Mountain Dwarf lore

Just in case people haven't looked at the Steelhaven Dwarves thread, this is the lore behind Mountain Dwarves, as created by myself.

Basic information:
Naming conventions: For the first name, think something Nordic. Their surnames are not inherited, but earned through merit. They speak of great achievements or inherent traits of a Dwarf.
If a Dwarf wishes to make clear their ancestry, they may state their name as "_____, son/daughter of _____".


Average lifespan: 550 years



Physical description: All Dwarves have the ability to grow a beard, even the females, although it's not societally frowned upon for a female Dwarf to be clean-shaven. Male Dwarves, however, almost universally take pride in their beards, and a long, clean, well-kept beard is seen as a sign of good health and societal status. They are all, obviously, short, generally about three to four and a half feet tall, and are universally well-muscled and powerful.



General attitude: Dwarves tend to be stubborn, abrasive, and either quite raucous or extremely gruff, although there are exceptions.



Preferred weaponry and equipment/clothing: Dwarves excel at using polearms and two-handed axes, particularly twin-headed battle axes. Nearly all Dwarven metalworks -- particularly weapons and armour -- are of exceptional quality if not absolutely masterful, and Dwarven smiths still possess the unique knowledge of forging Mithril, even after the collapse and subsequent loss of much of their knowledge. Outside of battle, the more wealthy Dwarves wear cave spider silk, while the middle class tends to wear high-quality leather goods, and the lower classes wear linen. Dwarven enchanters are among the best in the world, and Dwarven runes are still unknowingly used by many enchanters today, although the roots of the art have been lost to those outside the mountains. Still, the knowledge of Dwarven runecraft lies beneath the mountains, waiting to be discovered and studied again. Dwarves once forged crossbows out of steel, although that is also a lost art to those still alive today. Dwarves do not craft bows.



Military:
Basic Dwarven frontline infantry wear steel maille and wield bearded axes and throwing axes, nearly always complimented by a helm and steel faceplate, giving them an uncanny uniformity.

Dwarven pikemen were once renowned around the world, and for good reason. Dwarven pikes are often made entirely of metal, and to charge into a line of Dwarven pikes was to write your own death warrant. However, they aren't quite as maneuverable as other units, and so their flanks need be protected at all times. While the knowledge of their tactics remains, they've fallen into disuse since the collapse of the old Dwarven Kingdom.

The Iron Guard of old wore heavy plate and wielded mastercrafted battleaxes, with a shortsword and small steel buckler as their secondary outfit. Fenrik carries on that tradition with his own equipment.

Steelshield Warriors are the elite infantry used to supplement frontline infantry in battle, able to form an impenetrable shield wall with their iconic massive, dense hexagonal steel shields, armed with quarter spears and dwarven shortswords, and armoured with heavy steel plate.

Iron Wardens are Dwarven scouts who wear lightweight cave spider chitin armour and carry a shortsword and a couple of throwing axes. They are primarily used to reconnoiter enemy strongholds or outposts, remaining unseen and unheard. Given the general disposition of Dwarves, Iron Wardens are always in short supply.

Long ago there were also a few regiments of Dwarven crossbowmen, although they are no longer in existence, and as a result, their only ranged units are axe throwers, lightly armoured with chain maille but heavily armed with up to fifteen throwing axes on their person at a time. While they are balanced for tossing, Dwarven throwing axes make decent close-range weapons as well.

Dwarves do not have cavalry, despite the legends of Dwarven cavern cat and cave spider riders. Like the Dwarves themselves, Dwarven military tactics are rigid and concentrate on a staunch defence followed by a crushing charge as the enemy tires. Dwarven generals like to use bottleneck tactics, to force the usually inferiorly equipped and trained but higher in number enemies into a situation in which they are forced to fight with equal numbers.


Troop costs:
•Frontline infantry: 1 unit
•Dwarven Pikemen: 1 unit (locked until further notice)

•Axe Throwers: 1 unit
•Iron Wardens: 1 unit
•Iron Guard: 2 units
•Steelshield Warriors: 2 units

NPC unit availability: 200


Societal structure: Dwarves have a couple set classes, although they are not as rigid as castes. All Dwarves are warriors, even the women, but among them smiths (and at one time merchants) are held in the highest regard, with master smiths being on par with princes in status, followed by architects, followed by storytellers and scribes, and then miners, builders, and other craftsmen and workers. Every Dwarf owns at least one weapon, even the poorest of Dwarves able to use their picks as effective weaponry. Dwarves have a natural talent for battle, but even so they require training. In this, Dwarves are expert, and even all these decades after the collapse the ancient training methods have been preserved, forging every Dwarven man and woman into a powerful warrior by the time they officially reach adulthood at fifty.



Diet: Dwarves eat a very varied, though almost carnivorous diet. They tend to prefer the taste of mountain goat, cougar, and cave eel meat to that of giant cave spiders or the elusive cavern cats (deep black, quick, lithe big cats with golden eyes and razor sharp teeth and claws), and most of their non-meat diet consists of underground bioluminescent mushrooms unique to the Blackfog Mountains, which sometimes grow as large as trees. One of these can feed a poorer family for a week, and although some might be poisonous to humans, Dwarves have developed an iron constitution over the years, and can withstand many poisons that would be deadly to humans.



Strengths: Physically strong, sturdy on their feet, excellent enchanters, excellent warriors, very dextrous, superb night sight, expert smiths.



Weaknesses: Poor mages, poor archers, poor agility, small in stature, unable to properly ride most mounts.

Basic History:
Long ago, before the apocalyptic event that shaped the world as we know it, there was a mighty kingdom residing in the Blackfog Mountains to the West, a mysterious, expansive, near-impenetrable range of gargantuan mountains rich with resources and perpetually covered with a thick fog. This kingdom was home to a race which Men called the Dwarves, a short, stubborn, and powerful people said to have been carved from the stone of the mountains itself. The Dwarves were prolific traders, and dealt in precious metals and gemstones of the highest quality accessible only to their ingenious machinations. Dwarven crafting was renowned across the lands for its sturdy make and survivability, especially crafts made of that near-unbreakable unique alloy smelted exclusively by Dwarven smiths and worn exclusively by the upper echelons of Dwarven hierarchy, Mithril. For this they were known above all. Mithril was said to repel even the hottest flame, turn even the sharpest blade. Its value was near-priceless, and it was known as the rarest metal there was. The Iron Guard that defended the Blackfog from foreign threats were as staunch and immovable as the mountains themselves, and no man dared enter the mountains for any price.

After the cataclysm, the Dwarves vanished suddenly, their armies were decimated by a deadly, hitherto unknown force and their surface outposts reduced to rubble by that which leveled all other Kingdoms. Still, the Blackfog range remains, untouched by the event that destroyed other, more exposed lands. None yet know whether the Dwarves still live beneath the surface, and none have entered the Blackfog to find out. To this day, the fate of their kingdom remains a mystery

Dwarven Calendar:
1 – Mithranu
2 –Bloodhammer
3 – <Current King's Granted Name> Ironhide
4 – Dragonsbane
5 – Mithrilan
6 – Khazadan
7 – Bluefog
8 – Groggan
9 – Greenstide
10 – Nochtan
11 – Spiderblight
12 – Blackfall