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Dwarves are a stocky race, roughly a foot shorter than humans, with broad, heavy frames. Dwarves trace their heritage to Adnas, yet for them, this is not merely a matter of history, but identity—they were forged in the furnace of Adnas’s subterranean passages.
Dwarves are most commonly found in the Thuldan Empire, where their guilds and clans wield significant power. Significant dwarven communities on other worlds are rare, though small groups can be found throughout asteroid mining colonies.
Larger dwarven communities often focus on tradition and fight to keep ancient crafts, laws, and enmities alive. This traditionalism sometimes causes other races to see dwarves as old fashioned, or even backward. Dwarves are certainly cautious in adopting new technologies and slow to change their way of life, but once a new technology has proven safe and effective, it’s quickly adapted to dwarven needs.
Most dwarves stand 4 to 4-1/2 feet tall and weigh 150–200 pounds. They’re considered adults at 40 and live up to 450 years.
Major clans
Dwarves have adapted well to the stars. They enjoy a
natural affinity for conditions of sunless confinement
and the kind of pumped-in, stale air you find on starships,
space stations, and remote outposts.
Dwarves use their natural skills as miners to extract
precious minerals from even the most desolate planets
and airless asteroids in the galaxy. A dwarven miner is
rarely seen far from his spacesuit, which he cares for
better than himself.
Some of the most wealthy and ambitious dwarves
have claimed entire planetoids for themselves, burrowing
their tunnel fortresses deep into the rock. It reminds
them of their ancestral homes, and the remoteness is
even more comforting to them than the roots of the oldest
mountains . Some of these places have even been fitted
with their own engines or starcasters to ensure their
solitude . Finding a single rock in the solar system is difficult
without the right coordinates . If it can move on its
own, the challenge becomes nearly impossible.
Some of these space fortresses were abandoned in
ages past. In some cases, the owner's luck ran out, and
a band of orc pirates or worse seized the stronghold for
its own. Other fortresses were lost to unknown perils
and now float aimlessly between the stars, waiting for
some foolhardy souls to find them, get past their automated
defenses, and strip them of their treasures .
Relations : Dwarves are a reasonable people, but they
despise orcs. They hold the orcs responsible for the
destruction of the Dwarven Commonwealth in the pre-
Empire days . The devastation then was so horrible that
it led to the Dwarven Diaspora the dwarves still talk
about to this day. The dwarves hope to someday reunite
under the banner of a single dwarf and re-ignite the
glory of their fallen empire . Unfortunately, they spend
most of their time working on increasing their personal
fortunes instead of furthering the ends of their people .
Only the most charismatic leader could hope to reunite
such a scattered tribe.
Compared to their relations with orcs, most dwarves
get along famously with everyone else. Dwarves don't
pay much attention to humans and halflings . They like
gnomes just fine, though they sometimes find them irritating
after prolonged contact. They don't care much for
elves, but they tolerate most varieties . Drow are the
exception, and dwarves despise them as tools ofthe current
dragon regime.
The dwarves hold a great deal ofrespect for the dragons,
even the evil ones. Dwarves recognize great power
and cunning when they see it. They habitually criticize
short-lived peoples such as humans for their lack of
long-term vision. They don't realize the dragons see
them in the same light.
Their respect doesn't mean that the dwarves don't
covet the dragons' power. In fact, many dwarves have
secretly joined any number of insurgent forces hoping to
overthrow the current emperor. But most dwarves are
too canny to say anything openly against their ostensible
rulers .
Dwarves are not so cautious with half-dragons . These
creatures may be powerful, but not so much so that they
must be fawned over. Dwarf-dragons are another matter,
of course . Dwarves respect anyone who can make a successful
deal with a dragon, and they're especially proud
when it's one of their own.
Dwarves respect and admire soulmechs. They respect
the craftsmanship of their robotic bodies and the
resilience of the souls that animate them.
