Biology and culture. Their long life span means they have a longer collective memory of historical events and strong traditions that evolve slowly. Dwarves in most D&D worlds also have a different creation myth and pantheon of gods from humans and elves. Their culture emphasizes strong work ethic, perfecting your craft and working for the good and stability of your clan. Humans don't have that kind of social or religious cohesion. That's not to say all dwarves get along or have the exact same traditions, but they do have common values and generally recognize each other as part of the same group in ways humans from two different countries wouldn't.
My first instinct was to answer “a love of craft.” Other consistent factors are pride, perseverance, tradition, and materialism. Physically, they’re always short and stocky, and men have beards (as do women often). They’re always associated with stone, and as a result are often miners, smiths, and masons, and usually live in hills or mountains. And finally, their culture is older or at least deeper than humans’ is, so they tend to be more archaic, fantastic, and/or isolated. (That culture is usually a mix of Hebrew and Nordic, by the way.)
Basically dwarves, like most fantasy races, represent certain aspects of humanity at their unashamed extreme.
when you boil dwarves down to their basic element,they are so much like us that one could mistake a dwarf for a human.
So it makes me wonder,what defines a dwarf?
Biology and culture. Their long life span means they have a longer collective memory of historical events and strong traditions that evolve slowly. Dwarves in most D&D worlds also have a different creation myth and pantheon of gods from humans and elves. Their culture emphasizes strong work ethic, perfecting your craft and working for the good and stability of your clan. Humans don't have that kind of social or religious cohesion. That's not to say all dwarves get along or have the exact same traditions, but they do have common values and generally recognize each other as part of the same group in ways humans from two different countries wouldn't.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
My first instinct was to answer “a love of craft.” Other consistent factors are pride, perseverance, tradition, and materialism. Physically, they’re always short and stocky, and men have beards (as do women often). They’re always associated with stone, and as a result are often miners, smiths, and masons, and usually live in hills or mountains. And finally, their culture is older or at least deeper than humans’ is, so they tend to be more archaic, fantastic, and/or isolated. (That culture is usually a mix of Hebrew and Nordic, by the way.)
Basically dwarves, like most fantasy races, represent certain aspects of humanity at their unashamed extreme.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club