Dwarf: Difference between revisions

Dwarf
Race
Pronunciation	Dwoh-rf
Classification	Human
Common Nicknames	Stout Folk (endearing); Fallen Folk (derogatory); Forge Fathers (praising);
Languages	Barrudh
Naming Customs	Old Norse with permutations
Racial Traits
Distinctions	Stout, mountain-dwelling people who show unerring perseverance and skill with crafting
Maximum Age	200 years
Eye Colors	brown, gray, green, and blue.
Hair Colors	Blond, brown, black, red, and (when older) gray or white.
Skin Tones

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Latest revision as of 21:36, 28 September 2024

Secretive and proud, the Dwarves are the only known civilization to live underground in the world of Aloria, building their grand holds with vast tunnel networks that run like highways across the various continents. The Dwarves are equally a very ancient Race, predating many of the modern races in the world, and potentially even the Allorn Empire in having a civilized state structure, though keeping themselves distinctly isolated from the rest of the world. While ignoring most of the woes of the surface world, the Dwarves faced calamity after calamity in the last 1000 years, resulting in a staggering loss of life and a decline of their Empire. In present times, the Dwarves constantly struggle against extinction and the world forgetting about them, too proud to accept being consigned to a footnote in history, but equally pushed into a corner by forces beyond their control.

Core Identity

Playing a Dwarf

To play a Dwarf, is to specifically choose for the backstory of belonging to a race which seems to be facing extinction, but tries to spit into the face of fate and go down kicking and screaming. Dwarven history is full of catastrophe, but far from becoming depressed about it, the Dwarves continue to battle against what most Ailor scholars have already consigned them to, and should the unthinkable become true, they will at least fight to make sure the world does not forget them. To be a Dwarf is to struggle with the constant realization that there are perhaps only an estimated 150,000 Dwarves left in the world, but to also not give room for self pity or just being mad at everyone around them. Being a Dwarf, is not to endlessly complain about the misery that has befallen the Race, but salvaging what can be found out of a bad situation, that which the Dwarves are known for.

Tunnel Empire

The Dwarves once had a vast underground Empire that spanned several continents and could in total sphere of influence even be compared as a rival to the Allorn Empire in its height. Dwarven holds were built primarily on Ellador before it froze over, but also on Northbelt, with partially still existing tunnels connecting all of them, showing Dwarven engineering prowess as they built through solid stone and even under oceans, something even modern civilizations can only dream of. While many surfacers (Dwarves born and living mostly on the surface world) have gotten used to the open air, many of those who once lived underground (or continue to do so in Regalia) are uncomfortable lacking a clear ceiling above them.

Facing Extinction

Possible extinction or Racial integration among Ailor is a constant concern for the Dwarves, and one that has led to many disastrous attempts to reclaim the old homeland, as well as the creation of fringe terrorist groups of Dwarves who inflict their rage on the world. The majority of the Dwarves however are far more focused on attempting to salvage what they can, and mostly finding wealth in what others consider scrap. Dwarves are the perfect salvagers, able to fix up broken and discarded weapons and tools in no time, and even repairing technology mid-combat. Their ingenuity especially shines in moments where odds for them look bleak, giving rise to their sturdy reputation.

Grudge Tellers

The Dwarves have a great deal of grudges, and are commonly known as people who do not forgive, and do not forget. There is a great deal of racial animosity that they have towards the Nelfin Races, with varying degrees for the different types. Dwarves do not care for Suvial, Fin'ullen, or Solvaan, and have a moderate to high distaste for the Isldar, because they frequently clashed with their re-conquest plans. The group the Dwarves hate the most are the Teledden, because of their scheming and backstabbing nature, and because they are largely the reason why the decline of the Dwarven Empire was set in motion. Only the most supreme of hatred among Dwarves is reserved for the Evolist Isldar, once called the Death Isldar, who often worship the Glacial, the mother of all genocide on the Dwarves. This hatred is in spite of the recent greater division in Isldar society, which have seen less extreme factions of the Evolists emerge. Dwarves in general try to avoid being backstabbers, traitors, or swindlers, the truth and honor to their word is immensely important, as are bonds of alliance and friendship. Dwarves can even on a personal level, declare some action as a grudge, meaning that they declare a vendetta against a persona until their crime has been settled. This is sometimes where a Dwarf’s pettiness will shine through, declaring a grudge over a spilled drink, only to retaliate by burning someone’s house down.

Foundry Hearts

The Dwarves are, despite all the attempts of various other Races, unbeaten in the heat of a forge. They have the most skilful hands, the quickest grasp, and the easiest execution of complex forging techniques passed down through the generations. While Ailor and Nelfin may make more aesthetically pleasing items in a forge, Dwarves build to last and endure, and also forge with a purity of metals not quickly equaled by other Races. Nearly all Dwarves have a complex cultural understanding of geology, engineering, architecture, and knowledge of metals and ores that makes them excellent prospectors and explorers of soil riches.

Design

Mental Characteristics

Dwarves are resilient yet adaptable, stubborn yet empathetic, and hardworking yet playful. These contradictions all come together to create the Dwarven mentality of life. Having suffered betrayals and warfare against an assortment of enemies, even to the point where their once-great empire has crumbled to a few remaining Great Holds, Dwarves have an uncanny ability to take whatever is being thrown at them and launch it right back with greater ferocity. Dwarves as such have a very strong survival instinct and look to find ways to maintain their footing in Aloria, lest their Race slip into irrelevance and squander what their ancestors had accomplished. Dwarves are known to stick to their plans and see them carried out, but also know when a plan needs to change for the greater good and can abandon them with a sense of accomplishment and understanding.

Physical Characteristics

Dwarves are known to be the shortest Race in Aloria, with all of their members being shorter than five feet tall. Often mistaken for shorter Ailor, Dwarves tend to have wider frames if they were scaled up to the size of an Ailor, and also have greater development of muscle mass in comparison, especially in their arms and torso. Their skin is known to be tougher than others, with their hands and feet often remarked to have a leathery texture, as if they are callused, yet lacking the hardness that is associated with them in Ailor. Many Dwarves often have semi-exaggerated facial features, such as more pronounced brows, ears, and jaws, though it is also just as common to have very Ailor-like features. Dwarves also grow their hair faster than other Races, with the men often fastening various ornaments to them as a cultural fashion. Dwarves are capable of the full range of skin tone complexions. Dwarven hair colors equally have a large range, from black to blonde and anything in between, while eye colors can be green, brown, blue, or gray. Half-Dwarves are an average height between both parents, but retaining the Dwarven bodily proportions, thus appearing like a stocky short Ailor with more pronounced arms and facial features and body hair. Women Dwarves can grow beards, but many also don’t (or shave).

Heritage Traits

When designing a Character, Proficiency Points allow for a limited Ability selection with Point Buy Packs. Heritage Traits adds free Packs and Mechanics on top of that to help with cultural themes. Free Packs grant Abilities usually, while Mechanics change the way a character functions in Roleplay through subtle, and usually out of Combat ways. In essence, Mechanics just add aesthetic flair that invest in the niche of each culture. Free Packs never raise Proficiency Points, but the character must be able to purchase them normally. (ex. if a character is a certain Affinity that locks them out of a category, they cannot take that specific free pack and must choose the alternative option.) If a Free Pack grants Magic of some type, that Magic can be of any Alignment the character can normally choose, or limited to a select alignment, which will always be written in the Free Pack description.

Mixed Heritage characters (i.e. characters born from two parents of different Cultures) may take one parent's 'Free Packs' and mix and match up to 5 Mechanics from both parents, although some Peoples cannot produce Mixed Heritage children (due to Magical/Fantasy reasons).

Free Packs

Dwarves can choose one Pack from either the Training or Athletic Point Buy categories.
Dwarves can choose one Pack from either Tech or Athletic Point Buy categories.

Mechanics

Dwarves gain +1 Main Defense Stat while another Dwarf is within a 5 block range, which can break Cap up to 11. This mechanic can stack up to a +2 bonus.
Dwarves are barely affected by Alcohol that gets other people drunk, needing insanely high proof, and always being able to keep their drinks down.
Dwarves have perfect vision (night vision) underground and in dark surroundings, needing no light.
Dwarves are masters of the forge, able to perform feats of metallurgy in half the time of other craftsmen. Additionally, any metal item that a Dwarf produces is considered master class when compared to others.
Due to their vast understanding of architecture and metallurgy, Dwarves may gain additional insight from event items that may not be obvious to others (inquire with DM/Event Hoster for opportunities).

