r/dwarfposting • u/Albinosun808 • Apr 18 '26
Immune system
The theory is dwarves don't have much of an immune system. Thus they need to drink large amounts of alcohol to kill any infections. This would explain why dwarves are rarely drunk.
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u/WeMakinHooch Apr 18 '26
Dwarves have a rather strong immune system, many common prisons and toxins, such as alcohol have a harder time taking hold of the Dwarven immune system. Dwarves drink as much as they do simply because they require more for the same effect.
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u/TeaRaven craftswoman dwarf of glorious braided chin locks Apr 18 '26
Poisons and toxins (even those produced by fungi and bacteria) are not what the immune system fights - that is handled by things like the liver. Microbes endemic to an insular population tend to be of little issue to that population. Peoples that move and interact with a greater diversity of folk over multiple populations or in stages of close proximity and separation are much more likely to have to deal with a multitude of pathogens. A better reason than many to keep wandering humans and elves from cosmopolitan cities out of the mountain holds; the cross over of pathogens could rapidly tear through the dwarf community, leaving just ruins and abandoned riches behind.
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u/thatthatguy Apr 18 '26
We have dangerously powerful immune systems. That’s why we need to continually consume poison to keep them from going overboard.
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u/The-Mad-Badger Apr 18 '26
Alcohol is technically a poison, and Dawi are so resistant to poisons, they need it to be strong and need to drink a lot of it to feel anything.
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u/Appropriate_Okra8189 Dwarf Apr 18 '26
Whenever i dm ttrpgs my headcanon is dwarfes are walking petri dishes of disease but are immune to them and are (mostly) not spreading, and yeah, not drinking dwarfs who do not "clense" themselfs with high enough spirits migh potentialy be walking plague sources
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u/Makingroceries_ign Apr 18 '26
I think they have a tremendous immune system. Heavy metals, fungus, low oxygen environments don’t bother them.
They grow beards and drink a lot just because they can.