| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Seco |
Posted - 24 Feb 2021 : 16:41:54
I'm new to Forgotten Realms, and while reading some material about the Realms, I was puzzled about the description surrounding dwarves' skin color.
According to the lore, shield dwarves are typically pale, while gold dwarves have a darker tone. Monsters of Faerun even depicts golden dwarves with a very dark skin color.
I can't get my head around this - doesn't make sense, at least from a biological point of view. A lot of shield dwarves dwell on the surface, living in human's kingdoms. They are in a daily contact with the sun, which should mean darker skin colors. On the other hand, golden dwarves live under The Rift. They get a little to none sun in their lives. From this point of view, they should have lighter skin color, even being pale.
Is there an explanation for this variety of color? I've searched the forum for similar question, but find none.
PS: Sorry for any grammatical errors. English is not my native tongue.
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| 21 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 11 Mar 2021 : 17:37:33
quote:
Originally posted by Azar
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
One other note, though: half-elves breed true with each other. In real-world genetics, two half-breeds would have a chance of producing full breed offspring, but that doesn't apply to D&D half-elves.
What you said reminded me of these sisters. Real-world biology can be fascinating; fantasy biology - being influenced by magic - is even more fascinating.
Aye, Aglarond is a nice example of an enclave of mostly half-elven people that has stabilized into a breeding pool of true half-elves.
____________________
As for the skin color of gold dwarves, I guess Moradin loves the esthetics of dark skin contrasted with golden metals.
Also the Soulforge probably has a mold lying somewhere for all the differing clans that the original dwarves where made out of. Of these OG clans, some made it to the (sub)surface of Toril around the Yehimals and would become the basis for all the regional variations (zhakaran persian, shield scottish, gold african, urdunnir pygmy and arctic innuit). |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 07 Mar 2021 : 14:52:50
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I'd always thought Xal Valzar was just another disposable alias worn by Candlekeep's resident troll.
-There's been a couple different people lol.
-Races of Faerun mentions that 99.9% of Half-Orcs are Orc/Humans, but some could, in theory, have Orc blood mixed with other things; "...but stories are told of half-orcs carrying the blood of dwarves, goblins, hobgoblins, and even halflings, gnomes, and elves. Orcs are a fecund race, and such stories likely have some genesis in truth. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 07 Mar 2021 : 14:25:17
I'd always thought Xal Valzar was just another disposable alias worn by Candlekeep's resident troll. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 07 Mar 2021 : 05:44:29
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I've seen a couple of third-party books that had elf/orc mixes.
And then, of course, there is the infamous (in our halls, at least!) Xal Valzar... 
-Holy crap, that discussion was disturbing. Seeing propaganda from a particular country in action, substitution orcs for other people, is really wow.
I wonder what happened to that kid. It's been several years, now -- I wonder if he'd look at his posts, now, and cringe, or if he'd still angrily insist he's right and everyone else is wrong. Contrary to what some would say, I know people do change -- I came up with some Mary Sues when I was younger, though not to Xal's extent, and I do cringe about some of them now (one of them was seriously toned down and reborn as one of the Lords of Waterdeep I wrote up). And without going any further into it, I know my personal politics has done a complete 180 since I was Xal's age.
Back on topic, I may have been mistaken with my earlier comment. The one elf/orc crossbreed race I definitely recalled was actually elf/ogre magi.
I'm fairly certain there was an elf/orc mix in another book, but I'll be dipped if I can recall which one, now. It would almost certainly have been something 3rd party. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 07 Mar 2021 : 05:27:05
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I've seen a couple of third-party books that had elf/orc mixes.
And then, of course, there is the infamous (in our halls, at least!) Xal Valzar...
-Holy crap, that discussion was disturbing. Seeing propaganda from a particular country in action, substitution orcs for other people, is really wow. |
| Azar |
Posted - 06 Mar 2021 : 12:26:09
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
One other note, though: half-elves breed true with each other. In real-world genetics, two half-breeds would have a chance of producing full breed offspring, but that doesn't apply to D&D half-elves.
What you said reminded me of these sisters. Real-world biology can be fascinating; fantasy biology - being influenced by magic - is even more fascinating. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 02 Mar 2021 : 15:45:33
I've seen a couple of third-party books that had elf/orc mixes.
