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 Do female dwarves have a beard?

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T O P I C    R E V I E W
Marek Posted - 27 Aug 2008 : 10:42:55
I assume they do but they shave or keep it short or sport only sideburns. Am I correct?
30   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
Gray Richardson Posted - 21 Sep 2008 : 18:21:12
I think in Demihuman Deities there is a picture of the Dwarven pantheon with at least one of the dwarven goddesses sporting a very prominent beard.

Yes, just double checked, it's Haela Brightaxe, p.51

Also Berronar Truesilver p. 79
and Sharindlar p. 83

All with big bushy beards!
Leon_Stryfe Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 03:50:36
I checked the old Gray Box a day or two ago, and it said most of the females kept themselves clean-shaven.
Christopher_Rowe Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 18:15:31
My FRPG just showed up, and naturally, insight into this crucial issue is the first thing I checked for!

So, from the "Descriptions and Homelands" section for Dwarves:

quote:
Unlike their northern kin, gold dwarves have dark skin, deeply tanned to dark brown. They wear their black to dark brown hair long, and males (and rarely females) sport long beards, carefully oiled and groomed. --p. 14


There's nothing in the stuff about shield dwarves one way or t'other.

Markustay Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 19:46:29
quote:
Originally posted by Kiaransalyn

quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker

To be on topic, do your "queen" dwarves have beards?


If they are fertile, they don't. If they're one of the many infertile ones then they are bearded. It goes some way to explaining why most dwarves are bearded and look masculine.

This is very good - it ties in nicely with my blaming the Thunder blessing for the 'new generation' of female Dwarves having a much lower chance of having facial hair then preceeding generations.

It seems Moradin "ramped up the Estrogen" with his blessing.

...or lowered the Testosterone... or both.
Stout Heart Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 19:08:26
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I think beards on dwarven females have been played down or removed simply because a lot of people can't imagine a bearded woman as being attractive.



I'd kill for a dwarven las with some soft silky whiskers. Have me a few little ones build a forge you know the usual.
Alisttair Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 18:24:29
Speaking of all this, in the campaign I ran with all Dwarf PCs, a human female NPC rogue accompanied the dwarves throughout their adventures and found a girdle of dwarvenkind, so upon donning it, I had her grow some stuble on her face. Later on, she took the PrC from Races of Stone that gives a non-dwarf dwarven traits (the PrC name escapes me at the moment and of course, the book is at home)....at which point I had her grow a bit more of a beard. The dwarf PCs kinda started to have a crush on her at that point....
Wooly Rupert Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 20:10:29
quote:
Originally posted by dwarvenranger

I'd suppose it'd be up to the dwarven female's concept of beauty, just as human females have varying amounts of facial and body hair depending on their concept of beauty.



... And different timeframes and/or cultures have different standards, too. I was recently flipping thru an old girlie mag (one I had when I was a kid; I reacquired it for nostalgia), and I noted that the level of grooming that was acceptable for women in girlie mags in the late 70's is nowhere near the level acceptable today. Also, it is believed by many Americans that some European cultures encourage more body hair than what we Americans like.

With that in mind, it might be that dwarven women in the Great Rift are encouraged to grow beards while others aren't, or it could be that gold dwarves like hirsute females and shield dwarves don't, and so on.
dwarvenranger Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 19:23:40
I'd suppose it'd be up to the dwarven female's concept of beauty, just as human females have varying amounts of facial and body hair depending on their concept of beauty.
Kiaransalyn Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 12:04:49
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker

To be on topic, do your "queen" dwarves have beards?


If they are fertile, they don't. If they're one of the many infertile ones then they are bearded. It goes some way to explaining why most dwarves are bearded and look masculine.
Wooly Rupert Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 03:34:56
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One

Heh. In regards to this:

quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

I'd love to see a setting, IG or novel, that takes this MUCH further, with different substances being toxic, intoxicating, or hallucinagenic, and perhaps even special diseases that only effect a single race.

Ed's original Realms, Markustay, have all of these elements. Most of them have crept into print, one way or another, down the years, despite TSR's (and WotC's) commercial needs, Codes of Ethics or Conduct, other designers' ideas or prejudices, and so on.
love,
THO




I was actually thinking of something similar to this when I wrote up one of my Lords of Waterdeep. I mention "the Sunfall Conspiracy, a plot that would have slain many elves and brought ruination to the rest." I never added any detail to it (it wasn't important), but I was thinking of some elven-specific disease or poison.

