Designing Dwarf strongholds

The stronghold design tables are intended to make creating a stronghold an easy task. They do not attempt to deal with every aspect of design. The tables do not define the numbers or sizes of individual dwellings or work places, or specify the exact numbers of NPCs within them.

Name of the Stronghold

Every stronghold needs a name. You may choose a name or randomly create one using the Stronghold Name Generator. To use the generator, first turn to the dwarf name generator in Chapter 4. Roll 1d4 to determine the number of syllables in the stronghold's name. Roll for each syllable on the Dwarf Name Prefix Table. Then, either assemble them in the order generated or rearrange them to make a better sounding name. Then turn to the Stronghold Suffix Table, below, and roll once to finish the name. Feel free to add other letters between each prefix and/or suffix if the name is too difficult or simply does not 'sound right'.

Stronghold Suffix Generator

Roll 1d20

1	-ack	11	-hak
2	-arr	12	-hig
3	-bek	13	-jak
4	-dal	14	-kak
5	-duum	15	-lode
6	-dukr	16	-malk
7	-eft	17	-mek
8	-est	18	-rak
9	-fik	19	-tek
10	-gak	20	-zak

Subraces Present

Most strongholds were created by a particular subrace of dwarf. This subrace is the one that controls the stronghold and comprises the majority of its citizens. You may choose, or you may wish to generate randomly on the Subrace Table, who holds the stronghold.

Choose or randomly determine the number of dwarves present. This will give you the number of male dwarves living in the stronghold. There are approximately half as many females as males, regardless of subrace. The number of children is equal to about half of the female population. If, for example, the total population of the stronghold is around 400, there would be 225 males, 112 females and about 63 children.

Subrace Table

1d100	Main Subrace	#Dwarves
01-10	Deep Dwarves	3d100+50
11-20	Duergar	2d100+100
21-30	Gully Dwarves	1d100+100
31-70	Hill Dwarves	3d100+100
71-90	Mountain Dwarves	3d100+100
91-95	Sundered Dwarves	2d100+50
96-00	Mixed Subraces	See below

You may decide that your selected subrace is the only one present, or you may wish to add others to the stronghold. A mixed stronghold is one having more than a single subrace of dwarves. The primary one is dominant and holds political power over the stronghold, but they do not have to be the majority within it.

The Dominant Subrace Table determines the subrace that controls the stronghold. If you want to add other minor subraces to the stronghold, the table will show you how many are present. You can select this or determine it randomly.

Dominant Subraces Table

		# Other
1d100	Dominant Subrace	Subraces
01-10	Deep Dwarves	1d3
11-20	Duergar	1d4
21-25	Gully Dwarves	1d2
26-70	Hill Dwarves	1d4
71-90	Mountain Dwarves	1d4
91-00	Sundered Dwarves	1d3

Modifying the Dominant Subrace

In strongholds having one or more minority subraces, the number of the dominant subrace is altered by the Modified Subrace Table, according to the number of other subraces present. If, for example, there are there are 200 deep dwarves in a stronghold with three other minor subraces present, the number of deep dwarves is reduced by 50% to 100.

Modified Subrace Table

Other Subraces
Present	Modifier
1	-10%
2	-25%
3	-50%
4	-75%

Determining the Number of Subrace Members

So far, you know how many subraces are in the stronghold, but not which ones they are, nor their numbers. The Subrace Tables list the main subrace and the subraces likely to share a stronghold with them. Once the minor subraces have been selected, choose or randomly determine their numbers.

In the event that a random roll results in the same subrace being designated more than once, maintain their numbers each time they occur, as though they were a different subrace. Total the results to determine the numbers present.

