Highhelm
Built within Emperor's Peak in the Five Kings Mountains, Highhelm has been the centre of dwarven culture on Avistan for millennia. It is one of ten ancient dwarven structures known as Sky Citadels, fortified cities the dwarves built when they completed their Quest for Sky and first emerged onto the surface of Golarion.
Highhelm is home to many dwarven clans, each of which belongs to one of three broadly defined classes: the most-respected Goldhilt clans, the crafters of the Steelhilt clans, and the farming and labour class of the Ironhilt clans.
Districts
As the dwarves burrowed towards the surface during their Quest for Sky, they built massive structures within Emperor's Peak, which gradually formed the city of Highhelm. The foundation of the metropolis winds through the entire mountain before its tunnels finally enter what most people refer to when they speak of Highhelm: the most populous and highest layer of the fortress-city called King's Crown. Beneath King's Crown are three other distinct levels: King's Heart, Stonebreach, and the Depths. Each of these layers consists of numerous districts. See the individual articles for further details.Government
To most outsiders, Highhelm appears to be just another monarchy ruled by a king holding near-absolute power. Royal decrees establish nearly all major laws, and High King Borogrim the Hale clearly holds sway throughout Emperor’s Peak and, to a lesser extent, all of the Five Kings Mountains. There are other organizations that carry authority, from the Crown Council, which meets with the king on a regular basis; to members of the Order of the Mantle; to further collections of influential clan guild leaders, artisans, religious figures, traders, and notable citizens that clearly hold some sway. The authority of these additional influences seems to be limited to overseeing areas for which High King Borogrim has granted them domain or the ability to argue their point of view directly to the king. But in fact, the government structure of Highhelm is much more complex than that, with traditions bolstered by the force of law, opportunities for veto votes, the Crown Council’s power of dethroning, and some restrictions on what the high king must do to speak “for the Crown” before making a royal edict.
These complexities date back to the earliest centuries of the Quest for Sky. Obviously, forming the entire population of multiple subterranean dwarven nations into a single mobile, armed caravan was an extraordinary task, and many factions brought together by Taargick required concessions to their clans and guilds in return for supporting the first High King. These grants of special rights were codified when Tar Taargadth was formed, and reacknowledged during the creation of the Kingdom of Gardadth after Tar Taargadth fell. The majority of modern dwarven aristocracy gain their status from their family, clan, or guild being given a “Crown Rank,” by Taargick or one of the High Kings who came after him.
While many Crown Ranks correspond to other nations’ dukes, barons, knights, and so on, others are unique titles that exist only for the inheritors of those who originally held the rank, and come with unique privileges. The most common privileges are to be represented on a Crown Council and that the high king be required to consult your representative before making a binding proclamation. Other, rarer privileges include the right to call for a veto vote of any high king proclamation, held by only a very small number of aristocrats, and requiring a three-quarters majority of the council to agree with the call. Each of the twelve major clans of Highhelm have a representative of their choice on the council, and a few clans have more than one.
Of all Crown Ranks, only two retain the right to call for a vote to dethrone the current high king; the Tollor clan and the Founder’s Guild. The Tollor clan’s current councillor is Grand Matron Daglyth the Stern, a nearly-400-year-old staunch traditionalist. The Founder’s Guild's representative is its Guild Master, Masterfounder Orgrott Cinderskin.
Though the high king is allowed to name his own councillors, the rights of 26 various aristocrat lines promise that they will never make up less than half the council, leading the high kings of Highhelm to traditionally name 25 of their own councillors to match. These traditionally include a senior priest of Torag, a representative from the Order of the Mantle, a member of the king’s bodyguard (currently the Hale Circle), a provost for each city neighbourhood (responsible for being aware of issues in their neighbourhood, but often lacking any formal authority there), and the grand general of the city’s military forces.
The high king also normally appoints a few trusted aids and servants who serve some specific function of the government. Such duties are referred to as “having a Crown Ward,” and the holders are thus given the rank “Warder.” Examples include the Warder of the Treasury, the Warder of Trade, the Warder of Prisons, and the Warder of Heraldry. There are many more Warders working for the high king than are appointed to the Crown Council, and some aristocrats friendly to the high king are also invested as warders in addition to managing their own affairs. Most of the twelve major clans have numerous members named as minor warders ranging from the Warder of Highhelm Art and Music to the Warder of Refuse in an effort to keep cordial relations with those influential groups.
