Peer Council

A peer council was the legislative body of a dwarven clan or kingdom. Technically comprised of the clan's masters, the peer council voted on the clan's financial matters. Typically, the peer council only met to grant or denying permission for the thane to use the clan's funds on a new project but, in extreme cases, a peer council could overrule the thane on any number of other issues.

Structure

Any member of a dwarven clan who'd achieved the rank of master was eligible to vote on their clan's peer council. While roughly one-third of a dwarven clan's population were considered masters, often a much smaller percentage – ten to fifteen percent – would attend the average meeting of the peer council. In order to pass or overturn a ruling, the council needed a simple majority of votes.
Both the thane and any guests or outsiders were strictly forbidden at the council meetings.

Deep Masters

The peer councils of the Khûm's Elder Clans were much larger than those of the smaller underclan. Thus, they developed an alternate method for the council's deliberation. A Deep Master was a master – elected by the other members of the council – to have increased sway during a vote. A Deep Master's vote counted for thrice the normal number of votes; in addition, Deep Masters tended to lead political thought on the council, meaning they could influence more votes than simply their own.

Powers

The peer council's power was essentially a check on a tyrannical thane. They could deny them access to the clan's stockpile, in the event the thane proposed a new construction project the clan didn't approve of. They often functioned as a budgetary committee, advising the thane on how their great work should be constructed. Beyond this, they could occasionally circumvent the thane's other plans, though they usually had no say in defense or public policy.
A peer council could not propose their own projects, nor undertake endeavors on their own. They were purely meant as a buffer on the thane's power, representing the clan's interest as a whole. They could not depose a thane but, when united, could completely curtail a thane's ability to accomplish anything.

Procedures

Each clan's peer council was unique and operated under its own customs and traditions. There were several generalities that were broadly true across most peer councils, however.
A master could call a peer council meeting with as little as two hours notice. Any masters that attended that meeting were each granted a vote. Not attending a council meeting was essentially a forfeit of one's vote. The master who called the meeting would discuss their proposal – usually a judgment on the thane's latest action. The masters could debate for approximately one hour, after which time a vote was called. Different clans used different methods to vote; famously, the Peer Congress of Truethrone used literal weights on an enormous iron scale but most underclans had simpler methods still.
Once a verdict was reached, all dwarves of the clan were bound to abide by the decision, the thane included.

Peer Congress

Main Article: Peer Congress
Based in Truethrone, the Peer Congress was a legislative body for the entirety of the kingdom of Khûm, meant to act as a check on the sovereign's power. Formed in 521 1A by Kavgra the Grand, the Peer Congress invited masters from any clan in Khûm to vote on the sovereign's policies. They convened in the Chamber of Measures on Truethrone's Trove level, where supposedly 7,777 masters could gather and have their voices heard. The Peer Congress utilized many parliamentarian tricks to ensure procedures ran smoothly – Deep Masters, limited time for speeches, block voting and the like. The Guest City, only one level above, was largely meant as a place for masters of the Elder Clans to live, that they might routinely vote in Peer Congress.
Many times through Khûmish history, the Peer Congress was an irritant towards an ambitious, none more so than Kavgra the Grand herself, who founded the very body.

Campaigns

The Menagerie 

• Khûm: In order to overturn Thane Zazem Bracebow's refusal to admit the Menagerie into Snowperch, the Commander's Tent weaponized the peer council against him, marshaling the votes they needed to overrule him (Chapter 11 – 12).