Caste

All dwarves are born into inherited castes that determine what sort of opportunities they will encounter during their lives and how others will treat them. It is possible to change castes through one's children as dwarves inherit their caste from their same-sex parent, so if a lower caste woman has a son by a man of a higher caste, her son would be the same caste as his father. In this case, the woman would then also be raised up to join that higher caste, often as a concubine in the case of noble hunters. If she bears a daughter, her daughter will take her lower caste and no advancement will have taken place. In rare cases, becoming a Paragon also raises you to a different caste. Becoming a Paragon is possible for a member of any caste so long as the dwarf has achieved sufficient success and acclaim.

Many of the castes also have a strata within them, and the rank of specific members may be a source of considerable argument. For example, highly-placed members of the smith caste might consider themselves above lowly soldiers.

The Founding of the Caste System
According to legend, seven brothers founded the dwarven Empire:


 * Bloadlikk: Youngest and wisest, he was chosen king. Bloadlikk's children formed the Noble Caste.
 * Kiotshett: The eldest, who trained his sons to defend the king. From his children descend the Warrior Caste.
 * Shotkyar: Founded the Artisan Caste.
 * Orzatyar: Forged the first swords and founded the Smith caste.
 * Orzammar: Dug the mines that became the foundations of Orzammar. From his descendants formed the Miner Caste.
 * Koapar and Knakkt: twin brothers who founded trading houses. Knakkt was wounded in battle and vowed to serve his brother. From Koapar comes the Merchant Caste, and from Knakkt the Servant Caste.

Caste Hierarchy
In descending order of hierarchy in the dwarven social strata, the castes are:

Noble Caste: The highest ranking and most esteemed caste in Orzammar, consisting of the most powerful and influential dwarves.
 * This caste includes the king and the Royal House, the very pinnacle of dwarven society even amongst the nobles.
 * Deshyrs: A term meaning "assembly lord." Deshyrs join the dwarven Assembly when a standing member dies or resigns. The prospective deshyr then must be nominated by a standing members and receive a one-third vote from the Assembly to ratify the decision.

Warrior caste: The Warrior Caste is subdivided into smaller castes, with specific houses producing soldiers, bodyguards, officers, etc. Warriors lead lives of drill and practice and marry early, knowing their lives will be short and grim. Each Warrior house is sworn to a noble house.

Smith caste: Smith caste artists produce finished goods for other castes. Smiths compete for acclaim and patronage and there are often the equivalent of Smith Provings to determine the most skilled smith. Within the caste weaponsmiths, followed by armorsmiths, are most revered.

Artisan caste: Artisans ornament the goods produced by Smiths or simply create art for its own sake. They work closely with Smiths but are not as respected. They often create leather and cloth goods.

Miner caste: Orzammar is the ancestral home of the Smith and Miner Castes due to the rich ore of the Frostback Mountains. Much of Orzammar's wealth comes from its mining. Lyrium mining is one of the most difficult and important facets of this caste's work, requiring finesse and a hearty constitution to withstand constant lyrium exposure.

Merchant caste: The majority of Orzammar's goods pass through the hands of merchants, sold to surface traders or within Orzammar itself. As space in Orzammar is limited, only very respected merchants have permanent shops; others must rent temporary stalls. Once one of the most highly respected castes, their esteem has diminished in recent years as their desire for wealth has sent many Merchant Caste dwarves to the surface to seek greater riches, dividing them from Orzammar forever.

Servant caste: This caste makes up the bulk of Orzammar's population. Members consider themselves and their work worthy of the greatest respect and take pride in their service to other castes. They look down upon the casteless.

The casteless: The casteless dwarves live in the ghetto of Dust Town, in the shadow of the rich and powerful Orzammar. Born with no rights and considered non-citizens, rejected by The Stone itself, these dwarves make a living often as thugs for the Carta, beggars, street sweepers, or as noble hunters, as they are forbidden from doing work any other caste might do. Casteless dwarves are branded soon after birth with a tattoo to identify them.

Top caste
These are the rulers of the Orzammar. The King with the elected deshyrs from the noble houses form the Assembly. Deshyrs bear the title of Lord and the King is officially considered first among them. Lesser noble houses may not have a vote in the Assembly.

Noble caste
Most of the noble houses in Orzammar are founded by Paragons, which give their name to their House. However, not all noble houses are descented from Paragons. They live in a separate part of the city, in the Diamond Quarter.

All noble houses are patrons. They sponsor particular artisans, warriors, miners, etc. If a warrior wins honor for himself in battle or in the Provings, it brings honor to the noble. If an artisan becomes sought-after or acclaimed for their work, it elevates the noble sponsor. This becomes part of the political maneuvering in Orzammar, and noble houses will compete for promising warriors or talented craftsmen in order to gain an advantage over their rivals.

Warrior caste
The dwarven military is made up of various houses from the warrior caste. Each warrior House is sworn to a noble patron.

For instance, the current royal family is from House Aeducan. They probably have a dozen or more warrior caste houses in their employment. The king, as head of House Aeducan, will appoint members of his house to command the warriors who serve him.

Meanwhile, House Medra is a warrior caste house sworn to House Aeducan. House Medra has its own head—an older matriarch or patriarch of the family—who decides which members of House Medra will march with the newly-appointed commander, and who the officers in charge of those warriors are. Because they serve the royal family, House Medra is treated like the cream of the crop of the dwarven military. They get special consideration from the smiths and artisans. The warriors of lesser houses make way for them when they see them coming.

If something lowers the standing of House Aeducan, such as losing the throne to House Harrowmont, House Medra falls with it, and the warrior houses sworn to House Harrowmont rise in power and prominence among the warrior caste.

Smith caste
Smiths are respected, and children born to the smith caste are expected to learn the craft as their ancestors did. Females in this caste may become smiths, though it would also be acceptable for them to marry and produce children for their caste.

Mining caste
These are the dwarves who mine for ore and lyrium, a valuable trading commodity for Orzammar. The lyrium trade is strictly controlled by Orzammar with the Chantry.

Servant Caste
Many members of the Servant Caste are proud of their position and consider themselves far above the casteless.

Casteless
These unfortunates are believed to be descendants of criminals and other undesirables and have been looked down upon by the ancestors since Orzammar's foundation. Once they are born, they are branded with a tattoo in their face in order for the other dwarves to quickly identify their origin. They have taken up residence in a place called Dust Town, a crumbling ruin where the old palace used to be, on the fringe of Orzammar's common areas. A large portion of them turn to crime in order to feed themselves and their families.

Casteless are usually forced to take up the most dangerous and dirty jobs, such as checking for gas pockets for Mining Caste families and sweeping garbage off the streets. The rest, mostly those who are too old or crippled end up becoming beggars. Casteless dwarves who are attractive can become noble hunters and possibly being elevated to a caste, upon bearing a child of the same gender as the upper caste dwarf. The dwarf commoner Warden is a casteless dwarf, working for a crime lord while his/her sister is a noble hunter.

Dwarves who have left Orzammar to live in the surface and abide by the human laws, are named surface dwarves and are also considered to be part of the casteless.