[TheMusketMan]

So, I'm thinking about starting a new game in Dragonfall with a Dwarven Decker, two things I never associate with. Now, I am a massive roleplayer and I like to have all the facts about regions, races, lifestyles, etc. And Dwarves are something I don't have too much knowledge about despite research so I'm gonna put what I know here and hope the good Runners of the Shadowgrid can help me out.

-Dwarves are a product of birth, not goblinization ( Or Awakening, as more PC people would put it.) But rather of UGE, which is human mothers bearing Elven or Dwarven children.

- Average height of a Dwarf is just under 4 feet.

- Assumed Life Expectancy is well over 100 years, but that remains to be proven.

-Unlike Humans with Dwarfism, True Dwarves have larger upper bodies than lower bodies.

-Have thermographic vision.

- Superior immune systems to Humans.

Now what I'm still unclear about is the specifics. How do Dwarves age? How do male and females differ? How do Dwarven physiques differ?

That last question is due to the fact that Is0bel, the dark skinned dwarven decker from Shadowrun Hong Kong, her portrait shows her having a slender face. Does that mean her body is slender as well, not stout and stubby like the traditional dwarf?



In this image, Is0bel is depicted as even though being short, she is also slim and fully developed.



Does this mean that even though Dwarves are incredibly short, they can still be physically diverse and stray from the norm of 'short and stout but strong'?

Let me know what you guys think and any other information on Dwarves if possible.

[jim1701]

Regarding size here is a link to a comparison chart I usually go by:  Chart

I'd say that dwarves have as much variation within their genome as humans and elves do. 

Also remember that dwarves are denser than humans so they are going to be somewhat heavier and stronger than they may look.  The ones running around looking like a walking fireplug are going to be those at the upper end of body and strength. 

As to how they age, IIRC I don't think they tend to show their age until late in life but I could be wrong on that.  The earlier editions went into metatype traits more than the more recent editions.

But the bottom line is that Dwarves are awesome and that is all you really need to know.   

[TheMusketMan]

Thanks for the chart, that's really helpful! Think I'm gonna start a new game now.

[Wakshaani]

Dwarf age hasn't really been explored. Like Elves, Dwarves came out of UGE, so the oldest are around 67 now: Seattle's oldest Dwarf started drawing Social Security recently which caused the Humanis Polliclub all kinds of fits. An Elf his age still looks 25 and flawless, while Dwarves tend to age gradually... but some seem to be "born old", going grey by the end of highschool, with full beads and so on.

It's something I'd like to explore at some point. You'll probably be seeing Dwarves as a whole get a bit more airtime in the future. They've been quiet for four editions, it's time to do *something* with the poor lil' guys.

[Beta]

Art for dwarves hasn't been very consistent, and for female dwarves has been especially odd -- fantasy artists seem to rebel against creating stocky women, or ones who show hair anywhere other than the top of their heads.  So the art maybe has shifted the original des emotions over the years?

[TheMusketMan]

Shadowrun Dwarves as a whole seem a lot more... not sure graceful is the right word, elegant, dignified than other dwarves like Tolkien and Dragon Age and stuff. Short, hairy, and gross seems to be a common theme.

[MijRai]

Because dwarfs in Shadowrun are people, instead of a stereotype.  Whereas the dwarfs in things like Forgotten Realms are all drunken, grumpy Scotsmen with a few notable exceptions (and exemplars as well) and in other settings the trope is subverted (while almost all dwarfs still seem to fit the same paradigm), in Shadowrun dwarfs are just a different type of people. 

You've got your skinny people, your tall people, your short people, etc.  Now, apply the dwarf template to it.  There can be skinny dwarfs just like there's skinny anything else.  They might not be the norm, but still quite possible.

While I don't generally play dwarfs (I get tired of people trying to shoehorn me into comedic relief when I do), hearing that more air-time is coming their way sounds quite fun. 

[TheMusketMan]

While I don't generally play dwarfs (I get tired of people trying to shoehorn me into comedic relief when I do), hearing that more air-time is coming their way sounds quite fun.

I'm assuming you're referring to the tabletop and not the cRPGs?

I've only played the cRPGs and Play By Post on another site, but I'm interested in Tabletop.

Honestly the only reason I even know about Shadowrun is that I saw Shadowrun Returns on a summer steam sale for 2 bucks. So I thought what the hell and bought it. And about 3 hours later I was in love and I have been ever since.

If what you're referring to is Play By Post though, that would not fly in most roleplays I've been in, trying to shoehorn someone's character into something like that would get you swiftly kicked out.

[Crimsondude]

Regarding size here is a link to a comparison chart I usually go by:  Chart

I'd say that dwarves have as much variation within their genome as humans and elves do. 

Also remember that dwarves are denser than humans so they are going to be somewhat heavier and stronger than they may look.  The ones running around looking like a walking fireplug are going to be those at the upper end of body and strength.

My favorite female dwarf: http://imgur.com/TmwoVXo

[Whiskeyjack]

It's something I'd like to explore at some point. You'll probably be seeing Dwarves as a whole get a bit more airtime in the future. They've been quiet for four editions, it's time to do *something* with the poor lil' guys.

Awesome! I feel like dwarves are the forgettable meta. Elves have at least 2 full nations where they're the majority on top of evoking all the traditional elf stereotypes, Orks have the Ork Underground narrative, and Trolls are known and popular just from their size and stats. Dwarves just fall through the cracks. 

[Blue Rose]

Falling through the cracks is kind of a goal for dwarves.  By an large, the dwarven subculture wants to be able to live prosperous, productive lives within the greater metahuman society, without dealing with the drek and backlash of racial politics that the elves revel in exploiting and the orcs and trolls keep waging loud, constant, and often violent battle with.  Not being noticed is their best defense.

My take on dwarven aging is purely my head canon, so take if you like it or leave it if you don't.

Elves age at about the same rate as humans, until they just stop outright in their early twenties and stay young and beautiful almost indefinitely.

I have a similar take on dwarves, except instead of stopping in their twenties, the aging process stops or tremendously slows in their late forties or early fifties.

This ties into their nature as a strong, stout race.

Most people put the "physical peak" somewhere in the twenties.  That isn't entirely true.  Different aspects of human physical performance peak at different points in life.  Agility, reaction, recuperation, flexibility?  These tend to peak at a younger age.  Twenties, or earlier for flexibility.  However, maintaining an active lifestyle, raw physical strength for an adult male human peaks in the forties.  If you've ever heard the term "dad strength," it's a real phenomenon.

Elves and dwarves optimize and prolong an idealized form of two separate peaks in the metahuman lifespan; elves the quickness of youth and dwarves the toughness of age.


As to the specific case of deckers?  Personal experience means nothing, but I've only seen folks play dwarves in technical roles.  Ever.  Riggers, combat medics, and deckers.  That's it.  In the rare instance I see people bother with dwarves, that is.

[PiXeL01]

Killing them off would be an option I would support.

[Rift_0f_Bladz]

Killing them off would be an option I would support.

Racist scum (in aspect to the game/RP only, don't want this to be taken as a personal attack).
Personally, love a lady I can pick up and have fun with! Or be picked up and tossed by, if she be an orc like Gobbet (minus the rats).

[PiXeL01]

(None taken)
The only good halfers are the flat headed ones I keep in my den as bedtables. That or dead.
...
I thought the dwarfs actually had a nation somewhere or at least their own district inside Seattle underground. I believe it's briefly mentioned in Ashes

[Blue Rose]

Luxembourg.  Sort of.