Amber Dwarves

Born of the Wilds

The Dwarves of Dirn Maldur, also known as Amber Dwarves due to their distinct amber jewelry, have long scoffed at the politics of the outside world. Though they once were connected to the rest of the chapters during the Dwarven Age of Glory, they never attempted to truly reconnect until recently, after delegations from Mor Baldur arrived to rebuild their cultural connections. This does not mean that Dirn Maldur has excused itself from world events. Quite to the contrary, many of the heroes of continent spanning invasions such as the Draconian Invasions originated from this unassuming city. Built within the lush and green caldera of a long dormant volcano, the city of Dirn Maldur does not have stone walls or grand underground tunnels, and is instead a paradise for all living creatures. The Amber Dwarves are the worlds premier animal tamers, and have proven time and again they can form a connection with any creature, no matter its ill intent. Armored owlbears serve as equal members of the guard, while behirs power a number of important forges and vehicles with their innate lightning energies. These creatures willingly aid the dwarven society, even acting as beasts of burden to aid in building projects and expansions to the city. They are given harnesses and carcanets indicating not the clan they belong to, but the clan they are a member of. Though it cannot speak, a great direwolf currently sits on the war council, and imparts its agreement or disagreement with plans and strategies to combat poachers and bandit groups.   

Apart from their Cousins

This wild living has imparted the people of Dirn Maldur with an almost aloof mindset towards the world outside their caldera, and are quick to see any visitors as potential poachers or threats. Many of the creatures within the city are rare and valuable alive or dead, and this often makes the city the target for raids from criminal groups. As a result, the Amber Dwarves abandoned the traditional dwarven armor of their ancestors in favor of the simpler, easier to equip armors of their tiefling neighbors. Due to this aesthetic choice and their natural height advantage over other dwarves, they can often be mistaken as a tribe of humans, though shorter and a bit stockier. Despite all these cultural divides from their cousins, though, Amber Dwarves have continued the tradition of keeping good care of their beards, decorating them with gifts from their creature companions. Owlbear feathers, wolf fangs, behir scales- the variety is huge. These ornaments are not passed down as heirlooms, as when a creature or dwarf living in Dirn Maldur dies, all pieces of them must be buried with them. Instead, the amount of ornaments in a dwarf's beard and hair indicates their connection with the natural world at any given moment.