A dwarf culture I imagine would be patrilinear. Their society is very conservative
Did you break anything when you fell into that trap? ;-P
The trap I speak of is the one that you assume that because dwarves are conservative, they try to conserve human traditions. If they started out as matriarchial/matrilinear, they'd stick to it, even if those weird humans had the mad idea to do matri.
However property more often than not would be in the keeping of the females since dwarves are usually at war with one race or another.
I'd say that dwarven birth rate isn't that high, they live for centuries, so they might not have gender roles: Both genders fight, both genders raise their children (they'll have a hammer in hand before they can walk)
As a note on elves they can be viewd in two different lights. One is from classic mythology where they are a very wild capricious lot. They are more or less free by nature and mate with anyone they choose be they mortal or elf and do not marry. Or you could take the more Tolkein approach which seems to have dominated in literature, and have elves being of a wise and more sedate nature. Elves usually marry once and rarely remarry.
They're a mix of both: Wild but not as wild as the fey.
They don't wildly rape everything with a pulse, but they're not necessarily keen on marriage, especially a marriage that lasts for centuries. It can happen, of course, but it wouldn't be common.
They are not driven by base sexual desires, but seek a higher purpose in life.
The higher purpose is called "Brightness".
But the base sexual desires part might not be true. Their main deity (the deity in the main pantheon that is listed as "elven") has lust as part of her portfolio. They don't mind fooling around too much.
They are great crafters, bards, wizards and the like. An explanation as to why the elven cultures of old were so great because they focused on study and creation and a betterment of the world. They didnt allow petty concerns and bigotry which would be prevalent amongst humans to prevent them from moving foward. This is my take on the issue.
I think they're capable of petty concerns and bigotry.
The main reason they're so great craftsment is that they take their time learning their crafts, trades and arts. They have a more relaxed attitude towards time and results - while a human wants to be creating swords NOW, as many and as possible, the elf takes time to do it right. His biological clock isn't ticking as loudly.
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dwarven communities i would say as Frost that they are conservative, bu i see them more looking for a Wise leader than a strong one... they need to plan for the future, not jus the next fight, so if its a male or a female ould depend in how apt he or she is... also it would be ,line dependant... dwarves are based on clans, surely one or two clans would have the priority for the throne.
if i remember 2nd edition, marriages were something very important for dwarves, sometimes arranged, its more important to preserve their culture and the strengh of their clans than just love, but i suppose love would be important too.
for elves, as KaeYoss said, considering the goddess of lust is the elven goddess, i would say yes, they like to be a bit free about their sexual lives, they are capriciouss, but yes they see them considering at least partial compromises about living toguether or regular couples, maybe even arriving to marriage... not arranged ones... no one mess with an elven freedom.
and yes every elf has the Brighness as a natural insctint, something inside them that is worth to be seek, completly unique to each one, every elf decides when to search for it, how close one is to brighness means something for the time they die and return to the world in their next reincarnation
I read the Pathfinder Campaign setting on dwarves, and they really dont differ so much from the traditional dwarf of first edition. So my view is dwarf culture would be a patrilinear culture. Dwarf kings dominate their history and there is no mention of a dwarf queen. They like smithing, building and fighting physical muscular activities. Their society being clannish and ordered would have roles to ensure its survival as a whole.
I tend to agree.
The reason I brought up Elven Culture, is because the primary deity of the Elves is Calistria. - Not Shelyn, Desna, Gozreh, or Nethys.
A culture's religion is one of the foundations of it culture (the others being physical environment and history). With the Goddess of "Trickery, Lust, and Revenge" as their central deity will tend to impact their culture in many different ways.
Counterwise: Toreg is in many ways the iconic dwarf. So his influence would, if anything, make the dwarves even more "dwarven."
I read the Pathfinder Campaign setting on dwarves, and they really dont differ so much from the traditional dwarf of first edition. So my view is dwarf culture would be a patrilinear culture. Dwarf kings dominate their history and there is no mention of a dwarf queen. They like smithing, building and fighting physical muscular activities. Their society being clannish and ordered would have roles to ensure its survival as a whole.
They only have kings. Dwarven kings. Male dwarven kings and female dwarven kings. They don't discern the genders outside of romance (which is very deliberate and consists mostly of finding out what gender the other is), and the term "king" is merely a translation into common which lost a lot. A better translation would be "lowest mine supervisor" (lowest because view things like that differently - the lower, the better)
(I still maintain that Pratchett's dwarves and elves are the best in any fantasy setting).
