These short and stocky defenders of mountain fortresses are often seen as stern and humorless. Known for mining the earth’s treasures and crafting magnificent items from ore and gemstones, they have an unrivaled affinity for the bounties of the deep earth. Dwarves also have a tendency toward traditionalism and isolation that sometimes manifests as xenophobia.

You can find a more detailed description HERE.

Dwarves are driven by honor and tradition. While they are often stereotyped as standoffish, they have a strong sense of friendship and justice, and those who win their trust understand that while they work hard, they play even harder—especially when good ale is involved. Most dwarves are lawful good.

You can find a more detailed description HERE.

Dwarven settlements are not exactly the same everywhere you go but, there are some things that can be found in most dwarf settlements, such as Ale, Sausage, Nubbe Paste and Brass Bands which encapsulate traditional dwarf culture.

You can find a more detailed description HERE

Most Dwarves grow up in a mine-hold, and spend the rest of their lives living there. Some, such as hunters, traders and guards, travel outside the mine-hold, either locally or to set trading partners - but then return home to the familiar setting of their mine-hold. A few go adventuring, going out to seek life experiences and wealth, before returning home again.

However, some dwarves live permanently in human towns and settlements, perhaps having been born there or moving there for personal reasons. They are still proud of their dwarfish cultures and tick together in ex-pat style communities, often all in the same area of town, often known locally as The Dwarf Quarter, Dwarf Town or something similar. While not quite as insular as the mine-holds, Dwarf culture and values permeate such settlements, making them a good stopping off point for adventuring and travelling dwarves.

However, a few dwarves choose to settle in villages, often alone or in very small communities, while some dwarves are no longer welcome within the dwarf community at all, and are forced to live in exile.

You can find a more detailed description HERE

Most Dwarves live in independent mine-holds, underground mining towns populated almost entirely by dwarves. You will find mine-holds scattered around The Empire, and other parts of the game world, where they interact and trade with the local community. Mine-holds tend to be family and guild based, and the leader is often selected from a ruling family - in a semi-hereditary way (although the actual process varies). Some large mine-holds control a route into the darklands (underdark), and the ores and metals they export, might be mined deep underground, perhaps some distance from the mine hold. Because of this, a single mine-hold might provide a number of different metals and minerals. In many ways, large mine-holds are the retail metallurgy outlets of the game world. If you want special metals, you go to well-connected mine-hold.

Minehold Structure

Most cities have dwarf communities, and like most immigrant / racial groups, they tend to cluster together for support. Living and working close to each other, there is often a dwarf owned tavern/inn and school within their ‘quarter’, and probably shrines or chapels dedicated to the two dwarven pantheons. Social life, education and religion all follow the familiar patterns of Dwarfish Culture, and dominate community behaviour and experience. Sure, Ex-Pats (and their children) are exposed to other cultures, but it is almost home. Ex-pat communities do not have hereditary leaders, however a small group of Elders is often recognized as providing leadership for the community. Ironically, many of those elders come from the ruing mine-hold families, but then they have probably had leadership training since they were young.

Some dwarves finish up living in very small communities, isolated from their cultural roots. This might be a lone Dwarf in a village, or a very small community in a non-dwarven environment, or somewhere else that is not large enough to support all the cultural infrastructure. In this case, children are generally sent to ‘foster’ with relatives who live in an ex-pat community or mine-hold – it might be grandparents, uncles, aunts etc … but the young dwarf is always exposed to the culture somehow.

These dwarves are commonly banished or ostracized; they are forced to eke out a living at the fringes of dwarven settlements or in bleak wilderness areas. Some try to maintain as much Dwarven Culture / Dignity as they can, and send their children into fosterage for a proper Dwarven upbringing. If not, their children must take the Slag Child alternate racial trait ( Slag Child: Dwarves from dishonored families must append “-slag,” “-slagsun,” or “-slagdam” to their surnames to indicate their shameful status. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Stealth and Survival checks. This racial trait replaces defensive training and hatred.)

Develop Mine-holds into a new page - and add this section as Underground Trade. Trade routes through the darklands are dangerous, sparsely populated and not well travelled, they wind and twist along (mainly) natural caverns, that can be home to all sorts of hazards. Other humanoid races send hunting parties out to monitor the routes, so merchants either have to be strong or stealthy to travel them - just like caravans on wilderness trade routes. Whatever they trade, it has to be valuable, or the risk is too high - but then a single bottle of whiskey can be worth hundreds of gold pieces, when you are two miles underground!

This may be incomplete. Change this to a list of Dwarf Settlements - differentiate by Major Holds (links to the Underdark) other Mine-holds (no established links to the underdark) and Ex-Pat communities.

• These mine-holds are Followers of Moradin
• Rockhome - on the road between Sybarite and Jekleal, in the Far Coast States.
• Deep Delve - a Dwarf Mine-hold deep in the Rostil Mountains, North of The Strongholds.
• Dersolbek – set in the eastern mountains of Urgon.
• -
• These mine-holds are Followers of Torag
• Baraduum - a poor mine-hold close to Porters Bar, without a link to the underdark.
• Belarum - a small mine-hold in Holden, East Telida, without a link to the underdark.
• Various - most of the other mine-holds in The Tannery League
• -
• These mine-holds are Followers of Magrim
• Melmond - High up in the Telidan mountain range, Melmond sends shipments of ingots to The Tannery, via Berhof - a journey of several weeks through dangerous terrain.
• Unknown - the mine-hold at Paria, which hasn't yet been named I need to sort this out (Paria features twice, one in Finaroka, once in Drai Shon :P )
• Farfobik - A small Mine-hold in Galina, close to the coast, without a link to the underdark.