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Gomdirthillion

The Deep Folk Rise

Beneath the mountains of Vagdorth lies the ancient realm of the Khuzud Dwarves: Onidor. A proud and venerable race, these Dwarves have ruled over the subterranean holds for thousands of years. Their ancient kingdom stretches the length and breadth of Gomdirth, entrenched beneath both land and sea.

Breached upon the surface, laid upon every mountain, river, rock, and tree, the modern Dwarves thrive. The three factions of Keldric, Ghuhuh, and Zhufan have wrought their homes upon the fertile earth of Gomdirth. The majesty of their artifice stands boldly for all to see, hewn into the very earth itself. The Dwarves's dark cousin, the Duergar, also remain beneath the surface, in the southern most reaches of Vagdorth beneath the swamps of Durrihm.

Miners and engineers beyond compare, Dwarves are expert craftsmen who share a great love of gold and precious stones, and all the precious resources of the fertile Gomdirth. But love of illustrious stones and endless riches would drive a cleft between the once unified factions, as they began to eye the riches of their neighbors with envy in their hearts and greed in their bones.

At the height of their Glimmer Age, the Dwarves enjoyed peace among each faction, and even managed subterranean trade with the ancient Khuzud. They held dominion on all they could survey, as above and so below.

But bitter war between the factions led to the constraint of important resources, and the Kuzud have since closed their borders completely. The seas are ruled by marauding pirates from the twin islands to the north, and those on land struggle in poverty and starvation, subject to roaming gangs and lawless mercenaries.

The Dwarves now nurse bitter memories of the Glimmer Age, while each faction, family, and Dwarf cling desperately to the vestiges of their once proud kingdoms.

The Shimmer Age

The Dwarves of Gomdirth like to say that their souls were birthed in the same ancient forge in which the Khuzud now forge their finery and weapons. Dwarves life began deep, in fact the deepest reaches of Onidor are the most ancient. When the first few Dwarven souls sparked into existence, it was in pure darkness. It was the god Moradin who sparked the Soul Forge, which flared to life and thus the Dwarves were birthed in flame and shadow. Moradin, the Soul Forger knew not what creatures he just created, but looked upon them with awe and admiration as they emerged from fire and rock. With fresh awareness, contemplating awareness itself, they found each other. Sightless as they were, the ancient Dwarves began to communicate through sound, and discovered they could detect the world around them with an extra sense that was only present when they clicked their tongues or tapped their limbs against the hard stone surrounding them. Before the Dwarves had homes or names, they invented Inglishmek, the echolocative sign language that is now used only by the lingering Khuzud.

They discovered that there were larger, more deadly creatures in their deep cavern, and they were only safe if they were near to the Soul Forge. They wandered the deep and the dark in this way for days upon days, meanwhile new Dwarves souls were sparking from the Soul Forge every day. Soon they were too many, they pushed against the farthest walls of the cavern, and they feared that all the Dwarves would perish back into the forge from whence they came.

Then, there was a sound like a clanging of a thousand stones, then came the god Numador. The sound persisted, they need not click their tongues to see the god. At first, he appeared in a form completely foreign to them, and they were afraid. Then, he came again, as one of them, and taught them to make tools so that they could dig their way through the vast and pitch black earth. He showed them the veins of precious metals in the earth, taught them to use the Soul Forge to bend and shape the metals into tools. The tools cut through the earth, moved it, and shaped it as they wished.

Then came Fultseg, who taught them mining and stone working so that they could build homes and more advanced tools to protect themselves from the harsh subterranean elements. and Karkuga taught them how to navigate through the mountains. Numador, Fultseg, and Karkuga taught the ancient Dwarves how to survive, but it was Dugmaren who instilled in them a sense of yearning. This yearning led the Khuzud to become great artisans, capturing the bare elements of Gomdirth's offering into powerful tools of might and wonder.

These tools birthed the first age of the Dwarves, which they deemed the Shimmer Age. So taken with the shine of Gomdirth's elements, every Dwarf had a divinely instilled purpose to shape their world the way they desired.

From the deeps, a society emerged. A council of elders was elected from among the first-born of the Soul Forge. Five first-born Dwarves were to lead the society of Dwarves into the fires of the new age.

The Glimmer Age

A time wrought with splendor and luxury, many Dwarves refer to the Glimmer Age as the most prosperous age on Gomdirth. Factions were born as the population increased, and Onidor became a thriving metropolis of knowledge and invention.

The faction of Zhufan mastered the underground waterways, building water vessels and viaducts in the deep Vagdorth depths. The wrought from the stone a water trade route that still exists today, spanning nearly the entirety of the Vagdorth underground. Zhufan were the most adventurous of the Dwarves, and were the first to breach the surface while following a vein of steam.

The faction of Ghuhuh mastered agriculture and animal husbandry. They forged a deep connection with all that grows beneath the surface, and provided food and animal services for the ancient kingdom. They were the second to discover the bright surface world, following the deepest roots of an ancient arbor tree.

Factionless Dwarves wtih an adventurous spirit followed the Zhufan and Ghuhuh, and began to settle in small numbers around the mouth of what would become the surface entrance to Onidor. Trade and cultural exchanges were forged in these small settlements.

As more and more Dwarves discovered the surface, they also discovered a larger pantheon of gods than they ever knew.

