Dwarf
Dwarves,also known as the Khazad (in their own tongue), Naugrim, meaning 'Stunted People', and Gonnhirrim, the 'Masters of Stone'. They were a natural humanoid race common throughout parts of Urbun. Dwarves were a tough, tradition-abiding folk known for their strong martial traditions and beautiful craftsmanship. Kingdoms rich in ancient grandeur, halls carved into the roots of mountains, the echoing of picks and hammers in deep mines and blazing forges, a commitment to clan and tradition, and a burning hatred of goblins and orcs, these common threads unite all dwarves.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Bold and hardy, dwarves are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Though they stand well under 5 feet tall, dwarves are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as a human standing nearly two feet taller. Their courage and endurance are also easily a match for any of the larger folk. 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.
Biological Traits
Dwarves can live to be more than 400 years old, so the oldest living dwarves often remember a very different world. For example, some of the oldest dwarves living in Citadel Felbarr (in the world of the Forgotten Realms) can recall the day, more than three centuries ago, when orcs conquered the fortress and drove them into an exile that lasted over 250 years. This longevity grants them a perspective on the world that shorter-lived races such as humans and halflings lack.
Ecology and Habitats
Dwarves usually live in huge urban fortresses, sometimes below the earth. They usually employ gnome druids and wizards to fertilize some part of the forest in other to get food through agriculture, but some dwarves also specialize in hunting.
Dwarves need hot places to maintain their forges, therefore places near active volcanoes with a rich amount of material are highly sought after. The fortress of dwarves are an example in defensive construction: they are made to protect their inhabitants from any threat, magical or physical, that might assail them, and sometimes have entrances or secret exists only known to the dwarves.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
A dwarf’s name is granted by a clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper dwarven name has been used and reused down through the generations. A dwarf’s name belongs to the clan, not to the individual. A dwarf who misuses or brings shame to a clan name is stripped of the name and forbidden by law to use any dwarven name in its place.
Male Names: Adrik, Agaro, Alberich, Arnan, Auxlan, Avamir, Baelnar, Baern, Balfam, Barendd, Bariken, Borkûl, Brottor, Bruenor, Dain, Darkûl, Darrak, Delg, Dolmen, Doruk, Dyrnar, Eberk, Einkil, Erag, Ezegan, Fargrim, Ferrek, Flint, Gardain, Garmûl, Glint, Ghorvas, Grimmalk, Haeltar, Halagmar, Halzar, Harbek, Hlant, Kildrak, Korlag, Krag, Krim, Kurman, Lurtrum, Malagar, Mardam, Maulnar, Melgar, Morak, Morgran, Orobok, Orsik, Oskar, Rangrim, Rogath, Roken, Rozag, Rurik, Sabakzar, Sharak, Smethykk, Swargar, Taklinn, Thoradin, Thorbalt, Thorin, Tordek, Traubon, Travok, Tredigar, Ulfgar, Vabûl, Veit, Vistrum, Vondal, Wolvar
Female Names: Amber, Artin, Audhild, Bardryn, Beyla, Dagnal, Diesa, Eldeth, Falkrunn, Fenryl, Finellen, Grenenzel, Gunnloda, Gurdis, Helja, Hlin, Kathra, Kristryd, Krystolari, Ilde, Liftrasa, Lokara, Lurka, Mardred, Marnia, Praxana, Riswynn, Rokel, Roksana, Sannl, Thurlfara, Torbera, Torgga, Vauldra, Veklani, Vistra, Vronwe, Zebel
Clan Names: Ambershard, Balderk, Barrelhelm, Battlehammer, Brawnanvil, Copperhearth, Dankil, Deepmiddens, Drakantal, Evermead, Forgehand, Fireforge, Frostbeard, Garkalan, Gorunn, Grimtor, Hackshield, Holderhek, Ironfist, Irongull, Loderr, Lutgehr, Markolak, Ramcrown, Rockharvest, Rumnaheim, Silvertarn, Skandalor, Stonefoot, Strakeln, Torunn, Ungart, Zarkanan
Common Etiquette Rules
Dwarves are slow to make friends, especially with members of other races. However, should one dwarf ever invite someone to drink beer, it would be incredibly impolite in their eyes to refuse.
