Dwaren Women

[Scorpina]

I just got into a debate with my flatmate: do dwarven women have beards? Sources seem to be inconclusive, so I'm wondering what the popular opinion is.

[Amotis]

Sometimes.

[Yuki Akuma]

I just got into a debate with my flatmate: do dwarven women have beards? Sources seem to be inconclusive, so I'm wondering what the popular opinion is.

Races of Stone says no.

Personally I think they can have them, but it's more normal for female dwarves to shave.

[ReluctantDragon]

Entirely dependent upon the game a person runs. There is no definitive yes or no answer. It is alluded in Tolkien sources that dwarven women might have beards. Never outright says it though. In early D&D sources, pulling from Tolkien, Dwarven women had beards. In 3.x D&D, the answer is no, they don't. As depicted in the players handbook, they have a plethora of hair on their head, but none chin-wise. Can a person who runs a D&D campaign have dwarven women with beards? Of course.

[Fax Celestis]

The D&D movie says "Yes".

"She's too skinny lad! What you need is a good dwarven woman... with a beard you CAN HANG ON TOO!" -Elwood

[Nerd-o-rama]

Up to the DM/world designer. I like giving them beards, though, just because I <3 Discworld, and particularly Cheery.

[Ali]

I would say - yes. But probably nothing like as thick as a male dwarf.

Of course, some probably shave.

A player in the game I'm running plays a dwarven defender, and his character seems to find women without beards very unattractive.

[JadedDM]

Yeah, it depends on the setting. On my world, no. But in Forgotten Realms they do (I remember that it was hard to tell male and female dwarves apart in Baldur's Gate, eww). Maybe Greyhawk, I'm not sure.

In Dragonlance, female dwarves have 'wispy whiskers that do not form full beards.'

[TheElfLord]

Tolkien never mentions any female in his world as having a beard, though he mentions that the males of all his races can. I believe that his intention was that Dwarven women not have beards and carry that into my interpetation of DnD.

[Roderick_BR]

Depends on the scenario.
In Ravenloft, they have, but they usually shave. In Grayhawk, they don't, I think. In some, they have big beards, as big as the males. I think the Lord of the Rings suggests they are like that there.

[Ali]

Maybe some can grow them, and some can't...

[Brickwall]

They can, but many choose not to, just like many men choose not to. Only a few of either gender looks good with facial hair, I suppose.

Except all dwarven males have facial hair. It's a magical effect. Shaving doesn't even work. It just grows right back.

[BCOVertigo]

Tolkien never mentions any female in his world as having a beard, though he mentions that the males of all his races can. I believe that his intention was that Dwarven women not have beards and carry that into my interpetation of DnD.

You sir are mistaken, prepare yourself to make a save versus INSANITY.

Did Dwarf women have beards?

[This updates question V.D.1 of the Tolkien FAQ.]

Yes. The most canonical evidence for this comes in Appendix A, where it is said of Dwarf women that

They are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to the dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of other peoples cannot tell them apart.

It seems that (male) Dwarves in Middle-earth all have beards: among other evidence, as Bilbo sets out on his adventure in The Hobbit, we read that "His only comfort was that he couldn't be mistaken for a dwarf, as he had no beard." Given that, the quote above must imply that Dwarf women were bearded as well.

However, we do not need to rely on such implications: Tolkien answered this question explicitly in other texts. In The War of the Jewels ("The Later Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Naugrim and the Edain", written ~1951), Tolkien wrote that

no Man nor Elf has ever seen a beardless Dwarf - unless he were shaven in mockery, and would then be more like to die of shame... For the Naugrim have beards from the beginning of their lives, male and female alike...

In The Peoples of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien says that a similar statement was present in an earlier draft of Appendix A as well. As these statements are entirely in agreement with the canonical evidence cited above, the conclusion that Dwarf women had beards seems inescapable.

[Green Bean]

Bah! Of course they have beards! Without beards, they're just fat gnome women!

[The Vorpal Tribble]

In my world they do have beards, however, many shave them off if they have a taste for human men.

Basically in my world dwarves are one of the oldest races, descended from the midgard dwarves who were banished to my world along with their mountain. This mountain constantly but slowly wanders the world. Those that remain upon it stay outsiders and basically have a neutral gender. Those that left the mountain however were cursed with mortality and recieved genders with similiar impulses in turn. The woman had beards, but were scantier, more silken, etc, and had femininish faces.

