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Secrets of the Dwarves

by Sam Witt
Dwarves are an insular lot, keeping mostly to themselves in their subter-
ranean kingdoms and labyrinthine mines. While the more adventurous of
their number may travel to the surface to explore the world and their mer-
chants are always eager to trade with others, dwarves prefer their privacy.
The faces they show to the outside world are not always their true faces, and
the secrets of the dwarves are deeper and stranger than most suspect.
Requires the use of
a Roleplaying
Game Core Book This supplement provides a dozen secrets the dwarves keep from the rest of
published by the world and ways in which you can use those secrets in your campaign.
Wizards of the When determining which secrets to use in a campaign, it is important to
Coast, Inc.
remember that not all of these secrets are designed to work in the same cam-
This product uti-
lizes updated paign. The World Machine and Guardians of the Core present incom-
material from the patible views of the world, for example.
v.3.5 revision.

Secret Descriptions
A Cancer of Magic Campaign Uses
Dwarf bounty hunters are scouring the
While arcane power has its uses, only the dwarves
earth for powerful magic users. They intend
understand magics dire consequences. Though
to kill mages and destroy arcane tomes in
magic appear as an infinite source of power and
an effort to preserve the earth from destruc-
energy, in truth it draws its strength from the deeps
tion. These dwarves believe they are fight-
of the earth. As centuries pass and magic is used
ing for the future of their world and are
more frequently, the dark mines and pillars of the
utterly ruthless they do not believe they,
earths core grow brittle and collapse. In time, the
or the rest of the world, will be safe until the
dwarves fear, rampant use of arcane magic will
most powerful magicians and magical
destroy the world, devouring it from the inside out.
items are hidden away and the knowledge
of the most powerful spells is extinguished.
The dwarves are not entirely against arcane magic,
A drow priestess knows dwarves are hoard-
however. Their studies teach them that magic only
ing magical items and arcane knowledge;
becomes a real danger at its most powerful
she will stop at nothing to claim this power
extremes. Relatively minor spells (those of 3rd-
for herself. The dwarves find themselves
level and below) seem to have little effect on the
under attack from all sides as the drow call
world, even when used in large numbers.
in all their allies and begin a genocidal
Moderately powerful spells (those of 4th to 7th
attack on the dwarf strongholds. Desperate
level) are dangerous and create significant prob-
and outnumbered, the dwarves send a plea
lems even when used sparingly. The most powerful
for help to the surface world, hoping
spells (of 8th, 9th, and Epic levels) are so destruc-
enough heroes will answer their call to
tive that even a single spell can cause detectable
swing the tide of battle before it is too late.
erosion of the world.

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Secrets of the Dwarves
A band of gnomes is struggling to pre-
serve the magical heritage of its race and
has come into conflict with the dwarves.
The dwarves will not reveal their secret to
the gnomes and so the battle continues,
with the dwarves stealing magic and
killing sorcerers and wizards while the
gnomes fight to keep their arcane lore
from disappearing forever. Only a canny,
tactful negotiator will be able to get both
sides to set down at the table and work out
their differences without revealing the
dwarfs secret.
Alien Runes
The writing of dwarves appears stolid and utilitar-
ian, runes meant for engraving in stone or etching
onto metal. What few know, however, is that the
dwarf language is actually an alien tongue given to
the dwarves by allied earth elementals millennia
ago. What even the dwarves do not know is the
true purpose of their runes to grant elementals
access to the world of mortals.
So far, the plans of the elementals have not borne
fruit. The time is coming, however, when the
arrangement of dwarf runes around the world will
finally permit a convergence between the elemen-
tal plane of earth and the material plane. When this
occurs, the elementals will pour forth and begin
waging a war of conquest against all mortals.
To prevent the invasion, certain key dwarf sites
will need to be destroyed. Ancient temples,
revered forges, and city keystones must be, at the
least, defaced to prevent the elemental invasion.
Convincing the dwarves to follow through on this
is another matter entirely even those who know
the dangers these carvings present will be hard-
pressed to destroy such treasures.
