Minor NPC: Krunth Blackhand

This is the first "minor character" that I'm posting, and that's explained more in the post itself. Also, over the next couple days I'm going to go back through all of my other posts and work on formatting them in a less terrible way. Again, credit for this picture goes to Reddit user De_Vermis_Mysteriis.


Name: Krunth Blackhand
Race: Orc

                                                  Appearance:
When you think "orc," you picture the exact creature before you. He is huge, standing just shy of seven feet tall, all of it muscle. He's covered in ugly, battered armor that shows signs of multiple battles. His face is ugly and scarred, and his mouth is full of broken and yellowed teeth. He is missing one eye, and it has been replaced with what looks like a metallic contraption that extends over part of his face. His other eye is a blood red, and filled with violence. His skin is a mottled grey, and covered in battle scars. He wields a savage axe, crusted with dried blood that he clearly never bothered to clean off. One of his hands is charred black and twisted, but doesn't seem to have lost any strength or ferocity.

Profile:
  Krunth Blackhand is the leader and namesake of The Black Hand, a highly organized group of bandits that operates within central and eastern Fomor. He is ruthless and brutal, and is an exceptionally skilled fighter in his own right. While he is not exactly intelligent, he does have a cleverness that only years of cruelty can cultivate. Krunth has personally killed somewhere between two-hundred and three-hundred people, although he's not very good at numbers and has lost track. Most of these people were innocent travelers or merchants, although he has also seen his fair share of actual fights. Krunth's signature black hand came from a fight in which a wizard's spell was only barely deflected by Krunth's arm. The hand is fully functional, but has an intimidating appearance, so Krunth leaves it bare most of the time. His eye was also lost in a fight, and was recently replaced with a metal covering over part of his face. This acts as a magical eye, and allows him to see much better than he used to.
  The Black Hand itself is very different from ordinary bandit fare. They are very organized and dedicated to Krunth. He originally united them using only his sheer strength, but has since manipulated them into being completely loyal only to him. They have coordinated raids throughout the countryside, and occasionally raid the weaker city-states for supplies and recruits. They are organized enough to be recognized by all of the local powers, and a legitimate threat to most in the region. Krunth himself is very pleased with this situation, and abuses the control his bandits have to extort just about everyone he can. The gang is very large, but only a select few are "worthy" of being in Krunth's personal circle. He likes to think that each of them is another finger of his own black hand, as it were.

Purpose:
  This character is based off of the backstory of one of my players. He mentioned that he was pursued by a group of bandits called "The Black Hand," and gave no further details. As such, Krunth Blackhand is set up as the actual rival to this player. He is dedicated to eliminating this player using The Black Hand, since he never payed bribes that were due to them. As such, this character is a bit sparse on backstory, since he's meant to be more of a short-term antagonist. This is something different from most of what I try to do - while the character is certainly part of the setting, he really only applies to that one player. Krunth Blackhand is a very bland character, and that's okay since he is comparatively minor.

Faction: The Royal Guards of Neris

Another image courtesy of Reddit user De_Vermis_Mysteriis. This time I decided to do something different and use the image as inspiration of an entire faction. I don't think that I like the format I used for this, and I may redo it later. I started this out as a description of a character, but then decided that it would be more appropriate to describe the whole faction. 
So after posting this, I also realized that I had decided not to post on weekends. I forgot that today was Saturday. So uh...bonus content!


Name: The Royal Guards of Neris
Race: Mostly Human
Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Appearance: 
The royal guards all wear highly stylized cloth. They are covered mostly in a royal blue and darker shades, but also have white sleeves and a purple sash around their waists. Their clothes are form-fitting enough that they can spring into combat at any time, but loose enough so as to look regal and be able to conceal any necessary weapons. Their clothes are embroidered with gold symbols of royalty and allegiance, each one perfectly identical to all the others. All of them have runes woven into the cloth going all around their body, though these vary greatly between them. The only skin you can see is the bare tips of their fingers and the small area around their eyes, which track you no matter where you walk. They stand with a rigid precision, and move as one.

