Dwarf

"You fought against us, Richard of Dolcaster, in the Rebellion, as your folk tend to call it." Malrick looked at the Duke of Dolcaster with hard gray eyes that glinted like steel. His words were just as firm as his gaze. "You murdered our own in the name of your King. The one whose son you are now aiming to topple over. So... tell me why? Why should we aid you?"
Richard was silent for a minute, as if pondering his next words with care. A single hand rose to brush against his goatee. Finally, however, he spoke, "Your people have been put down by the King of Ashes, and again by his Hound. You have no love for House Ashmore, nor they for your kind. They would feel no sadness to see the Dwarven Clans fall into legend and obscurity. They would not care if you were made to dust. We both know this."
Malrick's nostrils flaired, but he made no move to speak. Thus, Richard continued. "We fought together, my men and yours, in the Long War. Against the Flying Terrors, and the goblin horde alike. I treated your people as I did my men."
"And then you slaughtered us in the Rebellion."
"I followed orders, as I was bound. I would not turn away from an opponent with a sword pointed at me. Just as I would not strike down a non-combatant. I was bound by honor, to protect this land. My people. A sentiment that I believe you share for your peope." He was silent again, watching Malrick out of the corner of his eye. Malrick just stared back, still as stone and just as firm.
Richard continued, one last time. "Your people are one of honor. One of tradition. One of worth. Do you think that the Ashmore care about that worth? Did they remember your actions in the Long War when they left you to fester and rot in your ruins under the ground?"
The silence rang out, though the answer was clear enough of its own. Richard nodded his head, "If you join me in this fight, and I will remember... And I remember to reward those that aid me. What say you, General?"
Malrick waited for a single heartbeat's time. "I'll say 'Aye'."

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

While Dwarves have migrated all across the continent of Elwin, the majority of their race resides within the Kingdom of Cador, where the two remaining, occupied Dwarven Holds exist: Malgrum and Gravenwall.

Magic

Dwarves are one of the few races in the world incapable of using magic. They cannot learn, let alone manipulate the ambient energies of the arcane. This inability has contributed to their historic defeats over the centuries, and has encouraged technological innovation, such as the explosive Dwarven Powder that saw heavy use in the Dwarven Rebellion and the War of the Crown.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

All dwarves have a given name, often taken from a grandparent, and a clan name. To a dwarf, their clan name is everything: the history, the exploits and the failures of their entire line worn with pride and shame. The clan's victories are theirs. The clan's defeats are theirs. And should they bring shame to that clan, they are stripped of it, and rendered Clanless and forever ostracized.
Male Names: Alasdair, Arran, Beathan, Boyd, Calum, Dermid, Evander, Fearghas, Gordon, Hendry, Irving, Jock, Kenneth
Female Names: Aileen, Ailsa, Barabal, Blair, Catrina, Donella, Edna, Fiona, Glenna, Innes, Jean, Kenna, Kirsty, Lileas
Clan Names: Axebreaker, Craghold, Darkseeker, Dûnhark, Forgeworn, Powderbeard, Skyminer,

Major Organizations

The Dwarves lack a kingdom of their own, and are formally part of Cador. They also have strong ties to the Great Church, with many prominent clan leaders being members of its Deaconry.

Beauty Ideals

The dwarves are often split on matters of tradition, and this physically represented by a dwarf's beard. Both genders grow magnificent facial hair, and your typical dwarf will grow it out and obsessively groom and maintain it. Many take to decorating their beards with beads and gemstones, especially if they are of prominent Clans. However, there are those who prefer to shave their beards, and sport a clean, "modern" look. Staying abreast of Cadorian fashion, you will find plenty of men and women with bare faces, and equally plenty of scruffs who take offense.

Gender Ideals

There is no difference between female dwarves, or their male counterparts. The Traditionalist sect of the dwarves are adamant about this, with its importance to them being reflected in the fact that the Dwarven language itself contains no pronouns or gendering. There is a substantial minority of dwarves that do not refer to themselves as male or female at all, and prefer to refer to themselves by the more fluid possessives of their language rather than submit to gendered Cadorian Common.
The more modern sect of Dwarves, however, have deemed it fit to adopt the Cadorian Custom. Some of the women have begun shaving their beards, and taken after dressing and referring to themselves like the Cadorian women that they work alongside. This adoption of human customs has only widened the growing schism between the two philosophies.