Campaign Uses
The characters discover an ancient tome
detailing an evil sect of creatures living on
the elemental plane of earth. Samples of
text taken from the belongings of one of
these creatures bear a striking resem-
blance to dwarf runes. Characters who
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investigate this similarity will find them-
selves drawn into a historical conspiracy
as they trace the origins of dwarf writing
and eventually uncover the alien plot.
Earth elementals are appearing, unbidden,
in dwarf territories. They attempt to com-
municate with anyone who will hear them,
warning them of the coming of the
devouring earth. These elementals only
remain in place for a short time (2d6 min-
utes) before they are pulled back to their
own plane. Characters who have a chance
to talk with these elementals learn the
basics of this secret.
Demonic creatures are leaking the truth of
dwarf writing to neighboring kingdoms.
The demons, of course, twist the truth and
tell anyone who will listen that the
dwarves and their elemental allies are
about to spring a trap on the rest of the
world. The demons tell just enough of the
truth to convince nearby powers to begin
taking action, which inevitably results in
hiring adventurers to do some investiga-
tion.
Fear of Dragons
Though few would admit it, dwarves fear dragons.
Like dwarves, dragons are hoarders of gold and
other treasures, storing their wealth in vaults hid-
den away beneath the earth. This similarity is the
root of the dwarf fear their legends speak darkly
of miserly dwarves who become slaves to dragons
or, in some cases, become dragons. Dwarves often
refer to this affliction as dragon fever or, more
rarely, the gold curse.
Whether or not this is true, many dwarves firmly
believe they will become dragons if they become
too infatuated with hoarding treasures. To prevent
this, some dwarves have begun a twisted sort of
gift-giving, in which they lure outsiders to try and
steal their treasure. The dwarves will often disable
some of their deadlier defenses to allow the
thieves a better chance at escaping with some
loot, but there are still many dangers to face and
would-be burglars are in real danger if caught in
the act.
Secrets of the Dwarves
This tradition amongst wealthier dwarves allows
them to comfortably continue their hoarding ways,
knowing someone will eventually come along to
pilfer some of their goods hopefully preventing
the dwarf from becoming a dragon in the process.
Campaign Uses
A dwarf recently completed its transfor-
mation into a dragon and is now holding a
small mining colony hostage. Dwarf lead-
ers believe they can reverse the process by
stealing away enough of the dragons
hoard. What the dwarves do not have are
enough thieves to carry out the mission.
To make sure enough treasure is taken,
they hire several teams of adventurers and
turn them loose on the dragon. In a twist to
the usual employment requests, the adven-
turers are specifically told not to kill the
dragon or its slaves; the dwarves want to
rescue the mining colony, not destroy it.
A clan of dwarves has captured a brood of
young dragons and is attempting to use
them in an alchemical process to reverse
the dragon change occurring in one of the
clan elders. Obviously, the dragons are
willing to do just about anything to get
their children back, but a straightforward
attack can only end in disaster. The char-
acters are hired to sneak in and get the
young dragons out of the dwarf hold.
Alternatively, the characters could be
hired by the dwarves to protect the eggs
from intruders hired by the dragons.
Three dwarves are racing towards becom-
ing a dragon, each hoping to seize the
power it brings in order to expand their
territory and holdings. Characters may
work for any or all of the dwarves, alter-
nately stealing from and adding to treasure
hordes.
Guardians of the Core
Dwarves do not live below the earth by choice;
they live in their subterranean caverns because
they must. When the dwarves were created, they
were given the duty of guarding the Infernal Core,
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a prison in which hideous enemies of the world
were imprisoned by the gods. The dwarves must
safeguard the core, preventing its occupants from
escaping and, just as importantly, preventing evil
disciples of those occupants from finding their
way to this secret prison.
As the years pass, this becomes more and more
difficult. The creatures imprisoned within the
Infernal Core are demons, devils, abominations,
and horrors from other planes. As the strongest
prisoners destroy the weaker, their strength grows
ever greater. Now they send forth dreams and
visions to those who share their evil nature, always
looking for followers they can use to open the
Core and begin a reign of terror.
