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Here is the second empire. Using the Continent of Cerilia card in the
boxed set Dunedin lies directly west from Mieres on the Deismaar
mountain range (Azure Peaks in Aduria).

The land directly in between Mieres and Dunedin is unclaimed and open
for creations of provinces. as is the land north of that line. Anything
south though is part of Aduria as is the grasslands west of the Deismaar
range.

Enjoy.

- --
Ian Hoskins

e-Mail: hoss@box.net.au
ICQ: 2938300
Home Page: http://www.box.net.au/~hoss/birth.html

>From the Darkness we came.
And to the Darkness we will return.
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The Dwarven Kingdom of Dunedin

Alignment: Lawful Good
Status: Recommended


Province Law Temples Guilds Sources
Dunedin (6/3) HG (3) NTM (3) RDG (2) -
NTM (3) OTM (3) - -
Erzurum (3/4) OTM (3) OTM (3) RDG (1) -
Daglari (4/5) NTM (4) NTM (4) RDG (0) -
Akhalkalaki (4/3) OTM (4) OTM (4) RDG (2) -

* Fortified holding

Abbreviations: HG = King Harley Groundsmasher (Dunedin); NTM = New Temple
of Moradin (Jonus Greybeard); RDG = Royal Dunedin Guild (Snraff the
younger); OTM = Old Temple of Moradin (Yankiss Allootiis)

Province/Holdings: This ancient (by human reckoning) Dwarven realm is
situated high in what is now known as the Azure peaks. The throne is passed
on to the most able ruler who stand for the position. It is not a popular
position.

* Law: The current king, Harley Groundsmasher has only just taken the
throne. He cares little for the position and as a result his holdings
have declined over the years since his coronation.
* Temples: Two temples compete for the loyalty of their Dwarven
followers. The New Temple of Moradin is a radical movement seeking
opening the kingdom to outsiders, with the Old Temple of Moradin is
strongly opposed to this idea. The two temples do not get along at
all.
* Guilds: A small guild, supported by the crown is present in most
provinces. The guild mainly sells weapons and other goods to the
temples so they can continue their holy war.
* Sources: No wizards claim Dunedin's sources.

Regency Generated/Accumulated: 20/93
Treasury: Dunedin currently has over 50 GB's saved up and generates about
13 - 20 GB's each turn before maintenance.

Army: Dunedin's maintains a small army of Dwarven warriors just in case
another realm braved the dangerous mountains into the kingdom. The army
currently consists of 4 units of Dwarven Infantry. Both the NTM and the OTM
also support soldier, mainly for use against one another.

Regent: The current king is Harley Groundsmasher (MDf; F2; Ma, minor, 24).
He is a direct descended of the original ruler of Dunedin, Marc
Groundsmasher, one of the mightiest Dwarven warriors ever to walk the soil
of Aduria or Cerilia. King Harley is not the Dwarf his ancestor was though
and was only elected because no other Dwarf wanted the job. The position of
King means nothing to the Dwarves and they take little notice of the
decrees the King issues when he remembers that being king mean he can make
laws and order his Dwarves around. Most of the authority in the kingdom
instead rest with the two temples and they constantly challenge each other
for control of the kingdom. King Harley often finds himself in the middle
of the conflict and usually ends up pleasing no-one. As a result of this
the King spend much of his time off fishing, seeking to catch the elusive
mountain flounder said to lurk in the clear mountain streams of Dunedin.

Lieutenants: The king is not without advisors, in fact he has three. Unlike
the throne these positions are hereditary and the titles have been passed
down through to the heads of the three main clans over the years.
The leader of the Dunedin army is General Koras Kallis (MD; F12/P2; Br,
minor, 23). The General is a mighty warrior and spend much of his time
leading his soldiers around the borders of the kingdom looking for
something to fight. On the rare occasion something actually appears then
the General charge the monster, merchant, tree, or whatever and does not
stop until it is destroyed. The General and his men the return to the
capital Stone's Rejoicing and spend the next three days bragging about
their exploits in battle. As head of the Kallis Clan General Koras does
wield some influence in the kingdom and the King relies on his for advise
on all military matters.
The second advisor is the Foreign Minister Janntori Loomis (MD; P3,
Moradin; Br, tainted, 15). He is one of the most sensible Dwarves in all of
Dunedin and spend much of his day researching and then the rest advising
the king on what he has discovered. Janntori is renowned as the most
knowledgeable Dwarf in Dunedin. He is said to know of the lands beyond the
borders and is even thought to have ventured out of the kingdom once in his
youth. Now a very old Dwarf he, his talents have been wasted over the years
by uncaring Dwarven rulers, but he still continues with his work, ever
hoping that one day a King will call for his advise once again. The Loomis
clan is the smallest of the ruling three and has little power outside the
capital.
The final advisor is the religious advisor. Currently no member of the
Haggis clan has stepped up to take the position as the last three advisors
have been killed by the warring temples after they advised the king to make
a decision that effected one of the temples and not the other. It is not
likely that this position will be filled anytime soon as most of the leader
of the Haggis clan are in hiding in Daglari, out of the way of the warring
priests.

