Page 67 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

An ominous walk of a thousand stairs climb the side The only exception to this xenophobia are the gnomes.
of the mountain to the gates of the city carved from the When the gnomish city of Wittebak was sundered by hill
mountain itself, just wide enough for two dwarves to walk giants nearly 400 years ago, the refugees were accepted
abreast. Too steep and treacherous for carts or common into Kraghammer, bringing their innovative mechanical
beasts of burden, traders and trappers use giant goats to ideas to the growing community and cementing a kinship
transport their goods to and from market, while wealthy of convenience between the two races. As time passed, the
dwarven merchant lords employ serfs and laborers to carry partnership has flourished for both parties, and the drive
their goods. Kraghammer’s impenetrable adamantine to reclaim their old home has since been ever-postponed
gates stand at the end of a perilous bridge overlooking a due to procrastination and lack of interest. Still, no gnome
hundred-foot chasm, and is guarded by three watchtowers has ever served as a representative of the Houses, nor as
carved into the mountain itself. Ironkeeper. Some minority peoples within Kraghammer
Within those gates, the massive stronghold is made up are jealous of the gnomes’ place of “honor” within the
of three cylindrical levels called “slabs” that descend deep dwarven community and seek to subvert them, while
beneath the mountains. Kraghammer’s granite walls are others implore the gnomes to use their voice to speak up
lit by roaring fires, enchanted torches, and shimmering for the outlanders.
candlerock, which glows with internal fire. Even when
the evening fires are extinguished, the amber light of the crime
Bronzegrip Metalworks at the base of the city bathes the
Citizens of Emon who visit Kraghammer often marvel at
city in its warm glow.
how lawful and organized the dwarven enclave is. Crime
is ostensibly low within Kraghammer thanks to the Carv-
government
ers’ protection, but this peace comes at a cost. Corruption
Kraghammer law is written by a consortium of the five is rife within the Carvers, and within House Glorenthal,
most powerful houses within the city, each appointing a their patron house. Because of Glorenthal’s close ties with
delegate to serve on their behalf. That tenuous union of the Carvers, corruption has been hard to uncover within
houses is kept by the city’s executive officer, the Ironkeeper. either organization. That all changed when a gnomish
The Ironkeeper is elected by the houses, carries a term of journalist named Ida Mudrake uncovered something
ten years, with no term limit, though most Ironkeepers rule damning within the Glorenthal vaults. The information
for between three to five terms. The current sitting Iron- has not been made public, but a massive trial is on the
keeper is Gradim Greyspine of House Greyspine, halfway horizon, and the Carvers are in chaos.
through his third term. His heroics in the recent war have
made him beloved of his people, and his softer view of out- geography and climate
landers has made him a champion of the repressed.
Though the Cliffkeep Mountains themselves are blan-
The laws of the city are enforced by a military class of
keted in thick snow, the bone-piercing chill does not
elite warriors called Carvers that act as guards, soldiers,
extend into Kraghammer itself. Heat from the Bronze-
and jailers under the guidance of the Ironkeeper. Becom-
grip Metalworks and the other blast furnaces in the
ing a Carver is a lengthy, rigorous, and taxing pursuit, and
Bottom Slab rises and permeates the entire city, though
many who choose to join fail to complete their training
the Top Slab still grows cold in the winter. The city itself
and find another career path. As such, many Carvers are
is carved out of the granite core of Mount Kraghammer;
brought to it through family tradition, the pressure and
though the dwarves rarely see the night sky, its walls still
expectation of the family name and a father’s honor being
sparkle like starlight in the amber glow of the furnaces.
stronger than personal pain and preference. Once officially
named, a Carver is given a homestead built into the center the top Slab
slab of the city, a set of masterwork armor and weapons,
The Top Slab, also called the Arch, is the entry level
and a steady income.
of the city, built on a massive ring that sends off-shoot
neighborhoods and tunnels deeper into the mountain
preJudice
around it. Here is where most residential life is rooted,
No non-dwarf has ever served as a delegate of the with thousands of stone-built abodes dotting the walls,
houses, let alone the Ironkeeper. Though dwarves indi- while popular taverns like the Firebrook Inn and the
vidually are often trusting, honest folk, Kraghammer Ironhearth Tavern fill alcoves pushed into the rock. Most
breeds a culture of xenophobia that prevents people of the gnomish and non-dwarf population is relegated to a
of other races from participating in the highest levels neighborhood called the “Otherwalk.” A fine layer of soot
of dwarven society. Even if they were born within tends to coat much of this slab, due to imperfect ventila-
Kraghammer, their epithet will always be outlander, tion from the industrious center slab.
surface-dweller, sun-eyes, or worse. Yet this startlingly As members of the Kraghammer working class, “Tops-
overt racism seems to melt away for as long as an labbers” either make the long commute to labor in the
outlander is useful—and no longer. Greed drives Kra- Bottom Slab or work in the Toppers’ farms above the
ghammer; it fuels its furnaces and works its bellows, and mountain. Others are indentured servants to wealthy
many outlanders within Kraghammer do their best to dwarves in the Middle Slab, and only return to their fam-
live within its system, trying to eke out a meager living. ilies on the Top Slab on their monthly day of rest.

66 chapter 2: gazetteer of tal’dorei