Mountain Hall

When most people think of mountain halls, they think of dwarves. Living in tall mountains, or vast hills, allows them easier access to useful minerals and superior defenses. The abundance of ore leads many dwellers of the mountain halls to become smiths and exporting these goods is frequently the cornerstone of a thriving mountain hall economy.

Mountain hall communities are very traditional, as well as detailed and demanding in the keeping of historical records. It is said that “the sky will fall before a dwarf forgets a slight” and, while these grudges can be kept for generations, the same is true of favours. If you help a dwarf of a mountain hall, you might not live to see the debt repaid, but your descendants surely will.

In a mountain hall community, everybody receives at least basic combat training. This allows the smiths to see their work put to use and to personally understand the importance of quality weapons and sturdy armour. You can trust an armoursmith whose life depends on their work.

Characters raised in the mountain hall culture share a variety of features in common with one another.

Alignment

Most who hail from a mountain hall are lawful, believing firmly in the benefits of a well-ordered society. They tend toward good as well, with a strong sense of fair play and a belief that everyone deserves to share in the benefits of a just order.

Features

Ancestor Worship

You have trained proficiency with the dwarven history and dwarven religion subskills.

Artisan Trades

You are trained in the use of one of the following sets of artisan’s tools: brewer’s supplies, mason’s tools, or smith’s tools.

Exotic Weapon Training

You are trained with any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name or properties.

Mountain Born

You’re acclimated to high and low altitudes, including elevations above 20,000 feet or depths below 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to cold climates.

Languages

You speak, read and write either Dwarvish or Gnomish with native proficiency and the other with accented proficiency.

Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak.

The Gnomish language, which uses the Dwarvish script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge about the natural world.