Important NPCs: The most important NPCs in the kingdom are the two priests
of Moradin. Although they both worship the same god their ideas over what
their god wishes are completely different. The Old Temple of Moradin is
convinced that their god wants the Dwarves to remain where they are and
continue to expand until they are ready to march forth once more to kill
Orogs. It's leader Uninne Papper (FD; P13; Ma, minor, 23) is not even sure
what an Orog looks like anymore but is sure that some day soon the Dwarves
will be ready for battle and then all the Orog, what ever they are, will be
crushed.
The New Temple of Moradin however is convinced that Orogs do not exist and
that the Dwarves should open their borders to the other races of Aduria and
go out into the world and make peace with everyone. It's leader Faane Green
(FD; P6; Ma, minor, 14) is sure that trading with other kingdoms will be
much better than killing them. She often plans expeditions outside the
kingdom, but these expedition never seem to leave as the Dwarves picked to
leave are set on by priests from the OTM who see them as traitors off to
warn the Orogs of the Dwarves second coming.
This holy war has been going on now for over two hundred years and shows no
sign of letting up. Fortunately few Dwarves actually ever get killed as the
injured are quickly healed by the priests of their side so they can get
back to the fight.

Description/History: During the battle at Deismaar King Marc Groundsmasher,
the then ruler of Baruk-Azhik has trapped on the wrong side of the land
bridge when the mountain was destroyed. Thinking the explosion has killed
the rest of his warriors and the Cerilians he led his Dwarves south along
the Deismaar mountain range to seek a new home. After many days of walking
the Dwarves found a mountain retreat where they could live peacefully away
from humans and built the kingdom of Dunedin. King Marc founded a new city,
which he named Stone's Rejoicing after the city in Baruk-Azhik, which he
was now sure had fallen to the Orogs in Cerilia.
It was during this time that many of the Dwarves discovered that their
blood has been infused with that of the Dying gods and they could now call
on a tiny portion of the Gods powers. Being a rather religions sort the
King announced that Moradin has blessed them and that the Dwarves were to
live here and recover their losses until such a time as they were ready
once more to return to Cerilia and crush the Orog that had taken their
kingdom Baruk-Azhik from them. During the last few years of his life the
King pushed the Dwarves into conquering the four provinces that now make up
Dunedin and to building several new settlements.
With few threats and no Orogs to fight the Dwarven population soon
increased rapidly and even today after two hundred years of holy war it
remains the largest Dwarven kingdom on Aebrynis. For many years following
the Kings death the Dwarves followed the path he had set them on, but after
several centuries attitudes began to change. As no living Dwarf had seen
these Orogs mentioned in the ancient tales many now wondered if they even
existed. When the King had first come south from Deismaar he had with him
nearly 2 thousand Dwarves, but now after the centuries had passed that
number had grown many times over and the thousands of Dwarves living in the
mountains of Dunedin had all been born in that kingdom. None now remembered
the ancient home of Baruk-Azhik, except in tales told by the priests.
Shut off in their mountain fortresses the Dwarves knew nothing of the world
around them. In the deserts to the east the serpent men of the spire built
and lost a mighty empire. To the north-east Anuire expanded and created the
colony of Mieres. South the mighty empires of Aduria and Nehalim clashed
again and again reducing the land of Juh to a blasted wasteland, fit only
for battle. And to the west the ancient lands of the Rjurik people were
claimed by settlers from Nehalim.
All of this passed the Dwarves by though as they lived in their own little
world. Eventually some of the Dwarves came to the conclusion that Orogs did
not exist and the tales told by their ancestors were created to frighten
them into staying put and slaving over the forge for the King and his
Advisors. A new temples was founded, the New Temple of Moradin. Dwarves
flocked to the new faith in ever increasing numbers as the years passed an
still no Orog's appeared. Eventually this expanding temple attracted the
notice of the Temple of Moradin, which had served the people of Dunedin for
well over a thousand years. The two religion did not get along well, and
after three centuries of tension the holy war began. Now all the Dwarves
efforts are dedicated to wiping one religion or the other out, so that
their faith may reign supreme.
However not all the Dwarves are involved the holy war. Mostly the fighting
is between the priest of the two faiths. Most Dwarves in Dunedin spend
their lives building or fighting. The Dwarves who are not fighting are bust
constructing temples to their particular faith. Vast underground caverns
have been carved out and dedicated to Moradin. Thousands of Dwarves work in
these caverns day after day carving and shaping the stone into pillars and
statues of heroic priests. Little else is done, apart from the farming of
the mushroom caverns and some fishing in underground streams.

