Dwarf

A dwarf is one of the three known playable races in Dragon Age: Origins. Dwarves can be either warriors or rogues, but are unable to become mages as they have no connection to the Fade. In the dwarven language, they refer to themselves as the dwarva.

Culture
Unlike many other cultures in Thedas, the dwarves do not worship anthropomorphic god(s). Their beliefs are more akin to ancestor worship, and they also hold a sacred reverence for the stone that surrounds them throughout their entire life. Dwarves who are believed to be strong and noble are said to strengthen the Stone when they die and return to it. Those who are ignoble or disgraced will weaken the stone or be rejected by it entirely.

Every once in a while there's a dwarf who is declared by the Shaperate, a sort of ruling council, to be particularly noble. These dwarves become Paragons, and are worshiped after their deaths. When a dwarf is declared by the Assembly to be a Paragon a House is created which bears their name. The deeds of a Paragon are carefully recorded in the Memories, which record the lineage and deeds that help determine what station a dwarf is born into. The word of a Paragon is held in such esteem that it is sometimes equal to even that of their king.

The social structure of dwarves is broken up into castes. The casteless are the lowest rung of dwarven society. Dwarves who are exiled or born on the surface are also considered by the Shaperate to be casteless, but with an increase in the number of dwarves from high ranking castes choosing to live on the surface, it is becoming more difficult for some surface dwarves to be considered permanent exiles. The average dwarf will never see the surface, and often will have superstitious beliefs concerning surface-life (such as falling into the sky, or the sun falling to the ground). Those dwarves who are most commonly seen on the surface tend to be merchants, but amongst the dwarves they might have been murderers or worse.

The dwarves do have a king, but heredity is not always the determining factor in who sits on the throne. When the time comes, the Houses fight each other for the power that the throne will bring.


 * "We dwarves do things much the same, when it comes time for the Houses to contest the throne, though there's rarely any... bystanding... No House is neutral in the Assembly, not ever. In Orzammar, things are solved quickly and with as much bloodshed as we can stand... and then a little bit more."


 * --Nalthur, of the Legion of the Dead

It has been mentioned that most of the wealth of the dwarves comes from selling processed lyrium to the mages of Thedas.

Legion of the Dead
A great deal of importance is placed on the appearance of nobility and justice amongst the dwarves. The actions of one family member can often severely diminish an entire House's place in the social hierarchy of the dwarves. Some disgraced dwarves will choose to go through a ceremonial "death" to clear their names and the names of their families. They walk out of Orzammar into the Deep Roads to fight darkspawn for the rest of their lives as a member of the Legion of the Dead. When one of their number dies, the Legion will bury him or her within the stone, and celebrate the fact that the fallen has finally found peace.

King Maric had the aid of Nalthur and his soldiers, members of the Legion of the Dead, in reclaiming the throne of Ferelden. He was able to enlist their aid by assuring them that he would tell the dwarves in Orzammar about their deeds, and bury them in the stone, not in the dirt under the sky. The dwarves apparently hold great respect for the word of the human kings, as this alone was enough to motivate even the most tentative of the Legion to leave the familiar environment of the Deep Roads for the surface.

Technology
In ages past, the Golem Shaperate carved huge stone golems, and enchanted them into powerful war machines. This knowledge has since been lost to the dwarves.

History
Stay Tuned!

Trivia

 * Dwarven women do not have beards in Thedas.

Dwarven Language and Phrases

 * "Mekty nea shrowkan ton yo." -- Dwarven phrase meaning 'I don't want to kill you.'
 * "Syny unun kysbargarun yo." -- Dwarven phrase meaning 'I am a cheeseburger.'

"Let one who comes within the thaig know that Paragons have walked within these halls know that mothers have bled upon these stones and when from the Deep Roads shadows crept we clans arose, our vows were kept deaths resolute, no tears were wept" -- of unknown origin, inscribed at entrance to ruin

The 'thaig' is a dwarven term for a type of cavern.