How come there are no Half-Dwarves?

[ShurikVch]

Also, Azerbloods are descendants of Azers and Dwarves

[Traab]

I actually came across the concept of half dwarves in a recent series I read. Basically this ancient gandalfish wizard dude who had been around for roughly 12 centuries, was talking about the creation of the various races. He mentioned that originally, there were nothing but humans. However, there was this event that worked a lot like the x gene from marvel in that groups of humans were born that had various abilities that bred true and had side effects. For example, some humans had a connection to magic itself that was different from wizardry. Through various historical events, namely losing their magic, they got immortality instead and became elves. Another group found an unnatural affinity for stone work. For whatever reason they tended to be shorter than average, and their magical affinity to stone increased their lifespan. Boom dwarves. Halflings in this setting were an accidental race. A bunch of dark wizards used to experiment with their magic around the servants who had no protections, and thus mutated them. So now they are about waist high humans with horns (yeah, they aint hobbits)

There were a couple more but the existence of half elves as a race got brought up only to find they were a special case, as most of the time, cross breeding produced sterile children. Half dwarves were mentioned as they tended to live far longer than average for their parents though. So thats the reason you dont see a lot of them. Because while there may be a couple from time to time, the fact that they themselves cant reproduce means they are very very rare. And while most races arent exactly xenophobic, they dont tend to look outside their own race/culture for partners.

[Malacandra]

"spergs"?

So far as Tolkien goes, Elves and Men were both Children of Iluvatar and physically almost identical, at least to look at (the Elves to begin with could not understand why these new kids on the block were getting sick all the time and dropped dead after five minutes). Dwarves were creations of Aule, mercifully adopted by Eru as otherwise they would only have been automata; there's no reason to believe they would have been physically compatible with Children, nor for the most part remotely interested in trying to find out.

Also so far as Tolkien goes, Hobbits were called "halflings" by some not because they were -- or were thought to be -- half-breeds, but because they were about half the size of Men (for given values of "half"). Their origins were never gone into in depth but the prologue to LotR observes that they are clearly relatives of ours, more closely akin than Elves or Dwarves. Of course their own name for themselves (and the related Rohirric word) had nothing to do with size or ancestry. Whether the Dwarves had a name for them, I don't remember -- but taking Thorin's view as given in the back-story to The Hobbit (mentioned in one of the Appendices to LotR) as being typical, chances were that the Dwarves thought them silly and a bit embarrassing, and not worth the bother of wasting good Dwarvish on when they already had a name for their own kind.

Interesting about the Muls in Dark Sun being gigantic half-dwarves. There are examples from real biology where cross-breeds end up significantly bigger than either parent, too.

[eru001]

I once ran a game in 3.5 (using a homebrew world) where one of the kingdoms was populated by large numbers of both dwarves and humans. (This was the result of an ancient alliance and winning an ancient war together etc) If I remember correctly the population broke down in this way.

53% Human, 37% Dwarf, 10% Half Dwarf (often referred to as Stahls).

The kingdom had its own language (Called Stahlic), which was basicly the result of dwarvish and common mixing for several hundred years. Basically the language's word for "a thing that is a mix of dwarf and human" was Stahl, and this could be used to describe half dwarves, or anything else which the dwarves and humans did together. The place was called Stahlheim which in theory translated into common as, "The land where both dwarves and humans live".

For racial bonuses the half dwarves got exactly half of the bonus from each side. (done by taking all even numbers and dividing by two, and then removing some of the non-splittable bonuses. not perfectly balanced i know but good enough for a homebrew)

+1 feat at first level
+2 skill points at first level
+1 skill point at even numbered levels
+1 Constitution, -1 Charisma.
Low light vision
Weapon Familiarity: Half-Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.
Stability: A half-dwarf gains a +2 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground
+1 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
+1 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.
+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids.
+2 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type.
+1 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items.
+1 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.


for reference Human gets
+1 feat at first level
+4 skill points at first level
+1 skill point each level

dwarf gets
+2 constitution -2 charisma
Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function just fine with no light at all.
Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.
Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.
+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids.
+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type.
+2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items.
+2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.

