Dwarves

Dwarves are a short, stocky race of miners, engineers, and inventors of Thelos.  They can be stout warriors, bookish spellcasters, or devout priests, but at heart they are all crafters, inventors, and builders.  They can be found living in all climates and locales, depending on their trade or interests.  They are also responsible for the technological revolution taking place on Thelos that is blending magic and machinery.

**Physical Appearance:**Standing a head shorter than the average human, dwarves can be a broad and sturdy force in anything they do.  They have a wide range of hair and eye colors, and while most males favor intricately woven and sculptured beards, some professions make the beard a hazard so it’s not uncommon to see a mechanic that works on heavy machinery bearing a trimmed beard or no beard at all.  Female dwarves are slightly thinner, but they are generally as tall and strong as males.  Their skin tones vary depending on where they live.  Dwarven civilizations on the surface tend to be dusky from long days working in the sun, while those who live under ground are paler, with larger eyes and lighter hair colors.

Dwarves tend to dress for their trade or craft, and even their everyday clothing is practical and sturdy.  Very few dwarves care about fashion, preferring comfort and durability to appearance.

**Society:**Dwarven society can best be described as a clannish meritocracy.  While every dwarven civilization has a king, called a khan, they value hard work and innovation over virtues of birth.  A clan head, guild leader, and even the Khan is nothing to their people if they are not hard workers that contribute to society.  This is not done through any sense of moral obligation to carry the weak on the backs of the strong, but with a sense that the accomplishments of the individual help that individual and his society together.  Dwarves work hard because they want to make their lives better, and through a side effect the lives of their family and neighbors.

Dwarves consider all work to be the most virtuous pursuit of life.  Whether it be metal working, mining, engineering, or inventing the next big thing, a dwarf is happiest when he or she is doing something.  Due to this, all dwarves learn a trade at an early age, and whether they become adventurers, soldiers, or statesmen, they always carry on their professions.

Due to their belief in the productivity of the community all dwarven player characters must choose a secondary occupation from the following table.  These are marked as profession skills with 2 bonus ranks due to their apprenticeship as young dwarves.

Table 2.1:  Dwarven Occupations

 Appraise
 Armorer
 Blacksmithing
 Brewing
 Carpentry
 Cobbling
 Engineering

**Relationships:**Dwarves tend to get along well with most people, but there are a few exceptions to their level of tolerance.  That’s not to say they like everyone, earning their friendship and trust is actually quite difficult.  They simply don’t care enough to have much of a problem with other people, they just don’t have the time and prefer to give that time to select and valuable relationships with others individually.  What they can’t tolerate, however, are takers, and the lazy.  This is why they despise monsters and evil creatures of the world that take what they want by force, and feed off the productive civilizations of dwarves and their neighbors.  They are slow to trust, and hard to befriend, but once their respect is earned they are staunch allies and loyal to a fault.

Among their own people dwarves are family oriented, cherishing bonds several generations deep.  Even cousins, multiple times removed, are considered important family members and given as much consideration in a dwarven home as immediate blood kin.  Dwarves consider their family more important than anything in their lives, even slightly more precious than their trade.

**Alignment and Religion:**Dwarves, like most people on Thelos, are devoutly religious.  The deities of Thelos are not based on philosophy, or a vague ideology that requires blind faith.  Divine magic, visitations, visions, miracles, and prophets are real and prominent in the world.  Dwarven deities tend to represent the core tenets of their society; technology, crafting, industry, and combat to defend those things.  Dwarves revere all of their deities, and are quite polytheistic as a people.  They tend to hold more reverence for a deity that represents their chosen profession or work, but you won’t find a dwarf alive that will spit in the direction of any of their Gods.

On the topic of morality and alignment, dwarves value order, regimented laws, and honor.  They tend to be lawful, and generally good or neutral on the moral axis of alignment.  An evil dwarf is certainly possible, but they would tend to be an outcast from their own society, and even engender many contradictory traits when compared to their own people.  They would be considered an aberration even by non-dwarves.

**Adventurers:**Dwarven adventurers tend to be those dwarves who need a little more excitement, or looking for something new for their craft.  They may take up traveling to look at new architecture, find new minerals, or study new ideas in engineering.  Whether they do this as warriors, wizards or priests doesn’t change the initial drive, the quest for more knowledge about their profession or craft.  This isn’t to say every dwarf is like that, but it tends to be the norm.  Dwarves can, and will choose nearly any class that is compatible with their society and alignment, but some they will approach with a different frame of mind.  For example, dwarven rogues do exist, but they are not pickpockets or burglars.  They tend to be explorers, scouts, spelunkers and tomb raiders.  Always seeking something new, but using a rogue’s skills to find it.

**Male Names:**Asger, Dolf, Garth, Reghar, Siggurd

**Female Names:**Alvilda, Eerika, Ingrid, Solvi, Tyra