Arctic Dwarf

Introduction
Arctic Dwarves are a race of dwarves located in the isolated reaches of The Frostspine Mountains, Grun'Duk and Tundrasil in Éarthrun's northernmost reaches. Arctic dwarves have a different origin than most of the other dwarves in Éarthrun as well as the duergar, and are significantly different physiologically and culturally from other members of the Stout Folk, so much that they might be considered their own race. Arctic dwarves were almost entirely unheard of until relatively recent, when a group of them began settling the edges of Nord'Wah a century ago.

Description
Arctic dwarves are a very small race, not only in general but in comparison with dwarves as well. The average arctic dwarf is shorter than Shield Dwarves standing at just 1.20 - 1.30 meter tall. Physically, arctic dwarves are squat, with pinched faces and stubby legs, being nearly as wide as they are tall with their fingers and toes thick and blunt and their feet flat and wide. Their skin is typically quite pale, ranging from a pale shade of blue to white, except for their cheeks and nose which are a ruddy red, although their frequent exposure to the sun means many are frequently sunburned. Arctic dwarf eyes are bright blue and their curly hair, which they usually let flow freely long to their waists, is white. Unlike most dwarves, arctic dwarf females can't grow beard, though men can, often growing short beards with twisting mustaches. Arctic dwarf dress is typically simple, most often little more than tunics of polar bear fur, and leather armor.

While ostensibly dwarves, arctic dwarves have many significant physical and ability differences between themselves and other dwarves. For instance, while arctic dwarves are frequently sunburned due to their constant exposure to the sun, this causes them no harm, suggesting a resistance to radioactivity. Arctic dwarves are also significantly stronger than most dwarves, while being, in spite of their size, less dexterous. Arctic dwarves are also completely immune to the effects of extreme cold. Arctic Dwarves even have the ability to layer their skin with an arcane ice, acting as a somewhat natural armor.

Psychology
In general, arctic dwarves are a gregarious people, open to the company of others. Unlike other dwarves they care little from what bloodline another dwarf comes from and have next to no materialistic drive, believing instead in living life to the fullest. In part, this is derived from the primitive nature of arctic dwarven society, which relies on hunting and foraging to sustain itself, restricting the accumulation of private property but at the same time allowing for a greater amount of free time than civilized cultures do.

While individualistic and open-minded, arctic dwarves rarely venture beyond their own homelands to adventure. Those that do are usually driven by a spirit of curiosity, falling into the life of an adventurer more by default than by conscious decision. These individuals often become rangers or barbarians, which the self-sufficient lifestyle of an arctic dwarf is well-suited for and which draw upon the long history of their people's fight against the frost giants of the north.

Culture
Given the scattered nature of their population it is remarkable that arctic dwarf society is as homogeneous as it is, most likely the result of millennia spent in isolation from other races. Unlike most dwarves, the arctic dwarves do not divide themselves by clan lineage but neither is individualism highly valued among the illiterate race, who do not frequently remember individual deeds for more than a generation. Nor do arctic dwarves value hard work or craftsmanship to the same degree as other dwarves or indeed as most other races.

Instead, arctic dwarves focus themselves on contributing to the greater communal good, which itself demands very little from them, meaning that most of the race are content to live in ease without concern for the future. Young children receive a great deal of attention and raised by most of the community as a whole. Elders are largely devoid of any responsibility at all in arctic dwarf society, which sees it as their right to live without worries for the remainder of their days before being buried beneath the snow and ice when they finally leave the mortal world.

Arctic dwarves are few in number as it is and only very rarely have they migrated from their northern homes to more temperate regions. As a result, they integrate poorly with outside cultures and often exert a great deal of effort looking for others of similar mind to replicate the casual lifestyle of their culture.

Arctic dwarves almost exclusively speak Kurit, a rare dialect of Dwarvish that is significantly influenced by Uluik, though a few also speak the Sossal dialect of Common. Other arctic dwarves learn Uluik, Giant, Damaran, or Draconic. Although nearly all arctic dwarves are illiterate, Kurit does use a version of the Dethek alphabet and many arctic dwarves who become adventurers are literate.

Relations with Other Races
Arctic dwarves have very little contact with anyone besides themselves, frost giants, with whom they are deadly foes, and Ulutiun humans, with whom they have friendly relations. However, because arctic dwarves are a friendly and open-minded race they are usually very tolerant of outsiders. Gnomes and other dwarves are often considered amusing to arctic dwarves due to their mix of familiar and alien, an attitude that also applies to a lesser extent to humans other than the Ulutuiuns. Most other humanoid races only rarely encounter the arctic dwarves and are considered quite exotic.