Deep Dwarves Subraces Table

1d100	Subrace	# of Subrace
01-25	Duergar	5d10
26-50	Gully	3d12
51-75	Hill	2d10
76-00	Mountain	3d6

Duergar Subraces Table

1d100	Subrace	# of Subraces
01-40	Deep Dwarves	3d12
41-60	Gully Dwarves	3d10
61-80	Hill Dwarves	2d12
81-00	Mountain Dwarves	2d12

Gully Dwarves Subraces Table

1d100	Subrace	# of Subrace
01-20	Deep Dwarves	1d10
21-40	Duergar	2d6
41-60	Hill Dwarves	3d12
61-80	Mountain Dwarves	2d10
81-00	Sundered Dwarves	2d6

Hill Dwarves Subraces Table

1d100	Subrace	# of Subrace
01-10	Deep Dwarves	1d12
11-20	Duergar	2d8
21-40	Gully Dwarves	4d10
41-90	Mountain Dwarves	3d6
91-00	Sundered Dwarves	3d6

Mountain Dwarves Subraces Table

1d100	Subrace	# of Subrace
01-10	Deep Dwarves	2d10
11-20	Duergar	2d10
21-25	Gully Dwarves	2d6
26-70	Hill Dwarves	2d12
91-00	Sundered Dwarves	3d6

Sundered Dwarves Subraces Table

1d100	Subrace	# of Subrace
01-60	Gully Dwarves	10d10
61-80	Hill Dwarves	3d12
81-00	Mountain Dwarves	2d10

Subraces living in strongholds held by others are almost always a minority. They are there because they are exiles, traders who have established a sizable base, or because they have particular skills to sell. Subraces may also be present because they have experience in fighting certain kinds of monsters, or because they have been cut off from their own people by disaster. They may have intermarried with the dominant race.

You may generate these subraces in more detail by treating them as trading enclaves or family strongholds. The following paragraphs give some general guidelines on how the various subraces function within another subrace's stronghold.

Deep dwarves usually live at great depths and keep to themselves. As minor subraces, they tend to be in small family groups, plying a craft or trade.

Duergar living among other subraces are usually not of an evil alignment unless the stronghold's alignment is evil. They may be tolerated by neutral dwarves, but are always treated with wary suspicion.

Other subraces living among the duergar will usually be evil and will have joined the duergar to avoid persecution in their home strongholds. Evil duergar strongholds will tend to enslave other subraces, unless they are allies.

Gully dwarves may be found living among any subrace of dwarf, usually employed to perform menial or unpleasant tasks.

A gully dwarf stronghold may contain other subraces, but these will usually share similar attitudes and behavioral patterns with them.

Hill and mountain dwarves may be found at any depth and living with any other subrace. They are clannish and keep to themselves. They are likely to be the employers of other subraces. While these others will usually be present in the stronghold on a fixed term contract, it is not unusual for a stronghold to have enclaves of other dwarves who have been there for generations.

Sundered dwarves are only found living among other dwarves when a part of the stronghold is above ground. Hill dwarf strongholds, which are built above and below the hills, are ideal. If the stronghold is entirely below ground, sundered dwarves will congregate around one of its entrances, where they will construct shanty towns in order to conduct trade.

Overall Alignment

You may either select a stronghold's alignment to match that of its dominant race or roll on the Overall Stronghold Alignment Table. A stronghold's overall alignment determines its general outlook. Not all of the stronghold's inhabitants need to be of this alignment. In good aligned strongholds, evil characters will usually keep their alignment hidden from their fellows.

Overall Stronghold Alignment Table

2d6	Deep	Duergar	Gully	Hill	Mountain	Sundered
2	CN	LG	LG	LE	LE	CE
3	NE	NE	LN	LN	LN	NE
4	NG	LN	LE	LN	LN	LG
5	N	LE	NG	LG	LG	LE
6-8	N	LE	CN	LG	LG	LN
9	N	N	N	LG	LG	N
10	LN	CN	NE	NG	NG	N
11	LG	CE	CG	CG	N	CN
12	LE	NG	CE	N	N	CG

Types of Strongholds

Strongholds vary in size and importance. You may have an idea of the kind of stronghold you want. If not, you can determine it randomly.

The population modifier is used to determine the number of dwarves who live in a stronghold and the numbers of each subrace will be modified by this percentage. For all strongholds, other than secondary ones, you'll need to adjust the numbers previously acquired. To do this, multiply the numbers you have by the percentage given.

