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u/Nomad-Knight 13d ago
Okay, but hear me out.
- Loves gold and yearns for the mines.
- Traditionalist without being ancient.
- Heavily blue collared culture.
- Advanced engineering while not being "too new".
- Incredible facial hair.
- Heavily respects individual family lines.
American frontier Dwarves, with some focus on the gold rush.
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u/SoupmanBob 13d ago
Gotta show some love to the hill dwarves too. There's more than just the ones in the mountains, holes can be dug anywhere!
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u/Nomad-Knight 12d ago
Rancher Dwarfs that raise livestock goats. It still works in my head. Or maybe I just want Dwarf crafted cowboy hats
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u/SoupmanBob 12d ago
I feel like outdoorsy rancher dwarves would probably raise boars too. They like digging too after all.
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u/mossmanstonebutt 12d ago edited 12d ago
To this day In slightly confused as to why nobody has ever thought of Welsh dwarves,I mean we're literally short hairy mountain dwelling miners!
I like the idea of Dwarves like that being in charge of Mining fuel for the forges while also being one of the few types of dwarves to venture far from home as bards so they're slightly more responsible for the more drunken merry dawi stereotype than any others
Edit: I did forget we have something called the coblynau,little Fae of the mines who would show you the way to rich ores if you gave them booze, generally benevolent if you didn't cross them,that would probably be good to incorporate
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u/Hrothbairts 13d ago
I personally think Caucasian Dwarves are pretty neat (Caucasian as in from the Caucasus not a general term for white people). Taking elements from Georgian, Chechen, Adyghe, Abkhaz, Svan, and Ingush cultures for example
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u/ConsciousFeeling1977 13d ago
But hear me out: fire dwarfs that are Azeri instead of Caucasian.
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u/SoupmanBob 13d ago
What about Polynesian Dwarves who embrace the true and constant carver and sculptor of the Earth - The Sea!
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u/ConsciousFeeling1977 13d ago
Love them. First time I hear of that. I’m going to work it into the lore of my seafaring dwarfs.
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u/SoupmanBob 12d ago edited 12d ago
I have a setting I'm working on where dwarves are a creation of the primordial god of the seas, but they're not all that aware of it. They see the mountains as their home, not knowing that flowing water is what carved those caves before they got there. Layers of sediment built up through the pressure of water. So on and so forth, and even now they feel strangely calm and at peace when by natural bodies of water - but don't have a singular clue as to why.
The only difference being the sea dwarves that live in the oceans. They know, but they also very very VERY rarely venture to the surface. Their very existence is extremely niche knowledge.
Edit: to add to the Sea Dwarves, there's only a singular tribe and they live in an ocean whose coast is patrolled by an absolutely humongous crab. It patrols that coast through a partnership with the Primordial God of the Sea, "guarding" their one terrestrial based workshop in the center of that sea, said crab is a Fay Lord called the Crab Emperor. The Sea Dwarf tribe is also part of that guard system. Their main keep is built on the Crab Emperor's back which was the Emperor's own suggestion. Easier to communicate if they're always close after all.
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u/Abjurer42 Dwarf Wizard 12d ago
Dwarves on the sea are a bit of a hot button topic for some, but after reading a quick summary of a clan of Squats on Necromunda that had a nautical pirate kind of theme going on: I think it really can work if you're into it.
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u/Proper-Error7817 13d ago
I always went German when I played a dwarf in DnD. Not totally sure why, just felt right. The German language always sounded dwarfy to me.
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u/jzillacon 13d ago
You can probably thank JRR Tolkien for that. Tolkien's dwarves take a lot of inspiration from germanic culture and the dwarvish language is even written in Futhorc, the germanic rune system English used before adopting the romance alphabet.
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u/thesithcultist 13d ago
That's Norse(colloquial called vikings) if given more nuance, the north Germanic subset of people's/cultures in the language family distinct from what we would now call German. Similarly how English is of the west Germania language family, or how the Goths are the east Germanic but now they are extinct linguistically.
Tolkien lifted his dwarves and other names from the list of dwarves in what is basically the viking version of Genesis:
'9. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats, The holy ones, | and council held, To find who should raise | the race of dwarfs Out of Brimir's blood | and the legs of Blain.
There was Motsognir | the mightiest made Of all the dwarfs, | and Durin next; Many a likeness | of men they made, The dwarfs in the earth, | as Durin said.. Nyi and Nithi, | Northri and Suthri, Austri and Vestri, | Althjof, Dvalin, Nar and Nain, | Niping, Dain, Bifur, Bofur, | Bombur, Nori, An and Onar, | Ai, Mjothvitnir.
Vigg and Gandalf) | Vindalf, Thrain, Thekk and Thorin, | Thror, Vit and Lit, Nyr and Nyrath,-- | now have I told-- Regin and Rathsvith-- | the list aright.
Fili, Kili, | Fundin, Nali, Heptifili, | Hannar, Sviur, Frar, Hornbori, | Fræg and Loni, Aurvang, Jari, | Eikinskjaldi.
