I was thinking of an all Dwarven campaign that way we can get use to the classes before experimenting with races to much. Some of the things I was wondering about was the Thunder Blessing and the changes it brought about to Dwarven society? Are the Gold Dwarves still sending armies North trying to retake some of the lost Kingdoms of Deep Sharatar. Is Iltkazar still the lasts surviving kingdom of Deep Sharatar. Has king Mith Barak woken yet? Is the Army of Iron still laying siege to the city? What is the state of the Duergar? These are the is issues I planning to base the campaign around, kind of a start in Iltkazar and have the party help out the Army of Gold lift the Siege.
Nothing canonical, but from a purely sociological point-of-view, once a group gets used to something, all the incentives that group had to make changes gets forgotten, or at least pushed to the wayside.
Ergo, after that intial push to retake all of their former northern demesnes, within a generation things would have settled back down to normal - Dwarves being taciturn and reclusive.
Considering that the Dwarves have left the Silver Marches Confederation, I believe this would be an accurate assumption.
Unfortunately, elves and drow are pretty much my babies, dragons coming a close second. :-( I would really like to see more things dedicated to dwarves, though.
Regards,
AryaNightingale
There's even a Drow Realm in one of those 'lost kingdoms' that welcomes outsiders and seeks alliances.
Very un-Drowlike, which is why I think it is so cool. They are not Matriarchal, which is why they seek allies (they know it's only a matter of time....)
There's even a Drow Realm in one of those 'lost kingdoms' that welcomes outsiders and seeks alliances.
-Right. That would be the Drow realm of Ultoksamrin. It is led by a Vhaeraunite priest by the name of Vokkrzyr Rualfren, who makes a habit of raiding and being a general nuisance to Guallidurth.
That city makes Menzoberranzan look like a shoebox full of cockaroaches.
Very un-Drowlike, which is why I think it is so cool. They are not Matriarchal, which is why they seek allies (they know it's only a matter of time....)
This is very interesting, yet it is not as un-drow like as some may think. Matriarchial Lolthite drow may hate every race out there (including their own), but drow are still going to have their pragmatists. I mean, not every Nazi out there wanted all of the Jews dead and I am even willing to bet that only the ignorant extremists did. This seems like something that is applicable to the drow, considering the debasing of life based on race.
Furthermore, if it is a Vhaeraunite running the show, I am definitely not surprised. Vhaeraun himself wants to see the elven race unite as a means to dominate the lesser races. I already expressed how interesting I find the deity in another thread, so I will not elaborate anymore than that. :-)
At any rate, back on topic for me before I hijack the thread with my elven/drow nonsense...
I am personally wondering what direction the dwarves will go in during 4.0, considering the fact that Deep Duerra was killed. I imagine this will definitely impact the duergar; she was one of the top deity choices for them. Does this mean there will be...ahem, transitions in the race yet to come?
While I may not know a whole lot on dwarven lore, I will admit that I find them fun characters to play, and befriend.
I find it relatively easier to run dwarves than elves without having too much lore in hand. I think part of it comes down to the fact that they are a more uniformed, if not united society. Elves, in contrast, are so (and probably too) individualistic and consequently, you get more things open for controversy. Dwarves on the other hand, often do not have as much controversy. They are good drinking buddies, they fight evil, and are relatively approachable in most cases (unless you are a duergar, of course; then you have a 90% chance of getting the axe). I knew of a friend who did not have much lore material either, but he ran a -really- good group of dwarves. These dwarves had near epic roleplay going on with their interaction and did justice to dwarves, while not being stereotypical to the point of making their dwarves uninteresting.
Regards,
AryaNightingale
I really just want to know a little about the Dwarven story line in 4E before I shell out the $80 for the two books. I got the core books on sale when they first came out. I don't really have the time to make get to time to get to a Book Store and read a few chapters first. I knew they moved the story line up to explain the change in magic and fighting rules. I was just wondering what they changed as it effects Dwarves and the City of Iltkazar. I am not at keen on 4E and if I am going to spend the money, I want to know that the new book have information in then that is worth me buying them.
