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{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px;"
{{Info races
|
|image = Dwarfsplash.png
{| style="border:0px solid #A3B1BF; float:right;" width="270px"
|pronunciation = Dwoh-rf
|- style="background:#F8FFAE; height:34px; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle; text-size:large"
|classification = [[Human]]
|'''Dwarf'''
|nicknames =
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
*Stout Folk (endearing)
| style="height:120px" valign="top"|
*Fallen Folk (derogatory)
[[File:Dwarfsmaller.png|200px|center]]
*Forge Fathers (praising)
|}
|languages = Barrudh
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
|naming = Old Norse with permutations
| style="height:20px; width:270px; text-align:center;" | '''Pronunciation:''' (Dwa-rf).
|distinction = Stout, mountain-dwelling people who show unerring perseverance and skill with crafting
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
|maxage = 200 years
| style="height:20px; width:270px; text-align:center;" | '''Common Nicknames:''' Stout Folk, Deep Folk.
|eye = brown, gray, green, and blue.
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
|hair = Blond, brown, black, red, and (when older) gray or white.
| style="height:20px; width:270px; text-align:center;" | '''Classification:''' Human.
|skin =  
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
[[File:Skin1.png]]
| style="height:20px; width:270px; text-align:center;" | '''Max Age:''' 200.
[[File:Skin2.png]]
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
[[File:Skin4.png]]
| style="height:20px; width:270px; text-align:center;" | '''Naming Customs:''' Dwarven names have a fantasy feeling about them, with their surnames being either a reflection of their clans, or a moniker consisting of actual words. Use a [http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/ Fantasy Name Generator] to brainstorm.
[[File:Skin3.png]]
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
|}}
| style="height:20px; width:270px; text-align:center;" | '''Languages:''' Dwarven, Common.
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.
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
 
| style="height:20px; width:270px; text-align:center;" | '''Subraces:'''
==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 the Cains, Jorrhildr, the Three Skags, and Drowda, 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 or 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 Bene Rexit, the Death Isldar, who worship the Glacial, the mother of all genocide on the Dwarves. 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).
===Racial Abilities and 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 some Abilities styled around their survival and resilience, and other Specials to do with their old customs and way of life. Half Race characters select a Dominant parent, and take all the Racials & Specials from that dominant parent. (In this case, a dominant parent Dwarf would be Half-Dwarf) Half races must have a majority of their physical features come from their dominant parent, including but not limited to skin tone, hair or fur color, ear shape, or eye color.
{| 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.}}
|-
| style="background-color:#D6C0A0;" | Disarm Immune
| Constant Passive
| Self
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Disarm Immune | The user is immune to any Abilities, Specials, or Mechanics that would disarm them of their weapon, or degrade or destroy it.
}}
| {{#simple-tooltip: Dwarf | This Ability also applies to Shields the Dwarf is using.}}
|-
|-
| style="width:270px;" |
:''None.''
|}
|}
* '''Craft Masters:''' Dwarves are craftmasters, and as such, a Dwarf may choose one Crafting Point Buy Pack for free without Proficiency investment. Additionally, they can recognize any material with sight and touch.
* '''Enduring Masters:''' Dwarves make items that last. Dwarven forged items never rust, and never dull with time, only combat use can degrade any weapons they have made, and do so very slowly with the roughest of use.
* '''Artifact Rage:''' Dwarves have a strange ability to sap the powers from an Artifact. While holding an Artifact in their hand and not taking possession of it, an Artifact can have all Abilities disabled for a week.
* '''Hardy Body:''' Dwarves do not need armor to defend themselves. While they can still bruise, bleed, and feel pain and obviously get hit more, their own toughness gives them equal durability to weaning actual armor.
* '''Deep Affinity:''' While in the Regalian Sewers, or in the Dwarven District near the Noble District Teleport, Dwarves gain +2 Constitution that can break the Proficiency Limit. Additionally they can see perfectly underground.
* '''Sick Defense:''' Dwarves can get sick, but become far less debilitatingly ill than other Races, able to soldier on with a sniff. Dwarves additionally cannot have Blood Sickness or Soul Sickness from Afflictions.
* '''Infect Defense:''' Dwarves cannot be infected by Afflictions, either Cahal or Vampire or Geist, unless they want to be infected by them and cannot be drank/drained by Vampires, Cahal, or Geists, as they taste “putrid”.
* '''Strong Body:''' Dwarves have a lot of physical power packed in a smaller body, and are capable of (outside of combat) lift weights and objects much heavier than their total body weight, even with minimal training.
* '''Rexit Scourge:''' While attacking any Bene Rexit Isldar or Geists, their attacks count as if they have +1 Strength that can break Proficiency Cap, but only for attacks directly aimed at Bene Rexit Isldar or Geists.
* '''Revile Elders:''' Dwarves have somehow developed an immunity to the invasive Specials of the Teledden, being immune to Elder Voice and Elleyon’s Gaze, two Specials used by the Teledden Race.
* '''Deep Lunch:''' Dwarves are extremely hardy and can consume most things others would not be able to eat, like lichen, moss, dried animal carcasses, and deep-soil insects, and receive nutritional benefits.
* '''Don’t Toss:''' If an Ally uses the Mundane Technique Ally Throw on a Dwarf, this Ability still works as described, but the Dwarf is not affected by the Knock Over that is applied on the landing part.
* '''Don’t Throw:''' If any Person uses the Mundane Technique Bouncer Throw on a Dwarf, this Ability does not work. Instead, the Dwarf can counter with a (guaranteed hit) punch on the Person.
* '''Get Down:''' Dwarves gain the Athletic Point Buy: Shaker Pack for free without the Proficiency Investment Cost, allowing them to use Building Smash with their superior construction knowledge and insight.