You're right, though: so far, the only big surprise we had with Golarion's dwarves is that they're not racist towards elves (and vice versa). It's mostly a peace of those who see each other too rarely to develop proper quarrels, but it's there!
The reason I brought up Elven Culture, is because the primary deity of the Elves is Calistria. - Not Shelyn, Desna, Gozreh, or Nethys.
Well, it's what they've got. But elves don't seem to mind that their primary deity (and the one that originated from their culture*) doesn't embody everything elves are good at, and she doesn't mind that they have other gods and goddesses beside her.
It seems that they don't have to place religious significance to everything. To them, religion is a matter of the spirit, not necessarily the mind or body. Elves and their goddess are free spirits at heart. That they like to live in concert with nature and develop arcane talent doesn't change that.
*That's a weird distinction, anyway, as elves were there before humans, and most other deities were there even longer than that. There were elven worshippers of Gozreh, Asmodeus or Desna long before the first monkey got the idea that standing straight and shaving most his body might be a great career move.
Calistria is somewhat of a weird distinction amonsgt elven religion. The elves do not seem either lustful or a vengeful lot. I think Desna is a better representative of the elven race.
The reason I brought up Elven Culture, is because the primary deity of the Elves is Calistria. - Not Shelyn, Desna, Gozreh, or Nethys.Well, it's what they've got. But elves don't seem to mind that their primary deity (and the one that originated from their culture*) doesn't embody everything elves are good at, and she doesn't mind that they have other gods and goddesses beside her.
It seems that they don't have to place religious significance to everything. To them, religion is a matter of the spirit, not necessarily the mind or body. Elves and their goddess are free spirits at heart. That they like to live in concert with nature and develop arcane talent doesn't change that.
*That's a weird distinction, anyway, as elves were there before humans, and most other deities were there even longer than that. There were elven worshippers of Gozreh, Asmodeus or Desna long before the first monkey got the idea that standing straight and shaving most his body might be a great career move.
I would Heartily agree. Indeed, had Desna been their "chief" diety, I think the whole issue about "Matrilinearity" would have never come up (because "lust" would not be a "virtue" among the elves). :)
Not having read anything by Pratchett cant comment there. However what you said just reinforces the idea that dwarves are more patriarchical culture, and reinforces the idea they try to keep their women from the world.
No. They're not patriarchial or matriarchial. They're dwarfiarchial. In fact, the gender of a dwarf is usually unknown to others except for close family.
Well I read in the Pathfinder campaing dwarves view elves as weakling who abandoned the world and let the orcs rule the surface in the age of darkness. So there is some tension there.
It's more the usual dwarven grudge holding. They know that the whole mess was more their fault (because they engaged the orcs and brought them to the surface in the first place), but as a race they're just too stubborn.
After all, they wouldn't admit that they needed the elves to help them against orcs, now would they?
(If you remember back in the old days Only humans could be clerics and half elves could only attain cleric level 5.)
Yeah, thank the Void that those days are long past.
They honor the deities but do seem to lack the awe and piety found amongst humans. Neither do they have the dwarven view which has Torag involved in their lives. The elves view the deities as a higher order of beings whose standards they should live up to.
Oh, they can be pious. But not necessarily in the same way as other races.
Calistria is somewhat of a weird distinction amonsgt elven religion. The elves do not seem either lustful or a vengeful lot. I think Desna is a better representative of the elven race.
They don't have to live their life according to her every tenet.
Calistria represents a fierce lust for life, something elves can identify with.
She also teaches trickery - and elves won't think twice about "fighting dirty" - they rarely engage in wars of aggression, but if someone attacks them, they will do everything to repell that attacker. If someone gets his panties in a bunch over elven warfare, they just have to abandon hostilities and go back home. They're very Malcolm Reynolds that way.
In fact, Malcolm Raynolds would make a wonderful elf: not only does he have no compunction about fighting dirty, he won't leave any of his behind. If he considers you a "friend" (well, member of the crew), he is there for you. Very elven (elves of Golarion consider standing by their friends to be more important than anything else).
And elves do engage in lust. It might not be mindless rutting, but they're capable and willing to grapple with someone even if they don't love that someone - and they are good at keeping love and lust separate.
And finally, while elves might not kill someone's whole nation because of a slight, they will hold a grudge against you if you hurt them or their friends. You don't want an elf to be mad at you. They do Calistria justice!