Dwarves

## Description:

Dwarves are the short and durable miners, guardians, custodians, builders, and tinkerers of the K2 Universe. They maintain positive relations with most other races, save for Goblins and Elves; Dwarves see Goblins as their direct rivals, both in the mining industry and in the engineering industry, and the two races compete unendingly wherever and whenever possible; Dwarves view Elves as arrogant, pompous, self-important, and self-righteous, while Elves view Dwarves as barbaric, simple, and physically inferior. Dwarves prefer to spend as much time as they can underground, either in caves or their Strongholds, but can survive in most climates easily when on the surface. Dwarves tend to stand between three (3) to four and a half (4.5) feet tall on average, and generally weigh upwards of two hundred and fifty (250) pounds thanks to their dense bodies. Most Dwarves are physically stronger than a normal human, although their bodies rarely display this strength; the Dwarven diet promotes density and bulk with function over lean, toned muscle.

Dwarven eyes can be brown, grey, green, orange, or blue. Dwarven hair is almost always brown or black, although blonde or red is not unheard-of. Almost all Dwarves - particularly miners and craftsmen - grow out large beards, regardless of gender, due to the intense thickness of Dwarven hair that provides a layer of protection against harmful particles in the air they breathe; a Dwarf that lacks a beard is assumed to have a safe or more prestigious job, making beardlessness in Dwarven society a symbol of nobility and wealth. Dwarven skin color varies slightly depending on region, but is usually quite pale due to their lack of exposure to sunlight; Dwarves that spend much of their time on the surface will have healthier skin. Dwarven skin is considerably tougher than that of most other races, and is capable of resisting most weapons to a certain degree, even bullets.

Other races view Dwarves as not particularly attractive, although their emphasis on honor, bravery, adventuring, and their cultural importance placed on family, Dwarves are often considered good spouses and excellent providers. Other races tend to view Dwarves as stubborn, cold, straightforward, and rude for their tendency to speak their mind and care little for the opinions of others.

The Dwarven intellect is known far and wide by all people of K2, and is recognized as invaluable in most situations. The natural Dwarven wit and creativity make them excellent artists and inventors, their perfectionist tendencies make them mastercraft artisans, and their affinity for mechanics and engineering make them innovative machinists and artificers; while not all Dwarves possess this natural leaning towards creativity or machines, all Dwarves have some connection to building, making, or designing. Dwarven intelligence is considered, on average, above that of an average human. Dwarven wisdom, however, is often criticized by the older, more ancient races (Elves especially); the Dwarves are a very logical and straightforward group of people who do not linger on philosophy or religion, and are frequently too busy or too enthralled by their work to care about such nonphysical subjects. Dwarves tend to be in the moment, and will easily slip into perfectionism and overworking themselves for days on end to finish their perfect item or piece of furniture.

Dwarven technology varies greatly depending on the Stronghold and region, but is almost always far above that of the other races in the area. Dwarves are best known for their creation of Magitechnology, the "perfect" blend of magic and technology designed to provide the best of both without the associated negatives. Dwarves are also very magically-sensitive, and possess innate talents for Enchantment and crafting magics, Transmutation, and Geomancy. Many Dwarves do not bother with Magic, however, preferring technology over the chaotic forces of Magic.

Dwarves reproduce sexually; a Dwarf fetus takes upwards of an entire year to develop and be born. Dwarven birth is a difficult and excruciatingly painful process, and as such happens rarely; twins or triplets are almost unheard-of and considered blessed for their rarity and innate magical connection. Dwarves have few children as a result, but take incredibly good care of their children as well; family is seen as a Dwarf's most prized creation, equivalent to any mastercraft warhammer or suit of armor. Children are taught to follow in their family's footsteps, with heredity being a very key precept of Dwarven culture, and are expected to take up the mantle of their parents and help however and whenever possible.

Dwarves can live upwards of five hundred (500) years, although this can easily be lengthened through technology or Magic.

### Personality:

The goal of all Dwarves is to create a legacy that will leave a positive and everlasting mark on their societies and families; this is often achieved through the development of great works of technology or magic, through the construction of towering monuments, buildings, or vehicles, the forging of powerful and mystical artifacts, or the daring deeds of a heroic adventurer. Only when a Dwarf is forgotten are they considered truly dead, reflected in Dwarven respect for and veneration of the dead and their pseudo-religious attitudes towards deceased relatives; invocations of ancestors are commonplace, as is the reservation of chairs and placings for dead relatives at parties or family gatherings.

