This page is a place to create and discuss differing ideas of dwarven culture. I do not claim that my ideas are the ONLY good ones to base dwarf rp on, but by putting them here I hope for others to elaborate, express differing views, and so on. Plus, this way I can actually remember what I come up with. Also, don't forget to identify yourself when posting an idea or comment.

Note to newbies: Please don't assume that you HAVE to follow anything mentioned here. However, it can be a starting point until you figure out Geas enough to come up with your own ideas.

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*Common Expressions*

Sayings, expressions, and other stuff that dwarves might say a lot.

- "Grandpa's beard!" - Kind of like saying "Wow!" or "Holy shit!" (Kor)

- "spitting over the fence" - Refers to situations where people are insulting each other from a distance, without a firm expectation that a fight will result from it. (Kor)

- "like watching a game of toss the rat" - Equivalent of when we say something's like watching a game of tennis (turning your head back and forth to follow the action and so on). (Kor)

- "If , then I'm a bearded kobold!" - Basically the same as the "...or I'm a monkey's uncle," line. (Skald)

- "Thyrthak" - This untranslatable Khuzdul term refers to phlegm itself along with the act of snorting and/or spitting phlegm, which is a rather common phenomenon in Dwarven society. In order to emphasize a point, dwarves of both genders and all ages will commonly snort up phlegm and spit it, either on the ground or upon whoever the dwarf is trying to persuade. This carries offensive connotations, and tends to be used when the dwarf feels aggravated or disgusted. The offensive connotation has also lead to the word "thyrthak" growing into something of an insult, with a common use being "That putrid ball of thyrthak!" (Naga)

- "You might as well sift through your shit for gold." - A traditional Dwarven insulting expression used to express the opinion that the receiving party is engaged in something incredibly stupid or pointless. (Naga)

- "Ale-mist" - Intoxication or the cloudiness of thought and senses that is the result of consuming alcohol to excess. A drunk person is said to be "lost in the ale-mist." (Naga)

- "Never accept peace. When it lives, honor dies." A Dwarven proverb attributed to the great ancient dwarven tactician Hrolf the Half-deaf. (Naga)

- "running around with your armor on backwards" - Equivalent of "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" (Kor)

- "May your beard ever be soaked in ale rather than vomit" - Dwarven blessing (Runya)

*Comments/discussion:*

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*Customs, Rituals, etc*

Any customary actions that dwarves might do, which aren't mentioned in a helpfile somewhere.

- Khel-thuur - Since dwarves have a low proportion of women to men, it stands to reason that the woman's feelings about dating or marriage has a pretty high impact. Therefore, the Khel-thuur, which means something roughly equivalent to test of deserving. By this tradition, a woman can give a man who's interested in her some sort of test, or a series of tests, to determine whether he's worthy of getting with her romantically. If multiple men want her, it can be arranged as a sort of competition between them. In this case, she is expected to make the test fair, i.e. something both men are capable of potentially doing, and if she purposely makes unfair demands on them, it hurts her reputation. Whatever the case, once she decides who she wants, she (or her chosen mate) has the right to beat up any other man who tries to hit on her. (Kor)

- Toss the rat - A children's game. Two teams are positioned on opposite sides of a line on the ground, and the object is to hit members of the opposite team with live rats. When hit, a person is out of the game. Any rats killed during the game are piled up nearby, to be eaten by the winning team. Thus the game is especially popular among poor dwarves, as they can use every meal they can get. (Kor)

- Dwarves traditionally serve alcohol with every meal, even to young children. In fact, many dwarves believe they can't even taste food at all without the help of suitable brew. (Naga)

- When two dwarves pluck out a couple beard whiskers and exchange them, it's a symbol of deep dwarvenly love. Even more so than exchanging troll heads or somesuch. :P (Kor)

*Comments/discussion:*