Dwarves¶
The Dwarves are the heirs of the Dwarrow, a people of carved halls, clan law, forge-craft and rune magic who weathered the Shattering better than any surface race and have been losing their homelands ever since. In the Fifth Age their great halls lie abandoned and Hollowed, their clans are scattered among the human kingdoms and a king-in-exile dreams of the Blue Mountains, and after the Redemption the Mountain Dwarves are gone from Terrun altogether (S024, S327, S319, S112).1
Also called: Longbeards and Shortbeards for the mountain and hill dwarves (S384); ironbeards, blue mountain dwarves and, in slang, grimbeards for the dwarves of Dru'Bazan (S384).
Origins¶
The dwarves descend from the Dwarrow, and the newest account makes them a deliberate creation. After the long wars between the Dwarrow and the Eldritch, "Khardas (a Dwarrow) became the first Dwarrow shard holder/god", and in time "Khardas and the remaining Dwarrow formed the Dwarven race (as non-fae) as the successor and inheritor of the Dwarrow legacy. The Dwarves proved a highly successful race, inheriting many Dwarrow traits, but reproducing at a far faster rate and being more resistant to magic as well as being non-fae, which makes their being tied to the material plane. The Dwarves were accepted into the order of the younger gods, while the Dwarrow were still regarded as elemental-spawn outcasts" (S529). The compiled lists of the gods agree that Khardas is "Creator of Dwarves, Mountain-Giants, Moles and other earthen creatures" (S429, S384), and the treatise on magic counts the Dwarves among the peoples "formed... by Kalar and the other younger gods" in the Age of Demons (S208).
The early dwarves, the First Ones, "assisted the Younger Gods and were armed and trained with Dwarrow technology. They used the Dwarrow technology with great efficiency to wipe out the now isolated Eldritch. Unfortunately, very few Dwarrow remained to teach the new dwarves the secrets of their technology." Much was lost as the last Dwarrow died, "however, the dwarves were innovative and reconstructed much of the Dwarrow technology during the Golden Age of Kahun'Darahl. However, with the fall of Kahun'Darahl and the loss of the majority of their population and cities during the first demon wars, the dwarves faced another major technological setback" (S529).
Earlier accounts give other mixtures: "Dwarves are a Innus and Dwarrow hybrid" (S498, S384), or "an offshoot of the dwarro, dwarf blood is a mixture of several races (primarily Gnomes) with a predominance of Dwarro blood and an additional 100,000 years of evolution living in the underdark" (S525). The accounts are laid side by side in Lineages of the Humanoid Races, and the Dwarrow's own origin is an open question.
Kinds of dwarf¶
"Longbeards is another name for mountain dwarves. Shortbeards are another name for hill dwarves. There is very little real physical difference between the different dwarf sub-races other than skin and hair colors. However, traditions and customs between these sub-races are often vastly different." Mountain dwarves prize the beard as "a show of culture, honor and good standing" and "live a life both above ground and below, carving vast halls into the mountains, while farming and ranching in the mountain meadows"; hill dwarves are often clean-shaven and "live entirely above ground", in settlements "built into the sides of hills and mountains and open to the air". "In some cases, such as in the Blue Mountains, Hill dwarves and Mountain dwarves live side by side in a symbiotic relationship" (S384). The Duergar of the deep are outcasts to both.
| Kind | Ethnicities | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain Dwarves (Longbeards) | Tholim (Firebeards), Hadrin (Ironbeards), Jorawan (Bronzebeards, extinct) | Mountain Dwarves |
| Hill Dwarves (Shortbeards) | Qurindon (Shortbeards), Nolboc (Bloodstones) | Hill Dwarves |
| Deep Dwarves | Duergar (Burningeyes) | Duergar |
Clan and law¶
What is known of dwarven custom comes from Dru'Bazan in the Age of Magic. "Each clan has its own King, but all the clans swear fealty under the High King." Roughly twenty clans made up the kingdom, the Marken'Ouran strongest among them. "Though clan rule is generally patriarchal, bloodlines are based on the mother's line. So a child born to father of clan1, mother of clan2 would belong to clan2 by birth. Female dwarves are also not expected to leave their clans for marriage, the male lives with the clan of his wife, becoming a member of that clan. For this reason, older dwarves rarely marry outside their clans (since they would effectively have to start over in terms of their clan status), though arranged marriages across clans of young dwarves are common. Clan Kings and their Magistrates mete out justice within their clan, though serious disputes are often settled in the arena" (S384). Dwarves name themselves by father and clan: Volgin Trollmane, "son of Thagin of Clan Ironmountain" (S319). The humans of Rhovun "organize themselves into clans, similar to the Dwarves" (S384).