Iltkazar
Small City: Population 4,500
Iltkazar is the last remaining dwarven enclave in Old Shanatar. This impressive, multilevel underground fortress city is a monument to the greatest dwarf miners who ever lived. It is a place of towering statuary and sweeping staircases wide enough to march an army down. The city is lit by silver-blue lichen that lines the ceilings throughout. What is most poignant about Iltkazar is how empty it feels. Miles and miles of corridors stand in silence, and the population has been reduced to a tiny fraction of its ancient glory.
The kingdom is ruled by a silver dragon, King Mith Barak, who came to power in 66 DR, then was lost for a time when his astral form was captured by Tiamat in 1367 DR. He was restored to life only two years ago, having been a prisoner for a full century while a string of regents ruled in his place and the population of Iltkazar continued to shrink. King Mith Barak has vowed to return Iltkazar and all of Old Shanatar to its full glory, but he has a very long road ahead of him.
-That's all.
Must have missed that one...
I used to think they were turning FR into Birthright, but it seems they chose another failed setting instead - Council of Worms.
When will designers realize that certain settings fail because people are NOT interested in their tropes?
If a concept sucked in another setting, don't force it down our throats in a setting we do like.
-To be fair, that one existed as having been ruled by a Silver Dragon in disguise before 4e.
Yes, I know that is why I wanted to know if the new edition updated the storyline and how. In 3.5e he was trap on the astral plane while on a trip there to have an audience with an extraplnar creater.
-To be fair, that one existed as having been ruled by a Silver Dragon in disguise before 4e.
Well, my point is that we already had dragons running things in the Realms, and now we have Dragon born Kingdoms and both Murghom and Semphar are ruled by Dragons, and from what I understand so may Sossil at this point.
And then all of Abeir was, but a couple of kingdoms over there are no longer under draconic control... although they still ALL live with the fear the Dragonms could re-take them at anytime.
Hmmm... I wonder if those Kingdoms broke from the Dragons before or after they were shifted onto Toril?
Not that I care much for 4e lore, but it would be interesting if some of their history were tied into the change itself. As of right now, it has no connection to Faerûn what-so-ever, and could be ignored or used seperately, the way it stands.
I'd like to think that the socio-political changes were a direct result of contact with other (non-Draconic ruled) civilizations.
If I chose to think on it at all....
*Edit: Nevermind - I just realized I was getting confused with Erlkazar - my bad.
I thought a Vampire or some other undead was running things now, as per that derivitive (Krull!) novel. *
-The Dodking, maybe?
Well, my point is that we already had dragons running things in the Realms, and now we have Dragon born Kingdoms and both Murghom and Semphar are ruled by Dragons, and from what I understand so may Sossil at this point.
And then all of Abeir was, but a couple of kingdoms over there are no longer under draconic control... although they still ALL live with the fear the Dragonms could re-take them at anytime.
Hmmm... I wonder if those Kingdoms broke from the Dragons before or after they were shifted onto Toril?
-Like I've said before, Dragons running the show isn't really anything new. There were the Dragon Baronies in the Days of Thunder, and since then, there have been Draconic rulers of all kinds of places- Calimshan, Iltkazar, Chassenta... Dragon rulers is one of many fantasy cliches that I don't mind. Even if they are used too much. Which, in this case, I don't think so.
Iltkazar
Small City: Population 4,500
Iltkazar is the last remaining dwarven enclave in Old Shanatar. This impressive, multilevel underground fortress city is a monument to the greatest dwarf miners who ever lived. It is a place of towering statuary and sweeping staircases wide enough to march an army down. The city is lit by silver-blue lichen that lines the ceilings throughout. What is most poignant about Iltkazar is how empty it feels. Miles and miles of corridors stand in silence, and the population has been reduced to a tiny fraction of its ancient glory.
So dwarves rely on those luminous underdark lichen now to compensate for their lack of darkvision. Still think it's unwise to remove darkvision from Dwarves, but the resulting solutions dwarves have to light their undergound holdings with can be interesting. Ever been to Berlin? A building over there has lined large mirrors under a central transparant dome to reflect the sunlight to lower levels in a flashy and beatiful cascade of light.
So dwarves rely on those luminous underdark lichen now to compensate for their lack of darkvision.
