Dwarves are the oldest humanoid species of Arvor. It’s said that they emerged from the earth itself, shaped by Moradin’s divine hammer. The dwarves developed the first mining and metallurgy techniques and pushed deep underground in pursuit of materials.
Six thousand years ago, the dwarves of Arvor expanded north into the territory of the giants. The war between dwarves and giants consumed both societies for generations until The Cataclysm ended it.
Dwarven Subspecies
Hill Dwarves
Hill dwarves descend from those that pushed farthest north into the land of giants. They established fortresses beneath rocky hills, and over time these grew into small settlements. Hill dwarves saw many crops and mines destroyed in the violent giant war. Even today, hill dwarf clans prioritize steadfast resilience in the face of crisis.
Hill dwarves developed and refined the techniques for sculpting marble and stone, and their handiwork is said to be as resilient as its creators: many of these works survived the most terrible earthquakes of The Cataclysm.
Mountain Dwarves
While some dwarves pushed north on the surface, others tunneled deeper in search of ore. Ore deposits were often found miles beneath the surface, so that’s where they settled. They built great forges beneath the mountains, often digging toward volcanic activity: “the hottest magma makes the finest forge.”
Some mountain dwarves will spend a full year underground, though most emerge for midsummer festivals, and dwarven merchants regularly leave their stone halls to trade with the surface folk.
Duergar (Gray Dwarves)
Dwarven Culture
Elaborate and Angled Architecture
Their connection to the earth is evident in artwork and architecture with its straight lines, sharp angles, and abundance of metal and stone. The harsh environs beneath the earth required careful, orderly planning. While dwarves have a reputation for being practical, their cavernous settlements beneath the mountains are perhaps the most impractical and fantastic of all.
Return to Stone: Dwarven Funerals
Dwarven legends say the first dwarves were shaped by
Moradin's hammer from the stone of the earth itself. Dwarves believe that after death, they must be returned to the stone from whence they came. Before The Cataclysm, dwarven societies interpreted this literally, believing that Dwarves must be interred in the same geological region in which they were born. As a result, the tombs of old dwarven societies are among the world's most vast and majestic structures. Dwarves are commemorated with stone statues, relief carvings, and metal sculptures.
Since the Cataclysm, these traditions have continued, but much of the dwarves' ancestral stone was shifted, pulverized, and lost. Many dwarven clans started anew, building mausoleums where they settled.
