Dwarves

Dwarves are a stoic and stern race, dwarves have acquired a reputation as dour and humorless. It could be said that their history shapes the dark disposition of many dwarves, constantly at war with giants, goblins, and other such horrors.

Dwarves are lovers of history and tradition, and their longer lifespan leads to far less in the way of generational shifts in attitudes, styles, fashions, and trends than shorter-lived races exhibit.

Dwarves have achieved feats of metallurgy, stonework, and engineering that have consistently outpaced the technological advances of other races, though some non-dwarven races have used magic to supplement and perfect their own creations to achieve the same ends through mystical rather than mundane means. They are also a race typified by stubborn courage and dedication to seeing tasks through to completion, whatever the risks. These traits have led dwarves to explore and settle in extreme environments that would cause other races to quail and retreat. While it is said that dwarves are not venturesome or inventive, it would be more accurate to say that they maintain a focus on and dedication to each task they undertake and every change they adopt, vetting such changes thoroughly before adopting them wholeheartedly. When faced with new circumstances and new needs, they react by applying tried and true tools and techniques systematically, using existing methods whenever possible rather than trying to invent novel solutions for every situation. If necessity requires, however, they throw themselves with equal vigor into developing the next perfect procedure for demolishing the obstacles that get in their way. Once their desired goal is obtained, they focus on consolidating each new piece of territory or conceptual advance. Dwarves thus rarely overextend themselves, but they also may miss opportunities to seize the initiative and maximize the advantages they create.

## Appearance

A dwarf is a stout humanoid, usually a head shorter than their human counterparts, but much broader. They have thick, heavy bones, tightly packed muscular sinew, and stability unmatched by other races. This bulk also causes dwarves to weigh as much, if not more than, humans. Their coloration varies almost as much as humans, but tend to be more earthly colors.

Dwarves have a wide range of eye color, with brown and grey being the most common, though some possess shocking blue irises. Their hair is usually worn long, and dwarven men spend considerable effort growing, maintaining, and embellishing their long beards. One of the worst offenses to a dwarven man is to shave his beard, as it is considered a deadly insult not only to the individual, but also to his ancestors and family.

### Dress

Dwarven dress mirrors the items they so carefully craft, elevating function over style, but they are never plain. Most decorations also serve a practical purpose, such as special fasteners, reinforced seams, useful padding, or loops for holding weapons or tools.

## History

### Stone made flesh

Once a race of powerful earth elemental's, dwarves were great tricksters and thieves taking mountains for their homes and collecting vast amounts of wealth, enough to even rival and sometimes surpass dragon hordes. Their greed became their downfall, when they stole a treasure from the sphinx Ihmutu, who cast the curse that became known as "stone made flesh". Stripping away their elemental skin and power turning them to mortalkind, with their power gone the dwarves were easy prey for giants, and their treasures and mountains joined the hordes of dragons, some dwarves sought redemption in paladinhood, some become servants to dragons, some sought new meaning, becoming hermits, some went mad and dug themselves into the deep underground, others found new homes working themselves to the bone to regain an ounce of their former glory and pride, eventually leading to the creation of the dwarven kingdoms.

## Society

Dwarves are great lovers of tradition, but with their culture waning and nations of other races rising around the world, dwarven society is becoming more heavily influenced by human, gnomish, and even elven culture. This makes older dwarves quite nervous, as they see the more porous nature of dwarven society today as a prelude to its extinction. Despite these changes, dwarves still spend most of their time crafting, fighting, or building fortifications.

### Language

Dwarvish is a hash sounding language with many hard consonants, and rarely including soft or sibilant sounds.

### Honorifics and Titles

Honorifics and titles are very important to dwarvenkind, honorifics are a sign of respect. whereas titles are a way to show power, glory, wealth, and other of the like, hill dwarves being more proud, are known to give their titles as part of their name.

### Gladringgar

*Gladdringgar* is the dwarven tradition of carving one's personal rune in stone on the deepest cave or tunnel one has explored. It literally translates as the "ritual of toil". Dwarves are obsessed with leaving a mark and being remembered, and great respect is given to the dwarves who risk their lives to delve far.

## Subraces

### Arctic Dwarves

Squat and hardy dwarves, isolated and secluded from all but themselves, mostly due to where they live.

### Coastal Dwarves

By far the most adventurous of the dwarvenkind, often as tall as mountain dwarves but slighter of build.

### Desert Dwarves

Very similar to hill dwarves but tend to be more gritty.

### Hill Dwarves

The most prideful of the dwarvenkind, and often stalwart by nature.

### Mountain Dwarves

Tall dwarves, by comparison, inhabiting the mountains, usually near the north.

### Volcanic Dwarves

A rare offshoot of the mountain dwarves, adapted to living in and near active volcano's, they take on a darker often grey coloration, due to the soot clinging to their skin over years.

## Magic

Due to the Stone made Flesh curse magic is extremely rare among dwarvenkind but not nonexistent, when a dwarven magic user dose appear they find it impossible to use material components.