Depending upon who built the stronghold, it may extend above ground, with stone towers and battlements, spreading over the sides of hills or mountains. Sundered dwarves always build their strongholds above ground. Deep dwarves and duergar never do.

Stronghold Type Table

1d100	Type of	Population
	Stronghold	Modifier
01-05	Major	200%
06-55	Secondary	100%
56-70	Outpost	40%
71-80	Ghetto	25%
81-90	Trade Enclave	10%
91-00	Family	5%

Major strongholds are capital cities. Some dwarves who live in them are powerful, and often rule secondary strongholds.

Gully and sundered dwarves never build major strongholds. Gully dwarves may live in them, but they will have moved into them only after the original inhabitants have been killed or driven away.

Major strongholds contain large numbers of dwarves. They are the height of dwarf engineering and construction and are nearly always located around a very profitable mine. The gates of major strongholds are sturdy and flanked with stone towers.

Secondary strongholds are the most common. They are similar to major strongholds, but are not as large. They may be independent or allied politically and militarily with a major one. Most major strongholds began as secondary and grew in size and importance over centuries.

An outpost is a stronghold that has been founded to protect an area or to expand the realm of a secondary or major stronghold. It may have been a mine that grew in size and began to accommodate more than just the miners who worked there.

Mines are established to extract minerals from the earth. The dwarves who live in them are engaged chiefly in the mining of gemstones or in mining and smelting ores. Such an outpost is rarely self-sufficient, but relies heavily on trade or outside supply.

Trade enclaves are situated in the towns and cities of other races and subraces for the purpose of conducting trade. They may be fortified houses or stone forts for the traders, their guards, and their families.

Ghettoes are areas within cities and towns of other races where clusters of dwarves live. This could be a wealthy city block inhabited by well-to-do dwarf merchants and craftsmen or an impoverished shanty town where dwarves eke out a living as best they can.

A family stronghold is home to a single family of dwarves. They are small and often consist of a single house or underground cavern inhabited by a family. Dwarves who live in family strongholds tend to be very reclusive and clannish.

The Age of the Stronghold

Because they live so long, dwarves find it easier to measure the passage of time in terms of generations, instead of years. A dwarf thinks of his stronghold as being founded three generations ago, not 1,000 years before. Using the size of the stronghold, determine its age using the Number of Generations column.

The period represented by a generation will vary between subraces. To find the approximate number of years since a stronghold's foundation, multiply the number of generations by the dominant race's life expectancy on the table below.

Age of Stronghold Table

Type of Stronghold	#Generations
Major	2d10
Secondary	2d6
Outpost	1d6-1
Ghetto	1d4-1
Trade Enclave	1d4-2
Family	1d6-1

On any roll of 0 or less (after modifiers are applied) the stronghold has been founded in the current generation.

Racial Modifiers:

Subtract 2 for gully dwarves, 1 for sundered dwarves.

Life Expectancy Table

Type of Dwarf	Life Expectancy
Hill	350 years
Mountain	400 years
Deep	380 years
Duergar	400 years
Sundered	250 years
Gully	250 years

Government

Dwarves are traditionally ruled by a king or chief, but these are only two of the possible forms of government available. Major strongholds are always ruled by a feudal king. You may decide otherwise, but this should be a conscious decision, not determined by a random roll of dice. You may select the type of government in other strongholds or roll on the Government Table.

Government Table

1d100	Government
1-10	Colony
11-20	Conquered
21-60	Feudal
61-80	Guild
81-90	Oligarchy
91-100	Theocracy
101-110	Anarchy

Modifiers:

Add 10 for gully dwarves

Add 10 for chaotic aligned strongholds

A colony is a stronghold specifically established by another stronghold and under the direct rule of its parent. Colonies may be founded to expand political power, to subjugate conquered races, or to exploit mineral resources. They may also be established to protect strategically important areas or to redistribute excess population.

A conquered stronghold has been conquered by invaders and is now controlled by them. The conquered people may have been enslaved by the conquerors. To discover who the conquerors are, consult the War Table below.

Chances are that the conquered dwarves will not be allowed any weapons or armor. Some may have banded together to form a resistance and may be hiding in secret locations in or near the stronghold.

