Dwarven Knights

Dwarves take their warring very seriously indeed, and their views on war and honor would make any visiting samurai warrior proud. Dwarves, in stark contrast to the elves, would rather die in glorious battle than any other way. It is even said that dwarves always lair near a dragon or a large colony of giants just to keep a steady scenario of conflict going. To their credit the dwarves are always ready for war.

In fact, during the numerous battles between elven and dwarven forces, it has always been the elven kinship with animal and plant life that has kept them one step ahead of their dwarven enemies. The elves always seem to have enough time to get ready for a battle, no matter how well the dwarven forces try to conceal themselves.

As mentioned earlier, the dwarves take the ceremonial aspects of their idea of chivalry very seriously, but keep such things rather private.

The “respect for women” notions are pretty much ignored by a rather chauvinistic male dwarven hierarchy. In a society geared for war and hard work in the mines, there seems to be no glory available for the little ladies.

Now, that is not to say that dwarven women are mistreated. That is far from the truth. They are given equal rights and protection under all laws, and dwarven marriages are ones of partnership, not obedience.

The dwarves like to make their armor heavy, plated, and black. Almost without exception, all dwarven-sized armor is actually made from dwarven forged iron. A dwarf will not wear armor forged by any other race, for their pride is quite strong and their codes of honor very exacting on such points.

While elven armors require constant repair if they are to remain attractive, dwarves place less value on appearance and more value on defense. Dwarven plate armor is treated as plate mail +1, but is almost 50% heavier than human plate. This means that a dwarven set of plate armor (sized for a 4’ tall dwarf) weighs just about as much as a human set of plate (sized for a 6’ tall knight).

Unfortunately, dwarves rarely make their armor for humans, and do not know how to make either field or full plate armors. Their own limbs and joints do not have the mobility necessary to make a functional set of those full-body armors, and so the dwarves will have none of it. Just like the elves, dwarves don’t teach non-dwarves their metallurgy secrets.

Dwarves dwell extensively on their own version of heraldry, based on the personal histories and family genealogies of the entire dwarven race. Dwarves are remarkable at remembering long list of names, and spend a great deal of their lives memorizing details about everyone they ever see, meet, or hear about.