I'm no fan of her stuff, with a couple of exceptions, but in one of the Mercedes Lackey books I used to have, it was mentioned that caffeinated drinks had a highly intoxicating effect on elves. Drinking a couple of Cokes caused one elf to pass out, drunk. I didn't really like the execution of the idea, but I liked the idea itself of elves having very different reactions to substances that were relatively harmless for humans.

And the idea goes back much further in real-world folklore, too: faeries and cold iron.
The Hooded One Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 20:04:08
Heh. In regards to this:

quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

I'd love to see a setting, IG or novel, that takes this MUCH further, with different substances being toxic, intoxicating, or hallucinagenic, and perhaps even special diseases that only effect a single race.

Ed's original Realms, Markustay, have all of these elements. Most of them have crept into print, one way or another, down the years, despite TSR's (and WotC's) commercial needs, Codes of Ethics or Conduct, other designers' ideas or prejudices, and so on.
love,
THO
The Red Walker Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 19:04:04
quote:
Originally posted by Kiaransalyn

quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

I'd love to see a setting, IG or novel, that takes this MUCH further, with different substances being toxic, intoxicating, or hallucinagenic, and perhaps even special diseases that only effect a single race.


In my own setting dwarves have more in common with ants and bees than with humans. The majority are infertile and are fiercely loyal to the clan elders, the fertile dwarves that ensure the clan survives. This idea, for me, explains the observation that the dwarves that are often seen are hard working and devoted to their tasks.

With elves, they are more akin to Tolkien's ideal. They are partly spirit, partly mortal and instead of having noticable ears they have auras. Their spirit nature makes them more psychic, so they can sense danger and is the reason why humans believe them to have good eyesight.



To be on topic, do your "queen" dwarves have beards?
Kiaransalyn Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 17:48:15
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

They make a satisfying splatter when stepped on?



Gosh, you're on form, sir. It must be the thought of your impending nuptials.

Back on to topic (sort of), I would say that they do indeed make a satisfying splatter but unlike ants and bees a dead dwarf can feed a family for a week.
Wooly Rupert Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 16:59:05
quote:
Originally posted by Kiaransalyn


In my own setting dwarves have more in common with ants and bees than with humans.


They make a satisfying splatter when stepped on?
Leon_Stryfe Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 05:42:00
quote:
Originally posted by Yuen

quote:
Originally posted by Leon_Stryfe

Also, while I don't have it on me (I'll have to check and report my findings Monday), I don't recall the females being bearded in the Demihuman Deities 2nd Ed. supplement.




yes they are. The priestesses of Marthammor Duin, Deep Duerra, Berronar Truesilver and Haela Brightaxe are all bearded, though much less than their male counterparts. The only beardless one is the priestess of Sharindlar.

Still, I think it looks kinda wrong to put a beard on women.



Yeah, they totally do. However, I did find a few of them to be attractive regardless. Not sure if that says something about me, or if the artist was that good...
Kiaransalyn Posted - 31 Aug 2008 : 09:36:23
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

I'd love to see a setting, IG or novel, that takes this MUCH further, with different substances being toxic, intoxicating, or hallucinagenic, and perhaps even special diseases that only effect a single race.


In my own setting dwarves have more in common with ants and bees than with humans. The majority are infertile and are fiercely loyal to the clan elders, the fertile dwarves that ensure the clan survives. This idea, for me, explains the observation that the dwarves that are often seen are hard working and devoted to their tasks.

With elves, they are more akin to Tolkien's ideal. They are partly spirit, partly mortal and instead of having noticable ears they have auras. Their spirit nature makes them more psychic, so they can sense danger and is the reason why humans believe them to have good eyesight.
Markustay Posted - 31 Aug 2008 : 04:07:20
I have NO problem with female Dwarves having beards - they are suppose to be an Alien race, aren't they?

I think the beard thing is the very least thing that could be done to differentiate them from 'short humans'.

I'd love to see a setting, IG or novel, that takes this MUCH further, with different substances being toxic, intoxicating, or hallucinagenic, and perhaps even special diseases that only effect a single race.

The fact that Dwarven women had beards and the tips of Elves ears are errogenous zones in FR are a good start, but I'd like to see much more done to make me feel like these other standard fantasy races are more then "funny-looking humans".
Afetbinttuzani Posted - 31 Aug 2008 : 03:54:04
IMC, in order to avoid having female dwarves have to shave constantly, I have dwarven beards grow much more slowly than humans' do. They get a two week shadow, as it were. I figure this can be justified by their long lifespans relative to humans.
Afet
Wooly Rupert Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 17:57:08
...And gnomes all sound like Gilbert Gottfried. That's the real reason they're in decline.
Artemel Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 16:50:49
quote:
Originally posted by Kiaransalyn

quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I think beards on dwarven females have been played down or removed simply because a lot of people can't imagine a bearded woman as being attractive.


