Dwarf

Kingdoms rich in ancient grandeur, halls carved into the roots of mountains, the echoing of picks and hammers in deep mines and blazing forges, a commitment to House and tradition, and a burning hatred of goblins and and other dark creatures - these common threads unite all dwarves. Wherever on Calcaria their cities may lie, all dwarves hark back to the days when these now-scattered city states were connected by great tunnels, now collapsed and forming part of the Underdark.
The dwarves mostly hail from the continents of Eridas and Ezura, although can be found on Albion and Skargos too. The dwarves of Eridas are almost always in conflict with the nomadic Brutgor tribes. These Brutgor tribes sometimes form large warbands, laying siege to dwarven settlements, looking to raid and secure resources for themselves.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dwarves are generally stout, strong, and dense. Their compact form perfectly fits moving around tight spaces and normally restrictive environments. Their dense bodies allow them to have impressive bursts of power, which aids them in any number of tasks. The tallest dwarves normally do not surpass four feet, but often weight twice as much as other people of their size.
Dwarves have a wide variety of skin tones. Their colour reflects that of the stone or gem they were carved from, allowing for possibilities such as the deep red of garnet, the glossy black of obsidian, and a constant slight simmer of moonstone. Not all have such eye-catching skin tones, however.

Genetics and Reproduction

While most people evolve to suit their environments, dwarven origins are different.
Dwarves are not born. When a dwarf or dwarves wishes to have a child they obtain a slab of precious stone from a specific mine in one of the dwarven cities. They carve the simple image of a child out of the stone. Once sculpted the parent(s) take turns holding the child, allowing it to absorb some of their life force. When it absorbs enough, the stone animates, becoming a dwarven baby.
Dwarves cannot use any stone to sculpt a child. While the types of stone vary, they must come from one of the remaining dwarven deep mines. Without those mines the dwarf people would go extinct, therefore they are guarded with total conviction. Dwarfs are infertile with each other. However, they can breed with other people. Their traits are recessive, so the child will look overwhelmingly like the other parent, but with a few dwarvish qualities.

Growth Rate & Stages

Dwarves live 250 to 350 years. A 300 year old dwarf who takes care of themselves could easily be as vibrant as their 30 year old counterpart. While the ageing process happens over years rather than decades , they do not lose mental capacity or physical strength. They simply lose mobility until they can no longer move, becoming like a statue when they pass.
The oldest living dwarves often remember a very different world. For example, some of the oldest dwarves living in Caer Strathan can recall the day, more than three centuries ago, when brutgor conquered the fortress of Caer Kator and drove them into an exile that lasted over 250 years. This longevity grants them a perspective on the world that shorter-lived races such as humans and florens lack.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The most common foods are root vegetables. These include carrots, turnips, and potatoes. Mushroom varieties are also cultivated. These root vegetables can be brewed into beers, while potatoes are important for the production of smooth vodka. There is also the popular fiery Utaya Rum.
The most commonly cultivated mushroom is the Abysin mushroom. Dwarfs that are tolerant of its chemical properties enjoy its taste. However, when they want to experience its effects of tasting colours or feeling sounds or other iterations of merging sensory experiences, they drink stronger drinks. The strongest drinks overwhelm the mind, causing bad reactions and unpleasant experiences.
Beers are often paid for by the Houses. There are no tabs to pay, no prices to check, no beer line in the budget. Dwarfs drink freely and without guilt.
Despite living in the mountains, dwarves are also excellent fishermen. Vast underground lakes provide a vital food source to the dwarven people. As well as fishing dwarves have also learned to cultivate insect farms; the grubs and bugs of which supply necessary proteins.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Dwarves can see just as well in light as they can in the dark. They are colour blind and have impeccable vision up close. However, this comes at a cost. Dwarves are almost always nearsighted, but the severity of it ranges greatly. In addition, simply because they can see in the dark does not mean that they are perceptive.

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 House, not to the individual. A dwarf who misuses or brings shame to a House name is stripped of the name and forbidden by law to use any dwarven name in its place.
Male Names: Adrik, Alberich, Baern, Barendd, Brottor, Bruenor, Dain, Darrak, Delg, Eberk, Einkil, Fargrim, Flint, Gardain, Harbek, Kildrak, Morgran, Orsik, Oskar, Rangrim, Rurik, Taklinn, Thoradin, Thorin, Tordek, Traubon, Travok, Ulfgar, Veit, Vondal
Female Names: Amber, Artin, Audhild, Bardryn, Dagnal, Diesa, Eldeth, Falkrunn, Finellen, Gunnloda, Gurdis, Helja, Hlin, Kathra, Kristryd, Ilde, Liftrasa, Mardred, Riswynn, Sannl, Torbera, Torgga, Vistra
House Names: Balderk, Battlehammer, Brawnanvil, Dankil, Fireforge, Frostbeard, Gorunn, Holderhek, Ironfist, Loderr, Lutgehr, Rumnaheim, Strakeln, Torunn, Ungart

