Dwarves

Do you adore commerce? Do songs of ancient treasure thunder in your soul? Do bearded women get your goat? Play a Dwarf!
+1 Constitution +1 Wisdom
Move: 20 ft. (encumbrance cannot lower)
Pick Two:
Take no encumbrance or armor movement penalties Darkvision 30 feet +2 on craft metal or stone checks +2 on knowledge engineering Proficient with all dwarven weapons, battle axes, picks as weapons, and warhammers Naturally speak Dwarven and common

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Dwarves are disproportionately male, almost 80% of their population is male. This, combined with the slow, two year gestation rate, and their relatively slow maturation means that Dwarves are a slowly dwindling species.

Growth Rate & Stages

Dwarves grow to full maturity, when their beards are full, around 25 years old, but can easily live to be 250 years old, reaching middle age at 115 and old age at 200.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Dwarves are omnivores, but their cuisine highly favors the preparation of red meat over any other food.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Dwarves are a highly commercial and technical culture. Dwarven society is also highly pragmatic and paternalistic. The focus of society is to optimize itself for the survival of Dwarven culture and magic. This pursuit is overseen by the Jarls appointed by the Underking, the Great Lord of all Dwarvenkind who lives in his opalescent halls at the roots of the great volcano Reagfaren, overseeing the creation of mighty magical weapons. Rather than rediscovering spells like elves and exploring like men, Dwarves preserve what magic they have or can acquire in the creation of mighty arcane weapons of great beauty and craft.

Facial characteristics

Generally have wide, large faces and are bearded. Male dwarves grow thick, course beards at an alarming rate, female Dwarves grow very thin, wispy beards which are often removed, but not always.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Dwarves dwell in and under the mountains which surround the inner realms.

Average Intelligence

of average human or slightly higher intelligence

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Dwarven surnames stay the same through generations, the pool gradually thinning as fewer and fewer induvidual branches exist on the predominantly male family tree. First names are always derived from the father's lineage. Names often have to do with the earth, rocks, fire, the ground, and the name-bearers position in the family.

Beauty Ideals

Dwarves believe that the greatest beauty comes in the act of creation, and fulfilling the purpose of the creation.

Gender Ideals

Dwarves believe that both Male and Female Dwarves can be warriors, but once Dwarves become married, the purpose of the female Dwarf is to birth and provide for her children and the purpose of the male Dwarf is to study at either war or engineering. As a result Dwarven family structure is rather unstable.

Courtship Ideals

The Dwarven process of courtship is much more of an economic process than a romantic one. Male Dwarves far outnumber female Dwarves and only the strongest of the males should pass on their seed. Therefore tournaments are held yearly for all male Dwarves of a certain wealth and then female Dwarves of age are given their choice of husbands from this pack of the strong.

Relationship Ideals

The ideal function of a relationship is advance Dwarven culture by producing the strongest, brightest, and most powerful offspring so that their offspring may be even more powerful, and slowly Dwarves can again reclaim their title as the forgemen of the future.

Average Technological Level

Significantly higher than humans, at least renaissance or later while most of the world is either in high ancient or medieval.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Dwarven

Common Etiquette Rules

Dwarves do not often concern themselves with etiquette. In Dwarven culture, one is expected to carry themselves honestly, say what they mean, ask for what they want, and get done what needs to get done. Not doing so is considered a sign of weakness. Deference to strength and experience are the binding features of society rather than tradition. Dwarves do not appreciate shows of wealth, pretentiousness, long-windedness, impractical creativity, or pointless displays of skill, but they love fighting, practical creations, and every kind of sport, even swimming.

Common Dress Code

Dwarves do not believe in ostentatious dress. They dress plainly to allow their richly ornamented creations to shine all the brighter.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Dwarven culture favors the practical arts and, because of the bureaucratic influence of the jarls, is largely consistent without a unified idea of cultural identity.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

-Beards are a huge part of Dwarven culture, they are expected to be grown and groomed to be presentable.
-Dwarves believe in being blunt and honest, flattery and deception if used against a Dwarf are grave offenses.

Common Taboos

The Worship of Gods: One of the great driving forces behind Dwarven society is the belief that the gods have abandoned mortals, the belief that it was the fault of the gods that the last world and the magic in it was undone. The gods are powerful and they may still exist, but worshiping things that we cannot see or comprehend is a waste of time, not to mention that they abandoned us.
-Dwarves only believe in charity given to one's family, if a person has no family or skills to fall back on, then they have not made the connections required of them by Dwarven society and do not deserve their place in it.

History

Dwarves were the second race to settle in Taikangard, claiming the parts of the world that they Elves did not think fit for settlement, the deep places and the high places of the world. In these places they built mighty cities and keeps, always forging the rawest parts of the earth into beautiful creations. In those days at the start of the new age they clashed some with the Elves, but they signed a treaty that would preserve the future of civilization for the other mortal races so that neither Elves nor Dwarves could get too powerful and never go to war, places their arcane mastery against one another.
Dwarves did not trust Varien, he was too powerful, too superstitious, and much too close to the Elves. He would have swung the balance of power to strongly toward mortals, therefore many theorize that the Dwarves slew him to preserve their own place in the world. With Varien out of the way, the Dwarves immediately made more moves to spread their business dealings to further reaches of the world.
Dwarves still thrive, but struggle as their race's slow reproductive cycle and heavily male demographic struggles to produce the next generation. Their connection to the cycles of the earth continues and their songs shall continue until the ending of this new again, hopefully. Dwarves still Dwell in their ancient cities, surrounded by their treasures, the Dwarven Jarls carrying on their ancestral service to the Underking's crown.

Historical Figures

The Thornwalker Family: A long line of heroes stretching back into ancient days, no other family in Dwarvish lore has been as long-lived and deeply revered.

Common Myths and Legends

The Adamantine Augur: There are persistant legends about an ancient artifact of great power, a digging tool the size of a city, said to have the power to break through the bottom of the world itself into strange and distant planes, to pass through the floors of reality itself, now lost to time somewhere in the vast reaches of the underground wilderness. Many consider it a ridiculous legend, but others consider it hope for the future.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Elves: Dwarves hold Elves in very high regard as they are the other great and ancient race. The rightful rulers of the new land of Taikangard. The Dwarves and Elves deeply disagree about how to maintain the future of the new world, but understand that peace and cooperation between them is necessary for it to survive.
Humans and Halflings: Humans at least understand commerce and as a result deserve respect. Dwarves deal most readily with humans out of the other species, particularly the Veitenlanders. Halflings are also near and dear to Dwarves as they are often more willing to do good work for easy gold.
Beastkin: Dwarves rarely interact with beastkin. Lycans are weird and superstitious, Tabaxi are good business partners and allies for science, but are far too flighty, and Gnolls are exotic and fascinating, but generally a dead end.
Starkin: Dwarves dislike Starkin as they are connected to the gods too closely. Anything with that much of a bind to the immaterial and unknowable cannot be of use to the physical world and are a threat to the civilized world.
Goblins: Goblins are good business partners inasmuch that they can do odd jobs no other humanoid races can do and are employed cheaply.
Orcs: Orcs are barbarians who only endanger supply routes and outer settlements, destroy them, civilize them, same difference.

Lifespan

175 years

Average Height

M/F: 4'7"

Average Weight

9 stone

Average Physique

Short, broad, and stocky.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Dwarves, because of their underground habitat, are usually on the pale side, but those who live above ground tend to easily become either ruddy or swarthy depending on their natural complexion. Dwarves tend to have hair color of brown or red, but black and lighter blonde is also fairly common.