Culture

Language

The Dwarves speak a fantasy language called Barrudh, which is not comparable to any real life language. The base for its design is taken from old Norse, but distinct norse sounds are replaced by much harsher tones. For example, the Norse word for War is Krig (pronounced as Kreeg), which is then changed to the Dwarven Kraag (close to the word Crag). This produces a more guttural language with a somewhat norse base, but with a more fantasy like spelling. Most Dwarven Fantasy name generators are good to generate a name, however a couple of gendered names are provided as examples below.

Male Coded Names: Fokuth, Fignam, Khemrul, Affroul, Throdin, Hammoir, Thamrug, Kirem, Barivoc, Girfak, Fovrim, Gotmolin, Dvorun.
Female Coded Names: Thirrsu, Dwothal, Kathil, Barridora, Kursbaer, Gimmora, Krozza, Ranthea, Lodi, Strosshil, Vosdrine.
Dwarven naming customs does not officially support a Unisex or Non binary naming style, but both male and female can technically be unisex.

Magic Chains

The Dwarves have a dubious attitude towards the Occult, notably because there is no real historical context to Magic usage in their Empire. They are not incapable of using Magic, but Magic has a difficult place in their society due to Magic being involved with their greatest collective traumas. Mages simply did not exist for 21,000 years among the Dwarves, until the Allorn agents first used it to convince them to turn on the Dregodar. Somehow, Magic started appearing among their people after it was first used on them by the Allorn agents, causing Mages to be born, and Magic to also be taught to some of them. As the Empire collapsed, Dwarves became hostile to the concept of Magic, and started persecuting their own magically inclined population. As time progressed however, simply killing magically inclined Dwarves became more impractical as their population sharply declined. Instead, since then, the Dwarven elders have agreed to the Magic Chaining policy, where Dwarves who use Magic are tolerated, but only while they have a non-Magic using Dwarf retainer. The Magic using Dwarf is clad in ceremonial robes, and finally has a heavy anti-Magic collar and shoulder guard piece installed kept in place by chains that blocks their usage of any kind of Magic (this cannot be reproduced on other Races, it somehow only works on Dwarves). The retainer is then given a key, which they can use to unleash the chains, which allows the Dwarf to cast Magic freely. The retainer is always trained and drilled into ensuring that the Mage-Dwarf only ever uses Magic in the interest of Dwarven society, or for assistance in the forge, for example by casting fire magic to heat up a furnace. Regalia adopted part of this policy of Mage-collaring in the latter half of the 3rd century AC, but did away with it when Regalians overwhelmingly voted that it was cruel, while the Dwarves continue to maintain their policy to this day. They generally believe that independent and freely operating Magic users are a danger, and that they are in part at risk of being seduced and controlled by the Elven Evil, and other evil Magicness (as they call it).

The Velheim Bond

The Velheim people are considered “Bonded” by the Dwarves, and them in return by the Velheim due to their close cooperation. Since the Dwarves lost most of their holds from the Dakkar invasions, and the spill-over of the Dregodar conflict, the Dwarves were in a near state of collapse, only to be pulled back from the edge by the Velheim in Ellador. The Velheim had been living and trading peacefully with the Dwarves for centuries, though both largely ignored each other, and the Velheim also didn’t take a side during the conflict between the Dwarves and the Nelfin who would eventually become the Isldar. However, when the Dakkar struck, the Velheim sent food and medicine into the Holds, asking for nothing in return (despite lacking food themselves). Then, when things got really bad and around Cataclysm, even while the Ailor towns were under attack by Vampires, they still found time to send soldiers into the mines with the Dwarves to help build defenses against further Dakkar attacks, teaching the Dwarves (who had never fought a war against anyone in pitched siege battles of their cities) how to build defensive structures. The Dwarves eventually answered in kind by sending squads to the surface to protect coastal villages from Vampire attacks, using their inherent immunity to Vampire powers to sniff out parasites and purge them. This shared trauma, but also alliance, was finally solidified when in the fires of chaos in Dwarven society, the god Dáuw was born, supposedly to mundane parents, and led the Dwarven people to unify religiously with the Velheim people, after convincing the remaining elders he was a god in his own right. The Velheim people were apprehensive to accept Dáuw as a god at first, but with the intervention of Halfvel, who approved, news of him spread, and he was adopted into the pantheon. This is the reason why Dwarves can (nowadays) always be found in Velheim cultural festivities, Velheim districts, or generally around Velheim people, and vice versa, because these people share a unique cross-racial bond of friendship and alliance. Many Dwarven cultural expressions have adopted Velheim norms, and vice versa, while many Dwarven children being born are also half-Dwarf half-Velheim. That being said, Dwarves are always sure to protect quintessentially Dwarven customs, so while the two are very strongly related, they are not the same, and never will be.

Religion

Dwarves nearly exclusively follow the Fornoss Religion, though a small minority has converted to Unionism also. Exact data on this is hard to track, because Dwarves in general are spread far and wide over the world. The majority still holds onto the remnants of their subterranean empire. Some have started communities above ground, others have joined Ailor communities, and others yet travel the world. Some of those traveling the world or joining Ailor communities in Regalia have joined Unionism, but Fornoss is still dominant. Dwarven religion was originally called Duindún, a faith in which it was believed that Dragons breathed the fire of life into the earth that birthed the Dwarves, and that those Dragons then turned into Dwarves and became the founders of the various Holds. With the calamities occurring, and the damage done to their society by a Dragon, the Dwarven Race collectively abandoned the faith of Duindún and mass converted to the Fornoss faith. This coincided with the sudden appearance of Dáuw, who proved his godhood, and then led the Dwarven people to join forces with the Fornoss Velheim in particular.

Families

Dwarven families are fairly nuclear (meaning two parents and children) though Dwarves inherently dislike children and find any reason to ship them off to daycare. Dwarven society has a strong daycare system in place where (ironically) Velheim Ailor are paid to take care of the children until they grow old enough to behave in the household, and be taught Dwarven culture and traditions. Dwarves are the only race with a very strong communal elderly care system in place, where elders are moved to retirement and veteran homes where the elderly and war maimed convalesce together. Dwarves have no overt attitude towards same-sex relations or gender-identity, with exact gender identity being already somewhat fluid between Dwarven sexes as men and women and everything in between roughly looks the same.

Fashion

Much of Dwarven fashion has been lost to Velheim fashion out of pure necessity. The Dwarven Empire was once set up in such a way that each great Hold produced something useful for the Empire, and the weaver’s hold was one of the first Holds to go down during the Dakkar invasion. As such, Dwarves had since then mostly used cured leather and hides which put a severe strain on the cattle ranching Hold which was still existing. When the Velheim sent supplies, clothes were some of the most well-used, as Dwarves wore much less cold-resistant clothes from Ellador being much warmer than it had gotten around Cataclysm. Their clothing industry lacked a design for heat resistance (as the tunnels themselves were often quite hot and prone to humidity) so the Velheim clothes became the new norm eventually due to the ease of trade. Dwarven elements still incorporated into the clothes are Dwarven patterns and an overabundance of jewelry and decorative rare-earth metals.

History

The Dwarven Empire has existed for as much as perhaps 20,000 years, making it one of the longest living Empires in the world and also one of the most stable. Dwarves tell tales of the wealthy and massive holds, vast sprawling urban caves and underground cisterns housing millions of Dwarves and spanning continents. Each Hold had a specialty it delivered and Dwarven society lived in communal unity in their disregard for surface dwellers. A curious thing to note was the complete absence of Magic among Dwarves for the better part of history, until Cataclysm at the least. Scholars have speculated that because there was no magic underground and the Dwarves largely ignored surface situations, that the Demons who cyclically invaded during Void Invasions did so blind to their presence.

Dwarven Empire history comes to a quick, unexpected, and violent end during the Dregodar conflict. While the Nelfin who fled the Allorn Empire for Dragon Worship persecution had somewhat chilly relations with the Dwarves on the surface, open conflict was unthinkable because the Dwarves had no reason to go to the surface, and because the Dregodar loved building castles high up in the mountains, far away even from the surface ground. It was through the insidious infiltration, manipulation, and demagoguery of Allorn agents using magic and other foul tricks to deceive the Dwarves into thinking that the Dregodar were actually plotting their destruction. Eventually the Allorn agents succeeded, and three wars with the Dregodar over a timespan of about 100 years were the result. The first two wars were largely inconclusive, while the third war caused a calamity for the Dwarves.

At the apex of the third war, the Dwarves threw hundreds of thousands of soldiers into pitched battle in the Valley of the Long Song, where they faced the collective forces of the Dregodar in a pitched battle to protect Aurora, their Violet Dragon. The battle was disastrous for the Dregodar at first, who were unable to defend themselves with their feeble weapons and pacifist attitude against the Dwarves who came with vast engines of war.100 years of preparation had more than equipped the Dwarves for victory, all the while the Allorn agents sat back and wasted no Allorn lives on the destruction of the Dregodar heretics. In a pivotal moment of the battle, Aurora was supposedly slain by a Dwarven Wyvern-killer weapon, but unleashed a massive magical spell that warped Ellador into a hellish frozen wasteland.