Major Organizations

Dwarven kingdoms stretch deep beneath the mountains where the dwarves mine gems and precious metals, and forge items of wonder. They love the beauty and artistry of precious metals and fine jewellery, and in some dwarves this love festers into avarice. Whatever wealth they can’t find in their mountains, they gain through trade. They usually dislike boats, so enterprising humans and florens frequently handle trade in dwarven goods along water routes. Trustworthy members of other races are welcome in dwarf settlements, though some areas are off limits even to them.
The chief unit of dwarven society is the House, and dwarves highly value social standing. Even dwarves who live far from their own kingdoms cherish their House identities and affiliations, recognise related dwarves, and invoke their ancestors’ names in oaths and curses. To be casteless is the worst fate that can befall a dwarf.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Futhark, Trade Tongue

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Dwarves are solid and enduring like the mountains they love, weathering the passage of centuries with stoic endurance and little change. They respect the traditions of their House, tracing their ancestry back to the founding of their most ancient strongholds in the youth of the world, and don’t abandon those traditions lightly. Part of those traditions is reverence towards the dwarven paragons; ancestors who uphold the dwarven ideals of industrious labour, skill in battle, and devotion to the forge, as well as other desireable and honourable qualities.
Individual dwarves are determined and loyal, true to their word and decisive in action, sometimes to the point of stubbornness. Many dwarves have a strong sense of justice, and they are slow to forget wrongs they have suffered. A wrong done to one dwarf is a wrong done to the dwarf’s entire house, so what begins as one dwarf’s hunt for vengeance can become a full-blown clan feud.

Holidays

Dwarves are a celebratory people. Lovers of merriment, you would be hard-pressed to find yourself a dwarf who didn’t have a favourite vice. However, there is little dwarves love more than coming together to participate in an activity together as a community. The most famous of these, known even to the surface-dwellers in Eridas and beyond, is the Gulvenfest. The Annual Holiday of Ale is a special treat for all dwarfs. A national holiday, where non-essential work is absolutely forbidden, almost all dwarfs choose to participate in the days tasks.
Gulvenfest is the last day of the festival. Up to this point, dwarves have worked on creating a special beer recipe which will not be opened for 100 years. On the day of Gulvenfest, dwarves open up the drinks brewed 100 years prior and drink.
Another primary festival is Nibletog, the Festival of Gems. During this time, love is declared, prizes are displayed, and life’s work is proudly shown off. Dwarves pay homage to their source of wealth. Shiny rocks and minerals are sought out all year long by dwarfs to display or use during Nibletog.
The vast majority of dwarfs agree on the following statement: Gulvenfest is the most fun festival, but Nibletog is the most important.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

The only dogma which unites dwarven people is the veneration of their ancestors. Dwarven Paragons were exceptional individuals who either represent the epotimie of a particular ideal, performed a heroic deed, or contributed greately to dwarven society. They are the noble warriors, politicians, smiths and even children that all others seek to emulate, and they function as essential role models to their race. However, it is no easy feat for one to be named Paragon, and the title always comes after death except for in a few rare cases. Aside from veneration of their ancestors, differing religious, magical, and spiritual beliefs are found among dwarves, including fringe cults, regardless of where they're from.
Dwarves who take up the adventuring life might be motivated by a desire for treasure—for its own sake, for a specific purpose, or even out of an altruistic desire to help others. Other dwarves are driven by the command or inspiration of one of Danu's host, a direct calling or simply a desire to bring glory to the goddess Herself. House and ancestry are also important motivators. A dwarf might seek to restore a houses' lost honour, avenge an ancient wrong the house suffered, or earn a new place within the house after having been exiled. Or a dwarf might search for the axe wielded by a mighty ancestor, lost on the field of battle centuries ago.
There are many customs that are shared among dwarven kingdoms and some that are unique to particular houses. One shared custom is the tradition of tarring and dirting (similar to tarring and feathering). This is generally used for dwarfs who have wronged a community. It is reserved for non-crimes or minor offences generally not worth reporting. This is where they find the offender and cover him with a thick, warm tar. Before the tar solidifies, the offender is covered in dirt, causing them to be encrusted. While this method can be used as way to execute somebody, it is generally meant to humiliate and embarrass.
A tradition popular among the Eridian dwarves occurs in the taverns and drinking dens. When a dwarf takes their cup and taps the lid or mouth of another cup, the owner of the other cup must finish their entire drink. Because of this, most dwarfs have what is called a “defensive drinking position” because there is not one dwarf who drinks that does not have a horror story about this.

Common Myths and Legends

It is commonly believed that dwarves rely on axes and hammers in battle. While examples of dwarven militia forced into fighting with their basic tools exist, the myth is mainly perpetuated by the Butchers of Bal; a relentless fighting force that favours war axes. The Butchers use the axes for both tools and combat to devastating effect and have left such a mark on the world that most common folk now associate dwarven fighters with the war axe. While the Butchers of Bal are right to be feared, the common dwarven soldier makes up for his short reach with a round shield and a pole arm, a far cry from the 'Beserkers beneath the Mountains'. Given their short stature, it would be unwise for a dwarf to use either axe, hammer or shortsword in battle, and most avoid doing so. Only the most brave and of utmost finesse manage to overcome their enemies with such weapons. Instead, their round shields provide fantastic protection when in a tightly packed shield wall, and their pole arms give them reach equal to any 'long shanks' on the battle field. When faced with a minor threat such as goblins however, any weapon will do. Many dwarves love to adorn their prized collection of ancestral war hammers and axes when faced with threats that are of similar size as themselves.

Lifespan

250 to 350

Average Height

~ 4 to 5 feet

Average Weight

~ 200 pounds