[Cluedrew]

I don't know...I mean what's not to like

Little to nothing in my opinion. Cute picture.

Ugh, you just reminded me that gully dwarves are a thing. [...] I mean 2d4 for your stats and maybe a +1 here or there. And you counted to "two" or if you were really on the upper end of IQ, "two twos".

Wow, I found gully dwarves funny to read about but I would never try to play one. And that is pretty much why. Dragonlance seemed to have a lot of races that you have to handle carefully.

As for the main question, there are just not that many (across stories). And I think the reason is there isn't so there wasn't, that is it never has been an archetype that has seen much use so people are less likely to draw on it. Personally I think a half-dwarf makes a lot more sense than half-elves (for the common traits of each race), but one has an established presence and so reappears more often.

[Herobizkit]

In my DM's homebrew game, Gnomes are half-dwarf/half-halfling crossbreeds.

[2D8HP]

It is clear that elves, men, and orcs are members of a single species. Dwarves and gnomes, while unquestionably related, have completed speciation and do not interbreed as members of the H. sapiens subspecies do. But halflings are more closely related to elves and humans than the most recent common ancestor of dwarves and gnomes, which creates this phylogenetic tree:



It is evident that the gigantism of humans is an innovation not present in the basal demihuman.

The only remaining issue is the placement of elves and orcs relative to humans. Casual study suggests many similarities between elves and humans, but the anthropological literature [T54] suggests that elves and orcs are quite closely related and thus these superficial similarities are merely the result of convergent evolution between elves and the human outgroup.

[T54]: J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1954).


An alternative idea from:

http://worldbuilding.stackexchange.c...olution-happen


After some in-depth research into the development of various humanoid races, I've developed a corpus of theory as to their development. Upon my return from their habitat, I plan to publish the following in some sort of respectable journal, perhaps the Journal of Edible Races. While snoozing off their weekly dinner of ponies, I'm sure the other dragons will enjoy reading it over:

Naturally, all the humanoid races descended from some common bipedal primate. Since then, however, they have evolved into two species, with a total of five subspecies (plus three common hybrids. Broadly, these can be divided into the larger-statured humanoids: the humans, orcs, and elves, and the smaller statured humanoids: the dwarves and halflings. These two populations are not known to interbreed and produce offspring, so they should be considered separate species, but the subspecies interbreed regularly, producing some interesting hybrids.

Homo Sapiens

Humans (Homo Sapiens Sapiens)

Humans are predominantly farmers in fertile regions. They are believed to be the least differentiated stock of the*homo sapiens*branch of humanoids, being smaller than the hill-dwelling orcs and larger than the forest-dwelling elves. Over the past few million years, they've been engaging in low-level farming from small villages, trading regularly with both orcs and elves for resources. Recently, they've begun to domesticate some wild horses, which are driving both the development of larger societies and rapid technological improvement.

Orcs (Homo Sapiens Moria)

The orcs, unlike humans, do not rely on farming. They form hunter gatherer clans in upland regions inhabited by large animals such as oiliphants and griffins. It's believed that their hunting of these creatures has led to their evolving much stockier frames than their lowland counterparts. The breed freely with humans, producing half orcs.

It's not known if orcs and elves would be capable of producing offspring, as they do not regularly come into contact with one another. If not, then homo sapiens is a fascinating example of a ring species.

Elves (Homo Sapiens Lorien)

Elves have adapted to forest life, with small, slight bodies but surprisingly powerful arms. They live largely in homes built in the branches of large trees and coming down to the ground to hunt for game and to collect fruit.

In general, elves undertake these activities at night, possibly due to the presence of bands of forest-dwelling humans during the day. This nocturnal/diurnal duality allows elves and humans to coexist peacefully, and has also driven the elves to develop larger ears and pronounced eyes to better sense in the dark. They interbreed with humans where their ranges overlap, but this is looked down on by both humans and elves, probably due to the facts that elven frames are poorly suited to farm labor and that humans don't operate well during twilight hours.