Law Enforcement and Military
Enforcement of Highhelm’s laws falls on the shoulders of the Emperor’s Watch, the official city guard. Their jurisdiction includes the entirety of Highhelm as well as the immediate surroundings of the Emperor’s Peak, out to around a half-mile radius from the mountain. The watch is broken into five branches: the King’s Watch covers King’s Crown, the Heart Guard watches over King’s Heart, the Stone Officers cover Stonebreach, the Deep Sentinels patrol the Depths, and the Lookout guards the environs outside of the city. Joining the Emperor’s Watch requires completion of a year-long basic training and continual training in the specialized techniques of a given branch. Many guards ask for regular rotations between branches to learn the techniques of all five over their careers. Guards who achieve this status, can apply to join the Order of the Mantle, the city’s unofficial sixth branch. Mantle guards are considered the best in the city and only undertake specialized missions on behalf of the crown or in answer to very specific calls from the other branches. Highhelm’s military also maintains a high standard, with every member of the Highhelm First Army undergoing two years of basic training, which includes combat techniques, survival skills, and tactics in different environments. While it’s not required, most Highhelm soldiers learn to fight as stalwart defenders, pushing their defensive techniques to the limit. Even during peacetime, the city’s army takes regular missions that vary from clearing the tunnels of the Five Kings Mountains of monsters to aiding other groups such as the Knights of Lastwall.Industry & Trade
Highhelm is a major centre for both industry and trade, overseen by guilds and unions that lead their respective fields. It is a nexus of commercial exchange that see visitors from all over the world. Markets within the city are generally small but numerous, and offer a diverse number of goods and services throughout the three main levels of the city.
Industry
Highhelm hosts numerous industries essential for the city's operation.Breatherwalls
Highhelm uses a variety of cultivated lichen to produce and purify the air within the city. The lichen grows upon porous latticed walls in residential areas. Druids create these "breatherwalls" to improve air quality and dampen otherwise deafening noises that could echo through the halls of the underground city. The breatherwalls are so efficient, the city is capable of subsisting entirely on their produced air, even if every air shaft and entrance is sealed away to defend Highhelm against a potential siege.Brewing
The breweries and distilleries of Highhelm are known for the quality of alcohol they produce. Two varieties of the city's beverages are the Highhelm Deepdraught, a brown ale aged in the magically resonant caverns of the Darklands; and Taarghal Spirit Smoke, a whisky flavoured with the fronds of a local kind of flora known as Taarghal cavernspike.Grindlegrubs
Grindlegrubs are a species of large cave grubs that the dwarves keep in large underground pits within Highhelm. The dwarves collect all organic waste in the city and deposit it in these pits, where the grindlegrubs consume it. They are highly efficient recyclers of the nutrients in the material they are fed. Besides sanitation, the dwarves also use grindlegrubs to produce various animal products, such as fat for candles, soap, and machine lubricant. The meat can either be cooked as a delicacy or compacted into nutritious, but bland ration bricks. Fried grindlegrub is also a common street food in Highhelm.Mining
Thousands of years of mining has largely depleted Highhelm of its mineral wealth, although veins of copper, iron, and adamantine can still be found in the Depths. Some small deposits of gems are remain beneath Emperor's Peak. Anything extracted by mining is kept by the city, as Highhelm no longer produces enough raw ore to export.Metalwork
Highhelm is a significant centre for smelting and metalcraft, relying on imported ore. The practice of metal refinement is extremely sophisticated, using a combination of technology and magic to reduce the amount of toxic by-products generated by the craft. Highhelm's smiths are renowned throughout the world for the durability and artisanal quality of their work.Stonemasonry
As the city of Highhelm has been carved into the depths of Emperor's Peak, stonemasonry has emerged as a revered trade that holds a prominent position within the city. While the export of stonework is limited, Highhelm's esteemed stonemasons occasionally undertake prestigious commissions to design and supervise the construction of foreign palaces, cathedrals, and guildhalls. However, such endeavours are only pursued when the proposed structures are deemed worthy of their exceptional craftsmanship.Transport
The Harnessers' Guild oversees the logistics and handling of goods through the Five Kings Mountains. Highhelm's many imports depend on the organisation, which has taken to using mules for aboveground and upper-level transport, while delegating the same function to draft lizards in the lower levels, the Depths, and beyond.Trade
Northeast of Highhelm, dwarves control the Five Kings Mountains with unquestioned authority, and passage among the many high peaks remains relatively safe from living dangers. Dwarven caravans from Highhelm seldom travel to nearby Darkmoon Vale, however, and most head west into Isger or Molthune. Roughly two or three times a decade, a group of Highhelm merchants gathers together and sends a caravan along the treacherous scree-covered trails that wind perilously through the mountains. The dwarves prefer to hire dozens of mercenaries to augment their tough dwarven guards and to act as arrow-fodder and spear-catchers during the inevitable attacks on these wealthy caravans.Guilds and Factions
All respectable trades and crafts practised in Highhelm have their own guilds. Full membership is generally limited to dwarven practitioners who have proved their skill by presenting a masterwork for formal consideration to the guildmasters. Provisional membership is for apprentices, journeymen, and qualified foreigners. While there is no formal bylaw reserving full membership for dwarves, in practice this unspoken rule is firmly observed. On rare occasion, an extraordinary non-dwarven artisan may be considered for full membership, but this is reserved for only the most acclaimed masters in a craft.
