Dwarves

They reside in the Mountain Highrest, in 5 stronghold cities built within the mountain itself. In Recent History the Dwarves held an Empire in the Southern Lands and were one of the two main sides of the Great War. They have since been reduced severely in number. Dwarves are excellent crafts men and jewellers, and make some of the most effective armour in Asengaurd. Dwarves are also famed for their exotic weapons created by combining gas mined from the mountain itself with fire. Since the end of the War, the Dwarves were in the midst of a civil war until a new king took the throne some 100 years previous. A significant number of Dwarves worship the Mountain as a form of Fire God.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Dwarves are a short, stout and tough race. Humanoid in nature, they stand well under 5 feet tall, though are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as a human standing nearly two feet taller. Dwarven skin ranges from deep brown to a paler hue tinged with red, but the most common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, grey, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male dwarves value their beards highly and groom them carefully.

Growth Rate & Stages

Dwarves can live to be more than 400 years old, so their growth stages reflect as much. Physically it takes a dwarf 50 years to mature, though they are not considered an adult in society until they reach their 100th birthday and under go a right of passage. their adulthood stretches until 300 years during which they are expected to work any pull their weight within society. after this point they are considered as old and wise taking on more advisory rolls to their kin.

Ecology and Habitats

The dwarves are mountain folk. they build and live within the great mountains of Asenguard and rarely come above ground. recent events have seen them only living with in the fiery mountain of Mt. Highrest, with no other occupied settlements. at the height of their empire however, they controlled much of the southern continent. for the most part a small settlement would consist of one or two buildings on the surface, mostly used for goods and equipment storage while their living quarters where deep below as the race feels much safer and more secure with the earth surrounding them. larger settlements where even further below ground, grate cities being built within the caverns of the earth, though most of these have been long since berried.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

A dwarf’s name is granted by a clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper dwarven name has been used and reused down through the generations. A dwarf’s name belongs to the clan, not to the individual. A dwarf who misuses or brings shame to a clan name is stripped of the name and forbidden by law to use any dwarven name in its place.

Beauty Ideals

A dwarven beard is a very important statement in their society, the longer and better cared for a beard the more attention it will garner from the females. Also, though confusing to the other races, a shorter male tends to be preferred; however, they also have to have a good bulk in muscle for it to make the right impression. Females of the species are seen to be beautiful in similar ways. Should one sport a beard, a relatively rare but quite possible occurrence, the same rules apply, though a female beard is often much shorter and thinner than that of the males.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Dwarves are creatures of service within their society and culture and it is very rare to find an individual who will put their own gain and importance over that of their fellows. Every citizen from age 100 to 350 serves their people to the fullest of their ability. Anything from a soldier to an administrator, from a construction engineer to a sanitation worker, every role is seen as important and each individual is encouraged to take pride in the work that they do. Due to their strong inclination toward public service and self-sacrifice, they tend to be poor entrepreneur.
Dwarven society is highly regimented and very organised, and the species is known for its strict discipline and work ethic. Dwarves are willing to do what needs to be done to further their race as a whole. This dedication and honour sees them as one of the most reliable races on Asengaurd, a person will often know where they stand when dealing with a dwarf.
Dwarves, as a general rule, are a sturdy and patient people who are not easily provoked into violence, however, when conflict does occur they seek to finish the opposition quickly. With a combination of numbers and technology, the defeat of any adversary is designed to be overwhelming and complete so that they can never be a threat to the dwarven people again. Saying this, the dwarves do not seek to eradicate an enemy, only declaw them, often offering a hand to the defeated to join them as a client state so long as they adhere to the new rule and the laws that entails.
The dwarven military is the centre of their society. Part of the coming of age is getting accepted into the ranks as a soldier. Most begin training around 60 years of age, spending the next 40 years away from their family to train hard in the aspects of combat and strategy. Once graduated though, an individual will often volunteer to continue their education into a more specialised area, often based on both what their parents do and/or their own developing skill set. Due to this mandatory training, every dwarf has some kind of military background so the military as a whole is not only the armed forces of the race, it flows through every aspect of the public society as well. The military police are also the civic police. The fire brigades serve the civilian population as well as military facilities. The corps of engineers builds and maintains schools, water wells, forge buildings, and any other public buildings as well as military forts and outposts. The merchant marine ensures that all people get needed resources.
Since the culture is based on the structure of a military hierarchy, changes and advances accepted by the leadership are quickly adopted by the rest of society with minimal resistance. Slavery was among one of the original choices that could have caused much discontent had their culture not been the way it is. Though a dwarf is willing but begrudgingly to do even the most dirty of jobs, the introduction of slaves meant that the populace was much happier and even more willing to follow their leaders. Though kinder masters than the elves, dwarves put humans to work in the mines, the forges, and any job that was dirty or unpleasant, allowing the dwarven society to grow rapidly as more minds were set to work on more important problems such as new weapons for war and ways to expand their empire.
While individuals have their own goals and desires, their innate instinct and societal pressure ensures they will more often than not put aside their personal feelings and wants for the good of the group. This extends from close friend to the race as a whole, with the latter being the most important. They are taught from a very young age to have a strong sense of personal accountability, and are taught to own every decision they make, good or ill. Often the worst sin they can make in the eyes of their people is to lie about their own actions. Those who murder for example, will try to get away with it, but if directly questioned, most will confess the crime.
In more recent times these long held aspects of their society as a single people have broken down into smaller clans. Though to some degree this had always been the case, it is much more prominent. The 300 years after the Deadlands were formed much of the race fragmented as no true leader could be identified after the king's death during the human rebellions. With several of the highest ranks believing they were to one to take the throne, but none of their peers agreeing, there was a void at the top of the structure which was not filled, splitting the race into their clans under their respective leaders. During this time a group of their number became very religious, believing that the mountain itself had saved their lives and society from the human rebellions. Over time this group grew to such a size that it rivalled those who did not see it the same way. The growing movement called for action and a new king was finally decided upon, who immediately turned the attention of the race onto the now very large religious group who seemed to desire the throne for themselves, going against much of their peoples' traditional culture.