The whole Dwarven army was killed by frost on the spot, while all the Dregodar became Isldar. The nearby hold of Rammtuunh which had its gates open to supply the battle also saw its forge die down in a near instant, and all inhabitants freeze to death in a matter of minutes. Recent historical review, following the outbreak of the Isldar Civil War and subsequent discoveries of the true fate of Aurora, have pointed out that it was not Aurora who committed this act of grand genocide, but the Glacial Ordial God who preyed on Aurora’s moment of doubt and weakness about her cause, and invaded her mind, using Dragon Magic to inflict death on the world while holding Aurora’s soul hostage in an undead Dragon’s rotting vessel. This was made worse by the awakening of the Dakkar; fanatical Power Arken worshipers who started a religious war against the Dwarves from the far deep, manipulating their tunnels and giving the Dwarves a rude awakening that they were not the only race living in the deep tunnels by flooding many of the holds with lava and armies of stone-scaled lizard-men. Hold after Hold fell with millions of Dwarves being killed in the process, and several million more afterwards dying of famine and isolation caused by the collapse of the vast network of tunnels.

When the dust of the conflict settled and the final defensive lines held, there were only two holds left: Grebor which was once a cattle farm for the Dwarven Empire, hastily converted to a defensive hold, and Anduin, which once acted as the bureaucratic capital of the Dwarven Empire, but now had ledgers upon ledgers and cabinets upon cabinets of data stored for an Empire that no longer existed, instead melting its desks and boxes into barricades and using the bureaucratic paper as fuel for the furnaces. Both of these Holds are on the southwestern tip of Ellador, and all other Holds, including the connections to them across the oceans, were lost. Some went silent without a word, some died in calamitous manners like volcanic submersion, or mass-slaughter by the Dakkar. The surviving holds are still routinely under attack by the Dakkar, and some even by Isldar who want to keep Dwarven reclaimers away from their territory, but are generally considered stable, even if both barely have 80,000 inhabitants between them left. Many Velheim have also moved in, supplementing both defenders and caretakers of the local economy so that there is a roughly stable position from which the Dwarves could consider reclaiming their empire, but there are still millions of Power seduced Dakkar living in their old collapsed holds, and the Isldar and Vampires also make expansion on the surface hellish.

Trivia

If there would be any type of person who hates the Ordial, it would be Dwarves. There was something so sickeningly evil (in the eyes of the Dwarves) for the Glacial to use Dragon Magic to cause death just to empower herself and for the glee of it, and then further to also lie about it and pretend to be a Dragon all along.
Just because Dwarves and Velheim Ailor are closely allied, does not mean they are incapable of struggling with one another. Dwarves and Velheim both are somewhat ignorant and very stubborn people, so conflicts frequently arise over who has the best warriors and the most honor.
Contrary to popular belief, you can always tell the difference between a short Ailor and a Dwarf, purely by looking at the length of their arms and the size of their feet and hands in comparison to the rest of their body.

Accreditation

Writers	MonMarty
Processors	Okadoka, birdsfoot_violet, FireFan96

Last Editor	OkaDoka on 09/28/2024.

