Mechanisms of the Deep Dwarves

These guys are back.

d6	Mechanism Appearance	Mechanism Function
1	Gigantic metal cube with uncomfortably organic exhaust pipes sprouting throughout, coughing out thick black smoke that stains skin irrevocably. The noise is a low thrum with occasional moments of apocalyptic engine-screams and shearing metal. Dials and read-outs are liberally placed throughout.	Moving up, down or either.
2	Entire room/space is filled with machinery left open and exposed, continuously in motion and thunderously loud. Many chains and ugly toothed cogs are seemingly positioned to drag in the unwary and chew them up in the terrible workings of the inner tangle of the mechanism.	Cleaning food products.
3	Elegant assembly of chromed shapes containing smaller mechanisms which work together to achieve functions. Only has a single display dial, which can only inform the user whether the task is complete or in-progress. The entire machine could be carried in a slightly oversized backpack, and is very quiet in operation.	Actually a regulatory device for another mechanism buried beneath you.
4	Ugly, large and unwieldy tool requiring two-hands and a focused operator. Tubing feeds into abrasively mechanical components which gnash and chew. The thing grumbles when passive and roars when in active use. Coughs out a cloud of waste products after extended use. Very easy to lose fingers in.	Compression of materials into denser, more transportable forms.
5	Endless tubes and vials and twisted metal form a tangled mess housed within a double-size mine-cart. The thing gurgles madly as fluids mix and reactions are contained, with the central controlling mechanism clunking and choking as operations are performed to the input provided by the delicate panel studded with hundreds of toggle switches and levers – all unlabelled.	Not even the creators know – but turning it off could be catastrophic.
6	Forest of metal smoke-stacks would tower above the viewer if they were not embedded directly into the stone above them. The glow of innumerable furnaces gives the entire area a hellish light whilst the roar is muted by the tangle of industry. Despite all the effort to pipe away waste products, endless smokes and powders mix freely in the upper sections and fall as weird slag and fluid.	Library check in/out system.

Burrows of the Dwarves

If one was (un)lucky enough to find an abandoned Stone Dwarf burrow, or else had conquered one by incredible military prowess, what would they find?

Entrance

A great airlock, sealed by huge reinforced discs of the hardest local stone. If there is not a suitable material available locally, huge expenditure will be made to import the very best. The tight walls of the tunnel connecting to the airlock are riddles with holes - these being placed for the militia of the poor to pelt invading Nightmares with missiles. These holes are barely enough for the weapon of choice, discouraging individuals attempting to look upon the Nightmares - this is the sole burden of the Dream Wardens. This central passage will be a veritable death-trap with several false passages. These traps are activated as the Dream Wardens advance to defend the entrance - there is no retreat for this line of defence. The militia tunnels lead directly to the slums where the Dwarven poor rub shoulders with the proud Dream Wardens. This layer is collectively known as the 'Qhywt.'

Eventually, an explorer or soldier would run into a second airlock. This would be defended by the commanders and veterans of the Dream Wardens, as a last ditch defence against invaders.

The Qhywt Proper (The Up)

The Up is an approximation of an urban sprawl in negative space - streets are wide tunnels connecting places worth going. Often lesser-used areas will only be connected by one-way passages, forcing the unfortunates to clamber atop each other. Dream Wardens, on the off chance they are in these tunnels, are always allowed to climb atop others, out of reverence for their sacrifices above and beyond the common Dwarf. Dwarves share space freely - there are simply communal dorms where those who need sleep do so. Personal wealth - what little those living in the Qhywt have - is carried about the person. Stone Dwarves do not steal from each other.

Rot Farms

The staple crops of Stone Dwarves are fungi, which are intensively farmed in the Rot Farms, huge expanses of decaying organic matter. A significant portion of this material is the Rock Dwarven dead - Stone Dwarves feel no guilt about this use of their cousins, simply viewing it as the way of things. The variety of fungi are huge, and they are simply allowed to grow where-ever they please, leading to a strange chaos of otherworldly structures nestled in the decaying mass of the dead. Rot Farm workers are incredibly respected.

Water Catchment

Burrows in porous areas filter the water trapped and filtered by the surrounding stone into huge clay bowls which are then piped around the burrow. This water is seen as a gift of the mountain. Non-porous rock areas general pump water from underground sources, though some tap into mountain streams unknowingly, thinking instead they have tapped into hidden, stony veins.