Tornalynn was unnaturally long lived, even for the ancient ones. In her constant conquests of discovery, she made contact with the goddess Telfa. Tornalynn learned that it was Telfa's magic that flowed through the soul forge, and created Dwarven life. Knowing that her life would soon end, and yearning to prolong her rule, Tornalynn sought to learn the ways of magic from the goddess. But Telfa refused, knowing that Tornalynn would be too tempted to defy the laws of natural order. She warned Tornalynn of the dangers of this knowledge.

Tornalynn was devastated. She spent the short remainder of her rule bitter and defeated. She wanted magic for her people, and would not let death stand in her way. She struck a deal with Haela, Goddess of Chaos. Tornalynn would pledge 500 Dwarf souls in service to Haela, and Haela would teach her the ways of divine magic.

The Dimmer Age

The deal with Haela birthed the Dimmer Age, and the Duergar, Grey Ones in service of Haela. Souls of the deep ones repurposed to serve the Goddess of Death and Destruction, the Duergar were shunned from the holy kingdom and driven deep into the bowels of Gomdirth. This became known as Helmfast.

Tornalynn, aging and consumed with insatiable desire for magical power, quickly lost control of the holy kingdom, as her betrayal of her people to the goddess Haela tore the Dwarves along faction lines. Three strong leaders arose and stood against Tonalynn's rule, ancient as she was now. The Khuzud rose in support of her, as she was the longest living of any known dwarf in history. Her loss would mean a great cultural tragedy.

The leaders of the Zhufan, Ghuhuh, and newly formed Keldric stood against Tornalynn, and also each other. The Ghuhuh viewed the Duergar as an aberration, a corruption of nature, and sought to destroy them, while the Zhufan laid blame on the gods for the corruption of their people. The Keldric, who saw an opportunity to seize a place among the powerful factions, played support of both sides.

Faction fighting became war, as minor disagreements became racial injustices. War became an excuse to steal the riches of their neighbors, as Dwarves forgot the reason for fighting and it simply became a way of life.

Gomdirth

Dwarves are of the stone, the dirt, the metal, and the fires of the earth. Born from the roots of the mountains themselves, the ancient Dwarves, The Khuzud, carved their rich kingdoms from the belly of Gomdirth until they reached the lush and fertile surface.

The gleaming veins of crystals and precious metals gave way to verdant forests, and crashing shores. It is there, upon the crust of Gomdirth, that the expansive kingdom of the ancient Dwarves blossomed.

While the Khuzud remained behind, the rest of the Dwarves broke through the blistered skin of Gomdirth, and formed factions of civilization across the different continents. Their factions would form different races altogether, as the Dwarves evolved and adapted to their surroundings.

Remaining quite close in traditions and geographic preferences, the Khuzud and the Keldric both occupy the continent of Vagdorth. The surface of Vagdorth is largely unoccupied, with most of the population of the Khuzud living near the entrance to Nar Durahl, or under the surface all throughout Vagdorth. Because the underground inhabitants of Vagdorth often need supplies from the surface, single entrances to each of the major cities are scattered through-out the continent.

The Ghuhuh occupies the smaller, forested continent of Kharrim. The Ghuhuh and the Zhufan share the slightly larger and more geographically diverse continent of Kulheim.

The Zhufan have the largest spanning kingdom besides the Keldric, occupying both the smallest continents of Dinyar and Bolyar, and the Bugdihn islands. They have begun to settle on the coasts of Vagdorth even, and have gone largely unnoticed by the Keldric. The Zhufan maintain a tenuously peaceful relationship with The Ghuhuh near the border zone of Kulheim.

• Khuzud Capital City: Milgalor, in Ancient Onidor
  
• Keldric Capital City: Nar Durahl, the Blasted Steppe
  
• Ghuhuh Capital City: Dunguruhm, deep forest of Karrihm
  
• Zhufan Capital City: Hernlohdir, northern Kulheim
  
• Duergar Capital City: Helmfast, southern Vagdorth
  
  

Nar Durahl

On the edge of the canyon dug deep into the northern half of Vagdorth, lies the small kingdom of the Keldric, called Nar Durahl. Settled on the edge of the Blasted Steppe along the waterways that empty into the Onidor Mines, Nar Durahl is small but sophisticated. The people of the Keldric kingdom live in comfort and relative safety.

Helmfast

The Duergar kingdom of Helmfast encompasses a vast network of underground caverns and tunnels underneath the surface of southern Vagdorth. It is home to a host of evil beings driven deep into the caverns during the Glimmer Age, when the goddess Haela gathered the dark creatures of Gomdirth under her recruit. The capitol city of the Duergar, Helmfast, lies at the deepest center of the kingdom of Haelenor.

Haelenor's underground landscape varies from small subterranean fissures almost impossible for even small creatures to crawl through, to wide expanses of deep water that hides coral caves, hollowed out sections of ice in which deep creatures live, and places where fungus, bones, or even pure force form caves. This varied landscape is as dynamic as the surface of Gomdirth. Some areas are always changing over time, from underground magma rivers or the emptying of underground lakes due to cracks in the rock formed by earthquakes. This means maps of Haelenor are highly unreliable, sometimes by design but other times by bad luck.