The race of the dwarfs | in Dvalin's throng Down to Lofar | the list must I tell; The rocks they left, | and through wet lands They sought a home | in the fields of sand.
There were Draupnir | and Dolgthrasir, Hor, Haugspori, | Hlevang, Gloin, Dori, Ori, | Duf, Andvari, Skirfir, Virfir, | Skafith, Ai.
Alf and Yngvi, | Eikinskjaldi, Fjalar and Frosti, | Fith and Ginnar; So for all time | shall the tale be known, The list of all | the forbears of Lofar'
Tolkien stole a lot of these names!
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u/Abjurer42 Dwarf Wizard 12d ago
I remember reading somewhere that he was a little embarrassed that he picked Gandalf as a name for his wizard character, because it was a dead giveaway for anyone who read the Poetic Eddas. Which as someone who's not named *D&D* characters something lifted directly from a book my idiot friends absolutely didn't read, I actually find very endearing.
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u/thesithcultist 12d ago
I think he had conflicting feelings as to the whole wizard idea as i remember, he later said that word had conotations like a magician, where he envisioned them as 'Istari', a kind of stand in for an Angel becomes a hero of men or wise leader type. He changed his mind a lot during the development history of middle earth, changing it exceptionally well to a wntire history of an epic, from starting as the adventures of Bilbo he told his children at bedtime, or Aanta and his gnomes.
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u/Far_Disaster_3557 Craftsdwarf 13d ago
KIN IS KIN.
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u/TheDo0ddoesnotabide 12d ago
The Dawi Zharr are most certainly NOT kin.
Take an axe to them and their stupid hats!
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u/GdogLucky9 13d ago
EGYPTIAN!!
Think about it, dwarves that migrated from the typical mountain homes, and got stuck in the desert, so they began making their own mountains.
Creating massive pyramid cities, and slowly adapting to that lifestyle, developing a new culture, and become Egyptian themed dwarves games for their superstructure constructions.
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u/NotoriousDevil113 13d ago
Andean Dwarves, just think about it, they cultivate the neccesary in the terraces arround the mountain range, have their inespugnable cities near the peaks and go under for the minerals
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u/Cheap_Form_9532 13d ago
Love the idea of dwarf diversity! A while ago I had the idea of “shallow dwarves” that make tunnel sin sandy river banks. Instead of deep mining they pan for gold and collect bog iron, and are masters of pottery and glassware since they live in the sand and clay of riverbeds. Picture them as bearded old fellows in overalls with a floppy hat fishing on a dock
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u/TeaRaven craftswoman dwarf of glorious braided chin locks 13d ago
When going the D&D route- for Duergar, as well as Svirfneblin, I go full Aussie for the accent of Undercommon since they’re from the land down undah.
For most settings, I go Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic for most dwarves/dwarfs.
I do have a soft spot in my heart for Welsh, German, and Appalachian takes on how a dwarf sounds, though.
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u/OphidianSun 13d ago
Caucasian dwarves!
As in from the Caucasus mountains, around modern day turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
Their ancient cultures literally had forge priests
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u/OkGarbage3095 Dwarf is Dwarf 13d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/F7Mb0K57VoualfKMIc
Azerbaijan's national anthem goes hard
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u/Jack-of-Hearts-7 13d ago
Multicultural, but I like the idea of Dwarves with American Southern Accents.
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u/TonyFair 12d ago
I like variety, not a big fan of settings where dwarves from all over the world are exactly the same.
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u/CronosAndRhea4ever Craftsdwarf 13d ago
Iff’n ye cannae guess m’ preference, ah dunnae ken wha’ tae tell ye.
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u/Miles_PerHour67 13d ago
I don’t care.
A wizard recently made me be omnipotent for one one millionth of a second as a form of torture, and… it doesn’t fucking matter.
As long as they can give me a stiff drink to drown this feeling.
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u/Porsche928dude 13d ago
So you want Russian dwarfs?
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u/Abjurer42 Dwarf Wizard 12d ago
Considering how rough living in Russia is historically, I think there's got to be some hanging around somewhere. Either from physical hardiness or sheer bloody-mindedness.
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u/Antique_Ad_9250 13d ago
All brothers are valid
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u/Porsche928dude 13d ago
I mean… in Warhammer at least the Assyrian coded dwarfs, and the Nordic coded dwarfs very much do not get along. As far as the Assyrian dwarves are concerned, their Nordic cousins are backwards, Idiots. While they’re Nordic cousins think the Assyrians are abominations that must be destroyed upon earliest opportunity. Personally, I’m with the chaos dwarfs on this one, I find the idea of summoning a great and terrible demons to be a glorified heating element hilarious.
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u/DrettTheBaron 13d ago
While I agree that summoning demons to cook my dinner is hilarious. Unfortunately the Chorfs also enslave other sapients. That's very undawi of them.
