding.

Elves are disturbed by the very old and the very young between Humans and Halflings. Such concepts are alien to them, although Elves seem to have lineages, families and to marriage. 

If you like this take, change Luck to Fading. The world has changed and your kind’s war, the Greatest War, against Time itself, was lost. You sought to end Death, to bring to Humans, Halflings and all those miserable mortals something greater but you failed. You’re Fading. 

• Elves can burn 1 Luck to treat spirits, ghosts and incorporeal beings (in the ethereal or astral planes) as physical entities that can be touched and hurt. He can see such beings too if they are invisible. This lasts for 1 minute.
• They can burn 1 Luck to ignore fear, illusions, mind control or madness for 1 minute.
• Elves can burn 1 Luck to go without food or water for the rest of that game session or adventure (Judge’s call).
• Elves gazed at the Void, on the shores of Night. They can burn 1 Luck to ignore Corruption or Patron Taint until the end of the game session. They can also burn 1 Luck to recover a lost spell, although most Elves only use this in desperation.
• Sometimes you can still see through Time. Burn 1 Luck to have a small item with you that you could have bought or taken.
• If an Elf gave his word, that is binding. Breaking an oath or outright lying cost an Elf 1 point of Luck. However, Elves always know when someone lies.
• When an Elf hits his 1st Threshold, he is more There than Here. The Elf does not need to eat, drink or even breath. He can move to any place that he can see without crossing the distance, but he must finish his move on a surface (consider that the Elf still has the same speed, but instead of moving he can disappear in one spot and reappear in the end of the movement). He can’t do this if shackled with pure iron. Under direct sunlight the Elf seems pale and weak, and sometimes you have the impression you can see through him.
• When an Elf hits his 2nd Threshold, he finally Fades away. He can touch in person, enemy or item of his size or less in melee range and automatically take that with him to the Shores of Night, never to be seen again (unless the Judge has a new Quest for the Impossible in mind).