» Read more

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |image = Dwarfsplash.png
 |pronunciation = Dwoh-rf
-|classification = [[Human]]
+|classification = Human
 |nicknames =
 *Stout Folk (endearing)
 *Fallen Folk (derogatory)
 *Forge Fathers (praising)
-|languages = [[Common]], [[Dwarvish]]
+|languages = Barrudh
-|naming = Old Norse
+|naming = Old Norse with permutations
 |distinction = Stout, mountain-dwelling people who show unerring perseverance and skill with crafting
 |maxage = 200 years
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 |skin =
 [[File:Skin1.png]]
 [[File:Skin2.png]]
 [[File:Skin4.png]]
 [[File:Skin3.png]]
 |}}
+Secretive and proud, the Dwarves are the only known civilization to live underground in the world of [[Aloria]], building their grand holds with vast tunnel networks that run like highways across the various continents. The Dwarves are equally a very ancient [[Race]], predating many of the modern races in the world, and potentially even the [[Allorn Empire]] in having a civilized state structure, though keeping themselves distinctly isolated from the rest of the world. While ignoring most of the woes of the surface world, the Dwarves faced calamity after calamity in the last 1000 years, resulting in a staggering loss of life and a decline of their Empire. In present times, the Dwarves constantly struggle against extinction and the world forgetting about them, too proud to accept being consigned to a footnote in history, but equally pushed into a corner by forces beyond their control.
-==Origins==
-The Dwarves are a mysterious [[Race]] hailing from the subterranean depth of [[Ellador]]. Before the arrival of the [[Dregodarians]] or [[Allorn Empire]] to the region, the Dwarves lived below the Elladorian mountains in a grand empire, ruled over by the High Kings of the Great Holds. Eventually, contact was made between Dwarves and Altalar, but these relationships would eventually spell doom to the Great Holds. Tricked into going to war over vast riches, the [[Dwarven Empire]] was shaken to its core when the [[Isldar]] came to be, turning Ellador into a frozen wasteland and forcing the Dwarves underground once more. In their isolation, the Dwarves unleashed a terror from the depths, the [[Dakkar]], which resulted in the fall of half of their Great Holds, and the collapse of the Dwarven Empire. Since then, the Dwarves have spread out across wider [[Aloria]] in the Dwarven Diaspora, with pockets of them settling in the various nations of others, offering their skills to benefit the societies they live in. While many are quick to declare the Dwarves a dying Race whose golden age has decayed beyond repair, others have seen the Dwarves for who they truly are: a proud people forged in hardship, and tempered to resist even the greatest of challenges, always persevering to live another day and ensure the legacy of their ancestors does not fade away into obscurity.
 ==Core Identity==
-===Introduction===
+===Playing a Dwarf===
-To be a Dwarf is to be resilient in the face of adversity, persevering where others would falter, and looking ever forwards when the past has taken everything. The Dwarves are master smiths, miners, mathematicians, and general craftsmen, having a knack for making the most mundane of creations appear like a work of art. With an unmatched ethos of integrity and hard work, the Dwarves have proven to wider Aloria that their kinsmen are not one to be discounted, even with its population lower than any other Race, even that of the [[Maraya]]. Dwarves are aware that they are seen by many as a dying Race whose glory days have frozen over, and now suffer a low decline. Yet to the Dwarves, this present reality is one hardly given passive thought or consideration. They have learned to make do with their lot in life and finding the proverbial diamonds in the rough.
+To play a Dwarf, is to specifically choose for the backstory of belonging to a race which seems to be facing extinction, but tries to spit into the face of fate and go down kicking and screaming. Dwarven history is full of catastrophe, but far from becoming depressed about it, the Dwarves continue to battle against what most [[Ailor]] scholars have already consigned them to, and should the unthinkable become true, they will at least fight to make sure the world does not forget them. To be a Dwarf is to struggle with the constant realization that there are perhaps only an estimated 150,000 Dwarves left in the world, but to also not give room for self pity or just being mad at everyone around them. Being a Dwarf, is not to endlessly complain about the misery that has befallen the Race, but salvaging what can be found out of a bad situation, that which the Dwarves are known for.
+===Tunnel Empire===
+The Dwarves once had a vast underground Empire that spanned several continents and could in total sphere of influence even be compared as a rival to the Allorn Empire in its height. Dwarven holds were built primarily on [[Ellador]] before it froze over, but also on [[Northbelt]], with partially still existing tunnels connecting all of them, showing Dwarven engineering prowess as they built through solid stone and even under oceans, something even modern civilizations can only dream of. While many surfacers (Dwarves born and living mostly on the surface world) have gotten used to the open air, many of those who once lived underground (or continue to do so in [[Regalia]]) are uncomfortable lacking a clear ceiling above them.
+===Facing Extinction===
+Possible extinction or Racial integration among Ailor is a constant concern for the Dwarves, and one that has led to many disastrous attempts to reclaim the old homeland, as well as the creation of fringe terrorist groups of Dwarves who inflict their rage on the world. The majority of the Dwarves however are far more focused on attempting to salvage what they can, and mostly finding wealth in what others consider scrap. Dwarves are the perfect salvagers, able to fix up broken and discarded weapons and tools in no time, and even repairing technology mid-combat. Their ingenuity especially shines in moments where odds for them look bleak, giving rise to their sturdy reputation.
+===Grudge Tellers===
+The Dwarves have a great deal of grudges, and are commonly known as people who do not forgive, and do not forget. There is a great deal of racial animosity that they have towards the [[Nelfin]] Races, with varying degrees for the different types. Dwarves do not care for [[Suvial]], [[Fin'ullen]], or [[Solvaan]], and have a moderate to high distaste for the [[Isldar]], because they frequently clashed with their re-conquest plans. The group the Dwarves hate the most are the [[Teledden]], because of their scheming and backstabbing nature, and because they are largely the reason why the decline of the Dwarven Empire was set in motion. Only the most supreme of hatred among Dwarves is reserved for the [[Evolism|Evolist]] Isldar, once called the Death Isldar, who often worship the [[Evolism#Ravaal,_the_Glacial_March|Glacial]], the mother of all genocide on the Dwarves. This hatred is in spite of the recent greater division in Isldar society, which have seen less extreme factions of the Evolists emerge. Dwarves in general try to avoid being backstabbers, traitors, or swindlers, the truth and honor to their word is immensely important, as are bonds of alliance and friendship. Dwarves can even on a personal level, declare some action as a grudge, meaning that they declare a vendetta against a persona until their crime has been settled. This is sometimes where a Dwarf’s pettiness will shine through, declaring a grudge over a spilled drink, only to retaliate by burning someone’s house down.
-===Clans===
+===Foundry Hearts===
-So long as there are at least two Dwarves in a population, they will never feel lonely. Whereas Races such as the Ailor have a history of internal strife and bloodshed, Dwarves have never found strife among each other. Instead, Dwarves have a natural affinity for seeking out other Dwarves to form communities with, even if they are complete strangers. These communities are known as Clans, which can best be described as an extended family of friends and acquaintances. Whereas another Race may be more hesitant to let a stranger enter their home and eat dinner with them, this is completely natural for Dwarves, who are known to be hospitable to their guests and treat each other as if they were blood relatives. Clans can be as small as two Dwarves or as large as an entire neighborhood. It is even possible for two Clans to come together as one, or remain separate entities, yet intermingling as if they are one. Ultimately, the central focus of Clans is to ensure that no Dwarf is left alone or abandoned, as their Race cannot afford to be so careless with each other. This also means that homelessness does not exist in Dwarven communities, as a Clan will immediately offer shelter to a Dwarf they see in need. While there are instances of hermit Dwarves that do avoid Clans altogether, they still feel a sense of belonging to the wider Dwarven identity, as all they need to do is knock on a door to be welcomed in for a brief meal or chat with their people.
+The Dwarves are, despite all the attempts of various other Races, unbeaten in the heat of a forge. They have the most skilful hands, the quickest grasp, and the easiest execution of complex forging techniques passed down through the generations. While Ailor and Nelfin may make more aesthetically pleasing items in a forge, Dwarves build to last and endure, and also forge with a purity of metals not quickly equaled by other Races. Nearly all Dwarves have a complex cultural understanding of geology, engineering, architecture, and knowledge of metals and ores that makes them excellent prospectors and explorers of soil riches.
 ==Design==
 ===Mental Characteristics===
-Dwarves are resilient yet adaptable, stubborn yet empathetic, and hardworking yet playful. These contradictions all come together to create the Dwarven mentality of life. Having suffered betrayals and warfare against an assortment of enemies, even to the point where their once-great empire has crumbled to a few remaining Great Holds, Dwarves have an uncanny ability to take whatever is being thrown at them and launch it right back with greater ferocity. Dwarves as such have a very strong survival instinct and look to find ways to maintain their footing in Aloria, lest their Race slip into irrelevance and squander what their ancestors had accomplished. Dwarves are known to stick to their plans and see them carried out, but also know when a plan needs to change for the greater good and can abandon them with a sense of accomplishment and understanding. With this sense of perseverance, many would expect the Dwarves to be as cold and hard as the stones they mine under. However, the Dwarves are often hearty and inviting, as well as are known to be the bringers of merriment to any social event. Even while working in their trades, Dwarves are known to jest with one another or sing a communal song, all while ensuring that their labor is being carried out competently.
