We are an ancient race. While admitedly not as old as the so called "First race", the Eldrin, The Khazad people have a written history that dates back almost 10,000 yearns. We are delvers of the deep, also called "the deepening people". Our cities and holds are all safely and cunningly built below ground, often taking advantage of existing caverns. We change not what is beautiful, and shape all else to our design. For many centuries we labored in the deep, bringing light and warmth to cold, secret places of the world, without contact or knowledge of the surface world. As is all too often true, knowledge brings pain and sorrow, and thus happened to the Khazad once we broke from our secure holds in the deep. First we met the Eldren, and friendly relations did we have of them. The Atani, the humans, were next, but little did they have in knowledge or lore to trade with us, so little came of our meeting. Then we met the enemy, the foulspawn.
Created by an enemy of the Eldrin, the loathsome Orcs delight in terror and pain. Also prefering dwellings underground, these servants of darkness were at once our deadly foes. While they have also been the bane of the Eldren and the Atani, the foulspawn have of late concintrated all their effort in the extermination of our people. They will fail!
Our "Secret Kingdom", as we call it, lies deep in the safe bosom of the world. Around it are several Khazad cities, and around them once lay stretched an underground connected highway that reaches almost 2000 miles! Many villages and keeps were founded in those days, for the land was free from fear, and our law was supreme. But our people populate slowly, and the wars between the foulspawn quickly thinned our people, while always they rebounded. As the centuries fled by, so did our people from an ever shrinking frontier consumed by ruin and the hunger of the foulspawn.
Khazad - Recent History:
Now the once pround Khazad Kingdom has shrunk to barely 12 cities. Our bordercities with the forces of the foulspawn have become fortresses. The foulspawn are nearly always defeated in any pitched battle, but always they return. They have suffered unimaginable losses, but return in a few yaerns with renewed vigor and hatred. Even now there are reports of a massing of their forces for an attack on the fortress at Brundishere. It's doors are thick and built of olde, and while it's defenders are brave, they are also always fewer. If Brundishere falls, several nearby cities will have to be evacuated as untenable. This could mean the end of Khazad civilization, and perhapes the extermination of our Race.
Brundishere must not fall!
The Foulspawn:
The loathsome orcs,
the foulspawn were created long ago as the servants of some fell enemy of the
Eldrin. It is said that in the morning of time, this evil force attempted to crush all
the world. Nearly victorious, only the combined might of all the free peoples was able
to thwart the plans of the enemy. Millennia have passed, and it is deemed that their procreator
has passed on, yet the dark one's creations go on -- the cursed Foulspawn. A curse upon them!
The Eldrin:
An old, but rather flighty race, that relies
too heavily on magic to give it strength.
While usually of good heart, the Eldrin are
ever suspicious of Khazad intentions, not
understanding our stolid, cautious ways.
Given to flights of fancy and song, they
would make valuable allies save they seem too
undependable and have a secret agenda that
does not include our people. Relations
with their representatives have always been
polite, but terse.
The Atani:
Calling themselves "Humans", the Atani live
brief lives, but burn all the brighter
because of it. They are a primitive race,
that wars constantly against itself. They are
believed to be relatively ignorant of the the vast
threat of the Foulspawn. They are yet valiant,
but closer friends to the Eldrin than to us.
To date, relations have been strained, perhapes
because of poinsoned advice given
them by the ever secretive Eldrin.
Regretably, they have stayed distant from
the Khazad, and have minimal trading
treaties. As the war erupted with the
Foulspawn, we have relied more and more
heavily on shipments of grain and other food
goods with various tribes of the Atani. At
present, we have a rather generous trade
contract giving mining rights to a nearby
Atani Tribe called Caaldaran, in exchange
for grain shipped annually to Tristizad, our single port
city.
This is of particular concern to the decendants
of Clan Hardizand, as their abandoned keep
of Grimbroar is in
an area recently settled by these Atani. It
is vital that normal relations be maintained
with this tribe. Our trading treaties
stipulate that neither side may
"...infringe upon the territory of the
other", but sending a small patrol to
salvage an old hold of ours on the border
of their lands does not violate the wording
of the treaty. If the enterprise is
discovered, the best explanation might be
that you were pursuing the destruction of the
Foulspawn (True). Perhapes the best course
with the Atani in any case, would be as
little contact as possible.
Religion:
The chief diety for the Khazad is Moradin. The Soul-Forger,
Allfather, Moradin forged the first Khazad out of metal and gems and
breathed life into them. His favored weapon is the warhammer. His domains
are: Earth, Good, Law, Protection and War.
