Editing Dwarf (section)

=Subraces=
Though the dwarven concept is regarded as fairly homogenous, the truth is that dwarves do have some racial diversity - perhaps not so much as the [[elf]] or [[gnome]] races, but they've had their fair share of variant cultures and subraces over the years.

Tolkien himself gives one example in the [[Silmarillion]], the Petty-Dwarves, who aren't a subspecies so much as some clans who were cast out by the other clans. For the rest of their history, see the [[Middle Earth]] page section on them.

The most classic dwarf subraces are the '''Hill Dwarf''' and the '''Mountain Dwarf'''. Both adhere to the same basic outline established elsewhere on this thread. The difference is their choice of living habits and their personality.

''Hill Dwarves'' live in hill-country, and tend to live closer to the surface - or even on the surface - as well as being the most "wanderlusty" of the dwarven subraces; instead of staying cooped up in cavern homes all the time, hill dwarves have been known to travel regularly, either for work or just for the sake of seeing the sights! They are the most common dwarven subrace, and also the most diplomatic; they have the most contact with other [[demihuman]] races and so are the most friendly and open-minded of the dwarves. You know, by comparison. Hill dwarves tend to put comparatively less focus on mining, or occupy themselves with more "practical" mining pursuits - coal, iron, and copper. Smithcraft is usually more important, as they tend to make more money through trade.

''Mountain Dwarves'', as the name suggests, occupy the high mountainous regions of the world, where they accommodate the lack of horizontal terrain by burrowing into the cliffs and occupying completely subterranean homes. Mountain Dwarves are typically richer than hill dwarves, as their homes are better sources of gemstones and precious metals. Add in that their choice of landscape abounds in [[dragon]]s, [[orc]]s and [[goblinoid]]s (amongst other monsters), and it makes sense that they tend to be both more professionally war-like and more suspicious of outsiders. Mountain dwarves often are (or at least claim to be) the "original" version of the dwarf race, and feuding with their hill dwarf cousins isn't unheard of. In fact, in the [[Dragonlance]] setting, the mountain/hill dwarf feuds are more bitter and bloody than the elf/dwarf feuds!

'''[[Duergar]]''' are the third of the "core" dwarf subraces. They're covered in more detail on their own page, but in a nutshell, they are the obligatory "evil [[Underdark]] subrace", the dwarven analogue to [[Drow]]. Interesting in part for their characterization as the worst impulses of the dwarf race, but without their cousins' redeeming qualities. Notably the most psychic of the dwarves.

'''Deep Dwarves''' are a dwarven strain that has adapted to life in the [[Underdark]]. They're more or less the dwarf equivalent of [[Svirfneblin]]; they live down in the dark but they're not evil, just somewhat justifiably reclusive and xenophobic. Introduce in AD&D, the deep dwarves miraculously made it into 3e based solely on their presence in the [[Forgotten Realms]], but because they lack any cultural nuance beyond being "non-evil duergar", they never really caught on and have basically been forgotten ever since.

'''Sunderered Dwarves''' are a subrace introduced in [[The Complete Book of]] Dwarves, and are basically former clans of hill or mountain dwarves who have been forced to live exclusively on the surface after some catastrophic event chased them away. In fact they are now incapable of handling prolonged periods underground, suffering racially from claustrophobia, which compels them to inhabit surface settlements and often live alongside other races. You'd think that this would make them much more socially adept than other dwarves, but nope; they're just described as miserable, tortured creatures full of self-loathing. The idea was so badly handled that they never were revived.

'''[[Derro]]''' are another [[Underdark]]-dwelling species of short humanoids, who may or may not be part of the dwarf family tree; it depends on edition.

'''Arctic Dwarves''' (who call themselves "Innugaakalikurit") are, as the name suggests, a tundra dwelling dwarf subrace who have forsaken the traditional miner's lifestyle of their kin for a simpler life as hunter-gatherers. Described as short and squat even by dwarf standards, these white-haired dwarves favor the harpoon and the bow over the axe and the pick. They love to sunbathe, being impervious to both the cold and to the pain that should normally result when their skin turns red from an overexposure to the sun. This subrace was native to the [[Forgotten Realms]], and appeared in an AD&D [[splatbook]] relating to "The Great Glacier", but the concept of an arctic dwarf has been touched upon in a more setting neutral fashion in 3rd edition. In Eberron the '''Glacier Dwarves''', or "Toldun Nordorthak", are those who remained on the Frostfell and continued to adapt to it instead migrating south. They aren't given a stat block, but presumably are just the 3E Arctic Dwarves.