+Dwarves are resilient yet adaptable, stubborn yet empathetic, and hardworking yet playful. These contradictions all come together to create the Dwarven mentality of life. Having suffered betrayals and warfare against an assortment of enemies, even to the point where their once-great empire has crumbled to a few remaining Great Holds, Dwarves have an uncanny ability to take whatever is being thrown at them and launch it right back with greater ferocity. Dwarves as such have a very strong survival instinct and look to find ways to maintain their footing in Aloria, lest their Race slip into irrelevance and squander what their ancestors had accomplished. Dwarves are known to stick to their plans and see them carried out, but also know when a plan needs to change for the greater good and can abandon them with a sense of accomplishment and understanding.
 ===Physical Characteristics===
-[[File:Newdwarf.png|200px|thumb|right|The stocky appearance of Dwarves gives them a reputation of hardiness and strength.]]
+Dwarves are known to be the shortest Race in Aloria, with all of their members being shorter than five feet tall. Often mistaken for shorter Ailor, Dwarves tend to have wider frames if they were scaled up to the size of an Ailor, and also have greater development of muscle mass in comparison, especially in their arms and torso. Their skin is known to be tougher than others, with their hands and feet often remarked to have a leathery texture, as if they are callused, yet lacking the hardness that is associated with them in Ailor. Many Dwarves often have semi-exaggerated facial features, such as more pronounced brows, ears, and jaws, though it is also just as common to have very Ailor-like features. Dwarves also grow their hair faster than other Races, with the men often fastening various ornaments to them as a cultural fashion. Dwarves are capable of the full range of skin tone complexions. Dwarven hair colors equally have a large range, from black to blonde and anything in between, while eye colors can be green, brown, blue, or gray. Half-Dwarves are an average height between both parents, but retaining the Dwarven bodily proportions, thus appearing like a stocky short Ailor with more pronounced arms and facial features and body hair. Women Dwarves can grow beards, but many also don’t (or shave).
-True to their name, Dwarves are known to be the shortest Race in Aloria, with all of their members being shorter than five feet tall. Often mistaken for shorter [[Ailor]], Dwarves tend to have wider frames if they were scaled up to the size of an Ailor, and also have greater development of muscle mass in comparison. Their skin is known to be tougher than others, with their hands and feet often remarked to have a leathery texture to them, almost as if they are callused, yet lacking the hardness that is associated with them in Ailor. Dwarves are also known to have strong skeletons, allowing them to carry heavier loads which can appear somewhat amusing to others, yet is completely normal to Dwarves.
-Many Dwarves often have semi-exaggerated facial features, such as more pronounced noses, brows, ears, and jaws, though it is also just as common to have very Ailor-like features. Dwarves also grow their hair faster than other Races, with the men often fastening various ornaments to them as a cultural fashion. Besides these differences, Dwarves can be compared to Ailor quite accurately. Dwarves feature the same sets of hair, eye, and skin color as the Ailor, with the same sort of diversity found across all populations (meaning an African-coded Dwarf can be the blood-related sibling of an East-Asian-coded Dwarf, who has a blood-relative nephew that is Caucasian-coded).
-Half-Dwarves often retain the height of their Dwarven parent, while appearing like a stockier version of their non-Dwarf parent. For example, a [[Qadir]]-Dwarf child would appear like a short, stocky Qadir while still having sandstone-colored eyes and mandalas.
-===Racial Abilities & Specials===
-Racial Abilities are generally a set of unique powers and effects that all peoples of that race all innately have, while Specials are more passive, aesthetic focused capabilities. Specials are defined per-page, while Abilities can be searched on the [[Ability List]] page to determine their generic function. Dwarves have a mix of Abilities and Specials themed around stones, gems, and the earth. Half Dwarves also get access to the Racial Abilities, but none of the Racial Specials.
-====Abilities====
-{| class="wikitable"
-|- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
-! Ability Name
-! Ability Type
-! Ability Range
-! Ability Description
-! Modifiers
-|-
-| style="background-color:#D6C0A0;" | Weapon Summon
-| Summon Power
-| Self
-| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Weapon Summon | The user can summon any type of weapon from Melee Weapon Point Buy, or Ranged Weapon Point Buy made out of Magic. This weapon functions like a normal weapon would, has the same durability, but does not use any ammunition to fire if ranged.  The user can give the weapon to someone else, but can't summon more than one. A destroyed Summoned Weapon cannot be Summoned again for 12 IRL Hours.
-}}
-| {{#simple-tooltip: Dwarf Modifier | Any Weapon Summoned by a Dwarf is not magically summoned, but ‘crafted’ instantaneously from metals or objects they have on or near them. This weapon is not classified as Magical, and is completely mundane. The Weapon appears to be made of cobbled together and quickly welded metals.}}
-|-
-| style="background-color:#D6C0A0;" | Control Immune
-| Constant Passive
-| Self
-| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Control Immune | The user is immune to any Control Abilities that would be applied to them. They can however choose to permit the Control Ability to work if they are aware it is being used on them beforehand and want the effect to apply.
-}}
-| {{#simple-tooltip: Dwarf Modifier | The Dwarf is additionally immune to any Abilities (even non-Control Powers) that would alter or remove their Memories in any way, shape, or form. }}
-|-
-|}
-====Specials====
-=====Masters of the Anvil=====
-Dwarves have a natural and cultural inclination towards metals and are the undisputed masters of the forge. All Dwarves may choose one Crafting Point Buy Pack for free without Proficiency Point investment. Additionally, a Dwarf can identify by sight and touch alone what metals an object is made of, even if it is just small engravings or plating, and even without that Point Buy Pack.
-=====Unparalleled Quality=====
-Crafting and the material arts are generational and communal for Dwarves, with each family having tips and tricks of the trade that they pass down and share. Dwarves are usually perpetually honing their craft, and skills, eager to learn and improve from others to make it better, and then some past that. Anything a Dwarf makes with Metallurgy will always be of a higher quality. Weapons and Armor are more resistant to natural degradation, sharper, and more expertly crafted. In addition, nothing a Dwarf makes is ever truly broken, as long as it was made by their hands and returned to them for repairs.
-=====Utilitarian Handiness=====
-A Dwarf is never without tools and can, with any nearby materials, compile them into a small non-combat tool in their hands, like a hammer, pencil, chisel, etc. This ‘crafting’ is almost instantaneous, and while the tool looks cobbled together, they are completely functional and made of the equivalent of steel. The Dwarf can make as many of these tools as they would like, or as many as their surroundings would reasonably allow. The Dwarf can also hand these off to others, but 5 minutes after leaving Emote Distance of the Dwarf who created it, these tools will break instantly.
-=====Natural Affinity=====
-The Dwarven Race is naturally resistant to unwanted Planar infection, being an exceptionally hardy peoples. While the Dwarf is not Aberrant or Occult, they are completely Immune to Blood Sickness, Soul Sickness, or any Sickness inflicted from failed affliction infection. If the Dwarf is an Aberrant or Occult instead, they gain no bonus from this Special at all.
-=====Unbroken Kinship=====
-The Dwarf has a naturally strong body and an even stronger stomach. The Dwarf is immune to any negative or detrimental effects from ingested poisons, rotten or out of date food, or otherwise corrupted and inedible materials. This includes alcohol, but only to the point that the Dwarf cannot pass out or become sick from excessive intoxication (they can still get drunk normally). In addition, the Dwarf can lift objects their strength may not usually allow, able to hold up fallen structures, or lift massive boulders. This cannot be used in any Combat RP or competitive RP. They are also resistant to naturally occurring extreme temperatures, both hot and cold.
-=====Dwarf Aesthetics====
-Dwarves strongly favor metal and stone. Any summon aesthetics, or ability aesthetics should be metallic and sturdy. Weapons should appear dense and heavy, and magical flair should likewise.
-==Language==
-The Dwarf language is known simply as [[Dwarvish]] which has a real-life equivalent to Old Norse. Dwarven is a difficult language to learn for many, as it lacks the more familiar [[Altalar]] alphabet, instead using its own runic letters instead (based on IRL Younger Furthark). These runes are featured in everything made by Dwarves, such as the heads of axes, the stone columns of buildings, or engravings on jewelry. Dwarven names feature a personal first name, a middle name to honor an ancestor, and a last name.
-Example list of Dwarven First Names:
-'''Male''': Arni, Danr, Gunni, Hrolfr, Magni, Steinn, Vigi
-'''Female''': Asta, Dagny, Edda, Hildr, Katla, Unnr
-'''Non-Gendered''': Audr, Kanan, Thea, Pavi, Rudra, Navi
-As well as a first, middle, and last name, Dwarves also have a Hold Name from which they trace their ancestral lineage to. Each of the Hold Names is named after a Founder God, and are summarized below:
-*Dwarves from Ølovhamm have the Hold Name Ølovhammin
-*Dwarves from Ruin-Khuuramman have the Hold Name Ruin-Khuur
-*Dwarves from Grebor have the Hold Name Greborrin
-*Dwarves from Aldruin have the Hold Name Aldor
-==Religion==
-Dwarves follow the Faith of the Founder Gods, or the Dogma of Duindin. This religion is focused only on the Dwarves, and the other Races are completely ignored in their religious beliefs. This does not bother the Dwarves, who at one time never knew other Races existed, as they believe that they only need to know what Duindin has revealed to them and anything else does not require them to focus too much effort on. As a result, Dwarves are very indifferent about the creation of Aloria or other Races, viewing other faiths as a means for non-Dwarves to find their way in the world. Most curious of all is that Dwarves do not fully deny the possibility of Duindin being a sub-diety to some other divine being, though accept that such a question does not need to be answered unless Duindin reveals it himself.
-According to the Dwarves, Duindin was the creator of the Dwarves, who took the materials of the earth and molded them into the shape of a Dwarf, before breathing life into them. In the beginning, the first Dwarves were completely helpless, as they lacked the understanding to survive in a subterranean environment. Having pity for his creation, Duindin chose to reveal himself to the Dwarves by taking on their form, instructing them whenever they met a hardship they could not overcome. As such, Duindin is known as a god that reincarnates into a mortal body every time the Dwarven people required his divine intervention, before dying and waiting for the next time he was needed. Each of Duindin’s incarnations is known as a Founder God, who created one of the Great Holds of Ellador. Below is a summary of each Founder God:
