Dwarf
Dwarves are a short and stout race who praise tradition and fine crafts. They are known for their strong family ties, clan loyalties, lust for gold, and unshakable faith. While the other races enjoy the luxuries of magic, dwarves find themselves as the only race who can't use any spells. They make up for this by being expert craftsmen and dwarven goods are considered to be some of the most durable and high quality around.
Basic Information
Growth Rate & Stages
Dwarves reach adulthood at 60 years old.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Dwarven food is rough and less processed than human food. Some people speculate that dwarves must eat rocks to help them digest food.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Both male and female mountain dwarves have beards. Hill dwarves keep their beards long and the females do not typically grow beards. The male desert dwarves keep their beards short and the females do not grow beards.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Dwarf names involve hard consonants and few syllables. Mountain dwarf surnames denote their patriarchal and matriarchal lineage. Dwarves outside of the Dwarf Empire will follow these traditions.
Desert dwarves often have their old clan names, but they carry much less weight. Any in a governmental position will replace clan names.
Beauty Ideals
Dwarves have thick hair that can be any color found in humanity, though it usually greys when they reach middle age. Baldness is very common among dwarves. Mountain dwarves have long beards which they will often grow below their waist.
Courtship Ideals
There are a few types of dwarven marriages. The first is marrying into a clan. When a dwarf marries into a clan a dowry is given as a type of payment, as if a purchase is made to buy their spouse from the old clan.
The second type of dwarven wedding is the creation of a new clan. This can be done for a variety of reasons. When a new clan is formed a dowry is given to each of the old clans to "purchase" each other. Then the new clan is named as a combination of of the two old clan names. For example, a male from the Ironbeard clan and a female from the Thundersinger creating a new clan would be called the Ironsingers. If the genders were reversed then the new clan name would be Thunderbeard.
A third type of wedding would be an inter-clan marriage. In this case no new name is required and no dowry is required.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Common Etiquette Rules
Dwarves are reserved around other races, giving them a reputation of being dour and cheerless. While by themselves away from other races, their halls will ring with song and laughter. If a dwarf seems merry around you then he considers you to be a close personal friend. HIll dwarves are more outgoing than their mountain dwarf cousins.
Editor's note: May be revised
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Dwarves are greedy and miserly as a race (especially player characters) but individuals may lack these faults (especially player characters). Because of the ingrained dwarven laws, dwarves almost never resort to outright swindle or theft.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Over the centuries the dwarves have come up with a huge number of laws and customs related to money and business transactions. In fact a majority of dwarven law is monetarily related. This prevents their society from grinding to a halt over monetary issues. Eventually several clans specializing in contracts and law have cropped up. The more money a dwarf spends on a contract the more important it is to him. The most important treaties are written on gems or golden marble.
Common Taboos
Breaking dwarven law is extremely taboo and can be used as a casus belli. Beware the grudges of dwarves.
History
Dwarves have two major religious and political groups. The Dwarf Empire follows the old traditions of ancestor veneration. The new Desert Dwarves follow the faith of the silver flame.
RPG Datasheet
Brawn: 2 Agility: 1 Intellect: 2 Cunning: 2 Willpower: 3 Presence: 2
- Starting Wound Threshold: 11 + Brawn
- Starting Strain Threshold: 10 + Willpower
- Starting Experience: 90 XP
- Starting Skills: Dwarves begin with one rank in Resilience or Vigilance. You still cannot train their resilience above rank 2 during character creation.
- No Magic: Dwarves can not learn any magic skills or cast magical spells. If a dwarf would have a magical skill as a class skill they may replace it with another skill of their choice.
- Subrace: A dwarf player character is a member of one of the following subraces and gains the following abilities:
Mountain Dwarf
- Dark Vision: When making skill checks, dwarves remove up to 2 black dice imposed due to darkness.
- Tough as Nails: Once per session, a dwarf character may spend a Story Point as an out-of-turn incidental immediately after suffering a Critical Injury and determining the result. If they do so, they count the result rolled as "01."
- Blood Stone Affinity: Mountain Dwarves can attune to two Blood Stones simultaneously.
Desert Dwarf
- Religious Bond: A desert dwarf was born and raised in the fire desert and the Church of Light is an innate part of their upbringing. A desert dwarf starts bonded to the church and can only attune to one blood stone.
- Light Bringer: A desert dwarf can create a magical source of light without having to make a skill check, spending strain, or concentrating. Only one such light can be made at a time and a dwarf can end this light as an incidental.
- Desert Home: A desert dwarf removes ■ due to hot or arid conditions.
Origin/Ancestry
Humanoid
Lifespan
350 years
Average Height
3' 10" - 4' 5"
Average Weight
120 - 210 lbs
Related Ethnicities
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