The Dwarves are a strong, hardworking people, who have suffered both great losses and enjoyed times of wondrous prosperity. Short, stocky folk with pale and ruddy skin, the Dwarves are a somewhat uncommon sight in Aloria nowadays. The stout folk have spread all over Aloria after suffering greatly in their wars with the [[Dakkar]]. While some have retained their few remaining holds, most have become part of [[Ailor]] societies. Despite their integration with other Alorians, the Dwarven people have remained an almost admirably stubborn folk in both work and play. This race has a deep, rich history of wealth and war.
==Culture==
 
===Language===
==Physical Characteristics==
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.
Alorian Dwarves are an imposing people, despite their stout size. While most are between 4’3" and 4’9" at maturity, their long beards and stocky, yet strong bodies make for a defiant stature. The stout folk are usually pale, and rough skin shows their familiarity with hard work. In most respects they resemble smaller Ailor, albeit with slightly more exaggerated features. They are incredibly hardy in comparison to the other races; less susceptible to pain and illnesses. Most possess muscular builds, with emphasis on their forearms and legs. Their hands and feet are slightly enlarged in proportion to normal human feet and hands. While a majority of Dwarves have long beards, it is not universal. The differences between male and female Dwarves are not greatly pronounced; female Dwarves resemble male Dwarves, albeit with slightly more effeminate build and a lack of any facial hair. Dwarves typically live to the age of 100. Their maturity is homogenous to the race; they mature around 20, begin to show a depression in age at 50, and die after they’re in their 90’s. Most Dwarves do not live to die of old age, falling in combat or in the dangerous work of hard labour. Dwarves that spend long amounts of time underground usually die of lung related illnesses from the fumes and constrained corridors of mining halls.
 
''More on [[Dwarven Physical Characteristics]]''
 
==Mental Characteristics==
Dwarves are known to be a stubborn lot, but incredibly loyal. They are determined not only in their ways and practices, but physically focused on completing tasks. They are a people whose dedication to a practice can override their common sense and their instincts. Dwaves, while not overtly intelligent, have a keen attention span for the task at hand, whether that be chopping wood or planning a course of attack. In terms of combat, they are proficient in thinking of unorthodox terms of strategy, to the point of reckless abandon. Their pure creativity is somewhat lacking, but their driven nature typically makes up for this. Dwarves don’t tend to vary too much in terms of mentality; one would expect a Dwarf to generally be a gruff, hardworking individual, valuing the tenets of loyalty. While not universal, most Dwarves have a task-based view on life, seeing their lot in life as a never ending list of challenges and obstacles, which can make them come off as both dour and optimistic. Older Dwarves tend to be more calm and solemn, lacking the firebrand nature of younger members of the stout race.
 
