Dwarves in my setting

 Overview

I was talking with my friend about how dwarves kinda suck as a fantasy species as what differentiates them are mainly cultural and behavioral things and not physical things. Elves have the whole immortal and magic connection going on and humans are unique and gnomes have the short, hardy and lucky thing but dwarves have darkvison (that elves have), burrowing (which gnomes have) and crafting skill (which anyone can have). My friend did mention how birds are better dwarves as magpies like precious gems and metals (like dwarves), owls see in the dark (like dwarves) and ravens are smart as they remember grudges for years and build nests (like dwarves). You may be wondering about the whole digging aspect but some birds dig to nest or just lives in a cave. I immediately realized that these are my dwarves.

Fulvans 

Fulvans stand out in a crowd, as few of them leave their halls of wax. They are shorter than an average human, being around 3 to 4 feet tall. They are few as families are generally no bigger than 4 individuals. If one Fulvan had to leave the halls, it is to learn new skills to incorporate into their craft. Fulvans have dark feathers with patterns of white all over their body. They have claw like hands and bird-like feet. Some say that they can hold grudges for generations and that they have supernatural patience. They have bright orange beaks.The average person would maybe see a Fulvan around once a year if they were observant or the Fulvan was particularly friendly. Their candles are a sought after due to how every Fulvan has access to a wax-like saliva that hardens if heated. This wax lasts a long time and makes for good candles that ward off fairy folk due to the smell of freshly cut grass.

By me. The Fulvan stranger.

They are created by an egg. This egg is cracked open the first time and a worm-like creature crawls out. Here Fulvans learn how to eat, what organs they should have/aim for and to see what family they belong to. They return to the egg and the Fulvan seal themselves inside for around 15 years and go back to growing. They then are born a second time, bird sized with small wings. The juvenile Fulvan then learn to speak, they learn of the family's traditions and are told to fly to home. They fly, carrying their egg with them. The young Fulvan go into their egg for another 15 years and finally come out a fully formed. Some Fulvans seal themselves with their birth wax when they die for their Fourth Birth but the academics of Amaskus Most Divine say that Fulvans only get 3 births. They live this life for around 170 years but there are stories of Fulvan leaders as old as 300. 

Machines are a frontier they are exploring, having success with mass incubators, where over hot coals the eggs are kept warm over time and safe from outside forces. 

A candle the stranger traded for a mace

Clickables 

Temporal Negativity gives some statblocks for Fear and Hunger monsters 

Table Tob puts Qud style factions into your game 

The Fields we know shatters the myth of a balanced encounter