Dwarf

A typical male and female dwarf soldier

## Overview

Dwarves, sometimes called the Stout Folk, are a natural humanoid race common throughout Faerun. Dwarves are a tough, tradition-abiding folk known for their strong martial traditions and beautiful craftsmanship. They are not as tall as Humans or Elves but not as short as Gnomes or Halflings, they stand somewhere in between. Dwarfs usually live among their own kind in subterranean cities but many venture out an live alongside other humanoids, usually as smiths and gemcrafters or adventurers.

Dwarves come in a number of subraces, the most common of which are Shield Dwarves, Arctic Dwarfs and Gold Dwarves, though there is nothing other than physical looks and minor cultural differences that separate these subraces.

## Physical Description

Dwarves are a short race, as their name implies, standing from 4'3" – 4'9" (1.3 – 1.45 meters) on average, with gold dwarves a bit shorter. What Dwarves lack in height they make up for in bulk; they are, on average, about as heavy as humans. A dwarf can weigh anywhere from about 160 – 220 lbs (73 – 100 kg). Dwarven males are a bit taller and heavier than their female counterparts. Like humans, dwarves have a wide variety of skin, eye, and hair colors, typically pale among shield dwarves and deeply tanned or brown amongst gold dwarves. Hazel eyes are common throughout the race, with blue eyes more common amongst shield dwarves and brown or green eyes found amongst the gold dwarves.

Male dwarves are often bald and grow thick facial hair sometimes used to display social status. Unusually for humanoids, both sexes naturally grow ample facial hair though the majority of shield dwarf females shave their beards off. This hair is often dark in hue, though among shield dwarves blond or red hair is just as common. Gold dwarves take the care of facial hair to an extreme, carefully oiling and grooming it, with some adding perfume and ornamentation.

Dwarves are a long-lived race and reach physical maturity somewhat later than humans. A dwarf is traditionally considered an adult once he or she reaches age fifty. Dwarves age much like humans but over a longer period of time, remaining vigorous well past 150 years. Most dwarves live to see their bicentennial and a few live to be over 400.

## Psychology

Whether or not the dwarven claim that they were carved from the world’s stone is true, the dwarves share many qualities considered similar to the stone they live with. Strong, hardy, and dependable dwarves are polite, particularly elders, and possess a wisdom beyond that of many other races. Dwarves value their traditions, regardless of the subrace they come from, and look for inspiration from ancestral heroes. Dwarves are also known for their stubborn nature and cynicism, traits widespread amongst the dwarves but which contribute to and are commonly offset by their bravery and tenacity.

Dwarven friendship is hard to earn, but is strong once won. Naturally dour and suspicious, the stout folk are slow to trust others, specifically towards those outside their family, suspecting the worst of an individual until the outsider proves many times their good will. Once this trust is gained dwarves hold their friends to it and view betrayals, even minor ones, with a vicious propensity for vengeance. A common gnomish oath, remarking on this dwarven sense of justice, is “if I'm lying, may I cross a dwarf.”

For dwarves, loyalty is more than a word and that it should be both valued and rewarded. Dwarves believe it a gift and mark of respect to stand beside a friend in combat, and an even deeper one to protect that ally from harm. Many dwarven tales subsequently revolve around the sacrifice of dwarves for their friends and family. Just as dwarves are known for their dependability as friends and allies, dwarves also harbor grudges far longer than many other races. This may be on an individual basis between a dwarf and one who has wronged him or against entire races, even if warfare with the enemy has long since ceased.

Dwarves are a careful and deliberate race, with a more serious disposition than other races, who they sometimes view as flighty or reckless. A dwarf does all things with care and a stubborn resolve, with brash or cowardly behavior unusual for the race. However, dwarves do succumb easily to wrath or greed, which are the most common vices of the race.

## Culture

### A Culture of Loyalty

Dwarves highly value the ties between family members and friends, weaving tightly knit clans. Dwarves particularly respect elders, from whom they expect sound leadership and the wisdom of experience, as well as ancestral heroes or clan founders. This idea carries on to relations with other races and dwarves are deferential even to the elders of another, non-dwarven race.
Likewise, dwarves, perhaps moreso than most other races, turn to their gods for guidance and protection. Non-evil dwarves look to the divine for comfort and inspiration, while the wicked look to their divine overlords for methods through which to obtain power over others. Individual dwarves might be faithless, but the race as a whole, regardless of subrace, has a strong inclination for religion and almost every community maintains at least one temple or ancestral shrine.

### Clan and Family

Most dwarven societies are divided into clans built along family ties and political allegiances. These clans are usually led by hereditary rulers, often monarchs of a sort and descended from the founder of the clan. Dwarves strongly value loyalty to these rulers and to the clan as a whole and even objective dwarves tend to side primarily with their kin over other races or communities.

Most dwarven clans focus on one or two kinds of crafting, such as blacksmithing, jewelry, engineering, or masonry. Dwarves strive to avoid overspecialization by sending some of their youth as apprentices to other clans, which also helps to foster racial unity. Because of the long age dwarves exhibit these apprenticeships may last decades.

### Race Relations

Dwarves do not forgive past wrongs easily and the entire race has more or less declared war on goblins and orcs as a whole, wiping them out where they find them. Many dwarves view these races as a foul infestation of their mountain homes and their duty to purge them. Likewise, many dwarves view drow and grimlocks with a similar hatred and few dwarves have forgotten their ancestral hatred of the giants who once enslaved them. Because of this dwarves generally view related races, such as half-orcs, with distrust.

Dwarves get along pretty well with gnomes, with whom they share a love of fine crafting, and passably with humans, half-elves and halflings. However, most dwarves commonly believe that true friendships can only be forged over long periods of time and a common saying is that “the difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years,” meaning that few members of the shorter-lived races ever forge strong bonds with dwarves. There are exceptions, however, and some of the strongest friendships are those between a dwarf and a human whose grandparents and parents were also on good terms with the dwarf.

## Notable Dwarfs

### Notable Dwarf Individuals

Gundren Rockseeker, the patron of the party in Phandalin's Tale

### Notable Dwarf Clans

There are no notable dwarf tribes as of yet