The criminals amongst the dwarves were purposely thrown off, and cursing the deities buried as deep into the world as possible to be away from their sight, and became Duergar.

Those that left in arctic climes became glacier dwarves, and so forth.

Humans and dwarves, especially in the last couple thousand years since a cataclysm caused the world to go deep frozen, have formed a deep friendship, with much of theh uman population living underground where its warmer. Subsequently many became a little more than friendly. Thus you can always tell when a female dwarf has a human mate because she tends to shave regularly.

The two races can't have children together though without some serious magical aid.

[Diggorian]

In my group's games it's left up to the player, whom is usually a woman ... so not in our games.

[TheOOB]

In my campaign standard (shield) dwarf women do not have beards. They live the closest to the surface and have adapted to be the most like humans of any dwarves.

Mountain dwarf women in my world usually have facial hair, but they generally shave. All other dwarf women have beards.

[Captain van der Decken]

Yes, because.. I like Terry Pratchett. And like someone said above, they could shave.

[Neo]

It varies by dwarf race/subrace.

Even in Forgotten Realms not all dwarves grow beards, male or female.

[Turcano]

The D&D movie says "Yes".

"She's too skinny lad! What you need is a good dwarven woman... with a beard you CAN HANG ON TOO!" -Elwood

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

Seriously, practically everything from the D&D movie requires a San check.

[Fax Celestis]

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

Seriously, practically everything from the D&D movie requires a San check.

At least the movie was better than the '80s cartoon. That didn't require a San check: that was a autofail.

[MrNexx]

To the tune of "Baby Got Back", a song that registers me firmly in the "yes" camp

I like big beards and I can not lie
You other dwarves can't deny
When a girl walks in with a big thick waist
And hair all over her face
You get sprung
Wanna pull up tough
Cuz you notice that face was scruffed
Deep in the helm she's wearing
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring
Oh, baby I wanna get with ya
And take your picture
My homeboys tried to warn me
But that beard you got
Make Me so horny
Ooh, ain't got smooth skin
You say you wanna get in my clan
Well use me use me cuz you aint that average groupie
I've seen them smithin'
The heck with romancin'
She sweats, wet, gots whiskers like my uncle Chet

I'm tired of elven queens
With their smooth little things
Take the average dwarf and ask him that
Her face has gotta scratch, so
fellas (yeah) fellas (yeah)
Has your dwarf-girl got the beard? (heck yeah!)
Don't let her shave it, shave it
Keep that healthy beard...

Baby got beard...

Hairy face makes for dwarven beauty...

[MrNexx]

At least the movie was better than the '80s cartoon. That didn't require a San check: that was a autofail.

Oh, admit it, Fax... it was frickin' METAL when you were five.

[Ashes]

Oh, admit it, Fax... it was frickin' METAL when you were five.

That show rocked so much! Made a marathon about six months ago where my group and I watched all of the DVDs. It was great.

And I'm in the camp that says "no beard". Just because I think it's gross.

[CuthroatMcGee]

I'm torn between Discworld, where all dwarves have beards and gender is pretty much optional, and a 3rd party, 3rd edition sourcebook I got for Christmas that suggests that there are no dwarf women, and that young dwarves are formed from rock in caves (Secrets is the sourcebook, but I'm too lazy to go find the book's publisher). So I'm not sure. But if they exist, I'll bet they do have beards.

[Dhavaer]

None of the illustrations in the books have bearded dwarven women. Beardless.

[Thomas]

I voted yes, but I specifically think they have sideburns and whiskers (in Faerûn, that is). Some may grow beards, but they don't grow them as long and as thick as the dwarven men do.

[Fax Celestis]

Oh, admit it, Fax... it was frickin' METAL when you were five.

It was, but seeing it the other night made me cry.

[Thomas]

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

Goggles: They do nothing.
Faint transmutation; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item; Price 100 gp.

[Fax Celestis]

Goggles: They do nothing.
Faint transmutation; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item; Price 100 gp.

VICTORY FOR THOMAS. *plays Hail to the Chief*