Who Rules: Nirgen Hardhelm (CG, Dwarf Male, F15), a brave and fearless warrior who is also extremely cunning and intelligent. He is extremely adept at cutting to the truth of political matters and reading between the lines. No one has ever been able to politically best him.

Who Really Rules: Nirgen rules completely and totally, though he does rely heavily on some of his advisors. These advisors, though, are completely loyal to him.

Population: Population: 12,000 (96% dwarf, 4% other).

Major Products: Weapons, steel, iron, Curtain Wall red wine, and Bearded Goat, a spicy rot-gut ale/mead mixture that is traditionally drunk out of goat-skin flasks. It is highly popular with certain members of the military.

Armed Forces: 6,000 (mostly heavy infantry and artillerists/engineers. There is a force of 200 aerial scouts who ride giant eagles and hang gliders (equal mix), and there is also a force of 500 alpine scouts that ride a very sturdy species of mountain goats. These "Goat-Men" are a breed amongst themselves; all of them being slightly mad or danger hounds, yet all are extremely brave and share a camaraderie very few units ever dream of attaining.

Notable Mages: Nosral Yrag (LG, Elf Male, W14) is a friend of Nirgen and serves him faithfully. He is extremely loyal to his friend and his city, but he loves practical jokes. He is also an expert on biology and archeology.

Charmenal Quickhands (CN, Gnome Male, I12) is a Captain in the Goat-Men. He leads from the front, and often uses illusions to produce fire breathing, flying, or other truly unique goats. He is also an expert on climbing and skiing.

Notable Churches: All dwarven, Tempus, Tyr, Gond.

Notable Rogues' and Thieves' Guilds: There is no Thieves' Guild in Fort Dorgan.

Equipment Shops: Full for dwarves and basic equipment, half for human- specific items.

Adventurers' Quarters: Adventurers are welcome in all parts of town. They are also treated with great respect (if they deserve it) as they assist in keeping the nearby mountains clear of some of the more powerful denizens.

Important Characters: Fredek the Cow (CG, Human Male, R13) has a habit of mooing when he is on an adrenaline rush. Seeing as he loves climbing, and is an expert, this is quite often. It is a habit that he is barely aware of when he is doing it. He is also an expert on alpine animals.

N'roh Rettam (N, Dwarf Male, F4) is a master shield crafter. He is the inventor of a special clamp that allows shields to be locked together to form makeshift bridges. This design is still being tested (by members of the Goat-Men), with early reviews being highly favorable, despite a few accidental deaths.

Ecnall Strongarm (LG, Dwarf Male, F6) is the local wrestling champion. He is also an excellent instructor on grappling and a form of unarmed combat he designed for dwarves and gnomes. His services are primarily used by the military, so it is quite expensive or a long wait to get in to see him.

Trabi "Trouble" Northmace (LE, Dwarf Male, P12) is a hermit who wanders the area spreading tales of visiting the moon on a Roc. This is a true story, but no one believes Trabi, and this has caused him to be regarded as insane, and his subsequent shunning caused him to change to LE. To that end, he receives no spells over third, and has resorted to stealing to help survive. He is always looking for that Roc to take him back to the moon.

Oddrun Coalbeard (LN, Dwarf Female, F9) is a vigilante who has almost singlehandedly eliminated two upstart thieves' guilds that have tried to form in Fort Dorgan. She wanders the streets seeking to right wrongs and dispense justice to those who deserve it. She is also quite in tune with most gossip in the city.

Important Features in Town: Fort Dorgan isn't so much as town as it is a large fort. It is actually built high atop a mountain top that is one of the highest in the area, one that is the western most peak of a large spur of the mountains. It is surrounded on three sides by other mountains of almost equal height. The mountain top was destroyed when two avatars fought in the area a long time ago and the top was destroyed, leaving behind a flat plateau. It is also quite large, being about a mile in circumference. The height of this plateau is 8,500', and the only way up is a long, winding road, that has numerous switchbacks, each of which is guarded by a tower. From the top of the plateau, though, just before the main gate, several trails branch out towards other mountains and other dwarven conclaves. These also lead to mining camps nearby.

The north side of the town is reserved entirely for the military, and has a special docking area for some boats that have permanent levitation spells on them. Local merchants own these boats. However, the officials of Fort Dorgan want to keep most of the population from knowing about them. Therefore, they are only allowed do dock at night, and must be away before dawn. It is rumored that some of these boats can actually travel to the stars and other planets, but only a mad fool or a naïve child would believe this.

Local Lore: Fort Dorgan was never really planned out. A small dwarven army was once cut off from the main army, and it was about to be overrun by five orc armies. The commander bravely led his men to the top of this broken mountain where they planned to make a last stand. The dwarves lost nearly one third of their men just getting to the top, but the rest held out and destroyed the attacking orcs. This actually weakened the orcs enough for other dwarf armies to rout them completely. The mountain was named Mount Kurtgen in honor of the commander. Fort Dorgan quickly grew to its present size.

The local mining camps are loud, wild places. However, the orcs are finally making a comeback after 150 years and have been trying to take over the mines. This has led to a drop in mine output as more and more time must be spent fighting the orcs. There is a lot of money to be made by adventurers willing to risk harsh conditions and high heights to root out orc communities. It is also a place where a lot of foolish adventurers can be killed without a trace left afterwards.