-*'''Ølovhamm''' was the first time Duindin took on mortal form, and thus gave the Dwarves a physical representation to note for future incarnations. Ølovhamm taught the Dwarves how to survive in a subterranean environment by teaching them how to mine, build, farm, forage, and develop families. Together with his creation, Ølovhamm created the first Great Hold, with himself as High King. When he saw his creation succeed in surviving, Ølovhamm died, and Duindin returned to watch over the Dwarves from beyond.
-*'''Ruin-Kuuramman''' was the second time Duindin took on mortal form after he saw Ølovhamm Hold stagnate and grow overpopulated, causing strife among the Dwarves. Ruin-Khuuramman taught the Dwarves how to build a civilization, such as setting up government, bureaucracies, mathematics, schooling, and Clans. A second Great Hold was constructed with help from Ruin-Khuramman, creating the Dwarven Empire in the process. Communication networks were created between Ruin Kurhamman and Ølovhamm, and the Dwarves entered their golden age under the mountains of Ellador, where the Halls of the High King were lined with Gold and gems of all varieties, and technological advancements such as the creation of mining explosives were made. When he saw his creation succeed in empire-building, Ruin-Khuuramman died, and Duindin returned once more to watch the Dwarves from beyond.
-*'''Grebor''' was the third time Duindin took on mortal form, after a group of Dwarves tunneled to the surface of Ellador, and found an unknown wilderness waiting for them, alongside strange beings of notable height (which would later be revealed to be the Dregodarian Altalar). Grebor taught the Dwarves how to conduct diplomacy with strangers, how to trade with foreigners, and how to wage war against enemies. A third Great Hold was constructed with help from Grebor, which became the first Great Hold to have an entrance on the surface of Ellador, serving as a trading station, but also a vanguard outpost for the Dwarven military. Grebor was High King when the Allorn Empire first contacted the Dwarven Empire, and established good relations with the [[Nelfin]]. When he saw his creation succeed in establishing first contact, Grebor died, and Duindin returned once more to watch the Dwarves from beyond.
-*'''Aldruin''' was the fourth and last time Duindin has taken on mortal form, after two notable events destroyed the Dwarven Empire. First, the [[Battle of Udillin’s Foot]] plunged the surface of Ellador into a frozen hellscape, cutting off the Dwarven Empire from contact with the outside world, alongside a hostile Isldar force on their doorstep. Secondly, and more damning, the Dwarves of Ølovhamm Hold dug too deep in pursuit of riches and unleashed the Dakkar. Within months, Ølovhamm was overrun and the Dwarven population eradicated, with Ruin-Khuuramman soon to fall, signaling the end of the Dwarven Empire. Aldruin taught the Dwarves to persevere, and to venture out into wider Aloria in order to prevent the fall of Duindin’s creation. Aldruin as such is the Founder God of the Dwarven Diaspora, which saw large communities of Dwarves spread out around Aloria, settling into new settlements and serving under the local states as master craftsmen. Aldruin also taught the Dwarves to find hope even in the most desperate hour, and that they know all they need to weather the storm. Aldruin aided in the construction of the fourth Great Hold, which replaced Grebor as the communication line between the Dwarven remnants and the Diaspora across Aloria. When he received word that the first settlements of the Diaspora has been established, Aldruin went to Ruin-Khuuramman to wage war against the Dakkar, where he died in combat against an innumerable host of Dakkar, and Duindin returned once more to watch the Dwarves from beyond.
-Like [[Unionism]], Dwarves can pray to Duindin directly or through one of his Founder God incarnations. As the Founder Gods represent aspects found in everyday life, they are often prayed to the most and are often the patron deity of a certain trade (Ølovhamm for farmers and miners, Ruin-Khuuramman for teachers and scribes, Grebor for soldiers and diplomats, and Aldruin for sailors and doctors, to name a few associations). Prayers to Duindin or the Founder Gods are often a more personal experience, except for one communal show of worship which takes place during the night of a New Moon. During this time, Dwarves will come together to offer up some of their belongings to a massive open fire pit, while chanting the Song of Duindin. It is believed that these offerings are given directly to Dundin, who will distribute them to the Dwarves who exist in the afterlife.
-In regards to death and the afterlife, Dwarves believe that when they die, their spirits travel to the Halls of Duindin, where they are reunited with all the Dwarves that have ever died, alongside Duindin in his full glory as High King of the Eternal Hold. The offerings given during the New Moon are used to provide the dead with the resources needed to thrive in the afterlife, such as hammers to work in the Halls of Duindin, or food to hold great feasts for all Dwarven-kind.
-The Dwarves also have a prophecy that describes what happens when every Dwarf in Aloria dies off and the Race goes extinct. When the final Dwarf enters the Halls of Duindin, all the Dwarves will return once more to Aloria, where they shall defeat all who have ever made an enemy against the Dwarven Race, before establishing the Eternal Hold under Ellador, where all Alorians shall find a realm which has never occurred before. Due to this prophecy, the Dwarves are not as worried about recovering the fallen Holds of Ølovhomm and Ruin-Khuuramman, as Duindin will eventually re-establish them upon the return of the Dwarves. However, Dwarves also believe that continuing these efforts helps buy time for their ancestors in the afterlife, as more offerings are able to be delivered during the New Moon, as well as allowing more Dwarves to be born and die, in order to increase their numbers for the final conquest.
-==Families==
-===Childhood===
-Dwarven childhood is fairly comparable to other Races such as the Ailor, with children growing up in a nuclear household of two parents and a few siblings. For the first few years of life, Dwarves often stay at home where they play with handcrafted toys and help around the house with chores to build up working skills. Around the age of 10, Dwarves enter into schooling, where they focus on learning fundamental skills, with a strong focus on mathematics. It is said that Dwarves are some of the greatest mathematical minds in all of Aloria, with many other societies hiring a few Dwarves to handle the keeping of numerical records, or to double check the results of their non-Dwarf co-workers. Following their education at age 20, Dwarves tend to enter apprenticeships with whatever trade they desire to pursue in their life, which they do for another decade.
-===Adulthood===
-Dwarven adulthood revolves around contributing to Dwarven society as a whole, both in the defense of the remaining two Great Holds, but also in supporting the Dwarven Diaspora across wider Aloria. Dwarves live about twice as long as Ailor, which has allowed various Dwarven Clans to become well-known across several generations, thus making their reputation well-known in the areas they populate. As a result, many industrial areas across Aloria have notable Dwarven populations which ensure the continued operations of machinery, content in using their race’s abilities to benefit civilizations.
-===Romance & Gender Norms===
-Dwarves are considered to be committed lovers in relationships, as to be with another in Dwarven society is considered a sign of deep commitment and one which is not easily forgotten. Due to this emphasis on commitment, Dwarves are often hesitant to enter relationships until they get to know the other person, not wishing to commit to something which may not work out in the end. However, if two Dwarves do eventually end up together, their bond is one of the closest and most caring of any in Aloria, as Dwarves will go out of their way to ensure that their partner is provided for. In terms of gender norms, Dwarven society is egalitarian, believing that every Dwarf, regardless of gender identity, has the means to contribute to society. While Dwarves still recognize biological sense, and many Dwarves still identify as male or female, there is no societal pressure for Dwarves to accept a gender binary, and are free to live their lives as they wish. Ultimately, Dwarven society is focused on strengthening the whole of society, and causing grief to others based on their identity runs contrary to such goals.
-==Politics==
-Despite the collapse of the Dwarven Empire, the political hierarchy of the Dwarves has remained practically the same. At the top of society are the High Kings of Grebor and Aldruin, who are elected by the Holds upon the previous ruler’s death. The High Kings are responsible for cross-Hold communication and receiving word from the Diaspora communities abroad. Below the High Kings are various bureaucratic and administrative offices, all held by the most competent of Dwarves in society. Due to their emphasis on meritocracy and importance on aiding their fellow Dwarves, the concept of nobility is hard to grasp in Dwarven society. Even the Clan leaders who oversee various families in a Clan are not considered higher than anyone else, and mostly exist as a representative for the Clan as a whole, rather than its leader.
-Outside of the Holds, the Dwarven Diaspora still acknowledges the importance of the High Kings, though most day-to-day politics are run by the Clan leaders, who often form small councils in the Diaspora communities to ensure the wellbeing of the Dwarves. These councils interface with the local governments to obtain contracts for mining or construction projects, providing aid to the Great Holds, or any other assortment of interfacing between the Dwarves and others.
+==Heritage Traits==
+When designing a Character, Proficiency Points allow for a limited Ability selection with Point Buy Packs. Heritage Traits adds free Packs and Mechanics on top of that to help with cultural themes. Free Packs grant Abilities usually, while Mechanics change the way a character functions in Roleplay through subtle, and usually out of Combat ways. In essence, Mechanics just add aesthetic flair that invest in the niche of each culture. Free Packs never raise Proficiency Points, but the character must be able to purchase them normally. (ex. if a character is a certain Affinity that locks them out of a category, they cannot take that specific free pack and must choose the alternative option.) If a Free Pack grants Magic of some type, that Magic can be of any Alignment the character can normally choose, or limited to a select alignment, which will always be written in the Free Pack description.
-In all foreign diplomacy, however, Dwarves tend to be seen as incredibly self-centered and unwilling to compromise. While initially, the Dwarves were far warmer in the negotiations with foreign powers, the betrayals by the Allorn Empire and the immense destruction inflicted by the Isldar has made Dwarves far more suspicious of open gestures of goodwill. This doesn’t mean that Dwarves are unwilling to enter negotiations with others; they just assume that they will be betrayed again, and so keep their cards close at hand until they can truly trust others.
