RP-ing a Dwarf.

Dwarf

What is a dwarf, actually?
Though most people think they know the answer, it is proven otherwise.
Dwarves, as a general rule, are a race of extremes. A dwarf does nothing without throwing himself into body and soul, wether it be fighting, singing, drinking, or mining. This single mindedness is one of their finest, and at times one of their worst, qualities.
Dwarves are skeptics at heart, fueled by a deeply woven pride in all things dwarven. Because of this, they can sometimes come off as eliteist, seeming to believe that all things dwarven are inherently superior. While they don't deny that the others of the Alliance have achieved grand things and are critical to the success of the Alliances survivial, they are convinced that these races would eventually make a muck of it all were the dwarves not around to help keep them out of trouble.
On the brighter side, dwarves are likely the most fiercely loyal companions to be had. It is not an easy thing to befriend a dwarf, but it is definitely worth the effort. A dwarf will stand by a chosen life friend through thick and thin. A dwarf that turns his back on a friend is lower than a trogg in the eyes of his kindred. When you make a dwarven friend, you make a friend, and an ally, for life.

What are you?
Like a well-crafted chain shirt we are. Each warrior is an iron-hard link, knitted together by duty, respect, honor and loyalty. And, like this chain shirt, never a blow shall pass them as long as all the links remain strong.
We are a clan, not a band of warrior. Thus, we are a large family, which includes all daily life as well as combat.


Creating a dwarf.

1. Your Name.
2. Your Clan. (Ironfist is default, since that’s our clan.)
3. Your Caste. (Clannsman.)

Furthermore, there are a number of details on which you will propably want to figure out. These will include your:
-Title
-Family historie
-Occupation
-Honour codes?

Here are some guidelines:

Dwarf
Dwarves, as a general rule, are a race of extremes. A dwarf does nothing without throwing himself into body and soul, wether it be fighting, singing, drinking, or mining. This single mindedness is one of their finest, and at times one of their worst, qualities.

Dwarves are skeptics at heart, fueled by a deeply woven pride in all things dwarven. Because of this, they can sometimes come off as eliteist, seeming to believe that all things dwarven are inherently superior. While they don't deny that the others of their alliance have achieved grand things and are critical to the success of their survivial, they are convinced that these races would eventually make a muck of it all were the dwarves not around to help keep them out of trouble.

On the brighter side, dwarves are likely the most fiercely loyal companions to be had. It is not an easy thing to befriend a dwarf, but it is definitely worth the effort. A dwarf will stand by a chosen life friend through thick and thin. A dwarf that turns his back on a friend is lower than an orc in the eyes of his kindred. When you make a dwarven friend, you make a friend, and an ally, for life.


Dwarven Abilities.
You might want to take use of several of these abilities, to give your character a better.. Well, character! Ofcourse, this is just an addition, and don’t go Power Roleplaying of some sort.

Advantages
Shields, Axes, Armor, Guns and Crossbows.
Brawling.
Strenght.
Magic, Divine/Runic.
Will

Disadvantages
Hatred of Magic.
Honesty.
Courage.
Overconfident.
Stubborness.



Styles

Clothing
While they are permitted to wear anything they wish, there are certain thinks that help to make the character more dwarfish. If you’re able to wear chain or plate, do so. Failing to do so, leather bracers and belts will also appear dwarven.

Weapons
The traditional weapons of dwarves are an axe and a gun/crossbow. As a part to become adult, dwarven males are required to make their own set of these weapons. While many dwarves replace those self made for better ones, crafted by craftsmen, the majority will carry these with them. Dwarven woman are traditionally armed with a mace/long knife.

Beards
Not all dwarves have beards. While some woman develop small amounts of facial hair, those generally shave and the avarage female has no facial hair. Dwarven men tend to grow facial hair much faster then humans do. Although many shave, due comming in the way of battle, they do not so often.

