Dwarf

Dwarves, sometimes called the Stout Folk, are a natural humanoid race common throughout parts of Glainia . Dwarves are a tough, tradition-abiding folk known for their strong martial traditions and beautiful craftsmanship.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dwarves are a short race, as their name implied, standing from 4'3" – 4'9" (1.3 – 1.45 meters) on average, with gold dwarves a bit shorter.
What Dwarves lacked in height they made up for in bulk; they were, on average, about as heavy as humans. A dwarf could weigh anywhere from about 160 – 220 lbs (73 – 100 kg). Dwarven males were a bit taller and heavier than their female counterparts.
Like humans, dwarves had a wide variety of skin, eye, and hair colors, typically pale among shield dwarves and deeply tanned or brown amongst gold dwarves. Hazel eyes were common throughout the race, with blue eyes more common amongst shield dwarves and brown or green eyes found amongst the gold dwarves.
Male dwarves were often bald and grew thick facial hair sometimes used to display social status. This hair was often dark in hue, though among shield dwarves blond or red hair was just as common. Gold dwarves took the care of facial hair to an extreme, carefully oiling and grooming it, with some adding perfume and ornaments.
Dwarves have dense bodies and are difficult to push around as a result, as well as having the capacity to bear loads that other races might find hindering with little ill effect.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dwarven sexual reproduction quite readily mirrors human sexual activities, suggesting a distant, common ancestor. Dwarven pregnancy lasts roughly 10 months in which the newborn Dwarf will be born blind for several days to weeks before learning to see, mostly due to their history of low-light conditions. Infancy lasts roughly 3-5 years with adolescence reached at about 8-12 years old. Dwarves commonly reach adulthood in roughly 35-38 years, commonly indicated by excessive facial and body hair growth in males and breast growth in females. Toughening of the skin becomes apparent and nearly visible to the human eye.

Growth Rate & Stages

Dwarves are a long-lived race, and reached physical maturity somewhat later than humans. A dwarf are traditionally considered an adult once he or she reached age fifty. Dwarves age much like humans, but over a longer period of time, remaining vigorous well past 150 years. Most dwarves lived to see their bicentennial and a few lived to be over 400.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Dwarven stomachs are resistant to virtually all poisons and it takes less effort for a dwarf to get back on its feet than other races.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Most dwarves prefer living in underground cities near the surface and above the Underdark. They build around mines that provided much of their livelihood. Carved into stone, these cities might take centuries to complete but are practically ageless once finished.
Though dwarves are typically a martial race by nature, these cities have civilian populations that composed about one fourth of the total population and which were made up primarily of the young, the elderly, or a few regular adults. Females typically composed as large a portion of the military as male dwarves did.
At present, (1650 FW) dwarves can be found all across Glainia , although the greatest numbers are in the capital city, Dhum Baldhur .
In their own homelands, dwarves continuously carve out new living space, mining the mountains’ riches as they did so. Dwarves in general, stuck to these locales, disliking travel, particularly along waterways.
Those who live in human lands could make themselves quite comfortable. Most who do make a living as mercenaries, smiths, or artisans of various kinds. Dwarves are eagerly sought after as warriors, their reputation of courage and loyalty making them excellent choices for bodyguards.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Dwarves have a sense about them more than a few other races did, with a preternatural awareness of their surroundings useful for a subterranean race as well as good judgment all-around in general.
It is occasionally believed that dwarves possess the ability to see in the blackest darkness, like a Drow, and there is evidence that this might be true though it was also possible that the tales were misheard recollections of Duergar, who are often mistaken for dwarves.
However, many dwarves do have an affinity in other ways for the caverns in which they lived, possessing a natural affinity for recognizing unusual patterns in darkness that could seem almost supernatural at times.

Civilization and Culture

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Most dwarven societies are divided into clans built along family ties and political allegiances. These clans are usually led by hereditary rulers, often monarchs of a sort and descended from the founder of the clan. Dwarves strongly value loyalty to these rulers and to the clan as a whole and even objective dwarves tend to side primarily with their kin over other races or communities.
These clan-structures promoted a tradition of inbreeding. This was so excessive, that it was considered one of the reasons for the dwarves' low birth rate.
Clans are faithful to the current King of dwarves, which is chosen by the leaders of the strongest clans. This is a sacred ritual, which can take up to 50 years to complete.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Dwarves value the ties between family members and friends very highly, weaving tightly knit clans. Dwarves particularly respect elders, from whom they expect sound leadership and the wisdom of experience, as well as ancestral heroes or clan founders. This idea carries on to relations with other races and dwarves are deferential even to the elders of another, non-dwarven race.
Likewise, dwarves, perhaps moreso than most other races, turn to their gods for guidance and protection. Non-evil dwarves looked to the divine for comfort and inspiration, while the wicked look to their divine overlords for methods through which to obtain power over others. Individual dwarves might be faithless, but the race as a whole, regardless of subrace, has a strong inclination for religion and almost every community maintained at least one temple or ancestral shrine.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Dwarves in General

Many dwarves are difficult to like and lack the charm of many other smaller races, such as halflings or gnomes, though this is not a trait common to all dwarves and some possessed a great deal of charismatic power.
Furthermore, dwarves are not entirely unsocial and more than a few had a natural knack for bartering or judging the value of an offer, something that sit well with their legendary crafting abilities.

Orcs, Goblins, and Giants

Dwarves do not forgive past wrongs easily and the entire race had more or less declared war on goblins and orcs as a whole, wiping them out where they found them. Many dwarves view these races as a foul infestation of their mountain homes and their duty to purge them. Likewise, many dwarves view Drow and Grimlocks with a similar hatred and few dwarves have forgotten their ancestral hatred of the giants who once enslaved them. Because of this, dwarves generally viewed related races, such as half-orcs, with distrust.

Dwarves and Dragons

Dwarves, as all other races, fell under the wrath of dragons throughout the centuries. As such, they have had many of their gold and gemstones, mined by their own people, stolen and forced away from them. As such, dwarves have been raiding dragon hoards for a long time, and have become adept at doing so.
This usually involves smashing any dragon eggs found, as 1 dragon provides the gold, but more than one provides a threat. As such, there is an ever-burning hatred between Dwarves and Dragons. This has led to many battles and wars.

Dwarves and other humanoids

Dwarves get along pretty well with Gnomes, with whom they shared a love of fine crafting, and passably with humans and halflings. However, most dwarves commonly believe that true friendships can only be forged over long periods of time and a common saying was that “the difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years,” meaning that few members of the shorter-lived races ever forged strong bonds with dwarves. There are exceptions, however, and some of the strongest friendships were those between a dwarf and a human whose grandparents and parents were also on good terms with the dwarf.

Dwarves and R'hinox

R'hinox are short stout creatures, that match the dwarves in stature. They are used as pack animals, and Beasts of Burden. They also provide a rich milk which is very strong and aromatic. This is used to create a very sought after dark cheese called Rag'ni, or in the common tongue, Savoury Rock.

Genetic Descendants

• Gold Dwarf

Scientific Name

Homo pumilio

Lifespan

350 years

Average Height

4'-4'7''/ 1.2m-1.39m (average males)
3'10''-4'5'' 1.15m-1.34m (average females)

Average Weight

170 - 230lbs (68kg-86.1kg)

Average Physique

Dwarves, despite their shorter size, are quite muscular in most regards with stocky legs built for sprinting short distances and heavy, load-bearing arms.