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Kraghammer is an underground dwarven citadel that sits within the Cliffkeep Mountains.

Prior to 812 PD, entry into the city by outsiders was forbidden unless they had some sort of political standing and the proper paperwork. By 836 PD however, these xenophobic laws have been abolished.[2]

The upper levels are filled with dwarves, who are wary of outsiders, but will warm to anyone who will spend coin in their town. The lower levels are home to many businessdwarves, such as smiths and miners. These areas are much less welcoming to foreigners due to dwarves not liking outsiders near areas of financial importance.

Description[]

Kraghammer and Tunnels Below - Andy Law

Official map of Kraghammer and the tunnels below, by Andy Law from Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn.[art 3]

Kraghammer is a three-tiered cylindrical metropolis carved into the stone of a mountain. The interior features extravagant masonry such as marble columns, archways, bridges, and buttresses, all of which is lit using a reddish-glowing stone called candlerock. A large metal forge envelopes the center of the city.[3] Stairs and chain elevator systems near the edges of town are used for transportation between the higher and lower sections of Kraghammer.

The lower section of Kraghammer, near the mines, is darker than the upper levels. This area consists of several large structures and a giant domed temple made of flawless bronze in the center with doorways on each side, as well as a very large foundry with giant metal piping that filters off most of the smoke.

Off to the side of this section is the Greyspine Quarry mithral mine. The mine itself is made up of three deep holes that stretch down under the mountain. The expansion of the city shows in the mine design as well as the appearance that, once a section of the mine is hollowed out, the city slowly seems to expand downwards. Many mining buildings stretch around the center of the quarry. There are also a series of tunnels that go off to the sides of these main tunnels. Unbeknown to the dwarves of Kraghammer, one of these mining tunnels had broken into a cavern system that lead down into the Underdark.

The Top Slab[]

The Top Slab, also called the Arch, is built on a massive ring that sends neighborhoods and tunnels deeper into the mountain around it. Here is where most residential life is rooted, with thousands of stone-built abodes dotting the walls. A fine layer of soot tends to coat much of this slab, due to imperfect ventilation from the industrious center slab.[4]

  • The Firebrook Inn: A trendy inn where Lady Kima stayed during her visit at the end of 810 PD.[4]
  • The Iron Hearth Tavern: A large central tavern in the western part of the district.[4]
  • The Stone's Pillow: A brothel within Kraghammer.[5]
  • The Value of Valor: Alchemist and arcane shop.[6]

The Center Slab[]

Kraghammer - Brandon Chang

Fan art of Kraghammer, by Brandon Chang.[art 4]

The Center Slab, also referred to as the Heart, marks the widest and most varied rung on the journey through Kraghammer, and is stratified between the the residences of Kraghammer's dwarven elite and its wealthy merchant class. At the exact center of the slab-dwarves are very particular about geometrical symbolism-is the Pyrethrin, seat of the Iron Keeper. Radiating out from the Pyrethrone are the various fortress-manors of the dwarven noble houses, with several Carver barracks in easy reach. Just below, the outer rings of the Center Slab are occupied by most of the city's non-mining businesses, from smithies, breweries, and jewelers, to tailors, butchers, and even tinkerers like the gnome-run Crack sackle Union.[7]

  • The Hunter's Club: Well known as the chief provider for non-imported meats to the city, sending parties atop the mountain or in the nearby Torian Forest for wild game.[7]
  • Allhammer's Will: The extravagant marble temple stands on the center slab of the city. Enormous in size and impeccable in detail and architectural design, this hall calls artisans and crafters throughout the city for inspiration.[7]
  • Thunderbrand Manor: Home of the Thunderbrands, large structure guarded by magical runes and Carvers.[7]

The Bottom Slab[]

The Bottom Slab, or the Pit, is the industrious center of Kraghammer, boasting the most blast furnaces per square mile in all of Tal'Dorei, courtesy of the Bronze Metalworks and their competitors. A network of fungus-farming paths called the Glowgrove works its way around this level, passing through all sorts of caverns. The mushrooms are harvested by the Toppers, the dwarven agricultural league that got their name from the small topside farms they tend above the city.[7]