The dwarves are smiths above all. The ironbeards of Dru'Bazan "are one of the principle suppliers of iron and steel" and have "numerous smiths capable of smelting the most complex Mithius ores" (S384); the Dwarves of Gath'gorim are "well known crafters and miners" whose Gorim Bronze "is easily identified" (S319); Adamantium "is the name used by the dwarves" for the Mithis isotope of titanium the Einar called Norsil (S415). An earth archon who has dealt with them says the dwarves "care little for others and are obsessed with possessing the mineral wealth of the earth", though "aside from their greed... they are better than Orcs" (S059).
Magic¶
"Khardic runes have been the dominant form of Runecasting for most of recorded history. The dwarves have jealously guarded its secrets as they are unable to practice other forms of magic and Khardic Runes are the core to their reputation for finely crafted magical items and objects" (S233). Runik is "a rare language developed by Khardas to allow the non-magical Dwarven race to practice magic through Rune Magic" (S304, S303). Even among dwarves the gift is rare, "approx 1 in 1000 now" (S370), and dwarven casters otherwise arise only "through genetic bloodlines tied to interbreeding of their race" with the elves, gnomes or draconians (S395). The craft has declined with the world: the Master Rune of Mithis "was the go to rune for runeforging. Mithis metals were commonly available to dwarves. Now that most mithis is corrupted, this rune is very rare", and fae power sources, once "out of favor with runesmiths", are now the easiest to find (S246). The Khardic and Namakan disciplines belong to the Magic section.
Rune magic has split the dwarves. In the Sancturi period there is a "Dwarven Fracture in society. Khardas loyalists, New Pantheon+Namaka (underground)", and "dwarven clans have individual Runeguilds. These can be based on either Namakan or Khardic rune disciplines depending on the loyalties of the clan" (S132). A dwarven slayer of the campaign was the "bastard love child of Khardas/Riven loyalist + mother Sancturi/Namaka worshipper" (S132). After the Redemption rune magic is "forbidden by the Divine", its casters "relics of old forgotten (and powerless) gods", and Khardic Crystals are one of the Astral Dusts that remain (S112).
History¶
The Age of Magic¶
"The Dwarves mostly because they had weathered the Shattering far better than most other races. Though they had lost almost 70% of their population in the Shattering, this was far less than other surface races which commonly lost in excess of 95%. Their superior engineering in many cases allowed entire dwarf-holds to survive, including much of their culture and technology" (S386, S384). Then came the wars. In the Goblin Wars of 541–617 MA the orc warlord Uta-Bek overran several dwarf holds, and "the Dwarven casualties in this war were terrible, losing nearly half of their population" (S386). In the north-east the warlord Gorthak broke the hold of Ghan'Daren in 799 MA and besieged Esragol, whose dwarves finally pinned his army against the gnomes of Zurat at the cost of their own king (S429).
In the Second Dragon War "Dwarven Holds which had up until this point been islands of strength across the otherwise subjugated territories began to be overwhelmed." Pravustiratel's hordes took the capital, Kuhn'Darahl, and "many of the largest cities of the Great Dwarven Kingdom", though never the fortress of Gor'Turra, where the dwarven High King Khorun "led a group of Dwarven eagle riders against a field of a hundred or more Dragons" and died. "Most conquered territories were liberated, though much of the Great Dwarven Kingdom remained occupied by Goblins, Orcs and Dark Elves... the Dwarves themselves had largely abandoned the effort a century later after heavy losses and small gains" (S386, S384, S429). The dwarves of Gor'Turra raised a monument over catacombs for the dead of the battle (S429). The Second Rift War overran dwarven settlements of the Underdark again, and in the Nexa-Vinian War "the elves and dwarves founded the Vacatori, specialized spell suppressors to deal with the magical threat" (S384). In Rhovun the dwarves of Naramunz allied with the men against Pherox and were destroyed by the Great Black Dragon Saran-Mauge; the survivors founded Nulbarden, and the dwarves of Turramon still mine and trade with the human clans (S384). Pherox prized dwarves as slaves and was "pushed entirely out of the Blue Mountains by the Dwarves" (S384).
The Fifth Age¶
The Age of the Dark Sun left 1,200 dwarves alive on the Broken Sea (S326). The Dwarves of the White Towers are a major civilisation of south-west Astia from the first years of the AL calendar, the Dwarves of Dru'Bazan from about 200 AL (S107). But the Hollowing took the deep. "The dwarves have had to reluctantly stop living underground. It is too dangerous. Their ancient halls are now almost without exception Hollowed. The great fortresses which they carved with Mithis-infused stone... now are the source of powerful Hollows. In some places, Dwarves are blamed for the Hollows and people believe the Hollows are a direct result of the greed of Dwarves" (S327). "The great dwarven halls of old have been abandoned and in most cases overrun by the foul things that lurk in the Underdark", and the dwarves of the Fifth Age are "scattered clans among humans" (S024). Deep below, lost dwarfholds such as Rhum'Balar, Turu'Golir and Kher'Daghor serve the archdemon Belphegor and his infernal machines, the old hold of Kam'Darahl ("Darahl means Sunstone/Jewel/Light") is an Asmodean Hollow of demonic orcs, and a dwarven refuge keep, a hermit witch and a strip mine at Bhon'Thir are what remains of dwarven life in the Buried Realms (S199).
