Dwarves are short but broad humanoids who immigrated to Esterfell in the first few waves of ships. Various groups of dwarves settled across Lenya, Yggru, and Barria, distributing themselves based on traditional trades and environmental preferences carried over from their ancestral lands.
Dwarves possess a profound connection to the minerals that constitute Mote. This has led dwarven communities to be some of the first to perfect the process of mining precious stones, refining them, and crafting them into tools and works of art, and they in turn spread this knowledge to other societies across the world. Their dense stocky bodies can be ill-suited for swimming, but their surefootedness makes them comfortable in many earthy terrains such as mountain ranges and canyons.
Desert dwarves developed many distinct traits that make them comfortable within arid environments. Their wider feet allow them to distribute their weight across the desert sands without sinking. This adaptation not only lets them dart quickly about the surface, but they can even use their feet as rudimentary flippers while burrowing underground. Their impressive beards grow thick and shaggy to insulate them from the unrelenting sun while also trapping body heat at night, and this growth of hair extends around their chests to their backs, providing ample coverage.
The sands of Barria immediately appealed to the desert dwarves who arrived in Esterfell's early waves of immigration. These dwarves can be found among the populations of Mawlin tribes who wander the wind-blasted terrain.
As a desert dwarf, you have the following special traits.
Desert Born. Because of your natural adaptations to hot climates, you do not need to drink water, as your body is able to survive on the small amounts of moisture found in your normal food intake.
Walk Without Rhythm. While moving through nonmagical difficult terrain, you can Dash as a Bonus Action. You can use this Bonus Action a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and you regain all uses when you finish a Long Rest.
Duergar, also sometimes known as grey dwarves, hail originally from the Underdark. This has granted them a finely honed darkvision making them well-suited to a subterranean lifestyle, as well as a latent psionic prowess common to beings sourced from that magical realm.
Being naturally drawn to Esterfell's deep connections to the Underdark, duergar established large settlements in the lava tubes shaped over millennia by Mount Hora's eruptions, eventually expanding them into a great network of interconnected tunnels that grant access to Yggru under the Lorunian Strait.
Hill dwarves have keen senses and remarkable resilience afforded by regular exercise through long journeys on foot. Their tendency toward walkabouts means they can often be found trekking across great expanses of land, and this wanderlust leads some hill dwarves to take work as couriers and cartographers.
The original hill dwarf settlers of Esterfell were said to step off their sailing ships and never stop walking. This quickly distributed them across the flatter regions of the continent, such that they can be found in most environments at sea level. The largest population of hill dwarves resides within the Bailen Plains, but any landlocked settlement in Lenya can reliably be expected to include some members of this ancestry.
Mountain dwarves support their heavy frames with thick sturdy bones.
Generally able climbers, mountain dwarves can firmly plant themselves on terrain many other folk might find difficult to traverse. As a result, the early immigrants often settled in colder mountainous terrain, including the Floral Divide in Lenya and the Lithbirk Range of Yggru.