'''Wild Dwarves''' are another Faerunian subrace; primitive, jungle-dwelling tribals who pursue an almost feral existence in the tropical forests of Chult, and to the Mhair and Black Jungles. Wielding poisoned weapons and going about naked, they worship their own patron god, [[Thard Harr]] and do little other than hunt, mate and sleep. Introduced in "Dwarves Deep" for AD&D, their resemble to [[/pol/|pygmy stereotypes]] has made them increasingly uncomfortable to many players.

'''Chultan Dwarves''' are albino dwarves native to the jungles of Chult in the [[Forgotten Realms]], who first appeared in the splatbook "Jungles of Chult". Whilst they lack the abundant metal resources of their kin, they are not as primitive as their Wild Dwarf cousins. Based on their recent reappearance in 5e's [[Tomb of Annihilation]], where they were described as more primitive than they had been in AD&D, WoTC may be planning to make them subsume the "jungle dwarf" aspect from their Wild Dwarf cousins.

'''Desert Dwarves''' are another Faerunian dwarf subrace, consisting of stranded dwarves who have adapted to survive in the desert cliffs of [[Maztica]]. Aside from their darker skin, they're basically identical to normal dwarves, which has led to their being forgotten; 3e did touch upon the archetype with both Desert Dwarves in [[Unearthed Arcana]] and Badlands Dwarves in Sandstorm.

'''[[Gully Dwarves]]''' are the most infamous and hated of all the dwarf subraces. Originating from dwarves breeding with gnomes in the [[Dragonlance]] setting, they can be basically described as "what if dwarves had devolved to fill the role normally taken by [[goblin]]s?" Dirty, slovenly, stupid creatures, [[gully dwarves]] are regarded in-universe and out as an embarrassment, huddling in ruins or the trash-heaps of other races and grubbing out a meager existence on the leavings of other, greater peoples. The fact that they sound like they were written by a goddamn [[nazi]] geneticist is probably why they haven't been mentioned in recent editions.

'''[[Kogolor]]s''' (Or "Kogolor Dwarves") are technically the oldest dwarves in all of D&D; native to [[Mystara]], these dwarves are literally the ancestor species of the modern dwarf, and are much more like gnomes in behavior... which is fitting because they're also the ancestor of gnomes, too. Most notably, they lack the dwarven knack for craftsmanship - save in brewing beer, ale and wine - and are cheerful, outgoing, friendly and welcoming. Also, absurdly Alpine German, to the point of dressing in lederhosen and having a special proficiency in yodelling. Because of the Great Rain of Fire and the intervention of [[Kagyar]] the Artisan, they only survive in the [[Hollow World]], having been abandoned there after being replaced with "conventional" dwarves.

Though the above is pretty much the standard template for dwarves, some settings have shown some deviance from them... usually in the form of sub-races or offshoot clans.

==Elemental Dwarves==
Since the dawn of the game, the [[Element]]al Plane of Fire has been home to [[Azer]]s, who look like bronze-skinned dwarves with great flaming beards & hair. For most editions, they have been officially classified as "not dwarves", with Pathfinder describing them as a race of elemental constructs who just happen to look like dwarves (a step 5e basically stole). 4e, however, went and said "yes, they're dwarves; at the dawn of time, dwarves were slaves to [[giant]]s (who're [[elemental]]s) - the ones who didn't get away in time eventually became elementals themselves".

There's also the oft-forgotten Earth elemental the [[Galeb Duhr]], who became a rock-elemental dwarf in 3e and stayed that way in 4e.

Dwarves mutated into elemental beings or otherwise [[planetouched]] have always been a minor concept, but do exist. The most obvious are the [[Azerblood]]s, dwarven fire [[genasi]] descended from [[azer]]s, in 3rd edition. The oldest are the earth-manipulating, god-touched [[Urdunnir]] of the [[Forgotten Realms]]. 3rd edition introduced the obscure [[Frost Dwarf|Frost Dwarves]] as an extraplanar race, as well as obscure elementally-touched variant dwarf races. 4th edition introduced the [[Eisk Jaat]], an icy counterpart to the Azer and Galeb Duhr who, like them, descends from dwarves that mutated due to being trapped in the [[Elemental Chaos]] by the [[giant]]s.

