Created by the gods to harvest the land for the stores of precious ores and gems hidden within, the ancient dwarves were the craftsmen of old. Their original race has now become with time specialized to different locales.

There are four main varieties of dwarves, each from a different location in modern Thera. They all share some racial characteristics. They all tend to be short, stocky demi-humans, known for foul temper and great stamina. Dwarves have high strength and constitution, but poor dexterity. They are not as smart as humans, but are usually wiser due to their long lifespans. Dwarves make excellent fighters and priests, but are very poor mages due to their general lack of magic prowess, and poor thieves from stubby fingers. All dwarves speak common and dwarven, except duergar which speak common and underdark.

There are 4 variations of dwarves in modern Thera: Mountain, Hill, Sundred, and Duergar. Mountain and Hill dwarves are from the same stock, and are more recent offshoots of a single root. They are both a hardy people, with strong constitutions and innately find ores of use. Water is a bane to them, and they have no taste for magic.

Sundred and Duergar are both dwarven races that are at home in the deep underground, and they have adapted very well to that life. Sundred dwarves are found in the coldest reaches of the underdark, where no other real underdark races are found. They do not share the common dwarven dislike of water, but are as hardy as their mountain and hill cousins.

Duergar are twisted remnants from the godwars. They are dark in their character, and at times have been known to associate with drow. While sharing the hardiness of their more goodly brethren, they have been associated with darkness for so long that they are unable to tolerate many a holy item.