Dwarf

Biodata

Appearance

• Short legs: Rug’s stature leaves him submerged up to his neck while traversing Undermountain’s flooded passages 204.
• Beards: Rug and Bruenor are explicitly described as bearded; Korgan decorates his beard and ears with gold rings 202 212 279.

Culture and Society

Clan Solidarity

Dwarven clans are described as strongly united against outside threats, even when they have previously fought over territory. During Bruenor’s reclamation of Mithral Hall, Adbar sent eight thousand dwarven soldiers across considerable distances without demanding payment, supplying their own provisions and drink 478.

Religion

• Moradin: Rug kneels before Moradin’s statue in a ruined Undermountain temple. He considers the god’s protection the reason the site remains one of the dungeon’s few safe resting places 204.
• Individual variation: After observing Korgan’s irreverence and fearlessness, Raymond speculates that he may be genuinely faithless—even willing to attack a god. This is Raymond’s assessment, not a confirmed religious affiliation 248.

Drinking and Trade

• Dwarves are famously fond of alcohol. Cave- and mine-dwelling tribes commonly purchase food, salt, and alcohol from human settlements 204.
• Mithral Hall exports weapons, armor, iron ingots, mithral, adamantine, and gemstones to obtain necessities such as food, salt, wine, and cloth 279.
• Dwarven adventurers can be shrewd merchants. An unnamed hunter demands 15,000 gold pieces for an unusually large Flail Snail shell, defending the price by citing its size, coloration, and superior antimagic properties 197.

Abilities & Skills

Mining and Metalworking

Dwarves possess a notable aptitude for metal smelting and weapon forging 837.

• Floating City artisans produce small components and tools and process exceptionally hard magical metals. Zuo Si discusses mining, smelting, forging, and magical rune arrangement with them 82.
• Dwarven smiths manufacture mithral chainmail and master-crafted mithral full plate 206 489.
• Todak’s clans operate lava forges, turning mined iron into weapons and armor for their dragon ruler’s forces 477.
• Bruenor is credited with forging the magical warhammer Aegis-fang 386.

Martial Specializations

The documented dwarven fighters use distinct combat styles rather than a single shared discipline.

• Defensive combat: Rug specializes in protection with a shield. Durnan reports that he once blocked a Fire Giant’s full-force strike 202.
• Berserker combat: Korgan combines rage, paired axes, and aggressive close-quarters attacks, using his Dragon Scale Armor to withstand blows while counterattacking 248 253.

Background / History

Ancient Undermountain Settlement

An ancient dwarven clan occupied part of Undermountain before Halaster’s arrival. Rug explains that its inhabitants either migrated or were exterminated by Drow and Duergar; their ruined temple to Moradin survives as a refuge for adventurers 204.

Destruction of the Floating City Artisans

Zuo Si formerly worked alongside several dwarven artisans in the Floating City’s Mage Tower. All died within days of the plague’s outbreak. Encountering a dwarf slave in a later workshop reminds him of those craftsmen 82.

Mithral Hall’s Trade Agreement

Bruenor visits Luskan to secure markets and supplies for Mithral Hall. His agreement with Eric provides a buyer for the settlement’s annual mithral, adamantine, and gemstone production, along with supply transportation and protection against Mirabar’s interference 279.

Submission to Vermes

Todak Hordek surrenders his clan to Vermes before she launches a full attack, saving more than three thousand dwarves. They build her lair and receive protection from neighboring monsters, but must obey her demands 429.

Later, Todak supervises his people and other subjugated dwarven tribes in a large-scale forging operation. He intends to strengthen the dwarven community under the dragon’s protection and considers taking control of her underground city only if she dies 477.

Relations with Other Peoples

• Humans — Important trading partners, though economic competition between Mirabar and Mithral Hall aggravates tensions between humans and Shield Dwarves 204 478.
• Elves — Dwarves generally dislike elves, but their common hostility toward Orcs provides grounds for cooperation 731.
• Orcs — Bitter racial enemies. Moradin joins other gods confronting Gruumsh, while Bruenor later purchases a statue celebrating Zuo Si’s defeat of the Orc god 253 731.
• Drow — Historical enemies. During the Drow’s expansion into the Underdark, they attempted to seize the dwarven cavern of Berlian through extermination 536.

Notable Dwarves