Kharrim

Kulheim

Bolyar & Dinyar

The smallest continents of Gomdirth are mostly uninhabited, at least by the Dwarves. With an arctic climate and harsh terrain, powerful creatures have made this place their home. A few mysteries surround the creatures of the twin continents, but most modern dwarves stay clear of Bolyar and Dinyar.

Open Sea & Beyond

The people of Gomdirth are just now beginning their discovery of the waters, and there could be many uncharted lands across the open sea. There could be untold riches on far away continents, or horrors beyond their imagining.

What might a brave sea-bound adventurer discover beyond the open seas of Gomdirth? Only you can say!

Society

Dwarves are a religious, superstitious, and divided people. Bias runs deep in the Dwarves blood, and each faction believes it is superior to the others for various reasons. Despite recent liberal movements of acceptance, inter-breeding is extremely unpopular, and any offspring of these unions would be met with life-long bigotry.

Despite the differences they perceive between themselves, the Dwarves have more in common than they know.

The Dwarves are known for good alcohol. Before they rose from the roots of the mountains, it was difficult to find fresh water. Beer, wine, and hard liquor became the drink of choice for refreshment and leisure, and that tradition has remained consistent across all the Dwarves.

Every Dwarf is a storyteller, for lore and adventure run deep in the Dwarves blood. Even the ancient Khuzud revel in their tales of adventure and discovery.

Dwarves shape, mold, and cut the world around them to fit their needs. If a mountain or forest or shore is not conveniently placed, dwarves will carve through it, build over it, and cut around it. They are master craftsmen of virtually every trade imaginable.

Festivals

Every year the Festival of Bliss is celebrated with a lot of gusto all across the regions of Gomdirth. It's a holiday with divine roots, honoring the beginning of Summer, but today it is mostly associated with athletic competitions, preparing holiday themed foods, rights of passage and costumed mascots. It is officially celebrated for 1 week, but decorations often stay around for weeks after the celebrations.

On the Blasted Steppe, every 6 months the Festival of Wine is celebrated with excited hearts. It's a holiday with relatively young roots, but today it is mostly associated with parades, bonding with family, holiday themed sports games and homemade costumes. It is officially celebrated for 2 weeks, but the climax of the celebrations are in the final hours and is what everybody looks forward to.

Sports

Although there are many popular sports across the different regions of Gomdirth, Keg is by far the most popular across all the Dwarves races. During warmer seasons, professional Keg teams play tournaments for gold, rare, weapons, and other great prizes.

Keg is a traditional sport that has spread across the regions and has become a popular inter-racial sporting event. It played by two teams of four dwarves competing to place a full sized barrel keg onto the opposing team's stone shelf. There are three shelves (low, medium, and high) per team and the higher the shelf, the more points awarded. These games are usually held on small stone courts, crafted specifically for the occasion, but the sport is so popular that Dwarves children across the regions have been crafting makeshift courts and holding their own small Keg tournaments with improvised barrels.

A game of Keg is usually about 75 minutes, and the team who scores the most points in that time wins. Keg teams consist of 9 players each.

The court is about 50 yards long, and at each end of the court sits the highest of the shelf. The two medium height shelves are 10 yards away from the highest shelf, and the lowest shelves sit closest to the center of the court, about 10 yeards away from the medium shelf.

At the beginning of the game, the Keg starts off completely full of strong Dwarven ale from the home team's region. Any player from either team can try to drink from the Keg, in order to make it lighter. However, this needs to be done with great caution, for if any ale spills from the Keg, a point penalty is given to the offending team.

To move the Keg, a dwarf may only roll or toss it. The Keg cannot be stood on end, or moved by any other means besides rolling or tossing. If a dwarf is holding the Keg, they can only pivot on a single foot, and may not take more than a single step after picking the Keg up.

There is an optional position that some Keg teams use called Designated Drinker. While any dwarf may drink from the Keg, the Designated Drinker is devoted to emptying the Keg for their team at the perfect time, to make it easier to get the Keg on the shelf quickly. While there are generally no penalties spilling ale for other players, if the Designated Drinker spills even a single drop, the Keg is refilled and the Keg possession is given to the other team.

Keg is a full contact sport, and often ends with both teams bloodied, bitter, and drunk. Wealthy Dwarves often place bets on the game, and the subsequent clan fights that may result because of the outcome of those games. It's said that some wars in the early Dimmer Age were started over games of Keg.

Dwarves Racial Variants

Dwarves in the Gomdirth setting are made up of distinct subraces. Such divisions have their roots in the race's earliest existance.

When you create a character who belongs to a subrace, you are free to use the race's standard traits for that character. However, you can instead use the options in this section to set the character apart from other members of his or her race, and to provide ways to develop the character's identity.

Each subrace description contains a set of racial traits and benefits, which may replace the standard racial traits of a Dwarf. Unless otherwise noted, you can select as many of a subrace's benefits as you want.

In addition, each subrace includes a racial background tied to it. Like other backgrounds in the game, these offer associated skills and languages. If you choose the racial background that matches your character's subrace, you can select one of the following benefits.

