Dwarves

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.   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.   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.   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. They 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.   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.   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.   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 get along passably well with most other races. "The difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years," is a dwarf saying that might be hyperbole, but certainly points to how difficult it can be for a member of a short-lived race like humans to earn a dwarf's trust.  

On Tethys

The start of the race beings with Volcano Dwarves, created by the Titan Father of the Forge who needed additional workers. After he was imprisoned and the Second Age, Godswar started, the Volcano dwarves split into the Ember Dwarves and Ash Dwarves. The Ember Dwarves would split again into the Azer and Hill Dwarves, while the Ash Dwarves would splinter into the Duergar and Mountain Dwarves. The Azer stayed in the Elemental Plane of Fire, the Hill dwarves would become great traders on Tethys, Duergar would live mainly in the Undertethys, while the Mountain dwarves would build many great fortresses and dwarven nations on the surface.  

First World

The dwarves of the First World were created by a powerful dragon, seeking artisans that would build him grand fortresses, known later as the Dragon Fortresses, where the dragon race would live comfortably. In time, they would betray their creator, killing him. Those that drank his blood became the first giants and used their new powers to rescue their brethren. Later, the dwarves became a servant race to the giants, making the new upcoming race, the humans, save them. After that, the dwarven race would form many kingdoms in First World. The Duergar would be created by curse set by the gods of humanity as punishment for their betrayal to humans, the leader of the dwarves at that time would stab his friend, the avatar of the god and leader of all humanity. The surface dwarves would hunt the duergar, a similar feeling of hatred that the mountain dwarves on Tethys feel to their Duergar.

Articles under Dwarves


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