The Under-City of Duirnhold

Duirnhold was founded by the dwarfish King Duirn over 2400 years ago when an exploratory tunnel into the mountain that now bears his name revealed rich veins of Atuta Dhatu (mithril), iron, copper, gold, silver, and other precious metals and gemstones. In time, the mines and foundries of Duirnhold became one of the most productive and lucrative dwarfish enterprises in all of Agartha.  Traders came up the Xanthus river from across the continent to do business with the dwarfs, trading food, furs, textiles, and other goods in exchange for raw ore, prepared ingots, and finished products such as weapons, armor, metalwork, jewelry, and custom goods.

There are two publically known entrances to Duirnhold. The first is located on the west slope of the mountain in the town of Duirndown near the headwaters of the Xanthus river. The second is located  on the east slope of the mountain facing the desert wastes of Gazh. On this side, a long stairway descends the mountain to the desert several thousand feet below.

Anyone entering through either entrance descends down a twenty-foot wide corridor for a few hundred feet before needing to pass a checkpoint. It is here that the trade goods were inspected and the traveler recorded and given a passport. Past the checkpoint, the corridor descends another mile.
Visitors from Duirndown must cross over a bridge that spans a great cleft under the mountain. The cleft rises several hundred feet above and descends into an interminable chasm below.

 Lower Level

The lower level is the only level accessible to outsiders. It consists of five connected chambers: two Halls of Statues, the Hall of Trade, the Hall of Metals, and the Hall of Goods.

Visitors entering from either direction then pass through one of two impressive Halls of Statues, a one-hundred foot tall vaulted gallery filled with 16 colossal statues of ancient dwarfish heroes and legendary figures. The gallery is imposing and is meant to intimidate and impress visitors as they pass underneath.

Visitors then enter the Hall of Trade, a busy bustling gallery of offices where factors from the various dwarfish mercantile houses meet with visiting merchants to conduct business transactions. Visitors may be taken into the adjacent Hall of Metals or Hall of Goods to inspect the items they intend to purchase prior to completing the transaction.  The Hall of Trade also maintains houses of accommodation for visiting dignitaries. Diplomatic envoys are escorted through one of two passages to the upper level to conduct court business.

Rumors tell of secret doors that lead to hidden chambers and covert passages to restricted levels.

Upper Level

The chambers of the upper level is restricted to the dwarfs of Duirnhold. Only visiting dignitaries may enter.

The upper level consists of one large gallery connected to three smaller chambers as well as three labyrinthine networks of rooms and corridors.

The largest gallery is devoted to the royal palace and the temple to the mountain lord. This cavernous chamber rises five hundred feet and is supported by ten forty-foot wide stone columns. The south end of the gallery is dominated by a large stepped pyramid, a temple to Daenthar the Mountain Lord, chief g the dwarfish pantheon. A moat surrounds the impressive structure. Eight statues of each of the gods of the dwarfs stand against the west and east walls surrounding the temple.

The north end contains the palace of Duirn, an impressive edifice sporting two tapering two-hundred foot tall obelisks and a soaring 150-foot dome. The wide stairs that lead into the entrance is flanked by statues of Duirn's mother and father. During its heyday, hundreds of dwarfs lived and worked within the palace household and the descendants of Duirn held court in the audience chamber.

The southern gallery is 300 feet wide by 540 feet long by 300 feet high. This chamber contains the forge, a mighty furnace that taps into the very heart of the mountain. Here metal ores are melted down and separated into refined metals. During its day, the forge was filled with working dwarfs, rock crushers, blast furnaces, bloomeries, powerful mechanical bellows, crucibles, and foundries. Vents leading to the surface provided fresh air for the bellows and carried away exhaust from the furnaces. Water wheels powered by underground rivers drove the fans that moved the air through the vents.

Ores were mined far below and stored in the adjoining Hall of Ores, a 300 feet wide by 300 feet long by 300 feet high warehouse piled high with various rocks laced with metal ores. The ores were separated into distinct piles: gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and the exotic unbreakable metal the dwarfs call Atuta Dhatu, found only in the deepest places under the mountain.

Finished metals and parts were later cleaned, polished, and assembled into weapons, armor, tools, and other devices in the adjoining workshop. The workshop is 180 feet wide by 540 feet long and 240 feet high. The workshop contained hundreds of work benches and anvils. Ores, metals, and finished goods were then transported to the Hall of Metals or Hall of Goods for trade with the outside world.

A complicated network of metal tracks connected the mines to the Hall of Ores, the Forge, the Workshop, and the trade halls below. Mine carts were pulled by mules.

