Common Ethnic Traits:

• Suggested Naming Conventions: Norwegian

• Hair Color: Blond, Brown, Black, and Red

• Eye Colors: Any, though generally less saturated colors.

• Complexion: Light

• Height Average: Males: (3 ft. 11 in. – 4 ft. 5 in.) | Females: (3 ft. 9 in. – 4 ft. 3 in.)

• Ears: One way to distinguish the dwarves of the mountains and the highlands are their ears. Stone Dwarves typically sport curved ears like that of a human.

• Family is Everything: The Stone Dwarves appear to be greedy creatures to many outsiders. Coveting valuable gems and tangible treasures for their value alone. But no matter how much they appear to value the riches of the world, there is one thing they will always keep closer to their heart. Their clan.

• The Voice of the Stone: As subterranean creatures who carve their dwellings into mountains, the dwarves spend a lot of time around stone. After all, there's more than a hundred words in the dwarven language for it. This is useful to adventurers, as it helps them notice traps and hidden passages, based on unusual stonework. But for some Stone Dwarves, the connection of stone may run even deeper. Some claim to even hear the voice of the mountain, and can predict when, where, and how an old tunnel may collapse.

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Synopsis:

Although as meticulous in their keeping of records and history as the High Elves, neither they nor the stone dwarves can find any clear or concrete evidence as to when, where, and how the first dwarves appeared. In the days of Almora and the ancient light elves, there doesn't appear to be any mention of them. And then suddenly, the elf records started talking about them as though they were always there. Within Dwarven history, there was no Almora, however. Their oldest record began with the line "And upon this day, Wulhtrath the stoneheart, bane of all trolls, became the next king." What follows are tablets upon tablets of dry descriptions of the meal of salted groundhog and moles, a bit of legislation affairs, and how a second cousin twice removed was lost in a tunnel collapse. Suffice to say, Dwarves were a people who rose from obscurity beneath the Osterchild Mountains. And that was thought to be where they originated. Until only about 187 years ago when a group of bronze skinned, purple haired dwarven engineers arrived from the far away nation of Jiwanahilla, riding atop the backs of elephants. They assisted in revamping the infrastructure of Estellon's largest human and elvin cities to add better sanitation, then visited the Stone Dwarves in Osterchild cordially, because they had heard of a break away clan. They appeared a bit perplexed to why they chose to live underground, yet impressed by the cities they'd carved. They offered a "compensation" as an apology for some ancient clan feud or another that the Osterchild dwarves struggled and failed to extract any clarification of, then they left. Taking their elephants with them. This was a confusing affair. This is the difference between humans, elves, and dwarves. For elves would treat incidents like such with indifference. Humans would treat it with confusion, sure, but if it didn't affect them, they wouldn't care. But for the stone dwarves, this rocked every corner of their society, causing the kings and scholars alike to throw themselves into the records, books, and tablets in a frenzied panic so they could make any sense of the strange affair. But all came back empty handed. And many loose both hair and sleep to this day.

 

There are many sociological and psychological differences and similarities between how dwarves and humans think. It's likely why the stone dwarves have been involved in the affairs of humans for so long, forming both a deep camaraderie, and yet squabbling over every petty little conflict in every step of the way. To the stone dwarven society in particular, structure and stability are perhaps the most important things one can provide to those who they love. They live underground, you see. And this means that they place a lot of importance in building the foundation of their family dwelling so that it could support the thousands of tons of stone above them. And should you build one wrong, then the home crumbles under a faulty pillar. That means your whole family, your clan brothers and sisters, and even maybe your wolves have suffered because of your negligence. If you build a pillar wrong, what you've built is a tomb, not a home. Pillars also exist in the metaphorical sense as well. As legitimacy and order in society must be able to support equal weight. Which is why the stone dwarves may treat incidents such as the one mentioned above like it is quite literally the end of their world. Because as it turns out, the pillar that was their creation myth, the very pillar which held their entire religion, Tolgranism, turned out to be an illusion. A complete fabrication made on assumptions that they had always been there. So what now held up the gray faith? Quite literally nothing. And this has caused the stone dwarves to do something they hadn't done in a long time. Take an interest in the outside world again. Much still remains the same though, at least to outside eyes. They are of course still the finest crafters in Estellon. As meticulous and detail oriented about the functionality of the object they make, as they are its artistic value. Stone Dwarven cities ring with the communal hymns and mingling with the harmonious pounding of hammers. And their engineering rivals many of the greatest architects of even Nomeria. For contracted dwarven workers can be seen all across Estellon, planning and assisting in the construction of the Foster god's greatest cathedrals.

 

Not all contribute to their societies by building, crafting, lore keeping, or governing. Even with their cities as safe and defensible as they are, Stone Dwarves need soldiers. And those who fight are heralded with great importance to them, just as the human societies do the knights. But they have their own caste system, and their warrior caste is not the only one that is trained to defend the home, for every dwarf must pitch in if the community is threatened. Warriors are merely those who leave home to do the fighting. In order to make sure they maintain their armor and weapons, Dwarf warriors need to make sure they need a practical use for them. This means they may sell their services as mercenaries in times of peace, or, perhaps as adventurers. Both give them a good reason to keep their equipment and their skills in optimal shape. And it allows them to earn some extra coin for home. But not all Stone Dwarven adventures are born of the warrior caste. An increasing number of archeologists, historians, and scholars have taken to the trade. Many on the quest to find the missing part of their history. But even among the crafters and traders, it is an appealing trade. Especially for young males and females who haven't had much luck at home in finding a mate. After all, adventuring is one excuse dwarves can use to travel. Something that generally only warriors and tradesmen get the chance to do. That means they see the same dwarves pretty much every day in their entire long life. And home doesn't have much to offer, then perhaps another dwarf community further north up the ridges might. Or, if you're feeling desperate, a hill dwarf. Though the stone dwarves and hill dwarves don't actually get along very well. Actually, the stone dwarves get along better with the high elves, than their own kin. Though that famous animosity that dwarves share with elves exists in stone dwarves, but its aimed more at wood elves and ice elves than high elves. For elves in general may be dainty and weak looking. But wood elves exemplify everything they find no respect for in the dwarves. They are too frail, flighty, "pretty", and tricky, with no real backbone to back up their words. The ice elves may have the latter, but they also turned wicked for it. For those high elves? There's a lot in them that stone dwarves can find respect in. They are honest and honorable folk, who actually put value in tradition and structure, but while still remaining (for the most part) Good. And despite their frail bodies, they have build some of the most enduring monuments in the land. That's why a high elf can actually afford a Stone Dwarf's respect.