Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)

Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
Dwarf
Old dwarf.jpg
A dwarf.
Characteristics
Alignment Often Lawful Good
Type Natural Humanoid (Dwarf)
Image Wizards.com image
Publication history
Mythological origins Dwarf

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Variations from the standard dwarf archetype are commonly called subraces, which include hill dwarves, gray dwarves (duergar), and mountain dwarves.

Contents

Publication history

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The dwarf first appeared as a player character class in the original 1974 edition of Dungeons & Dragons.[1]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The dwarf appeared as a player character race in the original Player's Handbook (1978).[2][3] The dwarf also appeared in the original Monster Manual (1977).[4] A number of dwarven subraces were presented as character races in the original Unearthed Arcana (1985).[5]

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

The dwarf appeared as a character class in the original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The hill dwarf appeared as a character race in the second edition Player's Handbook (1989).[6] The hill dwarf also appeared in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989).[7] Dwarves were detailed as a race for the Forgotten Realms setting in Dwarves Deep (1990).[8] Several dwarven races were detailed as player character races in The Complete Book of Dwarves (1991).[9]

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)

The dwarf appeared as a character race in the third edition Player's Handbook (2000),[10] and in the 3.5 revised Player's Handbook.[11] Dwarves were one of the races detailed in Races of Stone (2004).[12]

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The dwarf appeared as a character race in the fourth edition Player's Handbook (2008). The dwarf appears in the fourth edition Monster Manual (2008), including the dwarf bolter and the dwarf hammerer.[13]

Description

Dwarves average four feet in height, with squat, broad bodies. Male dwarves grow thick facial hair. It is often a sign of extreme sadness and mourning for a dwarf to shave his beard. Some authors such as R. A. Salvatore have at times had the female of the species grow beards as well, though the game rules' official position is that they do not. In specific campaign settings, the potential for female dwarven facial hair sees much variation: In the World of Greyhawk some females can grow beards but those generally shave; in the Forgotten Realms they generally grow full beards, and in Eberron they do not grow facial hair at all. In older editions of the game, female dwarves did grow beards in various campaign settings.

Religion

The dwarves believe themselves to be the creations of Moradin. According to their legends, Moradin fashioned the dwarves into a likeness of himself using gems and metal. He then breathed life into them.

In many campaign settings, the dwarven pantheon of gods consists of the leader Moradin, as well as Abbathor, Berronar Truesilver, Clanggedin Silverbeard, Dugmaren Brightmantle, Dumathoin, Muamman Duathal, and Vergadain. Other dwarven gods may be present in different campaign settings.

Relations with other races

Dwarves get along fine with gnomes, who are often regarded as close cousins of the dwarven race. Dwarves are accepting of humans, half-elves and halflings. Dwarves often do not get to know humans well as they live longer than the average human, and prefer to become friendly with the humans' family in general. Dwarves mistrust half-orcs, and fail to appreciate elves, whom they only ally with in their many battles against orcs, goblins, gnolls, bugbears and trolls.

Dwarven subraces

  • Aleithian dwarves: Deep-dwelling psionic dwarves who follow the dragon god Sardior.
  • Azers: In the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd edition versions of Dungeons & Dragons, Azers physically resembled dwarves, though they were unrelated. In the 4th Edition of the game, they are a product of the enslavement of dwarves by giants and titans.
  • Badlands dwarves: Dwarves who have adapted to life in the inhospitable wastes, developing a natural knack for finding water and tolerance to heat and thirst.
  • Deep dwarves: Underground-dwelling dwarves with a greater ability to see in the dark, but a sensitivity to light. They are more resistant to magic and poison than standard dwarves.
  • Dream dwarves: Contemplative dwarves in touch with the world around them, which they call the "earth dream."
  • Duergar: A cruel and evil subrace that lives in the Underdark
  • Frost dwarves: Extraplanar dwarves found on the Iron Wastes of the Infinite Layers of the Abyss. They were once duergar enslaved by frost giants.
  • Glacier dwarves: Dwarves that reside in cold glaciers, mining a special material known as blue ice. These dwarves have great skill at crafting with ice and magical ice, and are tolerant to cold weather.
  • Hill dwarves: The standard dwarven race.
  • Mountain dwarves: These dwarves live deeper underground and have fairer skin than hill dwarves.
  • Seacliff dwarves: These dwarves make their home in high seaside cliffs. They are excellent swimmers.

Dwarves in various campaign settings

Dwarves in Dark Sun

On Athas, the planet of the Dark Sun campaign setting, every dwarf chooses a focus in life, one task that they will try to achieve with stubborn determination. Athasian dwarves do not live underground, but some communities focus on uncovering buried dwarven strongholds from the Green Age.

Physically, the dwarves of Athas are unique in that they have no hair at all, contrary to the image of beard-laden dwarves in more traditional campaign settings. Athasian dwarves can breed with humans to produce muls, who are sterile offsprings that share the strength and resiliency of dwarves with the size of humans.

