【Dwarves】

Dwarves, holed up in their mountainhomes, have little contact with outsiders. Their vast riches are often targets for thieves - from lone burglars posing as simple piglrims and travellers, to bands of highwaymen and even ill-intentioned militias and small armies. Few succeed to breach the tunnels, and fewer still find what they seek. For while dwarven craftsmanship is legendary, the pinnacle of all artisanwork with stone, metal and gems, it has been centuries since any new masterwork was crafted. For the rigid, dour society of the earthen people leaves little room for creativity.

As if that were not a damper already, it is customary in dwarven society for the work of one dwarf to be the pride of all dwarves. The trampling underfoot of dwarven individuality, that all are pulling the weight of all - it means that those who fall outside this order must be sent out. Their role is, legally (as the dwarves keep extensive records) to spread the word of dwarven accomplishment, but the true purpose is to simply expel any who would disrupt the order. Being mere mortals, this is not an uncommon occurance, and there are even entire "surface dwarf" settlements that have formed. Their ways are still stodgy, but less so.

NPC Dwarves fight with great honor, they will never flee, only making orderly retreats. It is not uncommon for a lone dwarf in a warband to sacrifice himself to allow his battle-kin to survive. And it's not uncommon for them to, like lemmings, follow such a brave sacrifice by throwing themselves at the enemy one after another to avenge their fallen bretheren. They detest elves for their lack of honor - viewing the pointy-eared folk as cowardly, using their lack of a soul as an "excuse to not fight and die with honor."

These rules and mentalities come from a long history of trouble. Dwarves are tied to the depths, they can sense how deep they have dug or travelled, and they have clear customs of how far it is permitted to dig. And yet, the number of fallen mountainhomes that litter the landscape is a testament to their peoples' hubris. Inevitably the smotheringly-strict rules get pushed. One dwarf strikes the earth a toe past the limit. Then, as dwarves are good-natured, he is forgiven. Then a few years later, another dwarf digs a foot deeper. He too is given no harsh punishment, as that little bit of space is not worth a punishment. And even more than that, if he unearths some good ore or stone, he may even be rewarded. On and on this goes, until eventually, the pride of the dwarves gets the better of them.

For there are reasons their ancient religion specifies:

No dwarf shall dig too deep, no light shall be brought to the uncracked depths, for any dwarf who does so will bring misfortune, misery, and destruction upon all his people, and all will share in his folly.

The number of fallen mountainhomes that litter the landscape is testament to the foolish pride of countless dwarves.