-Yes, apparently so. I recall a bunch of us theorizing that that was what was going to happen (in general) before the Forgotten Realms books were released, but after the 4e books were, and we learned that Dwarves did not have Darkvision.
-Yes, apparently so. I recall a bunch of us theorizing that that was what was going to happen (in general) before the Forgotten Realms books were released, but after the 4e books were, and we learned that Dwarves did not have Darkvision.
That's dumber than halflings developing telepathy and growing a foot. There has to be something amiss there.
As for the OP, Dwarves Deep is an excellent supplement to have for any dwarf campaign. It's the original history book of the dwarves.
Very hard to find though. If you're interested, I may help you out by scanning it for the price of a Twinkie and and a pack of Rolaids.
Damn cream filling makes me fart....
That's dumber than halflings developing telepathy and growing a foot. There has to be something amiss there.
-The explanation is 'Spellplague'.
-The explanation is 'Spellplague'.
Spellplague=Mold=Eyesight....
Got ya.
Damn cream filling makes me fart....
-The explanation is 'Spellplague'.
Wow... the Spellplague has worse side-effects then I even thought.
I didn't know it had Creme-Filling, though. :P
Wow... the Spellplague has worse side-effects then I even thought.
I didn't know it had Creme-Filling, though. :P
Twinkies, Muffinhead!!! Twinkies!!
-Dwarves. Back to them.
It's a well known fact that 4e dwarves eat twinkies. That's why they are all fat, lazy and worthless now.
Much like the Brooklyn PD. :D
Dwarves are very popular in my games and the removal of DV didn't sit well with anyof them.
But think about it wouldn't all that fine craftmanship be wasted in the dark? Wouldn't the smiths and artisisans need light for their work anyway? Darkvision seems more suited for the underdark races anyway, ie. deep dwarves, deep gnomes, drow...
Well I second Dwarves Deep, you can find a pdf. around easy enough.
We are playing a Silver Marches/Lurar campaign centered around a pan-dwarf movement. The Thudner Blessing lasted for 1 generation only.
The pcs are from SilverShield Hold, a small clan sized hold near 7pillared hall. They completed TS mod and are working to take control on the hall and force out the duergar and the mages of Sauron. The idea is to create a commercial center that will profit Silvershield Hall. From there create a commercial alliance that benefits and connects the Dwarven holds of the North (We play dwarves as mainly N and unconcerned with humans and elves).
Ok, sorry about the going off topic and the complaints about 4e. But I am thinking about still running this campaign but in 3.5 maybe with the pathfinder rules.
Things I need help with
- A map of Iltkazar.
- A good map of the underdark in relation to the surface world.
- The make up of the Army of Gold (Gold Dwarf Army).
- The make up of the Army of Steel (Duergar Army)
- Ideas for the bases of operation for both.
- Ideas for Drow influence in the region.
- A better idea about King Mith the Clanless and the ruling council.
- Dwarven History, mainly getting my hands on a PDF of Dwarves Deep.
- Barakuir — Duergar clan, associated deity was Laduguer
- Drakkalor — associated deity was Abbathor
- Holorarar — merged after it's fall with Barakuir
- Iltkazar — associated deity was Clangeddin Silverbeard
- Korolnor — associated deity was Diinkarazan
- Sondarr — associated deity was Vergadain
- Torglor — associated deity was Diirinka
- Ultoksamrin — associated deity was Dumathoin
- Xothaerin — associated deity was Sharindlar
The eight sons of Taark each formed their own kingdom in Shanatar, adopting one of the children.
Whereas in Alatorin the dwarves of Shanatar primarily venerated Moradin and Berronar, the eight subkingdoms venerated one of the original Morndinsamman: Barakuir – Laduguer; Drakkalor – Abbathor; Iltkazar – Clangeddin Silverbeard; Korolnor – Diinkarazan; Sondarr – Vergadain; Torglor – Diirinka; Ultoksamrin – Dumathoin; Xothaerin – Sharindlar;
Iltkazar
[SPOILER*]
Iltkazar (small city): Conventional (Monstrous); AL LG; 15,000 gp limit; Assets 5,625,000 gp; Population 7,506; Mixed ( 78%, gold dwarf 9%, rock gnome 5%, svirfneblin 4%, human 3%, urdunnir dwarf 1%).