+Mixed Heritage characters (i.e. characters born from two parents of different Cultures) may take one parent's 'Free Packs' and mix and match up to 5 Mechanics from both parents, although some Peoples cannot produce Mixed Heritage children (due to Magical/Fantasy reasons).
+===Free Packs===
+* Dwarves can choose one Pack from either the [[Training Point Buy | Training]] or [[Athletic Point Buy | Athletic]] Point Buy categories.
+* Dwarves can choose one Pack from either [[Tech Point Buy | Tech]] or [[Athletic Point Buy | Athletic]] Point Buy categories.
+===Mechanics===
+* Dwarves gain +1 Main Defense Stat while another Dwarf is within a 5 block range, which can break Cap up to 11. This mechanic can stack up to a +2 bonus.
+* Dwarves are barely affected by Alcohol that gets other people drunk, needing insanely high proof, and always being able to keep their drinks down.
+* Dwarves have perfect vision (night vision) underground and in dark surroundings, needing no light.
+* Dwarves are masters of the forge, able to perform feats of metallurgy in half the time of other craftsmen. Additionally, any metal item that a Dwarf produces is considered master class when compared to others.
+* Due to their vast understanding of architecture and metallurgy, Dwarves may gain additional insight from event items that may not be obvious to others (inquire with DM/Event Hoster for opportunities).
+==Culture==
+===Language===
+The Dwarves speak a fantasy language called Barrudh, which is not comparable to any real life language. The base for its design is taken from old Norse, but distinct norse sounds are replaced by much harsher tones. For example, the Norse word for War is Krig (pronounced as Kreeg), which is then changed to the Dwarven Kraag (close to the word Crag). This produces a more guttural language with a somewhat norse base, but with a more fantasy like spelling. Most Dwarven Fantasy name generators are good to generate a name, however a couple of gendered names are provided as examples below.
-===Grudges===
+* Male Coded Names: Fokuth, Fignam, Khemrul, Affroul, Throdin, Hammoir, Thamrug, Kirem, Barivoc, Girfak, Fovrim, Gotmolin, Dvorun.
-One of the most notable concepts of Dwarven politics to outsiders is the concept of the Grudge. Grudges can be compared to blood feuds, where a Dwarf will write down the name of someone who has immensely wronged them and then seek to avenge that wrong at a later point in time. Grudges are often held on an individual level, but it is possible for a Grudge to be shared by an entire Clan, or even the entire Race. This last instance is known as an Eternal Grudge, and it has only been declared twice in history: once against the Isldar, and the second against the Altalar. The Eternal Grudge against the Isldar was declared after the Battle of Udillin’s Foot when Elador froze over. Dwarves blame the Isldar for destroying their people’s way of life, and avenge the grudge by treating the Isldar as perpetual enemies by denying them respite whenever they encounter them and engaging in violent acts against Isldar businesses and communities wherever they are found. The Eternal Grudge against the Altalar is less severe, but is still shared among all Dwarves. As the Allorn Empire failed to assist the Dwarves against their war against the Dregodarians when it mattered most, the Dwarves believe that the ancestors of the Altalar deserve to be belittled and insured, something which never fails to irritate the lineage-obsessed Altalar.
+* Female Coded Names: Thirrsu, Dwothal, Kathil, Barridora, Kursbaer, Gimmora, Krozza, Ranthea, Lodi, Strosshil, Vosdrine.
+* Dwarven naming customs does not officially support a Unisex or Non binary naming style, but both male and female can technically be unisex.
+===Magic Chains===
+The Dwarves have a dubious attitude towards the Occult, notably because there is no real historical context to [[Magic]] usage in their Empire. They are not incapable of using Magic, but Magic has a difficult place in their society due to Magic being involved with their greatest collective traumas. Mages simply did not exist for 21,000 years among the Dwarves, until the Allorn agents first used it to convince them to turn on the Dregodar. Somehow, Magic started appearing among their people after it was first used on them by the Allorn agents, causing Mages to be born, and Magic to also be taught to some of them. As the Empire collapsed, Dwarves became hostile to the concept of Magic, and started persecuting their own magically inclined population. As time progressed however, simply killing magically inclined Dwarves became more impractical as their population sharply declined. Instead, since then, the Dwarven elders have agreed to the Magic Chaining policy, where Dwarves who use Magic are tolerated, but only while they have a non-Magic using Dwarf retainer. The Magic using Dwarf is clad in ceremonial robes, and finally has a heavy anti-Magic collar and shoulder guard piece installed kept in place by chains that blocks their usage of any kind of Magic (this cannot be reproduced on other Races, it somehow only works on Dwarves). The retainer is then given a key, which they can use to unleash the chains, which allows the Dwarf to cast Magic freely. The retainer is always trained and drilled into ensuring that the Mage-Dwarf only ever uses Magic in the interest of Dwarven society, or for assistance in the forge, for example by casting fire magic to heat up a furnace. Regalia adopted part of this policy of Mage-collaring in the latter half of the 3rd century AC, but did away with it when Regalians overwhelmingly voted that it was cruel, while the Dwarves continue to maintain their policy to this day. They generally believe that independent and freely operating Magic users are a danger, and that they are in part at risk of being seduced and controlled by the Elven Evil, and other evil Magicness (as they call it).
+===The Velheim Bond===
+The [[Velheim]] people are considered “Bonded” by the Dwarves, and them in return by the Velheim due to their close cooperation. Since the Dwarves lost most of their holds from the [[Dakkar]] invasions, and the spill-over of the Dregodar conflict, the Dwarves were in a near state of collapse, only to be pulled back from the edge by the Velheim in Ellador. The Velheim had been living and trading peacefully with the Dwarves for centuries, though both largely ignored each other, and the Velheim also didn’t take a side during the conflict between the Dwarves and the Nelfin who would eventually become the Isldar. However, when the Dakkar struck, the Velheim sent food and medicine into the Holds, asking for nothing in return (despite lacking food themselves). Then, when things got really bad and around Cataclysm, even while the Ailor towns were under attack by Vampires, they still found time to send soldiers into the mines with the Dwarves to help build defenses against further Dakkar attacks, teaching the Dwarves (who had never fought a war against anyone in pitched siege battles of their cities) how to build defensive structures. The Dwarves eventually answered in kind by sending squads to the surface to protect coastal villages from Vampire attacks, using their inherent immunity to Vampire powers to sniff out parasites and purge them. This shared trauma, but also alliance, was finally solidified when in the fires of chaos in Dwarven society, the god Dáuw was born, supposedly to mundane parents, and led the Dwarven people to unify religiously with the Velheim people, after convincing the remaining elders he was a god in his own right. The Velheim people were apprehensive to accept Dáuw as a god at first, but with the intervention of Halfvel, who approved, news of him spread, and he was adopted into the pantheon. This is the reason why Dwarves can (nowadays) always be found in Velheim cultural festivities, Velheim districts, or generally around Velheim people, and vice versa, because these people share a unique cross-racial bond of friendship and alliance. Many Dwarven cultural expressions have adopted Velheim norms, and vice versa, while many Dwarven children being born are also half-Dwarf half-Velheim. That being said, Dwarves are always sure to protect quintessentially Dwarven customs, so while the two are very strongly related, they are not the same, and never will be.
+===Religion===
+Dwarves nearly exclusively follow the [[Fornoss]] Religion, though a small minority has converted to Unionism also. Exact data on this is hard to track, because Dwarves in general are spread far and wide over the world. The majority still holds onto the remnants of their subterranean empire. Some have started communities above ground, others have joined Ailor communities, and others yet travel the world. Some of those traveling the world or joining Ailor communities in Regalia have joined [[Unionism]], but Fornoss is still dominant. Dwarven religion was originally called Duindún, a faith in which it was believed that [[Dragon]]s breathed the fire of life into the earth that birthed the Dwarves, and that those Dragons then turned into Dwarves and became the founders of the various Holds. With the calamities occurring, and the damage done to their society by a Dragon, the Dwarven Race collectively abandoned the faith of Duindún and mass converted to the Fornoss faith. This coincided with the sudden appearance of Dáuw, who proved his godhood, and then led the Dwarven people to join forces with the Fornoss Velheim in particular.
+===Families===
+Dwarven families are fairly nuclear (meaning two parents and children) though Dwarves inherently dislike children and find any reason to ship them off to daycare. Dwarven society has a strong daycare system in place where (ironically) Velheim Ailor are paid to take care of the children until they grow old enough to behave in the household, and be taught Dwarven culture and traditions. Dwarves are the only race with a very strong communal elderly care system in place, where elders are moved to retirement and veteran homes where the elderly and war maimed convalesce together. Dwarves have no overt attitude towards same-sex relations or gender-identity, with exact gender identity being already somewhat fluid between Dwarven sexes as men and women and everything in between roughly looks the same.
+===Fashion===
+Much of Dwarven fashion has been lost to Velheim fashion out of pure necessity. The Dwarven Empire was once set up in such a way that each great Hold produced something useful for the Empire, and the weaver’s hold was one of the first Holds to go down during the Dakkar invasion. As such, Dwarves had since then mostly used cured leather and hides which put a severe strain on the cattle ranching Hold which was still existing. When the Velheim sent supplies, clothes were some of the most well-used, as Dwarves wore much less cold-resistant clothes from Ellador being much warmer than it had gotten around Cataclysm. Their clothing industry lacked a design for heat resistance (as the tunnels themselves were often quite hot and prone to humidity) so the Velheim clothes became the new norm eventually due to the ease of trade. Dwarven elements still incorporated into the clothes are Dwarven patterns and an overabundance of jewelry and decorative rare-earth metals.
+==History==
