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[[Category:OOC]][[Category:Lore]]
... but were probably afraid to ask.

While Elves arguably suffer from too much information being available, dwarves tend to suffer from the opposite.  They're so secretive that it can be hard to get a solid grasp of their history and culture without a fair amount of study.  So, this page is an attempt to make it easier for the RPer to find out about Dwarves.  As always, it is not any attempt to restrict how players choose to play their characters in any way.  What's available here is just a casual summary of the lore that's out there but I'll provide links where possible to further information for the curious.

==What is a Dwarf exactly?==
One of the harder aspects of grasping Tolkien's world is shedding all the stereotypes and conceptions from settings that have come ''after'' Tolkien and this can be seen especially with the Dwarves.  In most settings, Dwarves are loud, obnoxious, boisterous and muscular midgets with a nigh ridiculous fondness for ale, gold, and battle.  Oh, and they all have scottish accents.

In Tolkien's world though, [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Dwarves Dwarves] (aka Khazâd) are very reserved, always polite, seldom rash (unless in the grips of their "gold lust") and if anything probably have an accent that's closest to Finnish (the Moria dwarves seem to be spot on).  Physically they're still short, stocky, sturdy powerhouses, but unless their honor is involved they're not too likely to just rush off into battle.  Probably anyway.  Ironically, even though the dwarves are arguably the most reclusive of the Free Peoples, they're also the most likely to travel abroad.  Dwarves form the lion's share of Arda's merchant network, taking goods along the roads from point to point.  This may be because they are also the world's greatest crafters (in some respects even better than the elves).

==History==
Given their reclusive nature, dwarves don't pop on the scene ''too'' often, but when they do it's almost always noteworthy.

===Origins===
You may've heard something about dwarves being created by this guy named [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Aul%C3%AB  Aulë] (the dwarves call him Mahal the Maker) but weren't quite sure what the scoop was.  As the story goes, way back when, the Valar are all sitting around waiting for the First Children of Iluvatar (as it turns out, the elves) to show up.  So  Aulë, being the builder guy, decides to make himself some of his own little guys.  He makes seven dwarves (the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Fathers_of_the_Dwarves Dwarf-Fathers]) and then [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Il%C3%BAvatar Ilúvatar] points out that  Aulë cannot give them life because only Ilúvatar can do that.  Well Aulë gets all depressed (he was so looking forward to having some mortal friends after all) and raises his hammer to crush the Dwarf-Fathers but then they recoil.  Ilúvatar puts it best:

''"Even as I gave being to the thoughts of the Ainur at the beginning of the World, so now have I taken up thy desire and given to it a place therein ; but in no other way will I amend thy handiwork, and as thou hast made it, so shall it be.  But I will not suffer this: that these should come before the Firstborn of my design, nor that thy impatience should be rewarded.  They shall sleep now in darkness under stone, and shall not come forth until the Firstborn have awakened upon Earth ; and until that time thou and they shall wait, though long it seem.  But when the time comes I will awaken them, and they shall be to thee as children; and often strife shall arise between thine and mine, the children of my adoption and the children of my choice."<br />
~ Ilúvatar, Of  Aulë and Yavanna, p 44 of the Silmarillion''

===Back in the First Age...===
The Dwarves in the First Age are best marked in the events that happened in [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Beleriand Beleriand].  As such most of the stories revolve around the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Firebeards Firebeards] of [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Nogrod Nogrod] and the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Broadbeams Broadbeams] of Belegost (both of which resided in the Blue Mountains on Beleriand's eastern border).  During that time they helped to build [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Menegroth Menegroth], proved just how badass they could be during the War of the Jewels (particularly the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Battle_of_Unnumbered_Tears#The_Battle Battle of Unnumbered Tears]), forged a Silmaril into [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Nauglam%C3%ADr Nauglamír] for [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Thingol Thingol] who they then killed and later [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sack_of_Doriath sacked his city].

===War of Orcs and Dwarves===
This was an example of [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/War_of_the_Dwarves_and_Orcs dwarves at their mightiest].  And even though it happens round-abouts two centuries before 3018 (the current year in game), the events of this War directly influenced what happens during the Quest of the Ring.

You see, it all starts when [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Thr%C3%B3r Thrór] gets killed by [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Azog Azog] in [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Khazad-d%C3%BBm Khazad-dûm].  His son [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Thr%C3%A1in_II Thráin] hears about it and marshals all the Dwarven Houses into a massive army.  This army sweeps over the Misty Mountains, destroying each goblin stronghold one by one until eventually they get to Moria.  There, in the famous [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Battle_of_Azanulbizar Battle of Dimrill Dale], the Dwarves obliterate the orcish forces against all odds, killed Azog, and probably would've retaken Moria if they hadn't spotted [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Durin%27s_Bane Durin's Bane] lurking inside.  Without that war (which killed thousands and thousands of orcs), it's unlikely that [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Thorin_and_Company Thorin's Company] or the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Fellowship Fellowship] would ever have been able to cross the Misty Mountains at all.

==Dwarven Houses==
It's not mentioned in ''The Hobbit'' or ''The Lord of the Rings'' (so, for licensing reasons, it's not mentioned in LotRO either) but, as there are three kins of the elves, there are seven houses of the dwarves.

===Longbeards===
All the NPCs you see in the game are apparently [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Longbeards Longbeards] due to the reason noted above (or at least the ones that mention their line).  They come from Khazad-dûm and are descended from [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Durin_the_Deathless Durin the Deathless].

