Bismuth dwarves' aetherial power gives them echolocation, the power to sense cave-ins, and metalworking skills. They gain from mining and smithing aetherial powers and from their ceremonies of noise cacophonous ones. They often have a wail that can cause cave-ins or avallanches, sharp claws on their hands, and the ability to shape stone or metal with their voices.

All dwarves are known for their steady feet, their inborn toughness, and their shrewdness.

Bismuth dwarves live in a fractured society made up on many different tribes that hate each other. They dwell in mountain caves and have ever-shifting territories where they fight over resources. The thane of the bismuth dwarves is often a short-lived position because of the tendencies toward violence and assassination, but it is also a very powerful position and much craved.

Families are rare. Most leave their children to their own survival, and the children are raised by those who think they can gain from having a servant. This has created de facto orphanage-schools that raise most bismuth dwarves, and child-finding is a common job at these schools. They also buy children from powerful dwarves if necessary. At these schools, children are taught to serve and work, but special children are selected for leadership roles. Sometimes, the children rebel and kill their teachers and keepers.

The religious among bismuth dwarves have incredible power in society and are much feared, as they use dwarven sacrifice as a tool of control. The screams of the dying empower them. They are at war with the thane and the thane's servants, and the back and forth between them is one of the biggest rivalries in their society.