Nav’golam crest

Nav’golam

Stone’s Heart — the first true dwarven home beneath the mountain

Nav’golam — dwarven halls beneath the mountain

Overview

Far below the living world lies Nav’golam, a vast dwarven city hewn into the bones of the earth. Born in the year –1800, it stands as the first true home of wandering dwarven clans, a place they could call sanctuary after centuries in the Underworld. Here, stalactites and torchlight herald pillars of stone, and laughter echoes off endless halls. The name Nav’golam, “Stone’s Heart,” speaks of purpose: a fortress shaped by will and fire, founded when dwarves at last found a home under the mountain.

Visitors arrive via the Spiral Shaft, a vast tunnel lit by luminous fungi and glowing ore veins. After emerging in the Grand Antechamber, guests pass through the Watch-Pillars and are welcomed by the Duty-Stewards. While dwarves are cautious of strangers, travelers who bring tales of distant lands—or rare metals—are shown hospitality in the Hearth of Passing. Still, delveers beware: contracts are binding in Nav’golam, enforced by oath and rune-stone.

Halls & Works

  • Great Forge & Ember-Anvil — core of industry and sacred craft.
  • Glowstone Canals — ore & goods ferried through lighted tunnels.
  • Spiral Shaft & Grand Antechamber — main ingress, freight & muster.

Factions & Orders

  • Forge Lords — clan heads; counsel to the king.
  • Duty-Stewards — contracts & oath-stones for visitors.
  • Underworks Keepers — furnaces & Ember-Anvil rites.
  • Canal Wardens — glowstone waterways & freight security.
“Hammer-song is our clock; oath-stone is our law.”

— Duty-Steward of the Watch-Pillars

Economy & Trade

  • Metalwork (arms, tools), gem-craft, stone masonry, canal freight.
  • Surface trade via contracted caravans; oath-priced work commissions.
  • Archive services (genealogies, treaties) for allied clans.

Risks & Rumours

  • Underworks hazards: furnace collapses, gas pockets, construct mishaps.
  • Mire-edge incursions from the deep road; relic thieves on canals.
  • Whispers of anvil-rites awakening something in old basalt vaults.

Places of Note

The gates to Nav'golam

The Black Gate

A monolithic arch of iron-smelted stone marking the city's threshold—the first sight of Nav’golam’s immensity. Ancient runes etched in basalt whisper of ancestral strength to those who pass beneath.

the great forge

The Great Forge

Within the heart of Nav’golam's Underworks, furnaces roar like underground suns. Here, the legendary Ember-Anvil stands—a living forge that glows with perpetual forge-fire, used only on the most sacred of creations.

glowstone canals

Glowstone Canals

Narrow waterways lit by luminescent minerals. Small boats ferry ore and other goods through glowing tunnels—an eerie, dreamlike river of light carved from living rock.

An underground archive

The Vault of A Thousand Hammers

A deep subterranean archive where dwarves deposit records of guilds, treaties, and genealogies in gem-encrusted chests. The walls themselves are lined in copper leaf, reflecting torchlight like whispered memory.

Hall of Echoing Drums

A ceremonial chamber where resonant beats echo off cavern walls. It serves as a gathering point for festivals, ancestral remembrances, and when the Pact of Firesmiths is renewed, the drums speak for the earth itself.

underworld garden

The Subterranean Gardens

Hidden within basalt chambers are pockets of engineered soil, where hardy mushrooms, glowing lichen, and low-cropped root-veg are grown under torchlight—sustenance born of stone and ingenuity.