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D  R AG N     B O R N                             D  W  ARVES  OF T H  E   M  R OR HOLDS
                     O
                                                             The dwarves of the Mror Holds are defined in part
           WHEN THE JUNGLE'S HIDDEN DARKNESS STIRS ,  THE
                                                             by their relationship to the ancient Realm Below. In a
           children o f  the dragon will scatter into shadow, keeping   desperate effort to rediscover and reclaim the holdings
           their eternal watch.                              of their old nation, the dwarves have recovered many
                                                             weapons of war created in the final days of the empire.
                   -The Draconic Prophecy,  as recorded in the
                                                             Some of these weapons were forged by the dwarves to
                                            Mar'saval Scrolls
                                                             wield against the daelkyr, but others were made by the
                                                             daelkyr for the use of their minions-strange symbiotic
           Tens of thousands of years ago, the dragons of Argon­  items (some of which appear in chapter 5) that use the
           nessen established a garrison of dragonborn in what is   life force of their hosts to power their magical abilities.
           now Q'barra. These warriors were assigned to protect   Some clans have banned the use of these symbiotic
           the region against the influence of the Lords of Dust.   weapons and any exploration of daelkyr magic, notably
           Over time they drifted away from their duties, building a   the prominent Clan Mroranon. Others, particularly Clan
           nation in eastern Khorvaire and clashing with the gobli­  Soldorak, have embraced this magic to use against the
           noids of the Dhakaani Empire.                     daelkyr. Defining a relationship to these discoveries
             This dragonborn nation came crashing down when   can be an important element of your character's back­
           one of the ancient fiendish Overlords stirred, unleashing   ground; you might be a Mroranon paladin or ranger
           fiends and corrupting many of the dragonborn them­  dedicated to expunging any trace of daelkyr magic from
           selves. Their nation in ruins, the dragonborn retreated   the Realm Below, or a Soldorak warlock drawing on the
           to the darkness of Q'barra. They have remained there   magic of Xoriat in pursuit of your own power, as well as
           ever since, guarding against corruption and fighting the   glory for your clan.
           evil forces of the Poison Dusk-which is sometimes de­  Another important question to consider in playing a
           scribed as a cult devoted to a dragon, and sometimes as   Mrorian character is why you have left the Holds. The
           an army gathering in the name of a fiendish Overlord.   Leaving the Mror Holds table offers some suggestions
             To date the dragonborn have largely ignored the hu­  that might spark further ideas.
           mans of Q'barra, and the few humans who've encoun­
           tered dragonborn believe they're some exotic type of
           lizardfolk. If you're a dragonborn, what has caused you
           to emerge from Q'barra? Are you on a quest to help your
           people or to oppose the Lords of Dust? Are you driven   DWARF IVITH A
           by wanderlust or curiosity? Did you serve as a merce­  TENTACLE WHIP
           nary in the Last War? How might your travels tie to the
           fate of your people?

           D  W  A R V  E S
           GOLD  S I    THE  GIFT  O  F    THE MOUNTAJNS,  BUT IRON COMES
           from blood and bone.
                                           -Mror Proverb

           The origin of the dwarves is shrouded in mystery. Some
           of their legends tell of a great migration that led the
           ancient dwarves to Khorvaire from "a land of endless
           ice." Many believe this refers to the arctic lands of the
           Frostfell, while others claim that the first dwarves must
           have come from the frozen plane of Risi a. Wherever
           their roots, these migrant dwarves established a mighty
           nation beneath the surface of Khorvaire.
             Most dwarven legends, unconcerned with the ques­
           tion of origin, dwell on the mighty artifacts and priceless
           treasures crafted by ancient deep-dwelling dwarves,
           and of the bloody wars they waged against the goblin
           Empire of Dhakaan. Dwarves today cherish the memory
           of this ancient nation, for all dwarves in Khorvaire are
           descended from exiles driven from the realm below­
           which was later destroyed by the daelkyr. Particularly
           in the Mror Holds, many dwarves cherish the idea of re­
           turning to the subterranean reaches and reestablishing
           their ancient nation, restoring them to a greatness they
           have all but forgotten.


                                                                              CHAPTER  1  I  CHARACTER  CREATION
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