And then, of course, there is the infamous (in our halls, at least!) Xal Valzar... |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 02 Mar 2021 : 13:46:22
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
@sleyvas
My understanding, as of 2E rules and lore ...
Elves mixed with humans become half-elves. Half-elves mixed with humans become humans (with slightly elven features). Half-elves mixed with elves only breed half-elves, even with only a single drop of human in their otherwise purely elven ancestry after countless generations. Apparently human genetics are dominant over elven genetics much like dwarven genetics are dominant over human genetics, they forever "taint" the elven bloodline, though not quite as strongly. (This isn't such a big deal with the usual elf vs half-elf racial abilities, but it results in a very significant difference between their lifespans.)
PHBR8 suggests that elves and half-elves always express as one of the distinct elven subtypes. There are no mixes - only the established subtypes (and their minor variations on different worlds). A diagram is provided which describes each "branch" of elves on a "tree" - the text seems to imply that each of the elven species originated through divine will, it doesn't explain how they might have diverged or evolved in any "natural" way. It does, however, note that certain elven racial abilities are (magically?) attuned to the world/plane they're native to and that it takes "at least 50 years" for an elf to fully adapt to (be able to use these racial abilities on) a new world. If elves are indeed (magically?) sensitive to conditions on different worlds then it's logical for unique conditions on particular worlds (like the Weave in the Realms) to somehow change them over time.
I think I read somewhere that any kind of drow-elf (or drow half-elf) parentage always produces a drow-elf (or drow half-elf) child because of the drow curse - but I cannot recall the source.
There are some exceptions - star elves from the Realms, grugach (and perhaps also a different variety of drow) from Oerth, all the elves of Athas - who were described as not fitting the usual rules, though no further rules or explanations or details were actually provided.
1E half-orcs were described as typically being foul, vile, stupid, half-inarticulate. PCs were assumed to be selected from the "top 10%" of half-orcs, the ones who were utterly brutish and bestial by human standards but who were also paragons of high intellect and civilization by orcish standards. They were overwhelmingly likely to choose Evil alignments and had some class/multiclass options which suggested strong aptitudes for cruel and cunning behaviours which other races considered utterly distasteful.
I won't really speak of fiend-blooded hybrids. I prefer the 1E/2E definitions for cambions, alu-demons, and tieflings. Along with some 3E definitions for aasimar, celestial, genasi, planetouched sorts. But I personally reject the entire 4E reformat to Asmodeus-tieflings and anything 5E might have derived from it.
Although daemonfey and fey'ri are a thing I do recognize. The usual practice in pre-4E rules was for the "fiend" (or "outsider", "planetouched", etc) template to overwrite the "elf" template, so if there were questions or conflicts involving fiend-vs-elf "genetics" then I think the fiend traits would consistently prevail.
Hmm, that is very true and a part I had not thought about with the human and half-elf pairing actually producing what's effectively a "pure human". So dwarves are even MORE true breeding to their own race than elves.
This also makes me think there's some similarity between humans and elves (which may just be an accident of them also looking extremely similar) that doesn't exist with them and other races.
It is kind of interesting that elves and orcs supposedly "can't" breed in at least some old lore, yet at the same time they've tried to make them related via having "brother" gods. I wonder if humans can't act like a bridge between the two (i.e. half-orc / half-elf pairing working). Wasn't there some such born in Vaasa in one of Salvatore's novels (a girl in the city of Palischuk maybe)? Yeah, there was now that I look at the wiki, in Arrayan Faylin... though its written as uncertain. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 02 Mar 2021 : 00:48:32
quote:
One other note, though: half-elves breed true with each other. In real-world genetics, two half-breeds would have a chance of producing full breed offspring, but that doesn't apply to D&D half-elves.
I guess I should've mentioned it. But I was already trying to chip away at my wall of text, lol.
The 2E PHB/DMG stated that a character must have "at least 50% elven blood" to be considered a half-elf (to cast spells while wearing elven chain armor or to use other elf-specific magical items as full-blooded elves are able to do, etc).