Feudal strongholds are ruled by a dwarf king or one of his nobles. Major strongholds nearly always have monarchs, but even a lowly family stronghold may be ruled by a king whose power extends only to his immediate family.

Secondary strongholds and outposts may be ruled by a king, or by a prince or duke who owes allegiance to a major stronghold.

A guild stronghold is ruled by the guild masters of each clan. The guild masters meet to regulate all aspects of life within the stronghold. They may be headed by a guild master who is elected by the others, for one or more years.

An oligarchy is an elite group of dwarves, elected or selected on the basis of their wealth, to rule a stronghold. Oligarchies usually work to further their own goals and ambitions. The oligarchic members may be Highborns, Guild Masters, or merchants who have amassed large fortunes.

A theocracy is a stronghold ruled by priests of one or more dwarven deities. Theocracies attempt to impose their strictures and beliefs on all the inhabitants of the stronghold. They will typically strive to suppress other religions.

An anarchy is a form of nongovernment usually restricted to gully dwarves, but may be found in any stronghold with a chaotic alignment. In anarchy, citizens do what they want, when they want to do it. An anarchy could be tempered by a desire to maintain society by avoiding harm to others, as in a community that is chaotic good. Alternatively, it could be a case of no one having any regard for the effects of their actions on others.

Attitude

A stronghold does not exist in isolation; it has contact with other strongholds and races. The nature of these contacts determines the stronghold's attitude and its military strength. The percentage of dwarves in the militia refers to the number of male and female dwarves who regularly drill and carry arms. They are included when determining the armed forces of a stronghold (see Military Forces).

Attitude Table

		Dwarves
1d20	Attitude	in Militia
1	Decadent	25%
2-3	Declining	50%
4	Dispossessed	50-100%
5	Exiled	50-100%
6-7	Expansionist	100%
8-9	Friendly	50%
10	Integrated	25%
11-20	Isolationist	75-100%

A decadent stronghold is one in which traditional dwarf values have been forgotten or are little used. These dwarves will exhibit personality traits more in keeping with other races.

The NPC military forces of a decadent stronghold are likely to be badly trained and fight at B1 to attack and damage.

A declining stronghold was once powerful and rich, but has fallen upon hard times. Its mines may have played out, or it may have been struck by a plague that devastated the population. Perhaps the once profitable trade it conducted with neighboring races has ended, and now the stronghold is short of commodities that it once took for granted. A declining stronghold may have been involved in a war that so taxed its resources that real recovery was too expensive.

Dispossessed dwarves have lost their ancestral homes and now live in a situation they believe is temporary, even though they may have been there for generations. They have a passion to reclaim their ancestral homes and may even mount expeditions to do so. Or they may accept that their homes are lost and establish new ones for themselves. Even then, groups will periodically set out to attempt to recapture the ancestral stronghold. Consult the War Table to determine who drove them from their ancestral hearths.

Exiled dwarves have been expelled by their own kind. This may have been for some evil act or practice, or they may have been forced out by others who were evil. In either case, they seek to return to their homes.

Expansionist societies are strong and robust. They seek to expand into new areas, even if they must go to war to acquire them. A stronghold with this attitude is frequently antagonistic toward other races. It may seek to expand underground at the expense of other subterranean races. It may be expanding above ground, perhaps driving elves from a nearby forest so that the dwarves can get at the mineral deposits beneath it.

Friendly dwarves are as open as dwarves ever get. This doesn't mean that other races are welcome, but that friendly types are less closed than the rest of their race. They usually have more dealings with humans or elves than others, except for integrated strongholds.

Integrated strongholds are those that have become a part of another race's society. They most frequently occur among sundered dwarves or dwarves in trade enclaves. They will retain their traditional ways and lifestyles, but are more knowledgeable about the races they live among than other dwarves. Integrated strongholds are most likely to have trade and military agreements with other races. They are likely to join with armies of other races to defeat a common foe.