Campaign Uses
Unbeknownst to the dwarves, the Infernal
Core actually holds the old gods of the
world. While these creatures are definitely
hostile to the new gods and their follow-
ers, they are not evil by nature. Druids and
rangers, along with many barbarian tribes
and even some monastic orders, are
receiving visions now and wish to free the
primal gods from their prison.
The dwarves now realize at least one of
the denizens of the Core has become so
powerful it threatens the integrity of the
entire prison. Left alone, this beast will
eventually grow too powerful to be con-
tained and will certainly rupture the Core
as it escapes. A group of heroes must be
assembled to venture into the Core, find
this creature, and destroy it before it can
bring ruin to the world.
A dwarf seer claims he has seen the truth
of the Core. This seer believes the Core is
not a danger, but rather a great boon which
the petty gods wished to hide from their
children. This heretical dwarf claims any
dwarf who reaches the center of the Core
will become as a god himself. Of course,
the journey will not be easy, given the
powerful guardians the gods have placed
within the core and the zealous protec-
tion provided by those dwarves who do
not understand the truth of the core.
Secrets of the Dwarves
Lifes Work
The greatest dwarf smiths all know, from a very
early age, when they will die. They sense their death
in omens others cannot interpret and are always
aware of their impending mortality. These legendary
smiths also know their lives will not end when their
bodies weaken and collapse from age. Their
essences are transferred into the items they create,
their thoughts and memories are passed down from
generation to generation through the products of
their forges and smithies. Known as True
Masterworks, these items are sacred to the dwarves
who see them as a combination history book and
immortal master smith.
Anyone who possesses a True Masterwork may con-
verse with the weapon via a speak with dead spell.
The True Masterwork is not intelligent, but it does
provide expertise and information. If asked about
specific crafting technique the True Masterwork
object provides a +2 bonus to any Craft skill check
involving metal or stone. A True Masterwork object
also provides the equivalent of bardic knowledge in
matters related to dwarf culture. Checks made using
this special ability have a +10 bonus.
Campaign Uses
Three hundred years ago, one of the greatest
dwarf smiths ever to walk the tunnels of the
Underearth died. During his lifetime, seven
of the most powerful weapons he ever cre-
ated were given as gifts to various human
kingdoms. Now the smiths ancestors want
those weapons back, as they seek to recov-
er the techniques of their most revered mas-
ter. Unfortunately, due to wars and other
tragedies, many of these weapons have been
lost to the ages. The characters are hired to
track them down and restore them to the
dwarves.
A group of adventurers discover a True
Masterwork weapon in a treasure trove. A
successful Knowledge (Religion) skill
check (DC 20) uncovers various necroman-
tic entreaties inscribed upon its blade,
including runes denoting communication
with the dead. Once the characters discover
that the weapon can be communicated with,
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at least in a limited fashion, it can be used to
steer them towards new adventures.
Charismatic dwarf priests have started a cult
based on a number of powerful weapons
they believe are True Masterworks.
Unfortunately, these weapons are all intelli-
gent, evil magical items introduced to the
dwarves by a family of devils. Unless some-
one can convince the priests (and their fol-
lowers) of the real provenance of their True
Masterworks the cult will spark off a dwarf
civil war.
Mithril Keys
Dwarves are often called upon to construct vaults,
prisons, chains, and other means of securing objects
or people of value (or those which are dangerous).
While most craftsmen do their jobs dutifully and in
good faith, there are some unscrupulous dwarves
who add in a few special features on all such jobs.
The most notable of these features is a vulnerability to
a mithril key. During the creation of the item or struc-
ture, a mithril key is also fashioned which can open
all locks associated with the item. Mithril keys will
not open locks made or installed after the items initial
creation and delivery to the customer, however.
Dwarves have different reasons for creating mithril
keys, but most see it as a safeguard against betrayal.
