Stone Dwarves

Between the east and the west ends of the country of Sull rests the mountain homes and redoubts of the Stone Dwarves, masters of masonry and the greatest defenders of Sull's lands. From the mountains that make up their homes, they have carved great underground cities whose size is only matched by the capital of Sull itself. It is said that from deep within their mines comes the finest metals that the world has to offer, their forges not only ones of fire and coal, but of deep draws of magma to heat and tame the toughest of materials. The world over, when many adventurers look at the hardiest of weapons and proclaim them "dwarven made", more than likely the weapon found its start beneath the hammer of a Stone Dwarf. Stone Dwarves also represent the bulk of militant dwarves as they are far more used to the regimented lifestyle of living underground unlike the Wood Dwarves , but also have not been drawn in by the glamour and riches like the Gem Dwarves.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

Stone Dwarves are typically a by-the-book lot. If it's how it's always been done, it will always be done that way. It is a long standing fact of life in the caverns and mines of Mean Mother Sull that "The ones with the best methods are the survivors." The story goes than when the Dwarves were born as a race of peoples, Moradin, Forgefather and god of the Dwarves, carved them from the purest stone of Mother Sull and forged them into tempered weapons and tools to better Therrah. Their creation as a people and cycle of life revolves around being drawn from, sustaining and returning to the earth.

"All becomes Earth, Earth begets All."
— Sullanic Verse 14

Birth & Baptismal Rites

It is said that young Stone Dwarves are raised with a pick in their hand, rather than a rattle. This is a half-truth, as Stone Dwarves have no such thing as 'baby-proofing' and see that kind of 'coddling' as a disservice to the learning process. You can teach the child, but to keep them from mistake and from trivial harm in the face of discovery will only confuse or spoil the child.

Funerary and Memorial customs

It is customary that the dead be tattooed across the brow with their "clannish knot", the braid that their clan style their hair by for ceremony. The head is shaved if male, or braided and put up in a bun if female and over shield, they are send into the magma of their 'mother mountain' in what is called the Rite of Fire if the situation permits, to be made back into the stone from where all dwarves believe they came and to give life back to the mountain from which they draw life themselves. If abroad and away from their mountain, it is satisfactory to be cremated and the ash later scattered into a volcanic fissure or at last ditch, into a working forge. Some Stone Dwarves even prefer the last method, wanting to in some small way be a part of the tools and weapons made by the clan or an honest blacksmith so that 'even in their death, they remain useful'.

Unwritting

These tattoos signify death in Stone Dwarf culture, but to be bound and receive the ritual while alive is refered to as "Unwritting": the taking of name and history. Being Unwritten (A.K.A.: An Erased, One of The Errata) makes one less than a person and no longer worthy of a clan name or song in the eyes of their people, your legacy being the thing given back to the mountain, hopefully to be forged anew: stronger and without impurity. This status brings pity at best and contempt at worst, as the sentence of Unwritting is a steep and harsh one to be burdened with and typically only reserved for incredible acts of criminality. Unlike a fair number of cultures in which their form of exile harms the entire line, the ever-pragmatic Stone Dwarves don't believe a bad apple spoils the bunch and instead cut the cancer from where it lied to save the 'patient'. In this way, making a fair example of a wayward dwarf should set any too close behind in line.

Common Taboos

Tattoos are reserved of members of Office, soldiers of rank, marriage and death. Tattooing the flesh outside of these reasons is either a childish wish to seem more mature at best or fraud at worst. This disdain doesn't typically extend to other races, Stone Dwarves acknowledging there are other traditions for other nationalities, but they might be curious as to other's reasons for getting a tattoo and why they felt it more important to mark their flesh instead of, say, write it down or paint a picture.