He has two brothers and a cousin who are also dieties.
They are:
Morad - younger brother, Totally silent and dedicated
soley to his crafts. His followers believe in self
discipline, strength of character, and complete focus
on the task at hand. They also believe the benefits of silence,
prefering to speak as little as possible. They have a
complex sign language known only by those within his
church. His follower's alignment is typically LN, but
LG and LE have been known as well. It is said there is
a Monk order, but little is known about it. His
domains are: Strength, Protection, Knowledge and Fire. His
symbol is a clenched fist, upraised, wreathed with
seven, seven-pointed stars. His favored weapon is
unarmed.
Torad - Youngest brother, rather mishievous and
clever. His followers alignment is usually NG, but LG and NN
are not uncommon. This god's symbol is a four leaf clover. In the
stories of this pantheon, Torad is usually getting into
trouble, to be rescued by Moradin. His curiousity and
insatiable hunger for knowledge leads him into peril.
He is also fond of jokes and pranks. He particularly
likes to play jokes on Deurad. His domains are: Luck,
Air, Trickery and Magic.
Deurad - Moradin's cousin, Deurad is the obligatory
jealous rival god who is constantly trying to usurp
Moradin's position as chief diety. In the inevitable
final confrontation with the Khazad's enemies at the
end of time, it is unknown whether or not Deurad will
stand with Moradin or take his followers to the enemy.
The standard view in the pantheon is that Moradin
believes Deurad will change his ways and stay true.
However Morad is certain Deurad will betray them.
Deurad's follower's alignment is usually LN, but LE and NE
are known. He does not typically have his own Temples,
but he is respected and revered, if not loved. Deurad travels far
and wide, and has great knowledge. He is the master of
whispers, rumors and the mysterious. His symbol is a
road through a dark forest. His domains are : Travel,
Destruction, Knowledge and Water. His favored weapon is
a net and a spear.
Clan Hardizand
Clan Hardizand's society was one of great unity till the coming of the WAR.
Already given to belonging to clubs and special organizations, in the
search for a way to deal with the encroaching foulspawn, Hardizand
found itself fragmenting into three powerful and, over centuries,
rival guilds.
The Miner's guild: The oldest and consistently the most powerful guild
within Hardizand, the miner's were the wealthiest and most
conservative group. Holding control over the Clan's Chieftain's
position for generations, this guild came more and more to identify
itself as the only trueť Hardizand guild. The miner's guild saw the
neighboring savage Atani tribes as useful aides in carrying supplies
to outlying mines, but little value otherwise. The miner's guild also
steadfastly maintained a defensive posture in dealing with the war.
Advocating and winning through council's appropriations for more and
more elaborate defensive constructions. This most strongly seen the
series of outposts built, connected to Grimbroar's underground level
by a vast catacomb.
The Merchant's guild : The second most powerful guild, the merchants
advocated more dealings with the local Atani and more attention to be
paid to the surface road system. Usually siding with the Miner's
guild, the merchants were the only guild to aggressively go after the
nearby Atani as allies, independently giving them Khazad technology
and other gifts in friendship. The merchants wished to make the most
friendly Atani into auxiliary troops incorporated within the Khazad
military. Purists among the miners and the warrior's guild decried
this, saying the Atani were simply not trustworthy enough.
The Warrior's guild: the newest, and least politically powerful guild
in Hardizand, it had many younger members. The warriors advocated an
aggressive stance against the foulspawn, and decried the massive
effort spent on defensive works. They constantly trained for the
“final confrontation” that would come with the enemy â€" one that never
arrived. They were also among the last to leave Grimbroar during the
exodus.
All PCs should decide which guild their grandsire advocated, and which
one they themselves choose to number themselves among. Difficult as it
may be to believe, there are still known to be some hard feelings
between Miner's guild members and members of the Warrior's guild.
At present, there is no Clan Chieftain of Hardizand, since its total
members equals to a few dozen individuals throughout the kingdom.
However if a quorum exists, and the throne room of Grimbroar has been
secured, the meeting clan members may elect a chieftain.
A quorum exists if a majority of clan members meet in any one spot.
If the total number of PCs meet with this intention, they will have a
quorum. Once elected, the chieftain may only be removed as leader if
more than 3/4 of the clan's members agree to do so. The chieftan
typically immediately picks a Chamberlain (in charge of the Clan's
monies/supplies/logistics) and a Battlelord (in charge of the Clan's
defenses). While the Clan has been reduced to a mere handful of
members from its glory days, yet the offices hold great personal and
symbolic meaning. Whether or not the party elects a Chieftain is
entirely up to the party.
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