Isolationist dwarves avoid dealings with all races, and often with other dwarf subraces. They look only inward and keep their gates firmly locked. Visitors are unwelcome and trespassers are dealt with sharply. They usually live in remote or inhospitable regions. Mountain and deep dwarves are frequently isolationist. Some live close to other races, but shun all contact with them.

Resources

No absolute figures are given for stronghold resources because campaigns frequently have different scales of wealth. The Stronghold Resources Table uses relative divisions of wealth, but does not express what these resources are.

The Starting Gold Modifier is an optional rule that may be applied to a character's starting wealth to take into account the relative wealth of his home stronghold. These modifiers cannot reduce a character below the minimum character funds for his class. That is, if he rolls 5d4x10 gp for his starting wealth, the minimum he could generate is 50 gp; his starting wealth may not fall below this amount.

For example, a warrior from a poor stronghold must subtract 10-60 gp from his starting gold. He rolls his normal 5d4x10 gp for a miserly total of 60 gp. Then he rolls his poor stronghold penalty of 1d6x10 gp and gets -60 gp! Since this would leave him with no money at all, he automatically receives the minimum of 50 gp.

Stronghold Resources Table

		Starting Gold
1d20	Relative Resources	Modifier
1	Very Poor(subsistence)	-1d8x10 gp
2B5	Poor	-1d6x10 gp
6B10	Fair	-1d4x10 gp
10B14	Average	no modifier
15B17	Comfortable	+1d4x10 gp
18B19	Wealthy	+1d6x10 gp
20+	Rich	+1d10x10 gp

Racial Modifiers to 1d20 Roll:

Duergar	-5
Gully Dwarves	-10
Sundered Dwarves	-8
Mountain and Hill Dwarves	+2

Stronghold Modifiers to 1d20 Roll:

Major	+3
Secondary	+1
Outpost	0
Ghetto	-3
Trade Enclave	+2
Family	0

Relationships with Other Player Character Races

Even the most isolationist strongholds must have some sort of relationship with other player character races, even if very distant ones. Strongholds may have friendly ties with other races, or they may be at war with them.

Whether you select the stronghold's relationships, or determine them randomly, a separate determination must be made for each race that lives near the stronghold. DMs who want the detail can determine different relations toward each settlement in the area, even if many of them house the same race.

If the stronghold has a friendly, open relationship with the race, members of the race may visit the dwarves regularly and a few may even live among them. Trade is brisk.

An indifferent relationship is one that is neutral and businesslike. Trade is likely, but few members of the race visit the stronghold. The only ones likely to live among the dwarves are merchants.

In a cautious relationship, the stronghold does not welcome visitors from the other race. Those who enter are searched and watched closely. The stronghold tries to avoid confrontations and giving offense, but relationships are strained and guarded. No one of the outside race lives among the dwarves.

In a threatening relationship visitors are actively discouraged by the threat of violence. They are turned back at the borders or held and interrogated to learn why they are in the dwarves' territory.

In a hostile relationship, intruders are attacked and driven back from the stronghold's borders. Armed forces are ready to repel invaders. Relationships are strained and an uneasy peace might exist as described under War/Peace.

In a war situation, combat is regular and serious. The DM can decide who started the war and why. In any case, all of the stronghold's resources are allocated to gaining victory over the enemy.

Relationship to Other Player Character Races

1d20	Elves	Gnomes	Halflings	Humans
1	Friendly	Friendly	Friendly	Friendly
2	Indifferent	Friendly	Friendly	Friendly
3	Indifferent	Friendly	Friendly	Friendly
4	Indifferent	Friendly	Indifferent	Indifferent
5	Cautious	Indifferent	Indifferent	Indifferent
6	Cautious	Indifferent	Indifferent	Indifferent
7	Cautious	Indifferent	Indifferent	Indifferent
8	Cautious	Indifferent	Indifferent	Indifferent
9	Cautious	Indifferent	Indifferent	Indifferent
10	Threatening	Indifferent	Cautious	Indifferent
11	Threatening	Indifferent	Cautious	Cautious
12	Threatening	Indifferent	Cautious	Cautious
13	Threatening	Cautious	Cautious	Cautious
14	Threatening	Cautious	Cautious	Threatening
15	Hostile	Cautious	Threatening	Threatening
16	Hostile	Cautious	Threatening	Threatening
17	Hostile	Threatening	Threatening	Hostile
18	Hostile	Threatening	Threatening	Hostile
19	At War	Threatening	Hostile	Hostile
20	At War	Hostile	Hostile	At War
21+	At War	At War	At War	At War

