The Dwarves by Markus Heitz - The Roleplaying Game

This campaign introduces the role-playing game The Dwarves, based on Markus Heitz’s bestselling novel series.

The Dwarves RPG is a complete setting and rulebook based on the 5th edition of the world’s most famous role-playing game.

It will be available in both an English and a German edition. / Es erscheint in einer englischen und einer deutschen Fassung. (Für Informationen über das Buch in deutscher Sprache könnt ihr auf unsere Website gehen: squink-verlag.de. Dort gibt es eine Vorstellung des Projekts und weitere Hintergrundberichte auf Deutsch.)

Discover the Girdlegard and the proud dwarf kingdoms that protect it.

Experience dwarven communities from the perspective of their members — vivid descriptions of the game world through the eyes of individual tribespeople, travelers, or scholars from the archives of Weyurn, not dry encyclopedia entries about countries and rulers. Go beetle hunting with Gordi Steinhauer in the underground realms of the Freelings or follow Tabalan Halbfaust of the Secondlings as he begins his training as a stonemason.

The best-selling author Markus Heitz’s epic fantasy series The Dwarves spans nine books. The stories are set in the Girdlegard, a region divided into the realms of humans and elves, enclosed by a ring of mountains. At each of the mountain passes leading to the Outer Land lies one of the dwarven realms, and their fortresses stand as bulwarks against any invasion. The dwarves consider it their sacred duty to protect the Girdlegard — even though they have little in common with humans beyond a few trade contacts. And they actually view the elves more as their enemies.
Magic is a rare commodity in the Girdlegard. Only a handful of Humans have mastered the gift of tapping into the land’s magical sources and channeling that power in specific ways. They run schools and train others, but magic is by no means commonplace in the Girdlegard.

The dwarves prefer to rely on their axes and their crafts. Vraccas—their creator god—has bestowed a specific craft upon each of the kingdoms ancestors. 
Under the leadership of the five ancestors, not only did different kingdoms emerge, but also distinct dwarven cultures, each with their own traditions, their own traditional dress, and their own ideals.

The five founders of the dwarven folks were created by Vraccas, who gave each of them a name.

                                                                                              Heitz, Markus. The Dwarves

The Firstling Kingdom of Borengar’s folk

The finest blacksmiths of the Girdlegard take pride in their traditions, yet they are fully capable of adapting to change. A queen stands at their head, and women generally hold the reins of power here — a fact not every dwarf is comfortable with. What is beyond doubt, however, is the quality of their masterfully crafted weapons and armor. 

The Secondling Kingdom of Beroin’s folk

Hard as stone—and some would say just as unyielding. The Secondlings follow many time-honored rules, albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Their sense of humor is as down-to-earth as their stonemasonry, and no other buildings in the Sheltered Land come close to the artistic perfection of their fortresses.

The Fourthling Kingdom of Goimdil’s folk

Precision and patience are the virtues of the Fourthlings’ gem cutters. The least robust of all the dwarves prefer to overcome problems with intellect and skill rather than relying on brute force. As a result, they are often accused of scheming rather than openly facing the enemy on the battlefield. Yet all praise their masterful handling of gems, and many are left speechless when they first lay eyes on the vibrantly glowing corridors of their stronghold at Goldhort.

The Fifthling Kingdom of Giselbart’s folk

Destroyed and driven out by the beasts of Tion, the Fifthlings are now homeless. Their few remaining descendants live in human cities or travel the surface world in colorful wagons. They offer all manner of craftsmanship to humans to survive, though the art of goldsmithing remains their outstanding talent. 

The Thirdling Kingdom of Lorimbur’s folk

The father of the thirdlings cast off his Vraccas-given name and called himself Lorimbur, which is how he has always been known. The other dwarves each received a particular talent for their folks, and so the smiths, the masons, the gem cutters, and the goldsmiths were born. But when it was Lorimbur’s turn, Vraccas told him: “You chose your own name, so you must choose your own talent. Teach yourself a trade, for you can expect nothing from me.”… he applied himself secretly to the art of combat. His aim was not merely to defeat his enemies, but to kill every dwarf in Girdlegard so that none of his kin could overshadow him again.

