Dwarf

Dwarves are a stout, proud and noble people. Great kingdoms in halls of stone and metal stretch deep beneath the ground while ancient underways connect the fortresses, cities and outposts of the dwarves. An ancient people, the dwarves have suffered many tragedies in their long existence but have always come out stronger, with stoic perseverance have they fought many foes and come through. In The Gold Empire they are known for their loyalty and dedication, often standing alongside the knights of the imperial legions and travelling with settlers to new provinces to aid them in building new homes and forging new bonds.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dwarves are shorter than humans, most standing at around 5 feet in height. They are typically strong, built to endure hard labour and long days. Their strength lies more in their stamina however, as they can perform tiring activites for much longer than humans, but can't sprint as fast or throw a spear as far as a human.

Growth Rate & Stages

Dwarves grow about as quickly as humans, but don't reach true emotional and social adulthood until they are forty-or-so years, when they finally have enough experience to be considered grown up. Dwarves can live up to about four hundred years, and they have long memories allowing them to hold grudges and cherish friendships for a long time.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Most dwarves are divided into clans, ancient extended families whose lineages can be traced back millenia, most to the Twilight Wars but a few all the way to the Age of Gods and the First War. These clans are an essential part of dwarven life, a dwarf's social status in large part being decided by their clan. Different members of a clan help each other with raising children, teaching their young ones how to fight and practice a trade and hire each other in businesses or armies. In this way most all dwarves of a hold are related, and different clans often exist together in healthy rivalry, driving each other to harder feats of work and aiding one another in protecting their homes.
And undesirable consequence of this however is that dwarves without a clan, the so-called clanless, are generally very disadvantaged in dwarven society. Someone might become clanless due to being a refugee, an orphan or after great calamities. Clanlessnes can pass down generations, where entire communities of dwarves lose connection with their past and their legacy, becoming walking shadows in dwarven society. These clanless dwarves come to other holds looking for aid, and often they receive food and lodging but are not integrated into their new society as they are not of the original clan.
Dwarf rulers who lose their homes thus fight hard to reclaim them, less their kin and families should become clanless.
This has also traditionally made it difficult for non-dwarves to integrate in dwarven society, as they are per definition clanless, and only a few non-dwarves with excellent connections could ever hope to be integrated. This is a culture that it has been imperial strategy to be rid of for centuries, by centralizing the authorities in dwarven communities and putting the charges of education, labour training and job hiring under the church. In this manner, clanless dwarves have been able to integrate more fully into dwarven society and the empire as a whole, giving them and the dwarven people as a whole new and better chances.

Facial characteristics

Dwarves are known throughout the world for their magnificent beards, which most dwarves view as a sign of status and wealth. There are some regional variations regarding who wears beards, in some places all dwarves wear beards, while in others it is uncommon that some genders have beards and in a few places the right to wear a beard is reserved for adults. Their beards grow long, healthy and strong. Their skin is often rugged and gnarled from many long years of labour, and older dwarves often have wrinkles that seemingly lock their face in frowns

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Dwarves are spread all throughout the known world, and the vast majority of continents have at least some dwarves. The only known exception is the elven homeland. On Dain, dwarves are spread throughout many provinces. There are dwarves in Sceya and in the east of Akshus, along with several other provinces.

Average Intelligence

Dwarves are well known for their aptitude for crafts, and many dwarves find it easier to learn with their hands and trough trial and error than through books or theory.

Scientific Name

Kleiner mann

Lifespan

400 years

Average Height

1,2-1,5 meters

Average Weight

68 kg

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Dwarves have a wide variety of skin complexions, but most fall into either one or another extreme. Hill dwarves tend to have a dark complexion, while mountain dwarves tend to be pale. Both tend to have brown hair, but black is also common among hill dwarves and blonde or light brown hair is common among mountain dwarves.

Related Ethnicities

• Azerdwarf