===Firebeards===
The [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Firebeards Firebeards] are the greatest crafters of all the Dwarves, and even of all the Free Peoples.  Before the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/War_of_Wrath War of Wrath] they lived at Nogrod.  History notes them most for the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sack_of_Doriath Sack of Doriath].

===Broadbeams===
The [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Broadbeams Broadbeams] are second in crafting only to the Firebeards, they've had the best relations with other races (usually).  It was their king that fought during the [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Battle_of_Unnumbered_Tears#The_Battle Battle of Unnumbered Tears] and earned so much acclaim.  They lived in [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Belegost Belegost] until it was "ruined" in the War of Wrath.

===Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, & Stonefoots===
All these guys apparently lived way off in some [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Orocarni mountains to the East] and really never entered into the History.  The only time they (arguably, because they're not explicitly mentioned) do is during the War of Dwarves and Orcs.

===Petty-Dwarves===
These are not so much a House of Dwarves as the cast-offs of all the other houses.  The [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Petty-dwarves Petty-dwarves] were supposedly all killed off during the First Age but as this was a social distinction rather than a biological one it's unclear if there may have been any other ones.  The Dourhands might certainly classify as Petty-dwarves, but as they were a creation of Turbine it may be inappropriate to classify them as such.

==Writing & Language==
===Khuzdul===
[http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Khuzdul Khuzdul] is the native language of the Dwarves and it's quite unlike any other language in Middle-Earth.  This is partly because it is such a closely guarded secret.  No dwarf would ever teach Khuzdul to an outsider.  Because of this secretiveness there's very few words known in Khuzdul (about 30) but if you'd like to see what is known, here's [http://folk.uib.no/hnohf/khuzdul.htm a good page] for it (scroll to the bottom for a wordlist).

====Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!====
You've doubtless heard [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Baruk_Khaz%C3%A2d!_Khaz%C3%A2d_ai-m%C3%AAnu! this] shouted by many a Dwarf heading into battle!  This is probably the only phrase of Khuzdul that Dwarves speak openly in public and it can be enough to strike fear in the hearts of orcs and foes everywhere.  The phrase is said to mean: "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!"  Its use supposedly stretches back into the First Age.

===Cirth===
These are the runes the dwarves most often use for writing, because the hard angles and sharp lines work well with carving in stone.  It's an odd note though that the runes were actually invented by a [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sindar Sindarin] named [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Daeron Daeron].

==Lifespan==
I've yet to find a definitive source for the lifecycle of a dwarf (it's quite possible one doesn't exist) but it seems like they reach physical maturity around 40-50 years (they're stated as being "battle-ready" by about 30) and probably live to be about 250 on average.  That said, there's certainly cases of Dwarves that far surpass that age such as [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Dwalin Dwalin] who lives to be close to 340.  By most accounts it seems like Dwarves maintain their vitality even through old age, though one assumes that there is some diminishing as they pass the 250 mark.

==Relations with other Races==
===Men===
Dwarves don't seem to have any particular fondness or enmity for men.  They probably see them as fine trading partners but they're still Outsiders.

===Hobbits===
Until the events at the end of the Third Age, the Shire was just a stop along the East Road for traveling dwarven merchants.  So the Dwarves have the longest relationship with hobbits, but it's still fairly loose.

===Elves===
There's a constant tenseness between Dwarves and Elves that erupts into outright hostility every now and then.  They can usually get along well enough under most circumstances, but at the slightest prod a lot of old offenses (on both sides) tend to come up.

===Orcs & Goblins===
It is ''extremely'' unlikely that dwarves would ever tolerate the presence of orcs and goblins.  However, there are precedents where they have worked together, though the dwarf was always a petty-dwarf.

===Ents===
Most dwarves have only heard of Ents in legends by this point in history.  Likely they'd be a bit bewildered by them.

==Mating Habits==
===Dwarven Women?===
This is a topic that seems to come up in any conversation of dwarves: the profound and apparent lack of [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Dwarf-women female dwarves].  Well, they do exist but there's a twist.  The dwarven race is 2/3 male, so females only make up a third of their entire population.  Because of their scarcity it's rare for them to ever leave the Dwarf-holds.  To make it even better, they're described as being so much in body and stature like the males so as there is no visual distinction between the two.  So yes, that would mean that dwarven females likely have beards and a rather "butch" appearance.  This does lead to an amusing anecdote in one of Tolkien's Letters that when two dwarves meet for the first time they can speak for hours just trying to subtly and politely find out the gender of the other.  Despite the anecdote, it seems to be generally assumed that dwarven females do dress in the "fairer fashion" while inside a Hold, but on the rare occasion they would be traveling they typically dress as the males.  [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gimli Gimli] notes that since this results in non-dwarves being unable to tell male dwarves from female dwarves, the rumor is that there are no dwarven women.

And there you have it. =)

===Marriage===
Because of the relative few females, only a third of all dwarven males ever take a wife.  When they do though, they remain faithful to that wife for the rest of their lives.  There is some indication that dwarven women can freely refuse marriage for their own reasons and some take this as indicating a degree of gender-equality for the dwarven race.

===Other races & Hybrids?===
There is no reference anywhere in the lore to a dwarf choosing a member of another race as a mate and given their culture it seems '''extremely''' unlikely (practically impossible).  This would of course make hybrids with other races an impossibility.

==Names==
Dwarves usually have two names.  One is Khuzdul and used only amongst other dwarves.  The other is [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/westron Westron] and that's their given name amongst other races.  Their birthname (the Khuzdul one) is such a closely guarded secret  that only [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Azagh%C3%A2l one] such name is known in the whole of the lore.