So I suppose it's even possible for a "human" with at least 25% elven ancestry (human and half-elf parents) and a "half-elf" with at least 75% elven ancestry (elf and half-elf parents) to produce a "half-elf" child with "at least 50% elven blood". Or for even more convoluted mixtures to occur. Though to me this seems improbable, given the great differences in lifespans (along with greatly differing maturation rates) between humans and half-elves and elves. Another example of D&D "genetics" differing from real genetics.
Half-elves don't really fit into human society or into elven society for very long - long enough to raise families, etc - again mostly because of their lifespans. So it does seem natural for them to form their own bonds or enclaves or communities in which the population breeds "true" to their own kind. Meaning it seems likely (to me) that the vast majority of half-elves will have half-elven parents, not human or elf parents. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 02 Mar 2021 : 00:14:05
Daemonfey and fey'ri were introduced in 2E, though they weren't playable (IIRC) until 3E.
I agree on a dislike of 4E genasi and tieflings. In particular, I felt that the homogenization of races that were known for being individually unique was a huge step backwards, and it seemed that the genasi were changed just to get that "kewl" factor going on. In my opinion, of course.
I recall drow breeding true with other elves, though I don't recall that being explained in 3E or before. If they tied it to the curse in 4E, then I missed it -- I didn't pay much attention to 4E material after reading the main book and a couple novels, and I've been tired of the relentless focus on drow for a while.
One other note, though: half-elves breed true with each other. In real-world genetics, two half-breeds would have a chance of producing full breed offspring, but that doesn't apply to D&D half-elves. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 01 Mar 2021 : 19:55:29
@sleyvas
My understanding, as of 2E rules and lore ...
Elves mixed with humans become half-elves. Half-elves mixed with humans become humans (with slightly elven features). Half-elves mixed with elves only breed half-elves, even with only a single drop of human in their otherwise purely elven ancestry after countless generations. Apparently human genetics are dominant over elven genetics much like dwarven genetics are dominant over human genetics, they forever "taint" the elven bloodline, though not quite as strongly. (This isn't such a big deal with the usual elf vs half-elf racial abilities, but it results in a very significant difference between their lifespans.)
PHBR8 suggests that elves and half-elves always express as one of the distinct elven subtypes. There are no mixes - only the established subtypes (and their minor variations on different worlds). A diagram is provided which describes each "branch" of elves on a "tree" - the text seems to imply that each of the elven species originated through divine will, it doesn't explain how they might have diverged or evolved in any "natural" way. It does, however, note that certain elven racial abilities are (magically?) attuned to the world/plane they're native to and that it takes "at least 50 years" for an elf to fully adapt to (be able to use these racial abilities on) a new world. If elves are indeed (magically?) sensitive to conditions on different worlds then it's logical for unique conditions on particular worlds (like the Weave in the Realms) to somehow change them over time.
I think I read somewhere that any kind of drow-elf (or drow half-elf) parentage always produces a drow-elf (or drow half-elf) child because of the drow curse - but I cannot recall the source.
There are some exceptions - star elves from the Realms, grugach (and perhaps also a different variety of drow) from Oerth, all the elves of Athas - who were described as not fitting the usual rules, though no further rules or explanations or details were actually provided.
1E half-orcs were described as typically being foul, vile, stupid, half-inarticulate. PCs were assumed to be selected from the "top 10%" of half-orcs, the ones who were utterly brutish and bestial by human standards but who were also paragons of high intellect and civilization by orcish standards. They were overwhelmingly likely to choose Evil alignments and had some class/multiclass options which suggested strong aptitudes for cruel and cunning behaviours which other races considered utterly distasteful.
I won't really speak of fiend-blooded hybrids. I prefer the 1E/2E definitions for cambions, alu-demons, and tieflings. Along with some 3E definitions for aasimar, celestial, genasi, planetouched sorts. But I personally reject the entire 4E reformat to Asmodeus-tieflings and anything 5E might have derived from it.
Although daemonfey and fey'ri are a thing I do recognize. The usual practice in pre-4E rules was for the "fiend" (or "outsider", "planetouched", etc) template to overwrite the "elf" template, so if there were questions or conflicts involving fiend-vs-elf "genetics" then I think the fiend traits would consistently prevail. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 01 Mar 2021 : 15:07:33
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I was actually referencing the "half-dwarves" from FR11 Dwarves Deep when I said that dwarves and humans are genetically incompatible.
