Dwarf
Dwarves are a playable race. They are short, very stout humankin with a tendancy towards facial hair. They have no issue in living underground, and are know as the kin of the mountains.
Many clan names are spoken in common, although there are many examples made of words from the traditional dwarvish tongue instead. The first clan to establish themselves in a location will lend their clan name to other families who join them. Thus as Bruenor Battlehammer established himself in Gauntlgrym, many smaller clans who settled there would take the clan name Battlehammer, while living under their own name, i.e. Nurna Runesmelter (whose parents specialised in recycling enchanted metal). If she later left her family clan, and took up adventuring, she might stick with Runesmelter, ask permission to go by Battlehammer, or to combine both into Runehammer. If she later married, which to a dwarf is usually akin to going into business together, they might choose a new family clan name based on their profession, or choose one or the other of their current names (if suitable). If they returned to Bruenor's service, they would now both be of clan Battlehammer.
As they spread across faerun, these clans became known as hill dwarves to differentiate them from the more isolated and subterranean mountain dwarves, generally linked to the Shield clans.
Examples of nearby hill dwarf clan names are: Forgebar (from a hold near Mt Galardrym, in the North Shield Mts.), Hillborn (Neverwintan ancestors of a Hillborn clan from the North-west slopes of Mt Hotenow.), Icehammer (originally from the slopes of Icespire Peak, retreated underground in previous decades.)
Shield Dwarves - A separate subrace more attuned to the mountains, deep mines and underground realms of Faerun. Many clans have darker hair and paler skin, and taller builds than their Gold cousins. Many of the greatest underground cities of dwarven history were founded by Shield clans, and a network of great kingdoms, known as the Delzoun, once existed miles beneath the sword coast.
Examples of mountain dwarf clans around the sword coast are: battlehammer (clan of bruenor battlehammer, new king of Gauntlgrum), Stoneshaft (south of the mere, under the fort known as thornhold), Brighthelm (ironmaster, north of Luskan).
Duergar - Once a deep dwelling clan, Clan Duergar's vast city was conquered entirely and it's inhabitants enslaved by Mindflayers. After centuries of slavery and experimentation, the Duergar were warped into savage people with strange magic and psionic power. Escaping into the Underdark, the Duergar reintegrated into the deepest of dwarven tribes, leaving a strange genetic legacy among those people. Now the Duergar, or Gray Dwarves, are a common term for the underdark dwarven tribes who continue to show these racial traits.
The Dankil clan of Waterdeep, and Clan Muzgardt of the Underdark city of Gracklstugh both have clear Duergar heritage.
Clans
Dwarves live in clans that are part family and part business enterprise. The smaller families tend to belong to a larger clan, often a whole settlement. These clans can generally trace their lineage back to the Great Clans which demark the subraces of Shield Dwarves, Gold Dwarves, and Duergar, alongside a few other less common subraces.Many clan names are spoken in common, although there are many examples made of words from the traditional dwarvish tongue instead. The first clan to establish themselves in a location will lend their clan name to other families who join them. Thus as Bruenor Battlehammer established himself in Gauntlgrym, many smaller clans who settled there would take the clan name Battlehammer, while living under their own name, i.e. Nurna Runesmelter (whose parents specialised in recycling enchanted metal). If she later left her family clan, and took up adventuring, she might stick with Runesmelter, ask permission to go by Battlehammer, or to combine both into Runehammer. If she later married, which to a dwarf is usually akin to going into business together, they might choose a new family clan name based on their profession, or choose one or the other of their current names (if suitable). If they returned to Bruenor's service, they would now both be of clan Battlehammer.
Clan Names
Gold Dwarves - The largest cultural root of dwarves centres around the Great Rift area in the far south of Faerun, where many huge dwarven cities still exist to this day. Although the history is not so straightforward, the Gold dwarven subrace can be thought to trace back to the wanderers and emigrant clans from this Great Rift centred network of Gold clans.As they spread across faerun, these clans became known as hill dwarves to differentiate them from the more isolated and subterranean mountain dwarves, generally linked to the Shield clans.
Examples of nearby hill dwarf clan names are: Forgebar (from a hold near Mt Galardrym, in the North Shield Mts.), Hillborn (Neverwintan ancestors of a Hillborn clan from the North-west slopes of Mt Hotenow.), Icehammer (originally from the slopes of Icespire Peak, retreated underground in previous decades.)
Shield Dwarves - A separate subrace more attuned to the mountains, deep mines and underground realms of Faerun. Many clans have darker hair and paler skin, and taller builds than their Gold cousins. Many of the greatest underground cities of dwarven history were founded by Shield clans, and a network of great kingdoms, known as the Delzoun, once existed miles beneath the sword coast.
Examples of mountain dwarf clans around the sword coast are: battlehammer (clan of bruenor battlehammer, new king of Gauntlgrum), Stoneshaft (south of the mere, under the fort known as thornhold), Brighthelm (ironmaster, north of Luskan).
Duergar - Once a deep dwelling clan, Clan Duergar's vast city was conquered entirely and it's inhabitants enslaved by Mindflayers. After centuries of slavery and experimentation, the Duergar were warped into savage people with strange magic and psionic power. Escaping into the Underdark, the Duergar reintegrated into the deepest of dwarven tribes, leaving a strange genetic legacy among those people. Now the Duergar, or Gray Dwarves, are a common term for the underdark dwarven tribes who continue to show these racial traits.
The Dankil clan of Waterdeep, and Clan Muzgardt of the Underdark city of Gracklstugh both have clear Duergar heritage.