Dwarves in Dragonlance

In the Dragonlance setting, the dwarves are divided into three distinct groups, the hill dwarves, the mountain dwarves and the gully dwarves. These three groups are again divided into clans as follows:

Hill Dwarves The hill dwarves consist of a single clan called the Neidar. They are very similar to the mountain dwarves but are slightly more forthcoming towards other races and cultures. Flint Fireforge was a Neidar.

Mountain Dwarves The mountain dwarves consist of several clans, two of these being the Hylar and the Daewar clans.

Gully Dwarves The gully dwarves, or Aghar ("the Anguished") are thought to be the offspring of gnomes and dwarves. Gully dwarves are first referred to in the Dragonlance Chronicles, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, as a "miserable lot." They are the lowest caste in dwarven society, found all over Krynn, living in filth and squalor in places that had been abandoned by most other living creatures, including animals. Like dwarves, they are clannish, and several clans live together, following the rule of their chieftains or one particular powerful leader. Females lack whiskers on their chins but have them on their cheeks, and may wear tattered overskirts wrapped around their waists extending to their knees. Despite their wretched appearance, gully dwarves generally lead a cheerful existence, though they are incredibly unintelligent creatures. Only a few gully dwarves can conceive of any number higher than 'two' (often counting things as "one and one and one and one--not more than two!") and at least one of that lucky few still licks up spilt ale from the tavern floor rather than "wasting it" by cleaning it up.

Dwarves in the Forgotten Realms

Faerûn has several major dwarven subraces:

  • Arctic dwarves: Found in the northernmost reaches of Faerûn, the Inugaakalikurit, or Arctic dwarves, are even smaller than most other dwarves. They are very strong and immune to cold.
  • Gold dwarves: Shorter and more charismatic than their shield dwarf cousins, these are the dominant dwarves in southern Faerûn. They primarily reside in and around the Deep Realm, an underground realm surrounding a Grand Canyon-like gorge. The gorge had once been an enormous cavern, which collapsed during a titanic battle between dwarves and drow. The canyon is surrounded by watch towers every twenty to fifty miles with Dwarven Gryphon riders stationed in the watch towers.
  • Shield dwarves: The dominant dwarves in the northern parts of Faerûn, these dwarves are taller than their gold dwarf brethren. Primary holds include Citadel Adbar, Mithral Hall, Citadel Felbarr, Hillsafar Hall, and Fireshear. Large Dwarven minorities are also located in Sundabar, Mirabar, and Waterdeep.
  • Urdunnir: Also known as orecutter dwarves, these dwarves have the magical ability to shape metal and stone, as well as the ability to walk through solid stone.
  • Wild dwarves: Short, primitive dwarves found in the deep jungles of Faerûn.
  • Gray dwarves: Or Duergar, mainly found in the Underdark, with an aversion to light.

Dwarves in Greyhawk

Dwarves in the World of Greyhawk setting are called dwur by the Flan, and are found throughout the Flanaess. They are particularly numerous in the Lortmils, Principality of Ulek, Glorioles, Iron Hills, Crystalmists, and Ratik.

Notable dwarves

  • Bruenor Battlehammer — King of Mithril Hall in the Forgotten Realms setting. Bruenor reclaimed his homeland from goblins and more sinister denizens of the deep including a mighty shadow dragon he killed single-handedly. Friend of Drizzt Do'Urden and adoptive father of Cattie-Brie and Wulfgar.
  • Flint Fireforge - One of the Heroes of the Lance in the Dragonlance setting.
  • Lord Obmi - Bloodthirsty servant of Iuz in the World of Greyhawk setting, and member of the Boneshadow.

Novels

Notable D&D novels prominently featuring dwarves include:

  • Dragonlance
    • Dark Thane by Jeff Crook.
    • Flint the King by Kirchoff and Niles.
    • The Gates of Thorbardin by Dan Parkinson.
    • Gully Dwarves by Dan Parkinson.
    • Stormblade by Nancy Varian Berberick.
  • Greyhawk

References

  1. ^ Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson. Dungeons & Dragons (3-Volume Set) (TSR, 1974)
  2. ^ Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. pp. 84–85. ISBN 0-87975-653-5. 
  3. ^ Gygax, Gary (1978). Players Handbook. TSR. ISBN 0-935696-01-6. 
  4. ^ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
  5. ^ Unearthed Arcana, by Gary Gygax, published 1985, ISBN 978-0880380843
  6. ^ Cook, David (1989). Player's Handbook. TSR. ISBN 0-88038-716-5. 
  7. ^ Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989)
  8. ^ Greenwood, Ed. Dwarves Deep (TSR, 1990)
  9. ^ Bambra, Jim. The Complete Book of Dwarves (TSR, 1991)
  10. ^ Tweet, Jonathan; Monte Cook, Skip Williams (2000). Player's Handbook. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1550-1. 
  11. ^ Tweet, Jonathan; Monte Cook, Skip Williams (2003) [2000]. Player's Handbook v.3.5. revised by Andy Collins. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2886-7. 
  12. ^ Decker, Jesse, Michelle Lyons, and David Noonan. Races of Stone (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)
  13. ^ Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)

Additional reading

External links

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