Pure-human parent plus pure-dwarf parent produces half-dwarf child. Essentially a dwarf but with some human traits (slightly taller, etc).
Pure-human parent plus half-dwarf parent produces half-dwarf child. Essentially a dwarf but with some human traits (slightly taller, etc).
Half-dwarf parent plus half-dwarf parent produces pure-dwarf child. A pure-dwarf without any human traits.
Pure-dwarf parent plus half-dwarf parent produces pure-dwarf child. A pure-dwarf without any human traits.
This is more than dominant-vs-recessive genes. This is one species able to genetically propagate itself through another. Dwarven genes completely overwrite human genes, carrying forward no matter how "diluted" they become across human bloodlines. While the human genes are entirely discarded once paired again with dwarven genes. The human parent(s) are essentially just adoptive wombs for breeding dwarves, they contribute no meaningful genetic legacy. (This is yet another thing which defies biology as we understand it, at least when a human species is involved.)
Maybe half-dwarves can suffer from sunburn and/or from Vitamin D deficiencies. Maybe they can inherit hair and eye and skin colour, body type, genetic advantages, genetic maladies, or other characteristics from their human parentage. But this has no impact on the pure-dwarven genetics (and pure-dwarven colourations) from which they're derived - or to which they return.
I suggest that half-dwarven half-elven ("dwelf") hybrids would also be "half-dwarves" under this definition. Their non-dwarven parentage might contribute different features (maybe slenderer builds, pointed ears, a disgusting lack of facial hair, etc), but in the end they'd basically be dwarves and they would basically only breed into more dwelves or more dwarves.
One of the character race options in Darksun is "Mul". A human/dwarf crossbreed, better in certain ways than both parent races (at least in the earlier Darksun rule editions). Although Muls are also sterile - they cannot breed populations of Muls.
Although of course this isn't Realmslore. And all of the (non-Kreen, non-Gith) races of Athas are said to have evolved from halflings anyhow, lol.
Thanks Ayrik for bringing this up (the half-dwarf notes). It brings to mind something I'd been thinking about for some time with regards to the realmspace crystal sphere. To note, what I'm about to put forth is more of a thought experiment, but if you don't mind, let's see if we can add to/improve upon/or turn it into something useful. If we can't ... whatever, its another theory that I'm just pondering.
So, according to the OGB, the elves of realmspace in particular "breed true", except that they can breed with humans in particular to get a sort of hybrid. By that, I mean that an elf born of two subraces will take after one of them. Later leanings in lore may have tried to invalidate this to make them more like human genetics... but maybe they aren't. However, when elves were first formed (elsewhere mind you) they were much more "mutable", even to the point of changing sexes in addition to appearance.
The same can be said of dwarves to a degree it seems (that they seem to breed true on Toril, but specifically with humans they can make a hybrid).
Orcs appear to be somewhat like humans in their ability to breed with other things (except elves I believe).
In the past century, beings with fiendish blood were "adapted" to all having a "truebred" form, and this appears to be going away in 5e (a taint appears to be creeping in, as some tieflings can have different looks again).
Might this "breeding true" be a result of some kind of magic which affected this crystal sphere somehow? Could it even be related back to maybe the high magic ritual that created the "truebred" race of dark elves? Maybe it was something earlier instituted by one of the creator races to make new races more "stable"?
As a tertiary thing for my homebrew, I wanted to implement the Arak race into FR on the moon as I've mentioned in the past. They are particularly weird when it comes to breeding, as they have like 7 subraces, and any pairing can produce any subrace of offspring no matter the two parents. I'd like the ones in realmspace to "breed true" to one of the parents subraces (and thus limit which subraces are actually on the moon, as others may be dead or forced out of their society). This slight modification would have a definite change on them as a society and how they might view their kin as a result, so its well worth exploring. But again, that's just my stuff, I only bring it up to show why I might be interested. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 01 Mar 2021 : 13:27:01
quote:
Originally posted by Seco
I'm new to Forgotten Realms, and while reading some material about the Realms, I was puzzled about the description surrounding dwarves' skin color.
According to the lore, shield dwarves are typically pale, while gold dwarves have a darker tone. Monsters of Faerun even depicts golden dwarves with a very dark skin color.
