Hill Dwarf

Personality

Dwarves are slow to laugh or jest and suspicious of strangers, but they are generous to those few who earn their trust. Dwarves value gold, gems, jewelry, and art objects made with these precious material, and they have been known to succumb to greed. They fight neither recklessly nor timidly, but with careful courage and tenacity. Their sense of justice is strong, but at its worst it can turn into a thirst for vengeance. Among gnomes, who get along famously with dwarves, a mild oath is “If I’m lying, may I cross a dwarf.”

Physical Description

Hill dwarves stand only 4 to 4 ½ feet tall, but they are so broad and compact that they are, on average, almost as heavy as humans. Dwarf men are slightly taller and noticeably heavier than dwarf women. Dwarves skin is typically deep tan or light brown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black, gray, or brown, and worn long. Dwarf men value their beards highly and groom them very carefully. Dwarves favor simple styles for their hair, beards, and clothes. Dwarves are considered adults at about age 40, and they can live to be more than 400 years old.

Relations

Lowland dwarves often interact freely with gnomes, but also trade with haflings, humans and half-elves. While they respect elven warriors, they have little in common with elven culture or religion. In general, dwarves are polite but succinct, and their lack of solicitousness comes across as rude to cultures such as the Svimohzish, which consider such thing as banter to be necessary courtesy.

Dwarves prefer to live among other dwarves, not out of dislike for other races, but because they prefer their own customs, languages and traditions. When dwarves live among humans or other races, they tend to work as artisans, craftsmen or mercenaries.

Alignment

Dwarves are usually lawful, and they tend toward good. Adventuring dwarves are less likely to fit the common mold, however, since they’re more likely to be these who did not fit perfectly into dwarven society.

Hill Dwarf Lands

Hill dwarves, also call “Adurek” in dwarven tend to live in vast underground cities. These communities rival human settlements in size, but they keep this information hidden from their enemies. Large extended families live in smaller settlements of only a few hundred and these are scattered across Tellene, typically clustered around a rich vein of ore. Lowland dwarves can be found in the foothills of any mountains, but there are high concentrations near the Kakidela and Ka’Asa ranges. Because of their exile from Karasta, many lowland dwarves now live in southwestern Reannaria as well.

Religion

Lowland dwarves favor worship of the Founder, The Speaker of the Word, the True and the Powermaster. The Founder’s teachings resonate with most lowland dwarves, even those who dedicate their lives to another god. Among dwarves of evil alignment, the most corrupting are the Emperor of Scorn, who plays upon their distrust of other races, the Jealous Eye, who plays upon their greed, and the Dark one.

Languages

Adurek speak the same languages as highland dwarves. They speak dwarven among themselves, but they prefer to use another language with an outsider. Since it is difficult to master, the dwarven language is difficult to comprehend and painful to hear when attempted by a non-fluent speaker.

Adventures

As adventurers lowland dwarves make excellent fighters. Their skill at arms is renowned, and their hardiness and durability are legendary. Their endurance and discipline make them excellent shock troops. They also make faithful, dedicated clerics and paladins, wise druids and dependable sorcerers. Their culture scorns theft, but rogues who serve as mountain guides or spies against their racial enemies can earn respect. Hill dwarves avoid wizardry and even sorcery is rare among them. They sometimes become very disciplined and powerful psionic character, but they are more likely to be deadly psychic warriors, fighting alongside their mundane allies with unusual skills.