After all, if someone shorts you on a payment, you
make sure the key gets into the hands of a thief who
will be happy to recover your fee for you and a lit-
tle off the top for themselves. Dwarves never adver-
tise the existence of these keys, preferring to keep
them secret to protect their reputations and forestall
ambitious thieves who would certainly want to steal
these keys if they knew of them.
Campaign Uses
An impregnable vault was found open
with its contents missing. The dwarf who
constructed the vault has hired the charac-
ters to investigate how this happened but
doesnt tell them that his mithril key was
stolen several weeks ago. Ideally, the
dwarf wants the characters to find the thief
Secrets of the Dwarves
and deal with him - permanently. What the
dwarf does not know is that the thief was
the dwarfs son, who is disgruntled with
the life of a smith and wants to become an
adventurer.
In the depths of some particularly heinous
dungeon, the characters stumble across a
dwarf skeleton. While most of the dead
dwarfs gear has long since decayed or been
stolen away, a small mithril key can be found
with some diligent searching (successful
Search skill check, DC 20). The key contains
two items of information useful to its finders.
First, a dwarf heraldic crest is inscribed on its
handle (this is uncommon knowledge, DC
20, for bardic knowledge checks). Second, a
name is written on the barrel in ancient dwarf
runes (Decipher Script, DC 25). The name is
that of a well-known, exceedingly wealthy
merchant from the nearest city.
A beleaguered group of dwarves comes to
the characters with a request for aid. The
dwarves worked together to build a vault for
an avaricious black dragon, who then turned
on the dwarves and refused to pay them. The
dwarves offer the characters a mithril key
which will open the vault used to store the
dragons hoard. The dwarves would like the
dragon killed and their fee recovered from its
hoard.
Reincarnation
of the Forge
Baby dwarves are not born they are made. The great
forges of the dwarves, used to smelt metal and fash-
ion items of great power, are also the source of dwarf
children. From time to time, at unpredictable inter-
vals, baby dwarves are found in piles of scrap metal
and waste ash near forges. No one ever sees them
placed there, but they are often found shortly after
periods of intense activity or the creation of a partic-
ularly impressive weapon at a given forge.
These children are fostered to parents by the rulers of
the dwarf community, based in part on whether a cou-
ple has had children before and who owns the forge.
There are those who believe that the children are rein-
carnations of other dwarves cremated at a forge. As a
result, dwarf funerals often involve the burning of the
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body within a great forge in the hopes that the dwarf
will return in a new form.
Campaign Uses
Dwarf characters are hired to stand watch
over a particularly active forge which is pro-
ducing dwarf children at an accelerated rate.
After the characters start spying on the
forge, it stops producing children. To set
things right, the characters must undertake a
quest to placate the dwarf gods of fertility
and the forge.
Small dwarf towns are being wiped out by
mysterious forces. Neighboring dwarf com-
munities are requesting help and the charac-
ters are hired to check into things. The cause
of the problem is demons, who discovered
the dwarfs secret and have been switching
dwarf children with disguised demons.
Characters will need to rescue the children
and destroy the demons in order to save the
dwarves.
A recent discovery of wraith ore (see below)
has resulted in strange deformities and
deaths amongst newborn dwarves. The
dwarves in this community know nothing
about wraith ore and will have to rely on the
characters to discover the truth. If the char-
acters do not discover the connection
between wraith ore and the deformed chil-
dren, some of the children will become pos-
sessed by evil essences (see wraith ore) and
will turn against their parents.
Scent of Gold
Many dwarves actually can smell gold and use this
ability to track down rich veins of ore, lost treasures,
and heavy coin purses. While this ability varies in
effectiveness, and is available only to a small num-
ber of dwarves, it has allowed dwarf cultures to con-
sistently ferret out and mine gold.
Smell Gold [Racial]
Prerequisite: Must be a dwarf.
Benefit: You are able to smell gold when you
come near it. You automatically detect any gold
within 30 feet (60 feet if downwind from the gold)
Secrets of the Dwarves www.roninarts.com
the smallest amount of gold you can detect is the homunculi. The dwarves will, of course,
equivalent of 10 gold pieces. Detecting gold does pay well for the recovery of their children
nothing more than indicate its presence within but may renege on their deal and become
your detection range. As a move equivalent action, violent if the characters discover their
you are able to pinpoint the location of gold with- secret.
in 10 feet or the general location of gold within 30
feet (60 feet if downwind from the gold).
