Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-Something that we must sort out once and for all

Sutemi · Journeyman Greytalker Joined: Jan 21, 2010 Posts: 120

In Greyhawk, in Flanaess specifically, do dwarven women have beards?

I think we can all agree that they are able to grow beards but the real question is that do they shave it or not?

rasgon · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:27 am Post subject:

It depends on the dwarf woman in question, and her culture. Mountain dwarves and deep dwarves are more likely to go unshaven than hill dwarves and dwarves living in human cities.

Dark_Lord_Galen · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:14 am Post subject:

I go with the learned Sage Rasgon on this one. Cool

or as Gimli put it " there are no dwarven females, they simply spring out of holes in the ground". Smile

smillan_31 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:02 am Post subject:

No, no! When a male dwarf and a rock love each other very much, Moradin hears their secret prayer for a child and splits the rock open with his mighty hammer revealing the little baby dwarf inside.

Lanthorn · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:52 am Post subject:

Great query. I keep waffling back and forth on this one. Does anyone have anything tanglible from a sourcebook that settles this score? I own Complete Guide to Dwarves and I don't remember anything in that book that conclusively says if dwarven women do, or do not, have beards...will look again. I don't recall the PH mentioning this either, or the various Monster Manual editions.

I will abstain from this vote for now. Besides, as an elfkind myself who can barely sprout much facial hair, I shudder at the thought of a lady with a soup-strainer. Wink

-Lanthorn

DMPrata · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:05 am Post subject:

Gygax said yes. That's good enough for me.

SirXaris · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:02 am Post subject:

The male and female human/demi-human comparison drawings in the 3.5e Player's Handbook show a female dwarf with no facial hair. Of course, she may have shaved it off for the portrait. Wink

SirXaris

smillan_31 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:40 am Post subject:

The illustrations of the female dwarf in A1 depicted her with a beard. A big red one too. Man. Still gives me the shivers

Lanthorn · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:45 am Post subject:

True that! Shocked

Her name is Elwita, a pregenerated character (6th lvl fighter).

As far as I know, this is the only picture of a bearded dwarven lady. Even the female dancing on the table featured in the Complete Book of Dwarves is clean-faced. I am assuming this is a dwarf, of course. Pardon the rhyme. Happy

-Lanthorn

Icarus · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:13 pm Post subject: Bearded dwarven women

Well, there is some debate, obviously, as this wouldn't be a poll if there weren't! The first specific thing I could find in writing was in the LGG:

Lanthorn · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:17 pm Post subject:

Icarus, well-researched!

-Lanthorn, Bowing in Respect

bubbagump · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:40 pm Post subject:

Argon · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:44 pm Post subject:

It depends on how you want to view it. In many forms of D&D literature it is thought that female dwarves have beards. I am of the school that says no though many dwarven women wear false beards when serving in the military or in times when when their lands are under siege. The mindset being if your enemy believes he is facing a male he is more likely to kill or capture then rape. Maybe one of the reasons no one hears of the half-orc dwarf offspring.

This is my take on it, makes fighting dwarves seem like a male centric fighting force and prevents their soldiers from behaving differently amongst the males and females in the group.

Later

Argon

smillan_31 · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:05 am Post subject:

polipone · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:11 am Post subject:

Berronar Truesilver, I think. Her picture is on a Forgotten Realms sourcebook, but racial gods are cross-setting so this should hold even in Greyhawk.

Elliva · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:45 pm Post subject:

I'm with Gary on this one. They have beards, but I do have dwarf communities near cosmopolitan areas in Greyhawk where some of the females are smooth-faced.

Lanthorn · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:27 pm Post subject:

Perhaps it is a cultural, tribal, clan, or even personal, choice. It seems by various sources that dwarven females do grow beards, but some prefer to go smooth-faced. Just as with human beings, there must be variations based on region, culture, subrace, and the like. Some females prefer to shave (for whatever reason the DM prefers), while others do not.

-Lanthorn

Icarus · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:14 pm Post subject:

Lanthorn · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:40 am Post subject:

Most welcome, Icarus. Most welcome. Credit must be given when it is due! Happy

-Lanthorn

Icarus · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:31 am Post subject: Dwarven Beards poll

Fascinating.
At the beginning, the poll was running neck-and-neck. For a short time, "no beards" was actually ahead by a vote or two.
but, now, it's two-to-one in favour of beards. I think that's a pretty clear consensus. It's not all that many votes, but, I think that a two-thirds majority of the voting block is fairly significant. (I know, I know, there's people that are going to say that 20-some votes isn't enough to be statisically accurate, but, that's not really the point, here. So all you pedantic statisticians just shoosh.) :)

I can't help but wonder if there's some people who've read the thread then voted, or if if the voting comes first. There's plenty who've voted without commenting, so, I like to believe that it's uninfluenced voting. Hmmm ... on the other hand, maybe the fact that it's informed voting after reading the thread, and that's a good thing. Hmm.
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BlueWitch · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:10 pm Post subject:

Responding to Icarus's speculation: I cast my vote, then scrolled down and read the posts. If my vote was "biased" by anything, it would be references to this subject in the 1st edition books, and an article in Dragon 109 I believe, that addresses this subject as well.

Icarus · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:00 pm Post subject:

And so it is!!
Thank you, Blue Witch!!
Dragon Magazine issue #109, May 1986, p 28. "Worth Its Weight in Gold: A Dwarf's beard is more than hair", By, John Olson.

Schweet! Now I've got an article to read!!
[Edit, a short while later: Marvelous. simply Marvelous. A better read I have seldom found. It covers adornments, festival decorations, customs of wear and braiding, legends of dwarven hero's beards, tales of god's beards, even how other race's beards are viewed by dwarves.
There's even some illustrations of bearded dwarven women, and descriptions of how their beards differ (and decorations) differ from men's. :D
Thank you, indeed, Blue Witch! I don't know how I ever missed reading that one! I pulled it from the ol' Dragon Collection, and had a good time reading it!]
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Cebrion · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:58 pm Post subject:

Bow chika bow bow!

That's what they look like apparently. Lingerie made of gold and gems. Yep. That seems pretty dwarvish. Laughing

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Dark_Lord_Galen · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 4:31 am Post subject:

HEY HEY How about a "Visual DISCLAIMER" I think my one good eye is scarred for un-life. Laughing

Leave to the Big C to dig up Dwarven Pin-Up Girls Shocked

Icarus · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:30 am Post subject: Dwarven pinup girls

That which has been seen, cannot be unseen. Shocked

LOL! In all seriousness, though. That's pretty decent art. Who did it, Ceb? It's interesting to think that someone would take the time to to a piece like that. I wonder what prompted it?
Although, she must be pretty young ... despite the braiding, it looks like a fairly thin beard, by Dwarven standards ...

Wait ... what is this? "Barely Legal, Dwarves Gone Wild"? Shocked

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