Dwarven

## Anatomy & Morphology

The shortest race on Arret Ashcrath the dwarves find themselves being rather overlooked by most others. Mostly they are of average proportions though they tend to be stocky creatures with heavily muscled bodies however they can also have a high dexterity, much like humans it would mostly depend on the kind of exercises they preform daily. Being short in the leg dose slow them down some what, however dose not limit their movement in any other ways as you may expect.

## Perception & Sensory / Extrasensory Capabilies

Dwarven scenes are much the same as a humans, though their eyes can see closer details than an average human, such they would not need a magnifying glass where a human might.

## Genetics & Reproduction

Dwarfs breed like any other mammal with longer time frames than a human, with arround 12 months of pregnancy. This longer frame, some say, accounts for why they are offten unsuccessful, others believe that it is the lack of magic some how. Whatever the reason, dwarven babies don't happen often, meaning a slow but very measurable decline in numbers with most pairs only managing one child, sometimes two in their lives.

## Growth Rate & Stages

Dwarfs live much longer than humans, roughly twice as long. this extends to their life stages also. They mature at 30 and live as long as 180 to 200 years old.

## Dietary Needs & Habits

Like humans a dwarf is omnivorous and will eat almost anything available. They have no real preferences except personal choices, though it was once a common stereotype that they would live of off roots and mushroom if they could, probably due to one of the larger clans being mostly miners.

## Brief History

Their culture has changed hugely over the last couple thousand years. In their ancient history, the dwarfs were miners, builders and craftsmen of great skill, all other races admired and valued their work and most of the great cities were originally built by dwarven hands. Their works in metal were also greatly desired, the object created had both the best quality and fashion.

The dwarfs were also seen as the most honorable of people and with the way their society worked it would have been easy to tell which of their kin where not as such. Beards back then were both a show of age and wisdom, and honer, loyalty and reputation; The longer and thicker the beard, the wiser and more trustworthy the dwarf, a lot of effort was put into those beards.

They lived mostly in family groups, these clans held much of the ancient world together forming the foundations of society, politics and industry. They were also the most numerous of the races for a long time, leading the others into new advancements in technology and ideology. This way of life lasted for so many thousands of years, some even say they were the first.

Time moved forwards and for whatever reasons dwarven women found that carrying child to term became harder, generation after generation. As the human population began to rise and took over, dwarven craftsmanship became less valued as the humans developed their own new technologies, rendering many of a dwarfs common skills and professions pointless or too expensive in comparison. Due to these progressions, many of the families turned away from the traditions of old to find new ways of making the coin they needed to trade for goods and services. A few of these new ways included what most call crime, some of the most feared crime lords in history were dwarfs as they also learned a strong business sense. This new lifestyle included the loss of the beard, as it became something that simply got in the way and as it carried no weight of stature any more it was virtually pointless, though many still keep a short beard as a tradition.

## Current World Standing

The Dwarfs are currently the least populous of the common races if not of the hidden races too. Most people are lead to believe that it is a genetic disorder rather than a separate race, which allows these men and women to live in relative comfort of the modern era. Though occupations are a little limited, many dwarves have managed to find ways back to their roots in partaking in vocations such as architecture. However, many still work in the shadows, taking what they need without thought for those around them. Their numbers so few, those that choose this path feel they are entitled to live out their lives however they want.