Dwarves
Though they stand at about 1.50 m tall, dwarves are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as a human standing nearly half a meter taller. Their endurance is also much better than that of most of the other races.
Dwarven skin ranges from deep brown to a paler hue tinged with red, but the most common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth.
Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male dwarves value their beards highly and groom them carefully.
Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they’re considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 500 years.
Dwarves can see well in the dark and are particularly resistant to poison and magic. Their resistance to magic means they cannot practice the arcane arts as the other races do, so there are no dwarves mages or sorcerers, the only dwarves well versed in magic are the runesmiths wich use runes to cast spells similar to what a mage from another race might cast.
Army
The warrior clans form the standing army of the dwarven nation, and in case of a prolonged war against a strong enemy, conscription may be enacted any healthy dwarf might be conscripted regardless of age. The warrior clans equip and train themselves so there is no standardization in the dwarven army, but usually, a dwarven warrior wears heavy armor meaning full plate plus mail plus gambeson the most elite units may be equipped with mithril, adamantine, or dimerithium armor depending on their role, for weapons hammers and axes are preferred but spears and swords are also used, melee weapons can one-handed with a shield in the offhand or two-handed weapons with no shield, some clans also train with versatile weapons can be used one or two-handed with or without shields. Conscripts are required to provide their equipment and there is so much variety that it would be useless to speak of. Strangely while dwarves have access to both black powder and liquid amber guns most warrior clans shun them, but the common citizens seem to like them and so in a dwarven army is far easier to see a conscript with a gun than a professional soldier. Dwarves have a large variety of cannons some with their unique hexagonal barrels said to be more precise and better against armor, light cannons are used for precision, large cannons to break infantry formations and structures, and organ guns are used to defend against enemy cavalry and mortars are used in sieges and against enemy entrenched position. Dwarves can't ride horses well, but the few dwarven clans that maintain a cavalry force ride large mountain goats a specially domesticated breed that while identical to ones found in the wild are much more obedient and less cowardly. The goats are slower than horses but faster than a dwarf, also their horns make for devastating charges. Dwarves have no form of aerial military force relying on their old friend The Empire of the Withe Flame and their imperial griffon knights should the need arise. Dwarves also have no navy. Dwarven military doctrine is simple, dwarves are slow but relentless they can march for days without sleep or food so enemy armies usually can't escape far, in field battles they set up a solid line of elite infantry to protect the front and weaker infantry on the sides and rear to protect the artillery, once the artillery is ready it begins to fire on the enemy, now the enemy has three choices: flee and die tired after the dwarves catch them again, stay put and die under dwarven artillery fire, or charge and die fighting the elite dwarven infantry. In siege battle dwarven doctrine is different whether a swift victory is required or not, in the former case they dig tunnels under the wall to either collapse the walls or mount a surprise attack from inside, in the latter case they set up fortifications, encircle the besieged and wait for surrender or in case of umgi death by starvation.Economy
Dwarven cities are large and full of minerals and gems but the thing they lack is food, the only growable foods that grow underground under the moonlight stones are edible mushrooms, rock fruits, and flowers used for spices, most of the mushrooms are fed to domesticated rothe, a species of cattle well suited for life underground, so the dwarven diet would consist of rothe, mushroom, rothe milk, rothe cheese, and spices, were it not for imports. The dwarven economy is strong but they can trade only with the Empire of the White Flames because dwarves do not like boats, Dwarven exports include gems, minerals, and any kind of metal, especially mithril since by an ancient pact with the second Emperor all the veins of raw mithril belong to the Kingdom of the dwarves. They also export weapons and armor in any size for any race in the Empire. Dwarven imports include mostly food and spices, very strong spices mostly made in the alchemical labs of Hurur.Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Amber, Artin, Audhild, Bardryn, Dagnal, Diesa, Eldeth, Falkrunn, Finellen, Gunnloda, Gurdis, Helja, Hlin, Kathra, Kristryd, Ilde, Liftrasa, Mardred, Riswynn, Sannl, Torbera, Torgga, Vistra.
Masculine 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.
