Topics: fantasy worldbuilding, characters, factions, relics, creatures, locations, canon.

Tags: dwarf, forge, clan.

Identity: Khundravan dwarves are mountain peoples whose ancestry, craft, law, and architecture are inseparable. A dwarf is born into a web of maintained obligations: gate, water, bridge, tomb, forge, debt, and name.

Appearance: most are compact, dense-bodied, and broad-handed, with clan beard styles, tool scars, stone-dust skin tones, metal ear weights, and clothing marked by material responsibility. Formal dress often displays load marks, debt knots, or miniature tools rather than jewels.

Time sense: dwarves measure time through projects and repairs. A human king's reign may be less important than a tunnel's drying cycle, a bridge's load history, or the number of generations since a gate last answered correctly.

Clan roles: gate clans control thresholds, water clans keep channels pure, iron clans test structural metal, echo clans listen for deep movement, salt clans preserve food and bodies, tomb clans guard ancestors, and bridge clans negotiate with the surface.