Dwarves are often seen as brutally honest, often serious and grim individuals; this point of view is held thanks to Dwarven dedication to their work and their unwavering will in the face of conflict, but is a misrepresentation of Dwarven personality. Dwarves are often considered the best partygoers, and are known to partake in even the most extreme of revelry and celebration when the occasion calls for it, but as soon as said celebration is over, a Dwarf will descend immediately back into their work; one should not mistake Dwarven seriousness for rudeness, coldness, or disdain, but instead view it as an external representation of the dedication they have towards the interaction they are having with you. Dwarven personalities are structured like the stone after which they believe to have come from; they are serious and patient, quiet and reserved, but can explode just as quickly. Dwarves are known for their high value of respect and hospitality, and will not hesitate to fight anyone or anything that goes against their ideas or disrespects them or their family; insulting a Dwarf's work is equivalent to insulting the Dwarf, and usually ends in a brawl. Dwarves work hard, party hard, and fight hard in equal measure.

Dwarves generally detest the idea of slavery, but employ indentured servitude as a marginally-better alternative; the indentured are treated as inferior, as people who are giving up their chance for legacy in exchange for some other service or the clearing of their debt, a dishonorable method of achieving one's goals. Citizenship within Dwarven society is reserved almost solely for Dwarves and Dwarves alone, the Dwarven dislike of other races interfering in their affairs being well-documented and hated across the world; citizens of Dwarven states are afforded the rights provided by the state, which vary from place to place. In the case that a Dwarven "state" exists only in the form of a Dwarven Clan as opposed to some sovereign nation, these xenophobic ideas are only emphasized.

While their penchant for intense celebration is a famous aspect of Dwarven society - and one many tourists find most attractive - Dwarves are not innately hedonistic beings. Their architecture and sense of style are often seen as extravagant by other races, however, but fail to see the years of work put into each item of clothing or the centuries of work dedicated to each building; much like Elves, Dwarves use only the finest materials and the finest tools to create the finest works and have the finest parties, which is often misconstrued as wasteful or hedonistic.

Dwarves are infamous for their distrust of other races and their preferences for solitude; Dwarves believe that, to create a legacy, one must do so alone, which often encourages Dwarves to reject partnerships or deals with others. Dwarves do not necessarily dislike many other races (except Goblins and Elves), but treat other races with a degree of suspicion and wariness to prevent conflict; trust in Dwarven societies is held very highly and treated as a major gesture of respect that is not afforded to most outsiders. Even those adventurers who travel or work with Dwarves never receive an explicit declaration of trust from their Dwarven companions, but if one is ever received, those companions can be sure of their Dwarven friend's complete dedication and loyalty.

### Abilities:

Dwarves are known for their physical durability, in addition to their resistance to poisons, toxins, and disease. While physically stronger than normal humans, Dwarves are frequently slower than the average person but compensate for this through their increased endurance and durability. Dwarven sight is on par with that of humans, although Dwarves' subterranean adaptation grants them keen vision in the dark; Dwarves frequently employ technological or Magical means to enhance their sight if needed. Dwarven smell is very acute, a trait evolved to allow for the detection of dangerous or toxic gases and elements in a mineshaft; additionally, the Dwarven sense of taste is similarly acute, allowing them to identify the components of a meal or even name the chemicals contained therein. Dwarven cuisine is infamously poisonous to other races, even Drow, and is often considered hazardous for consumption by non-Dwarves and non-Elves. Dwarven hearing is also on par with humans, as is their sense of touch.

Dwarven toughness extends to several forms of damage in particular, fire and heat especially, to which Dwarves are innately resistant. Additionally, Dwarves possess iron stomachs and powerful kidneys capable of filtering out most forms of alcohol and poisons with ease, adding to the Dwarven party traditions of dangerously high-concentration alcoholic beverages in excess; Dwarves famously do not stay drunk for long, and must consume lethal amounts of alcohol (for a human) to feel the intoxicating effects, the same treatment also applying for drugs, many of which simply fail to work at all on Dwarven physiologies. Dwarven alcohol and drugs are made through Alchemy or Magic in order to create effective means of intoxication. Unlike many races of K2, Dwarves do not possess innate regenerative powers akin to Elves or Orcs, but compensate through their supernatural durability and survivability; Dwarves can survive wounds that would instantly kill a human, including gunshots to the head or impalement.

### Subraces:

1. Powdertouched: Mutation of Dwarves with innate Pyromancy of varying levels.

### Culture:

The goal of Dwarven culture is similar to the goal of individual Dwarves in that it strives for progress, construction and creation, and survival. Dwarven society is built to last the test of time and withstand sieges, wars, famines, and catastrophe. Unlike many other races, Dwarves lack an organized religious belief, although their cultural rituals and values reflect a degree of spiritualism despite the lack of dedicated religious ideas.