The eastern gallery is known as the Hall of Workers. The Hall of Workers measures 780 feet long by 420 foot wide by 240 feet tall and is supported by 18 40-foot wide columns. In its day, the hall contained homes and dormitories to house the common unskilled workers, miners, and laborers of Duirnhold. The gallery is a network of public spaces, dormitories, private apartments, dining halls, taverns, and other residential services.

The Hall of Nobles measures 660 feet long by 300 feet wide by 300 feet tall and is supported by 9 columns. The chamber is divided into 12 private multi-story compounds, each belonging to one of the 12 noble families of Duirnhold.

The Hall of Artisans measures 300 feet wide by 480 feet long by 300 feet tall and is supported by 6 columns. This space contains the private residences of the twelve master artisans of Duirnhold. Whenever a master artisan dies, a contest of skills is held and a new master artisan is selected from the general populace.

Secret Locations

There are several secret locations in Duirnhold, including the fabled Vault of Duirn, rumored to measure 300 feet wide by 600 feet deep and 300 feet high, it is said to be filled with the accumulated wealth of thousands of years of prosperity. Its location is unknown. Other locations not shown on the maps above include the catacombs which lead to the burial vaults of the twelve noble families and the ossuaries of the commoners. According to dwarfish tradition, dwarfs are buried in their finest raiment with their most treasured possessions. These tombs are protected by deadly traps enchanted guardian statuary.

The Fall of Duirnhold

Forty years ago, the dwarfs of Duirn uncovered a lost chamber deep underneath the mountain, far down in its very roots. The chamber unleashed a primal force of evil, the titan of chaos known as Zoggolorth, buried since the dawn of time. Once freed, the evil of Zoggolorth quickly spread, corrupting everything it touched. The dwarfs built bulwark after bulwark to defend themselves from the spread of the evil, but it slowly overcame each line of defense. Eventually, the city itself fell. Thousands of dwarfs died in the final desperate battles against the Spawn of Zoggolorth. The surviving dwarfs were forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives. The dwarfs called upon the aid of the human mages to magically seal the portals behind them, preventing the further spread of the chaos. Today, Duirnhold is sealed behind multiple layers of magical gates. Each gate can only be opened by a magical key in the possession of one of the human mages of Bhaakru.

Mages of Bhaakru

Illustration by Christian Conkle

The Mages of Bhaakru are an order of wizards, sorcerers, and thaumaturgists. There are 24 members of the order. Each member is a master of a specialized form of magic.

1. Keryodel Mitchak, Master and Head Instructor for Ethereal Physiology Analytical Studies 
2. Yondel the Injurious, Master of Destructive Proverbs 
3. Omod the Incessant, Drover of the Howling Black 
4. Thrice-born Guillarme, Lord of Ash 
5. Massimo Pellipar Benari, High Adept of the Scalding Spire 
6. Madame Corvax, Sage of the Inverse Serpent 
7. Calla'dara the Lusty, Mistress of Manipulation 
8. Avgred Horath, Superluminary Aetherweaver 
9. Beetledrum the Absent-Minded, Supreme Benefactor of Accidental Mayhem Magic 
10. Vapula, Master Alchemist of the Venerable Order of the Emerald Exodus 
11. Possuvex the Most Puissant Magister of the Puccoon Hexes 
12. Umtrios the Delusive, Supreme Illusionist of the Hidden Court 
13. Fat Mongrel the Obdurate 
14. Tramga the New, Initiate of the Fifth Shard 
15. Feyjer Wolf, Spawn of the Protean Chaos 
16. Svorr the Elder, Keeper of the Nth Aeon 
17. Hailoon the Mystic, Master of the Blinded Eye. 
18. Goram the Salamander, Master of the Soulflame. 
19. Jessra the Knight, Master of the Warrior’s Way. 
20. Mezzer the Ringlord, Master of the Enchanter’s Loop 
21. Sandorex the Supernumerary, Purveyor of Ontological Ennui 
22. Meefallanananfanganan the Metamathematical, Minister of Meteorological Mellifluence 
23. Gaitexthe the Sporn, Disciple of Roving Gortlflexiyon 
24. Dorex the Depraved, Sultan of 796 Succulent Sins

Given that membership is for life, the roster is surprisingly fluid. The order suffers a 11-16 percent annual turnover rate as members are killed or mysteriously disappear. 

The Mages meet quarterly at each solstice and equinox. The solstice gatherings are business related and are usually convened to deal with matters of great import while equinox gatherings are more casual social networking affairs. Individual mages will correspond, cooperate, and fraternize from time to time and certain social cliques and political factions exist between like-minded members. The Grand Magus is selected at special meetings held at each solar eclipse at the headquarters located atop Mount Mashushammu in the southern deserts of Agartha.

