Sun Dwarves
My notes on the dwarves of the Moon Shadows setting are still a bit scattered. It seems that the dwarves are spread across a larger than average number of sticky notes, but I want to get another update on the blog to stay in the habit. Slow progress is better than no progress.
Like the elves, the dwarves have representatives of the two primordials (Light and Dark) and 3 of the 4 elementals. In the case of the dwarves, Air is the conspicuously absent element. Is the lack of air dwarves (and earth elves) tied to some secret of the campaign setting? Is there a mystery there? Is there a Grand Designâ„¢ that necessitates this lopsided elemental alignment of the Moon Shadows peoples?
No. That's just the way things developed in play as the setting built up over time. Light and Dark and the four elements as points of an octahedron were there from the beginning (in the latter days of the 20th century, circa 1996), but I didn't sit down and plan things out like "I'll make an elf for each except Earth because Earth is a dwarfy thing and so I'll have to make a dwarf for everything except Air because that's the opposite of Earth". Originally, there were just dwarves aligned with the Light and when we went spelunking and encountered duergar, those were obviously the Dark-aligned "shadow dwarves". If somebody else decides to use my setting (or parts of it) and feels inspired to fill one of those lacunae with Stone Elves or Storm Dwarves or something, I would be absolutely thrilled. Those gaps aren't intentional or necessary. That's just how things have worked out so far.
On to the dwarves...
Sun Dwarves
Most of the sun dwarves of Tir-tan-gir have splotchy granite-pink skin with ruddy cheeks and "gin blossom" noses. Their natural coloration gives them an unfortunate case of "resting dwarf face" and everyone mistakenly thinks they are angry and/or drunk all the time. Their booming speaking voices don't help this impression, but they are generally friendly and level-headed people once you get past that first impression.
Culturally and aesthetically, Tir-tan-gir is a lot like Rohan in the "Lord of the Rings" films but with short, stocky people who ride mule-sized goats. Their goats are similar to the helc used by the snow elves to the north, but smaller, less shaggy, and more thoroughly domesticated. When not armored, sun dwarves prefer sleeveless garments to show off the intricate designs of the decorative scars they carve into their skin. While the men have the typical dwarvish tendency to see beards as a necessity, they keep their beards groomed short, extending no lower than the collarbone.
Religiously, the sun dwarves of Tir-tan-gir are devout followers of the Church of Light. Long ago before history was written, they held pagan druidic beliefs, but the details of that faith have been lost to time. Some vestiges of their pagan days remain in simple superstitions relating to wood. Every weapon or important tool must have at least one wooden component, for example. Also, their churches always feature decorative elements of trees and green man faces with beards made of leaves. The dwarves take the Church's Parable of the Tree ("Do not ignore the world around you in search of enlightenment. Be like the tree: straining always for the Light, but rooted firmly in the earth.") much more seriously than other members of the Church of Light. Dwarven churches always have wooden walls featuring carvings of trees or images of the green dwarf, a dwarf who is also part tree and reaches toward the three suns with outstretched arms and fingers that become leafy branches while his feet split into gnarled roots that grip the soil.
Industrially, the dwarves of Tir-tan-gir are excellent smiths but they are not the type of miners who tunnel deep into the earth. Their miners enjoy plenty of fresh air and sunlight in open pit quarries as they exploit readily accessible ores in the iron hills of Brin-ni-au to their south.
In game terms, sun dwarves are the standard B/X dwarf but lack skills at detecting construction tricks, room traps, and listening at doors, because they are not innately familiar with masonry and underground environments. Instead, they have skill at appraising craftsmanship that lets them discover hidden features in a piece of equipment and know who made it and who owned or maintained it and how. This lets them do Sherlock Holmes style deductions like "Look at the wooden scales on this dagger hilt. It's of Tir-tan-giran manufacture, but look at the oil stain used on the wood. You see that yellowing and see how the metal bits that touch the wood are starting to show signs of corrosion? The previous owner of this knife wiped it down with mona oil, which is fine for leather, but should never be used on metals. Of course, I don't have to tell you that mona oil is only produced in Drits. But what I can't understand is what an Alchymist of Drits was doing here with a dwarven blade. Curious!" They also have the ability to carve protection runes that provide minor bonuses to themselves and their allies.