Provinces: Dunedin is made up of four mountainous provinces. Each is high
in the range of mountains known in Aduria as the Azure Peaks, and in Anuire
as the Deismaar range.

* Dunedin (6/3): This is the capital province, and home to the great
city of Stone's Rejoicing. Thousands of Dwarves live and work in this
city and the smaller outpost elsewhere in the province. The city is
the only place where the King has control and his armies (when they
are not out chasing enemies) keep the order in the capital. Even the
temples refrain from fighting in the city, although elsewhere in the
province the holy war still goes on. Large underground roads lead
south to Daglari, and east to Erzurum provinces. As the most peaceful
city in Dunedin that province is also home to the crafters and stone
cutters guilds. These two guild gather together the best of the
Dwarven craftsmen and over the years have build the city into a marvel
of Dwarven engineering and craftsmanship. Dunedin lies on the western
side of the mountain range, just south of the unclaimed lands west of
the Anuirean realm of Mieres.

* Erzurum (3/4): The smallest of the four provinces Erzurum is under the
control of the OTM. Mainly a ore mining province it lies on the
eastern side of the Azure Peaks. A large underground tunnel run
beneath the mountain range to Dunedin. This province also includes the
foothills of the mountains in its east, although this region is rarely
visited by Dwarves, apart from the Dunedin army out on manoeuvre's.
Monsters from the Adurian Wastes occasionally wander west into
Erzurum, but as the Dwarves live underground there is no threat to the
Dwarven population.

* Daglari (4/5): This is a province dominated by the NTM. It's priests
run the entire province and neither the king or the OTM have gained a
foothold here. This province is home of one of the Dwarven weapons
crafting guilds and the mines deep inside the mountain supply a
continual stream of ore for the forges inside the provinces cites. An
underground passage leads north to Dunedin province. Lying south of
Dunedin province Dagalri is the most mountainous of all the Dwarven
provinces. Humans and other creatures do not venture this far into the
mountains as they are very steep and most think there is little to
gain here. Deep under the earth the Dwarves would probably not notice
them even if a Human expedition did venture into the peaks.

* Akhalkalaki (4/3): The last of the Dwarven province is the southern
province of Akhalkalaki. South of Erzurum and Daglari this province is
the stonghold of the OTM. In a vest cavern beneath the highest
mountain in the range is the cathedral of Moradin. Vast columns
support the ceiling, which has been carved with murals depicting the
Dwarves history. The cavern is lit day and night with light spells and
gems embedded into the walls make the entire chamber glitter as the
light changes slightly. This temple is constantly being altered and
repaired to honour the god even more. The province is under the
complete control of the OTM and no other temple of law is permits,
even the rightful kings.

Allies: Dunedin has no allies. In fact it does not even know that other
nations exist, the Dwarves having been isolated in their high mountain
fortresses for so long they have forgotten much of what lies in the realms
outside. Doors do lead to the surface but these are rarely opened. Only the
King on his fishing trips and the Army on their monster hunting expedition
have ever left the tunnel beneath the surface.

Enemies: Just as Dunedin has no allies the also have no enemies. In fact
no-one even knows they exist. The Dwarves of Baruk-Azhik thought their
kinfolk dead in the battle at Deismaar and none of the southern races have
ever seen a Dwarf. The only enemies the Dwarves have at the moment is each
other.


By Ian Hoskins

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