''More on [[Dwarven Mental Characteristics]]''


* 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 Power Arken, 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 [[Old Gods]] 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 Old Gods 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 final damage done by Aurora, the Violet Dragon, the Dwarven Race collectively abandoned the faith of Duindún and mass converted to the Old Gods faith. This coincided with the sudden appearance of Dáuw, who proved his goodhood, and then led the Dwarven people to join forces with the Old Gods 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==
==History==
The history of the Dwarven race is a sad one. Existing for centuries untold underground, they did not participate in the third [[Void Invasion]]. Instead, the Dwarves shut their gates to the evil, not wishing to kill themselves for the sake of strangers. During the time they were shut in, the stout folk began digging deeper and deeper. Then around 197 AC, the Dwarves dug too deep and breached the ancient caves of the Dakkar, a [[Naylar]] subrace with a fiery, stony disposition. Before they knew it, they found themselves in an all-out war with these warlike reptiles. The war was brought about, by most accounts, due to the stout folk tunneling into a temple of the Dakkar Gods, defacing it in the process. The Dwarves had many powerful weapons, but few were effective on such beings in their territories. After a long, drawn out war, the Dwarves began to retreat to the surface. Towards the final years of the war, the stout folk attempted to crush the Dakkar by collapsing their many travel tunnels spanning the underside of [[Ellador]], yet this attempt failed, and nearly half of the Dwarven race was wiped out in the war.
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.  


Moving to the surface as recently as 50 years ago, the Dwarves have split into many clans, some venturing into Human settlements on their own. The aforementioned separated clans have recently began to form small kingdoms, hoping to capture the prosperous times the race once enjoyed. A small amount of dwarves still live in refugee camps from the wars, but more and more are integrating into the societies of the other races. Settlements and towns sprout up where Dwarfs and other races integrate, some even close to mines or fortresses as a tribute to tradition. To this day, Dwarves find good work all across Aloria. Not to be forgotten is the viciousness of the diminutive folk, as they can hold a grudge for many decades, especially against the races they’ve warred with. As a result, finding hostility toward Dakkar on the surface is uncommon when a Dwarf is involved.
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.


''More on [[Dwarven History]]''
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.


==Society==
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.  
The social structure in pure Dwarven societies are peculiar. There are no clear “superiors” in the societies. There are commanders and veterans in combat who take the lead, but each Dwarf respects and cares for their kin, heeding their advice as well as they would their kings. While clans of Dwarves are led by kings, and practically take orders from said leader, this race has no superiority or inferiority in how they treat their kin. Loyalty is more than a word; it is a way of life for Dwarves. They would take pleasure in rescuing the lowest Dwarf, for saving a companion means much to them. For this reason, Dwarves make exceedingly good allies. The stout folk are also often given to revenge on an enemy. Sometimes a Dwarf may wait for decades to exact revenge, for Dwarves are patient beings.


When Dwarves intermingle with other societies and races, they often adapt most of their hierarchy and ranks. However, their devotion to their kin, their loyalty, and their adamance on whatever task they've been given still ring true.
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 reclamators 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===
''More on [[Dwarven Society]]''
* 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.  
===Politics===
* 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.  
In Dwarven clans, the system of government is a curious one. In the days of the three great [[Three Dwarven Kingdoms|Dwarven Kingdoms]], there was usually a “King” in charge of said land. However, one cannot think of these rulers as noble or elegant folk; rather, the king of a Dwarven clan was more often than not the one hardest at work, toiling in the mines or leading a charge in battle. Hard work and sacrifice was valued by the Dwarven people, and this was emphasized by how their leaders acted and treated those “beneath” them; with fair and equal respect. There was of course a chain of command, but kinsmanship was a common trait in Dwarven government. The “lowest” in Dwarven classes are usually the miners, but some are held in positions of great respect as well. In present times, what Dwarves that have gathered into groups fall into similar, if slightly more monarchical systems of government.
 