The Mages will also respond to urgent summons at times when the entire universe faces great peril. Smaller groups will be assigned by the Grand Magus to deal with lesser threats. Forty years ago, eight of the twenty-four Mages were tasked with saving the the dwarfish city of Duirndown from the corruption of the elder chaos titan Zoggolorth. The Octet were unable to defeat Zoggolorth and the city fell. In their retreat, they placed eight magical seals were upon the gates leading to the city. Each gate could only be opened with a magical key.

The outer-most key was created by Fezoon the Cerulean, who in turn entrusted it to Guirn, the nominal leader the dwarfish exiles. In time, the key passed to Guirn's son, Huirn, who used the key to unlock the gate, seeking forgotten treasures left within. Huirn was killed during that expedition and the key passed to Squire Valerius of Duirndown.

Edit to add: I should point out that I had some marvelous help coming up with some of the names above.
#1 was created by Jeff Mason, #3-6 were created by Senator Cybus and #21-24 were created by Michael Tree, both over at RPG.Net. #7 by R.S. Tilton, #8 by Noah Stevens, #9 by Impact Miniatures, and #10 by John Sayler over at the DCC G+ Community, amd #17-20 were by Jeff Low.

A Visual Guide to Duirndown

1. The Thane's Keep - Home to Lothorn, hereditary thane of Duirndown. The town of Duirndown was a bustling trade center during Lothorn's grandfather's day. Today, much of the keep is abandoned, like the town itself. Lothorn's wife died several years ago, leaving the three children in the care of the nanny, Elichu. 

2. The Dwarf Bridge. The dwarfs of Durinhold built this dam and bridge several hundred years ago. The dam stores water for the mill (12) and the bridge provides access to the  entrance to Duirnhold (3).

3. The Entrance to Duirnhold. Gas-powered flames once burned night and day at the grand entrance to the under-city of Duirnhold. Today the flames are extinguished and the gates are magically sealed. The under-city fell to a massive catastrophe over fifty years ago. The mine boss declared the city off-limits and ordered the quarantine. 

4. The Amber Lake. The lake is forty feet deep and is home to a fish-like lizard called icthys. 

5. Temple of Tzann, the Sun Father, now abandoned.

6. Temple of Thumina, goddess of the moon, now abandoned.

7. Temple of Ordain Stoneshield the Mountain Lord, occupied by a few dwarfish acolytes.

8. The Waterfront. These ostentatious homes and walled compounds were once occupied by wealthy merchants, their families, and households. Many were abandoned over the last fifty years as dwarfish trade disappeared. Many commoners and craftsmen moved into the large drafty buildings before moving back into smaller cozier structures, leaving the edifices to slowly crumble and succumb to broken glass, weeds, and small trees. A few of the merchants still occupy their decaying mansions, shut away from the outside world and slowly going mad.

9. The Inn District. This row of inns, hostels, and bath houses were once busy with traders and travelers. Today, only one public house is still in operation. Most of the other buildings are occupied by the farmers' families.

10. The Stables. Dwarfish craftsmanship constructed underground animal stables built into the side of the hill. The stables are hundreds of years old are are rumored to connect to secret dwarfish tunnels underneath the town.

11. Terraced Fields. The Dwarfs terraced the side of the hill in order to create stepped fields for the humans to grow grains, corn, and potatoes. 

12. The Water Wheel. Water from the dam powers the wheel and in turn drives the mill. 

13. Artisan District. This area once housed skilled artisans and craftsmen and their shops. Carpenters, wainwrights, tailors, dyers, leatherworkers, and coopers once did their business here and lived in the upper floors. Stonemasons, armorers, and blacksmiths found it difficult to compete with the fine work of the dwarfs of Duirnhold. Only a handful of craftsmen remain. The abandoned structures are slowly crumbling.

14. The Oak Tree. This ancient oak tree was planted at the founding of the town over nine hundred years ago. The tree is massive and was once used to execute criminals.

16. The New Fields. This area was once the location of the hovels of the farmers, ditch-diggers, and menial laborers of Duirndown. After the exodus of the wealthy forty to fifty years ago, the poor that remained left their ramshackle homes and moved into the nicer abandoned structures. Eventually, the hovels were torn down and the open lots were turned into additional farming acreage. 

17. The Watchtower. This lone tower stands upon the pinnacle of a nearby hill. From this vantage, one may see the Standing Stones to the north, the Fortress of the Exile to the east-southeast, and the small tower in the village of Choke reaching above the trees to the east-northeast.

