| Gold dwarf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alignment | Lawful good, Neutral |
| Classes | Warrior, Spellcaster, Cleric |
| Homeland | East Rift |
| Leader(s) | Unknown |
| Homeworld | Toril |
| Classification | Small humanoid |
| Languages | Riftspeak |
Gold dwarves are a race of small, stout, brave and aloof dwarves that originate from the Underdark. They appear in the "Forgotten Realms" series.
History[]
In the beginning, all dwarves were united under one empire known as Bhaerynden. Bhaerynden was finished sixteen thousand years ago and was situated under the dark elf cave known as Ilythiir, otherwise known as a large part of the Underdark. Other than a huge exodus of dwarves led by Taark Shanat in -11000 DR, the dwarves of Bhaerynden lived under the dark elves and were undisturbed for quite some time. When the dark elf turned into the drow after the Crown War would later destroy the dwarven empire. This was because the drow began to taker out their rage on the dwarven races. The result of Bhaerynden's fall led to the dispersion of the dwarves throughout the Underdark.
The empire of Telantiwar eventually collapsed, creating the Great Rift. Telantiwar was an ancient drow empire. The dwarves believed Moradin caused the area to cave in, thus the dwarves called themselves gold dwarves and would eventually settle there. Since the area caved in, the heirs to Bhaerynden throne established a gold dwarf empire known as the Deep Kingdom. As the years passed by, the gold dwarves began reclaiming the land that they lost to the drow way back when.
They began to rebuild their city and started to trade with human civilizations on the surface. Similar to the shield dwarves the gold dwarves were given the Thunder Blessing by Moradin during the Year of the Thunder. Most dwarven races who received the blessing were honored and appreciated, but the gold dwarves did not appreciate it as much. Due to the Thunder Blessing, the numbers of gold dwarves exceeded and the Deep Kingdom could not support them all. In the years to come, many gold dwarves decided to go out on adventures.
Culture[]
Humans who come across a gold dwarf stronghold may be surprised to find people far more confident and secure in their future than most other dwarves. The shield dwarves suffered in their history, while the gold dwarves stayed firm about all the challenges and feel much better about their state in the world. As a result to this, gold dwarves come across as full of pride, similar to the eladrin, or otherwise known as high elves. Gold dwarves feel culturally superior to other races and lack the attitude their shield dwarf brethren have.
Art & Leisure[]
Gold dwarves are a serious materialistic race who believe that the resources of the world exist only to serve the purpose of conscious beings. To a gold dwarf, being fashioned in minerals of earth is a thing beauty. Guild take great pride in their work and often spend many years perfecting something they have made. Gold dwarves want the creation to be distinctively theirs, this is practiced quite often in gold dwarf culture. Examples of this include making unique runes on weapons they craft and having well-created flairs.
Gold dwarves supply a vast number of great armors and weapons, some even enchanted with prayers and runes. It is common that the weapons given out can also be used as tools such as axes, picks, hammers or even spear-axes. Some special items that gold dwarves make include mobile braces, rope climbers and unique wings that help when riding a hipogriffs.
If a gold dwarf wants to own a pet, common choices include a number of lizard species, some that spit and some that shock. Rothes, pack lizards and mules (that are bred from two special horses) are raised as livestock on gold dwarf farms. A typical gold dwarf mount includes a large lizard, horse or rarely a hippogriff.
Magic & Religion[]
Unlike most dwarves, gold dwarves do not worry much about magic, but are still careful when wielding it. Wisdom of a gold dwarf is no more than a human mage. They have created a number of unique spells for their own use. In part, gold dwarves are open to magic because of their heavy used of enchanted arms and weaponry, but mainly this tolerance comes from the age of gold dwarven civilization, which through sheer longevity has given rise to several magical beliefs and ways.
Divine spellscasters re far more common in gold dwarf society. However, gold dwarves do not have as much beliefs as their shield dwarf relatives. The two priamry gods that the gold dwarves worship are Moradin and Berronar. These are the main gods because the Morndinsamman, or fourteen dwarven deities was not known well yet. While the gold dwarves are not particularly devout, clerics of Moradin and Berronar hold great prestige within gold dwarf society, the clerics of Berronar in particular for their responsibilities as genealogists and protectors of traditon.
The most religious site in gold dwarf society is the city of Thullurn. In that sacred city is a church dedicated to Moradin. There, Moradin's clerics have a rich culture of manufacturing and crafting as well as serving as the city's executive and judiciary government branches.