''More on [[Dwarven Politics]]''
 
===Culture===   
Dwarves tend to, as a rule, be gruff. They admire and enjoy hard work, perhaps only enjoying good drink and food after days full of working and prospering. They are generally a unified folk, enjoying company and singing to relax. Men and women hold very similar roles, though female leaders of clans are a rare thing since most women prefer to work as smiths and cooks. Dwarves enjoy many sorts of meats, not being too picky about where the creature comes from. Many of the stout folk get experimental with their food, often wondering how a cooked dog leg, or perhaps the arm of a [[troll]] may taste. They have a love for ale, often using it as “Holy Water” during religious ceremonies. They are educated in a roughly similar manner to humans, learning to read and write in their own tongue, and many being trained to speak Common. Along with normal education, a Dwarf will also be educated on either mining, fighting, or in a few cases, train as merchants and envoys for others. They are quite advanced in the arts of warfare and technology, and Dwarves hold credit for inventing [[airships]] and various forms of canons. They express art through their fine weapons, often spending weeks on a single craft to achieve perfection. When not making fine weapons and steel goods, they enjoy drinking, feasting, hiking, and being among their closest kin. They are a folk that generally prefer to work, often seeing it as play. They dress in simple leather, usually hide, with basic cloths. Brown is a common color among the stout folk, having little use for finer colors in their society. Those of higher rank usually dress in nicer armor, with elaborate helmets signifying their rank.
 
''More on [[Dwarven Culture]]''
 
===Religion===
The most prominent religion of the Dwarven people is the [[Dogma of Duindin]]. While some praise him as an actual godly figure, others in the Dwarven community believe he was the first king of the very first Dwarven clan. Whatever his actual status, Duindin embodies that by which the Dwarven race identifies; the tenets of hard work, loyalty, justice, and kinsmanship. The priests of this god are no less hardworking than their fighting kin, but prefer to practice the arts of basic healing. The only division in Dogma of Duindin lies in who they believed he was, but the faith is taught the same regardless. There are next to no Dwarven cults specific to the race, but renegade stout folk have been known to flock to human cults, to be used as bodyguards and brutes.
 
''More on [[Dwarven Religion]]''
 
===Economy===
Among themselves, Dwarves do not have a set form of currency; they barter goods and shipments, usually food in exchange for forged goods and vice versa. When dealing with the other races, they do keep a supply of gold and currency on hand, but mostly offer their fine goods in exchange for different forms of currency, or large shipments of supplies. They have a fairly organized system; miners will bring their goods to the great forges that usually serve as a central housing and work hub of their communities. Those goods are then taken to other communities, usually in secret, to be sold and bartered. Dwarves are renowned not only for the fine weapons and armor they make, but the goblets, silverware, and other steel goods they produce. Their skill for such craft is unmatched, and is envied by the other goodly races, especially humans.
 
''More on [[Dwarven Economy]]''
 
===Combat and Warfare===
In combat, the Dwarven folk are a fierce people. They share the common belief of unity in battle, and a sort of “controlled frenzy” that leaves their enemies at a total loss. In dueling combat, there is a fair saying among the bearded folk “The axe cuts the tendons at the back of the knee, the war hammer crushes said kneecap.” This is evident when they take on larger foes, specifically [[Orcs]] and [[ogres]], of whom they are often at military odds with. They are an aggressive folk, but will usually not attack unless provoked. That said, if a Dwarf caught sight of an orc, or worse yet, a Dakkar, in the wilds, a battle would quickly take place. They are fast to judge, and once they begin a fight, a Dwarf will rarely stop until the remains of the their victim stain their own clothes. Of recent, the Dwarves have had major wars with the Dakkar, nearly wiping out their own race. Nowadays, now that the two races have somewhat separated, Orcs and Ogres occupy their time and efforts in military feats.
 
''More on [[Dwarven Warfare]]''
 
==Trivia==
*Contrary to popular belief, Dwarven women do not grow beards. At all.
*In Dwarven legend, it is said the Dwarves were the first race to be born unto Aloria, sprouting up from the ground with the mountains they would come to mine.
*The Dwarven folk get on quite well with elves.
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*Written by [[user:Jared4242|Jared4242]].
[[category:races]] [[category:Human Races]]
*Processed by [[user:Shayin|Shayin]], [[user:Jamescl|Jamescl]] and [[user:Ryciera|Ryciera]].

