Dwarves are renowned for the quality of steel that comes from their cities, no doubt helped by the purity of the iron that comes from their mines. Their exports make them the wealthiest of the races, with that wealth, and the entirety of their race, locked away in mountain citadels.

It is this safety that has made the Dwarves so reluctant to leave and have cause to interact with the "others" of the world. Surely no army could assault them, no siege would be far-reaching enough to entirely cut off supplies, and no nation driven enough that could not simply be bought off by the huge dwarven fortunes.

Crossbows, axes, and spears are the weapons of the dwarves. These are easily trained in, and relatively simple to use. Every dwarf is trained as to how to use at least one of these weapons, as a sort of informal militia. Each family member stands guard two days in a row a month. The first is a sort of drill, where they practice with their weapons so as to not be unfamiliar with them should they have reason to use them, the second is when they actually stand guard in the fortifications and outskirts of the dwarven lands.

The dwarves lack a true religion, rather they revere their ancestors, and seek guidance from the actions of those that came before them.

Dwarves tend to favor heavy armor still, as defensiveness is ingrained into their blood. Their weapons are the axes, crossbows, and spears typical to the dwarven lands.

In the beginning, there were the Ironridge Mountains, the Lifefont River, and the drips of it which made their way to the caves deep below. One drip at a time, the waters of the Lifefont splattered upon stalagmites throughout the caves. Slowly, over an unknown period of time, they were carved into shape.

Who knows what the spark was? The shapes became sentient, living things. They pulled themselves up from the cavern floors, and set out to make the mountains understand themselves. Thus, the Dwarves were born.