Authority Figure: King Mith Barak, or Mithbarakaz (LG male silver great wyrm).
Regency Council: Fenyl Arnskull (NG female shield dwarf aristocrat 11); Torth Blackensteel (LG male shield dwarf expert 9); Ruvan Stoneshoulder (LN male shield dwarf aristocrat 5/expert 4); Chemcol Stoneshoulder (LG female shield dwarf fighter 8); Gromi Arnskull (CG male shield dwarf fighter 2/cleric 5/runecaster 2); Sturvis Riftsong (CG male shield dwarf fighter 5/bard 3); Vrona Ironledger (N female shield dwarf expert 2/wizard 7); Elern Riftsong (LG female shield dwarf cleric 8 of Moradin).
Important Characters: Sorni Arnskull (N female shield dwarf expert 8), Master of the Forge; Dorna Riftsong (LG female shield dwarf expert 7/wizard 3), Chief Librarian; Bresk Stoneshoulder (LN male shield dwarf fighter 12), Warmaster of Iltkazar; Anthan Diamondblade (LG male shield dwarf cleric 9 of Moradin), High Soulsmith.
Clerics of the Ancient Forge: The Temple of Moradin in Iltkazar numbers more than 30 clerics, including 6 of 4th level or higher.
Gate Guardians: Iltkazar’s best warriors are assigned the prestigious duty of guarding the city’s gates. This contingent includes more than 60 clerics and 400 fighters and warriors, of whom about 300 are 1st-level warriors.
The last surviving kingdom of Deep Shanatar, Iltkazar has been in a long, slow decline for more than thirteen centuries. The scholarly dwarves who live here keep scrolls and books filled with dwarven secrets of architecture, engineering, armor and weaponsmithing, archaeology, history, and carving runestones.
Less than 2 miles under the Omlarandin Mountains of Tethyr sits Iltkazar, a city on the edge of a bloodless coup. The king, Mith Barak the Clanless, spends 75 out of every 100 years sitting still as a solid mithral statue on his throne. During this time, the Regency Council of Iltkazar rules the city, carrying out the edicts and commands of their sleeping king. The Regency Council sees its stewardship role as one of preservation, not leadership, so they avoid making new policies and defer any major decisions until King Mith’s next awakening.
The council’s ironclad devotion to waiting for the sleeping king stagnates the city, but it was tolerable to the deeply traditional dwarves until recently. Five years ago, in 1367 DR, King Mith failed to awaken on schedule. Since then, the Council has dithered on substantial issues while the citizens have grown restless.
Iltkazar is called City of Mithral for its legendary smiths, most of whom work in rare, magically active metals. Mithral is most common of these, but even rarer metals are routinely worked here. Hidden mines in the surrounding Underdark hold a wealth of hizagkuur, zardazil, and other rare minerals, and the Iltkazar dwarves make good use of these. But Iltkazar’s hold on trade in these metals does not depend upon maintaining control over their source. Even if the enemies of the dwarves stumbled across these deposits or discovered the metals elsewhere, the knowledge of how to smelt and work them to full effect is known only to Iltkazaran smiths.
Faintly glowing, silvery-blue lichen on the ceiling lights the whole city, which is spread over a couple of dozen caverns connected by wide tunnels to create the effect of one large cavern. The River Dhalnadar and its tributary, the Deepflood, meet within one of the central caverns, providing plenty of water. The civil engineering of the city is a marvel—the river drops about 60 feet as it flows through the city, turning dozens of waterwheels that power hundreds of machines around the caverns. The water also feeds into each home through an intricate aqueduct system.
Iltkazar is probably the best-defended city in the Underdark. Each of its three main entrances has nine doors, each 10 feet square and 3 feet thick. The first two are solid iron; the next six are iron sheathed in 2 inches of hizagkuur, and the last is pure mithral, immune to magic. Strong grates block all waterways in and out of the city. These defenses are usually reinforced with blade barrier, dismissal or holy word, and fireball spells, which can be triggered by the warden on watch. Runes that cover the other surfaces of the cavern at 25-foot intervals usually contain maw of stone and repulsion spells that turn burrowers away. These last runes are unique to Iltkazar because they are triggered by an innate tremorsense rather than sight. Thus, any movement within 120 feet of such a rune triggers it.
