Dwarf

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It contains important info about this race.

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Official Races of Hollow

Avian - Centaur - Draconian - Dragon - Drow - Dryad - Dwarf - Elf - Feline - Fermin - Giant - Gnome - Half Elf - Halfling - High Elf - Human - Jersher - Lycanthrope - Minotaur - Naga - Ogre - Orc - Pixie - Seaborn - Shadow Gnome - Troll - Undead - Vampire



Dwarf Profile

Life Expectancy: 600 - 800
Homeland: Craughmoyle
Average Height: 4' (121cm) - 4’6" (136cm)
Average Weight: 110lbs. (50kg) - 200lbs. (90kg) (calculator)
Preferred Classes: Warrior
Classes This race can be: Any
Preferred Weapons: Any Axe
Aggression Level: Moderate
Intelligence Level: Normal
Magic Rating: Low
Strength Rating: Strong
Weak Against: Dark Magic
Strong Against: Fire, Most Magic
Related Races: Halfling, Gnome
Allied Races: Humans, Elves
Enemy Races: Orc, Dragon, Giant, Ogre

Physiology

Often short and rather stout with muscle, dwarves are small yet pack a very powerful punch. Mountain dwellers and fit to be so, they are hardy bearded people who live a long time without seeing a glint of sunlight. The main thing that sets them apart from other races is that their women have beards too, often worn shorter than the males, although they are still alluring to most men.

Psychology

Dwarves have a love for digging. They love their pickaxes, dirt, rocks (especially the shiny ones), and the fact they live inside of a mountain. They tend not to grasp why Humans or Elves prefer to live outside of the ground. In most cases, Dwarves are wary of outsiders but will always accept an offer of alcoholic beverages.

Dwarven Society

Dwarven society is by tradition very insular, shunning whenever possible, all contact with other races and other dwarven clans. There is no denying they are one of the ancient peoples. Dwarves are mentioned in the oral history of many different cultures, stretching back to the dawn of time. However, it is doubtful that dwarves are the first race, as they claim. Living mostly underground in vast cavernous cities hewn into the rock, dwarves spend their time pursuing wealth, mined from the very depths of the Xalious Mountains. Due to this, dwarves have gained, perhaps deservedly, the reputation of being too parsimonious in nature. Though it would be unfair to judge them by this trait alone, as in the disciplines of metalwork and masonry, they are unsurpassed.

Their social structure is rigid, with a strict code of conduct that all are expected to adhere to. To deviate from it is not only to be cast out but to suffer the indignity of having your beard shaven off so that all might know of your disgrace. Family is of paramount importance to dwarves. Marriage and children are something all dwarves strive for, and divorce or premarital relations are not only unheard of but against the law and punished accordingly. The average life span for a dwarf is about five hundred years, but legend tells of those who have managed ten times that figure. They attain puberty at about twenty-five when it is usual for a child to leave the family home and be apprenticed to a trade, such as an artificer or armourer. It will take another quarter of a century for them to become proficient in their chosen field. At that time, they will be considered to have reached maturity and expected to return to their family and take up their position within the clan.

Most dwarves enjoy drinking, fistfights, and the occasional all-out bar brawl. They are fearsome warriors, who value home and hearth higher than any gold, but who will fight to the death over even the smallest slight to their honour. Because of this, blood feuds and grudges can be passed down from generation to generation until honour is satisfied.

Dwarves & Religion

Dwarves are somewhat famously religious, often following Loda because of their almost trademark craft of smithing and weapon-crafting. However, this religion is seen in different fashions. For instance, some mountains will hold a temple to Loda whilst others will worship from their foundries, but she is the patron Goddess of Dwarves. Since she is so exclusive to this race, most dwarves pray to her that they might be able to complete all the tasks set before them, asking her to bless their path. Unlike most races, the dwarven papacy stays relatively reclusive, staying in cloisters and shrines to further harbour their faith for Loda so they can guide others to her will.

Dwarven History

Dwarven history goes back 75000 years virtually to the birth of Hollow as we know it today. Legend states that the Dwarven Nation was placed deep within the High Father's sacred earth, and the dwarves began to dig within the holy rock to build their ancient empire. The Dwarven Nation was never based upon a royal lineage. Instead, the highest-ranking clan leaders would choose their king who would serve until death, and this is how it has always been.