Relationship Ideals

The relationship ideals of the Dwarves splinter along the Traditionalist and Modernist lines. The Traditionalists view relationships and marriages as matters of equality and respect. The partners are on the same standing as one another, acting as two experts expected to constantly partner and push each other to greater heights. One partner would never deem it right to speak for the other, though it is quite common for them to push the other to make the choice that they deem more appropriate.
The modern sect of dwarves, however, take a more human-centered view of relationships. Women of this persuasion are often deemed as housekeepers, while their partners deal with the outside spheres of influence. That is not to say, however, that the feminine partners are without power, though it is not of the same mutually understood variety as their Traditionalist counterparts.

Average Technological Level

Long ago, the Dwarves held the secrets to making Golems and a variety of magical armaments to supplement their inability to use magic. Those have long been lost. However, the Dwarves remain innovative in the face of adversity, and in the war with Man, discovered Black Powder and how to use its explosive properties in warfare; creating the likes of cannons and firearms that are in limited circulation, today.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Dwarves speak Dwarvish amongst themselves, though it is rare for a dwarf to not speak Cadorian.

Common Dress Code

Often times, dwarves of higher society will take to dressing themselves in a manner mirroring that of their Cadorian counterparts. As such, these folks are often seen garbed in rich silks and suits befitting of their social standing. Of the lower societies and more traditionalist mindsets, however, dwarven fashions do not vary much between male and female, with many of them often wearing similar or the same outfits.
The one respected, if not required, indulgence, however is the styling of one's beard. It is common for folks to braid beads and trinkets into their beards. There is a language of braiding that few non-dwarves ever manage to know. It is said that, if given the time or the mind to, a dwarf could weave their entire life story into the hair of their beard with braids.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Clan and ancestry are held sacred among the dwarves of Cador. Your clan determines your standing in the social order, and without one, you're nothing: a corpse with no name and no purpose. Your clan brings you honor, and you in turn can bring honor to your clan. Everyone in the clan chips in on the triumphs and the failures, as everyone represents the clan as a whole, no matter their position. Their actions and their words reflect those of the entire clan, and a single dishonor can haunt them for generations to come.

Common Taboos

To cut off one's hair or beard, in the traditionalist's mind, is only done after a great loss or tragedy. Thus, the modernists' cutting of their beards during the time of growth, is not only seen as disrespectful of customs, but also of the tragedies that the race has faced, as a whole.

History

The history of the dwarves is carved in defeat, or perhaps for those romantics out there a stubbornness: an unwillingness to stay down. Long before the Dwarven Rebellion of Cador, and even before the Holds of Malgrum fell to the Kingdom of Dival, their reach extended across the world, in the form of mighty, underground cities: the lost Dwarven Holds.
When we speak of ruins, we often refer to those belonging to the giants, the Jötnar, but they were hardly the only ancient civilization to fall and leave behind their mark. The Dwarven Holds are a reminder of where the Dwarves came from, their history, their traditions; origins that have been worn with the passage of time, and the separation of their people at the hands of the Giants. War punctuates their history, and war may yet save it.
The War of the Crown, and the part they played in it, won them their independence. The dwarves have gained a place in the Kingdom whose ancestors had, long ago, subjugated them. Gone was the oppression, and in their place, they had peerage, political power, and limited autonomy. At long last, they had room to recover and grow.

Common Myths and Legends

The Miner

Known to dwarves as Barik-tharn, the Miner appears as a stout dwarf with a pick made of pure light. He is the protector of the earth’s treasures, but most importantly, he warns those who are beloved of Rontra when they are in danger of delving too deep or too dangerously. When miners feel gut intuition telling them their tunnels are unsafe, they claim it is Barik-tharn whispering over their shoulders.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Humans: After the War of the Crown, and under the reign of King Richard I, the bitter relations between the dwarves and humans had improved drastically. Tensions, however, remain.
Giants: Dwarves have inherited a deep hatred for the remnants of the giants and their kin, following the collapse of their civilization.

Lifespan

350 years

Average Height

4-5'

Average Weight

150lbs