Hill Dwarf [Dragonlance]

The most common dwarves of their world, hill dwarves have tan to light brown skin, rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and brown, black or gray hair, and most grown men sport thick beards and moustaches. They dress in earthy colors and knee boots. Their voices are low and rich, and they are fine singers.

They avoid violence when they can or let others do the fighting, but once drawn in they fight with courage and skill, usually in studded leather with a small shield, swinging battle axes or daggers.

A clan of 10d10 lives in a modest village of wood, stone and thatch, with women and children making up 40-50%. Of the men, roughly four in five are 1st-level fighters, a tenth are fighters of 2nd-4th level, a twentieth are fighters of 5th level or better, and the rest are an assortment of rangers and thieves. They are skilled miners, woodworkers and smiths. The eldest man leads, but important choices are made together, and single dwarves often strike out alone and come home only now and then.

Long ago these dwarves belonged to the underground kingdoms, but after the great cataclysm they were expelled and barred from returning, leaving them permanently on the surface. Their clan ways are older still, and clans traditionally keep apart, breeding suspicion that has choked trade and left most of them poor. Still, they mix well with surface society and are as often found in city taverns as in their own hamlets. They are coarse but fiercely loyal and honorable, make friends for life, and hate traveling by water.

Hill dwarves are friendly with humans and wanderkin and with some elves, while most other dwarves, mountain dwarves especially, snub them. They keep kittens, ponies and sparrows as pets and sell honey candy and metal tools in human towns. They eat hugely; favorite foods include roast kingfisher, mushroom soup and cornbread.