Family names
Dwarves have clans similar to human families but much more extended. Usually, a clan is specialized in a trade and the clan's name reflects this.
Dwarves value their clan's name well above their own.
Examples of clan names are: Balderk, Battlehammer, Brawnanvil, Dankil, Fireforge, Frostbeard, Gorunn, Holderhek, Ironfist, Loderr, Lutgehr, Rumnaheim, Strakeln, Torunn, Ungart, Harpstrummer, Minedelver, Greatpick, Silvervein, Goldhoarder, Barrelgut.
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Dwarves can live to be more than 600 years old, so the oldest living dwarves often remember a very different world. This longevity grants them a perspective on the world that shorter-lived races such as humans and halflings lack.
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 clans, 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 devotion to the ancestor gods of the dwarves, who uphold the dwarven ideals of industrious labor, skill in battle, and devotion to the forge and clan.
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 the wrongs they have suffered. A wrong done to one dwarf is a wrong done to the dwarf’s entire clan, so what begins as one dwarf’s hunt for vengeance can become a full-blown clan feud.
The dwarven kingdom stretches deep beneath the mountains at the center of Ishar where the dwarves mine gems and precious metals and forge items of wonder. They love the beauty and artistry of precious metals and fine jewelry, and in some dwarves, this love festers into avarice. Whatever wealth they can’t find in their mountains, they gain through trade. They dislike boats, so enterprising humans frequently handle trade in dwarven goods along water routes. Trustworthy members of other races known as friendly to the dwarves are welcome in dwarf settlements, though some areas are off-limits even to them.
The chief unit of dwarven society is the clan and dwarves highly value social standing. Even dwarves who live far from their kingdom cherish their clan identities and affiliations, recognize related dwarves, and invoke their ancestors’ names in oaths and curses. To be clanless is the worst fate that can befall a dwarf. Dwarves of the same clan call each other cousins if they are roughly the same age, they call older clan members uncle or aunt and younger clan members nephew or nice.
Dwarves in other lands are typically artisans, especially weaponsmiths, armorers, and jewelers. Some become mercenaries or bodyguards, highly sought after for their courage and loyalty.
Dwarven social classifications
A feature unique in the dwarven language is a group of words that is used to quickly identify not only friend from foe but also the level of amity or enmity an individual or an entire race deserves. In order from best to worst these words are:- Firahk: meaning "companion", the term is not used lightly an example of a firahk might be an individual who served beside you in the army during a war or a valuable mentor you have known half your life.
- Kruki: roughly translated to "friend" in the loosest of terms, anyone you might be friendly with may be a kruki, dwarves use this term to categorize friendly races such as humans, halflings, and gnomes, as well as other dwarves.
- Kazuk: meaning "idiot", there are many types of kazuk maybe someone who always gets you in trouble or is incapable of doing a job right, maybe someone who simply gets on your nerves, only one race is collectively referred to as kazuk, the duergars, dwarves belive that their decision to abandon the clan structure and the ancestor gods is moronic, but they are still dwarves so they cant be to angry with them.
- Umgi: translated to "enemy", while a dwarf might wanna punch a kazuk, an umgi is deserving of death, preferably a slow one, elves and orcs are in this category.
Foods & Cuisine
Most races that eat dwarven cuisine think it is bland, but that could not be further from the truth, dwarven cuisine tastes bland to other races because dwarves do not put spices when serving their food to other races. This may seem like a cruel prank dwarves pull on members of other races to make fun of them, but that is not the case. The problem with dwarven food is that is spicy, too spicy for the other races, so spicy they might actually die, dwarven constitution and their resistance to poisons is remarkable but this also means most of what they eat is deadly to races with weaker stomachs.
Dwarves are famous for their alcoholic beverages chiefly ales and Dwarven blood, a strong alcoholic liqueur that can reach an alcohol concentration of 70% but is usually around 40%.
Dwarven alcohol is not an ancient tradition, at least not by dwarven standards, dwarves do not produce plants needed for alcohol fermentation, so this practice probably started when the dwarves began commerce with other races.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Each dwarven clan maintains a masoleum where dead clan members are entombed in the stone deep under the mountain.
Related Organizations
