Dwarven Cultures
Dwarves create large, sprawling cities in mountains and hills using the mined material they unearth. Historically, their ancestors took the food and resources necessary to supplement their underground cities by force. As they expanded their control over vast swaths of land, they realized that trade was much easier than war, and their cultural priorities shifted. Though war is a relic of the past, dwarves still keep war stories alive through drinking songs and grand tales. While each city varies in its material and style of construction, all cities are structured with a central government and three basic clans: the Mining Clan, the Crafting Clan, and the Merchant Clan. In dwarven cities, a blood lineage does not represent a shared last name or culture. Instead, children attend public school and then end up choosing a clan based on their talents and skills, and apprentice into a family to learn the trade. The dwarf then takes on the family name of their master.
Once they have attained mastery, an adult dwarf may sacrifice their position in their clan and become a member of the City Service. City Service dwarves forsake their family name and instead take the name of their city as a symbol of their dedication to service. City royalty or leadership, city guards, youth teachers, and librarians are examples of dwarves in City Service.
Mining Clan
The Mining Clan is dedicated to the art of extracting minerals from mines, refining elements, stonework, and construction and maintenance of the city’s structures. This clan finds immense value in good honest work with little time for politics or academic pursuits. Often seen as crass or blunt, mining dwarves don’t waste valuable time and energy negotiating and talking when they could be doing something productive– whether that be mining, building, or enjoying a night in the tavern. Mining dwarves ritualistically center their schedules, habits, and traditions around their labor, including the formation of work songs and tools for greater efficiency and productivity. After the mines close, Mining dwarves partake in games and entertainment with the same single-minded enthusiasm as their work. Many popular games are invented by mining dwarves.
Crafter Clan
The passionate and driven dwarves with curiosity and interest in magic, metalsmithing, gemworking, or other artisan crafts and academic pursuits gravitate toward the Crafter Clan. Each crafting family dedicates their life to honing a specialty. Clan members dedicate inordinate time and energy into researching, studying, innovating and perfecting their craft, often spending long and irregular hours devoted to the ultimate masterpiece. While most find the knowledge and inspiration necessary for their work in the libraries of their home, crafter dwarves have been known to travel far and wide in pursuit of the missing piece of their life’s work.
Merchant Clan
Lastly, the Merchant Clan favors diplomacy and exploration. Merchant dwarves are proud of their cities of origin, but seek to bring prestige to themselves and their clan through the retrieval of goods from far and wide– especially food. They will wander in both caravans and on their own for months at a time to exchange their city’s goods for wares and knowledge (and, rarely, money). Homecoming for a far-away traveler is ceremonious and precious to the clan. Clan members gain respect through experience and success– how much they travel and what they return to their home. While a steady supply of food is important to the clan, it should be noted that a tale of an exotic fruit eaten far beyond what could reasonably be brought home is just as valuable.
Satellite Cultures
Within the large dwarven cities, satellite cultures of emigrating families seeking opportunity have emerged. Whole city blocks are dedicated to rows of housing, businesses, and the like from numerous other cultures - orcish, elven, and more. These areas are vibrant microcosms, from the food to the buildings to the daily lives of their inhabitants. Should they choose, their children are welcomed wholeheartedly into the dwarven community and schools, though adult outsiders are not accepted as clan members unless they gain apprenticeships and take a dwarven family’s name as their own. While many from these subcultures adore their city, most will never fully integrate with dwarven society. They often work as shopkeepers, merchants, bakers, or entertainers.