Stoneblood Guardians
As a full-round action, you are able to determine
From time to time, a dwarf is born with more in
the approximate amount of gold by the intensity of
common with the elements surrounding him than
the smell. This provides an estimate (within a 25%
with is parents or other relatives. These children
margin of error) of the total amount of gold you
are treasured by their parents and their communi-
are currently detecting.
ty, as they represent a sign from the dwarf gods.
From the moments of their births, these children
You are able to smell gold as long as the gold is not
are cared for by the community, with the under-
completely sealed in an air-tight container or
standing that one day these children will care for
underwater, though doors or intervening walls
the community.
reduce your range to 10 feet (regardless of wind
direction).
The stoneblood guardians, as such children are
known, are tougher and more resistant to damage
This feat provides a +2 bonus to any Appraisal
than others of their kind. They are regarded as the
checks used to determine the value of items con-
protectors of dwarf culture and most spend their
taining at least 50% gold.
time far from the eyes of other races, standing
watch over important dwarves or items of power.
Campaign Uses A few surface during times of war, leading war-
riors against their enemies, but these are rare
Orc slavers have captured a number of
occurrences.
dwarf prospectors and are currently forc-
ing them to sniff out gold deposits.
Needless to say, the company the prospec- Campaign Uses
tors work for wants them back, not only to
Fewer stoneblood guardians are being
save the dwarves but to prevent the orcs
born and many of those which are born are
from becoming competition.
not being discovered until late in life,
A thieves guild has invaded a local city
sometimes after they leave home and
and seems to be able to detect valuables
begin adventuring in the world. These
with uncanny precision. Pockets are being
guardians make excellent adventurers, but
picked, jewelry is stolen, and raw coins
they are sought by their communities,
are disappearing at an unbelievable rate.
which want them to return and live up to
Of course, dwarves with the ability to
their responsibilities. Stoneblood
smell gold are behind the crime wave.
guardians who leave home are hounded by
Characters can be called in by the local
their relatives and other agents of their
authorities or by nervous dwarves who
communities, who pursue them and do
believe they know who is committing the
anything within their power to bring them
crimes.
back home.
Dwarf children are going missing and
A number of dwarves are hearing a strange
their parents have been unable to find
call, which they feel compelled to answer.
them. A wizard and her allies have been
All those who hear the call are potential
stealing the children away, hoping to find
stoneblood guardians, they just do not
one with the smell gold ability so she can
know how to tap into their abilities. Those
research it and replicate it in an army of

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Secrets of the Dwarves
who answer the call find themselves jour-
neying far from home and encountering
many odd dwarves. When they finally
arrive at some barren location deep in an
isolated mountain range, those who
answer the call are met by earth elemen-
tals that warn them of a danger to all
dwarves and show them how to become
stoneblood guardians.
The guardians are not a type of dwarf
they are a new evolution in the dwarf race.
More stoneblood guardians than ever
before are being born now and many are
seeking positions of leadership within
their communities. These powerful crea-
tures are gaining control of some dwarf
communities and are turning them against
their former allies. While not all are evil,
all bring a message of dwarf superiority
and conquest, making them a great threat
to surrounding nations. Characters can be
hired to assassinate these guardians or to
negotiate with them in an effort to stop a
wave of dwarf conquest.
Game Information
The stoneblood guardian is a variant racial
paragon class available to any dwarf. Like the
fighter, wizard, and other standard character class-
es, racial paragon classes have no prerequisites
(other than being a member of the appropriate
race). Paragon class levels can be taken any time
a character gains a new level, even at 1st level (in
which case they receive four times the normal
number of skill points gained at each succeeding
level). A character can multiclass freely between
standard character classes, prestige classes for
which he or she qualifies, and the characters
appropriate racial paragon class.