It's all just a question of ale really. Just as it is assumed that all dwarves speak with comedy Scottish accents, it's equally assumed that they like a drop or two of quaffage [1]. Now we know why.


1. Beer



No no... dwarves have Australian accents! At least, in one of the best campaigns a friend ran, they did. It was hilarious, but by the end, it actually sort of made some sort of strange sense.
Kiaransalyn Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 07:13:37
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I think beards on dwarven females have been played down or removed simply because a lot of people can't imagine a bearded woman as being attractive.


It's all just a question of ale really. Just as it is assumed that all dwarves speak with comedy Scottish accents, it's equally assumed that they like a drop or two of quaffage [1]. Now we know why.


1. Beer
Kiaransalyn Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 07:11:56
quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe

Oh, hey, Kiaransalyn! Check this out, here's a 4E dwarf woman in a "non-credit card" space at wizards.com--looks like it was just posted in the last day or two. Linkety link link.


Thanks for that. That's what I wanted to see.

quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe(I actually like that duergar pic I told you about a little better, and I didn't have to enter any cc info to do the initial DDI signup, but I understand your misgivings--maybe somebody you know can <ahem> tell you about it in great detail.)


Thank you. Mummy's told me not to play with credit cards.

Actually, as I understand it DDI is free at the moment but it's going to move to a charged service at some point down the line.
Wooly Rupert Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 04:01:02
I think beards on dwarven females have been played down or removed simply because a lot of people can't imagine a bearded woman as being attractive.
Christopher_Rowe Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 02:33:55
Oh, hey, Kiaransalyn! Check this out, here's a 4E dwarf woman in a "non-credit card" space at wizards.com--looks like it was just posted in the last day or two. Linkety link link.

(I actually like that duergar pic I told you about a little better, and I didn't have to enter any cc info to do the initial DDI signup, but I understand your misgivings--maybe somebody you know can <ahem> tell you about it in great detail.)
Faraer Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 01:07:44
There you are: they aren't women, they're female dwarves. And most of them are proudly bearded in Oerth and Toril.
Yuen Posted - 30 Aug 2008 : 01:01:21
quote:
Originally posted by Leon_Stryfe

Also, while I don't have it on me (I'll have to check and report my findings Monday), I don't recall the females being bearded in the Demihuman Deities 2nd Ed. supplement.




yes they are. The priestesses of Marthammor Duin, Deep Duerra, Berronar Truesilver and Haela Brightaxe are all bearded, though much less than their male counterparts. The only beardless one is the priestess of Sharindlar.

Still, I think it looks kinda wrong to put a beard on women.
Leon_Stryfe Posted - 29 Aug 2008 : 23:26:21
While not directly tied to FR, Races of Stone implies that only the men have beards. Page 7, pargraph 1 states, "...dwarves prize their hair, whether it be on their scalps (for both genders) or on their faces (for the males)". Now, whether or not this means that the females are incapable of growing facial hair, or if it's just socialy unacceptable, I can only guess.

Also, while I don't have it on me (I'll have to check and report my findings Monday), I don't recall the females being bearded in the Demihuman Deities 2nd Ed. supplement.
Kiaransalyn Posted - 29 Aug 2008 : 19:58:13
At this point, I would like to point out that I don't have a thing for female dwarves. I'll look at the miniatures gallery. (I've not signed up for D&D Insider since I assume they'll want my credit card details before long.)
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin Posted - 29 Aug 2008 : 18:41:50
quote:
Originally posted by Kiaransalyn

You know, it's uncanny, but I did think to visit there. But I couldn't find anything. I looked at the art galleries and specifically at the Races and Classes but didn't identify anything. It was mostly pencil sketches which didn't mean much on a page of thumbnails. Are the art galleries for the $E books on-line yet?



I don't know, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to look through the Races and Classes preview book or the Core rulebooks and look at some of the dwarf pictures in there.
Christopher_Rowe Posted - 29 Aug 2008 : 18:41:45
Look in the miniatures galleries for the dwarf shieldmaiden in the most recent set. She kind of gives the vibe. Also, if you want to download the Forgotten Realms appendix to H2 that's free from Dungeon Magazine, there's a nice picture of a female duergar swordmage.

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