Of all the known races dwarves are perhaps the most introvert of them all. As long as the world outside their borders stays away from them, they are uninterested in interacting with the other races. Their ambitions and goals just don’t include the rest of the world.

But don’t be fooled. While a dwarf prefers the chambers and halls of his own fortress he is not afraid of going into the outside world. Dwarves adapt easily to the world around them and can live just as comfortably above ground as below ground.

Dwarves are short, no more than 120–130 centimeters long, and have a stocky and hard body. The average dwarf is much stronger than a human and is both quick and agile. Their great stamina helps them work and travel long periods without rest. They can run for many hours as well. But with their short legs even the quickest dwarf is slow by human and elven standards.

Dwarves and stones

Dwarves have a special relationship with stone and rock. Working with these hard elements suits their mentality and they can bend stone and rock into shapes and forms no other race can. Dwarves are also physically suited to working the rock below ground. Their strength and stamina combined with their short and small bodies makes them excellent for excavating tunnels and chambers.

As dwarves evolved into a civilized race their settlements became more advanced. From living more like greenskins in natural caves and tunnels the dwarves have recently started to shape the rock into gigantic halls and chambers connected by large and beautiful tunnels and bridges. All decorated with long tapestries in bright colours telling stories of the clan’s history. Where greenskin tunnels turn left and right at random, are of uneven height, and generally make no sense dwarf tunnels are a masterpiece of architecture. They can shape the rock as they wish and it shows.

Dwarven society

Dwarves feel a strong bond to their clan and home cave. Each clan has a rigid hierarchy with a clan chief ruling each town and city. A strong and populous clan can split into sub-clans allowing the main clan to dominate a large region as their settlements spread outside the capital. The main clan chief then becomes King over all the smaller clans. Infighting between clans are rare as each clan prefers to keep to its own area but if two Dwarf empires are close to each other fights over good mineral resources and large caves can erupt.

Preferred level: Surface AND Netherworld

Major Strengths

• Dwarves are hard as steel and strong as ogres. Their companies are superior in close combat compared to all other races.
• Dwarven capitals can reach all the way to the Surface. Dwarf empires start with a town on the Surface instead of the Netherworld and they are connected by cave openings. This allows them to quickly expand both below and above ground if they wish.
• Their digging and searching for riches of the soil gives them a bonus to tax income.
• Their small size and experience for moving in tunnels and corridors makes them able to move very quickly in small spaces.

Major Weaknesses

• No one has ever seen a riding dwarf and there are reasons for that. There exists no riding dwarf companies making them slow to expand and explore their surroundings.
• They are short and stocky and can not handle spears and pikes. This makes them vulnerable to cavalry attacks when they are outside their fortified towns and cities.