In underground communities where members dig their homes and livelihoods out of the living earth, a few diggers occasionally gain an unusual affinity for earth and digging. When combined with a warrior's spirit, these underground dwellers sometimes become moles.

Moles are patient and tenacious, like the stone from which they carve their livelihoods. As combatants, they live for the ambush. They can wait for hours in a cramped space for quarry to come along, and they launch devastating blows from the safety of an alcove, or within solid rock.

As workers and miners, they are single-minded in their attempts to wring a few more gems out of the earth. Further, they can excavate amazing amounts of earth in a fraction of the time it would take a normal miner to dig out a vein of precious metal. In a mining operation, moles are usually given a passage to themselves and told to come back when they get hungry. Sometimes these individuals aren't seen for two or three shifts afterward.

Moles' fingernails are usually long, tough, and always dirty. Their clothes and skin similarly remain covered with dirt, but the smudges and stains are a symbol of station for moles. They claim a difference between "good dirt" and "dirty," although the distinction seems wasted on non-moles. Although they are traditionally dwarves, members of any race who spend time digging underground have been known to become moles, including humans, gnomes, and drow. In one instance, a grimlock had even developed mole class abilities.

Mole is a relatively easy prestige class to qualify for, and it can benefit nearly anyone in a dungeon setting. Rogues, bards, and rangers qualify for this class quickly. Other classes can also learn to be moles with an appropriate focus on skill choice. The greatest impediment to reaching this class is the necessary amount of time spent underground. Most mole PCs should have either spent the time underground in their pre-adventuring life or taken a long break from adventuring to fulfill this requirement.

Obviously, moles fare best underground. Aboveground, especially in wooded or urban settings, a mole's special abilities are less useful. However, moles are still capable of