It is possible for a powerful magic effect such as
shapechange, reincarnate, or wish to change a
Table: Stoneblood Guardian
Level Base Attack Fort Ref Will
Bonus Save Save Save
1st +1 +2 +0 +0
2nd +2 +3 +0 +0
3rd +3 +3 +1 +1
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characters race. If a character has already taken
racial paragon levels in a racial paragon levels in
his original race, he can never become a paragon
of another race. However, such shapechanging and
form-altering magics also cause no loss of a
paragons class abilities the class abilities gained
from racial paragon levels are affected no more or
less drastically than benefits gained from having
levels in any other class.
Stoneblood guardians have the following game
statistics.
Abilities: Stoneblood guardians are defenders of
the dwarves, accustomed to fighting the enemies
of their people. Stoneblood guardians rely heavily
on Strength and Constitution to augment their
fighting abilities and improve their survivability in
combat.
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d12
Class Skills
The stoneblood guardians class skills (and the key
ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Climb
(Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str),
Knowledge (dungeoneering)(Int), Profession
(Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Modifier
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Stoneblood
guardians are proficient with all simple and mar-
tial weapons, with light, medium, and heavy
armors, and with shields (but not with tower
shields).
Natural Fortification (Ex): At 1st level, the
stoneblood guardians body grows thicker and the
musculature and bones more dense around vital
organs and major blood vessels. As a result, the
stoneblood guardian is more resistant to critical
hits and sneak attacks. Whenever a critical hit or
Special
Natural Fortification
Enhanced racial combat bonuses
Stoneblood
Secrets of the Dwarves
sneak attack is inflicted upon the stoneblood
guardian, there is a 5% chance the critical hit or
sneak attack is negated and damage is rolled nor-
mally. Note that this ability does not stack with the
fortification special abilities of armor or shields.
Enhanced Racial Combat Bonuses (Ex): At 2nd
level, the following combat bonuses replace the
standard dwarf racial combat bonuses:
+3 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and
goblinoids.
+6 dodge bonus to Armor Class against mon-
sters of the giant type.
Stoneblood (Ex): At 3rd level, the stoneblood
guardians blood thickens and slows in his veins.
As a result, the stoneblood guardian becomes
resistant to injury, but also becomes less able to
react quickly. The stoneblood guardian gains dam-
age reduction 1/-, but his Dexterity is reduced by
2.
Survivors
Dwarves are the sole surviving race of an apoca-
lypse; they live below the surface of the earth not
out of choice, but out of an age-old fear of what
came before. While the dwarf lore keepers remem-
ber this disaster and keep its secret, most other
dwarves (or members of other races) know noth-
ing of this prehistoric cataclysm.
Now, a second extinction event is looming and the
signs are read by the keepers of the dwarf secrets.
It is not too late to avert this great disaster, but sur-
vival is only assured if action is taken immediate-
ly. The dwarves are quietly assembling teams of
adventurers to look into the problem, in the hopes
of saving the world before it can come to an
untimely end.
Campaign Uses
Dwarves and elves have a longstanding
enmity what few know is that the
dwarves blame the ancestors of the elves
for the destruction of the ancient world.
Dwarves believe elves are once again tam-
pering with forces beyond their control
and want a gang of adventurers to make
off with a small clutch of artifacts before
the elves can tap into its power.
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The real truth is that the dwarves caused
the last major apocalypse a heretical sect
of priests made contact with a primal earth
elemental in an attempt to gain power for
themselves. When the primal elemental
briefly gained access to the prime materi-
al plane, its presence fractured the earth
and wiped out most life on its surface. The
same thing is happening again and the
dwarves are hiring outsiders to deal with
the issue, in a fatal way. This time, the
dwarves want the heretics killed and the
heretical texts describing the elemental
and ways to contact it destroyed. They are
willing to pay handsomely for these serv-
ices but, of course, they cannot provide
any other assistance and will have to deny
any connections to the characters.
The dwarf fear of another apocalypse is a
real phobia. The last apocalypse was
caused by a meteor storm of epic propor-
tions, one which will not happen again.