18. The Notice Board. This small board in the center of the town square is used to post bills and notices.

19. The Potter's Den. This tall structure, half-built into the side of the hill, was once home to a guild of dwarfish potters, clay workers, and sculptors. Such crafts were seen as unbecoming of a dwarf and were frowned upon in Duirnhold. The inhabitants of the potter's den were considered outcasts from the under-city, and were objects of derision. A few of their descendants remain.

20. The Stone Path. A zig-zagging path lined with paving stones leads down the embankment to the river below the dam. Another path leads up the far side. 

More info about Duirndown

In the course of last night's adventure, we learned a few more details about the towns and denizens of the Xanthus River Valley.

Duirndown

The city of Duirndown is located near the headwaters of the Xanthus River. Here the river is barely forty feet wide cascading over rocks and small falls. In ancient times, the dwarfs built a dam across the river that also served as a bridge. The town is located on the east side of the dam, the elaborate fortified entrance to Duirnhold on the west side. The dam creates a small lake. A chute in the dam powers a water wheel and mill on the east side.

The town is run by a thane, a hereditary title. Because of the historical importance of trade with the dwarfs, a prominent dwarf was appointed as bailiff. This bailiff served as a sort of second-in-command.

Up until about 50 years ago, Duirndown was a major trade city with a population of around 5000. Merchants from throughout the valley and beyond would come to Duirndown in order to enter Duirnhold and trade with the dwarfs therein. The walled villas and compounds of wealthy merchants dotted the hillside around the town. During its heyday, the town was filled with impressive and imposing architecture that walked up the steep hillside like giant steps. The largest building was the baronial keep, its donjon, and towers.

When the dwarfs of Duirnhold fled their city, the population briefly grew to 11,000. This population was unsustainable and the excess dwarfs settled elsewhere in the valley. Over time, with the lack of trade with Duirnhold, people stopped coming to Duirndown. The wealth disappeared as the merchants and traders moved down to Thither or elsewhere.

Today, the town has a population of 200 and the great stone and marble architecture has crumbled into overgrown ruins, though a few are still occupied by the aged and corrupt denizens who refused to leave. For the most part, the area within the walls is empty. Most of the 200 remaining residents have congregated near the keep at the center of town. All but the largest and sturdiest of the great old buildings have been torn down to clear room for fields and pasture.

The town today has one blacksmith (and one apprentice) and there's not a lot of demand for weapons and armor. There is a wise-man, but no one with real magical or holy powers. The baron is little more than a town mayor and there is no longer a permanent garrison, only a few farmers who have volunteered to stand watch.

Things were greatly shaken up recently when twelve of the town's most able-bodied workers went up the hill to the standing stones because of an old story he heard from the wise-man. Only four returned. Soon afterwards, The four, accompanied by eight others, opened the sealed gate to Duirnhold. Only four returned from that foray. In a town of 200, the loss of seventeen townspeople, almost ten percent of the town's population, was a huge blow! The town has lost its wainwright, several farmers, and other key town positions. Luckily, a few were recent arrivals with a travelling merchant.  The little town has no more potential adventurers to give, and certainly no potential hirelings and henchmen from which to recruit.

Demi-Humans of Agartha

Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings are such a traditional element in Fantasy RPGs that they're included in Dungeon Crawl Classics.

 

Unfortunately, they are so rooted in Tolkien and Celtic-Germanic-Scandinavian folklore that they dampen a lot of the weird fantasy Clark Ashton Smith/Jack Vance vibe that both DCC and my campaign strive to emulate.

 

What they are now:

These are just too cliché and bucolic. They're not weird fantasy. So here is my vision for how demi-humans should act and appear in my DCC campaign.

In Tolkien/D&D, Dwarves are bearded hammer-wielding Cornish miners.

In Agartha, Dwarves are stunted twisted Rumpelstiltskins, gruesome albino creatures of the earth with long arms and thick leathery skin. My platonic ideal dwarf would have no hair or beard but that's going too far against player expectation, so the braided hair and beards reluctantly stay.

In short, the dwarves in my DCC campaign look like the Ugnaughts from Empire Strikes Back. Short, ugly, hairy, industrious, leathery, with little tusks. I thought about the Trolls from the film Troll, but they were too creepy looking. Ugnaughts were just right.

In Tolkien/D&D, Elves are beautiful hippie nature Vulcans.

Agarthic Elves should be alien otherworldly creatures from another plane (Elfland). They are strangers to our world, for all intents and purposes they are visitors from another planet. More like the Elves from Hellboy 2.

In Tolkien/D&D, Halflings are short fat bucolic furry-footed burrowers.

Agarthic Halflings should be backwards hillbilly pygmies who live in underground warrens. In short, like the Nelwyn from Willow.