Heitz, Markus. The Dwarves

The Thirdlings are called dwarf-haters and dwarf-hunters. The undisputed best fighters of the Girdlegard lead a hard life in which the most important thing is to best others in combat.

The Freelings

Not everyone is content to live by the conventions and strict rules of the dwarven kingdoms: some break with tradition and seek a new community. As the Freelings, these outcasts have banded together and live underground. Their descendants are marked by a daily life far from daylight.

The Dwarves RPG is based on the 5th edition (2024) of the world's most famous role-playing game. The core rulebook contains everything you need to play - all the rules - as well as additional new options.

6 different species options for dwarven characters, not only to enrich the Girdlegard but to give depth to all dwarf folks in your 5e campaigns. Each of the dwarfen kingdoms can be selected as a distinct species, with some characteristics common to all dwarves but also kingdom-specific traits. Thus, dwarves are not simply “dwarves” but members of various dwarven cultures - with different talents and variations in clothing, weaponry, and traditions.
 

7 classes, each with three new archetypes, including 2 brand-new classes: the Tinkerer and the Scholar for characters who don’t necessarily excel with an axe but can contribute to combat and problem-solving in other ways. These new classes go hand in hand with new rules for injuries and crafting.

But familiar classes have also been redesigned so that they can function without magic, such as the Rangers. In this class, magical abilities are replaced by various types of traps that Rangers can set. 

To highlight the various crafting skills of the different dwarven kingdoms, a new ruleset gives characters the possibility to craft gimmicks or create masterful items with special abilities. Characters can use their tools during a rest to craft one-time-items that may grant them skill bonuses in the future. With more time and effort, characters can craft improved items that have lasting effects. The materials used also play a role in this process. 

As magical healing in the Girdlegard is an option available only to one of the powerful human magi, mundane healers are all the more important. A new set of rules for damage, wounds, and healing makes the game more dangerous on the one hand, while on the other hand giving characters new opportunities to use healing effectively.

Based on the role-playing game Fateforge by Studio Agate, The Dwarves RPG uses a modular system to tailor the game to the needs of each individual gaming group. Whether you’re looking for a heroic or a more ruthless gaming experience, simple icons help you find the right rule options and adjustments for your playstyle and your adventures.

Spanning more than 300 pages, the Corebook contains everything you need to play THE DWARVES. Six dwarf tribes are detailed as playable species, each presented in a comprehensive chapter. An overview of the Girdlegard also introduces the realms of humans and elves.

The rulebook is based on the 5th edition of the world’s most famous role-playing game— but it includes all the rules. It also features new rules for crafting, damage, and healing, as well as various modules to customize the game to your group’s preferences.

The Deluxe Edition of the rulebook contains everything found in the standard Corebook, plus an additional appendix with more stories from the Girdlegard.

The Quickstart contains a brief overview of the Girdlegard and the dwarf clans, as well as the rules, races, and classes. It also includes pre-made characters and an adventure so you can start playing right away.

The Leader Screen contains all the important information you need to run the game. It has three A4 landscape panels so you can easily keep track of not only the rules but also the table.

The Dwarf Dice Set consists of real stone dice with an axe symbol on the highest number of each die. The sturdy box with an inlay and magnetic closure contains:

2 D20, 1 D12, 1 D10, 1 D100, 1 D8, 3 D6, 1 D4

The Inspiration Tokens Set includes 6 metal coins featuring the Vraccas rune and symbols, housed in a fabric pouch with the Vraccas rune. This lets you stylishly indicate who at the table currently has Inspiration.

A genuine leather cup, handcrafted and featuring a laser-engraved and dyed symbol of a dwarven kingdom. There are 6 different models for the six kingdoms. If you choose the Kingdom Special Pledge, you can select your Kingdom later in the Pledge Manager. The corresponding dice cup will be included in your pledge.

