Builders and planners without compare, dwarves consider themselves to be Asmodeus’s favoured children. Powerfully built and possessed by a drive to shape their world to match their needs, dwarves seek out perfection in everything they do. Sturdy and determined, dwarves have settled nearly everywhere in Tolomar, viewing survival in extreme environments as a personal challenge. Once they choose a place as their home, they adapt it to fit their needs, building sturdy structures capable of outlasting their builders. Even in areas where the dwarves failed to live long, their former homes can often be found surprisingly intact.

Other races tend to see dwarves as strict traditionalists and conformists. While there is some truth to this, but dwarves are nonetheless pleased to experiment and adapt, but usually in a controlled manner and only adopting improvements that have been rigorously proven. Their society is strictly regimented, with a complex interplay of social rules and hierarchical levels that are difficult for outsiders to understand in their detail, but which every dwarf is taught since childhood. Most of these rules are designed to reinforce a lesson or story from dwarven culture, and while not all of them are strictly followed, an individual who rebels against these rules is seen as a potential danger to the community at large.

The simplest of these rules revolves around dwarven hair. Whenever greeting each other, dwarves bow until the hair from their head touches the ground. This usually involves the bottom of a male dwarf’s beard or a female dwarf’s braids, though any hair originating from the head is acceptable. For outsiders, this practice seems rather quaint, illustrating the dwarves adherence to a tradition that is impractical and intended to encourage respect for one’s elders. Few outsiders understand the implications for the hairless duergar inherent in the practise, or the message sent when courts cut a convict’s hair by degrees as part of sentencing.

Another widely known cultural practise is the sport best known as “fisties.” Competitors enter a ring and engage in unarmed combat, usually while a crowd cheers them on. Part sport, part combat training, and part spectacle, fisties is actually an example where there are fewer rules compared to similar events staged by other races. Fights are to submission, with no intent to seriously injure one’s opponent, and are often geared towards entertaining the audience. In cases where neither competitor is able to secure victory outright, the crowd decides a victor by acclamation.

Alignment: Dwarves can be of any alignment, but their societies in general tend to be lawful. Whether the society favour Good or Evil tends to depend on their leadership.

Alternate Racial Traits:
Brawler: Instead of learning how to fight goblins and orcs, some dwarves instead learn the basics of the great sport of Fisties. They gain either Improved Unarmed Strike or Improved Grapple as a bonus feat and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon, but lose the Hatred and Weapon Familiarity traits.

Classes:
Cleric: While most dwarves worship Asmodeus the Creator and/or Ashan the Ruler, service to any of the gods who remained loyal to Asmodeus is quite respectable. Worship of gods who allied with the Titans is frowned upon.
Warpriest: Combining martial discipline and a desire to serve their deity, dwarven warpriests stand as powerful sentinels, protecting dwarven society against the dangers of the outside world.
Paladin: Paladins of Asmodeus and Ashan are popular heroes in dwarven society. While many dwarves possess the discipline of a paladin, relatively few are able to manage to pure moral selflessness the paladins espouse. Many dwarven paladins leave their homes, spreading good and order in the world, often returning and becoming voices for mercy  in their kingdoms.
Inquisitor: Lacking the righteousness of the paladin, dwarven inquisitors still retain the religious devotion and martial discipline to serve as their religion’s axe and shield. While not as well regarded as the rare paladins, Inquisitors are highly respected in dwarf society, and crossing them is not done lightly.
Fighter: Dwarven fighters combine their talents for crafting weapons and armour with a desire to master them. Dwarven fighters are highly disciplined and very difficult to move from an entrenched position.
Monk: The ascetic lifestyle of a monk is at odds with the usual dwarven focus on crafting, but is incredibly popular among those dwarves who seek to perfect their mastery over their own bodies. Dwarven monks train in many schools, though Drunken Masters are the best at brewers and thus the richest, if not most respected, school.
Brawler: Brawlers are the professionals who fight in the Fisties leagues. Well respected for their showmanship and ability to inflict violence at a moment’s notice, many brawlers become celebrities, the darlings of nobles and guests of royalty.
Kineticist: The dwarves’ version of magical artillery, kineticists tap into the power of earth and fire to unleash hell on their enemies, their sturdy bodies ideal for absorbing the punishment such powers cost.


Related Races
Duergar
Forgeborn