Homo Dwarfus

Homo dwarfus has two subspecies: the dwarves and the halflings. These two races can interbreed, with the cross generally being referred to as the gnomes.

Interestingly, unlike half-orcs and half-elves, the gnomes have formed their own societies of multi-generational gnome families. It's viewed as likely, based on this, that they may develop into what could be considered a subspecies of homo dwarfus in their own right.

Dwarves (Homo Dwarfus Dwarfus)

Short and stocky, the dwarves have evolved for life underground. Like orcs, they are commonly found in hills and mountains, but have opted for a different evolutionary path.

Dwarves build elaborate warrens beneath the Earth, bringing many families together for mutual defense and child rearing. Moving through both natural and artificial tunnels has selected for short, powerful frames with large noses for drawing in more of what is often poor quality air. Dwarves have evolved a farming culture similar to humans, but in absence of good food crops growing on the surface, the dwarves have taken to gathering nutrient poor plant materials, such as grasses, in large store rooms underground. These materials are then used to grow nutritious mushrooms, as well as to brew alcohol in great quantities.

Unfortunately, the same behavior that has brought about these fascinating behavioral changes has also given dwarves a keen interest in mineral treasures, as is known by dragons across the land who have had to deal with dwarf infestations in their treasure chambers.

Halflings (Homo Sapiens Hobbitus)

Some dwarves, however, have moved back to the surface, and evolved into a small race known as the halflings. While retaining the burrow-building behaviors of their ancestors, halflings have moved to lowland areas where they have learned to farm from nearby humans. While incapable of interbreeding due to having fully speciated, humans and halflings form intermingled societies in some areas, with halflings appreciating the protection their larger neighbors provide and humans enjoying the fact that generations of life underground have left the halflings as experts at digging and brewing a large variety of fermented drinks.

Halflings, without the pressures of a harsh life in the mountains, are generally slighter of build than dwarves, and have lost the exceptional senses that dwarves have developed for a life underground.

Unfortunately, some halflings seem to have retained the dwarven penchant for treasure. Care should be taken to make sure that any halfling populations living in the vicinity of dragons do not become a nuisance.

Gnomes

In areas where halflings and dwarves live somewhat close together, they occasionally crossbreed, giving birth to hybrids known as gnomes. Gnomes retain dwarven senses, but with the slighter builds of halflings. In many areas, they've taken up roles as go-betweens for these two groups, as well as trading with any humans, orcs, and elves in the area.

In their wide exposure to many cultures during their lives as nomadic, traveling merchants, the gnomes have also picked up a penchant for combining and improving upon inventions created by the other humanoid races. They've also gained some sense in their travels, rarely pilfering from the homes of dragons, though this fact should be well known to anyone in posession of one of their excellent anti-dwarf horde security systems

[daniel_ream]

I prefer Castle Falkenstein's lore: all dwarfs are male; all elves are female. They're one species with extreme sexual dimorphism.

[wumpus]

It is clear that elves, men, and orcs are members of a single species. Dwarves and gnomes, while unquestionably related, have completed speciation and do not interbreed as members of the H. sapiens subspecies do. But halflings are more closely related to elves and humans than the most recent common ancestor of dwarves and gnomes, which creates this phylogenetic tree:

If you are using Tolkien, there were effectively three separate 'species'. Men and Elves were created by Iluvatar (although they *can* crossbreed, it only happened three times. Biologists would now consider them separate species even without elven immortality). Aulë created the dwarves (out of rock) and are presumably completely separate. The creation of orcs (and uruk-hai) are reasonably well documented and presumably orcs are a third species (leaving uruk-hai an issue). Of course, Middle Earth appears to be shoved into D&D because players expected and demanded it. Gygax claims not to have been as interested (of course, he also had to deal with lawsuit-happy owners of Tolkien's IP).

I'd rather go with a claim that dwarves are mined not born, so you will only find "half dwarves" on geological faults and be merged with other mined races (gnomes?). Other options are that you have something like Pratchet's dwarves: something that probably wouldn't mix well with other species (never mind Carrot Ironfounderson and his first girlfriend).