Dwarven society is best suited for monarchies or republics, with a single Clan ruling over a nation or city-state, or all of the most powerful members of the strongest Clans voting on legislation. Dwarven society is almost always reserved for only Dwarves, creating a stark contrast in the treatment of citizens and non-citizens within Dwarven states.

Dwarves speak Dwarven, a harsh language constructed similarly to Norwegian or Swedish with its own rune-based writing system; these same runes act as the basis for magical item enchanting the world over, and are considered the standard of many magical rituals, spells, and organizations. Dwarven is taught solely to Dwarves, who use their homeland's language when talking to one another, especially in the presence of outsiders whom the Dwarves do not trust.

#### Cuisine:

Dwarven cuisine is one of the more unique aspects of Dwarven culture, and one of the most widely identifiable pieces of Dwarven society. Due to their hardy metabolisms and supernatural durability, Dwarven cuisine sports flavors and ingredients that are incredibly bold, overpowering, and often dangerous to normal humans. Similar to how humans farm caffeine despite caffeine being a form of poison, Dwarves grow and consume a number of poisonous ingredients for common inclusion in their food, ranging from mushrooms to spices to ground up minerals or pieces of subterranean creature.

#### Clans:

1. Clan Greyforged
2. Clan Deepwaves
3. Clan Dustcloak
4. Clan Bloodfueled
5. Clan Ironset
6. Clan Servingblade
7. Clan Goldenblock
8. Clan Blazingmaker

### Spiritual Beliefs:

Most Dwarves do not hold to an organized system of faith, although the Faith of Iron maintains itself as an important organized religion within Dwarven society. Dwarven spiritual beliefs are focused outwards, on the creation of a legacy for oneself and one's family and Clan. Dwarven beliefs involve the evocation of one's ancestors and deeply important ideas about death and the role legacy plays in a Dwarf's demise. For Dwarves, the supernatural exists as Magic and the spirits of their ancestors. No standardized religious holidays are practiced in conventional Dwarven society; instead, Dwarves celebrate birthdays, death-days, and memorials surrounding the dates of important historical events as if they bore religious importance.

#### Cultural Aspects:

Dwarven beliefs are passed down via writings, tapestries of family histories, epic poems and performances, and, ideally, records in the history books. Dwarves believe that their race originates from the stone that surrounds their Strongholds, that the rock in the deepest parts of the world (Abandoned Abyss), imbued with excessive amounts of magical radiation, spawned into constructs that eventually evolved into modern Dwarves; while considered false by most Dwarves, ancient ruins of long-dead Dwarven Clans have been found in the deepest parts of the Abyss before, and continue to be found across the globe.

Deadly sins for Dwarves include sloth, envy, dishonesty, and disloyalty. The greatest virtues include honesty, loyalty, and dedication to one's work and family.

Art for Dwarves comes in all forms, their entire society structured around the construction and creation of greater and greater works of both function and form.

Coming of age for Dwarves arrives at the age of 25, at which point the Dwarven constitution reaches its peak and allows for the coming of age ritual, where the young person drinks themselves into unconsciousness or passes out of exhaustion trying in a days-long (potentially week-long) celebration; deaths are rare, but do occur, and all other family members are expected to partake in the celebrations for their entire duration alongside the rising adult as a show of solidarity.

Marriage between Dwarves is a sacred and legal act that instantly establishes a legacy for both parties; divorce is a non-concept to Dwarves, who mate for life and view the idea of divorce as the destruction of life's greatest creation - a family. Marriage rituals include the creation and presentation of custom-made items - armor, weapons, jewelry, furniture, anything the spouses wish to make for one another; these items are expected to have been created over the entire course of the relationship and only presented at the wedding, the more extravagant and impressive the work of art the more dedicated and in love the creator is assumed to be. Many marriage items are passed down through the generations as a means of remembering previous generations or even summoning ancestral spirits, assuming the items lack innate magical properties (which is rare, as many wedding items are created specifically with magic abilities as a demonstration of skill and love). Destruction or selling of a marriage item is seen as a grievous insult and trespass against the person for which it was made; giving away, selling, recycling, damaging, or destroying an ancestral marriage item is said to bring down the wrath of the ancestor's spirit on the destroyer, a curse said to result in death or suicide in most cases.

Death is a key concept for Dwarves, who view death as the end of an individual's time of legacy creation and the beginning of a new stage of life - the age of legacy, where their life exists in the memories and minds of others and in the creations they made during life. Death is perceived as final only when an individual is forgotten, their legacy destroyed or abandoned and family no longer able to remember them; it is for this reason that names, both first and last, are incredibly important to Dwarves. Insulting a name is insulting all those who hold that name, not just the individual, which frequently means insulting several members of a Dwarf's family; doing such a vulgar thing to a Dwarf frequently results in a fight, usually to the death.