(Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron)
The origin of the dwarves is shrouded in mystery. Their legends say that they came to Khorvaire from a land of endless ice; some believe this to mean the arctic Frostfell, while others assert that the first dwarves must have come from the plane of Risia itself. Wherever they began, the dwarves established a mighty nation beneath the surface. Tales speak of mighty artifacts and vast treasures crafted in the deeps, and of wars fought against the goblin Empire of Dhakaan. No one knows where the line lies between the truth and the legend. The ancestors of the modern dwarves were exiles from this ancient kingdom, and the realm below was destroyed by the daelkyr. Bold adventurers can delve into the haunted darkness of the fallen kingdom… but legends are the only legacy modern dwarves have of this age of glory.
Dwarves are spread across the Five Nations. Soliders and engineers were part of the armies that united the Five nations, and masons laid the foundations of the greatest cities of Galifar. While many of the dwarves of the Five Nations still speak the language of their ancestors, they feel a bond to the lands of their birth. A Brelish dwarf feels a deep, personal connection to the towers of Sharn and the great walls of Wroat; the typical dwarf is actually more patriotic than the average human of any given nation. This passion caused most dwarves to serve their respective nations during the Last War, at least for a time; this is the general basis behind dwarven weapon training. Most dwarves also have a strong bond to family, so to a dwarf, family and nation are simply two edges of the same blade.
(Eberron: Rising from the Last War)
My family has the finest vaults you can imagine. They forge the locks that secure royal jewels. And I learned to pick those locks when I was barely out of the crib.
—Cutter, burglar and Kundarak excoriate
The Mark of Warding helps its bearers protect things of value. Using the mark, a dwarf can weave wards with mystic force. It also provides its bearer with an intuitive understanding of locks used to protect and seal.
House Kundarak
Leader: Morrikan d’Kundarak
Headquarters: Korunda Gate (Mror Holds)
If you want to keep something safe—jewels, secrets, prisoners—Kundarak is there to help. The Defenders Guild of House Kundarak trains locksmiths, security specialists, and more. It maintains the prison of Dreadhold, along with a number of smaller prisons. As useful as these services are, it’s the Banking Guild that truly defines the house. Kundarak’s lands in the Mror Holds include deep veins of precious metals, which the dwarves used to establish the banking industry of Khorvaire. Anyone who makes a living from coin—from bankers to goldsmiths—likely learned their skills at House Kundarak. The security of banks bearing the Kundarak manticore emblem is legendary. The house also provides a special service to those who can afford it: a system of extradimensional vaults, allowing a client to store their goods in one location and retrieve them at any other Kundarak enclave.
House Kundarak has a close alliance with House Sivis. Like the House of Scribing, Kundarak has worked to earn the trust of its clients and to establish a reputation for unshakable integrity. The house has no love of renegade dwarves using their marks to turn a profit, and such rogues strive to avoid the eye of Kundarak.
As the dwarves of the Mror Holds have come into increasing conflict with the daelkyr, Lord Morrikan d’Kundarak has instructed house heirs to establish connections with the Gatekeeper druids. The druids have much in common with the house, being the creators of the wards that protect Eberron from the daelkyr.
| Spell Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 1st | Alarm, Armor of Agathys |
| 2nd | Arcane Lock, Knock |
| 3rd | Glyph of Warding, Magic Circle |
| 4th | Leomund's Secret Chest, Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound |
| 5th | Antilife Shell |
(Exploring Eberron)
The Doldarun dwarves say that any contact with the Realms Below corrupts the Mror. There’s one recent development that supports their argument—the occasional birth of ruinbound dwarves among the Mror clans. The ruinbound dwarf is born with a personal symbiont—an unnatural entity bound to the child. Unlike most symbionts, this entity cannot be separated from its host, and the two are permanently fused. Many ruinbound dwarves have additional disturbing mutations; you can roll on the Ruinbound Mutations table for ideas, or create your own. These secondary mutations are disturbing, but they don’t change the rules of how that character is played or grant mechanical benefits. For example, even if a ruinbound dwarf seems to have no eyes, their vision uncannily works as well as any other dwarf, though it defies logic.
Ruinbound Mutations
| d8 | Mutation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Unnatural Hair. Is your hair an unusual color? Ectoplasmic in nature? Does it move of its own accord? |
| 2 | Unusual Skin. Is your skin transparent? Slick? An unnatural color? |
| 3 | Aberrant Eyes. Are your eyes luminous? Invisible? Do they resemble the eyes of an animal, or are they seemingly absent? |
| 4 | Strange Appetites. Do you prefer your food charred? Do you eat flowers, or can you only eat living things? |
| 5 | Living Tattoos. You appear to have exotic tattoos across your body. They slowly and constantly change, and you have no control over the design. Do they show images or words, or are they incomprehensible? |
| 6 | Ageless. The passage of time affects your appearance differently than others. Do you appear old beyond your years, or look surprisingly young no matter your age? As you grow older, do you look younger? |
| 7 | Inexplicable Hearing. You have no visible ears, yet you can hear clearly. Does sound feel different to you? How do you experience it? |
| 8 | Extra Joints. You have one or more extra joints. Is it just an unusual joint in your fingers, or can you bend your entire leg backward? |
To date, no one knows the origin or purpose—if any—of the ruinbound dwarves. Doldarun asserts that they are children corrupted by Dyrrn in the womb, tools of the daelkyr waiting to be activated. The sages of Clan Narathun say that they may indeed be the result of strange forces emanating from the Realm Below, but there’s no evidence that the children have any direct tie to the daelkyr or that they’re drawn to malefic actions. Regardless of the truth, ruinbound dwarves are a recent development. The first ruinbound children were born thirty years ago, and additionally, dwarves aren’t even considered to be adults until their fiftieth year; however, ruinbound children mature surprisingly (some say unnaturally) quickly.