Modifiers:

Stronghold Alignment

lawful good	-2
lawful evil	+2
neutral evil	+2
chaotic neutral	+1
chaotic evil	+5

Race's Alignment

lawful good	-2
neutral good	-1
lawful neutral	-1

Stronghold's Attitude is:

Expansionist	+5
Friendly	-5
Isolationist*	0

If the stronghold is isolationist, treat all results of 4 or less as 9's on the Relationship Table.

War and Peace with Other Races

Dwarves not only have dealings with other human and demihuman races, they also have to contend with evil monsters and other races below ground. A war may have been raging for generations or it may have just begun. To determine if the stronghold is at war with any underground races, use the War/Peace Table.

War/Peace Table

1d20	Situation
1-10	Peace
11-15	Uneasy Peace
16-20	War

Attitude Modifiers:

Declining	+2
Dispossessed	+10
Expansionist	+5
Friendly	-5

If the stronghold is at peace now, it may have been at war in the past. Roll on the Peace Table to determine how long the stronghold has been at peace.

Peace Table

1d10	Duration
1	1d12 months
2	1d6 years
3	2d6 years
4	3d10 years
5	5d10 years
6	1d4 generations
7	2d6 generations
8	2d10 generations
9-10	Always at peace

If the stronghold has been at war, roll on the War Table to determine its enemies. To discover the length of the war, roll on the War Duration Table.

The reasons for peace are as varied as the reasons for war. The enemies may have been eliminated, or injured so badly that they moved to another place. The war may have collapsed a major tunnel system, sealing off the defenders from their attackers.

An uneasy peace is one in which friction still exists between the dwarves and their enemies. The stronghold may again go to war, but one or both sides are licking their wounds. Diplomatic incidents may still occur over disputed territory.

Roll on the War Table to determine the stronghold's enemies. To establish the length of the peace, roll 1d8 on the Peace Table.

Even defeated enemies may still be in a position to threaten a stronghold, and may be preparing a renewed assault even now. Bands of orcs, for example, could have been defeated three generations ago. Since then, they have been breeding and enlisting other orcs and giants against the day when they will storm the stronghold's defenses.

An Aggressive stronghold is likely to be preparing a preemptive attack against its foe. An Isolationist one will be engaged in strengthening its defenses, anticipating an attack. A Decadent stronghold is likely to ignore the buildup, while a Declining one may be powerless to do anything about it and may well be overrun when the attack comes.

War

To determine who is at war with the stronghold or has been at war with it, choose or roll on the War Table. Feel free to select races not on the table if that suits your campaign. Creatures on the War Table are listed by general category only. All giants are included in the giant entry. Some races may have other races serving them as troops or slaves. As always, ignore any illogical results.

War Table

1d100	Enemy
01-05	Beholders
06-10	Dragons
11-20	Drow
21-30	Dwarves*
31-35	Giants
36-40	Gnolls
41-50	Goblins
51-60	Hobgoblins
61-65	Lizard Men
66-70	Mind Flayers
71-75	Ogres
76-85	Orcs
86-90	Trolls
91-95	Undead
96-98	Roll two more times
99-00	Roll three more times

* If dwarves are rolled they will be duergar if the stronghold is good or neutral in alignment. If the stronghold is evil, roll on the Main Subrace Table to determine their enemies. These enemies can also be evil dwarves (i.e., duergar can fight duergar).

Duration of the War

The length of the war is determined first in terms of years, and then generations. If the duration of the war is more than the age of the stronghold, then the stronghold has been at war since its founding. Its inhabitants have never known peace.

War Duration Table

1d10	Duration
1	1d8 days
2	1d4 weeks
3	1d12 months
4	1d6 years
5	2d6 years
6	3d10 years
7	5d10 years
8	1d4 generations
9	2d6 generations
10	2d10 generations

Types of War

Once it has been determined that a war is in progress, or that one occurred in the stronghold's past, you can then determine what type of war it was.

