Dwarf

"Through the bitter winters and chaos of the North, our Forge stays strong. Only through our own will and perseverance do we survive. Rely not on others, but on the solidarity of the mountain root."

- Unknown

Those who followed Uthar the Strong-armed and favored the mountains crafted by Thane's foot falls. They fall into three strict categories: those that seclude themselves in the Angaran Forge, the northern mountains at the roof of the world; those who reside in the Atia Confederacy, the southern mountains distant from Phynta; and those that that simply do not fall into either other society, roaming the world freely as is their wont.

Dwarves are a stoic but stern race, ensconced in cities carved from the hearts of mountains and fiercely determined to repel the depredations of savage races like orcs and goblins. More than any other race, dwarves have acquired a reputation as dour and humorless artisans of the earth. It could be said that their history shapes the dark disposition of many dwarves, for they reside in high mountains and dangerous realms below the earth, constantly at war with giants, goblins, and other such horrors.

Appearance
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.

Austral or southern dwarves tend to be darker than their northern cousins, the desert having tanned or browned their skin. Regardless, both true subraces, and all those in between, favor the tones of the earth, from earthen browns to mountain greys.

Society
The great distances between dwarves' mountain citadels account for many of the cultural differences that exist within their society. Despite these schisms, dwarves throughout the world are characterized by their love of stonework, their passion for stone- and metal-based craftsmanship and architecture, and their fierce hatred of giants, orcs, and goblinoids. In some remote enclaves, such as those areas where these races are uncommon or unheard of, dwarves' fixation on security and safety combined with their rather pugnacious nature leads them to find enemies or at least rivals wherever they settle.

While they are not precisely militaristic, they learned long ago that those without axes can 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.”

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.

Relations
Dwarves and orcs have long dwelt in proximity to one another, and share a history of violence as old as both races. Dwarves generally distrust and shun half-orcs. They find elves, catfolk, and halflings to be too frail, flighty, or “pretty” to be worthy of proper respect. It is with humans that dwarves share the strongest link, for humans' industrious nature and hearty appetites come closest to matching those of the dwarven ideal. Dwarven beliefs about Adenah are generally diametrically opposed to beliefs held by catfolk, where she is revered more for her aspects of love and affection than her role as a forge mistress, as such, most dwarves find catfolk a foolish race.

Alignment and Religion
Dwarves are driven by honor and tradition. While they are often stereotyped as standoffish, they have a strong sense of friendship and justice, and those who win their trust understand that while they work hard, they play even harder—especially when good ale is involved. Most dwarves are lawful good.

As a whole, they vastly favor the two Divinites Adenah and Thane the former as the goddess of the forge and the latter as the god of the mountains and knowledge, learning or ancestry. Northern dwarves and the College of Eight in particular favor Thane.

Adventurers
Adventuring dwarves are rare, given their penchant to remain sequestered in their forgeholds in the north and their wariness of their neighbors in the south, but they are not uncommon. They tend to either be those who grew weary of their lives in the mountains or those who seek glories to bring back home.

Ethnicities
Dwarves come in two racial groups, simply defined as being from the north or the south. Outliers of these societies simply favor one or the other, depending on heritage or homeland.
 * Austral dwarves: The southern dwarves hailing primarily from the Atia Confederacy and the Kangan Mountains. They are darker than their northern cousins and tend to be more open to other races. Often scorned by their northern relatives for being unfocused.
 * Forgeborn dwarves: The northern dwarves of the Angaran Forge, living primarily in the Anvilhead Mountains. A reclusive peoples who are more interested in their mining and metallurgy endeavors and their long studies of ancestry and lore.

Statistical Information
''Ithian dwarves follow the Pathfinder racial template, which can be found here. Each subrace favors a selection of alternate racial traits which can be taken at creation, if desired, and can be found on each subrace's respective article.''