Dream Warden Barracks

Dream Wardens are completely convinced of their duties to the Stone Dwarven society, even more than the average member of the culture. When not on active duty they train near relentlessly, attempting to achieve martial perfection. The Dream Wardens are also responsible for training the crossbow militia made up of the populace of the Qhywt, and significant time is spent doing this.

The Tak (The Fall)

Behind the second airlock is a huge vertical shaft, which runs down the the Darln, the central district of the burrow. Movement between the levels is achieved via a huge cargo elevator, which moves excruciatingly slowly. Most Tak journies will take 6 hours, though this speed will vary depending on how the elevator is powered - most are muscle powered, with teams of dwarves working at the mechanism, though some advanced burrows utilize water or even steam (generated via geothermal heating) The mechanism is located nearby, in the Qhywt.

The Darln Proper (The Seat)

The Tak leads to the centre of the Darln, meaning any given area contained within this immense space is equidistant from the Tak. The entire Darln is mined out, buildings being pre-planned long ahead of time. Endless bridges and walkways connect the various stone buildings of the Darln, and ornamentation derived from the wealth of the earth is spread liberally throughout. All Dwarven industry beyond basic farming occurs here, meaning the fumes from various processes congeals and roils around at the top of the Darln, slowly bleeding out through the stone. In a significant number of older burrows, these clouds react with the condensation of living creatures to create rain showers, giving these burrows a distinctive weathered look despite being entirely sheltered from conventional weather.

At the bottom of the Darln is yet another airlock, the Kyrl (The Divide). This one puts the defences of the Qhywt to shame, with multiple metal layers and mechanisms to ensure there is no accidental opening. This is done to keep out those that lurk in the deeper dark below the burrow, oft disturbed by the miners. This area is collectively known as the Knurl.

The Knurl (The Deep)

Only the hardiest of Dwarfkind live in the Knurl - exclusively the territory of the military, who also function as miners when not performing military actions. The Sapper-Spearmen continuously dig out from the main base in the Knurl, establishing outposts and important spots. If a natural or foreign tunnel is broken into, the Delvers immediately set up a mobile head-quarters at the breech and begin scouting heavily, the base defended by a considerable cadre of Sapper-Spearmen.

The tunnels of the Dwarves are incredibly precise and uniform, marked in simple Dwarven script to make navigation easier. Their underground fortifications are truly formidable, bristling with steel and a collective memory of stubborn defiance against attackers.

Supplies and raw materials are exchanged every two weeks, utilizing the Kyrl. These exchanges are completed as rapidly as possible minimizing the risk of enemy forces getting into the Darln.

Dwarves part 2

It would seem I have Dwarves on the brain now. More info on the Rock and Stone Dwarves.
**Semi-Spoilers for LotFP players in my campaign, could well never come up**

Rock Dwarves are given to drinking and brawling when they are surrounded by their own kind, but when non-dwarves are present they seem incredibly serious. They just can't get their drink on with strangers around.

By contrast, Stone Dwarves are serious, grim and humourless. Their lives are given up to the collective good of the Burrow, and are occupied with work for the vast majority. Despite this, there is still wealth in their lives, but Stone Dwarven economics is nigh incomprehensible to anyone but a Stone Dwarf.

In terms of agriculture, Rock dwarves are very similar to hill-dwelling humans whereas the Stone Dwarves have to adapt for their subterranean existence. A principle crop is mushrooms, which are often grown on compost made from the dead - including Rock Dwarven dead. For more variety, they trade worked stone and metal goods to their Rock Dwarven cousins. For every Burrow there are roughly 3-4 Rock Dwarf villages.

Rock Dwarves have a requirement for every member of age within the village to be trained in organised combat, the most common weapons being heavy crossbows (imported) and using a shield and spear when distances close. They fight incredibly defensively, owing to their slowed movement due to their short stature, forming a solid wedge of Dwarf, reminiscent of a Hoplite Phalanx. Individual Dwarven fighters, whilst rarer than the human equivalent, are just as likely to use any given weapon.