History

The dwarven history is long and often bloody. Though they do not seek out conflict, more often than not they have found themselves involved with the long term wars at the hands of the elves. These wars have always been harsh on the race since they do not like long, drawn out conflict, but the greed of the elves gave them little choice more often than not. The most recent war between the two factions was caused by the emperor of the elves, a crazed man who truly needed to be put down, the dwarven king at the time seeing this clearly. Though officially it was indeed the dwarves who officially began it, the elves had tested the limits of the previous peace to breaking point.
The dwarves sort to end it quickly, as is always the case, however the elven emperor brought strange new magics to the game that the dwarven weapons of war could only keep up with rather than supress. It was a long and bloody conflict that saw many people on both sides lose their lives, often in needless skirmishes. Finally it came to a head with several events ending the elven, dwarven struggle for good. The first was the human rebellions. To begin with these worked in the dwarves favour, the race lending arms to those under the care of the elves. However, the rebellion soon spread to their own stock and war raged within the factions as well as between then, forcing their armies to thin across the world. Then the deadlands happened, along side the eruption of mount Highrest, devastating both elven and dwarven populations. With both leaders killed during the events, what was left of the races retreated to their homelands to attempt to find new leaders, leaving the rest of the world open for the humans to populate.
In the aftermath the dwarves shut them selves away from the rest of the world. With so many of their cities fallen or lost contact those that attempted to keep the peace between the different clans, to hold the race together as a whole decided it best to stay within the bounds of the territory they did still hold; Mt Highrest. the dwarves are a patient race who do things deliberately, and as a successor had not been named before the death of the king, there began the long process of choosing the new leader. This took much longer than was perhaps expected, which sowed discontent among a normally obedient populous. This lead to the rise of a new faction within their society, one which clamed the mountain had saved their lives and every dwarf should pay penance to the great god who's eternal protection had sealed the mountain to the outsiders.
To begin with The Order o Fire and Faith was a simple religion which set the mountain as their god. Each day a dwarf should pay thanks to the mountain, should accept the mountain's wisdom and gifts without question and should see the great fiery light in it's heart as a beacon of hope that all should follow. From these simple beginnings a leader arose who preached a much more extremist idea. Not only was the mountain to be home to the dwarves, but it was decreed that it was the only home. Those who sort to explore the rest of the world were branded as heretics, where once the dwarves where inventive, science was to be shunned, the idea that resources should be shared was denied, showing a complete reversal of a society.
Finally after 300 years of the now cult gaining steam, many of the younger population with nothing but war in their memories joined up. The high counsel had to make a decision and chose a new leader, one who would be strong enough to keep their traditions in the face of the internal monster they had let roam their halls.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Ogres

Origin/Ancestry

Hill, Mountain

Lifespan

400 Years

Conservation Status

Extant, slightly declining

Average Height

4 ft.

Average Weight

150 pounds

Dwarf Racial Stats

Ability Scores: Con +2
Size: Medium
Speed: 25 ft.

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Age. Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they're considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.
Alignment. Most dwarves are lawful, believing firmly in the benefits of a well-ordered society. They tend toward good as well, with a strong sense of fair play and a belief that everyone deserves to share in the benefits of a just order.
Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.
Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
Dwarven Combat Training. You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, light hammer, and warhammer.
Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: Smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.
Stonecunning. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarvish. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak.

Source: PHB, page 18. Available in the SRD.