War Type Table

1d10	War Type
1-3	Sporadic
4-5	Steady
6-8	Escalating
9	Siege
10	Invasion

Attitude Modifiers:

Declining	+3
Isolationist	+1

Sporadic: The war consists of sporadic skirmishes and border incidents. No major battles have been fought and neither side is making any real progress, or even pushing the point very hard. Enemies rarely penetrate far into the stronghold and are content just to test its defenses every once in a while.

Steady: A steady war consists of constant pressure maintained by both sides. Border skirmishes are common and the enemy makes regular raids against the stronghold. The stronghold sends forces to attack enemy camps and lairs.

Escalating: The war steadily increases in scale. Both sides are adding more resources in an effort to prevail. Large battles are likely and the stronghold's militia is always armed and ready to fight. Wars may continue to escalate for years, or they may quickly culminate in one decisive battle.

Siege: One side has adopted (or been forced to adopt) a completely defensive stance. Perhaps goblin forces surround the stronghold, cutting it off from all outside contact. Or perhaps the dwarves have done the same to a giant fortress. In either case, constant pressure must be maintained against the besieged. Attempts are made to pollute or poison water supplies, destroy food reserves and crops, and shut off supplies of air to underground defenders. The defenders may send out parties to secure aid from other strongholds, or conduct sorties to disrupt the attackers.

Life in strongholds under siege is much harsher than normal. Food and water are often in short supply and the inhabitants must contend with the constant threat of storming parties, disease, and declining morale.

Invasion: The primary defenses of the stronghold have been overrun and enemy forces occupy substantial portions of the stronghold. Alternatively, the dwarves may have advanced from their stronghold into the enemy's territory in force. The goal may be to punish raiders, or capture ground, or conquer and subjugate the enemy, or eliminate the enemy entirely.

Militia

We have already established the number of citizens in the militia on the Attitude Table. Look up the dominant race and multiply the total militia number by the percentage given to determine how many militia members are of the dominant race.

All members of the militia are 1st-level. Their leaders are usually of higher levels and are in addition to the total number of militia in a stronghold.

The armor type is assigned for an average stronghold. This may be adjusted to reflect the wealth of the stronghold. The militia of a poor stronghold may only be able to afford leather armor, while a rich one could outfit its militia in banded or even plate mail armor.

Morale: An average morale is furnished for each militia. This is modified according to the attitude of the stronghold.

Leaders: The number and experience level of leaders is determined by the number of dwarves in the militia. In the case of hill dwarves, for example, for every 40 militia members there is a 2nd-to 6th-level leader present. For every 160 militia there is a 6th level leader present, and so on.

Morale Modifiers:

Decadent:	-3
Declining:	-2
Expansionist:	+2
Isolationist:	+1

Deep Dwarves

Morale: Elite (13)

Deep dwarf militia are equipped with scale mail armor and carry shields.

Weapons	Total Militia
Axe and light crossbow	15%
Axe and heavy crossbow	15%
Axe and hammer	25%
Spear and sword	25%
Pick and hammer	10%
Two-handed sword	10%

Deep Dwarf Leaders (Plate mail and shield)

# Militia	Class	Level
every 40	Warrior	3
50+	Warrior	7
	Warrior	4
100+	Warrior/Priest	4-7/5-8
200+	Warrior	9
300+	Warrior	10
	Warrior	8
	Warrior/Priest	7/8
	Warrior/Priest	5/5
	Warrior/Priest	4/4

Duergar

Morale: Elite (13)

Duergar militia are equipped with chain mail armor and carry shields.

