"Kaazlantal paanlurmak aa anrul/Kaazruldul bukzonmur ai ulman/Ua raazdin junzonbur ai ogdog/Ua raazlur ruklukbur au ulnon/Kaazlukbur kurmarluk aa urnat/Maazdogdin gunbursar aa ogdog" 'Dwarves tell the tales with pride, How the fleeing tribe found safety here, And in their wisdom built their homes, Swearing never again to flee a foe, So we build in skill a fortress strong.' (1)
More then any other race in wildspace, the dwarves take their homes with them. Dwarven citadels, powered by their great forges are certainly the most powerful single vessels in the spheres, save for the Spelljammer itself. Citadels dwarf (pardon the pun) the smaller vessels in size and armament, though they are clumsy. Citadels carry hundreds of dwarves on journies across the starry expanse of wildspace.
Like the dwarves of groundling realms, the dwarves of wildspace a clannish and dislike strangers. Even more so then groundling dwarves, however, they must trade with other races to survive. Dwarven Citadels allow them to accomplish this while still permitting the dwarves to keep themselves aloof from the other races. Citadels are flying fortresses, well suited to the needs of the dwarven folk. Powering these massive fortresses, however, requires something more then magic of the typical spelljamming helm. Dwarven priests, using their knowledge of stone and metal, and the power of their deities developed the Forge to move the massive vessels.
Hill and Mountain dwarves are the most numerous dwarves found in wildspace, but Duergar and Derro have been found as well, usually in out of the way spheres. The Shield and Gold dwarves of Toril have been seen as well, usually on Citadels within their home sphere. The dwarven subraces found on Krynn are not known to operate any forges themselves, but are occasionally found on the Forges of other dwarves, or among the dwarves of the more cosmopolitan Spelljammer cities like the Rock of Bral.
A Note on Language: Traditionally dwarven is a secret tongue, difficult to learn and guarded jealously by the dwarves themselves. This of course means that man ancient inscriptions and words of power are in dwarven. Like elvish or human tongues, dwarven is not universal across the spheres, but there are many similarities. For the game master attempting to create a rhyme or riddle in dwarven, or attempting to translate dwarven names into common, I reccomend the following.
For the dwarves of Toril use the excellent glossary in FR11 Dwarves Deep, it is the most extensive of dwarven word sources and fits the dwarven sayings found within itself and most other Realms products.
For Hill dwarves use "By Any Other Name: Dwarves" in Dragon #261, this is the second most extensive source and though intended for naming dwarves and their Citadels with only a little work short sentances can be devised. This would be the most common of dwarven languages in wildspace, which makes using it as a source for naming Spelljamming dwarves even more desirable.
For mountain dwarves, use a combination of "Old Dwarvish" in Dragon #66 and the notes on dwarven found in Professor Tolkien's work. The two sound similar enough that the combination does not grate on the ear. These work well for older dwarven inscriptions and Mountain dwarf families.
If a needed word doesn't exist in the proper source for the language you are using, chose one from the others and alter it slightly before making a word up, this will simulate the close relationship between the three.
Dwarven Citadels are massive affairs, even the smallest Citadel that a forge can power is 300 tons in size. They can carry up to 300 dwarves comfortably, and many more if need be. They are festooned with heavy weapons, with most Citadels carrying one ballista or catapult for every ten tons of size.
The vessels are solidly built, a dwarven Citadel is not destroyed in battle, save by powerful magic or literally days of pounding. The Citadel might be taken, however, after a prolonged and bloody boarding action, or if the Citadel's air envelope can be somehow corrupted.
Architectually Citadels greatly resemble dwarven strongholds built in mountains or hills on groundling worlds. The surface features include a strongly guarded gate, on Citadels this is usually next to a dock or landing strip for vistors. Other smaller, gates will dot the Citadels surface, some obvious and equally well guarded, others hidden from view, and nigh impossible to detect from outside the Citadel itself. Other surface features include towers and barbicans for the ship's defensive armaments. These surface features will often be along only one side of a Citadel, the 'topside'. The bottom is usually devoid of such features, to make working among larger astroids much easier.
On the inside, Citadels follow typical dwarven planning, with a plethora of traps and hidden passages. Guard animals and automatons are often available. Some Citadels favor smokepowder weapons, others prefer the more traditional torsion and counterweight seige weapons. In fact, Dungeon Masters with little time could easily convert a dwarven cavern complex from almost any TSR product into the deck plan for a dwarven citadel. The only major requirement, of course, are the facilities for the spelljamming forge, which resemble a normal dwarven forge.
Most dwarven Citadel's are the home of one clan specializing in one or two crafts. The breakdowns given in the Monstrous Manual provide a quick and dirty method of deciding how many citadel inhabitents are male, how many female, how many children, and providing a quick breakdown of their weapons and abilities. Every Citadel, however, must have 3d6 forge-priests to operate the Spelljamming Forge. (2) On some Citadels these replace the other priests often found within dwarven clans, but most clans have other priesthoods as well. Most Citadels, like most dwarven clans, offer respect and reverence to the entire dwarven pantheon but specially revere a single patron diety. Moradin, Dugmaren Brightmantle, Vergedain, and Dumathoin are the most popular patron dwarven dieties for Citadels, though among War Citadels Clanggeddin is usually the patron.