I can't get my head around this - doesn't make sense, at least from a biological point of view. A lot of shield dwarves dwell on the surface, living in human's kingdoms. They are in a daily contact with the sun, which should mean darker skin colors. On the other hand, golden dwarves live under The Rift. They get a little to none sun in their lives. From this point of view, they should have lighter skin color, even being pale.
Is there an explanation for this variety of color? I've searched the forum for similar question, but find none.
PS: Sorry for any grammatical errors. English is not my native tongue.
Biology usually goes out the window in a magical fantasy setting. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 28 Feb 2021 : 06:29:39
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
And of course dwarves do not have natural origins, they have supernatural origins. Their colouration is whatever Moradin preferred when he hammered the first dwarves on his forge. On some other world (not Earth).
-This is the answer, applicable to basically every D&D race out there. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 28 Feb 2021 : 04:44:09
I was actually referencing the "half-dwarves" from FR11 Dwarves Deep when I said that dwarves and humans are genetically incompatible.
Pure-human parent plus pure-dwarf parent produces half-dwarf child. Essentially a dwarf but with some human traits (slightly taller, etc).
Pure-human parent plus half-dwarf parent produces half-dwarf child. Essentially a dwarf but with some human traits (slightly taller, etc).
Half-dwarf parent plus half-dwarf parent produces pure-dwarf child. A pure-dwarf without any human traits.
Pure-dwarf parent plus half-dwarf parent produces pure-dwarf child. A pure-dwarf without any human traits.
This is more than dominant-vs-recessive genes. This is one species able to genetically propagate itself through another. Dwarven genes completely overwrite human genes, carrying forward no matter how "diluted" they become across human bloodlines. While the human genes are entirely discarded once paired again with dwarven genes. The human parent(s) are essentially just adoptive wombs for breeding dwarves, they contribute no meaningful genetic legacy. (This is yet another thing which defies biology as we understand it, at least when a human species is involved.)
Maybe half-dwarves can suffer from sunburn and/or from Vitamin D deficiencies. Maybe they can inherit hair and eye and skin colour, body type, genetic advantages, genetic maladies, or other characteristics from their human parentage. But this has no impact on the pure-dwarven genetics (and pure-dwarven colourations) from which they're derived - or to which they return.
I suggest that half-dwarven half-elven ("dwelf") hybrids would also be "half-dwarves" under this definition. Their non-dwarven parentage might contribute different features (maybe slenderer builds, pointed ears, a disgusting lack of facial hair, etc), but in the end they'd basically be dwarves and they would basically only breed into more dwelves or more dwarves.
One of the character race options in Darksun is "Mul". A human/dwarf crossbreed, better in certain ways than both parent races (at least in the earlier Darksun rule editions). Although Muls are also sterile - they cannot breed populations of Muls.
Although of course this isn't Realmslore. And all of the (non-Kreen, non-Gith) races of Athas are said to have evolved from halflings anyhow, lol. |
| deserk |
Posted - 27 Feb 2021 : 21:53:04
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I don't think the "biological point of view" really applies.
Dwarves are not humans. They're not even genetically compatible with humans, in the strictest sense. They're a different species with a different biology..
I like your reasoning there, but technically dwarves are genetically compatible with humans, given that Dwarves Deep tells us explicitly that half-dwarves exist (who look indistinguishable from regular dwarves except usually being a foot taller on average).
Perhaps, and this is just speculation, maybe the Shield Dwarves have more human blood (which they would pick up from fair-skinned Chondathans, Illuskans, Tethyrians, etc.) in them than the Gold Dwarves, and this is why they have a lighter skin pigmentation? I believe Shield Dwarves are on average taller than Gold Dwarves as well.
The many Shield Dwarf kingdoms that have existed have been notoriously unstable and fragile, and many times their communities have been forced to seek refuge in the surface world, much unlike the Gold Dwarves' mighty Deep Realm empire which has stood the test of time for thousands of years largely intact and undented. Iltkazar which is one of the last remaining ancient Shield Dwarf cities that still survive in the Underdark of Old Shanatar, also has a large human minority living amongst them. Perhaps from this detail we can surmise that human minorities were common in the Shield Dwarf cities of the old Shanatar Empire. They could have been brought for many reasons, Tethyrian slaves that have fled from persecution in Calimshan, or slaves that have been abducted purposely by the dwarves, or mercenaries hired by the dwarf lords to keep in check the many dangers and rival powers in the Underdark that challenged existence of the city-states of Deep Shanatar.
