Uthar, The Underpolis

Deep within the Barrier Mountains lies the dwarven city-state of Uthar. The underground mega-city sits within the largest mountain of the range, the city so large that it has it’s own weather systems and ecology. The dwarves have lived here for as long as there have been dwarves and its roots are deep. Layer upon layer of civilization stacked atop each other, with the wealthiest and most noble living nearest the surface, within the clouds that dominate the highest reached of the city. While the poor and lower castes are relegated nearest to the bottom, working the mines or forges that dominate the lower-strata. The lowest of the castes, the so-called Soul-Blanks, living deep within the mines themselves, seldom even seeing the city itself. The city primarily survives on mushrooms and other crops that grow within the underground, and anything else is traded for using the rare and precious minerals they mine.

Much of the city stonework is covered in enchantments and protections to keep the semi-acidic rain from eating away at it, but only the cloud layer has enough cover to travel in comfort on rainy days. Maybe every other day features a drizzle of rain, though it’s only occasionally truly dangerous to travel in.

Predictably, a city this large runs on magic, with nearly every aspect of the city featuring it in some way, from signs that glow in dark, the streets perpetually lit in multicolored advertisements. Even the city’s military heavily features magic, with ancestral dwarves pledging their lives to the protection of the city, entombed within spirit golems, and standing eternal vigil over Uthar.

This predilection towards magic actually fuels a lot of the caste system, with noble bloodlines often having sorcerers or clerics within them. Occasionally however, a dwarf who had no aptitude for magic whatsoever is born. These are referred to as Soul-Blanks, and they emit a short field where no magic works whatsoever. These cursed dwarves live harsh lives, exiled to the mines, or out into the world, as their magical disruption is harmful to the city.

The dwarves are not particularly xenophobic, and approximately 10-15% of the city is made up of other races, though they are not capable of moving up to the cloud-layer. Laid at the center of the Cloud-layer is the Temple of  Torag, a massive monument to the god of forges, gilded in bronze and silver. Most dwarves enjoy his favor.

Forgeworker (Background)

 * Ability Score Bonus: +1 Constitution or Strength
 * Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Intimidation
 * Tool Proficiencies: Smith’s, Tinker’s
 * Equipment:

70% of Uthar’s industry is wrapped up in their expansive forges, wonders and weapons pouring forth from the city into the rest of Lumora. The forge workers of Uthar are accustomed to long hours and hard labor, though the experience of their forgemasters and the unions that have sprung up around the businesses within have worked tirelessly to mitigate the effects of such things.

Feature: Builders and Breakers
Sweat and toil are your lifeblood, but you couldn’t do it without your fellows right beside you. When adjacent to a creature you choose, you and they gain +1 to attack rolls, saves, and AC. You may choose a new creature whenever you take a short rest, drilling and familiarizing yourself with your companion. This bonus stacks with itself up to +2.

Feature: Guild Membership
As an established and respected member of a guild, you can rely on certain benefits that membership provides. Your fellow guild members will provide you with lodging and food if necessary, and pay for your funeral if needed. In some cities and towns, a guildhall offers a central place to meet other members of your profession, which can be a good place to meet potential patrons, allies, or hirelings.

Guilds often wield tremendous political power. If you are accused of a crime, your guild will support you if a good case can be made for your innocence or the crime is justifiable. You can also gain access to powerful political figures through the guild, if you are a member in good standing. Such connections might require the donation of money or magic items to the guild's coffers.

You must pay dues of 5 gp per month to the guild. If you miss payments, you must make up back dues to remain in the guild's good graces.

Soul Blank (Background)
Race Requirement: Dwarf


 * Ability Score Bonus: +1 Constitution or Strength
 * Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival
 * Tool Proficiencies: None
 * Equipment: A small knife, a map of the city you grew up in, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp

Exiled, wretched, unwanted. Soul-Blanks are dwarves born without a connection to the weave. Their families abandon them, leaving them to the tender mercies of the underpolis’ orphanages. Most will die in their first twenty years, taken by the mines they’re sent to work in, or eaten by the creatures born from the depths those mines occasionally crack into. The ones that survive harden, the silence they project growing strong enough to destroy and halt even the most powerful enchantments.

Feature: Empty Shell
The lack of a magical core provides you with benefits and hindrances, you can never take levels in classes with the Spellcasting, Pact Casting, Hedge Casting or other magical features such as Craft Focus. You gain resistance to magic damage, and advantage on saves against magic, but you instinctively save against spells and abilities, never counting as a willing target, unless unconscious.

Feature: City Secrets
You know the secret patterns and flow to cities and can find passages through the urban sprawl that others would miss. When you are not in combat, you (and companions you lead) can travel between any two locations in the city twice as fast as your speed would normally allow.