Dwarves

## Physical characteristics

Dwarves stand shorter than most races of Tirisiea only towering over Gnomes but their build is generally wider giving them a more stocky appearance.  For both male and female Dwarves this equates to broad shoulders.  They have a natural hardiness to them while not always represented in strength, they are comfortable in wide arrays of weather and their insides can handle the stiffest drinks passed to them.  Long lived creatures, Dwarves are known to live to be over 400 years

#### Hair

All male Dwarves have beards but not all beards are long.  They are styled how they please and are a mark of pride among Dwarven men and an attention seeker for dwarven women.  Dwarven women seldom have beards although slight facial hair is not uncommon among certain dwarf women. In fact, should a male dwarf flirt with a female outside his race, they may forget this when drawing attention to their facial hair. The most popular styles for female dwarves emphasize either moderate length flowing styles or braided hair.  Braiding is common among males as well.

## Family & Sex

Marriages are arranged by any consenting adults.  A longstanding tradition of arranged marriage exists called a "proper Dwarven engangement" in which two friends will happily announce their friendship by wishing their families to align and be considered closer.  This can take the form of doing business together, forgiving a debt or simply moving closer to one another.  This is capped by a party in which they announce an arrange marriage between their two children for sometime in the future.  The children are encouraged to be friends with each other but today aren't expected to get married as adults should they have any reason to not want to.  It is merely a suggestion and a fond memory for the Dwarven parents who made the deal and were simply looking forward to another party in the future.  That said, weddings born of a proper Dwarven engagement are grand affairs almost always held in the halls of Golden Center.

Dwarf children are given attention and training if possible in the trade's their parents know best and are are homeschooled if possible.  Great Trench's orphanages and buisness are able to provide apprenticeships and aid to Dwarf children without a family to support them in such a way.

Dwarves are capable of relations with other races to the extent that Gnome/Dwarf relations can have successful pregnancies (in this case known as a Gnomf or Dwome depending on the parentage).  Difficulty in this measure from the human perspective has led to creation of rumors that as baby Dwarves sprout out of the ground and other ridiculous notions.

## Personality

More than anything, Dwarves are focused beings.  They are dedicated to
tasks and will allow very little to come in the way of them completing it.  As a result, this has led to them being very distracted from
outside affairs and gives them a reputation of being single minded, stubborn and potentially shortsighted.  Dwarves can be friendly to get along if goals align however, being so long lived, most Dwarves have a sense of patience leading some to be slow to anger.  Of course, varies by individual and may not always be the case.