D&D 4E We likes our dwarven women kinda furry! (aka 4e beards)

[Nifft]

That's another reason for dwarven beards -- keeps them from being confused with gnomes!

That's an objection with an expiration date.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Klaus]

Though I like your artwork, Klaus, all those dwarves look like gnomes to me (it might be the ears, though). That's another reason for dwarven beards -- keeps them from being confused with gnomes!

I draw my dwarves with slightly squareish faces and pointed ears, like Brom did in Dark Sun, whereas my gnomes have large, rounded ears and almond-shaped, slanted eyes.

In the tavern scene, that's a gnome psion showing off for a dwarf paladin. In the psions line-up, the gnome psion is wearing face wrappings, while the dwarf psion is wearing a hood.

 

[LoneWolf23]

There are lots of ways of making dwarf women more masculine, without needing the beards. I just portray them as being slightly butch with rugged features, but they clean up nicely. And, of course, they don't really go for much of that frilly stuff other races think is feminine.

Dwarf women don't have tea and biscuits while sitting in the living room with the couch covered in doilies, giggling as they gossip. They drink beer and eat pork rinds while lounging around the den, belching and laughing loudly as they gossip.

Of course, male dwarves call that "acting feminine". You should see what they call acting Macho.

 

[Storm Raven]

Is that bearded female dwarf or a cross-dressing barbarian?

Yeah, pretty sure. The characters pictured on the cover of A1 are pretty obviously some of the tournament characters listed in the back of the module. The little guy hanging from the rafters is Blodget, the halfling thief. The spell caster is probably Phanstern, the human illusionist (although it could be Dread Delgath, the human magic-user, but that is unlikely, since Delgath has a staff). The one with the hammer is Elwita, a female dwarven fighter.

 

[DarkKestral]

I only think the joke has any merit in Discworld books, and only because of the growing schism between the old fashioned dwarves and the dwarves that you can tell are female. All other bearded female dwarf jokes can drown in liquid paper for all I care.

Another reason I think Discworld's jokes work is that he describes even the female dwarves in ways that tell you they are very much like a member of the the classical fantasy dwarven race. Look at Cheery Littlebottom.. even though she's a dwarven feminist, she is described in ways that make her very much recognizable as a dwarf, even early on, when the dwarves weren't fleshed out like they now are. I mean, she's offended when someone asks her to remove her grandmother's axe from her person. That makes for a very strong 'dwarf' flavor, despite her being far from the typical fantasy dwarf.

 

[RPG_Tweaker]

IMC:

Dwarven females are about as hirsute as Frida Khalo, with noticable traces of sideburns, and hints of a mustache and a slight unibrow. Some also have a trace of soft chin whiskers. Interestingly enough though, they often have quite striking eyes and soft facial features that, should they shave and pluck, would make them quite attractive to the human eye.

Because they comprise such a small segment of the population, a family that gives birth to a daughter is considered blessed by Moradin. As such, they are protected by religious law. It is highly irregular for females to venture beyond dwarven strongholds without a strong armed escort. And to date, history knows of only two female "adventurers." Both disguised themselves as males, wearing full beards.*

Because of general ignorance, and these two publicly bearded figures, it is commonly assumed that ALL dwarves are bearded.


* Both were eventually unveiled; one by intrigue, and the other by her public declaration of noblility, but these events occured with only a handful of witnesses, so the legend persists.

 

[Driddle]

We need an official statement on 4th edition dwarf women beards. Who wants to go on a quest to find it?

 

[Klaus]

We need an official statement on 4th edition dwarf women beards. Who wants to go on a quest to find it?

What, the three non-bearded female dwarf concept drawings don't count?

 

[Barastrondo]

What, the three non-bearded female dwarf concept drawings don't count?

My wife said "Wow, I love that warlock! I hope they make a miniature of her!"

I said "You mean a pre-painted plastic mini?"

Her face fell.

It's really gorgeous work, that William O'Connor stuff. Among other things, it's neat to see how the dwarf concept armor and weapons seem to be moving into more sharp, angular design, with fewer rounded edges. (Well, on the equipment... yes, there are indeed plenty of rounded edges on the warlock...) A bit more geometric; gives them a distinct "look" without being too weirdly impractical. I sense WETA inspiration.

Between that and the more trollish trolls (a wonderful thing for those of us who've usually gone more mainstream than Poul Anderson), the art's starting to shape up pretty nice. I would really love it if the goblinkin started to develop a more classic, maybe Brian Froudish goblin look, but I'm not expecting that.

I think the "bearded lady" thing is probably not going to surface again, though. I can't imagine any of WotC's old "competing with World of Warcraft ads" (you know, the ones that ran things like "At least you can tell when the hot elf sorceress is being played by a guy") running a sales point like "Our dwarf women are more hirsute!"

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

We need an official statement on 4th edition dwarf women beards. Who wants to go on a quest to find it?

I asked the question for the D&D podcast, but it didn't make the cut for the first 4E Q&A.

-- BREAK --

I'm beginning to think dwarves don't need a gender. They're all carved from stone and awakened by some mystical process that turns them to flesh and blood. When they die, they go back to the stone they were made from. The so-called dwarven females are myths spread by the conniving gnomes.

Elves, on the other hand, are androgynous hermaphrodites that possess both sets of sex organs.