Dwarven Thaig

A handful of mighty dwarven thaigs lie deep beneath the earth, steadfast and unconquered even as the world above shifts. While Tevinter holds sway in many surface lands, dwarven civilization remains largely insular—concerned more with Darkspawn incursions and Lyrium trade than with human conflicts. Thaigs stand as a beacon of dwarven tradition, forging, and caste hierarchy.

Environment

Thaig halls are carved from the living rock: colossal stone pillars, runic arches, and glowing crystals for light. Strategic gates and tunnels connect thaigs to other thaigs—though many are partially blocked or heavily guarded due to Darkspawn threats lingering even with the Blight ended. Lyrium veins run through the nearby caverns, fueling trade with certain surface powers (especially Tevinter) and shaping dwarven wealth.

Air quality is carefully maintained by dwarven ventilation structures that draw in fresh air from hidden mountain shafts. The climate within thaigs stay cool, and the flicker of lava flows in distant mines occasionally illuminates grand forges. Water sources originate from underground rivers or mountain runoff, collected in cisterns.

Culture & Society

Dwarven life is defined by caste: Nobles, Warriors, Smiths, Merchants, and Servants each adhere to long‐standing social hierarchies. Surface dwarves, those who live outside of their thaig without greater purpose or plans to return home, are seen as casteless or outcasts, tolerated only for the goods they bring from up above.

Strict traditions involving ancestral lines, customary craft secrets, and honoring the Paragons—those dwarves exalted for extraordinary deeds—are deeply ingrained.

Dwarves from thaigs excel at metalwork, engineering, and gem‐cutting. Guilds dedicated to forging or masonry hold significant influence, and families pass down trade secrets with intense pride. Religion revolves around the Stone—the dwarven spiritual concept that all dwarves were born of the earth—and the ancestors who dwell within it.

Politics

Thaigs are ruled by a King (or occasionally a Queen) from one of the major noble houses, with the Assembly of clan representatives debating and making laws. Power struggles within the Assembly are common—noble families feud for prestige, trade privileges, and influence over Deep Roads patrols. Still, dwarves present a united front against external threats like the Darkspawn, which can breach the lower passages at any time. Even with Archdemon Dumat slain and the Blight ended, the Darkspawn are rampant below the earth.

Trade with the surface is carefully regulated. Tevinter is a major buyer of lyrium (used in Imperium magics), so dwarven merchants maintain cautious ties with Imperial agents. However, the dwarves remain resolute in safeguarding their realms—Darkspawn infiltration is the greatest danger, overshadowing any meddling from humans or elves.

Remaining Thaigs

Culture Skills

Dwarven Thaigs are self‐assured kingdoms beneath the earth, proud, hierarchical, and technically advanced.

Standard Skills (+5): Brawn, Customs, Deceit, Endurance, Influence, Perception, Willpower

Professional Skills: Courtesy, Engineering, Literacy, Lore, Mechanisms, Teach

Requirements: Dwarf

I asked her about the old thaig, but she didn't even know what a "thaig" was until I explained dwarves had more cities than just Orzammar.

The once-great dwarven empire has diminished drastically, decimated by the Blight that lasted two centuries and with Darkspawn continuing to fester beneath the earth. Only a few thaigs remain inhabited, those being:

Orzammar, the heart of dwarven civilization.
Kal-Sharok, long isolated and sealed away during the Blight, it has re-established cautious contact around Orlais.
Kal'Hirol, recently and only partially reclaimed, though it remains precariously threatened by hordes of Darkspawn.

The Blight and subsequent Darkspawn incursions have left numerous thaigs abandoned or lost entirely. Among these are:

Bownammar, now known as the Dead Trenches. It is lost entirely to Darkspawn.
Heidrun, overrun and devastated in the early years of the Blight.
Ortan, its fate remains sealed behind rubble and debris, having caved in entirely.
Aeuducan, the ancestral seat, devastated and abandoned.
Amgarrak, a once-thriving experimental forge, now silent and sealed, it is believed to have been lost to Darkspawn.
Rousten, a prosperous mining thaig, the location itself is lost from the chaos of the Blight, leaving its fate unknown.
Sharokover, only Kal-Sharok Dwarves know of its location now, and they keep it hidden, believing it can be a sanctuary should Kal-Sharok fall.