[edit] King Mith Barak
Though many suspect the truth about the king, none know it for certain. King Mith is actually Mithbarazak, a silver great wyrm who came to the dwarves decades ago to help them guard their immense knowledge. Mithbarazak may also have had other, more subtle reasons to watch over the last kingdom of Deep Shanatar, such as needing an extremely safe place to keep his body during his travels in the Astral Plane. When the dragon sleeps, he travels astrally and has frequent audiences with powerful extraplanar creatures. But twenty years ago, his astral form was captured by a servant of Tiamat. Mithbarazak has been imprisoned on the Astral Plane ever since, and he cannot free himself.
[edit] Brief History
When Deep Shanatar ruled most of the southwestern Upperdark, Iltkazar was a relatively small but important part of the overkingdom. This subkingdom was the center of scholarship and smithcraft in the realm. When the overkingdom collapsed after the Kin Clashes against the duergar, Iltkazar survived, but its citizens continued to fight off assaults from beholders, drow, illithids, and duergar over the next several hundred years, losing ground each time.
In 66 DR, a dying king and greatly reduced holdings made for bleak prospects. On his deathbed, the last dwarven king of Iltkazar named Mith Barak the Clanless his successor. Since his ascension to the throne more than 1300 years ago, Mith Barak has led the city wisely and secured the kingdom’s borders. Unfortunately, his long sleeps do not allow the dwarves to contemplate any great new projects for decades at a time. The council is absorbed in fine interpretations of their sleeping king’s dictates, and its members are fixated on maintaining the city rather than taking initiative.
Every time the king awakens, he spends much of the next twenty-five years overseeing attempts to rebuild the city to the point where he left it seventy-five years earlier. King Mith has never complained about or even addressed that problem, in the same way that no one ever questions his mysterious seventyfive- year sleeps. In his waking years, he rules justly and wisely. In his sleeping years, the council rules in good faith but with undue legalism.
In 1367 DR, the unthinkable occurred: King Mith did not awaken at the appointed time. He continued to sit, unmoving, despite his followers’ attempts to rouse him. For several years, the dwarves argued over the appropriate course of action. At last, just this year, some of the dwarves have become sufficiently desperate in the absence of their king to act. One faction, which calls itself the Unfurling Movement, has decided on a radical course of action: seeking help from the surface to rouse their king. The entire Regency Council hotly opposes this expedition, and some have likened it to treason. Nonetheless, the leader of the movement, Joshiah Stonefriend (NG male human Expert 6), plans to appeal for help on the surface with or without the Council’s approval.
[edit] Surrounding Area
Most of Iltkazar’s surroundings consist of ruined dwarven holds. Each time that waves of enemies have surged closer to the city, the dwarves have retreated, abandoning their holdings. Iltkazaran patrols still appear in these areas, but they don’t have the numbers or military might to actually occupy them, so all kinds of other Underdark denizens are free to roam in their abandoned halls.
Kazardaern
These tunnels are nearly the last of Iltkazar’s defended holdings outside the city itself. Located about 2 miles from the city, these mostly empty hizagkuur mines provide the easiest access to Iltkazar from the surface or the west. The dwarves patrol these passages rigorously and construct deadly and clever traps to discourage unwanted visitors, so coming through this area without a guide is a foolhardy proposition. Of late, patrols of gold dwarves from the Great Rift and gray dwarves from Dunspeirrin have become increasingly frequent visitors in this area, and clashes between these two groups threaten full-scale warfare at Iltkazar’s doorstep.
The Spiderstalkings
Though the drow in the region tend to stay in Guallidurth these days, spiders of all sorts thrive in the outposts and strongholds left over from the Night Wars in the Omlarandin Mountains, directly above and to the north of Iltkazar. About once a year, the dwarves send a few regiments up to beat them back, but far more spiders infest the area than the dwarves could possibly hope to eradicate.