• Gain a +2 bonus to checks with a skill associated with your background
• Add a skill associated with your background to your list of class skills before you choose your trained skills
• Choose one language associated with your background. You can speak, read, and write that language fluently

Relations

Khuzud maintain an ancient grudge from before the separation of the races, but have come to rely on the supplies and discoveries of the surface folk to improve their own ways of life. Because of their extended lifespan, they remain aloof of close bonds with most of the other races, but strong friendships and lifelong alliances have been forged through out the ages.

They remain closest to Keldric, and will occasionally tolerate a Keldric settler family or two if they can provide value to their society or industry. Several Keldric adventurers are featured in Khuzud history and lore, and are depicted fondly in art and song.

Khuzud are most disdainful towards the Ghuhuh, seeing their choice to settle in the forests and plains as a violation of the Dwarves identity. Ghuhuh are inherently distrusted, disliked, and altogether unwelcome in Khuzud society.

Zhufan are an interesting conundrum to a Khuzud, as they can understand their desire to discover the mysterious ways of the sea, but cannot understand the desire to venture into such strange surface environments. Zhufan are just as likely to be shunned as they are to be welcomed in Khuzud society, and it all depends on how they prove themselves.

Khuzud Lands

Capitol City: Milgalor, near the Soul Forge in Ancient Onidor

The ancient kingdoms of the Khuzud are the birthplace of the Dwarves race, and so are hallowed ground for all Dwarves. They lie deep beneath the stony faces of the mountains, where they mine precious gems and metals and forge items of wonder. Trusted members of the Keldric, and occasionally a Zhufan or two, are welcome in such settlements, though some parts of these lands are off limits even to them. Whatever wealth Khuzud can't find in their vast mountains, they gain through trade.

Expansive systems of underground railways and waterways allow enterprising merchants of the different races to conduct trade between the regions. Some of the railways and waterways even extend between the continents, under deep ocean reaches built ages ago.

Though it is not impossible, Khuzud in surface kingdoms is extremely rare, as it is believed that a Khuzud cannot survive in direct sunlight.

Religion

While most of the surface races are polytheistic, the Khuzud worship only Dugmaren, the god of discovery and invention. There are a few ceremonies for honoring the House of Ancient Knowledge, that usually involve lots of food and drink, especially the finely crafted drink of the Khuzud, which is made from fermented underground plants like mushrooms and glow flowers.

Classes and Professions

Retiring the peak of the industrial age, popular professions now tend towards philosophic, and scientific ventures, with minor dabbling in the arts. They are still the most legendary metal craftsman and jewelers in the world, and are responsible for the crafting of every wondrous artifact to ever reach popular lore. Khuzud will occasionally take up the garb of a Cleric if they are a particularly devout follower of Moradin, but a Paladin would be fairly uncommon. Khuzud Fighters, Barbarians, and Rangers, would be extremely out of place, while Bards, Sorcerers, and Rogues are slightly more common. Khuzud cannot be Wizards, as they do not have a native written language, and cannot read the written language of the other races.

Classes and Professions

Keldric professions are as diverse as the people themselves. Keldric react, adapt, and improve themselves according to their surroundings, making them well suited to perform just about any job that can be performed on Gomdirth. Fighters and rangers are common professions for Keldric adventurers, as their trade routes are the only patrolled routes on the surface of Vagdorth. They are the most knowledgeable about the dangerous surface species, as they are the first to document, hunt, and domesticate the creatures that threaten the surface borders of the Blasted Steppe.

Many Keldric are very charismatic, making them excellent Bards and Clerics, often serving as liasons to the other Dwarves races.

Magic is common to the Keldric, and is often taught classically in schools and academies on the Blasted Steppe.

Level Ten

Flesh to Stone

Transmutation

• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: 60 ft.
• Components: V, S, M
• Duration: 1 Minute

You attempt to turn one creature that you can see within range into stone. If the target's body is made of flesh, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it is restrained as its flesh begins to harden. On a successful save, the creature isn't affected.

A creature restrained by this spell must make another Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If it successfully saves against this spell three times, the spell ends. If it fails its saves three times, it is turned to stone and subjected to the petrified condition for the duration. The successes and failures don't need to be consecutive; keep track of both until the target collects three of a kind.

If the creature is physically broken while petrified, it suffers from similar deformities if it reverts to its original state.

If you maintain your concentration on this spell for the entire possible duration, the creature is turned to stone until the effect is removed.

Magnificent Mansion

Conjuration

• Casting Time: 1 Minute
• Range: 300 ft. sq.
• Components: V, S, M
• Duration: 24 Hours

You conjure an extradimensional dwelling in range that lasts for the duration. You choose where its one entrance is located. The entrance shimmers faintly and is 5 feet wide and 10 feet tall. You and any creature you designate when you cast the spell can enter the extradimensional dwelling as long as the portal remains open. You can open or close the portal if you are within 30 feet of it. While closed, the portal is invisible.

Beyond the portal is a magnificent foyer with numerous chambers beyond. The atmosphere is clean, fresh, and warm.

You can create any floor plan you like, but the space can't exceed 50 cubes, each cube being 10 feet on each side. The place is furnished and decorated as you choose. It contains sufficient food to serve a nine-course banquet for up to 100 people. A staff of 100 near-transparent servants attends all who enter. You decide the visual appearance of these servants and their attire.