Only the largest Citadels (those 500 tons or larger in size) will carry more then one clan, unless a clan has been recently decimated by war, disease, or other misfortune and had to abandon its Citadel. These large Citadels will usually be led by a king, often called 'King Within the Mountain', and are often the center of a dwarven nation. In wildspace, a dwarven nation will usually comprise 2-5 Citadels, with each Citadel holding 300-700 dwarves and being of the appropriate size. The single astroid holding one clan is far more common encountered, though they might be part of a loose dwarven nation whose Citadels meet once every few years four council and feast days.
Most dwarven Citadels are very rich, the dwarves within will have access to the some of the finest weapons and armor available, it would not be unusual for the entire bodyguard of the dwarven king, for example, to have weapons and armor of exceptional (+1) quality. Dwarven magics, such as hammer chants or dwarven forged magical weapons, will also be much in evidence. Most Citadels carry smaller vessels for use as shuttles, scouts, and landing craft. These are often chosen according to local conditions. The Whitebeard clan of the Tears of Selune in Realmspace, for example, uses heavily modified galleons because they are often sent to the planet Toril to trade with locals, or transport ore from remote mining camps. The galleons appear to be standard Torillian vessels, and the fact that they can fly is hidden. In this way the Whitebeards make it less likely every disreputable adventurer or minor lord around will attack their landing vessels looking for an easily obtained flying ship.
Citadels are named in the same way dwarven strongholds are named (and thus often do not have names that sound proper for ships in Common), and typically have a dwarven name, which is translated into common for non-dwarves. This translation is usually not strictly accurate, but rather a nickname. For example, the Citadel 'Maralajak' is usually called the 'Golden Forge' in Common, though the correct translation is 'Hold of the Golden Forge'. (3)
The heart of the Citadel is its Spelljaming Forge, a gift from the dwarven gods which permits the dwarves to take their homes with them as they travel about space. In simple terms the Spelljamming Forge appears like any other dwarven forge, with all the proper tools and equipment in their proper place and dwarves singing in their deep voices as they work. This chanting, however, and the work which accompanies it, are the motive forces for the entire massive vessel.
A Spelljamming forge is created through the use of dwarven rune magic (4), and operated through the magic of dwarven chants. First, the forge must be consecrated to the dwarven gods, by inscribing runes of power about its periphery. Then, the forge tools themselves are sanctified and inscribed with the proper runes. These must be complete, a Spelljammer Forge is not a minor shop like the blacksmithy of a human village, but is a 'telinom' or sacred place which seems much closer to a modern factory. Water or air wheels, trip hammers, bellows, and furnaces must all be present. The final step is the creation of a Stronghold Anvil (5) attuned to the Citadel itself. Once finished the forge is ready for use.
More work is required, however, on the outside of the Citadel, which must be worked enough to be obvious as a stronghold, as oppossed to simply an astroid, for the Spelljammer Forge's magic to take hold. The few scholars who are aware of the secrets of dwarven forges see this as further evidence that all spelljamming dweamors are forms of sympathetic magic.
Additionally, a throne must be carved from the living stone of the astroid itself, and inscribed with the forge mark of the Citadel, as well as the symbols of the Citadel's patron gods. The Citadel's navigator usually sits here, and from here directs the Citadels movements in a manner very similar to that of a spelljamming mage. Any dwarf may perform this task, and it does not drain or otherwise affect the spells of the navigator. Most often this position is taken by senior war leaders who are sober experienced individuals (younger warriors are often trained on it for short periods). Dwarven Citadels have horrible maneuverability (E) but beyond the navigator and the forge chanters no additional crew are needed, and they make no use of sails.
The forge itself is operated by the means of a modified Hammer Chant (6), led by a forge priest who taps out the time on the Stronghold Anvil with his hammer as he works. A normal Hammer chant is limited to seven dwarves and is similar to a Combine spell in effects. A Spelljamming Hammer Chant however, operates on a larger scale, and requires at least ten dwarves as chanters, plus the forge priest. For every ten dwarves chanting the forge grants 1 SR (to a maximum of SR 7). A Spelljamming Hammer Chant cannot be used to boost any other spells or devices. Dwarven forges must be at least 10' x 10' of space for each dwarf involved in the chant.
Because they require the constant use of fire, spelljamming forges cannot be used in the Flow. Dwarves must use standard spelljammers when emigrating between spheres.
Forges are essentially dwarven temples, and will be heavily protected by priestly magics when possible.
| (1) | Mountain dwarf chant from "Old Dwarvish" by Clyde Heaton, Dragon #66, pg 53. |
| (2) | "The Heart of the Forge" by Wolfgang Baur, Dragon #245, pg 30. |
| (3) | SJR8 Space Lairs, pg 38. |
| (4) | Very similar to the rune magic described in HR1 Vikings. |
| (5) | "The Heart of the Forge" by Wolfgang Baur, Dragon #245, pg 35. |
| (6) | "The Heart of the Forge" by Wolfgang Baur, Dragon #245, pg 28. |