  • Bronze Grip Metalworks [7]
  • Greyspine Quarry, also known as the Keenstone Quarry: The mithral mine on the lower levels of the city, run by House Greyspine.[7]

Other points of interest[]

  • Greyspine Manor: Home of the Greyspines, a massive structure that is heavily guarded by the Carvers.[8][9]
  • Balgus Brewery: The only brewery in Kraghammer.[10]
  • The Pools of Solace: Maintained by House Greyspine.[11]

Society[]

Demographics[]

In 812 PD, Kraghammer is a large city with a population of 43,550. Most of its citizens are dwarves (83%) but there is also a significant portion of gnomes (10%), with various other races making up the rest (7%).[12] The substantial gnomish population is largely the result of a refugee migration hundreds of years earlier.

By 836 PD, Kraghammer's population had boomed to 73,550, an increase of thirty thousand. Dwarves still remain the majority (73%) followed by gnomes (8%), but a large amount of humans (5%) and others (14%) have joined Kraghammer's numbers since the city's abolishment of its isolationism.[1]

Notable People[]

Kraghammer, like Emon, also has a city council. There are several major houses within Kraghammer that each control certain aspects of business within the city.

Name Type Description
Adra NPC Owner of The Iron Hearth Tavern.[13]
Balgus NPC Owner of Balgus Brewery and champion of the Iron Hearth Tavern's fighting ring.[14]
Blenton Zuurthom NPC A noble and architectural savant.[15]
Ironkeeper Palluda Zuurthom NPC Drove a trade deal to supply stone for post-Chroma Crisis reconstruction. Ironkeeper as of 836 PD.[16]
Haddi Bronzegrip NPC Foredwarf of the Bronzegrip Metalworks who claims to be the wealthiest dwarf in Kraghammer.[7]
Foreman Hieris NPC Greyspine Quarry foreman.[17]
Lord Steddos Thunderbrand NPC Master arcanist and head of House Thunderbrand.[7]
Magrim NPC Servant of House Greyspine.[18]
Ironkeeper Gradim Greyspine NPC Dwarven former head of the council and Ironkeeper of Kraghammer for three consecutive 10-year terms, starting around 787 PD.[19]
Nostoc Greyspine NPC Head of the Greyspine mining operation and foundries.[7]
Wallera Glorendar NPC Former combat trainer of the Carvers, currently on leave due to a scandal within her house.[7]
Wyrmhide Thunderbrand NPC Commander of a pyromancer brigade.[20]
Tremaine NPC Owner of The Value of Valor.[21]
Ida Mudrake NPC A reporter who uncovered corruption in House Glorenthar.[4]

Known families and classes[]

House of Kraghammer

Symbol of the Houses of Kraghammer, by Conceptopolis from Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 36.[art 5]

The Five Ruling Houses of Kraghammer[]

Five Great Houses rule the city and have since its founding. Every ten years they elect an Ironkeeper, to serve as a representative and to maintain their alliances.[22]

  • House Bronzegrip: Maintains the Bronzegrip metalworks; foremost house for smithing and metalwork.[22]
  • House Glorendar: Maintains the law and manages the Carvers.[22]
  • House Greyspine: An influential Kraghammer house headed by Gradim Greyspine, the former Ironkeeper of Kraghammer. It controls the Greyspine Quarry.[23]
  • House Thunderbrand: The foremost house in all things magic.[24]
  • House Zuurthom: The foremost house for architecture and masonry. One of the five ruling houses of Kraghammer.[25]

Others[]

  • The Carvers: The military class who protect the city from attack and uphold the law.[26]
  • Balgus's House:[presumed] Since Balgus controls the only brewery in Kraghammer.[27]

History[]

Background[]

Shortly after the Calamity, Kraghammer was founded by the survivors of Uthtor and led by Clan Jaggenstrike.[28]

A short time after 412 PD, when hill giants wrecked the gnomish city of Wittebak, Kraghammer welcomed the refugees.[29][30]

Later that century, when Warren Drassig rose to power in Emon, the new Kingdom of Drassig severed diplomatic ties with Syngorn and made new alliances with Kraghammer. Soon Kraghammer was on Drassig's side in the 32-year Scattered War.