They are completely obedient to your orders. Each servant can perform any task a normal human servant could perform, but they can't attack or take any action that would directly harm another creature. Thus the servants can fetch things, clean, mend, fold clothes, light fires, serve food, pour wine, and so on. The servants can go anywhere in the mansion but can't leave it. Furnishings and other objects created by this spell dissipate into smoke if removed from the mansion. When the spell ends, any creatures inside the extradimensional space are expelled into the open spaces nearest to the entrance.

Mighty Fortress

Conjuration

• Casting Time: 1 Minute
• Range: 1 Mile
• Components: V, S, M
• Duration: Instantaneous

A fortress of stone erupts from a square area of ground of your choice that you can see within range. The area is 120 feet on each side, and it must not have any buildings or other structures on it. Any creatures in the area are harmlessly lifted up as the fortress rises.

The fortress has four turrets with square bases, each one 20 feet on a side and 30 feet tall, with one turret on each corner. The turrets are connected to each other by stone walls that are each 80 feet long, creating an enclosed area. Each wall is 1 foot thick and is composed of panels that are 10 feet wide and 20 feet tall. Each panel is contiguous with two other panels or one other panel and a turret. You can place up to four stone doors in the fortress’s outer wall.

A small keep stands inside the enclosed area. The keep has a square base that is 50 feet on each side, and it has three floors with 10-foot-high ceilings. Each of the floors can be divided into as many rooms as you like, provided each room is at least 5 feet on each side. The floors of the keep are connected by stone staircases, its walls are 6 inches thick, and interior rooms can have stone doors or open archways as you choose. The keep is furnished and decorated however you like, and it contains sufficient food to serve a nine-course banquet for up to 100 people each day. Furnishings, food, and other objects created by this spell crumble to dust if removed from the fortress.

A staff of one hundred invisible servants obeys anycommand given to them by creatures you designate when you cast the spell. Each servant functions as if created by the unseen servant spell.

The walls, turrets, and keep are all made of stone that can be damaged. Each 10—foot—bya10-foot section of stone has AC 15 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness. It is immune to poison and psychic damage. Reducing a section of stone to 0 hit points destroys it and might cause connected sections to buckle and collapse at the DM’s discretion.

After 7 days or when you cast this spell somewhere else, the fortress harmlessly crumbles and sinks back into the ground, leaving any creatures that were inside it safely on the ground.

Casting this spell on the same spot once every 7 days for a year makes the fortress permanent.

Level Fifteen

Prismatic Wall

Abjuration

• Casting Time: Casting Time
• Range: 60 ft.
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 10 Minutes

A shimmering, multicolored plane of light forms a vertical opaque wall--up to 90 feet long, 30 feet high, and 1 inch thick--centered on a point you can see within range. Alternatively, you can shape the wall into a sphere up to 30 feet in diameter centered on a point you choose within range. The wall remains in place for the duration. If you position the wall so that it passes through a space occupied by a creature, the spell fails, and your action and the spell slot are wasted.

The wall sheds bright light out to a range of 100 feet and dim light for an additional 100 feet. You and creatures you designate at the time you cast the spell can pass through and remain near the wall without harm. If another creature that can see the wall moves to within 20 feet of it or starts its turn there, the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or become blinded for 1 minute.

The wall consists of seven layers, each with a different color. When a creature attempts to reach into or pass through the wall, it does so one layer at a time through all the wall's layers. As it passes or reaches through each layer, the creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or be affected by that layer's properties as described below.

The wall can be destroyed, also one layer at a time, in order from red to violet, by means specific to each layer. Once a layer is destroyed, it remains so for the duration of the spell. Antimagic field has no effect on the wall, and dispel magic can affect only the violet layer.

1. Red. The creature takes 10d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. While this layer is in place, nonmagical ranged attacks can't pass through the wall. The layer can be destroyed by dealing at least 25 cold damage to it.

2. Orange. The creature takes 10d6 acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. While this layer is in place, magical ranged attacks can't pass through the wall. The layer is destroyed by a strong wind.

3. Yellow. The creature takes 10d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. This layer can be destroyed by dealing at least 60 force damage to it.

4. Green. The creature takes 10d6 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A passwall spell, or another spell of equal or greater level that can open a portal on a solid surface, destroys this layer.

5. Blue. The creature takes 10d6 cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. This layer can be destroyed by dealing at least 25 fire damage to it.

6. Indigo. On a failed save, the creature is restrained. It must then make a Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If it successfully saves three times, the spell ends. If it fails its save three times, it permanently turns to stone and is subjected to the petrified condition. The successes and failures don't need to be consecutive; keep track of both until the creature collects three of a kind. While this layer is in place, spells can't be cast through the wall. The layer is destroyed by bright light shed by a daylight spell or a similar spell of equal or higher level.

7. Violet. On a failed save, the creature is blinded. It must then make a Wisdom saving throw at the start of your next turn. A successful save ends the blindness. If it fails that save, the creature is transported to another plane of the GM's choosing and is no longer blinded. (Typically, a creature that is on a plane that isn't its home plane is banished home, while other creatures are usually cast into the Astral or Ethereal planes.) This layer is destroyed by a dispel magic spell or a similar spell of equal or higher level that can end spells and magical effects.
   