Each guildhall’s lower levels contain archives of the guild’s history and the development of their industry, and often include galleries displaying storied artisans’ finest achievements. These areas are open to the public, and are frequently toured by schoolchildren and tourists. Guildhalls’ upper levels are reserved for members and select clients, and contain meeting rooms, reference libraries, specialized workshops or practice areas, social club spaces, and private lodgings.
Guilds in related trades are grouped together in unions. Workers who are not skilled or specialized enough to qualify for guild membership may still join the union that most closely aligns with their profession. For example, the Guild of Smiths, the Smelters’ Hall, and the Miners’ Guild are all gathered together into the Metalmakers’ Union, and members of those guilds are also members of that union. Individual metalworkers who do not qualify for membership in any of the three constituent guilds can also petition for inclusion in the Metalmakers’ Union.
The following are some of Highhelm’s major guilds and unions.
The Metalmakers’ Union
This union gathers workers involved in the extraction, purification, and smithing of metals. Major constituents include the Miners’ Guild, the Smelters’ Hall, and the Guild of Smiths. Engineers, alchemists, elementalists, and transmuters working in earth and metal congregate here. Additionally, given the importance of underground fortifications and demolitions in dwarven combat, the Metalmakers’ Union often works closely with Highhelm’s military and mercenaries to bolster city fortifications and plan ways of undermining potential enemies.The Provisioners’ Union
This union includes workers in food- and drink-related trades, such as the Brewers’ and Distillers’ Guild, the Guild of Knife and Fire (encompassing Highhelm’s chefs, cooks, and kitchen workers), the aquaculture-focused Fishfarmers’ Guild, and—after some initially heated disputes—the Grindlegrubbers’ Guild, which was eventually ruled to belong with the Provisioners in part because they not only provide food for dwarves, draft lizards, and fish alike, but also because they dispose of so much kitchen waste and brewers’ grain that it was only logical to include them with their interrelated trades.The Roadwardens’ Union
Those who travel through Highhelm and the Five Kings Mountains are likely to make use of the services provided through the Roadwardens’ Union, which gathers together the Mapmakers’ Guild, the Guild of Guides and Porters, and the Harnessers’ Guild of muleteers and lizard-drivers. The Roadwardens’ Union is capable of providing light security, which is sufficient for most merchant caravans, but will contract with the Union of Axe and Coin to protect exceptionally valuable or dangerous cargo.History
The history of Highhelm is almost synonymous with the history of the dwarves. Highhelm began its existence as the jewel of the dwarven empire of Tar Taargadth in the late years of the Age of Destiny (-3470 AR to -1 AR), and retained this honour for centuries before the empire's collapse to the waves of orc hordes in 1551 AR.
After the fall of Tar Taargadth, the baron-mayor of Highhelm, Torheim Gardrick I, founded the Mighty Kingdom of Gardadth in 1557 AR, one of the five dwarven kingdoms in the area (the source of the present-day name of Five Kings Mountains), alongside Saggorak, Doggadth, Grakodan, Taggoret. The five kingdoms eventually fell to orc hordes in 2497 AR, though Highhelm endured due to its impenetrable defences.
When Khadon the Mighty reclaimed the Five Kings Mountains for the dwarves and founded the kingdom of Tar Khadurm in 3279 AR, the importance of Highhelm decreased for several centuries. In 3980 AR, Torag's Crag erupted, destroying Tar Khadurm's capital city, Jernashall. The kingdom fell soon after and the capital moved back to Highhelm. After the fall of Droskar's Kingdom in 4466 AR, Highhelm has played a central role in maintaining what remains of the dwarves' once great legacy.
Highhelm
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