Khaz Durn
A city not built but revealed from the mountain itself, Khaz Durn endures in stone, fire, and memory—older than kingdoms and patient enough to outlast them all.
Overview
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Type: Subterranean Capital City
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Country: Mountain Kingdoms of the Dwarves
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Population: ~60,000 (dwarves only; outsiders uncounted and rare)
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Primary Industry: Forging, stonecraft, metallurgy, record-keeping
Description
Khaz Durn is not seen—it is entered.
Beyond its sealed gates, the mountain opens into vast, vaulted halls carved with impossible precision. Pillars the width of keeps rise to support ceilings lost in shadow, their surfaces etched with clan marks, oaths, and the names of the dead. Rivers of molten metal glow behind rune-warded channels, casting warm amber light across polished stone floors worn smooth by millennia of passage.
The air smells of iron, coal smoke, hot stone, and old ale. The soundscape is constant but controlled: the rhythmic thunder of hammers, the hiss of quenching steel, the low murmur of debate. Nothing echoes unnecessarily. Every sound has a place.
Khaz Durn feels immovable—not grand for its own sake, but confident that it will still be here when the surface world forgets itself again.
Districts & Areas
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The High Vault – Central cavern housing the High Moot and ancestral monuments
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The Deep Forges – Legendary smithies producing arms and tools unmatched above
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The Ancestral Halls – Clan districts, each carved and maintained by lineage
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The Stone Archives – Records, oaths, and histories etched into rune-slab vaults
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The Gateward – Massive fortified approach controlling all surface access
Notable Locations
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The Throne of Stone – Seat of the High Thane, unadorned and ancient
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Forge Eternal – Mythic forge said never to have gone cold
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The Ledger of Ages – Master record of debts, oaths, and grievances
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The Deep Roads – Subterranean highways connecting all dwarven holds
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The Sealed Deeps – Lower levels barred by ancient decree
People of Note
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High Thane Brodrik Stoneveil – Speaker for the High Moot, slow to anger, slower to forget
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Archivist Thrain Embermark – Keeper of the Stone Archives and the Ledger of Ages
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Forge-Mistress Helja Ironhand – Overseer of the Deep Forges
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Gatewarden Korrin Deepwatch – Commander of the Gateward and surface defenses
Factions Present
Culture & Customs
Khaz Durn embodies dwarven values in their purest form.
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Values: Endurance, obligation, precision, memory
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Daily Life: Work rotations tied to forge cycles and clan duty
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Social Structure:
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Clan allegiance first
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Status earned through craft and service
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Traditions:
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Oaths sworn before stone and flame
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Names of the dead carved, never spoken lightly
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Taboos:
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Breaking an oath
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Defacing stonework
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Forgetting a debt—owed or owed to
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Time is not hurried here. Decisions are made to last centuries.
Law & Governance
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Governed by the High Moot of Stone, representing all major clans
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Laws are etched into stone and amended only with unanimous consent
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Punishment emphasizes restitution, exile, or lifelong service
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Execution is nearly unheard of—and remembered forever when it occurs
Justice in Khaz Durn is not swift.
It is final.
Relations with the Surface
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Valin: Trade permitted, trust withheld
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Heterland: Respected for law and endurance
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Iron Union of Arkon: Quiet admiration
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Infernal Empire: Watched, measured, prepared for
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Elves: Rarely spoken of; never forgiven
Dwarven goods leave Khaz Durn through tightly controlled channels—and always at dwarven terms.
Rumors & Hooks
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A sealed deep hall has begun to resonate with heat and sound
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A clan has petitioned to reopen an ancient gate long thought cursed
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Infernal agents are suspected of seeking a way into the Deep Roads
Player Notes
Khaz Durn is ancient, closed, and immensely powerful.
Outsiders are tolerated only by formal writ.
Respect earns patience. Disrespect earns silence.
If the dwarves march from Khaz Durn, the world will know something has gone terribly wrong.