Dwarf
A short, stout folk known for their unique attunement towards runes, their connection to metals and gemstones, and their frankly impressive levels of alcoholic tolerance. Many across Thrain have forgotten the transgressions that the dwarves committed in past eras that caused their exiles - not unlike Humans, though many of the circumstances of human exile are impossible to ignore or forget - and as such they see widespread acceptance across Thrain and beyond.Dwarves are a stout, hardy and industrious ancestry that traces its origins back to the First Magi War, the same conflict that gave rise to Humanity. Indeed, like humans, the dwarves used to be Elves, specifically a subset of Dark Elves that sided with the High Elves that would become humanity following the First Magi War. Where the dwarves and humans generally differed following their joint exile is that while humanity would double down on learning to control the magic that the First Magi War was fought with, the dwarves eschewed all magic from their lives entirely, founding great cities beneath the mountains of Sarkaz and focusing instead on technology.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Nobody knows why dwarven anatomy has diverged so significantly from that of the Elves, but it has, and nowadays there is little similarity between them; dwarves are known for their short stature, stocky builds and their extremely broad variants based on gemstones and metals. These are referred to as a Cohort, a dwarven subspecies. There are many dwarven cohorts, and dwarves aren't limited to the cohort they were born in, nor are they limited to one cohort, dwarves can align passively towards two cohorts, a metallic cohort and a gemstone cohort. The System even explicitly provides benefits for doing so.
That being said, a dwarf cannot easily choose what their cohort is, instead they adapt to their local environment, and adopt its appropriate cohort; the longer a dwarf lives in one place, the more 'deep set' that cohort becomes, and the longer it would take to change to another cohort of the same category - generally, the rough figure is that for every month a dwarf spends in one location that grants them a cohort, it would take half a year to overcome before another cohort of the same category can manifest itself.
Generally, this means that dwarves - as a sedentary ancestry - don't tend to change their cohorts, but they can do so with enough time and effort (or with the aid of System bonuses), and as noted this only applies to cohorts of the same category, so a mithril dwarf couldn't easily adopt an adamantine cohort, as they are both metallic cohorts, but they could easily adopt a diamond cohort, becoming a mithril-diamond dwarf, but after gaining a diamond cohort, they would struggle to change to a ruby cohort.
That being said, a dwarf cannot easily choose what their cohort is, instead they adapt to their local environment, and adopt its appropriate cohort; the longer a dwarf lives in one place, the more 'deep set' that cohort becomes, and the longer it would take to change to another cohort of the same category - generally, the rough figure is that for every month a dwarf spends in one location that grants them a cohort, it would take half a year to overcome before another cohort of the same category can manifest itself.
Generally, this means that dwarves - as a sedentary ancestry - don't tend to change their cohorts, but they can do so with enough time and effort (or with the aid of System bonuses), and as noted this only applies to cohorts of the same category, so a mithril dwarf couldn't easily adopt an adamantine cohort, as they are both metallic cohorts, but they could easily adopt a diamond cohort, becoming a mithril-diamond dwarf, but after gaining a diamond cohort, they would struggle to change to a ruby cohort.
Biological Traits
Dwarves are generally known for their disease resistance - with higher System investment allowing for complete immunity to most diseases - and their sturdy build, being able to take blows that would down most other ancestries many times over and emerge relatively unscathed - a trait that is only amplified by their famed skill at craftsmanship. Beyond those core traits, dwarves are also known for having traits related to their specific cohorts; each cohort has its own specific System Class tied to it, but the cohorts are roughly split across the metallic/gemstone boundaries, with the System allowing for levels invested into one category to translate to any cohort in that category if a dwarf changes their cohort.
Metallic cohorts focus on physical prowess, be that through amplifying their already incredible sturdiness, adding surprising agility, or empowering general physical strength, while gemstone cohorts focus on runic magic prowess, with the various gemstones focusing on specific elements of runic magic. Indeed, the System locks access to anything to do with runic magic behind gemstone cohort-specific Perks.
Metallic cohorts focus on physical prowess, be that through amplifying their already incredible sturdiness, adding surprising agility, or empowering general physical strength, while gemstone cohorts focus on runic magic prowess, with the various gemstones focusing on specific elements of runic magic. Indeed, the System locks access to anything to do with runic magic behind gemstone cohort-specific Perks.
