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Dwarves are a short, tough, stubborn race that prefers living underground in the mountains.

Physical Appearance

Dwarves are a short race standing between 4'3" and 4'9" on average. What Dwarves lack in height they make up for in bulk; they are, on average, about as heavy as humans. A dwarf can weigh anywhere from about 160 to 220 lbs. Dwarven males are a bit taller and heavier than their female counterparts. Like humans dwarves have a wide variety of skin, eye, and hair colors, from pale to deeply tanned or brown. Hazel eyes are common throughout the race, with blue, brown, or green eyes being fairly common as well.

Male dwarves often grow thick facial hair sometimes used to display social status. It is a common misconception that female dwarves also do this, who instead just braid their long hair. This hair is often dark in hue.

Dwarves are a long lived race though not quite as long lived as Elves. Dwarves have an with an average life span of 150 to 200 years and reach adulthood at the age of 50.


Personality

Dwarves share many of the same qualities as the god of earth who created them. They are strong, hardy, and dependable. Dwarves are polite, particularly elders, and can possess a wisdom beyond that of many other races. They value their traditions and usually look for inspiration from ancestral heroes. Dwarves are also known for their stubborn nature and cynicism, traits widespread amongst the dwarves but which contribute to and are commonly offset by their bravery and tenacity.

Dwarven friendship is hard to earn, but is strong once won. Naturally dour and suspicious, the stout folk are slow to trust others, specifically towards those outside their family, suspecting the worst of an individual until the outsider proves their good will. Once this trust is gained, dwarves hold their friends to it and view betrayals, even minor ones, with a vicious propensity for vengeance.

For dwarves, loyalty is more than a word and it should be both valued and rewarded. Dwarves believe it a gift and mark of respect to stand beside a friend in combat, and an even deeper one to protect that ally from harm. Many dwarven tales subsequently revolve around the sacrifice of dwarves for their friends and family. Just as dwarves are known for their dependability as friends and allies, dwarves also harbor grudges far longer than many other races. This may be on an individual basis between a dwarf and one who has wronged him or against entire races, even if warfare with the enemy has long since ceased.

Dwarves are a careful and deliberate race, with a more serious disposition than other races, who they sometimes view as flighty or reckless. A dwarf does all things with care and a stubborn resolve, with brash or cowardly behavior unusual for the race. However, dwarves to succumb easily to wrath or greed, which are the most common vices of the race.


Culture

Dwarves highly value the ties between family members and friends, weaving tightly knit clans. Dwarves particularly respect elders, from whom they expect sound leadership and the wisdom of experience, as well as ancestral heroes or clan founders. This idea carries on to relations with other races and dwarves are deferential even to the elders of another, non-dwarven race.

Likewise, dwarves turn to their gods for guidance and protection. The rare individual dwarf might be faithless, but the race has a whole has a strong inclination for religion and almost every community maintains at least one temple or ancestral shrine.

=== Clans ===Most dwarven societies are 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 to the clan as a whole and even objective dwarves tend to side primarily with their kin over other races or communities.

=== Religion ===The chief deity of the dwarves is Ogden, their creator. Many dwarves worship other deities in addition to Ogden, but it is very rare to find a dwarf who doesn't on some level worship Ogden.

=== Language ===Dwarves have their own language called Dwarven. The clans all speak a dialect of Dwarven, but the dialects are close enough that one would still be able to understand someone speaking a dialect different than the one they are used to.

=== Names ===Dwarves are given a name at birth which they go by until they become an adult. Once adulthood is reached, the clan gives them a name, usually from a fallen hero. The name is used as a badge showing what clan the dwarf belongs to. If a dwarf shames his clan, he may be stripped of his clan name.


Relations

Dwarves tend to be initially distrustful of others, but once their trust is gained, they will never betray that loyalty. If their trust is betrayed, however, they are very slow to forget and will hold a grudge for several decades and even through generations.

Some dwarven kingdoms have allied themselves with various nations of other races based on their dealings with them. They are particularly wary of Elves as they were created is Ardel, Ogden's rival. The Khin are a particularly strong ally of the dwarves as they share the mountains with the dwarves and provide them with a variety of goods not available to the dwarves under the surface.

== Lands ==Dwarves are usually found living under mountains. They carve large cities underground usually around mines. They continuously carve out new living space, mining the mountains as they go. An outside would find the dwarven cities' tunnel networks very confusing. This, in addition to the impenetrable walls, assists in the defense of their cities.


History

Dwarves were created by Ogden when he thought he could make a race better then humans or any other race the other gods could create. They were made from the element of earth making them very strong and stubborn. Ogden created them to live inside the very earth they were created from.

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