Dwarves

The Dwarven Race

Dwarves are as enduring as the mountains they call home. Their kingdoms have weathered ages, their craftsmanship has set standards for all other races, and their stubbornness has become legendary. When a dwarf sets their mind to something, mountains move before they do.

This determination has built empires of stone and gold. It has also led them to dig too deep.

Origins

Dwarven creation myths speak of the First Smith, a divine craftsman who forged the first dwarves from the living rock of the mountains. Each dwarf carries a spark of that primordial forge-fire in their heart—a burning drive to create, to build, to leave something permanent in an impermanent world.

The first dwarven settlements were simple mines, tunnels dug to follow veins of ore. But dwarves never stop at simple. Those mines became halls. The halls became cities. The cities became kingdoms, spreading through the roots of mountains in networks of carved stone that rival any surface civilization.

Khazad-Karn is merely the greatest of these underground realms—and the one that dug deepest.

Culture

Dwarven society is built on two pillars: clan and craft. Every dwarf belongs to a clan that traces its lineage back generations, and every dwarf practices a craft that defines their contribution to society.

The Clans

Clan loyalty supersedes almost everything else in dwarven life. A dwarf's clan determines their allies, their enemies, their marriage prospects, and often their profession. Clan feuds can last centuries, passed down through generations who have forgotten the original offense but remember the obligation to avenge it.

The great clans of Khazad-Karn—Ironbeard, Stonefist, Goldvein, Forgeheart—have shaped dwarven history through their alliances and rivalries. The current crisis has forced unprecedented cooperation, as even the bitterest feuds pale against the threat from below.

The Crafts

Dwarves believe that work is worship. Every perfectly forged blade, every flawlessly cut gem, every precisely carved tunnel is a prayer to the First Smith. Shoddy work is not merely failure—it is sacrilege.

This devotion to craft has made dwarven goods the standard by which all others are measured. A dwarven axe will hold its edge for generations. A dwarven bridge will stand for millennia. A dwarven promise will be kept unto death.

Strengths

Endurance: Dwarves can work longer, march farther, and fight harder than any other race. They do not tire easily, do not give up, and do not know when they're beaten—which sometimes means they aren't.

Craftsmanship: Nothing made by other hands matches dwarven work. Their weapons are sharper, their armor stronger, their constructions more enduring. This mastery extends to practical engineering—dwarven mines, bridges, and fortifications are marvels of design.

Loyalty: Once given, a dwarf's word is unbreakable. Dwarven allies know they can depend on dwarven support absolutely. This reliability has made them valued partners in every alliance they've joined.

Weaknesses

Stubbornness: The same determination that makes dwarves great also makes them impossible to redirect. A dwarf who has decided on a course of action will pursue it long past the point where wisdom would counsel retreat.

Greed: Dwarves love gold. They love gems. They love precious metals and rare materials. This love has driven them to accomplish great things—and to ignore warnings about digging too deep.

Pride: Dwarves believe their ways are best. Their crafts are superior. Their traditions are correct. This pride makes them resistant to outside advice, even when that advice might save them.

The Breach

The thing in the deep did not invade Khazad-Karn. The dwarves dug down to it.

For generations, the master miners had noticed that the richest veins pointed downward—always downward, toward something that drew precious metals like a lodestone draws iron. They followed these veins deeper than any dwarf had ever dug, driven by the promise of unimaginable wealth.

What they found was not wealth.

The survivors speak only in fragments: darkness that was not absence of light but presence of something else, whispers in languages that predated language, shapes that moved without form. The Breach was sealed within hours, but the corruption had already begun to spread.

Now the dwarves fight a war on two fronts: holding the seals against what pushes from below, and purging the corruption that has already escaped. Their legendary endurance is being tested as never before.

"Gold is beautiful. Gems are precious. Stone is eternal. But some things should remain buried. We forgot this. The mountain is reminding us." — Thane Durin XII, addressing the clan councils