I prefer Castle Falkenstein's lore: all dwarfs are male; all elves are female. They're one species with extreme sexual dimorphism.

That works even better.

[2D8HP]

I prefer Castle Falkenstein's lore...

I never got to play it (all I remember about the rules is that you used playing cards instead of dice), but I loved the setting!

[Blackhawk748]

I prefer Castle Falkenstein's lore: all dwarfs are male; all elves are female. They're one species with extreme sexual dimorphism.

Oh my god, the love/hate relationship makes so much sense now....

[2D8HP]

I prefer Castle Falkenstein's lore: all dwarfs are male; all elves are female. They're one species with extreme sexual dimorphism.

Oh my god, the love/hate relationship makes so much sense now....

The Dwarves are a race of Faerie that centuries ago, through the assistance of Dragon magick, have somehow renounced their immortal Faerie heritage for a mortal, if long-lived, existance.

Unlike other Faerie, they are immune to the effects of Iron and Cold Iron. In fact, they have an affinity for all metals, and can literally smell metal in the area. They are also completely immune to flames and fire. Throw a dwarf into a lava pit, and you get an angry, naked dwarf. They are also highly resistant to Magick.

Dwarves in Castle Falkenstein are consummate craftsman, tinkerers, and artists of metal and rock. Although some have become great warriors, they are more likely to be found as a combat engineer in battle, tending to artillery or steam boilers rather than swinging Hammers and Axes in melee combat.

Dwarf society centers around underground cities called Dwarfholds, often built into mines or mountains. A dwarfhold can almost be considered a separate city-state from its surroundings, and it is maintained through active trade with mortal businesses and nations. Dwarfholds are ruled by "Kings", but such rulers act more like business managers, making sure that their domain remains profitable and that production continues at an acceptable level.

There are no female Dwarves in Castle Falkenstein. Being of Faerie stock, they breed easily with any female Faerie being. This leads to rather incongruous (by mortal standards of beauty) marriages, but Dwarves are considered by Faerie women in general as a "good catch". Their offspring take after the parents, either ending up as a Male Dwarf or a Female Faerie of the appropriate type.

It's been decades since I read it, but IIRC they were non-dwarf male "Sidhe" Faerie as well so not all "Elves" were female, but among the "Faeries" dwarves could not be female.
Also dwarves all had duck feet which is why they always wore heavy boots.

Castle Falkenstein was a weird setting that involved "Prisoner of Zenda" style swashbuckling, Dinosaur descended Dragons, Faerie realms, Gas Lamp Fantasy secret society sorcerers, and "Wild Wild West" style steampunk.
It looked really cool, and I never got to play it as no one else was interested in it, but back then people were interested in Cyberpunk (by the same publisher) which bored me.

[cobaltstarfire]

In an old world I made in highschool Humans, Elves, and Dwarves were all subspecies of one another, with the Halflings and Gnomes being mixes of the other three.

By the time frame of the campaign I was running, the Dwarves were functionally extinct and not believed to exist anymore, Elves were withdrawn and small and number, and the Humans shared regional dominance with the Halfling/Gnomes. (Halflings and Gnomes were essentially two difference races of what had become a single species, they had a mixed agrarian/mining society in the hill lands, and tended to avoid humans other than to do trade).


The only other intelligent humanoids that existed were Lizardfolk/Trogs/Kobolds who had descended from dragons (who could not breed with everything under the sun), and a few very small magical populations of "half elf" abominations created by ancient elvin magic. (Aarakocra and Catfolk)

[daniel_ream]

Castle Falkenstein was a weird setting that involved "Prisoner of Zenda" style swashbuckling, Dinosaur descended Dragons, Faerie realms, Gas Lamp Fantasy secret society sorcerers, and "Wild Wild West" style steampunk.

Like a lot of RPGs at the time, it was trying to be All Things to All People. Fortunately it's fairly easy to strip out everything but what you want to focus on. For instance, the Amazing Engine setting book For Faerie, Queen and Country is the same idea but much more limited in scope.