Behaviour
Dwarves are known to be judgemental and prone to keeping grudges for a long period of time, often remembering slights against them for decades; this is such an institutional aspect that the great capital of dwarvenkind - Kharum Dwarovhum - maintains the famous Repository of Grudges, a great techno-runic machine that records grudges - generally differentiated as a slight that is against all of dwarvenkind - and tracks them, assigning severity to each one and detailing what was done to cause it, who caused it (be that a person or a community, or an entire ancestry), and any additional grudges that have increased its severity since initially being recorded.
This repository is a greater extension of general dwarven mindsets, but generally dwarves don't view slights generationally, nor do they view slights as something worth retaliation against with excessive force; a slight as simple as wrongfully extorting Crowns from a dwarf is enough to have them remember it, but they will not respond by killing the person who wronged them; their response would be to do what they must to reclaim the crowns wrongfully extorted from them. Similarly, their slight is with that person, not their descendants, though this doesn't generally apply to the broader grudges recorded by the Repository, as those are much grander in scale.
Perhaps one of the most famous grudges within the repository is against the dwarves themselves, and it was assigned there as the very first grudge: a constant reminder to the dwarves of their origins that led them to abandon traditional magic to begin with. This grudge is generally known as the One Grudge, as it cannot be satisfied in any way, short of wiping out all dwarves, and will remain in the Repository until no dwarves live.
This repository is a greater extension of general dwarven mindsets, but generally dwarves don't view slights generationally, nor do they view slights as something worth retaliation against with excessive force; a slight as simple as wrongfully extorting Crowns from a dwarf is enough to have them remember it, but they will not respond by killing the person who wronged them; their response would be to do what they must to reclaim the crowns wrongfully extorted from them. Similarly, their slight is with that person, not their descendants, though this doesn't generally apply to the broader grudges recorded by the Repository, as those are much grander in scale.
Perhaps one of the most famous grudges within the repository is against the dwarves themselves, and it was assigned there as the very first grudge: a constant reminder to the dwarves of their origins that led them to abandon traditional magic to begin with. This grudge is generally known as the One Grudge, as it cannot be satisfied in any way, short of wiping out all dwarves, and will remain in the Repository until no dwarves live.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Dwarves originate from the mountains of Sarkaz, where the great lava barrier erected by the gods allowed them to harness magmatic energy for power and other techniques, but nowadays they can be found in most places where there are mountains to be found, as their exile - unlike Humans - has been lifted across Thrain.
Generally, dwarves in various different mountain regions have different cohorts, as the general material and gemstone composition of their home determines which cohorts a dwarf manifests; generally, this is based on the most significant metallic and gemstone presence around a dwarf and this is what generally causes dwarven societies to be very hold-based, as entire holds share general cohort unity; all holds are situated around material or gemstone riches, and many are situated around riches of many such materials and gemstones, creating a general identity within each hold based on the cohorts that manifest.
Generally, dwarves in various different mountain regions have different cohorts, as the general material and gemstone composition of their home determines which cohorts a dwarf manifests; generally, this is based on the most significant metallic and gemstone presence around a dwarf and this is what generally causes dwarven societies to be very hold-based, as entire holds share general cohort unity; all holds are situated around material or gemstone riches, and many are situated around riches of many such materials and gemstones, creating a general identity within each hold based on the cohorts that manifest.
Average Intelligence
Dwarves are famously intelligent and studious, and while their intellect is very focused - traditionally on runic matters, engineering and craftsmanship, as opposed to wizardly studies or traditional scholarly pursuits - their intellect is impressive all the same; this is in all likelihood due to their connection to the dark elves, who are also known for their more non-standard intellects.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
Upwards of 200 years
Average Height
4'9" - 5'6"
Average Weight
All dwarves are on the heavier end of the spectrum, with average weights being around 185 lbs, but certain dwarven variants can be far heavier than this, owing to the quirks of their physiology.
Average Physique
Dwarves are known for being extremely tough and stocky, generally known for standing firm and taking immense punishment - far more than would be expected for a humanoid of their size - and shrugging it off for the most part.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Dwarves are generally similar to elves and humans in terms of body colours, if a little darker skinned due to their subterranean nature, but have subtle traits that reflect their many variants; metal dwarves feature 'crops' of rock on their bodies that almost mimic the texture of their metallic cohort, for example, while gemstone dwarves often have parts of their hair and their irises reflect the colour of their gemstone cohort.
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