Stone Dwarven military endeavours are far more involved and complex. The Dream Wardens generally fight with pole-arms, though they mimic the Dwarven Phalanx formation. They use extensive use of traps and hidden tunnels to fall back and ambush invading Nightmares. The Dream Wardens do not have an organised missile element, instead using a militia of those who live close to the dream armed with crossbows and utilizing murder-holes. The lower reaches of the Burrows are guarded by two main elements - a strictly defensive force of cross-trained Sapper-Spearmen, who block up tunnels with their formations whilst others collapse tunnels on the invaders. The final, offensive element of the Dwarven military are the incredibly highly trained Delvers.

Roughly equivalent to special forces in today's forces, they are extensively trained in individual combat, fighting in smaller groups, survival in the caverns and tunnels, stealth, ambushing and scouting. They are mostly used to disrupt enemies forces whilst the slower Sapper-Spearmen move to set up favourable defensive lines. Delvers are either actively scouting below the Burrow or re-equipping. They Delve until they are eventually killed. They generally operate in sevens, but this is not a hard rule, the number being tweaked as needed. Delvers are equipped with whatever the job requires, though many of them choose to specialise in particular weapons. Spears are very rare amongst the Delvers, though light crossbows are ubiquitous.

Rock Dwarves give praise to gods of merriment and partying, and give the bodies of their dead to the Stone Dwarves for what they believe to be proper burial. (see agriculture section) Their culture suffers from some serious guilt about not being as Dwarven as the Stone Dwarves, but also poking fun at their seriousness with all the partying they do.

Stone Dwarven religion is as complex and confusing as their underground tunnels, within a complex network of deities, spirits and ancestors all balancing and counteracting each other. Worship is an incredibly private affair - asking a fellow Stone Dwarf about his religious practices is enough to be exiled. Burial is to be Given Back to the Stone - a tiny stone cell is cut out, the body is interred and then the cell is sealed. No possessions are stored bar the simple black robe of Stone Dwarven society.

Developing some details for the LotFP game

Just some rough 'sketches' of stuff for my LotFP campaign. Probably boring and derivative.

Elves.

The forests are rich, old and dark. The beasts roam free and those not welcome in the communities lurk and brood. The roads are dangerous and thin when they do exists, and only skirt the light outer edges. The deep forests were not meant for man. The inner, ancient woodland is haunted by a race inimical to man. They flit between the trees and plants, passing freely through the densest foliage and most difficult terrain. They trap, confuse, cut, shoot and bleed intruders. Your body will be left for the animals, decomposing to feed nutrients to the plants. They are the Elves.

Once their dominion projected forth from the forests. Your grandfather's grandfather may remember the time of the Illyan - a time where a cousin of the Elves of today held the area in a tight grip, and man was nought but a plaything. The ruins of this time are scattered about the land, invariably containing valuables, secrets and death. We do not know why they retreated, only that they did. And now Elves are only spoken of in hushed whispers matched with furtive glances at the oh-so-brave adventurers asking about them. No good can come of disturbing their land.

Dwarves.

There are two kinds of Dwarf - the dour Rock and the unseen Stone. Rock dwarves live in hill communities, farming pastorally much as men would in similar places. However, they have fantastic metal and stone work at their disposal thanks to trade with the Stone. Rock dwarves are unwelcoming of humans, and barely tolerate visitors for any length of time, especially adventurers.

We know nothing about the Stone Dwarves bar that they spend their entire lives underground.

--DM INFO--

The Stone Dwarves do not believe in the surface. It is merely a dream in the minds of the those who truly exist. Those Dwarves who dwell there are the Dreamers, or the Sleeping. They are fools of great use, for they and they alone can evoke things from the Dream into the reality of Down. Though only the better-off Dwarves can afford such delicacies, the Dreamers do well of the trade. They do not attempt to understand, for the nature of reality does not suit them - they find it distasteful after the Dream.

Sometimes Nightmares pierce their way into the real, through holes the Sleepers insist of leaving open, or perhaps through their own ken. The Sleep Wardens guard such places, and are uniquely gifted in comprehending both the reality and the Dream. They can never experience the true reality because of this, and are confined to the upper layers of the real, where the borders are thin. The real is dark and stretches on beyond ken, but it is finite. The Dream is infinite and filled with unreliable, fickle lights and beings.