Dwarves
Originating from the Spine of the World, dwarves are fairly common on the continent of Paracia, with large surface populations in Valdoro, Narbovia, and Marklund. They're long-lived and short of stature, although with stocky builds. Owing to their underground origin, ancestral dwarves had pale skin and blond or red hair, and these traits are still most common in the Spine and the northern lands. In southern areas, meanwhile, darker complexions have developed, whether due to natural evolution or mixing with humans in the same region. Perhaps the strangest trait of dwarves is the ability for some of their women to grow beards.
Steelblood Dwarves
The largest population of dwarves on Amalthea can be found in the subterranean hold-cities of the Tolthar Hegemony, beneath the Spine of the World. Steelblood dwarves live in proud clans that can trace their lineage to before the First Light. They have an extremely rigid, honor-bound culture, where ritual devotion to their cultural gods and ancestors, as well as social ceremonies of courtesy, make up a huge part of everyday life. Relationships between individuals and clans all revolve around a complex system of social conventions. Violating these conventions brings insult and dishonor to not just the offender and offended, but to their entire clans as well. Furthermore, steelblood dwarves understand honor as relative to one's position in society; a noble sacrificing his life for a soldier is highly dishonorable, as the noble's value is in his ability to govern, and to abandon it so recklessly is an insult to the soldier's clan. However, for a soldier, it would be an act of the highest honor to die in sacrifice, so that another may live. Dwarves have long lives, and dwarven clans have long memories; many clans hold generational grudges against each other over slights unatoned for, making steelblood politics a veritable nightmare of intrigue. Outsiders often lack the context for steelblood social nuances, and find these dwarves exasperatingly difficult to deal with. Steelblood dwarves, meanwhile, see the world beyond the Spine as a chaotic place without propriety or honor. Steelblood dwarves speak Tolthari, which changed very little from the ancestral language that all dwarves spoke in ancient times. As a result, it is sometimes simply referred to as Dwarvish.Goldmarrow Dwarves
Descending from explorers, but also exiles, clanless, and rebellious expats from the Spine, goldmarrow dwarves make up the majority of the dwarven population outside the Spine. They are most populous in Valdoro, where mixing with humans have made them taller, and their women have lost the ability to grow beards. Goldmarrow dwarves are typically Sybilites, and eschew ancient traditions in favor of freedom, adventure, technological progress, and the accumulation of wealth. Most goldmarrow dwarves make a point of being gregarious, intrepid, and inventive, often hoping to replicate the success of the Ember Trading Company and strike it rich. Goldmarrow dwarves typically speak Common, although frequent trade with the Spine means that many pick up Tolthari as well.Frostheart Dwarves
In the frigid northern lands of Narbovia and Marklund, hardy dwarves thrive alongside humans. Called frostheart dwarves, these people are highly valued as hunters and berserkers due to their ability to endure the harshest winter conditions without suffering much averse effects. Like their human neighbors, frostheart dwarves are typically considered barbaric, with strange faiths and traditions unsuited to more civilized lands. Frostheart dwarves themselves, meanwhile, are typically reserved at first, but once they warm up, they can be exceedingly friendly and open, to the point of tactlessness. Frostheart dwarves are believed to be the heaviest drinkers of alcohol in the entire world; while their cousins in the Spine and Southern Paracia favor ale, frostheart dwarves prefer hard liquor distilled from grains and potatoes. Frostheart Dwarves speak Narbovian or Markish, depending on where they live. Some also speak Tolthari.Duergar
The duergar diverged from steelblood dwarves during the First Light, when they digged ever deeper below the earth until they lost contact with their kin. Rediscovered by the Ember Trading Company in an expedition during the Third Light, the duergar of Durgrimmar have developed into an extremely authoritarian and xenophobic culture. While willing to trade with surfacers, the duergar are deeply distrusting of outsiders. This feeling is shared, as their state religion worships Yal-Sabaoth the Everchanging, the Great Old One of eldritch transmutation, which is seen as blasphemous by the Sybilite majority. Duergar society is rigid and borderline monastic, with a strong emphasis on personal improvement and transformations both spiritual and physical. Most duergar surpass even the most conservative steelblood dwarves in the grimness of their demeanors. Most duergar found on the surface are adjunct to the Ember Trading Company, who have maintained exclusive trade between Durgrimmar and the surface for the past seven centuries. However, surfacers in rural areas might encounter members of the Cult of the Remaker instead, an extremist sect of Yal-Sabaoth that has long been outlawed by their government. These cultists abduct victims for horrific alchemical experiments, creating a bad reputation for the duergar as a whole, something that's quite difficult for the dour and reserved race to change. Duergar speak Deep Dwarvish, although those who come to the surface learn Tolthari or Common.Dwarf House Rules
- Dwarves replace their Defensive Training and Hatred racial traits with Lasting Grudge. This trait can be replaced by any other alternate racial trait that replaces Defensive Training, Hatred, or both.
- Duergar have the following racial ability score modifiers: +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
Steelblood Thane by Maichol Quinto
Goldmarrow Artificer by Forrest Imel
Frostheart Berserker by Grafit Studio
Duergar Monk by Miguel Regodón Harkness