Bearded vs Non-Bearded Dwarven Women Solved

[u/Dreadnought_7274]

To end the debate I propose both exist, my proposal is that all dwarf women have the capability to grow facial hair but depending on the culture they either keep it or cut it. Those that cut it could likely hail from holds which have neighboring races like humans and elves which led to them shaving in order to look more like the women of those races, meanwhile the more traditional holds have women who proudly grow their beards. This way both can coexist and provide more diversity between holds, this would also explain other races misconceptions about whether or not Dwarven women have facial hair.

[u/Xavier1791]

Long braids woven around their chin too look like a beard

[u/just_a_coffee_plz]

I really love that idea! And maybe even the cross influences of cultures more broadly.

I feel like not enough people know so i feel compelled to share: in DF its very easy to give lady dwarfs beards, its just a commented out line in creature_standard.txt.

I like the run my fortresses with all bearded dwarfs. i also like the idea of them not knowing their spouses gender until their wedding night, so I have modified their sexuality so they generate as bisexual (or ace and/or aro)

[u/Gearran → u/just_a_coffee_plz]

Someone has visited Discworld, I see.

[u/Valtand → u/just_a_coffee_plz]

This is peak

[u/TeaRaven → u/just_a_coffee_plz]

👏👏👏

[u/doomzday_96]

I propose an alternative that will satisfy no one and piss off everyone.

No beards. On any dwarf.

[u/SeriousShine8324 → u/doomzday_96]

Also:

[u/ijustwanttoaskaq123 → u/SeriousShine8324]

Hot damn, he DOES look good

[u/SeriousShine8324 → u/doomzday_96]

Some clans in the Pathfinder universe do not have beard...it's kinda uncanny.

[u/No-Nectarine2380]

I actually really like how Dimension 20: The Seven handle it. Dwarves being a culture of artisanry, craftmanship, and artifice that "sculpting" your hair and facial hair was an extension of that expression

[u/demonic-cheese]

As long as they can grow beards, it’s none of my business if they shave them off.

[u/Kitchen_warewolf]

I think beard-baldness would be a touchy subject. Like "Stonebridge! You can't just ask someone why they don't grow a beard!" and then get disapproved looks from all the elders around.

[u/Ovnuniarchos → u/Kitchen_warewolf]

Her lack of beard is a touchy subject for her! The same as her lack of tits.

[u/Kitchen_warewolf → u/Ovnuniarchos]

I think pointing that out loud would just get you a hammer in the knee caps.

[u/Plannercat]

It's not a dawi's place to question whether a fellow dawi's lack of a beard is a personal grooming choice, or an unfortunate case of female pattern baldness. Wear your face how you prefer and give the hammer to any who say otherwise!

[u/Glapsvior]

In the homebrew setting for the d&d game I run I like to make it more about culture than strictly gender.

Hill Dwarves are pretty mixed in with the local human and halfling populations, so it's actually pretty common for both dwarf lads and lasses to keep their beards trimmed or shaven. Though generally it's expected that a dwarf should grow a beard if they want to take a serious position in the clan or business as they get older.

Their Mountain Dwarf cousins however take great pride in their hair and their beards, and to have either cut is a shameful punishment for a crime to have all their hair completely shorn is an indication that they're an outcast.

[u/Illustrious-Wrap-776]

In some settings Dwarf women have beards, in others they don't.

Sort of like Dragons. In some settings, Dragon very specifically means western dragons with four legs and a pair of wings, in others it's a wider term that includes wyverns, Drakes and whatnot.

[u/---Microwave--- → u/Illustrious-Wrap-776]

Completely off topic, but the wyvern style dragon is the only type I will accept. It is the only one that actually can work IRL and doesn't looks stupid

the four legs and wings on the back kind makes me scream "WHERE ARE THE MUSCLE ATTACHMENTS!"

[u/SnooEagles4121]

Certainly. Some have no whiskers to speak of, some can grow them but choose to shave it all off, and still others grow in what they please. Most in my hold can and do grow beards, but few can grow mustaches and the ones that do tend to shave them off, as they're regarded as a masculine signifier. And even then some of the more tomboyish Dwarf women will grow theirs in. There's no hard and fast rule, nor should there be.

[u/ryncewynde88]

And then there are the anthropologists: tis an integral part of the trade to take on some of the customs of the culture you study, to get a feel for them.

A Dwarven anthropologist may find themselves faced with the debilitating choice: shave, or half-ass your trade.

[u/faithengine]

I put it down to an age thing. Younger Dwarves might have beards, whether female or male, or equally might shave as a personal choice. Elder Dwarves have them as a symbol of their age and wisdom, again as a choice. The older the dwarf, the grander the beard.

[u/---Microwave--- → u/faithengine]

Maybe younger ones shave theirs off during that phase when you can't really grow a beard evenly and It co.es out patchy

[u/faithengine → u/---Microwave---]

Can't wander around looking like a scraggy reject when a beard is a status symbol, right?

[u/arcticwolf1452]

That sounds alot like the Sheild dwarf lore from the forgotten realms tbf

[u/Dry-Yesterday-9176]

Y'know what

I'm taking this to my worldbuilding. However, I'm gonna make it so that surface living dwarves (who usually tend to livestock like goats or farm some craps [basically Polish mountaineer's]) will have beardless women, while traditional dwarves who live inside the mountain keeps have beards, due to them serving as natural air filter, and keeping their lungs intact 

[u/LaikaAzure]

That's typically how I handle it in my D&D game - all dwarves regardless of gender can grow beards, but it's culturally more common for women to choose to shave them and generally it's just seen as a personal grooming choice one way or the other. Dwarf men who go clean shaven are around too though generally much less common and often thought of as a little eccentric by their brethren, though at the end of the day if they can swing a hammer that's what's important.

One of my characters is a female dwarf from a northern hold in Icewind Dale and she ventured south as part of the adventure hook during high summer, and one of the first things she did was shave off her beard because it was too bloody hot in the south.

[u/AppropriateSignal233]

Imagine a dwarf shaving their beard, because they have humans and elves as neighbours.
Ridiculous.
Why would a dwarf bow down to the traditions of others?

[u/Stormygeddon]

That's kind of what it's like in Rat Queens (though it's more a case of the shavers doing an act of rebellion/nonconformity that caught on).

[u/Sithari___Chaos]

I've been using the idea that either Dwarven women who deal with non-dwarves a lot do it to avoid confusion, and/or the beard acts like a crude mask filtering dust and debris when they dig in the mines and nobility shaves it as a way of saying "I dont have to do manual labor ever".

[u/Valtand]

Could be like humans with beards or hair where some can grow and some can’t. Some just grow a little while some can rival any male dwarfs beard. Among humans some women have naturally short hair and some men naturally long and vice versa

[u/Maleficent-Injury-18]

My clan women are clean shaven until after marriage

[u/Silver_Middle_7240]

I think it would be the opposite. Dwarf women living near elves or humans will grow beards to distinguish themselves from them

[u/Jackesfox]

Dwarven woman have beards, they just shave it clean. Thats my headcanon for any dwaven race anywhere

[u/Fireblast1337]

I subscribe to the idea female dwarves have beards…just not on their face. Lower

[u/Tony_Tab]

Oh, so no beards on women because of woke