Gracklstugh

Visitors to the duergar city of Gracklstugh are greeted by its hot and acrid air, followed by the angry red glare of the eternally burning smelters fuelling the city’s metal works, its clanging heart, and the forges kept alive by the flames of Themberchaud, the red dragon that holds the title of Wyrmsmith. Gracklstugh toils endlessly, its smiths churning out the best armour and weapons among the Underdark races. Those who do business here refer to Gracklstugh as “the City of Blades”.

As merciless as it can be, Gracklstugh is a major bastion of civilisation in the Underdark with active trade routes. Built within the walls of a deep cavern southwest of the Darklake, Gracklstugh is the commercial, political, and spiritual centre of the duergar, all of whom look to the Deepking with respect. The city has an open shore along the Darklake, while several caverns and passages connect Gracklstugh to other parts of the Underdark to facilitate travel and trade.

This city is policed by the Stone guard, who can become invisible at will and so crime is rare. Most recently, the city is said to have been the site of a vicious attack from Themberchaud.

Demographics

10,000 duergar, 2,000 derro, 50 stone giants, and an unknown number of slaves (quaggoths, grimlocks, orcs, shield dwarves, svirfneblin, and a few kobolds and goblinoids)

Government

Absolute monarchy

Defences

Large standing army with specialized corps; every duergar is trained for battle, and the citizens of the city create a formidable militia

Industry & Trade

Weapons and armor of high quality; various fungi, molds, and exotic creatures for food; trade from across the Underdark and the surface world

Guilds and Factions

The Council of Lairds, the Council of Savants, the Merchant Council, the Keepers of the Flame, Clan Cairngorm, the Gray Ghosts, and others

Architecture

No art

Geography

The cavern housing Gracklstugh is split in two by a rift called Laduguer's Furrow, after the duergar patron god. The north half comprises Northfurrow District, where common workers and the clans devoted to minor crafts make their home, and Darklake District, open to foreigners and where the city's merchants engage in trade with visitors. As befits a major settlement in a dangerous realm, Gracklstugh places no restrictions on the weapons or gear characters can carry or trade.

Twelve stone bridges lead to Southfurrow District. and then farther south to Flowstone District. These boroughs are reserved for the more prestigious clans and the largest smelters and forges Themberchaud ignites during his flights. The wyrmsmith's lair and the cavern complex the stone giants of Cairngorm clan call home both connect to these districts.

Alternative Name(s)

City of Blades

Type

City

Population

12,000+

Location under

Underdark

Grackle-Lung

The constant smog in Gracklstugh causes grackle-lung in living, breathing creatures, resulting in persistent, wracking coughs and the spewing of thick, black phlegm. Most of the denizens of Gracklstugh have built up an immunity to grackle-lung, but visitors to the City of Blades must contend with the ever present threat of the pollution, with those who stay too long without taking any precautions, sometimes dying.