Tugevus
Proud and strong, the Tugevus are master architects, craftsmen, miners, tacticians, and fierce warriors. They have nut brown skin, hair ranging from sandy to rust to coal, deep piercing eyes of vibrant gemstone colors, and bodies shaped like muscled tanks. Both male and female sport elaborate beards that they weave into complicated braids that tell the tales of their many accomplishments. They are known for their pride and honor, with strict laws and codes of conduct, and worship the primary dwarven deities Angradd, Bolka, Dranngvit, Folgrit, Kols, Torag, and Trudd. The Tugevus Clans have stronghold cities within Mount Steadfast and the Thunderhead Peaks, and massive networks of cities within the Mighty Mountains and the Twice Frost Mountains. Their ability to consume vast amounts of potent alcohol is legendary. Tugevus speak Dwarf, and most know Common, Giant, Gnome, Orc, and Terran.
Tarkus
Splintering from the Tugevus millennia ago, the Tarkus are just as hardy as their cousins, but have spent more time with the surface races and thus have tempered their stubborn ways into contemplative wisdom. Their kind are poet warriors and philosopher kings. They have friendlier relations with humans, elves, and gnomes, and often can be found intermingling within those cultures. It was the Tarkus Dwarves, not the Tugevus, that bled on the fields of the Crucible Wars alongside elf and man. Spending more time above ground has lightened their skin and hair, and their eyes are those more common to other demihuman races. Many Tarkus clans and institutions have even embraced Sol as their patron deity, and thus have more direct political dealings with Karfax County and Solidar Proper. Many older Tarkus clans still worship Bolka, Folgrit, Grundinnar, Kols, Magrim, and Torag, They can be found across the realm, but have major strongholds and cities in the Silver Curtain, Starlight Mountains, and the Sapphire Mountains. Tarkus speak Common, Dwarf, Elf, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and any other local tongues.
Prugi
Prugi are a pitiful lot of stupid and gross mongrel dwarves. They have no society of their own, and often appear randomly at the fringes of Gnome, Halfling, Nin’ki, and Olvidar communities. Although no dwarf clan will claim responsibility for them, it is thought they are the handicapped and inbred castoffs of better-off dwarf clans from ages past. Recently there has been a cultish surge of pseudo-spiritual theory within Solidar Minor cities stating the Prugi are secretly Fey from another realm sent here to evaluate the empathy of other races, but this is an unproven fringe belief, as the Prugi are by all accounts worthless. Prugi speak a pidgin of Dwarf and Goblin. Their numeric system contains only three concepts: none, one, and “two” (anything more than one). For all their faults, Prugi are stubbornly reluctant to die, and impervious to the effects of poison and disease (although most are carriers of one contagion or another).
Tume
Baleful dwarves that have spent millennia deep underground, only venturing to the surface for plunder, and slaving. Tume are an evil lot with ashen skin, white hair, black eyes, and several innate magical abilities, including invisibility, manipulating stone, and growing to the size of a giant. There is a vast network of subterranean Tume cities connecting the northern reaches of Solidar Minor, catering to the slave trade, architectural needs, and general avarice of the other sunless races. Each Tume Clan seeks three things above all else: alliance with a powerful dragon to patron their endeavors, a steady supply of slaves for personal use and resale, and the destabilization and eventual slaughter of all other dwarf, elf, and gnome societies. Tume worship Droskar, (others), as well as various fiendish patrons. Tume speak Aklo, Draconic, Dwarven, and Goblin.
Uksi
Far far deep beneath Roric’s Wall and the Fuming Peaks, never surfacing to the sunlit Realm, the Uksi toil away near the blistering magma pumping from the Heart of the Earth. They are the oldest of dwarf subraces, and when standing still look as if they were made of craggy rock and stone. Legend holds that they do not eat food, but sustain themselves on stone and gems. They have their own language (a mix of archaic Draconic, Dwarf, Ignan, and Terran), and worship their own strange Old Gods. Uksi often come into conflict with evil subterranean races like the Tume and Estragos, and have rare contact with the Tugevus, but otherwise live in a world separate from those above. They exist at the fringes of myth.
