Dwarf

Dwarves are short, humanoid creatures, who dwell in caves and underground areas. A mostly stubborn race, they have advanced little from that which they believe works well. Most of their homes and cities are carved into the rock itself, built in huge caves, both natural and hand hewn. Dwarves are famed for their smithing and brewing abilities, most of their products having little subtlety but make up for this with potent strength. They typically live between 80 and 140 years. Dwarves settlements are often found in mountainous areas, but holds can typically be found anywhere, but often underground.

Culture
Dwarves pride themselves on their simple values: honesty, hard work, respect and kinship, the values taught to them by Caladan, their creator. All these create hardy workers, capable of extraordinary feats when working together, much more then the sum of their parts. Honesty shows their will to be clear and open with others at all times. Most dwarves are often quite frank: often getting right to the point. This is part of the dark "dwarven humour" which is oft associated with the sub terran race. In truth, it is often simple deduction: a dwarf knows when hardships and even death is inevitable, and accept it with a smile and joke on their lips. This spirit not just makes life more bearable for them, it is necessary for them to survive and remain sane in their underground homes, for it is one of the most inhospitable places.

Dwarves are also famed for their works of smithing and mining, and rightly so. While dwarves often specialise in areas from birth, a genetic predisposition towards these labours and a well drilled pride in all their work upon often results in high quality pieces of work despite what they turn their hand to. This pride often leads to work taking longer then expected, but is often worth the wait for all others not used to the slow pace.

Alcohol plays an important part in dwarven society. Firstly, it allows them to bond better with others and secondary as a celebration of life in the merciless underground. Merriment amongst them is often a sight to behold.

Appreance
Dwarves are the shortest of the civilised races of the realm, standing on average around 4 foot. Most males sport beards of sorts, its length in some societies proof of age and as such a mark of respect. They are stocky and hardy people, humanoid in shape but with their centers of gravity close to the ground, making it hard for one to be tripped or felled, or forced to move. Their skin is tough, which is added to by the fact that life underground often solidifies it even more, and their bones are often much denser, allowing better survivability under pressure. Added to this, their constitution is much stronger then the other species, allowing them to survive where others do not, but also allowing them to consume more alcohol before reaching a state on inebriation. These all mark them as one of the hardest to kill civilised races.