With these pins, you can stylishly show your kingdom affiliation. There are 6 different pins, each featuring the logo of one of the dwarven kingdoms. If you choose the Kingdom Special Pledge, you can select your kingdom later in the Pledge Manager. The corresponding pin will be included in your pledge.

 

The All Rolled Up is a stylish fabric pouch handmade in the UK, with pockets for pens, tokens, dice and cards. The front features the cover of the corebook. The All Rolled Up is an add-on, that you can add to any pledge separately.

(We recommend transporting the stone dice for The Dwarves in their box, not in this bag, so they don't hit each other.) 

A neoprene button-up dice tray with the artwork of The Dwarves. This way, your stone dice will have a soft landing. There are two different artworks, you can choose from.

This crowdfunding campaign enables us to finance a large project like this in the first place. Furthermore, your support allows us to expand the project, plan additional products, and develop new features. At the same time, this is our way of thanking you for your trust in us. We’ll reach our first stretch goal when we hit a total of 10000 Euros.

Squink is a publishing house founded in 2024 in northern Germany. So far, we’ve localized various international titles for the German market, including DIE RPG by Rowan, Rook & Decard, as well as Fateforge and Draconis, both by Studio Agate. The Dwarves RPG is our first major in-house production, to which we’re bringing a wealth of experience in this field.

Cat has been playing role-playing games since she was 11 and has made a dream come true for herself by founding her own publishing house. Her career in the role-playing game industry began with writing contributions to The Dark Eye and Shadowrun, before she helped bring Splittermond to life as an author. Later, she took over as editor-in-chief of Splittermond and as publishing director at Uhrwerk Verlag, a major German role-playing game publisher. As a fan of Markus Heitz’s The Dwarves series, this project is particularly close to her heart for several reasons: not only is it the publisher’s first major in-house production, but it also brings a genuinely German fantasy setting to life for the German and international role-playing game markets.

Our team of authors is made up of people from a wide variety of professional backgrounds. What unites them is their love of role-playing games and Markus Heitz’s dwarves. They, too, bring a wealth of experience in role-playing game production and have previously worked on lines such as Splittermond and Shadowrun. 

Our rules team specializes in 5e and has also contributed to the Squink’s previous translations of 5e products, such as Historia (Mana Project Studio) and Fateforge (Studio Agate). 

David Roterberg, our lead illustrator, is responsible for most of the wonderful illustrations that bring the Girdlegard and the dwarven kingdoms to life. David has primarily worked in the field of board and card games, including for Magic: The Gathering and Rush of Ikorr.

Lars Krause has illustrated the game world of the Girdlegard alongside David. His previous work in the role-playing game sector includes work for The Dark Eye and Myranor.

Christina Brombach holds a degree in English and used to live in England, as well as being an experienced translator between English and German. She has been translating role-playing games into German for years, including Fateforge, DIE, and Lex Arcana. This time, her role is reversed, and she will translate The Dwarves into English for us, with the assistance of a native English speaker who will be editing the English texts.

Wren Reilly is a Scottish Transylvanian editor who spent summers in the shadow of Castle Frankenstein, and as a result enjoys editing and play testing TTRPGs while wondering which dialects of English and German best fit a dwarf.

It’s important to us that all our content is created by people. We do not use generative AI — neither for text nor for image production.

Unfortunately, we have to handle these matters differently for different parts of the world. So please read the section on your part of the world carefully. We will collect Taxes and Shipping fees during the pledge manager. 

USA

• No extra taxes will be collected.
• All US orders will be shipped from within the US, so no customs fees will be applicable.

EU

• All taxes are already included in the price. So you will not have to pay extra taxes.
• All EU orders will be shipped from Germany, so no customs fees will be applicable.

Rest of the world

• All orders outside of the zones mentioned above will be delivered from Germany.
• Import taxes and duties may be applied depending on your local customs regulations. Unfortunately, we don't have any way of predicting these charges.

This project offers friendly shipping for the US and EU.

The exact amount of shipping fees will depend on the weight of your parcel and will be charged during the pledge manager. Here you'll find an estimate of the shipping costs 

• USA : $10 - $20
• EU : €10 - €20
• Rest of the world: $40-$90