As the Dwarven Nation expanded far into the western mountains, it soon met its first major threat, the Dragons' ancient Saurian Empire. The dwarven clans and dragons never saw eye to eye on anything. The dragons deeply resented the dwarves for encroaching on their territory. Meanwhile, the dwarves could never forgive the dragons for holding back their progress. Around 70000 years ago, it all came down to fighting. The dwarven forces learned that the dragons slumbered deeply at this time and made their move. Not against the sleeping dragons, as this would be an affront to their honour, but at those left behind. With the dragons so few in number, the war was devastating to their population. All around western Hollow, axes of steel clashed with claw and scale as dragon breath scorched the forests to cut off the dwarven supply of lumber. Desperate dwarves caved-in vast underground tunnels to seal sleeping dragons for centuries to come. The result was the near annihilation of both races; the destruction still leaves painful scars in the earth around the mountains of Xalious. Three thousand years into the seemingly endless bloodshed, the first Red Dragons emerged from their nests. Fearsome, young, and violent beasts raided the dwarven kingdoms in great numbers, and the climax was what the dwarven kingdoms now refer to as "The Day of Great Woe." The Red Dragons finally penetrated the great halls of Craughmoyle and raided the treasury of the mountain kings. In one night of ferocious and terrible fighting, the war was over. The great wealth of the dwarven clans was gone, and the last battle was brought to a climactic end. From then on, both sides gave the other as much space as they could.

If not for what came next, the dwarven clans may not have survived. Still, luckily the dwarven clans made contact with more peaceful races. After a meeting with the pixies, elves, and friends, they were led to a golden age of prosperity. The dwarves respected the elves' wisdom, and the elves admired the skill of the dwarves. Hollow was at peace for a time.

As the dwarven race's strength increased in leaps and bounds, a kind of arrogance formed in their collective consciousness. The dwarven clans had begun to win minor skirmishes against the orcs, goblins, and early human tribes. Could their great power not also be used to subjugate their old foe? What began as a mission to open southern and eastern trade routes by fighting dragons for their lairs soon erupted into a second all-out war between the scaled and the mailed ones. This time the dwarves had the upper hand. They had perfected armour and axe creation, and with dwarven rune magic and the power of the priests of Loda, the dwarves began to win victory after victory. However, these victories still cost a lot of dwarven blood. If not for thousands of elf settlers' encroachment into the Xalious region, the dwarves may have extinguished the dragons once and for all. But their empire was broken, and the dwarven king left it alone to handle the elves who now claimed Xalious as their homeland.

The war for Xalious finally ended when the dwarves realized that they had the territory the dragons had left. They no longer needed Xalious, and to fight the cunning elf mages, there would be countless more bloody battles. With the humans' power on the rise, the dwarves abandoned these lands to the west. They made sure to build magnificent castles and towers to keep a close eye on this new elf kingdom on their doorstep.

As the long-sighted dwarves have seen, humans' power increased exponentially over the next few years. War broke out when the human kingdom of Senal encroached on the northern dwarven colonies, searching for precious metals. The dwarves fought hard but did not have the numbers to combat the vast armies of Senal. Soon they were forced to ask the elves for help, and the elves asked the dragons for help. The combined forces of the elder races proved too much for Senal. Although the dwarves were appalled to fight alongside two of their greatest foes, it meant preserving the dwarven race and culture. The Elder races forced the humans back into the east, and peace began to settle in the western lands. The dwarves finally had time to breathe and rebuild all that had been lost. However, their power was limited to the eastern kingdoms.

This period was the first remarkable renaissance of dwarven culture. The ancient palaces were restored, trade links forged between the elves, some of the human lands, and other powers. The dwarven towns were rebuilt, and the treasury, a cornerstone of dwarven society, began to fill once more with jewels and gold. Dwarven smiths invented the mill, and mythril weapons were forged with dragon's breath to temper the steel. The dwarven clans became a member of Hollow's council, and besides a few minor skirmishes with the undead and orcs, all seemed well in the land.

As generally happens with these times, it eventually came to a crashing end; the armies of darkness soon threatened Hollow. The son of Elazul, Arrecation had marched upon the southern lands, and soon all of Hollow would need to fight to survive. The dwarves rose to the occasion and were present for nearly every battle against the dark immortals' forces. They were always the last to give up; even at the destruction of the original Xalious Tower, the dwarven warriors refused to yield until the last moment. This was, however, the final nail in the coffin. At the end of the Great War, only Craughmoyle remained. All the dwarves poured into the city, and it could not contain them all. A sufficient township was built atop and soon began to become a hub for travel and trade.

After the Great War ended, the dwarven clans entered into a kind of self-imposed isolation. The dwarven clans no longer projected their power into the world but instead focused on securing their own lands. King Khaand took to the throne and began the vast operation of cleansing the mountains of green skins. Through this near-impossible task, he earned the title "Hammer of the Goblins."



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