[/SPOILER*]
-11,000 DR Taark Sharat the Crusader leaves Bhaerynden with 8 sons to create Deep Sharatar
-10, 000 DR First Drow appear after the end of the elven Crown Wars.
-9,600 DR Bhaerynden comes under attack from Drow.
-9,000 DR Bhaerynden falls and the Drow create Empire od Telantiwar.
-8,170 DR The begining of the First Spider War.
-8,150 DR The end of the FSW and the Capture of Brightaxe Hall and the collapse of Alatorin.
-8,145 DR The begining of the Second Spider War.
-8,137 DR The End of the SSW, the Drow retreat from Alatorin. Second Age of Sharatar begins.
-8,100 DR Mindflayers from Oryndoll attack starting the Mindstalker Wars and the War of Cloven.
-8,100 DR Barakuir is cut off from the rest of Deep Sharatar.
-8,080 DR Barakuir is found empty the clan Duergar captives of the Mindflayer.
-7,600 DR Moradin destroies the Empire of Telantiwars with his axe creating the Great Rift.
-6,150 DR The TSW begins, lasting 30 years Dwarves once again abandaoning Brightaxe Hall . End of the Second Age.
-6,100 DR First allance with Humans on the surface world.
-5,960 DR Dwarves create High Sharatar with lands north of Marching Mountain.
-5,330 DR Kingom of Mir after the fall of Iltaker to Murabir Mir of Coramsham. This is the begin of the fall of High Sharatar.
-5,125 DR Kindgoms of Drakkolor, Korolnor, Sondarr, Torglor, and Xothaerin dewindle and are no more.
-5,125 DR Kingdom of Oghrann is created as Southern High Sharatar kingdom population dwindled and move north.
-4,974 DR The coastal realm of Haunghdannar is created north of the Sword Mountains along the Sword Coast.
-4,160 DR Ammarindar is founded beneath the Graypeak Mountains.
-4,000 DR The start of Dalereckoning, the Duergar rebellion, setting under the Orsraun Mountains and the Great Glacier.
-3,900 DR Delzoun the Northkingdom are founded in what becomes the Silver Marches.
-3,770 DR Oghrann falls
-3,717 DR The Duergar found Gracklstugh, City of Blades.
-3,389 DR Haunghdanner falls
-2,600 DR The fall of High Sharatar.
-2,600 DR The Duergar kingdom of Gracklstugh reaches it peak.
-1,850 DR Kindgom of Dunspeirrin under Queen Duerra attack Drow at Undreath and the Mindflayers at Oryndoll.
-1,803 DR Gracklstugh goes in to decline after shashing the Quggoth nation of Ursadunthar.
-1,800 DR Kin Clashes begin. Clan Duergar attacks old Sharatar for revenge.
-1,800 DR Duergar armies over run Ultoksamrin and Holorarar. These acts gain Duerra divine ascension from Laduguer.
-1,350 DR Duergar battles with Quggoth end.
-100 DR Northkingdom falls
882 Ammarindar falls to the horrers unleashed from Netherse and Ascalhorn
1350 The Thunder Blessing begins
Taking in to the account all the information I could find for the last three edition I came up with anew idea for it. First to split the campaign in to two arks, one set in the forgotten realms time line of 3.5 (or Pathfinder) and the second set in the time line of 3th edition. The first ark the players would play characters made using pathfinder rules and after the completion of that ark, they would make a new character some how related to their old. The new characters' back stories would have to take into account the last hundred years.
The first ark would deal with the fact that the King Mith Barak has not awaken from his 75 years of mithrial sleep and now a few over due. The campaign would consist of the players working they way through the underdark looking for clue to what happen to cause the king to fall awake. The idea is that they will have to puzzle which of the city's many enemies have attacked the king. I have been mapping out routes to cities that group will have to travel to together information.
The second ark will take place with the return of King Mith Barak and his goal of rebuilding Deep Shanatar. This campaign ark will have to themes kingdom building and the second is god making. I feel with the death of so many Dwarven Gods it is time for anew one to rise. I like the idea that Mordian wants to finish what he started with the Thunder Blessing and bring the Dwarves back to the forefront of Faerun civilization.