Revision as of 19:54, 24 November 2022

Dwarf
Dwarfsplash.png
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

Skin1.png Skin2.png Skin4.png

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.

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 the Cains, Jorrhildr, the Three Skags, and Drowda, 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 or 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 Bene Rexit, the Death Isldar, who worship the Glacial, the mother of all genocide on the Dwarves. 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).

Racial Abilities and 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 some Abilities styled around their survival and resilience, and other Specials to do with their old customs and way of life. Half Race characters select a Dominant parent, and take all the Racials & Specials from that dominant parent. (In this case, a dominant parent Dwarf would be Half-Dwarf) Half races must have a majority of their physical features come from their dominant parent, including but not limited to skin tone, hair or fur color, ear shape, or eye color.

Ability Name Ability Type Ability Range Ability Description Modifiers
Weapon Summon Summon Power Self Grants the user Weapon Summon

Dwarf Modifier

Control Immune Constant Passive Self Grants the user Control Immune

Dwarf Modifier

Disarm Immune Constant Passive Self Grants the user Disarm Immune

Dwarf

  • Craft Masters: Dwarves are craftmasters, and as such, a Dwarf may choose one Crafting Point Buy Pack for free without Proficiency investment. Additionally, they can recognize any material with sight and touch.
  • Enduring Masters: Dwarves make items that last. Dwarven forged items never rust, and never dull with time, only combat use can degrade any weapons they have made, and do so very slowly with the roughest of use.
  • Artifact Rage: Dwarves have a strange ability to sap the powers from an Artifact. While holding an Artifact in their hand and not taking possession of it, an Artifact can have all Abilities disabled for a week.
  • Hardy Body: Dwarves do not need armor to defend themselves. While they can still bruise, bleed, and feel pain and obviously get hit more, their own toughness gives them equal durability to weaning actual armor.
  • Deep Affinity: While in the Regalian Sewers, or in the Dwarven District near the Noble District Teleport, Dwarves gain +2 Constitution that can break the Proficiency Limit. Additionally they can see perfectly underground.
  • Sick Defense: Dwarves can get sick, but become far less debilitatingly ill than other Races, able to soldier on with a sniff. Dwarves additionally cannot have Blood Sickness or Soul Sickness from Afflictions.
  • Infect Defense: Dwarves cannot be infected by Afflictions, either Cahal or Vampire or Geist, unless they want to be infected by them and cannot be drank/drained by Vampires, Cahal, or Geists, as they taste “putrid”.
  • Strong Body: Dwarves have a lot of physical power packed in a smaller body, and are capable of (outside of combat) lift weights and objects much heavier than their total body weight, even with minimal training.
  • Rexit Scourge: While attacking any Bene Rexit Isldar or Geists, their attacks count as if they have +1 Strength that can break Proficiency Cap, but only for attacks directly aimed at Bene Rexit Isldar or Geists.
  • Revile Elders: Dwarves have somehow developed an immunity to the invasive Specials of the Teledden, being immune to Elder Voice and Elleyon’s Gaze, two Specials used by the Teledden Race.
  • Deep Lunch: Dwarves are extremely hardy and can consume most things others would not be able to eat, like lichen, moss, dried animal carcasses, and deep-soil insects, and receive nutritional benefits.
  • Don’t Toss: If an Ally uses the Mundane Technique Ally Throw on a Dwarf, this Ability still works as described, but the Dwarf is not affected by the Knock Over that is applied on the landing part.
  • Don’t Throw: If any Person uses the Mundane Technique Bouncer Throw on a Dwarf, this Ability does not work. Instead, the Dwarf can counter with a (guaranteed hit) punch on the Person.
  • Get Down: Dwarves gain the Athletic Point Buy: Shaker Pack for free without the Proficiency Investment Cost, allowing them to use Building Smash with their superior construction knowledge and insight.

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 Power Arken, 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 Old Gods 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 Old Gods 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 final damage done by Aurora, the Violet Dragon, the Dwarven Race collectively abandoned the faith of Duindún and mass converted to the Old Gods faith. This coincided with the sudden appearance of Dáuw, who proved his goodhood, and then led the Dwarven people to join forces with the Old Gods 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 reclamators 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
Last Editor HydraLana on 11/24/2022.

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