Races of Theopetros: Dwarves

Living Stones

Appearance

Dwarves are a short and stocky race, and stand about a foot shorter than most humans, with wide, compact bodies that account for their burly appearance. Male and female dwarves pride themselves on the length of their hair, and men often decorate their beards with a variety of clasps and intricate braids. Dwarves come in the shades of earth. Their skin tones range from light brown to almost black, and various shades of gray. Older dwarves often take on an appearance of stone. Their eyes are the color of gemstones.

Personality

Dwarves are a stoic but stern race. More than any other race, the dwarves have acquired a reputation as dour and humorless craftsmen of the earth. Dwarves move as the earth moves, slowly but with occasional bursts of power. Dwarves are willing to take the long approach to a problem, even if it means years, but they are not against a sudden burst of action. When a dwarf throws caution to the wind and barrels in it is known as quaking.

Dwarves are driven by honor and tradition, and while they are often satirized as standoffish, they have a strong sense of friendship and justice, and those who win their trust understand that, while they work hard, they play even harder—especially when good ale is involved. Dwarves often leave the confines of their redoubts to seek glory for their clans, to find wealth with which to enrich the fortress-homes of their birth, or to reclaim fallen dwarven citadels from racial enemies.

History

The Beginning

While most of the old gods looked over the newly created material plane and thought about what they could add to it, Tork looked at the vast resources of the world and was driven by what he could make from them. He chose resources such as stone, gems, hardwoods, and metals. Each resource was distilled to its essence and turned into a soul. These souls were used to create the first female dwarves. Tork then chose ideals for his race. These ideals were crafted into souls and used to create the male dwarves.

Tork placed his new race deep within the earth, digging caves for homes and tunnels to the surface so that they could interact with the other races. Tork chose the land of Ergop as the dwarven homeland. For many centuries he lived with his race, exploring the depths of the world and finding the treasures secreted away beneath the surface. When the divine war happened he led his children to the surface. Despite their great strength and resolve, the dwarves suffered heavy losses. They were unprepared for fighting outside of the confines of their earthen homes.

With Tork left comatose from his wounds, the dwarves retreated beneath the earth once more. This time they prepared. They secured land around the surface tunnels where they could practice fighting in the open world. When the surface was unattainable, they expanded caverns to the size of battlefields and practiced more. Enemies were plentiful during the Demon Lord’s reign. The surface land of Ergop was given to the giants as a home, and the Demon Lord’s orc armies made frequent raids. Though the majority of the dwarven population remained underground, the strongest warriors manned the surface garrisons. These guardians maintained a constant battle with the Demon Lord’s forces for three thousand years. After Tork awakened he reinforced the surface strongholds, and then went underground with his people.

The dwarves joined the last battle against the Demon Lord at the insistence of Calvin. Three thousand years of constant warfare had honed their skills. Unlike the divine war, this time the dwarves were not caught off guard.

After the Seal

The dwarves have expanded over the world since the defeat of the Demon Lord. Though they still prefer halls of stone carved beneath mountains, many view the surface as a grand world worth exploring. Young dwarves commonly make their way on the surface before finally settling down in one of the dwarven halls.

Culture

Dwarven culture revolves around their clans. Dwarven last names are a combination of names from their mother and father. The first part of a dwarven last name is the family name of their mother. These names trace back to the first female dwarves. Maternal names are usually a kind of resource, such as stone, oak, or sapphire. The second part of the name comes from their father, tracing back to the ideals of the first male dwarves. These names represent something about dwarven culture, such as axe, sword, or beard. Through their clan names dwarves can trace themselves back to the first members of their race.

When different bloodlines are introduced into dwarven culture, a name is chosen depending on the bloodline. Elemental blood is common among the dwarves. As such earth, fire, water, and air are common names. The position of the name tells one whether the elemental blood comes from the mother’s or father’s side of the family.

Relations

Dwarves spent centuries after the Demon Lord’s defeat ridding their homeland of giants and orcs. At best they distrust members of these races, on a good day. Dwarves generally distrust and shun half-orcs as well, but are more willing to give them a chance. They find halflings, and elves to be too frail, flighty, or "pretty" to be worthy of proper respect. With the ascension of Calus and Valic the relationship between the dwarves and elves has improved greatly. The two races rarely see eye to eye, but they have developed a grudging respect for one another.

It is with humans that dwarves share the strongest link, for humans' industrious nature and hearty appetites come closest to matching those of the dwarven ideal. Dwarves often come into contact with Avans. The two races call the same mountains home. Dwarves find themselves jealous of the other race’s ability to fly.

Architecture

Dwarves are the undisputed masters of stone. Their great halls are carved out from the stone beneath the mountains, creating entire cities with the insides of enormous caverns as the sky. They also utilize metal and hardwood frequently. The metal they find during their forays into the earth, and the hardwood is harvested from the mountains above.

Along with cities of stone, dwarves cultivate underground gardens. These gardens are places where the natural processes of the earth have been carefully regulated to create beautiful displays over centuries. Bioluminescent algae is cultivated to light these gardens, as well as their homes.

Religion

Tork is the head god of the dwarves. Their beliefs and culture are still strongly influenced by the time he spent among them. Calus is worshiped by many, especially those dwarves who live in other lands. Dwarves that revere Calus are likely to pay respect to Valic as well. Calvin is revered by the dwarves for his part in leading them into the final battle against the Demon Lord, and for his patronage of smiths.

Bloodlines

After spending so long beneath the earth, the dwarves have formed close bonds with the elements. Though earth and fire bloodlines are the most common, water and air are nearly as prevalent. Those with elemental blood use their specialties to enrich life for the community.

Government

Dwarves pay heed to the council of stone. This council consists of the oldest member from each of the clans. Men and women sit on the council side by side. Headship of the council falls to the oldest member on the council.

Outside of dwarven lands they are likely to adopt a more patriarchal nobility like their neighbors.

Military

Dwarves have a reputation as brawlers. They still maintain large armies at their fortresses. Dwarven tactics are designed to take advantage of their cavern homes, or to limit the advantage others have above ground. Dwarves often fight in shield formations, interspersed with siege equipment.

Dwarves do not have an official navy, but they do make use of flying units. Mountain strongholds train griffons and drakes as mounts for battle.

Technology

Dwarves can craft nearly anything from stone or metal. They are considered the most skilled smiths in the world. They are constantly pushing the boundaries of metallurgy to see what they can come up with next. Dwarves are also known to experiment with the other resources that they find beneath the earth. They were the first to craft items such as alchemists fire.

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Stephen Mayo lives in Montana with his wife, daughter, and three cats.

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