Ghuhuh

Ghuhuh consider themselves the heirs to the ancient forests on Kharrim, who's trees grew tall and proud long before even the Shimmer Age. They share few of the cultural characteristics that mark the Keldric and Khuzud. Although a proud people, Ghuhuh feel that compassion is a greater virtue than strength and Ghuhuh realms are less concerned with expansion than they are with maintaining amiable relations with their neighbors. They are organized into scattered, carefully concealed villages united under a gerontocratic hierarchy composed of village councils consisting of the most distinguished familys' eldest members. These councils are often advised by local druids, whose influence plays no small part in Ghuhuh politics, and who frequently serve as the webbing that binds any number of villages together as one realm.

Relations

Although a proud people themselves, Ghuhuh often feel that their Dwarves kindred, especially the Khuzud, too often put on an air of superiority and xenophobia that is ultimately detrimental. Ghuhuh look to the examples of the ancient Dwarves empires and, seeing failure after failure, feel that their aim should be compassion and humility, rather than political or military strength. Unlike many of their kin, Ghuhuh feel that their fates are inextricably tied to those of Gomdirth's other races, and they make no effort to pull away or isolate themselves. Ironically though, so reclusive are Ghuhuh settlements that, despite their open nature, Ghuhuh rarely actually see people from outside their race. But all are welcomed when they arrive on Kharrim.

Of all the humanoid races of Gomdirth, the ones most familiar with the Ghuhuh are the Zhufan, the seafaring Dwarves of the North, who's southern border meant many Zhufan often lived within the vicinity of the Ghuhuh. Still, few Zhufan have ever actually met a Ghuhuh, and when they do it is often largely by chance. However, when meetings did occur, they were largely friendly, and they see the Ghuhuh themselves as allies and teachers of humanity, rather than as rivals.

Ghuhuh remain wary, at best, of the Duergar. Of all the peoples of Gomdirth, it is the Duergar that the Ghuhuh trust the least.

Ghuhuh Lands

Capitol City: Dunguruhm, deep forest of Kharrim

When the Dwarves broke upon the surface of Gomdirth like a great crashing waterfall, it was the Ghuhuh who first sought solace in the lush greenery of plant life above ground. So drawn to the green and the fresh growth of life were they, that large numbers went south, following the green across the ocean to the forested continent of Kharrim. There they made their home, and there they have remained. Ghuhuh are an isolated people, shielded and protected by the natural barrier of the vast Kharrim forest. The forest is not without it's dangers though, as many Ghuhuh Dwarves have disappeared into the wooded darkness, never to return.

Religion

Ghuhuh, ever seeking balance, honor all the Pantheon houses equally, in eight ceremonies through out the solar year. More than a religious rite or faithful worshipping, these ceremonies are meant the appease the gods of the Pantheon, in an attempt to maintain the Ghuhuh's independence from oversight of the gods. Since the spark of the soul forge, Dwarves have been at the beck and call of the Gomdirth Pantheon, and the Ghuhuh preferred freedom from this obligation over everything else.

The Honor of the Pantheons begins on the first day of the solar calendar, and ends on the last. There are a total of 64 days of respite throught out the year, eight days after every house honored.

Classes and Professions

Ghuhuh are generally uncomfortable with most forms of magic, viewing wizards and other arcane spellcasters with no small amount of distrust. Clerics and other divine spellcasters fare little better in Ghuhuh eyes, who see their prayers as a useless call to distant gods of the Duranihl Council, who serve their own whims and desires. However, Ghuhuh are largely at ease with the ways of the primal magic used by druids, barbarians, shamans, and wardens, which they feel is the truest expression of supernatural power—or rather, a reflection of nature itself, used to protect the wilderness. However, Ghuhuh are not completely adverse to arcane magic and Ghuhuh bards, sorcerers, and wizards are far from unknown, although as a whole, they have no particular tradition of the arcane arts.

Ghuhuh Background

Zhufan

Fish mongers and pirates of the northern seas, the Zhufan are adventurous and hardy folk. They were the first to take to the seas after the decline of the Glimmer Age, and have ruled over the northern straits ever since. Their kingdom is the most expansive, positioning them as strong economic leaders and trade negotiators with the other races.

Zhufan pride themselves in being well traveled, worldly, and knowledgeable about Gomdirth in a way that no other race can match. While the Khuzud have mapped the subterranean holds of their ancient kingdoms, it is the Zhufan that have charted the seas, and settled the northern continents. Zhufan are skilled swimmers, and it is a rite of passage for all young Zhufan to swim the Hemfast Channel.

Zhufan Traits

Zhufan Background

Duergar

In the early days of the Glimmer Age, the Goddess Haela tired of the peace between Dwarves factions. Her domain grew weak as law and order grew across the regions of Gomdirth. She struck a deal with Dunathor to grant any Dwarf who pledged fealty unnatural long life, and power beyond the capabilities of the other Dwarves races. Recruited from among every faction, they became the Duergar, or Gray Folk. Servants of Haela and Dunathor, Duergar tend to the expired souls of the Dwarves, and do the bidding of the God of Death upon Gomdirth.

Religion

Duergar are a religious people, even if their religion is more of direct knowledge than faith.

Classes and Professions

Unlike the Ghuhuh and Zhufan, Duergar have a strong tradition of magic, both in the divine and arcane varieties and Duergar clerics, runecasters, runesmiths, and wizards are highly respected for their skill. In particular, the Duergar have a fondness for magically crafted items that they can use to aid them in combat, protect their minds against tampering, or to hide from enemy senses. Duergar craft many magic items unique to them among the crafted wonders of the Dwarves.

