Pah! The only decent dwarves are hill dwarves. That's because ain't nothing funny or odd about us. Not like others. You can depend on hill dwarves. We keep to ourselves. We don't cause any trouble and we don't steal from decent folk. Not like those sundered and gully types. Steal the clothes off your own back, they would, if you didn't constantly watch 'em. Dirty too.

Never known one of 'em to wash, or change his clothes either. They must sell all the clothes they steal. Probably to deep dwarves and duergar.

Nasty those duergar. Name means 'lurkers in the dark." Shifty, dangerous bunch. Like to ambush you. Pepper you with crossbow bolts and stab you in the back. They give us all a bad name. Bunch of murdering goblin lovers.

Deep dwarves 're all recluses. Greedy they are, only live that deep 'cause they've tunneled out all the old above. That was our gold too! They stole it, but we can't prove it. Say they were there first. Liars.

Now, mountain dwarves. They're not a bad lot. A bit uppity, but that's because they live in the mountains. We leave 'em alone. No point going all that way just to find you're not wanted. Most of 'em live behind locked doors. So there you have it!

If you want to deal with dwarves, deal with us. We not only live closer to you, we don't harbor any grudges against other folk, except pansy elves, goblins, pig-faced orcs, and filthy hobgoblins. No fairer folk considering what we had to put up with!

— Balur the Hill Dwarf, delivering his "unbiased" opinions on his cousins.

Hill Dwarves

Hill dwarves are the most common dwarves and have adapted well to life above and below ground, living in areas of rolling hills. A typical hill dwarf stands roughly 4 feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds. Stocky and muscular, hill dwarves typically are a deep tan or light brown in color, with ruddy cheeks, bright eyes, and hair that is black, gray, or brown. They tend to favor dark, somber, earth-toned clothes, and wear little jewelry. 

Hill dwarf strongholds are primarily located underground, though they frequently have outposts on the surface. They claim that they have always lived in the hills, but they may have migrated there either by traveling above ground (as believed by the ), or via underground passages. If their migrations were indeed via surface travel, then it is likely that they are descended from their mountain kin.