The dwarves believe another apocalypse
is coming, however, and are dispatching
the characters on a wild goose chase to
prevent the end of the world. Characters
will need to figure this out and talk sense
to the dwarves to avoid sparking off a
potential war between the intelligent races
of the world.
The World Machine
At the heart of the world likes a wondrous
machine, a thing of steam and fire and iron. The
dwarves know as long as the machine churns, the
world will go on. They also know it is their solemn
duty to keep the machine running, no matter the
cost. As millennia pass, this becomes more and
more difficult. Gears break from age, an improper-
ly tended furnace overheats and cracks, goblin
sabotage all are problems the dwarves must con-
tend with on a daily basis.
To make matters worse, the machine is not a sin-
gular thing. Connected by magical conduits scat-
tered throughout the world below the surface,
many smaller machines provide energy and bal-
ance to the core of the world machine. These
machines are vulnerable to attacks by evil crea-
Secrets of the Dwarves
tures and many fail through simple neglect and
misadventure. The dwarves rely on their most
adventurous to tend to these machines, forming
young heroes into bands of reality mechanics and
sending them out into a dangerous world.
Campaign Uses
The number of dwarves declines every
year the rigors of their duties and their
naturally low birth rates have reduced
their numbers to dangerous levels. Rather
than let the world die out, some groups of
dwarves are working with outsiders to
keep the world machine running. Though
it is dangerous to reveal this secret to out-
siders, these dwarves know they have no
other choice if they wish to save the
world.
A renegade group of dwarves has splin-
tered off from the rest of their society. No
longer content to merely tend the
machines and hope for the best, these
dwarves are actively tinkering with the
machines in an attempt to change the
world to better suit their desires.
Unfortunately, they have no understanding
of how the machines really work and,
unless they are stopped, their actions will
doom the world in the span of a few short
years.
The world machine is actually one of sev-
eral reality cores and is merely the dwarf
model of the world. It is failing because
other reality cores are growing in power
the more numerous humans and orcs are
able to protect and expand their cores
much more quickly than the dwarves. If
the dwarf world machine ever fails entire-
ly, then the dwarves will die out, but the
world will go on. In order to save them-
selves, the dwarves must fight a final, bru-
tal war of extinction against one of the
more powerful world machine races.
Wraith Ore
The earth holds the remnants of countless peoples,
in graves marked and unmarked, in pits and caves
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and hidden defiles. Some held in the cold embrace
of the earth were not happy to go, their lives were
snuffed out in horrific ways, well ahead of their
naturally allotted times. As the centuries pass and
the bodies calcify or turn to sludge, the spirits
become trapped and hidden within the surrounding
soil. These ghostly remnants become wraith ore, a
strange material that is neither stone nor metal.
Dwarf smiths, always eager to experiment with
new materials, discovered wraith ore some time
ago. They constructed great weapons and arms
from it, smelted and formed it into beautiful sculp-
tures. Sadly, all of these items are cursed and they
spread their hate and evil wherever they travel.
While many dwarves destroyed wraith ore cre-
ations as soon as they discovered the issue, an
unscrupulous few sold them or otherwise released
them into the world. These cursed items now pose
a grave threat to anyone who comes into contact
with them.
Campaign Uses
While wraith ore is made up from isolated
ghosts, they are all linked together by an
underlying consciousness. These cursed
items are all working to the same goal
releasing this evil entity upon the world.
When enough of these items are finally
together, their combined power will be
enough to release the evil.
Members of the Kazark dwarf clan recent-
ly discovered wraith ore items bearing
their mark being sold to the surface world.
They want the items found and returned
for destruction before the wraith ore curse
can damage their reputation.
Assassins are finding their way into the
empires of men, mercilessly slaughtering
rulers and heirs. All of these assassins die
after striking their fatal blow and all are
found with dwarf-forged weapons in their
hands. All of these weapons are cursed
objects tainted by wraith ore and the
ghosts they contain are attempting to
spark a war between dwarves and men to
satisfy an ancient grudge.
Secrets of the Dwarves
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