A short and sturdy folk, fond of strong drink and industrious pursuits.
Often seen as the subterranean counterpart to the surface dwelling
Humans. A Dwarf's most prominent features are their short height, broad shoulders, and their excessive facial hair.
Dwarves of all genders are born with facial hair. Although trimming and styling will occur due to personal preference, most traditional Dwarves will let their facial hair grow to a naturally long length. An extreme form of punishment in traditional Dwarven society is to shave off a Dwarf's beard, and is considered to be a humiliating punishment just short of exile. Some young Dwarves have lately began voluntarily shaving off their own beards, apparently as an act of rebellion against traditional authority.
Dwarves can theoretically live for up to between one hundred and fifty and two hundred and fifty years, though due to a disturbingly high mortality rate for various reasons a Dwarf can realistically expect to live for less than one hundred years. "Elderly" individuals are treasured and venerated within Dwarven society, but even then rarely succumb to old age. Instead their livers tend to eventually give out due to endless partying. It was inevitable. Dwarven families tend to become quite large over time, though there may be a gap of years to decades between births.
Dwarven music is traditionally dominated by plucked string instruments, and short, sharp percussive sounds reminiscent of a mining pick striking stone, or a hammer striking metal on an anvil. Typical stringed instruments played by Dwarves include zithers, harps, and various instruments that resemble lutes. Vocal accompaniments is rare, with the notable exception of tavern drinking songs and mining songs, the former of which are often simple to remember and carefully worded so that they don't sound too bad when sung slurred and out of key, and the latter of which are typically of an improvised call and response style of singing.
Notable Dwarven Settlements
Notable Dwarven settlements on and under the
Wexan Isles include:
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