In 704 SM there are about 158,000 dwarves on the Broken Sea: 62,000 in the Sancturi Imperium, 81,000 in the Riven kingdoms, 15,000 in the wilds (S326). In the Imperium they are both citizens and property: "Citizen races of the Sancturi include all human subraces, as well as some dwarves and oesterkull", and "Humans, Dwarves, Orcs, Oesterkull and Lizardfolk are common slaves" (S323). In the kingdoms they are natives of Alghert, which works "several uncorrupted dwarven iron mines" and whose smiths "are some of the finest in the Kingdoms", and part of the populations of Brusau and Uthein. Gath'gorim is "Dwarf, Human valley, ruled by the Djarn'surk (Blackbronze) Clan"; Wugrum "(means Mud Cliffs in dwarvish)" is "a small, dirty settlement carved from mudstone" that is "a very rare source of steel" (S319). A Riven king funds a plot against the dwarven king-in-exile because "dwarves are useful and productive subjects" (S134). In Proturas a dwarf orphan "worked initially as a slave, but eventually earned emancipation" (S074).
After the Redemption the record is stark. "The Mountain Dwarves have abandoned Terrun." The Hill Dwarves remain, counted among the Divine Nations of humans, wood elves, hill dwarves, halflings and Oesterkull, and the Stonekin among the users of Fae magic (S112).
Dwarves of Dru'Bazan¶
The dwarves of the Blue Mountains, the ironbeards of the kingdom of Dru'Bazan, were in the Age of Magic the smiths of Numenia, shrinking since the Shattering as dark elves took their surface holds, orc raids drove them from the southern ranges and "Goblins, Uruks and Mind Flayers" pressed their tunnels (S384). In the Fifth Age the kingdom is lost. "Many dwarves still identify as part of Dru'Bazan and dream of returning to their ancestral holds in the Blue Mountains, but live scattered across the kingdoms. They have a king-in-exile, Volgin Trollmane, anointed by Khardas, whom they revere as their true authority. The king has been organizing mercenaries and dwarves to clear out one of the most southern holds and they have established an outpost there. He travels between the kingdoms and their reclaimed hold in order to recruit and gather funding." His companions are Hagrael Wyrmcleaver, "Legendary warrior and Runeblade" who "struck down a raiding Black dragon", Ranog Demonbane, "Legendary witch hunter and demonslayer", and the runesmith Kaelin Stonewright III. The clans Ironmountain, Bladehelm, Silverbeard, Darkbeard, Ironfoot, Deepglory, Rockwall and Darkwalker have joined the cause (S319). "The dwarves of Dru'Bazan are anxious to return to their ancestral lands. The only problem: The Hollowing" (S134). A dwarven crossbowman of the Blue Mountains, "trying to fund the retaking of a dwarf hold", and the dwarven city of Gar'Agor, "part of Dru'Bazan", with its Runepriest Queen Melkorka, "450 years. favored of Khardas", belong to the same exile (S180, S192).
In the Proturan period Dru'Bazan is "an independent city-state under the protection of the Proturan Pact", "a dwarven settlement deep in the underdark below the ancient dwarven halls of Dru'Bazan", with a garrison of its dwarves at Fort Hemertyll in the Rift trading metal goods, ale and meat (S066).
Dwarves of the White Towers¶
The Dwarves of the White Towers stand at the head of the south-west Astian timeline, a major civilisation from the first years after the Dark Sun (S107). In the Age of Magic they "sent several expeditions into the wastes, mostly after precious ores, such as Aurumite. However, none have lasted. They built the fortress of Thorm'Mald, but it was attacked by basically every denizen of the wastes, including the Red Dragon and now lies in ruins" (S469, S546). The Tallachian adventurers of 514 SM "disappear into the underdark in search of the White Tower Dwarves" (S326, S132), and the Sancturi campaign found them: a portal that opens on "Dwarven Tower, snow outside" and two White Tower Dwarves; refugees of a destroyed sanctuary fleeing to them; a dwarven madman "searching for a passage to the Hidden City of Thurn'Badir, said to be a jewel of the White Towers. Deep in the Buried Realms" (S192, S196, S199). The campaign also records Hal'Abannak, a "Dwarven City on column attach to the side of a rift" (S192).
Stonekin¶
The Stonekin are "grey-skinned dwarves" of the Fifth Age, Fae of the earth, listed beneath the scattered dwarven clans (S024). After the Redemption they are counted with the Elves and Gnomes as the users of Fae magic (S112).
Khardun¶
The Khardun are "rare mithis-infused Dwarves created by Khardas, 5 Clans. They are initiated, not born" (S024).
Gap
No source describes dwarven appearance beyond beards and skin tone, lifespan, language beyond two words, gods beyond Khardas and Namaka, or the five clans of the Khardun. The Dwarves of the White Towers have no description of their towers, numbers or rulers.