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In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Most dwarves are renowned for their distrust of magic, and for their skill as axe-wielding warriors and blacksmiths, with the exception of their Underdark-dwelling cousins: the evil, psychic Duergar. Variations from the standard dwarf archetype are commonly called subraces, which include Gold Dwarves, Hill Dwarves, Gray Dwarves (Duergar), Mountain Dwarves, Shield Dwarves and Wild Dwarves. Dwarves and humans are interfertile, but their offspring are sterile (although in some versions of the Forgotten Realms the offspring are able to produce children). While the Azer physically resemble dwarves, they are not related at all. In many campaign settings, the dwarven pantheon of gods consists of the leader Moradin, as well as Abbathor, Berronar Truesilver, Clanggedin Silverbeard, Dugmaren Brightmantle, Dumathoin, Muamman Duathal, and Vergadain. Other dwarven gods may be present in different campaign settings. Male dwarves all grow thick facial hair. It is often a sign of extreme sadness and mourning for a dwarf to shave his beard. A popular misconception both within the game and among players has it that female dwarves also grow beards. However, the core rulebook clearly states that this is not the case. Female dwarven facial hair does vary by campaign setting: In the world of Greyhawk they do grow full beards but generally shave; in the Forgotten Realms they grow sideburns but not beards or mustaches; and in Eberron they do not grow facial hair at all. (In older editions of the game, female dwarves did grow beards in various campaign settings, such as the Forgotten Realms. In said campaign, the offspring of dwarves and non-dwarves were in fact fertile (although such couplings were of course extremely rare).)
Dwarven Subraces Dwarves in the Forgotten Realms Faerûn boasts several major sub races of dwarves. Dwarves in the Dragonlance Saga Gully dwarves, or Aghar as their race was known, are not dwarves in the strictest sense (they are, in reality, thought to be the offspring of a gnome and a dwarf). Gully dwarves are first referred to in the Dragonlance Chronicles, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, as a "miserable lot". They are the lowest caste in dwarven society, found all over Krynn, living in filth and squalor in places that had been abandoned by most other living creatures, including animals. Like dwarves they are clannish, and several clans live together, following the rule of their chieftains or one particular powerful leader. Females lack whiskers on their chins but had them on their cheeks, and may wear tattered overskirts wrapped around their waists extending to their knees. Despite their wretched appearance, gully dwarves generally lead a cheerful existence, though they are incredibly unintelligent creatures. Only a few gully dwarves can conceive of any number higher than 'two' (anything above that is 'no more than two' of any given thing), and at least one of that lucky few still licks spilled beer from the tavern floor rather than 'wasting it' by mopping up properly. Novels Notables D&D novels prominently featuring dwarves include: | ||||||||
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