Duergar Background

Archetypes

Dwarves who take up the adventuring life might be motivated by a desire for treasure — for its own sake, for a specific purpose, or even out of an altruistic desire to help others. Other dwarves are driven by the command or inspiration of a deity, a direct calling or simply a desire to bring glory to one of the dwarf gods. Clan and ancestry are also important motivators. A dwarf might seek to restore a clan’s lost honor, avenge an ancient wrong the clan suffered, or earn a new place within the clan after having been exiled. Or a dwarf might search for the axe wielded by a mighty ancestor, lost on the field of battle centuries ago.

There are many ways that Dwarves find fame, fortune, and glory on Gomdirth. Those Dwarves that can wield magic often find themselves becoming important members of society, and history. Brave adventurers seek out dangerous and rare foes in remote regions of the world to create a legacy.

Clerics, paladins, and other holy magic users are common among the magic folk of Gomdirth, especially in larger cities where faith and martial services have often melded to form religious oligarchies.

Rogue

Pirate

Rogue Archetype

You spent your youth under the sway of a dread pirate, a ruthless cutthroat who taught you how to survive in a world of sharks and savages. Now, you've become a feared pirate in your own right. You have indulged in larceny on the high seas and sent more than one deserving soul to a briny grave. Bloodshed and the pursuit of treasure are no strangers to you, and you've garnered a somewhat unsavory reputation in many a port town.

Mariner
At 3rd level, while you are not wearing heavy armor or using a shield, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC, and you have climbing and swimming speeds equal to your walking speed.

Underhanded Strike
At 3rd level, you don't need the Finesse property on a weapon to use your Sneak Attack if that weapon is being wielded in one hand. All other restrictions for that class feature still apply.

Practiced Sailor
At 9th level, you gain proficiency with navigator's tools and water vehicles if you don't already have them. You double your proficiency bonus for any check that uses these proficiencies.

Slippery as an Eel
Starting at 13th level, when you use your Uncanny Dodge to halve the damage of a melee attack against you, you can also move up to 15 feet away from the source of the damage as part of the same reaction. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

Dread Pirate
Starting at 17th level, you can use a bonus action on your turn to attempt to demoralize a number of humanoids equal to or less than your Charisma modifier. To be affected, a target must be within 30 feet of you and must be able to see or hear you. Make a Charisma (Intimidation) check contested by the target's Wisdom (Insight) check. If your check succeeds, that target becomes frightened by you until the end of your next turn. If your check fails, that target can't be frightened by you in this way for 1 hour. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until after you next roll initiative.

Bard

Cleric

Servant of Haela

Cleric Archetype

Once a Divine Cleric now an instrument of death, Servants of Haela wield the unnatural powers to bring back the dead as ghouls and Zombies, Spread Plague and Curses, and cut down their foes with inhuman strength. Many consider them Inherently evil though some actually fight for good, they are all look down upon for their undead nature.

Restrictions: Duergar only.
Only Duergar can join the ranks of Servants of Haela. The Servant fills a particular niche in Duergar society and culture. Your DM can lift this restriction to better suit the campaign.

Adept of Dugmaren

Cleric Archetype

Followers of Dugmaren aren’t necessarily Holy individuals, but more so tinkers, inventors, and students of industry.

Obsessed with the concept of all things mechanical, Dugmaren's Adepts study diligently in order to further understand the mysteries of Order, Synergy and the betterment of organic species through the study of the synthetic.

Followers of Dugmaren have managed to achieve respect among the synthetic hierarchy by developing and creating platforms on the mortal plane, further extending the reach of the Infinity Web. They invent and build to increase the flow of information, and Dugmaren's Adepts receive his protection in return.

Domain Spells

Bonus Proficiencies
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency with all ranged weapons and tinker’s tools.

Reinforced Armor
At 1st level, you gain the ability to reinforce your armor with nanofibers from the infinity web. Once per long rest, you can touch one nonmagical suit of armor. Until the end of your next long rest or until you die, the object becomes magically reinforced, granting a resistance to physical damage.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Infinity Web Search
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to glean useful information you may otherwise be unaware of.

Once per long rest, you can think of information you or your party need that you may otherwise have a difficult time unearthing on your own. You can utilize the Infinity Web of the Mechanus Realm to find this information.

This information could be as simple as a name, or as complex as the potential location of a hidden artifact. You can be as descriptive as you can imagine, but how your information is relayed back to you and in what amount is solely up to the DM’s discretion.

You also gain advantage on intelligence based skill rolls and ability checks for the next hour.

Field Medic Drones
Starting at 6th level, your mastery over your automatons grants you special abilities.

Your mechanical summons can be used for moderate healing as well as offense. Any conjured machine on the battlefield can use its regular attack power to administer quick healing to your allies. When using your bonus action to issue a command, you can instead use its damage roll to heal a willing ally. For example, if an ally is in the field of view of a Sentry Turret you’ve cast, it can use its 4d4 damage roll as bonus hp to the target.

The target must make a Constitution saving throw equal to or higher than your Spellcasting Modifier, or the healing is only half as effective.

