Common Ethnic Traits:

• Suggested Naming Conventions: Same as Scarlic Humans. Highland Dwarves share a very similar culture, and language.

• Hair Color: Like their cousins, generally red, blond, brown, and black.

• Eye Colors: Blue, brown, and green are some common eye colors. Though by all means, not all that's out there.

• Complexion: Fair

• 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. Hill Dwarves have short, pointy ears, like those a half elf might possess.

• For the Clan: They may be a rowdy and uncouth bunch, though the hill dwarves still retain their love for family, clan, and community. A blow to the neighbor is a blow to them as well. They come to blows with their brothers a little easier than stone dwarves, though hill dwarves are actually less likely to be stabbed in the back by political rivals than stone dwarves.

• For the love of the craft: It may not be pretty, but it won’t break, and it has heart. This is generally what human races have to say about hill dwarves craftsmanship. The hill dwarves invest themselves into all they do. And only the stone dwarves will tell you otherwise.


Synopsis:
The highland dwarves, Scarlic Dwarves, or hill dwarves. Whatever name you choose to give them, they are still a race of dwarves that have opted to live in the hills of Scarlough, away from their stone dwarf kin. And they have much more in common with the red headed humans then they do with the stone dwarves. It is as though their entire societal structure was made as a mockery of them. For hill dwarves are famously short tempered, competitive, and unstructured. Then again, they can afford to be. They live in burrows, not mountains. Whatever inspired the animosity between the stone dwarves and the hill dwarves is unknown, but its clear that it must have happened long ago, as the hill dwarves have a genetic difference from the stone dwarves that suggests they were an early offshoot. For they have pointed ears. It is virtually the only way to tell the difference between a hill dwarf male and a stone dwarf male. That and their general dispositions of course, as Hill Dwarves are known to be far more crude and vulgar than their disciplined, stoic counterparts. But perhaps where the hill dwarves show greater genetic divergence is in their females. For few races will disagree that hill dwarf women are far easier on the eyes than stone dwarf women. After all, they're less stocky, have fairer faces, and still maintain a dwarven endowment. That said, as there are no half dwarves walking around, it can be safe to assume that dwarves can't crossbreed the same way humans and elves can. But in Scarlough and Caer'Bannon, it isn't unheard of for hilldwarves to take on scarlic humans or even wood elves in hand fastenings, which is sort of an informal form of engagement that isn't meant to last, but may see the couple move in together as though they were married. Such a custom isn't officially recognized in the eyes of the Fosterin Church of course. But this shows us just how closely the hill dwarf and scarlic peoples overlap. For dwarven clans and scarlic clans will generally unite if their lands are besieged by an outside political entity. They of course can turn on each other as well, though much of the clan feuding has died down of late, since the clans had to unite when the nations around them solidified. 

Hill Dwarf communities are small and generally close knit, as their houses are built into hills, or structured into hardy stonework houses. Though they may not share the same deep connection as stone dwarves with stone, they can still work it just as well. The same can be said of their weapons and crafts, though hill dwarves may care less about how pretty it is. All dwarves love their alcohol, but hill dwarves indulge in it much more frequently, and have grown to be synonymous with being drunk. But who can really say they're surprised? Hill dwarven ales are high quality stuff, and may be popular drinks of choice in Scarlic lands. And there are many a craftsmen who claim they require to at least be tipsy before they can even get the tools set out. Of course not all hill dwarves are drunks. But every community has at least one or two dwarves who laments the day where his alcohol tolerance grew so high that nothing gets them buzzed anymore. All of this may lead many stone dwarves to look upon the hill dwarves as the inferior dwarven race. Their songs are not nearly as well composed, their poetry is notoriously haphazardly put together with most of which being merely vulgar jokes, and they have lost the eye for perfection in the art of their crafts which the stone dwarves continue to master. They are a race that has lost all of what it means to be a dwarf. They've even taken drinking too far! However, in response to this, most hill dwarves will claim that they've missed the point of what it means to be a Hill Dwarf. They believe the stone dwarf perfectionism has led them to forget how to put their soul into the simple pleasures that life has to offer. It has made them so ridged over the small details that they don't really understand how to even live with a smile, or laugh at a fart joke. They have spent so long under the mountains that they have forgotten the joy of a night spent drinking with their brothers and sisters under the stars. Their way of life has caused many to loose the grey faith, just because they can't tell if a group of strangers are lying or not. And that is why the hill dwarves are actually enjoying the fiasco that their stone dwarf cousins have found themselves in. It just validates everything the hill dwarves have been saying about their misguided kin for centuries. And many hill dwarves are already enjoying this condescending last laugh to the fullest extent they can. For even after 187 years, it's still not old.



The Hill Dwarves don't live in a structured caste system like the Stone Dwarves do. They may occasionally crop up in feudal societies, but most hill dwarf communities are self governing, with the spiritual leader being the eldest dwarf, and the community leader being a democratically elected "King" or "Lord", or even "Mayor". The title changes depending on how big the community is, or what kind of nation they inhabit. Either way, they leader generally has the final say, and will be leader until he or she either dies, or willingly steps down. This allows many individuals to pursue whatever crafts and trades they want, though the spiritual leader and community leaders might try to guide them towards different jobs depending on what the community as a whole needs. This loose form of governing is perhaps why some wood elves find their homes in the communities. And the two races actually get along pretty well. Though you should never assume they feel the same way about the high elves or ice elves. But the structure of their communities may also leave a lot to be desired for, which is why they perhaps try to make their homes near human settlements, so they can trade for things that they don't have anyone else to do. A common one might be vegetables and fruit, as hill dwarves don't exactly have what you might call the "Tamian Thumb" when it comes to growing things for eating rather than brewing. But the freedom seen in hill dwarven communities grants them an uncommon amount of freedom. And adventuring hill dwarves make up some of the best fighters and barbarians. Although they also have sent out some of the least common adventuring classes seen in dwarven races, like wizards, druids, and rogues. After all, unlike the stone dwarves, the hill dwarves are experimenters by nature. Rather than putting all their faith in things that are tried, tested, and true, Hill Dwarves are much more curious about the potential of new paths which open to them.