Both Shield Dwarves and Gold Dwarves have been fairly isolated from each other for several millennia since the destruction of Bhaerynden and the formation of the Great Rift, which would explain why they developed differently. It is only in the 1370 era that large scale migrations back and forth between Shield/Gold Dwarf realms, although it is usually Gold Dwarves coming North due to the overpopulation caused by the Thunder Blessing. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 25 Feb 2021 : 04:16:58
I don't think the "biological point of view" really applies.
Dwarves are not humans. They're not even genetically compatible with humans, in the strictest sense. They're a different species with a different biology.
Perhaps deeper underground dwarves evolved deeper colourations because it provides better camouflage in the darkness, combat is such an important aspect of dwarven composition that those who are good at it have a selection advantage (they survive, they multiply) and those who aren't good at it get killed.
Or perhaps dwarves get enough Vitamin D from exposure to fires and forges, indeed perhaps their skin is too hardy and resilient to be affected by the sunburn which affects weaker races like humans. Or perhaps dwarves evolved the ability to extract this nutrient from their underground meat and fungus foodstuffs, we all know that dwarves can happily eat and drink things which are poisonous (and taste nasty) to other races.
And of course dwarves do not have natural origins, they have supernatural origins. Their colouration is whatever Moradin preferred when he hammered the first dwarves on his forge. On some other world (not Earth).
Plus the lore itself isn't particularly consistent. Different editions offer different descriptions from different writers, different images from different artists. Dwarves from Zakhara have been shown as looking dark and swarthy (like Turks and Iberians from our sunny Mediterranean) while other dwarves from Zakhara have been shown as looking pale-skinned, light-eyed, and blondish-/reddish-haired (and in some novels, also speaking in ways which suggest Scottish or Germanic origins). Apparently a diverse collection of physical ethnotypes which spans all the dwarven "hill" vs "mountain" vs "deep" populations. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 24 Feb 2021 : 20:15:18
quote:
Originally posted by Seco
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
You base this as if there may not be magical, elemental, or other reasons for skin coloration. Remember, the drow live in the underdark and have ebony skin, but moon elves are on the surface and have pale skin. I don't believe there's been given a specific reason behind this coloration, but they don't have to. It may be something related to gold dwarves being more "earthy".
That's my question - if there's a magical explanation. The dark tone of drows, for example, is explained as a curse. I'm wondering if there's a similar reason for the dark color of gold dwarves.
To my knowledge, no, they've never given any reason for the skin coloration. If you feel you need one though, I'd lean towards the elements themselves that they tend to be around and them taking on something of their nature. That would be homebrew though. |
| Seco |
Posted - 24 Feb 2021 : 19:06:23
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
You base this as if there may not be magical, elemental, or other reasons for skin coloration. Remember, the drow live in the underdark and have ebony skin, but moon elves are on the surface and have pale skin. I don't believe there's been given a specific reason behind this coloration, but they don't have to. It may be something related to gold dwarves being more "earthy".
That's my question - if there's a magical explanation. The dark tone of drows, for example, is explained as a curse. I'm wondering if there's a similar reason for the dark color of gold dwarves. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 24 Feb 2021 : 18:59:14
You base this as if there may not be magical, elemental, or other reasons for skin coloration. Remember, the drow live in the underdark and have ebony skin, but moon elves are on the surface and have pale skin. I don't believe there's been given a specific reason behind this coloration, but they don't have to. It may be something related to gold dwarves being more "earthy". |
| TheIriaeban |
Posted - 24 Feb 2021 : 16:58:04
The 2e supplement Dwarves Deep has this to say about gold dwarf skin tones:
"Gold Dwarves are dusky-skinned and dark-haired--their hair is usually black. Some have mahogany-hued, brick-red or even deep-red skin instead of cinnamon brown."
I would interpret that as gold dwarves have more "earthy" skin tones from living almost exclusively underground while the shield dwarves, with their surface living tendencies, gives them a "paler" skin tone more akin to a that of a tanned human. |
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