Dwarven Lands: The dwarven people are scattered
across the galaxy like the stars themselves. While there
are dwarves on most major planets in the Dragon
Empire, they usually prefer isolation to the hubbub of
the great multicultural cities . They tend to populate
planets on the outer edges of solar systems, as well as
asteroids, space stations, and isolated colonies.
Modern dwarves lean toward the engineering sciences.
They are a people who like to build grand
things-especially with machines-including cities,
bridges, towers, and vast manufacturing complexes.
To a dwarf, the most important things are his family
and his clan. Much of dwarven society is based on these
vital connections, and the largest clans are akin to interplanetary
conglomerates in both scope and power.
The dwarven people are suspicious of outsiders . They
tend to extend their trust by degree ofrelation. The scale
goes like this: family members, clan members, other
dwarves, everyone else-and then ores.
Religion : Most modern dwarves worship the Smith,
the great tool maker and master craftsman . There are a
few dwarf Dualists who worship the Creator, although
these dwarves are often derided by their peers for following
a religion that fills its temples with members of
the short-lived races.
Homeworld
Dwarven worlds are divided up into clans by population
and, sometimes, conquest. Worlds will often be owned
outright by a clan and leased to branches of their clan
or allied clans.
Space dwarves grow up in clan settlements known as
“heath” or “clan seats” where family members live and
work in close proximity to each other. A venerated
council of the eldest members of a clan guides the
heath and wields unmitigated power.
Heaths may be as small as a few families or large
enough to have their own militaries.
The inheritance and lineage of a clan can be quite
complex but, unlike other species, space dwarves
choose which of their children will inherit their titles
and legacies rather than it being assigned via a natural
order (rather than something like male-preference
primogeniture). There can only be one “inheritor” of
a lineage and inheritance and all others are “branch
members” of that clan. If a branch becomes powerful
and influential they may become a new clan in their
own right, often allied with the main branch of the clan
they split from. A new branch can only be established
by a great act: inventing a new technology that changes
the universe, winning a great war, being elected to a
high political office, etc.
Space dwarves frequently leave their homeworlds for
prolonged periods of time for work but always return
to pay homage to their clans and ancestral homeworlds.
Society and Alignment
Space dwarves are almost universally of a lawful
alignment, though some clans like the Dreyra are the
exception that proves the rule. They have a strict sense
of family loyalty and a rigid adherence to old traditions.
A common dwarven proverb goes, “It’s better to follow
in the steps of your mother than in untrodden mud”.
Dwarves are honest and have a reputation for being
cutthroat in business but always being upfront with
people about it. They might, for example, engage in
a hostile takeover of a rival, but they will formally let
them know ahead of time. Dwarves charge high prices
for their crafts but dwarven products are backed up by
a strong and implicit guarantee of quality. There is a
natural greed that lurks in the heart of every dwarf and
they will do anything for money if the price is right.
A clan rules a space dwarf’s life and at times this can be
smothering. Those who leave or forsake their culture
are branded (sometimes literally, if they can be caught)
as blood traitors and eternally dishonored. If you see a
space dwarf with an ugly facial tattoo seared into their
flesh it is likely that they did something to dishonor
their clan. Fixing such scars is seen as a cowardly act
and an even worse fate awaits those who attempt such
a craven act.
Relations
Most races will work with space dwarves for their
honor, honesty, loyalty, technical skill, and work
ethic. They are commonly found among all races as
entrepreneurs, technical experts, and mercenaries.
Adventurers
A space dwarf adventurers for many reasons but the
root of that reason is almost always money. Dwarves
want to get paid and their services can be bought for
the right price; regardless of the dangers. Even the
prospect of great wealth is enough to get the attention
of the most ornery dwarf. Those that don’t adventurer
for money do so for honor: theirs, their clans, or the
honor of someone close to them. A creature who has
the hardwon respect of a dwarf can compel them to do
all sorts of things and are often at the heart of a dwarf’s
adventuring.
Clans:
Auratus (Gold)
Dreya (Lost)
Gera (Forge)
Jarn (Iron)