Dwarven Names
All dwarves have three or four parts in their name. The first part is their title, most of the dwarves have the title of clansman/woman, but those of noble born, or members of a royal household have it different.
The second and third part are the names given, and their family name. You can make these up, randomly. Family names are generally two English words stuck together and are inherited from the mother. If the character is noble, it has that family name. If it is the prince/princess from the clan, it has the clanname. Lastly, some dwarves have an epithet which they add to the end of the name. Although epithets are bestowed by the dwarves’s liege, they can be a mark of fondness aswell as honour. These epithets also tend to be characterized by physical traits such as “the Tall” or “the Strong” while noble epithets are frequently more graphic and relate to the holder’s honorable deeds.
Players of dwarven characters are encouraged to make up a genealogy. Given names are based on the parent’s name of the same sex. Therefore, a male player can make up the name of his character’s father by changing a few letters in his character’s name. A female player can do the same for her character’s mother. When giving a genealogy, use the form “X, daughter of Y, daughter of Z.” (Substitute “son of” if you are male.) If you do this well, there will be a nice rhythm to the genealogy since all of the names sound similar.
Lastly, although nearly every dwarf has a name of this sort, common usage tends to be a good deal less formal. Even noble dwarves frequently grant their friends and companions leave to address them less formally in private.


Dwarven Attitudes

There are several classic dwarven attitudes that can be reflected in the role playing of your dwarf. While not every dwarf will exhibit every attitude, it is a rare dwarf that does not exhibit at least one of them. Remember, these are archetypes - simplified guidelines. Be creative!

Grumpy
The Grumpy dwarf is displeased with everyone and everything. The weather is always too hot or too cold, the food never tastes like it should, and his companions never appreciate him. This dwarf is not a whiner, however. While a grumpy dwarf loves too complain, it will always carry with it the message that at least he/she is a dwarf and is able to bear the burden of the adversities presented by the world.
"Hmph! Blasted tallfellows, dragging me around this stank grub bush, caked in foul spiders an' smellin' of wet burlap! If I weren't a dwarf earthen, I'd never have the patience to keep this alliance! Tallfellows be countin' themselves lucky on this torst."

Superiority
Most dwarves, if not all, consider their race to be inherently better suited to most tasks than any other. Elves are too focused on Elune's will to know what's going on in the world right around them, humans are loud mouthed and always in a hurry, and gnomes take too much pleasure at the expense of others. While dwarves recognize that other races may have achieved great things none of them have reached the level of civilization of the dwarves. The superior dwarf will take any opportunity to point out the deficiencies of others, often creating friction when there would otherwise be none.
"Ye had to let that blade go fer only three gold!? Ye tallfellows be foolish as a smith with a rubber mallet!"

Warmonger
This dwarf simply loves to fight. He doesn't care what the fight is about, or who started it. If he sees a fight going on, he will choose a side and jump right in. Battle is a joyous thing, to be sung about with ale and cheer in bandages and blooded armor. This dwarf sees combat as the ultimate expression of his being.
"To arms! I'll have yer life on me axe as me ale hits me gullet tonight!"

Leader
This dwarf has a penchant for taking charge of any situation. He or she sees what needs to be done, and sets about getting everyone around him together and leading them to accomplishing the goals at hand. Note that this dwarf may not always know the proper thing to do, but he certainly believes he does!
"Gather around, kin, I've got me a solution fer this."

Stoic
The classic dwarf, the stoic bears any situation without complaining. When others begin to buckle, he considers them to be whiners and unfit for managing their own skin. Faced with any obstical, be it an army of troggs or a dragon, the stoic will observe simply, "This could prove to be a challenge." He'll then heft his ax and head forward into the fray. Threatening a stoic dwarf is a waste of breath, since he will never budge nor flinch.
"At ready, Elder."

Greedy
Dwarves are well known for their love of riches of the earth: precious ores and gems of all sorts. This should not be mistaken for the more generic forms of greed; most dwarves simply love these things for their beauty, usefulness, and as kin to the earth itself in their history as the Earthen of Azeroth. Some dwarves do take this to an extreme and become obsessed with ownership as a fundamental, resorting to dastardly methods to gain more and more property.
"Precious gold!" *hefts pickaxe and sprints full tilt*

Dependable
Dwarven loyalty cannot be taken lightly. It bleeds into many things: family, friendship, and a fierce dedication to their commitments and place in society. This sort of dwarf lives to be useful. She will always step up to get the job -- whatever it may be -- done. Most often, these dwarves have a certain humility about the accomplishments they achieve through their work ethic as it is simply how they exist.
"It will be done."

Very good, although you might want to edit some of it for Darkfall. There's quite a few WoW references in there.

i believe that the darkfall dwarves were diffrent then the WoW dwarves. never looked much at the lore of either 2 but i read some forum posts about the diffrence

I just copied it from my WoW-dwarven test guild thingy. ^^

Superb work, very good information!