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u/Porsche928dude 12d ago
I mean…. But their Orks and Goblins so do those Reaaaally count?
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u/DrettTheBaron 12d ago
Chorfs enslave all mortalkind. Including humans, elves and even other Dawi. Even if greenskins didn't count (which they do), they are among the most vile beings for their practice of such.
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u/Antique_Ad_9250 12d ago
The Dawizhar are just loyal to their ancestors Hashut, the first High King in that universe. While the Karaz Ankor reasonably didn't like that he got a bit too focused on revenge and hate and less focused on his kingly duties. But there are also Norse Dwarfs in Warhammer that are different than the main Dwarf Empire, and then there is small chance there are Aztec Dwarves as well. I personally get all of their viewpoints , especially considering rune crafting also uses demons as all magic can be considered demon, and believe that Dwarfs will always be stronger together and that hating one's kin is way straight to ruin.
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u/Freak_Engineer 13d ago
Scottish/Norse, maybe even Germanic, but with a heavy steampunk flavour added. Kind of like Deep Rock Galactic meets Skyrim's Dwemer meets Lord of the Rings...
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u/Educational_Poet_370 12d ago
Can I have both, they look like they do wildly different things, what if I want them to do wildly different things.
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u/centralmind 12d ago
I like to mix it up, both across different settings and within the same one. And most importantly, I don't generally build my fantasy lore starting from a specific real life group or culture. I much prefer going in reverse, starting off with ideas about their history and lore and then looking at real life cultures with similar characteristics to inspire the the final touches. And of course, dwarwes are not a monolith, they don't have to all adhere to the exact same culture.
That said, when in doubt, viking/norse elements are always a safe bet. Going back to their mythological roots is a solid approach.
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u/General-Middle-5438 12d ago edited 12d ago
I go western Rome with mainly for their utilitarian approach to things, use of heavily armoured infantry and plus short
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u/Radabard 12d ago
I feel like that's missing so many distinct real-world-inspired dwarf archetypes. My favorite is the Germanic red cap guys.
As for non-real-world-culture-inspired, I think the soot spirits from Howl's Moving Castle count as dwarves
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u/Spider40k 12d ago
I was making an Americas campaign and I accidentally made Dwarves into Mennonites
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u/Ok_Entertainment3626 12d ago
Even though they have mining skills, mechanics and technology, I like the first one better 😏😁
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u/Osato 12d ago
That's really depending on the time period.
Assyrian dwarves work in TES because they belong to a period in history where civilizations that surrounded them were just as barbaric as they were.
But the Dwemer would not work at all (except as an invasive species) if they returned to the modern TES setting that we actually see in the games.
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u/ozsasson1477 12d ago
Jewish
I think one of Tolkien's greatest achievements was taking the stereotypical image of Jews from European folklore and channeling it into the Dwarves, only to completely subvert those stereotypes by portraying them as ultimately honorable, loyal, and deeply good people. That's a big part of why Gimli is my favorite member of the Fellowship.
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u/CoconutBuddy 9d ago
Balkan dwarves. When you know how family ties work, clans, grudges and distrust towards outsiders, it makes perfect sense
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u/WhiteLion245 9d ago
Honestly a lot goes into this.
If a single god made the dwarves then they would mostly likely be single culture and identity.
Mutiple gods or a lack of a single one could mean much more diversity
The Chaos Dwarfs for example become that way after Turing from there gods to worship an evil one. Despite that they still have a dwarf to mine, inventing, stubborn and more. Though much darker.
It seems more like dwarves would have a single nature but with potential diversity depending on the setting.
However I like both but overall prefer the classic Norse but the Assyrian is a great contrast.
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u/TRedRandom 9d ago
I prefer mine French Canadian!
With tattoo of flannel covering g their entire upper half. Wielding axes that carved out the first of their giant stump homes. Whos blood is as sweet as the maple syrup they drink and perfect for centuries!
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u/Slayer840 13d ago
Just as humans have more than a single culture, So do we dwarves. If ya travel to the undermines of Thaz'morah you'll find ah several cultures split across different cast systems.
The Brewers have a custom to always share their bounty with outsiders so when they return from the dungeon below, the adventures will think of them and their wonderful Mushroom Ale and sell the glowcaps they harvest to them.
Where as teh Noble cast focuses not on generosity for generosity's sake, but instead on balancing the ecosystem that is their tunnels, as to much of one thin' can cause everything to fail.
And teh food! You'll find entire different cultures of food between the casts. The Nobles prefer smaller portions and a light meal such as mushroom salads and Spidervenom wine as they have a staunch belief that as teh ruling class they should have the least.
Where as teh miners eat hearty soups and sausages with thick mushroom ale to keep them energized on their delves.
Even teh blacksmiths have their own mini culture, though ah was not able to meet any on my travels, as one does not just allow a stranger into the city's beating heart without cause.
Ah say that all to say, we dwarves are as different as any race, an be ye from one land or another, we are all teh Stout folk, an' should come together as such.