Dwarven settlement & a new podcast episode

Hey! I finally got off my duff and created a new episode of "Gilligan's Isle Of ADD".  You can listen here: 

https://anchor.fm/gilligans-isle-of-add/episodes/What--A-New-episode-eotnqn

I am hoping to try and put out an episode every wednesday.  I may actually attempt to write down a list of topics for myself to cover, rather than the usual ramble cast you get from me.  Time will tell! 

For the audio nerds out there, I just used my onboard microphone on my imac and for audio editing I used "Harrison Mixbus".  Which is a DAW similar to Pro Tools (which I'm very familiar with having used it for 16 years).  The cool thing about Mixbus is that it emulates recording consoles, specifically the Harrison ones.  The workflow is less computer and more tactile like the way we used to mix before computers!

You can check it out here if you'd like:  https://harrisonconsoles.com/product/mixbus/

And a good review about how it differs from regular recording software here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8eOvb4iZ3Y

Okay onto D&D stuff! 

On the show I mentioned that I had been reading the "Complete Book Of Dwarves" 2nd Edition Splatbook.  And that I wanted to try creating a dwarven settlement as per the tables in the book.  So here goes: 

Name: Bofbek

Subraces: Mountain dwarves

# of citizens: Approx 290 which is a reasonably decent size settlement.  There also appears to be no other subraces, so this is obviously a community of only Mountain Dwarves.  Because of this I've decided that they do in fact live on the side of a mountain.  Some of the settlement is underground, but the main fortress is above ground.  Huge towers flank the sides of the mountain, the dwarves have hollowed out the side of it, making a reasonably flat surface to build their stronghold. 

Overall Alignment: Neutral 

The stronghold is considered secondary.  This leads me to believe that what I'm working on is the actual "topside" settlement.  Deeper in the mountain is the real city of the mountain dwarf clan.  This outpost is a militaristic settlement and acts as the first line of defence for the city proper. 

The stronghold of Bofbek has stood for many years, 10 generations of Dwarves in fact (so like 4000 years? WOW). 

The stronghold of Bofbek is overseen by Duke Throt Blackhammer, a distant nephew of the King.  Throt is a seasoned warrior, and is already quite old (280).  He has seen many battles and defended Bofbek for the good of his countrymen. 

Unfortunately the men and women of Bofbek have been exiled to the mountain side, and are no longer allowed into the city proper.  The group was exiled because of an attempted political coup that went sideways.  A religious zealot who shall remain nameless had gathered many of the dwarves to his side, he foresaw that the gods would look down upon the dwarves of the city for their dealings with the drow.  He managed to swing many to his side, and in doing so caused a great rift within the city.  Naming himself the NEW king, he tried unsuccessfully to take over the city by spreading seeds of doubt in the community and aligning himself with military leaders.  This all came crashing down when the king and his advisors started to realize what was happening and expelled the original 112 dwarves to the mountain side.  They were not to come back until they proved themselves dwarves again by finding an ancient mine of Gold (or some similar shiny ore).  They were tasked with the defence of the city, and built a stronghold.  As the generations have passed the exile is still in their memory, but the dwarves of Bofbek have made the stronghold their home and enjoy their freedom.

The resources of Bofbek are average at best, they trade with some local Gnomes & Humans. 

Realtionships with other races: 

Elves:  Indifferent 

Gnomes: Cautious 

Halflings: Indifferent 

Humans: Cautious 

Well from this table I'd suggest that the Dwarves of Bofbek have not had any real dealings with Elves & Halflings. Which would explain their indifference.  As stated above they trade with Gnomes & Humans but have had bad dealings over the years with both races, so they remain a healthy distance away from them when they can. 

War! There is currently an uneasy peace with a group of Mountain Giants, having lasted a few generations.  Shortly after the stronghold was created, the dwarves went to war against the giants in hopes of claiming more territory for themselves.  A great battle upon the mountain side claimed many lives, and 2 great heroes (from opposing sides) met in hand to hand combat to decide who would take more of the land that they were fighting over. 

Currently the dwarves are at war with a tribe of goblins named the "Razorankles".  This war has been small skirmishes over the last few weeks.  It started when the goblins raided a caravan bound for a human settlement. 

Okay that was fun! I think I'll pop these guys into the Nightwell setting somewhere.