Weapons	Total Militia
Pick and hammer	20%
Spear and pick	20%
Spear and hammer	20%
Pick and light crossbow	20%
Hammer and sword	10%
Hammer and heavy crossbow	10%

Duergar Leaders (Banded mail and shield)

# Militia	Class	Level
every 4	Warrior	2
every 9	Warrior	4
50+	Warrior	6
	Warrior	4
100+	Warrior/Priest	3-6/4-7
300+	Warrior	10
	Warrior	8
	Warrior/Priest	7/8
	Warrior/Priest	5/5
	Warrior/Priest	4/4

Gully Dwarves

Morale: Unsteady (7)

Gully dwarf militia is equipped with leather armor and shields. They only fight when forced to. The first reaction of most gully dwarves, militia or otherwise, to danger is to drop their weapons and run away!

Weapons	Total Militia
Any they can scavenge	100%

Gully Dwarf Leaders (Chain mail and shield)

# Militia	Class	Level
every 4	Thief (Leather)	2-6
every 5	Warrior	2-4
every 10	Warrior	2-6
50+	Warrior	8
100+	Warrior	10
	Priest	1-10

Hill Dwarves

Morale: Elite (13)

Hill dwarf militia is equipped with chain mail armor and shields.

Weapons	Total Militia
Sword and spear	20%
Sword and light crossbow	15%
Axe and hammer	25%
Sword and polearm	10%
Axe and heavy crossbow	10%
Axe and mace	10%
Hammer and pick	10%

Hill Dwarf Leaders (Plate and shield)

# Militia	Class	Level
every 40	Warrior	2-6
160+	Warrior	6
	Warrior	4
200+	Warrior/Priest	3-6/4-7
320+	Warrior	8
	Warrior	7
	Warrior/Priest	6/7
	Warrior/Priest	4/4

Mountain Dwarves

Morale: Elite (13)

Mountain dwarf militia is equipped with chain mail armor and shields.

Weapons	Total Militia
Sword and spear	30%
Sword and light crossbow	10%
Axe and hammer	25%
Sword and polearm	05%
Axe and heavy crossbow	10%
Axe and mace	10%
Hammer and pick	10%

Mountain Dwarf Leaders (Plate and shield)

# Militia	Class	Level
every 30	Warrior	2-6
150+	Warrior	6
	Warrior	4
200+	Warrior/Priest	3-6/4-7
300+	Warrior	8
	Warrior	7
	Warrior/Priest	6/7
	Warrior/Priest	4/4
	Warrior/Priest	4/4

Sundered Dwarves

Morale: Steady (11)

Sundered dwarf militia is equipped with ring mail armor and shields.

Weapons	Total Militia
Axe and sword	15%
Axe and spear	15%
Axe and light crossbow	15%
Polearm and mace	05%
Polearm and hammer	10%
Hammer and heavy crossbow	15%
Pick and dagger	10%
Mace and sword	10%
Two-handed sword	05%

Sundered Dwarf Leaders (Chain mail and shield)

# Militia	Class	Level
every 50	Warrior	2-7
100+	Warrior	8
	Warrior	5
150	Warrior/Priest	2-7/3-8
300+	Warrior	9
	Warrior	8
	Warrior/Priest	7/8
	Warrior/Priest	3/3
	Warrior/Priest	3/3

Special Forces

In addition to militia, a stronghold may have special types of forces. These are described in the Character Kits and include Hearth Guards, Battleragers, and Vermin Slayers, among others. The number of special forces should not be more than 10 to 20% of the total number of male dwarves present in a stronghold. For simplicity, add these to the number of male dwarves in the militia rather than subtracting them.

War Machines

A stronghold may also have war machines available. These are described in Chapter 9. Roll once for every 50 militia members in the stronghold.

War Machine Table

1d10	# War Machines
1-5	None
6-8	1
9	2
10+	3

Attitude Modifiers:

Decadent:	-3
Declining:	-2
Isolationist:	+1
Expansionist:	+2

Animals

Certain strongholds are guarded by animals. Select these according to whether the Animal Master kit is being used, and the subrace of the dwarf. Suitable animals include bears and wolves for mountain and hill dwarves, steeders for duergar, giant lizards for deep dwarves, giant rats and beetles for gully dwarves, and dogs and wolves for sundered dwarves.

Total Strength

Finally, add up the number of leaders in the militia, plus special troops, and add these to the number of dwarves in the stronghold to determine its total strength.

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