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Dwarves, sometimes called the Stout Folk, are a natural humanoid race common throughout the lands of Mhirdrun, though less-so than humans.
They are a short race, as their name implies, standing from 4'3" – 4'9" (1.3 – 1.45 meters) on average. What they lack in height they make up for in bulk; they are, on average, anywhere from about 160 – 220 lbs (73 – 100 kg). Dwarven males are a bit taller and heavier than their female counterparts. They can all have a wide variety of skin, eye, and hair colors, typically from pale to tan or brown. Hazel eyes are common throughout the race, with blue eyes and brown or green eyes found among some.
Dwarves (even female Dwarves) often grow thick facial hair used to display social status. This hair is often dark in hue, though blond or red hair is just as common.
Dwarves are a long-lived race, and reach physical maturity somewhat later than Humans. A Dwarf is traditionally considered an adult once he or she reaches age fifty. Dwarves otherwise age much like Humans, but over a longer period of time, remaining vigorous well past 150 years. Most Dwarves live to see their bicentennial and a few live to be over 400.
Dwarves in Orben
Dwarves are the youngest of the "ancient" races, the elders being Dragons, Elves, and Humans. They appeared first under what is now called Gwathia, and were called Aburu, before a large host of them was driven into exile some five thousand years ago. These migrated west and ultimately became the Dwarves referred to today.
Dwarves have always been the finest masons, miners, and smiths on any scale beyond the fine precision of Gnomes, and their work has thus been much sought-after, so that even when the Elven empire of Aer Arnad rose to conquer and rule them over thousands of years, the Dwarven people were spared the worst of its cruelty, that their crafting traditions might be preserved. The Dwarves were instrumental in creating the weaponry and mechanisms that drove off an invasion of dragons, and established their kingdom of Grimgaud some four hundred years ago, which has stood largely unmolested ever since.
Dwarf Society and Culture
Since their initial exile, Dwarven communities have never been scattered and divided quite like those of other races, and they still retain high value for the ties between family members and friends, weaving tightly knit clans. Dwarves particularly respect their elders, whose wisdom is considered to be most responsible for saving them from the worst of Orben's calamities, and they similarly revere their ancestral heroes and clan founders. This idea carries on to relations with others, and Dwarves are often deferential even to the elders of non-Dwarven races.
Dwarves, perhaps moreso than most, turn to their religious traditions for guidance and protection and almost every community maintains at least one temple or ancestral shrine. Goodly Dwarves mostly worship Moradin, the patron god of the Dwarves, though some still worship Kurdu, also known as Grumbar, the stone world-soul of the Aburu, and many are inclined to the visions of justice forwarded by Tyr, Torm, Helm, and Kelemvor. Wickedly-inclined Dwarves may be converted to the worship of Laduguer, the patron deity of the Duergar, or of other "evil" gods—they tend to be quickly shunned or exiled if they are discovered, and so covertly look to the divine for methods of obtaining power over others.
Dwarven society is roughly divided into clans built along family ties and political allegiances. These clans are usually led by hereditary rulers, often monarchs of a sort and descended from the founder of the clan. Dwarves strongly value loyalty to these rulers and will go to great lengths in honoring service to them, by indefinitely committing their lives and even their whole families to such an allegiance.
Most Dwarven clans focus on one or two kinds of crafting, such as blacksmithing, jewelry, engineering, or masonry. Dwarves strive to avoid overspecialization by sending some of their youth as apprentices to other clans, which also helps to foster racial unity. Because of their long ages, these apprenticeships might last decades.
Dwarves generally live in underground cities near the surface and above the Underdark, built around mines that provide much of their livelihood. Carved into stone, these cities might take centuries to complete but are practically ageless once finished. Though Dwarves are typically a martial race by nature, these cities are composed of about one-fourth civilians, made up primarily of the young, the elderly, or a few regular adults. Like Humans, Dwarven society is largely patriarchal, but females typically compose as large a portion of the military as male Dwarves do, and can hold positions of power just beneath a hereditary patriarch, within a clan.
Although Dwarves did not suffer so much as other races under Elven rule, their long traditions ensure that no bad blood is forgotten, and with the Elves there is much to remember with anger. Dwarves tend to be wary of Elves even today for this reason. Dwarven history with Humans has involved some warfare with the northern barbarian warlords after the fall of Aer Arnad, but they tend to enjoy more social commonality with them, sharing many outlooks and values, even if their traditions differ. The more "rugged" Humans greatly respect the honorable warfare enshrined by Dwarven culture and revere many of their military heroes as much as the Dwarves themselves do. More "sophisticated" Humans, meanwhile, pay handsomely for even the least of Dwarven smith-work. Either form of "appreciation" is often returned, for Dwarves tend to respect those who respect their own ways, and respect coin and trade just as much. Human patronage has ensured that Dwarves are never in want of funding for their next large-scale building project. Dwarves may also find the more "rugged" or even feminine Humans especially attractive, though this is considered perverse by Dwarven standards, they can have no offspring with them, and this affection is almost never reciprocated.
Dwarves enjoy good relations with Gnomes, who tend to compliment their large-scale projects with finer, more diminutive craftsmanship. Halflings are also well-liked by Dwarves, although they are not taken so seriously, being more averse to both war and metalwork. Darklings, denizens of the Underdark, are almost universally hated by Dwarves, who contend with their invasions most often of any surface race, especially the Duergar, who they hate especially.
Dwarves in Mhirdrun
In Mhirdrun, Dwarves enjoy a higher status than most other non-Humans, though an invisible wall is enforced between them and any hereditary positions of authority. Dwarven trade is always esteemed, and settlers are similarly considered in high regard, so that they are generally welcomed in any social context, except the most intimate of family settings.