+The Dwarven Empire has existed for as much as perhaps 20,000 years, making it one of the longest living Empires in the world and also one of the most stable. Dwarves tell tales of the wealthy and massive holds, vast sprawling urban caves and underground cisterns housing millions of Dwarves and spanning continents. Each Hold had a specialty it delivered and Dwarven society lived in communal unity in their disregard for surface dwellers. A curious thing to note was the complete absence of Magic among Dwarves for the better part of history, until Cataclysm at the least. Scholars have speculated that because there was no magic underground and the Dwarves largely ignored surface situations, that the Demons who cyclically invaded during Void Invasions did so blind to their presence.
-When a Dwarf has a Grudge, they will seek out other like-minded Dwarves to help fill that Grudge with them. This can be seen as somewhat immature for outsiders when they see a band of Dwarves seeking to resolve Grudge over something which seems fairly trivial. However, those on the receiving end of a Grudge often learn quickly to seek amends with the Dwarf they slighted, lest they end up with their body bruised or broken, property damaged, or worse. Most Grudges can be solved by apologizing and making amends to the Dwarf who declared the Grudge, while some more serious Grudges can only be paid in blood (not necessarily resulting in death, however). Despite the potential for Grudges getting out of hand, they do demonstrate the unparalleled ability for Dwarves to unify against a common foe with immense dedication and commitment to their kinsmen.
+Dwarven Empire history comes to a quick, unexpected, and violent end during the Dregodar conflict. While the Nelfin who fled the Allorn Empire for Dragon Worship persecution had somewhat chilly relations with the Dwarves on the surface, open conflict was unthinkable because the Dwarves had no reason to go to the surface, and because the Dregodar loved building castles high up in the mountains, far away even from the surface ground. It was through the insidious infiltration, manipulation, and demagoguery of Allorn agents using magic and other foul tricks to deceive the Dwarves into thinking that the Dregodar were actually plotting their destruction. Eventually the Allorn agents succeeded, and three wars with the Dregodar over a timespan of about 100 years were the result. The first two wars were largely inconclusive, while the third war caused a calamity for the Dwarves.
-==Fashion==
+At the apex of the third war, the Dwarves threw hundreds of thousands of soldiers into pitched battle in the Valley of the Long Song, where they faced the collective forces of the Dregodar in a pitched battle to protect Aurora, their Violet Dragon. The battle was disastrous for the Dregodar at first, who were unable to defend themselves with their feeble weapons and pacifist attitude against the Dwarves who came with vast engines of war.100 years of preparation had more than equipped the Dwarves for victory, all the while the Allorn agents sat back and wasted no Allorn lives on the destruction of the Dregodar heretics. In a pivotal moment of the battle, Aurora was supposedly slain by a Dwarven Wyvern-killer weapon, but unleashed a massive magical spell that warped Ellador into a hellish frozen wasteland.
-Dwarven fashion is often based on the environment they find themselves in, with flowing fabrics being worn in warmer areas such as Farah'deen, while pelts and thick tunics are worn in the Holds of Ellador. Regardless of climate, jewelry and decoration play a notable role in Dwarven fashion. Of special pride to the Dwarves are their ornately worked belts, often engraved with detailed metal embellishments meant to detail the achievements of the wearer’s ancestors and the symbolism of their lineage. Beard decorations are also a popular practice for men, who are known to grow their facial hair long in order to stylize it in various patterns with rings clasping the hair together. Other jewelry features necklaces, bracelets, and rings made of precious metals, with gemstones finishing off the look. Dwarves believe that these precious metals and stones are of immense importance to Duindin, and so make efforts to collect as much jewelry as possible, in order to offer it as an offering during the monthly ritual of the New Moon. This is where the stereotype of Dwarves being greedy comes from, as many outsiders just believe that the Dwarves are trying to hoard Aloria’s treasures from everyone else, without knowing the religious implications behind it (or even that said treasure is to be destroyed by fire).
-==World View==
+The whole Dwarven army was killed by frost on the spot, while all the Dregodar became Isldar. The nearby hold of Rammtuunh which had its gates open to supply the battle also saw its forge die down in a near instant, and all inhabitants freeze to death in a matter of minutes. Recent historical review, following the outbreak of the Isldar Civil War and subsequent discoveries of the true fate of Aurora, have pointed out that it was not Aurora who committed this act of grand genocide, but the Glacial Ordial God who preyed on Aurora’s moment of doubt and weakness about her cause, and invaded her mind, using Dragon Magic to inflict death on the world while holding Aurora’s soul hostage in an undead Dragon’s rotting vessel. This was made worse by the awakening of the Dakkar; fanatical Power [[Arken]] worshipers who started a religious war against the Dwarves from the far deep, manipulating their tunnels and giving the Dwarves a rude awakening that they were not the only race living in the deep tunnels by flooding many of the holds with lava and armies of stone-scaled lizard-men. Hold after Hold fell with millions of Dwarves being killed in the process, and several million more afterwards dying of famine and isolation caused by the collapse of the vast network of tunnels.
-World View is optional content that helps give Dwarves flavor and depth.
-*Dwarves are approving of [[Magic]], but mostly in a mundane, assisting role. For example, a Dwarven Fire-Mage is helpful for igniting the forges of a smithy or starting a boiler, but the internal heating systems found in Dwarven homes are completely mechanical in nature.
-*Dwarves are extremely supportive of [[Engineering]], especially Steamtech, which they invented. Many modern inventions found in the [[Regalian Empire]], such as [[Airships]] and internal heating, were first invented by the Dwarves and have only recently been introduced to the Empire in recent decades.
-*Dwarves have also contributed to the Regalian Military by improving cannon technology and siege architecture.
-*Dwarves are mostly against slavery, as they are well aware that their own Race has been taken away by the Isldar to do harsh labor. Dwarves often go out of their way to liberate a Dwarf in slavery, even if it means the death of both the liberators and the slave, as the Dwarves believe that it is better to die free than in chains. However, this sympathy is not given to either Isldar or Altalar, who the Dwarves are likely to turn their backs on due to the Eternal Grudges against both of them.
-*Dwarven warfare often involved heavily armored infantry equipped with heavy warhammers and axes. Their weapons are often seen as clunky and unwieldy by other Races, due to the fact that they are often sized to the Dwarf in question, and usually heavier than their larger counterparts used by other Races.
-*Dwarves are heavily against Dragons and anything Dragon-related. It is not uncommon for a Dwarf to destroy the windows of a local Dragon Temple or attack those who are affiliated with the Dragons.
-*Dwarves are against [[Mutations]] and [[Afflictions]], especially [[Vampirism]], given that the Great Holds are close to the [[Dorkarthi Desprinces]] in Ellador.
-*Dwarves have a strong drinking culture, and often gather at taverns or pubs to celebrate the most arbitrary of occasions. It is said that Dwarves make the best drinking buddies, and are always eager to hear about the most mundane events over a mug of alcohol.
-*Dwarven artwork is strongly linked to stonework and craftsmanship in tools and jewelry. While paintings are uncommon, Dwarven walls inside the Great Holds have ornately carved images on the walls with gems and metals adding color to them, with runic messages chiseled underneath to tell the story of whatever artwork is presented.
-*Dwarves are very fond of stews, as they are great for communal dining and utilizing ingredients which can grow in subterranean environments, such as mushrooms.
-==Trivia==
+When the dust of the conflict settled and the final defensive lines held, there were only two holds left: Grebor which was once a cattle farm for the Dwarven Empire, hastily converted to a defensive hold, and Anduin, which once acted as the bureaucratic capital of the Dwarven Empire, but now had ledgers upon ledgers and cabinets upon cabinets of data stored for an Empire that no longer existed, instead melting its desks and boxes into barricades and using the bureaucratic paper as fuel for the furnaces. Both of these Holds are on the southwestern tip of Ellador, and all other Holds, including the connections to them across the oceans, were lost. Some went silent without a word, some died in calamitous manners like volcanic submersion, or mass-slaughter by the Dakkar. The surviving holds are still routinely under attack by the Dakkar, and some even by Isldar who want to keep Dwarven reclaimers away from their territory, but are generally considered stable, even if both barely have 80,000 inhabitants between them left. Many Velheim have also moved in, supplementing both defenders and caretakers of the local economy so that there is a roughly stable position from which the Dwarves could consider reclaiming their empire, but there are still millions of Power seduced Dakkar living in their old collapsed holds, and the Isldar and Vampires also make expansion on the surface hellish.
-*The Ailor inventions of modern slippers and bathrobes have struck a certain chord with Dwarves, and it is not out of place to see a rugged, burly-chested armorsmith donning a pair of innocent bunny slippers in the comfortable confines of his home, as comical as it sounds.
+===Trivia===
-*The two largest Diaspora Clans are the Saendr Clan in the Qadir [[Confederated Hadrityas]], and the Dredger Clan which sails around the [[Windward Seas]].
+* If there would be any type of person who hates the Ordial, it would be Dwarves. There was something so sickeningly evil (in the eyes of the Dwarves) for the Glacial to use Dragon Magic to cause death just to empower herself and for the glee of it, and then further to also lie about it and pretend to be a Dragon all along.
-*According to Altalar sources, it is said that High King Grebor has purple irises. Dwarves reject this claim, as the Dogma of Duindin does not describe Duindin other than the Dwarves being made in his likeness. Dwarven statues also lack any colors beyond the gem and metalcraft of the person’s jewelry, adding to the uncertainty.
+* Just because Dwarves and Velheim Ailor are closely allied, does not mean they are incapable of struggling with one another. Dwarves and Velheim both are somewhat ignorant and very stubborn people, so conflicts frequently arise over who has the best warriors and the most honor.
+* Contrary to popular belief, you can always tell the difference between a short Ailor and a Dwarf, purely by looking at the length of their arms and the size of their feet and hands in comparison to the rest of their body.
-{{Races}}
+{{Peoples}}
 {{Accreditation
-|Writers = FireFan96
+|Writers = MonMarty
-|Processors = MantaRey, Magivore, Jouster
+|Processors = Okadoka, birdsfoot_violet, FireFan96
 }}
-[[category:races]] [[category:Human Races]]
+[[category:Heritages]] [[Category:Human]]