Differences Between Ages

Each age of TLA features a different civilization or culture within a particular race. In the case of dwarves, there are no profound differences, but each is somewhat unique nonetheless.

First Age of the Sun

The Dwarven Race in the First Age of the Sun focuses on the twin cities of Ered Luin, Belegost and Nogrod. (or as the Dwarves would call them, Gabilgathol and Tumunzahar) These cities were known for their use of ores and stone - iron and copper were used more than silver or gold. The dwarves of Belegost were by far the friendliest dwarves to elves in any age of Arda. These dwarves first befriended the Sindar led by Elu Thingol when he rewarded the king of Belegost with the beautiful pearl, Nimphelos. In fact, Dwarves of Belegost labored for Thingol in the very chambers and halls of Menegroth, the Thousand Caves, which they helped to delve. Dwarves in the First Age of the Sun were famous for their artful smithing and engraving. It was in the first Age that such weapons as Glamdring, Narsil, and Angrist were crafted. The Dwarves of this age fashioned hauberks of such a quality that they would always shine, and they were renowned for wearing hideous masks into battle that could withstand the fire of a dragon.

First Age Strengths

• Resource Gathering
• Weapons and Armor Upgrades
• Strong Relationships with other races

First Age Weaknesses

• Slower building/training/researching times
• Armies have little skill except for the few elites.
• First Age Dwarves lack mithril.

Second Age of the Sun

The Second Age of the Sun for Dwarves was a time of utter prosperity and peace. While Elves and Men warred ceaselessly against Sauron and ill-aligned invaders, the Dwarves, mostly located in Khazâd-dum, built magnificent halls and chambers piled with riches and goods. The Dwarves of the Second Age were probably most prosperous during the time of the smith, Narvi, who forged a strong relationship between his people and the Noldor colony of Eregion. This time period could certainly have been called the Golden Age or the "High-Water Mark" of Dwarven Civilization. Dwarves of Khazâd-dum commonly traded wares via caravan to both Noldor of Eregion and Noldor of Mithlond. But what made Khazâd-dum, Dwarrowdelf, so utterly magnificent in the Second Age was the discovery of Mithril under Celebdil, which is Silvertine. Because of this discovery, the Noldor became even more amicable towards the dwarves, and founded the great city of Ost-in-Edhil at the meeting of Sirannon and Glanduin. Here the Mírdain, the Crafters of Jewels, honed their skills using trade goods from the Dwarves.

Second Age Strengths

• Building of structures/carving of chambers and halls
• Trade and resource gathering
• Comparatively strong relationships with Elves

Second Age Weaknesses

• Military is not emphasized
• Military Leadership is not as strong
• Reliance on trade makes the Dwarves susceptible to economic warfare.

Third Age of the Sun

While the Second Age of the Sun for the Dwarves was fraught with success, prosperity, and amiability, the Third Age of the Sun was an age of wandering, loss, and warfare. For the early part of the Third Age, the Dwarves of Khazâd-dum lived a comfortable lifesyle, though sequestered from many other races; many Elves and Men perished at Dagorlad, and many more at the very gates of Barad-dûr. The Dwarves of Khazâd-dum shut their gates on most other races during the Third Age in their avarice - Sauron's gift of Rings of Power to the Dwarf Lords had the unexpected result of increasing their self-allegiance, not increasing their allegiance to the darkness. And so for many hundreds of years, the Dwarves of Khazâd-dum delved deep into the bowels of the earth, ever increasing the wealth and splendour of their kingdom. However, the fate of the Dwarves was not a happy one. In TA 1980, during the reign of Durin IV, dwarven miners delved too deeply and released a smoldering Balrog of Morgoth. Wroth, the Balrog slew Durin IV, and later his son, Náin. The fearful inhabitants of Khazâd-dum fled, eventually settling in Ered Luin, that is the Blue Mountains, Erebor, and the Grey Mountains. Great numbers of Dwarves fled to the Grey Mountains, where Náin II, Dáin, and Oin ruled a kingdom filled with immense treasure. However, the luck of the Dwarves was pressed again - hordes of Cold Drakes, that is Drakes that lack fire-breathing abilities, assailed Dáin in the Grey Mountains, and the Dwarves once again would be come refugees. These refugees eventually settled in Erebor, where a watchful peace was maintained for a few hundred years. It was during this time that the Dwarves once again became known as traders; goods flowed freely from Erebor to Esgaroth and Rhûn along the Celduin to the Elves of Mirkwood. But alas, the mettle of the Dwarves would be tested again: in 2770, the Fire-Drake called Smaug the Golden ravaged the lands of Dale and destroyed the Dwarven Kingdom of Erebor, taking it as his own. Wanderers once again, the Dwarves migrated westward, settling in Dunland near the west-gate of what had become Moria, the Dark Pit. Thrór and his refugees were assailed upon venturing into the abandoned halls of their forefathers, and Thrór unluckily lost his head to Azog the Goblin of Moria. Upon learning of this, enraged Dwarves of all Middle-Earth, not just the Dwarves of Durin, vowed to avenge their brethren. This marked the beginning of the Dwarf and Orc Wars, which lasted from TA 2793 to 2799. The end to the war would be determined at Azanulbizar, the very lake that Durin marvelled on millenia before. The battle of Azanulbizar, what the Elves call Nanduhirion was the first significant Dwarven victory in hundreds of years. The Dwarves were severely outnumbered and had the low-ground, but they were better equipped than the inhabitants of Moria. Thousands of years of Dwarven smithing and reinforcements led by Dáin II Ironfoot would seal the victory for the Dwarves that day, though at great cost to both sides. During the Dwarf and Orc Wars, Dwarven refugees had migrated through Arnor and the Shire to repopulate the Blue Mountains, and in 2941, Dwarves of these halls, led by Thorin II Oakenshield, sojourned to Erebor to wrest their territory by right from Smaug the Golden, who had been terrorizing the region for two hundred years. Helped by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the Istar Gandalf, and the lake-men of Esgaroth, Thorin II was able to reclaim Erebor as his own. The Dwarves, though, would have to fight for their newly-gained territory in the Battle of Five Armies, dramatized in The Hobbit, before their kingdom could be secured. So ends the tale of the Dwarves of Middle Earth, not among those who received the least of hardships in the annals of time.

Third Age Strengths

• Dwarves of the Third Age were hardy and valiant; their morale and health will reflect this.
• Well equipped-military in comparison to Second Age Dwarves
• Well-trained and led Military, even surpassing the Dwarves of the First Age in courage and steadfastness
• Third Age Dwarves will have faster building times than those of the other ages.

Third Age Weaknesses

• Negative adjustments to diplomatic relations; the Dwarves of the Third Age were very isolated
• Buildings of the Third Age are not nearly as strong as those of previous ages.
• Third Age Dwarves will be attacked hard and often by both Forces of Darkness and maligned independents.

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