Dwarves
Dwarves, sometimes called the Stout Folk and Deep Folk, are a natural humanoid race common throughout parts of Toril as well as Ghemjana. Dwarves are a tough, tradition-abiding folk known for their strong martial traditions and beautiful craftsmanship.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Dwarves are a very stout and compact race of humanoids, with extremely dense bones and musculature. These combined make them extremely hardy folk.
Biological Traits
Dwarves are a short race, standing from 4'3"–4'9" (1.3–1.45 meters) on average, with gold dwarves a bit shorter. What dwarves lack in height they make up for in bulk; they are, on average, about as heavy as humans. A dwarf can weigh anywhere from about 160–220 lbs (73–100 kg). Dwarven males are a bit taller and heavier than their female counterparts. Like humans, dwarves have a wide variety of skin, eye, and hair colors, typically pale among shield dwarves and deeply tanned or brown amongst gold dwarves. Hazel eyes are common throughout the race, with blue eyes more common amongst shield dwarves and brown or green eyes found amongst the gold dwarves.
Male dwarves are often bald and grew thick facial hair, which is sometimes used to display social status. Unusually for humanoids, both sexes naturally grow ample facial hair, though the majority of shield dwarf females will shave their beards off. This hair is often dark in hue, though among shield dwarves blond or red hair is just as common. Gold dwarves take the care of facial hair to an extreme, carefully oiling and grooming it, with some adding perfume and ornaments.
Dwarves are a long-lived race, though not so much as elves, and reach physical maturity somewhat later than humans. A dwarf is traditionally considered an adult once he or she reaches age fifty. Dwarves age much like humans but over a longer period of time, remaining vigorous well past 150 years. Most dwarves live to see their bicentennial and a few live to be over 400. A dwarf is considered to be young until they reached the age of 50.
Genetics and Reproduction
Dwarves reproduce extremely slowly, at a rate of maybe 1 child every fifty years. Part of this might be due to inbreeding, as dwarves often will only breed between clan members.
Ecology and Habitats
Technically, dwarves could live anywhere, but they seem to prefer the mountains and caves of the Underdark to anywhere else. There are dwarven strongholds above ground, and cities even, though these are rare.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Dwarves highly value the ties between family members and friends, 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 more so than most other races, turn to their gods for guidance and protection. Non-evil dwarves look 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 maintains at least one temple or ancestral shrine.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Dwarves have a deep understanding of stones and tunnels, able to almost "feel" how the stones would move and shift.
Dwarves are unusually tough for humanoids, in more ways than one. Dwarven stomachs, for instance, are resistant to virtually all poisons and it takes less effort for a dwarf to get back on their feet than other races. Dwarves also 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. Dwarves also have a sense about them that few races do, with a preternatural awareness of their surroundings useful for a subterranean race as well as good judgment all-around 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 possess a great deal of charismatic power. Furthermore, dwarves are not entirely unsocial and more than a few have a natural knack for bartering or judging the value of an offer, something that sits well with their legendary crafting abilities.
Dwarves can see in the dark, out to about 60 feet (18 meters). Many dwarves have an affinity for the caverns in which they live, possessing a knack for recognizing unusual patterns in stonework that can 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 promote a tradition of inbreeding. This is so excessive that it is considered one of the reasons for the dwarves' low birth rate.
Most dwarven clans focus on one or two kinds of crafting, such as blacksmithing, jewelry, engineering, or masonry. Dwarves strive to avoid overspecialization by sending some of their youths to other clans to serve as apprentices, which also helps to foster racial unity. Because of their longevity, these apprenticeships might last decades.
Common Myths and Legends
Like many races, the exact origins of the dwarves is lost in myth and legend. While many non-dwarven scholars believe that dwarves are not native to Ghemjana or its successor worlds, most dwarves believe that their ancestors came from the heart of the planet itself, given life by Moradin after being made by the All-Father's hammer in the Soulforge. These legends hold that the dwarves fought their way to the surface world, overcoming the dangers they faced below through strength of arms and skill.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Dwarves are firm believers in the righteousness of their own ways, yet are surprisingly tolerant of the cultures of others, much of which is due to their natural introversion. Polite dwarves normally decline to speak their minds about others, regardless of their true feelings; behavior considered "good enough" is left alone and not considered their business. Certain violent behavior might prompt more direct forms of response, but for the most part dwarves will live and let live. They get along passably well with most other races, their pragmatism and sense of honor serving diplomacy well, and few reasonable societies cannot come to some level of agreement of them.
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 forge strong bonds with dwarves. There are exceptions, however, and some of the strongest friendships are those between a dwarf and a human whose grandparents and parents are also on good terms with the dwarf.
Allies
Dwarves and gnomes have a history of cordial relations, mutually seeing each other as family, however distant. One dwarven myth proposes that the gnomes were once dwarves and Garl Glittergold is actually a long-forgotten dwarven deity of magic known as Garal, who turned his devotees into gnomes. Dwarves hold the outlooks the two have in common in strong regard, looking at gnomish culture with affectionate bemusement and gnomes often feel that dwarves have a grounding in the greater truths of the world that they themselves lack. However, long-term contact between the two will likely cause irritation, for while they envy the dwarves, gnomes are unwilling to stick to their lifestyle. Dwarf strongholds are always open to gnomes, but few dwarves are comfortable enough with gnome ways to stay for long in their settlements.
