EditIndustrious Dwarven Cliff City- Tone: Hardy survivors of a lost Dwarven nation
- Timeframe: -3000 to present
- Artifice: Standard
- Region: Tropizia
- Capital: Baragur (~12,000)
- Notable Settlements: None
- Government: Gerontocracy
- Ruler: Kalhed-dar (Circle of Elders)
- Races: Dwarves (~13,000)
- Languages: Karadak
- Religions: The Eldar Gods aka Ithus Pantheon
- Coinage: Grubaks (stamped gold squares, 3.33 gp), Darbaks (1 gp), Zubaks (.1 gp / 1 sp)
EditSynopsisBaragur is a strangely fascinating Dwarven hold built in layered terraces into the side of a cliff on the Tropizian coast. The cliff face is dotted with the front porticos of individual dwellings, as well as entrances into tunnels and halls leading into spaces deeper within the cliff. Horizontal movement is accomplished via ledges and occasional bridges, while vertical movement is managed via stairs, ramps, and a few heavy lifts.
The sight of Dwarven wives hanging their laundry out to dry on the side of the cliff and Dwarven children clambering around the ladders and ledges can be seen from aboard ships plying the main Tropizian trade route running through the waters nearby. The Dwarves provide a small set of stone docks at the base of the cliff for merchants and ships in need of repair, but the docks are not connected to Baragur proper, the lowest levels of which are a solid fifty plus feet above sea level. The Dwarves lower themselves down on wooden lifts born aloft by ropes when necessary to conduct trade with outsiders.
Baragur itself has no navy or local shipping of note and the docks are provided as is, with no services or guarantees of protection by the Dwarves. However, it is the rare week that an Ecreasian trireme is not in-port at least part of the week, and the Mirrin take it upon themselves to maintain order among any ships crews in port.
The city is ruled over by the Kalhed-dar, a traditional Dwarven Council of Elders. The council's roster shifts with time but usually has around ten to twenty members. The Kalhed-dar is a very conservative governing body, wary of rapid change and risk-aversive.
Baragur has effectively been surrounded by the expansionary Human nation of Ecresia, but the Kalhed-dur brokered a tribute arrangement with the interlopers to avoid hostilities and maintain their independence. From the Dwarven perspective, Human nations have a tendency to come and go, and the thinking of the elders is that if Baragur just politely ignores Ecresia they'll probably flounder and recede into ignominy, given time.
EditMagicBaragur has a solid tradition of Runecrafting, and a few Alchemists. There is also a small priesthood dedicated to Kadrin.
EditDetails- Heralrdry: Argent, per chevron gules, 3 doubleheaded anvils sable
Baragur is prosperous; they mine iron and gold, smelt steel, and also have some modest veins of sapphires and rubies in their cliffs.
The settlement is extremely defensible from the coastline, so much so that it would be foolhardy to even attempt an attack or infiltration from the shoreline. The settlement is less naturally defensible from topside, but the Dwarves have compensated for this by erecting a very impressive wall with sturdy seige-engine bearing towers at regular intervals, with a single massive gate providing egress. The wall is built straight across the natural curve of the cliffs, affording a deep "U" of open space wherein beasts of burden and livestock are stabled and some crops are grown.
Even were an invader to breach the walls, the cliff city is primarily carved into the cliff itself, the various ladders and bridges can be scuttled, and the cliff entrances can be locked. Secretly many of the cliff-dwellings and corridors are trapped, adding an additional level of discouragement to would be conquerors.
Unsurprisingly Baragur has never been breached, and the natives are exceptionally proud of that fact.
Baragurian coinage holds to the ancient Karadakana Trade Standard, and is unfailingly pure and properly measured (unless its been tampered with in the meantime); thus it is a favored currency for traders in the region. A "Gruzab" is a common unit of transaction consisting of three Grubaks and a Zubak, which is considered to be a working approximation of 10gp.
EditAdventure Seeds
- Old Tunnels: At one time the huge system of tunnels and roads connected Baragur with other Dwarven cities. These were thought to have all been sealed millenia ago to keep out ravaging daemons, but recently explorers have found at least one tunnel where the seal has finally eroded away.
Dwarves
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