Cultures - Dwarven

• Family
• Ornamentation
• Religion
  

Family

Dwarves do not have the same concept of family as most races. Children are raised communally within the wider clan, and to some extent each Dwarf considers their clanmates to be their brothers and sisters. This leads to fervant support of the clan itself rather than individual groups within it.

Dwarven birthrates are low, and their populations have difficulty recovering after wars or other tragedies.

Ornamentation

Clan, status, occupation and accomplishments are indicated by intricate braids, which may or may not be further ornamented with beads, jems, worked steel decorations and so on. Dwarves take these braids very seriously. Males wear them in their beards and sideburns, females in their sideburns and hair. Many females, especially warriors, cornrow braid their entire head of hair.

Male Dwarves keep well-groomed beards, which are a sign of maturity. Female Dwarves lack facial hair in general, but have considerable sideburns (as do the males), which leads the race to look somewhat alien. A certain way to humiliate a Dwarf would be to cut off their braided hair, which is a deadly insult.

Most dwarven clothing is utalitarian, although colouration varies depending on clan affiliation. Most non-city Dwarves regard luxurious clothing as a waste of money and finery. Weapons and armour are an entirely different matter and are often heavily decorated.

Religion

The Dwarves of this world worship Clangeddin (known by numerous other names, most frequently Clan'ghddn). Clangeddin is considered to be the leader of the pantheon, and the oldest God, even as the Dwarves are the oldest race.

The domains of Clangeddin are Good, Earth, Protection, and Law.

Primary churches (two domains):

Good & Earth : Rock Tenders
Good & Protection : Defenders of the People
Good & Law : The True (high court)
Earth & Protection : Rock Guards
Earth & Law : Justice of the Rock
Protection & Law : Defenders of the Faithful

Lesser sects (one domain):

Law : The accusers (inqusitionish)
Good : The Questers (missionaries)
Earth : The cave seekers (primatives)
Protection : The Guards of the Faith (No word may be spoken against Clangeddin)

The Seekers and the Blessed

In addition to the sects and churches, there are seekers and blessed. There are very few seekers. These are the clerics trying to reach an enlightened state by integrating three domains. They are seen as very holy, and they dedicate most of their life to prayer and study. The blessed are rare in the extreme. One every four hundred years would be good. They are those that have managed to integrate all the domains of the god and are the most holy, and count (almost) as an avatar of the god. They maintain constant prayer, and isolate themselves from day to day concerns to avoid confusion of their beliefs.

Defenders of the Faithful

Aggressive in their 'defence' of the followers of the 'true' law of Clangeddin, the Defenders of the Faithful are a rigidly regimented martial group of clerics and warriors. With a slightly inquisition like approach, they are close enough to the power of the court to strongly influence it's decisions. It is likely the choice of high priest is influenced by them. They are a dangerous group, both because of their power, and their adherance to strict definitional interpretations of law and lore. The can, will and have had priests killed for heresy. (think crusaders)

Defenders of the People

Chiefly a dwarven group, the defenders of the people are similar to the Rock Tenders. They look to the care of the people, but with less of a hands on approach. They look to the good of communities, mostly guarding against outside forces and intervention in dwarven affairs. Happy to go to war with a just cause, these clerics are regarded with a mixture of respect and a hint of fear (think Kings army)

Justice of the Rock

Serving as advisors to the high priest and in judicial roles in many areas (particularly mining comunities) these priests attempt to interpret dwarven law and circumstances to determine Clangeddin(the Rock)'s will in each case brought before them. They are easilly swayed by the arguments of the defenders of the faithful, but are truer to the earthy background of the dwarven people, and so in outer communities are seen in a positive light. (think aging judge, wise, respected, but feeble)

Rock Guards

The earth is mother and father of a all Dwarves, and must be protected from abuse. These clerics try to protect the earth from unneccessary damage. They acknowledge the importance of mining, but use their abilities to determine where tunnels should be build, to watch for underground dangers, and to block hasty exploration or tunneling. Think buddist priest crossed with a Feng Shui master.

Rock Tenders

Seeing themsElves as the carers for the people and the earth, the Rock Tenders are peacable, dilligent and friendly. They are the most likely to forgive misdeeds and regularly work to restore fractured communities. They are generally well regarded (think Franciscan Monks). Thye are known to go into battle at times of need, but they will judge need on a case by case basis. Their heirachy assumes that they can make decisions on the fly, and if a bad decision is made, it's more likely the cleric in question will get training rather than punishment.

The Accusers

This sect believes that the canon beliefs must never be strayed from. They will denounce any who stray. This is a public thing, and while often ignored, attention is payed when a priest of Clangeddin is denounced. They have no official status, and are disliked, but at an unofficial level many priests have lost power after thair denouncements, and it's assumed the higher amongst them maintain blackmail lists that assure them of some word in the capitol

The Cave Seekers

Seeing no law but the rock, and none to protect but the deeps, these are truest to the old dwarven ideals, but are now a fringe group with limited followings. For the most part they live as wanderers in the deepest places, acknowledge no hieracy, and are not involved in the communities. They will on occasion return to their peoples to declare a holy seam ready for mining. They are only ever present in the capitol when dragged there, or if Clangeddin appeared to them. While seen as lunatics for the most part, their ability to survive in the hostile environment of the deep caves leaves them with an aura of holiness that protects them from high court politics.

The Guards of the Faith

Useless Zealots, the Guards of the faith are an order that believes they must prevent any word being spoken against Clangeddin. They are fractured on almost every topic. After all, it's only a slur against Clangeddin if you think it is. Topics such as details of canon law can split them entirely as one group decides this means someone is trying to corrupt things, while another group sees it as redressing an ancient wrong. All the other churches and sects have members who are actually of this sect. The least noticed feature of this group is the sect that has noticed the ridicule this group causes and seek to destroy the Guards of the Faith. Naturally this group is very quiet about it, as they fear the wrath of their own people.

The Questers

Seeing the good in all things Clangeddinish, they travel as widely as they can, spreading the word to all who will hear. In earlier times they were an important group, and are probably responsible for a dwarven god being head of the pantheon. These days they are seen as mostly harmless fools.

The True

Caring for the people and the law of the church, this is the primary trunk from which all other parts of the church branch. Rigid in upholding the law of the church, it's interests are still chiefly the good of the dwarvewn peoples. Further from the city the rigidity fades, and the interest in the community grows, but within the city, the political climate leaves the interpretation of law as a core element of their role. Much involved in ceremony and formal method, they are remenicent of the high church of 19th century Anglicans