Dwarf (Race)

The **Kara-Tur dwarves** are seen as trustworthy, hard workers, and thus find jobs or perform business easily; even foreign dwarves quickly and easily gain rank and favour in markets.

Dwarves tend to come from very large, rich families. Individual dwarves, however, may not be extremely wealthy on their own, and because the families are so large, many younger dwarves may barely have any wealth to their name at all.

### Appearance

Kara-Tur dwarves are less hairy and much slimmer than their Faerun cousins due to some genetic variations and differences in diet and lifestyle. They are nearly indistinguishable from short humans.

### Names

Here, dwarven last names are made of two words. The first word will be of an auspicious animal or mythological creature, and the second word will be a word related to something pleasant. The second word is used to make the overall name sound euphonious.

As an example, the top five wealthiest dwarven families are called: Liondance, Tigersun, Cranefire, Dragonsong and Batlight.

### Architects of the Golden Way

The ancestors of the dwarves, mapped, dug, built and established the Golden Way, a continent-crossing underground tunnel fitted with fast, steam-powered transport.

During its construction, it was also used as a gold mine, which gave it its name.

The Tigersun family is one of the most notable contributors in gold mining and construction of the Golden Way.

### Wealthiest Families

Gold mining gave the Kara-Tur dwarves' ancestors their first load of wealth. Now, dwarven families are among the wealthiest on the continent (think Rothschild, Rockefeller, Koch, Walton).

Today, they are among the richest merchants, bankers, and businesspeople.

The families themselves are very large, and their members can be found spread out across every region.

#### The Big 5

These are the top five wealthiest families in Xiaojiang:

###### #1 - Liondance

The extravagant Liondance dwarves are the largest and wealthiest family.

Their members collectively own a share in almost everything, including black market and illegal organisations that are not officially recorded. They are notorious for their extravagance and famed for being the inspiration for the New Moon Festival, where they shell out and gift massive amounts of gold to everyone they can find, delivering the money in a red packet sealed with melted gold.

###### #2 - Tigersun

The proud Tigersun family is the second wealthiest.

They are highly proud of the fact that they were the first family to cash in on the gold rush, directly descended from the first gold miners who dug the Golden Way. In addition, they have a monopoly on the extraction and exports of raw materials as well as agriculture.

The Tigersuns have been overtaken in status by the Liondance family due to the popularity they have garnered from the New Moon Festival red packet laundering scheme. This is a cause of ire and envy amongst the Tigersun members towards the Liondance family.

###### #3 - Cranefire

Third wealthiest is the influential Cranefire family.

The Cranefire family has the largest presence in the government, especially in the economic departments and ministries. They tend to run large and/or national banks and are in control of foreign and local governmental investments.

The family funds hospitals, temples, schools of magic, wars and large-scale military campaigns.

###### #4 - Dragonsong

The fourth wealthiest is the popular and widely-loved Dragonsong family.

They monopolise the hospitality and entertainment industry. They own the largest shares in establishments like dance houses, tea houses, taverns, theatres, bard colleges, and the like. The other four families have difficulty obtaining shares in these sectors due to the monopoly.

Their own members often become public figures and celebrities.

###### #5 - Batlight

The fifth wealthiest, the mysterious Batlight family, seems only interested in funding exploration and adventurers' guilds as well as expeditions to explore the esoteric and unknown. They are also the most willing among the Big 5 to borrow money to illegal projects, underground services and syndicates; however, they do not take part in illegal matters beyond investing and lending money.

Their own members often become adventurers with large incomes themselves.