After their initial success, the Guilds became more ambitious, assaulting deep into Orc territory. The Orcs united against them and soon turned the tide. The Dwarves became desperate to recover what resources they could as they retreated, stripping many planets bare. Dwarves became increasingly desperate for resources and sought to create a wormhole that would allow them to extract resources rapidly from distant worlds, even other galaxies.
When they activated their machine, something went terribly wrong. The Radiance Cascade tore through much of Sirius in an instant, destroying most of their worlds and killing most of those residing in Guild territory. The survivors were largely miners working on systems at the edge of their space. Following the Cascade, the Guilds moved quickly to evacuate survivors and adapt to a space-borne life.
Most Dwarves now live on mobile mining fleets. These fleets travel through their territory, extracting everything they can from a system before abandoning it. The Dwarves have also taken an interest in the Zone, contending that they have exclusive rights of salvage there.
How will you extract your fortune from the Sirius Sector?
History
Homeworld
The Dwarves originated on a mineral-rich but inhospitable world. In order to escape the harsh conditions of the surface, their civilisation developed underground, where conditions were more stable.
The Guilds
As their civilisation continued to grow, they started to discover and innovate new uses for the ores and oils they uncovered as they dug their cities. Guilds of miners arose to stake claims on these ores. Soon, Guild Lords became the richest and most powerful Dwarves on their planets, holding absolute control of the ore which their society depended on.
Digging Deeper
The Guilds were unsatisfied with stagnation, however, and competition between them drove Guilds ever deeper into their homeworld’s crust. These new mines uncovered and processed ores and wealth that was unimaginable to their ancestors.
Into Space
As the Dwarves mined their homeworld bare, they turned to space. Expanding rapidly outwards, their wealth only grew as Guilds competed to stake claims over new systems. This rapid expansion only slowed when the Dwarves began to encounter more powerful species.
Golden Age
The Dwarves struck up an alliance with the Elves after some initial tension. The Elves conceded a handful of border worlds to the Dwarves while trade between the factions of Sirius flourished.
Expansion
Noticing the disunity of the Orcs, the Dwarf Guilds began to eye a number of their worlds. The Guilds coordinated together into the Consortium to better coordinate their expansion efforts. Using Orc raids as a pretext, they conquered several Orc systems along their border.
Sleeping Giants
The Guilds became more ambitious after their initial success and began to expand deep into Orc territory. The Orcs united against them and quickly began to turn the tide. The Dwarves became desperate to recover what resources they could as they retreated, stripping many planets bare.
Into the Beyond
The Dwarves became increasingly desperate for resources and sought to create a wormhole that would allow them to extract resources rapidly from distant worlds, even other galaxies. They poured all their spare research and effort into the endeavour.
The Cascade
When the Dwarf Guilds activated their machine, something went terribly wrong. The Machine tore into the Milky Way galaxy and a number of others simultaneously. This caused a massive ripple effect, which tore through numerous systems in Sirius and tore millions of Humans from their galaxy. Most Dwarves died as the Cascade destroyed most of their worlds.
Some suspect that the accident was at least partly the result of the Guilds hurrying up the opening of the wormhole because they needed the resources to win the war they had started against the Orcs.
Exile
Survivors among Dwarf Guilds were mostly miners working on systems at the edge of their space. Following the Radiance Cascade, the Guilds moved quickly to evacuate survivors and adapt to a space-borne life.
Timeline
- 1852 BRC - Creation of First Mining Guild
- 972 BRC - Space Age
- 525 BRC - Alliance with Elves
- 212 BRC - Establishment of Consortium
- 33 BRC - Orc-Dwarf War
- 0 - Radiance Cascade
Society
Most Dwarves now live on mobile mining fleets, ruled over by the Guilds. These Dwarf Guilds dominate much of their society, operating at once as their governing bodies and massive corporations which employ most who live within their society.
The Guilds focus on maximising profits through industrial production and resource extraction, particularly through mining. They funnel much of their production into producing ships and tools to allow them to mine with even greater efficiency. Dwarves refer to their territories as “veins”, each one of which is claimed and managed by a Guild. Often they spread along a string of worlds, leaving old worlds abandoned and nearly hollowed out from mining before moving on to new worlds at their ever-expanding borders to repeat the process.
