Dwarf

Dwarves average four feet in height, with stout, broad bodies. Male dwarves grow thick facial hair. The female dwarves in The Lord of the Rings novels, which greatly inspired D&D, were able to grow beards as well. Some authors, such as R. A. Salvatore, have followed suit in their writing, though the game rules' official position is that females do not grow beards—the fourth edition of Dungeons and Dragons portrayed female dwarves as "beardless and even attractive". In specific campaign settings, the potential for female dwarven facial hair sees much variation: In the World of Greyhawk some females can grow beards but those generally shave, in the Forgotten Realms they can grow full beards but also usually shave, and in Eberron they do not grow facial hair at all. In older editions of the game, female dwarves did grow beards in various campaign settings.