It's inadequate to ask a traveling dwarf for the location of their stronghold or where their clan lives. Dwarves are paranoid with security, and a dwarf will usually refuse to tell any foreigner, even his most trusted friends, where he comes from.
Common Dress Code
The dwarvish dressing is more practical than usual. Given that they rely often on darkvision, to other races their clothes seem drab and lacking color. But dwarves are being of tradition even in clothing, and will always wear what they think is expected to each situation.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
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 gods of the dwarves, who uphold the dwarven ideals of industrious labor, skill in battle, and devotion to the forge. 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 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 chief unit of dwarven society is the clan, and dwarves highly value social standing. Even dwarves who live far from their own kingdoms 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.
Hair is a significant part of Dwarven identity. Hair is considered a sign of strength in Dwarven culture. Long, thick, well-kept hair is a point of pride for both male and female Dwarves alike. Beards are especially important in relation to male Dwarves. The lack of a beard to a male dwarf is an extreme point of shame.
Dwarves who take up the adventuring life might be motivated by a desire for treasure for its own sake, for a specific purpose, or even out of an altruistic desire to help others. Other dwarves are driven by the command or inspiration of a deity, a direct calling or simply a desire to bring glory to one of the dwarf gods. Clan and ancestry are also important motivators. A dwarf might seek to restore a clan’s lost honor, avenge an ancient wrong the clan suffered, or earn a new place within the clan after having been exiled. Or a dwarf might search for the axe wielded by a mighty ancestor, lost on the field of battle centuries ago.
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.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Dwarven kingdoms stretch deep beneath the mountains 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.
Common Taboos
Greed is a problem among the dwarves, and they know it. On dwarfish societies, it's taboo for dwarves to covet more than they have. This society custom was introduced as law in most societies in order to hinder shameful acts committed in the name of greed. Instead, dwarves are thought from childhood to use their greed in order to achieve great things, but not to steal or hinder others.
Calling a dwarf greedy can be one of the worst offenses one can commit, and sometimes is not something one should do if they wish to stay living.
History
Like many races, the exact origins of the dwarves were lost in myth and legend. While many non-dwarven scholars believed that dwarves were not native to Aestrial or its successor worlds, most dwarves believed that their ancestors came from the heart of the planet itself, given life by Moradin and being made by the All-Father's hammer in the Soulforge. These legends held that the dwarves fought their way to the surface world, overcoming the dangers they faced below through strength of arms and skill.
Historical Figures
- Loddnir : A Paladin from Nogrod and member of the Egg Gang.
- King Doruk Stonefoot : King of the dwarves of Nogrod, and former member of the BBEG Removal Squad.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Dwarves did not forgive past wrongs easily and the entire race had more or less declared war on goblins and orcs as a whole, wiping them out where they found them. Many dwarves viewed these races as a foul infestation of their mountain homes and felt it was their duty to purge them. Likewise, many dwarves viewed drow and grimlocks with a similar hatred and few dwarves had forgotten their ancestral hatred of the giants who'd once enslaved them. Because of this, dwarves generally viewed related races, such as half-orcs, with distrust.
In regards to their distant cousins the azers, duergar, and galeb duhr, dwarven opinions varied. Many viewed their distant relations with sympathy for their prior enslavement. On the other hand, duergar and dwarves had long been enemies and many dwarves viewed them with little more love than they did the drow who shared the Underdark with the duergar.
Dwarves got along pretty well with gnomes, with whom they shared a love of fine crafting, and passably with humans, half-elves, and halflings. However, most dwarves commonly believed that true friendships could only be forged over long periods of time and a common saying was that "the difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years", meaning that few members of the shorter-lived races ever forged strong bonds with dwarves. There were exceptions, however, and some of the strongest friendships were those between a dwarf and a human whose grandparents and parents were also on good terms with the dwarf
Dwarves dislike boats, so enterprising humans and halflings frequently handle trade in dwarven goods along water routes. Trustworthy members of other races are welcome in dwarf settlements, though some areas are off limits even to them.
Lifespan
350 years
Conservation Status
Dwarves are one of the most numerous races in Urbûn
Average Height
4 – 5 ft (1.2 – 1.5 m)
Average Weight
160–220 lbs (73–100 kg)
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