Similarly to gnomes, dwarves have a fondness for halflings, comparable to an older brother's concern for a smaller, more awkward sibling. Dwarves prize the halfling talent for fitting in and lending a hand, while halflings admire the strong family ties and industriousness (as well as the nose for profit) of the dwarves. However, dwarves are usually stodgy and somewhat provincial in contrast to the more adventurous halflings. Furthermore, halflings, who do not hold martial prowess as important, see dwarves as too war-like. Some dwarves mistake their disinterest for inability and can prove patronizing, yet halflings quietly dismiss this overbearing and somewhat arrogant attitude as part of dwarvish nature. Dwarves remain blissfully pleased with their relations besides vague concern and diplomatic offers of military aid.
More than any other race, humans are capable of dwarven behavior, readily absorbing their virtues and able to value them almost equally. They look up to the tradition, honor, conviction, and family values central to them, and admire dwarven martial skill and stonecraft. The two races have always been cordial neighbors at the very least, and when humans model their societies after dwarves, it is a source of pride and joy. However, humans are so morally and ethically flexible that they can also be almost elf-like, seeming flighty to their slow-paced ways. What all human nations share is a short memory, and human adaptability is countered in their minds by cultural inconsistency. Still, if dwarves are good at anything, it is finding potential hidden below the surface, and so even in the darkest times, they never give up on humanity.
Dwarven and elven relations are infamously volatile, their vastly disparate perspectives on the relationship between the individual and society resulting in countless misunderstandings and feuds. While dwarves subjugate the individual in favor of the group, elves do the opposite, and while both ways of life work for their respective races, it makes it hard for the two to agree on specific plans. Dwarves are both frustrated and amused by their apparent flightiness, lack of family focus, and irresponsibility of a race that, given their long lives and magic power, should be some of the most responsible of all. The emotional elves usually see the naturally reserved dwarves as too dour, foolishly failing to express themselves and their opinions. Dwarves and elves are both basically good however, and so agree on the most important issues; like squabbling siblings, they jump to the others' defense against outside forces despite their threats, shouts, and insults.
Though primitive to their eyes, dwarves regard goliaths as kindred spirits, followers of Moradin's ways even if not consciously aware of it. Dwarves perceive them as gentle giants and feel affection for their distant friends, leading them to make the extra effort of frequently visiting their villages for trade. For their part, goliaths hold dwarves in high regard; most can't make their jewelry or metal crafts and hold in high esteem those that can, wishing that they could have a similar aptitude for weapon-crafting. They will eagerly trade furs and meat for dwarven (and gnomish) wonders, and some of the bravest of their numbers will traverse mountain caves to trade with dwarven communities.
Enemies
Dwarves do not forgive past wrongs easily and the entire race has 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 feel it is 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'd once enslaved them.
As competitors for underground resources, dwarves and kobolds frequently fight over subterranean claims. The anti-social sentiments and persecution complex of the kobolds make diplomacy difficult, and while the two don't always attack each other, neither side needs much provocation to start fighting. Not helping their relations is how dwarves frequently allied with or fought for gnomes against kobold tribes. However, if the two end up working together due to circumstance, they could discover a common work ethic and be able to form the foundation of respectful friendships.
A common saying is "If you're not sure if you're an enemy of a dwarf, ask yourself, 'am I a dwarf?'. If the answer is 'no', then you're probably an enemy. And if the answer is 'yes', then there's a good chance you still might be."
Crossbreeds
Dwarves have few set opinions on half-elves, each being a reflection of whatever culture they are raised in. Perhaps more than that of elves or humans, the half-elf mindset is acceptable with that of the dwarf, combining the relative order of humanity with the long view provided by elven blood. Wise dwarves know half-elves to be acceptable intermediaries when dwarves and elves desperately need to cooperate, while half-elves also appreciate the dwarven understanding of the long view and lack of sheer pretension sometimes displayed by elves. However, half-elves can just as easily combine elven frivolity with human hubris, and their wanderlust is difficult for dwarves to understand. Half-elves generally see dwarves as inflexible and unyielding, unable to understand their inability to negotiate and try new things.
Given the racial enmity between dwarves and orcs and the importance dwarves placed on lineage, it is easy to understand their temptation to hold distrust and resentment of half-orcs. Half-orcs meanwhile think dwarves would be funny if not so dangerous, for despite their capacity for drinking and raucousness they are serious, judgmental, task-oriented, and strict. However, half-orcs hold respect for the strength and martial prowess, and further admire dwarven skill with stone and honesty while sharing an appreciation for simple pleasures. Dwarves are predisposed to letting those so inclined prove themselves, and the two can be surprisingly staunch companions, to the point that less traditional clans will adopt particularly worthy half-orcs, demonstrating the possibility for even the oldest grudges to be wiped clean.
Subspecies
In regards to their distant cousins the azers, duergar, and galeb duhr, dwarven opinions vary. Many viewed their distant relations with sympathy for their prior enslavement. On the other hand, duergar and dwarves have long been enemies, though trade between them is a possibility.
Origin/Ancestry
Humanoid
Lifespan
200-300 years
Average Height
4'3" to 4'9"
Average Weight
180 lbs to 225 lbs
Geographic Distribution
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