Hill Dwarves are known for their sturdy and hardy nature, as well as their connection to the earth and their skills in mining and stonework. Hill Dwarves are native to the hills of the Dwarven Empire, where they live in small clans and communities. They are practical and reliable, and value tradition and a strong work ethic.
Hill Dwarves are shorter and stockier than other races, standing about 4 to 4 1/2 feet tall and weighing between 150 and 200 pounds. They have ruddy skin, dark hair, and dark eyes, and are known for their thick beards and mustaches. They have a natural resistance to poison and an increased lifespan, living up to 350 years.
Eating Habits
Dwarves mostly eat bread, simple meat and potatoes, as well as an impressive quantity of alcohol. They use meal time as a celebration to share with friends and loved ones. Cheese, fish, salted meats, and pickles are considered abominations to most dwarves. Their meals are often simple; a single steamed potato is worth as much to a dwarf as a three course meal is to a human.
Funeral Rites
Dwarves are buried in many ways, depending on their caste and notoriety in life. Nobles and heroes would have the flesh and organs stripped from their bones and cremated. The ashes would be mixed with the adamantine used to encase their bones in a life-size statue.
A devout dwarf is entombed in the mountain. A priest casts a ceremonial version of meld into stone on their body, magically becoming one with the mountain they called home.
Lower class dwarves are cremated, and their families commission metal-work in which the ashes are mixed. A warrior's ashes might be used in an axe-head, a good cook's might be in a cleaver.
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