Hammerock, The City of Gears
Hammerock most often refers to the city of gears, however, it does extend beyond these parts into a large chasm that has existed since before the city. It was rumored to be a part of a grand underground network of passages and caves in the deep dark of the world. Mushroom farms and mining operations take place in the open flats of the cavern with the City of Gears at the center as a bastion of dwarven civilization. Even farms with strange subterranean cattle that subsist of mushrooms and little to no light environments.
Demographics
The city of Hammerock is almost entirely dwarven (96%) with smaller numbers of other races.
Government
The dwarves have a parliament style leadership with the leader known as the High King, their religious leader is the Stone Warden with the surname of Volgrim. The two of these then elect to raise up a third dwarf to be the Conservator, they are an enforcer and champion of the people sworn to be a defender and often the head general of their armies and in charge of the police force.
The Dwarves then have a council that meets in the ironically named ‘Chamber of Whispers’, the Dwarves are a very loud and argumentative race and the chamber is filled with anything but whispers. Dwarves often come across as argumentative for no reason, finding a nit to pick, making mountains out of molehills. This is because the dwarves believe that when an issue is presented the solution needs to be formed from all possible opinions being voiced. Playing devil’s advocate is an expected part of dwarven arguments and politics. This behavior does not represent all their grumblings and prickly temperaments, but it is a large portion of them.
Infrastructure
Hammerock is the culmination of the efforts of the Dwarves to create a metropolis under the mountains of their land. The City itself is divided into nine different layers in the shape of massive stone wheels having been cut out from the stone of the mountains itself. Each wheel has spokes that form where the markets and general living space of the Dwarves are, the teeth of the gears are the residences of the layers largest and most powerful families. The Axle for these wheels is known as the Spire of Glory, a massive stone pillar where names of those who gave their lives to the defense or glory of the Dwarves. It is a postmortem honor that is given and benefits the family of the Dwarf more than anything.
The different layers are each named after what the dwarves view as important. Stone, Copper, Iron, Steel, Diamond, Mithral, Silver, Gold, and Forge. Generally speaking the higher the layer the lower class, the population, this is however not the case with the Diamond layer which is the cultural wheel, where their temples are, the lore keepers, Rune smiths, the government districts, The crafter’s guild headquarters, and major markets of the Dwarves. The Steel and Mithral layers are the nobles, lesser nobles are in Steel, while the mid-tier nobles are in the Mithral. The Forge layer is one that leads to many mines and has most of the forges of the city that can produce any known metal and it widely regarded as the largest forge works in the world.
Each wheel has eight spokes with thirty-two massive pillars that provide the support to all the layers, these have been carved into statues of their Gods, Kings, or other important figures of the race. The inner pillars near the Spire of Glory formed large staircases that allow foot travel between the layers. The southeast tooth of each level had a series of mechanical elevators that can provide faster travel to the different layers as well as transferring supplies from the outside world and to bring their forged wares out. Great metal gears and chains powered by alchemical engines that belch smoke and fire power the mechanization of the elevators.
Being underground earthquakes pose a significant danger to the city, there are very heavy-duty chains that help hold the different levels and if an earthquake occurs, they can release the normal clamping and let the city hang and sway with the earth. The problem with this is it is only designed to protect the disc, not the buildings on it, a fact that is forgotten by most. When the clamps are released the disc falls before the chains tighten and weaker buildings can collapse once the chains snap taught. Thankfully such disasters are very rare due to protective runes sanctified by the followers of The Warden, who goes by the name Rurmerika Magmaheart to the dwarves..
Climate:
The city is underground so it is shielded from the worst of the weather from the surface being large enough though it does have its own sort of biome with an elaborate series of ventilation tunnels and water collection from the mountains the city is able to keep fresh air and water, heat is provided by the never ending process of forging going on in the lower levels.
Crime: In the higher levels of the city, as well as within the cavern space crime groups have formed sometimes from the ‘Nameless’ outcasts, others just desperate people trying to make ends meet. That isn’t to say that there aren’t the truly wicked in Hammerock, as there are, and they can gain quite the criminal following if they want to. Some think the Rustbeard family is one such example of this.
Geography: A massive city suspended on a series of gears that reaches from the depths of the cavern up to the surface. The cavern itself is over half a mile tall and has a 25-mile radius around the central city, with some exceptions from rock formations around the edges.
Crime: In the higher levels of the city, as well as within the cavern space crime groups have formed sometimes from the ‘Nameless’ outcasts, others just desperate people trying to make ends meet. That isn’t to say that there aren’t the truly wicked in Hammerock, as there are, and they can gain quite the criminal following if they want to. Some think the Rustbeard family is one such example of this.
Geography: A massive city suspended on a series of gears that reaches from the depths of the cavern up to the surface. The cavern itself is over half a mile tall and has a 25-mile radius around the central city, with some exceptions from rock formations around the edges.
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