Survivalists
Most Dwarves firmly believe that the universe is out to get them. This is why they work so fiercely to build more weapons and mining equipment: they never want to be in a position of weakness. Among themselves, they compete to be the best at what they do and be the pride of their guild. They will brag about digging the largest tunnel, building the most powerful drill, or mining the purest ore. Guild leaders need to claw their way to the top via skill and ruthlessness. The most unconventional and adventurous dwarves are the prospecting forces that are sent to survey planets as potential targets for their guild.
Some Dwarves wish to temper or even completely change their way towards something more sustainable, but most are caught up in their system, with a social structure that promotes a level of greed and selfishness. Some stick to exploiting asteroids and other uninhabitable objects, while the greediest ones just want to burn through every good planet they find.
Negotiators
Even though many in the Sirius Sector resent the Dwarf Guilds for causing the Radiance Cascade, the Guilds are not pariahs; their trade is vital, and many factions still interact with them, either to acquire resources or to divert them from their domains.
The Dwarf Guilds will try to outright buy or make some type of deal when they want to mine a planet, even offering to move the inhabitants to another, mineral-poor planet. Of course, many still refuse, and conflict often ensues.
While the Guilds will always insist on paying their fair share, many dispute their materialistic assessments of value; it's not unheard of for them to destroy an ancient temple during excavations and only offer its weight in stone in replacement.
Tactics
The Dwarf Guilds are fierce fighters, but they know when to cut their losses. They compensate for their low mobility with devastating firepower and combined arms. Their weapons often double as mining equipment, which gives them a distinct edge against most foes. They love using their advanced geological knowledge to cause cave-ins, dig ambush tunnels and erect fortifications. By manoeuvring through the terrain beneath their foes, they can break fortifications or prevent enemies from tracking their movement, allowing them to ambush their foes in key strategic locations or hold defensive positions safe from bombardment until reinforcements can arrive.
The Radiance
In their language, the Dwarves refer to the Radiance as "Ath Himthra", meaning the Great Hubris. The Dwarf Guilds see it as a monument to the hubris and failure of their ancestors. Malfunctions of machinery and minor mutations are common with prolonged exposure, but more unique is what Dwarves refer to as "Miner's Madness" or "Catching the Ancestor's Hubris", where many Dwarves grow increasingly obsessed with uncovering lost Guild relics and secrets within the Zone.
Language
While the Dwarves speak a number of dialects with unique jargon among certain Guilds, much of this has been standardised by the Consortium, whose efforts have created a shared language which the rest of Sirius consider to be "standard Dwarven". Some Guilds still hold on to their older dialects, but for the most part these have been reduced to a handful of old slang words and specialised terms rather than standing as entirely separate languages.
Dwarven names are typically gendered; male names almost universally end with a consonant, while female names usually end with an 'a'. Surnames usually begin with an "oth" or an "ant"; this particle operates similarly to "van" or "de" in certain European surnames, denoting belonging. The particle "oth" reflects a full membership in a clan and is commonly used by respected Dwarves, while "ant" is usually used by younger Dwarves or those of particularly low status.
Example Names
[Trodga] [oth] [Ragnarn] - [Name] [particle] [Surname]
Male Names
- Gundrun oth Karnhath
- Drimthun ant Thundrad
- Kromrund oth Brandrim
Female Names
- Trodga oth Ragnarn
- Worddatha ant Tridgrim
- Drimna oth Nilmtril
Note that characters are usually referred to by their first name (in italics).
Trivia
Notable Characters
- Hadrun of Irnwuld (Assault on Malhadra) – A pragmatic but perpetually down on his luck Dwarven Champion, hoping to restore his Clans fortune through the discovery of rare technology on Malhadra.
Proverbs
- Planets are temporary, but wealth is eternal.
- Ore begets ore.
- The stars are gems for the daring to collect.
- There’s no sadder sight than ore left covered in dirt.
- Not all that glitters is gold. It could be platinum, silver or some kind of gem.