Automatons with the Multi-attack feature use this healing mechanic in place of their attack action, effectively negating their Multi-attack action for that turn.

Clockwork Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to apply your aptitude for industry to your weapon strikes with the power of steam and clockwork. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 force damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Master of the Machine
At 17th level, your mastery over gadgets and machines becomes more powerful:

• Your summoned constructs last twice as long.
• While wearing reinforced armor, you also have a +1 bonus to AC. This bonus increases to +2 when you hit level 20.

Domain Spells

Druid

Companion Evolution Traits

Religion

The spark of Dwarves life was ignited in the deepest reaches of the earth, and that life would prove to be a difficult one, even after they burst through to the surface. In the most difficult times, Dwarves would turn their heads from the stone and cry out for reprieve. Sometimes their cries were answered. Thus religion was born, and would shape the clergies and goverments of each Dwarves faction for ages.

The Dwarves revere four tools as sacred, many cultures believe they were given to them by their gods:

Gods and Deities

Dwarves religion is polytheistic, with several hundred patron gods of extremely varied dominions. Some of the more popular include Tarfundil, the patron god of hearth and home, or Sundethar, patron god of fire and pyroclasms. It's common for places of worship to specialize in different Houses of patron gods, grouping them based on dominion, alignment, or powers. It's also common for places of worship to make offerings or rituals to appease the "darker" gods.

Unlike other planes, on Gomdirth siting deities is fairly common. The gods walk among the Dwarves, and often answer prayers in person. Their powers are limited by their dominion, but are unquestionably the most powerful beings anywhere on Gomdirth. The gods can appear as they choose, but most often appear in a similar form as the worshiper to make them more comfortable and dissuade any loss of faith due to inherent distrust of the other factions.

Artifacts

The realm of Gomdirth is littered with powerful magic items and weapons. Some crafted by the Gods themselves, and others by master blacksmiths and archmages of the Dwarves factions.

Legendary Dwarven Tools

The four tools of the Gomdirth Pantheon were used in the ancient history of Dwarves to fabricate the Eightfold Axe. This weapon was gifted to the most noble of the ancient Khuzud lords, and bestowed upon him the kingship of his people. Since its creation, the Eightfold Axe has been the most powerful, and thus the most coveted, magic weapon on Gomdirth. Wars have been fought, thousands of lives lost, in an attempt to gain possession of the Eightfold Axe. It is believed that the Axe was confiscated after the fall of the Glimmer Age, when Telfa ruled that the Axe wielded too much magic over its subjects. However, Duergar spies within the kingdom of Onidor have come to believe that it is back in the possession of the Khuzud. While there is considerable information relevant to the Axe, very little has ever been discussed regarding the implements used in its creation.

Earthheart Forge

This massive structure, complete with bellows and a planar links to the elemental planes, can be shrunk down to a tiny cubit for portability and is otherwise very similar to an Instant Fortress in composition. Only when in use on crafting items are the other properties of the Forge available. The Earthheart Forge can be used to increase the effectiveness of item creation in a variety of ways.

1. It can awaken the sentience of an inanimate object, granting it the properties of an Intelligent Item, grafting a soul to the item.
   
2. The Forge can be used to increase (double) the hardness and HP value of items which it's used to craft.
   
3. Broken items which are mostly complete can be made whole by the Forge. Those who are returned to life by the Forge are Reincarnated, as the spell cast by a 20th level divine caster, as a Dwarf in the image of Moradin.
   
4. Planar links provide ample resources for a smith working at the Forge which account for any and all Experience Point costs associated with Item Crafting, when the Earthheart Forge is mostly used as apart of those processes. Items which are not mostly mineral or metallic in nature do not benefit from this power of the Earthheart Forge. When employed with the Anvil of Songs and Shaping Hammer, the wielder gains the benefits of any Item Creation feats. These are temporary feats and do not provide qualification as the character having selected the Item Creation feats.

Items and Gear | Artifacts

Rare Items

Monsters of Kharrim

Kipine

Believed to be a magical mutation of the owlbear, the Kipine takes to the skies above the forests of Kharrim. Though occasionally spotted in the forests of Southern Vagdorth, the Kipine's native home is the deep forests of Kharrim. Cloaked in a thick, feathery hide, it's arms have evolved into large, flexible wings and it's hind legs taper off into a pair of sharp talons. On it's flat face, large, moonlike eyes gift it with excellent night vision; tall ears are capped by a set of imposing antlers that the Kipine uses to gouge larger prey.

Nocturnal Predator. The Kipine's keen senses afford it a nittime hunting ability that, when paired with their swift reflexes, give it a reputation as one of Kharrim's most notorious natural predators. In a similar fashion, the Kipine shares the unbridled aggression and stubborn ferocity of their owlbear cousins. They prefer to keep to themselves, silently stealing gold, ornaments, and trinkets from nearby Ghuhuh townships to hoard in their nests.

Owlbear Origins. Many elements of the Kipine's biological construction and behavior mimic those of the owlbear, which has lead many druid scholars to believe they have a conceptual connection to the magic that spawned them. However, the Kipine's affections seldom develop past mutual respect, and will only very rarely allow another creature to ride atop it.

Monster of the Bugdihn Islands

Monsters of Vagdorth