Houses of Kraghammer

The fortified, subterranean city-state of Kraghammer was carved out of the bedrock of the Cliffkeep Mountains in the years following the Divergence. It is the ancestral home of the native dwarves of Tal’Dorei, and the five major bloodlines that founded the city in ages past still rule to this day.

The ruling families are Houses Greyspine, Zuurthom, Bronzegrip, Thunderbrand, and Glorendar. These Great Houses elect an official to the office of Ironkeeper every ten years to keep the alliances between houses just and healthy.

Though the culture of Kraghammer is highly traditional and as stoic as the stone it was carved from, it is not without unrest. It seems every dwarven generation has its own great social movement where disenfranchised workers or greedy, lesser noble houses attempt to unseat the ruling five. Yet for good or for ill, the Great Houses have time and time again shown that they can put aside their differences to preserve their mutual rulership.

Goals
Each ruling house has a specialty and holds responsibility over that domain within Kraghammer.

Five the fingers that grasp hammer or blade,
Five Houses of Kraghammer rightly made:
Greyspine delves ’neath dwarven halls,
Zuurthom raises stony walls,
Bronzegrip masters of metal wrought,
Thunderbrand uncovers secrets sought.
And Glorenthal to judgments hear—
In Kraghammer, dwarf-folk need never fear.

—A child’s learning rhyme from Kraghammer

House Greyspine maintains the largest mine under Kraghammer, as well as the Pools of Solace.

House Zuurthom trains the chief architects of the city, and most masonry and building is organized through them.

House Bronzegrip funds the smithing guilds and maintains the Bronzegrip Metalworks, Kraghammer’s largest blast furnace and ore refinery.

House Thunderbrand prides itself on training Kraghammer’s foremost scholars and premiere arcanists.

House Glorendar maintains the law and delivers punishment.

Relationships
Almost every dwarf living in Kraghammer can remember a time when, “Kraghammer for the dwarves!” was a common cheer at the pubs. And when they said, “for the dwarves,” they meant just the dwarves born in Kraghammer. Times have changed. The prevailing opinion is that a unified Tal’Dorei is best for all. Those dwarves whose traditionalism is just a veil for bigotry have found that they aren’t welcome in Kraghammer—they’ve subsequently retreated to make their own isolated enclaves in the Cliffkeeps.

The Houses of Kraghammer facilitate a healthy trade of metals, weapons, and armor with Emon and Westruun. These bonds of commerce and communication have only grown stronger since an ambassador from Kraghammer has taken a seat on the Tal’Dorei Council.

Many members of House Thunderbrand also have ties to the Arcana Pansophical. However, lesser clans with aspirations of supplanting the renowned Thunderbrands have thrown their lot in with the League of Miracles, hoping to become the new masters of the arcane. They have been wooed by to this upstart faction with promises of disrupting the old ways of commerce and prestige, establishing something new.

Figures of Interest
These figures are major members of the Houses of Kraghammer that you can use as NPCs in your game. You should also take inspiration from these figures to make up new NPCs for your own campaign.

Ironkeeper Palluda Zuurthom
Dwarf Ironkeeper of House Greyspine
Even after weathering the Chroma Conclave, uniting Kraghammer’s squabbling houses in support of the Tal’Dorei Council was no mean feat. Ironkeeper Palluda of House Zuurthom proved up to the task. They made a name for themself by taking control of a trade deal that ultimately sold tens of thousands of gold pieces’ worth of quarried stone to the League of Miracles, which began the reconstruction of Tal’Dorei in earnest. Palluda became a hero of the working dwarf within Kraghammer. They are a master at getting all sides to agree to a compromise, and
do so with an iron-edged smile.

Lord Nostoc Greyspine
Dwarf overseer of House Greyspine
The dour executive of dozens of quarries across the Cliffkeep Mountains, Nostoc makes up for his unpleasant personality by being a formidable businessman. In recent years, he has become fabulously wealthy as the reconstruction of cities across Tal’Dorei devoured thousands of tons of stone. House Thunderbrand and the League of Miracles made it possible to transport it all with teleportation spells.

Elementalist Drake Thunderbrand
Dwarf evoker of House Thunderbrand
One of the eldest of his House, Drake is known for his surprising empathy and fierce temper. He is also a member of the Arcana Pansophical. His friendship with Allura Vysoren made him a popular choice for Kraghammer’s ambassador to the council, but he politely refused, claiming it was a younger dwarf’s duty.