[[Dragon Magazine]] #383 contains the rules and lore for Forgeborn Dwarves, a dwarfin variant representing clans who didn't ''quite'' get away from the Giants in time. They basically took a racial feat that gave them resistance to Acid, Cold, Fire and Lightning damage and let them deal bonus elemental damage whenever they hit someone once per encounter.

==Unique Strains==
For obvious reasons, this page has mostly talked about dwarves as depicted in [[Dungeons & Dragons]], which is the most widespread of /tg/ games and thus the most iconic depiction of dwarves. But, there are other games on /tg/ that have more unique depictions of dwarves...

The dwarves of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|have their own page]], but in a nutshell can be described as taking the D&D dwarf stereotype and cranking the knobs up a couple of notches. They are Grudge-obsessed, culturally unchanging, and absolutely racist fucks who only barely tolerate humans and hate every single other thing, especially each other when they have a reason, to varying degrees. They almost wiped themselves out just out of their inability to resolve conflicts such as those caused by an insult given by accident ten generations ago while a third invading force was on the march causing a three-way fight where the Dwarfs could only lose. But out of sheer tenacity and refusal to admit weakness or being wrong, they managed to make it to the [[End Times|death of the setting]] as a powerful force.

Their cousins, the evil [[Chaos Dwarfs]], force magic into their own bodies unnaturally (as Warhammer Dwarf bodies and minds resist and nullify magic) which slowly turns them to stone. They have an intense hatred of all other races but instead of good old boy conservatism/Grudge induced racism it's straight up [[Nazi]] tier, to the point of being like their kin with an even bigger Grudge. They are based on Mesopotamians, and the size and type of their hat is more important to them than a beard.

In [[Shadowrun]], the dwarven fondness for crafting and artisanship has led to them mostly abandoning old-fashioning smithing and turning to cybernetics and digital engineering - the iconic dwarf is a cybered-up hacker, not a warrior or a smith. Also, beards are basically unimportant to dwarves, but the males usually wear beards in order to stop humans from mistaking them for children.

In [[Castle Falkenstein]], dwarves are an all-male race of [[artificer]]s, who do the mining and smithing thing mostly to support their love of being mad scientist engineers. In fact, they used to be magical fairies, but they gave up their magic and their immortality (although they still live a long time) to be able to work with iron. They couldn't give two shits about their beards, are immune to fire and magic, are superhumanly strong, have goose-like feet (which they're very embarrassed about, so '''don't mention them'''), and reproduce by interbreeding with female fairies; sons are dwarves, daughters are fairies. Incidentally, this is why they tend to be so obsessed with making their mark on the world; this is the only way they can change their name to what they want, instead of being stuck with a typical fairy name like "Morningblossom" or "Buttercup". Also, rather than an axe, an angry dwarf will usually try and club you to death with a fuck-off-huge wrench.

In ''[[Wicked Fantasy]]'', they're called uvandir; don't call them dwarves if you value your kneecaps. They arrived in the Reign of Men along with the [[halfling|haffuns]] and [[gnome]]s when they popped through the wall of a mine shaft, having dug their way through the world to escape their alien masters. They integrated into human culture and improved on every human craft they encountered. They are immortal, tireless craftsmen who have no time for anything that isn't productive. They will suffer physically if they spend too much time ''not'' working, to the point of sitting down, lost in deep melancholy, until they literally turn to stone. The only thing that they'll do other than work is drink beer. The setting book sets aside a whole page for "THE UVANDIR LOVE BEER" in massive text. Uvandir miners don't just dig for precious stones and metals, they are also digging in search of sleeping brothers and their god.

''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' (hey, it has an official tabletop) has a race of elves that were called dwarves by the setting's [[Giant|giants]], and the name stuck. Properly referred to as "Dwemer", they are most notable for studying Creation until they found specific musical notes that change the very laws of nature, for being [[Malal#Necoho|die-hard atheists in a world filled with gods]], and for vaporising their entire people by building a colossal robot that flat-out denied out of existence everything it saw - including itself, linear time, [[Not as planned|and the race that built it]]. Thousands of years later their abandoned subterranean cities still stand, powered by geothermal steam, lit with gas lamps or arc lights, and patrolled by maintenance bots, murder bots and the occasional ghost. An insular and xenophobic people, the Dwemer weren't on good terms with anyone, seeing the other races either as idiots, savages, slaves, or test subjects. For an example of what happened to those who trusted them, the Dwemer [[Grimlock| alchemically blinded, then enslaved]] another elven race, the Falmer, on the brink of extinction just so they wouldn't have to share their knowledge or even the sight of their underground cities.