Dwarves

Dwarven culture appears stoic and even stilted by outsider standards, though dwarves as a race simply have a long and pragmatic view. Most are disinclined to revel with strangers, so while dwarven holidays and even bouts of drinking after a hard day’s work are often boisterous enough to kill some outsiders, these celebrations are infrequently reported.
Dwarves take a great deal of pride in their work. A warrior may know how to repair his armor or make a decent sword, but a dwarven smith only earns the right to call himself or herself a ‘smith’ after a century of dedicated labor. This sets dwarves apart from elves, and the former feel the latter diversify too much, lending them a ‘flighty’ reputation; even though an elven smith could easily dedicate the time to becoming as skilled as his or her dwarven counterpart, they likely also dabble in other pursuits or interests on the side. When a dwarf commits to a calling, only rarely does that ever change. The most skilled brewers, smiths, weavers, and even cooks have been plying their trade exclusively for two or three centuries, and are invariably the most talented in their craft. Though most would concede that the elves make far more beautiful objects and are more adept at weaving magic into their works, dwarven crafts are the standard for durability. There is a legend in the Empire that the sword wielded by the emperor was given to his distant ancestor over a thousand years ago, and has come down through the generations without a blemish (which is true), and for dwarves this is a matter of course when it comes to stone and metal work.
This same ideal tends to be reflected in class choice among dwarven adventurers. Multiclassing is rare, though not unheard of (adventurers tend to be mavericks anyway, so the behavior is excused or seen as part of a greater eccentricity). Barbarians are incredibly rare, and what ‘berserkers’ do emerge are seen as dangerous and unpredictable, though enough are occasionally found to form a small skirmishing unit. Bards are actually somewhat common among dwarves, especially when it comes to arcane magic users; dedication to music is what brings about bardic abilities after all, and when coupled with the dwarven love for history bards have become a well respected profession. Clerics hold a strong place in dwarven society, though druids less so; dwarves tend to epitomize civilization in their works. Fighters are common, and most dwarves go the Battle Master route; few choose to be Eldritch Knights, as this is seen as a ‘muddled’ class. Monks are quite common among dwarves, who admire the mastery of self necessary and tend to hold monks in high regard. The oaths of vengeance and devotion both speak to dwarven sensibilities and so make paladins a common choice for this race, though rangers tend to be less favored (few dwarves opt to be beast masters). Dwarven assassins are more common than people would like to think, and every society has thieves, though arcane tricksters are very rare. When it comes to arcane magic, after bards wizards are the most popular choice, as they still devote themselves to an art (even if most dwarves tend to view magic as ‘cheating’ or being a very elvish occupation), while sorcerers are seen as undisciplined and warlocks are often outright shunned; dwarven society has little respect for anyone who would wish to acquire power that they hadn’t earned or learned to use responsibly.
Hill dwarves live in shorter mountain ranges and hilly areas, while their mountain dwarf cousins dwell deep in the earth, closer to the Underdark. The former are slightly more gregarious as they enjoy overall good trade relations with their neighbors, while the mountain dwarves contend with more marauders and typically keep to themselves. Both deal with the drow from below, though the mountain dwarves more so. Neither branch is inclined to speak overly much of the duergar, and while most of their surface neighbors have little or no knowledge about the ‘Silent War’, all who live near the hill dwarves note that they grow most of their food above ground and even keep some of their industry in the sunlight.
Dwarven society is structured along caste lines, and while these aren’t hard and fast, few move between them. The priest class is in charge but is very broad; ‘priest’ can mean cleric, sage, or alchemist. Though all are expected to perform religious duties, the greatest metallurgists of the dwarves have been in the priest caste. The warrior caste is next, and is exactly what it sounds like. Next is the craftsman caste, with everyone from brewers to smiths (the difference between a smith and a metallurgist might seem subtle to outsiders, but dwarves know; what crafts, the other creates), and the last caste is the ‘unskilled’, anyone without an appreciable craft skill. Interestingly, artists can be found in both the bottom caste AND the priest caste. Adventurers are an anomaly, but are typically put in the warrior caste.