Dwarves

The third of the Elder races, tasked with caring for all things in the earth and under the ground, the Dwarves are a stoic but stern race. Dwarves are lovers of history and tradition, and their long lifespan leads to far less in the way of generational shifts in attitudes, styles, fashions, and trends than shorter-lived races exhibit. If a thing is not broken, they do not fix it or change it; and if it is broken, they fix it rather than replace it.

Physical Description: Dwarves are a short and stocky race, and stand about a foot shorter than most humans, with wide, compact bodies that account for their burly appearance. Male and female dwarves pride themselves on the long length of their hair, and men often decorate their beards with a variety of clasps and intricate braids. Clean-shavenness on a male dwarf is a sure sign of madness, or worse—no one familiar with their race trusts a beardless dwarven man.

Society: While they are not precisely militaristic, Dwarves learned long ago that those without axes are often the first to be hewn apart by them, and thus dwarves everywhere are schooled to be ready to enforce their rights and claims by force of arms. When their patience with diplomacy is exhausted, dwarves do not hesitate to adopt what they call “aggressive negotiations.”

Relations: Dwarves generally distrust and shun elves. They find gnomes, and halflings to be too frail or flighty to be worthy of proper respect. It is with some human societies that dwarves share the strongest link, when humans’ industrious nature and hearty appetites come closest to matching those of the dwarven ideal.

Alignment and Religion: Dwarven society is rigidly monotheistic. Most dwarves are lawful good.

Adventurers: Although dwarven adventurers are rare compared to humans, they can be found in most regions of the world. Dwarves often leave the confines of their redoubts to seek glory for their clans, to find wealth with which to enrich the fortress-homes of their birth, or to reclaim fallen dwarven citadels from enemies.

Racial Trait changes

Ancient Enmity: Dwarves have long been in conflict with elves, especially the hated drow. Dwarves with this racial trait receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the elf subtype. This racial trait replaces hatred.