During the Icelost Years, somewhere between 518 and ~538 PD, the Tal'Dorei Council convinced Syngorn and Kraghammer to join in an alliance against Errevon the Rimelord, and together their forces battled Errevon back through the rift to the Frostfell.[31]

Around 800 PD, Gradim Greyspine was voted in as head of the council of Kraghammer.[32]

Ten years later, while Lady Kima of Vord was on her year-long pilgrimage for her growth as a paladin, she had a dark vision of evil taking root beneath Kraghammer. As she was returning from the tundra wastes north of Kraghammer, she traveled through the city and hired mercenaries to help her delve into the Underdark, and during her time in Kraghammer she managed to anger Nostoc Greyspine, the owner of the Greyspine Quarry. She and her companions ran into the Quarry without the permission of the Carvers, as she needed to head that direction to find the source of the evil.[33][34] In early Quen'pillar 810 PD, Allura Vysoren hired Vox Machina to search for her friend Kima beneath Kraghammer, leading directly to the on-stream events of Campaign One.[35][36]

"Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) and "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02)[]

Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn[]

Following the Chroma Crisis, Kraghammer struck a trade deal to supply a great deal of stone to the League of Miracles for the rebuilding efforts on the continent. That deal made a name for Palluda Zuurthom, made a fortune for Nostoc Greyspine, and brought the League together with House Thunderbrand for the teleportation of the materials. By 836 PD, Ironkeeper Zuurthom had united the houses of the city in support of the Tal'Dorei Council, and most of Kraghammer's people believed it would be best to join the Republic of Tal'Dorei.[25]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 96.
  2. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 97–98.
  3. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) from 20:17 through 20:54.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 66.
  5. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 0:56:10.
  6. See "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02) at 0:51:50.
  7. 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 67.
  8. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 0:35:14.
  9. See "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02) at 0:14:55.
  10. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 0:45:02.
  11. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 55.
  12. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 65.
  13. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 27:31.
  14. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 31:52.
  15. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 67-68.
  16. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 56.
  17. See "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02) at 0:21:26.
  18. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 1:55:24.
  19. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, pp. 36–37. See also p. 66. Gradim was halfway through his third term in 812 PD.
  20. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 68.
  21. See "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02) at 1:01:37.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 36.
  23. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) from 33:07 through 34:37.
  24. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 36:35.
  25. 25.0 25.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 55–56.
  26. See "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02) at 0:14:55.
  27. See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 0:45:02.
  28. "Not more than 800 years ago," in a book set in 812 PD. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 8. See also p. 65.
  29. In a book set in 812 PD, "nearly 400 years ago." See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 66. See also pp. 69–70.
  30. See "The Fear of Isolation" (1x105) at 30:05.  See also 52:53.
  31. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, pp. 10–11.
  32. In 810 PD, Adra says Gradim Greyspine has been the leader of Kraghammer for 10 years.  See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 33:24.
  33. See "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02) at 0:13:22.
  34. See "Into the Greyspine Mines" (1x02) at 0:20:30.
  35. See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 20:01.
  36. Vex seemed to recall Kraghammer is about a week's ride from Emon.  See "Shopping and Shipping" (1x14) at 2:55:03.

Art:

  1. Fan art of Kraghammer, by Miloš Radojkić (source). Used with permission.
  2. Official map of Kraghammer and surrounding areas, by Andy Law from Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
  3. Official map of Kraghammer and the tunnels below, by Andy Law from Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
  4. Fan art of Kraghammer, by Brandon Chang (source). Used with permission.
  5. Symbol of the Houses of Kraghammer, by Conceptopolis from Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 36. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.


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