Khazad-Nogaak

This “mountain of the dwarves” is the mythical birthplace of the dwarves, where the dwarves first awoke and emerged from the mountains. The city is home to a massive hoard of precious gems and gold, mined beneath the world’s end mountains. The dwarves of khazad-nogaak live comfortably, only venturing out from their halls to fight off dragons, orcs and other would-be usurpers.

Government and Trade

The dwarves of khazad-nogaak are relatively safe from orcish invasion while kal-kadred stands watch, and as such the city has enjoyed relative peace for millennia. As the ancestral homeland of the dwarves, the city also serves as the cultural capital of the dwarves. Here, dwarven historians study the history of the world and pore over maps and ancient scrolls. Great gilded burial chambers are constructed to hold the remains of Dwarven kings (all of whom are interred here).
Though king Magdin Fireforge rules as king under the mountain, the clergy holds the real power (led by First Cleric Ginarr Stonewrought). They ensure only the finest works leave the forges and workshops of the city and oversee trade with Northern Sydonia. The temple of the three in Khazad-Nogaak serves as the religious center of the Dwarves, where clerics and paladins from across the world travel to in pilgrimage to see the walls from which the first dwarves were carved and molded.
In 1778 AD, King Magdin Fireforge was possessed by a Balor and attacked the adventurers known as the fabulous few while they attempted to request reinforcements against the great Jotun army. The balor was slain along with the king, and his young son Meradin ascended to the throne (with the First Cleric acting as steward).

Military

Dragons are a constant threat in the mountains of the north (and doubly so for a city with a mythical treasure hoard), and thus the military of khazad-nogaak trains in the use of ballista and cannon. Led by General Holni Firebeard, the army consists of scouts, marksmen, warriors and the holy (paladins and clerics). While well trained and supplied by the forges of Khazad-Nogaak, the army is seldom needed and as such has little experience. As adventurers have become more common in recent years, the kingdom has taken to hiring them rather than send out dragonslayers into the mountains. While orc warbands occasionally make it this far west into the mountains, they are seldom in large enough numbers to trouble the people of khazad-nogaak. Thus the standing army of Khazad-Nogaak is more often than not occupied with policing the halls of the city rather than fighting wars or slaying dragons. Crime in Khazad-nogaak is higher than in any other dwarven hold, leading some to believe the great treasure hoard beneath the city to be cursed.

Maps

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  Khazad-Nogaak

Government: Elective Monarchy
Ruler: King Meradin Fireforge
Size: Large City
Population: 40,000
Economy: Mining, smithing, trade.
Races: Dwarves 92% rock gnomes 2% Other 6%