Profile:
  The Royal Guards of Neris are an ancient order of monks that have sworn themselves to the protection of the royal family of Neris. Only the elite warriors of the order are permitted such high honors, and their clothes detail their rank as grandmasters. The gold embroidery is mostly for show, and pledges their allegiance to the ruling family. The rest of the clothes are traditional and functional, meant for the monks to be able to enter combat at a moment's notice. The runes woven into their clothes are actually magical enchantments, that double as telling the personal stories of each of the monks. Included are their technical honors and accomplishments, as well as any tales of bravery or of foes they have defeated in combat to attain such a high position.
      The Guards all adhere to their order without fail. They must go through a rigorous training before even being considered for their position, and must demonstrate throughout their entire life that they are willing to dedicate themselves without reserve. As such, they don't care for the actual policies of the royal family, nor do they care about whom they must dispatch in their line of duty. The Guards are a very close-knit group, each one bearing respect for all of their comrades. They train and fight together like a well-oiled machine, each playing to the strengths of the group. For the most part, they are all trained in similar ways in their order, but personal variations are welcome amongst such accomplished fighters. 
  The personality of the Guards varies greatly. Some are quiet and stoic, serving their duty with dignity. Others are personable and social, although this friendliness can disappear for anyone should they threaten the royalty. They are each intimately familiar with all of the other Guards, even if they hold different shifts. They serve their position willingly and unfailingly, considering it the greatest honor they could ever hope to achieve.

History:
  The Royal Guards of Neris have been in place as long as the kingdom of Neris has existed. Although the actual origin is unknown, folklore says that the monks founded Neris on the principle of maintaining order and teaching discipline to others. The royal family has remained unbroken, and sometimes inters younger sons and daughters into the Order, since they won't inherit much from the throne. While not all of the monks become Royal Guards, it has always been their highest aspiration. The Guards have never allowed a single king or queen to be assassinated, although many have tried. Their history has remained mostly bland, as there have never been any major scandals or rifts. The Guards serve their terms until they are defeated in combat by another aspiring monk, who may take their position should the other Guards accept them. The kingdom of Neris has been located on the border of the western desert, and they have a definite desert culture. The monks especially feel that influence, as evidenced in their dress. 

NPC: Yersi Pestis

Yet another image from De_Vermis_Mysteriis. There's way too much good stuff in there. As much as I like the idea behind this character, she's not going under the Fomor tag, as I don't feel that she could really fit into that world. 


Name: Yersi Pestis
 Race: Human

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Appearance:
You see what you think at first is a zombie. She shuffles along slowly, and her body is stiff and motionless. She is clad only in black, and her billowing cloak conceals her body. However, you can see that she still breathes, and has other signs of being alive…but only just barely. Her face is the only skin visible, and it is paler than you thought was possible for a human. Her hair is black and stiff, sticking out almost like straw. She smells of death and decay, and the ground around her feet seems to suffer just by her presence. Nearby plants wilt, and you can see insects crawling around and underneath her robes. 

                Profile:
               Yersi Pestis is a necromancer. She cares nothing for life, and only seeks to spread death and destruction everywhere she goes. Most people would consider her insane, but she is highly intelligent and clever. She has a natural talent for the arcane arts, tempered by rigorous study and practice. She is not a lich, although she is working to become one soon. Her main source of entertainment is coming up with new ways to kill as many people as possible. She is cruel and sadistic, and takes great pleasure in the suffering of others. Her corrupt soul and embrace of the dark arts have rendered her body almost immobile, and she has taken on numerous undead characteristics. This is because she has slowed her body down, prolonging her life for centuries. 
  Yersi's most recent goal is to become an invulnerable lich. She doesn't like the idea of having a phylactery, as it would make her very vulnerable to anyone who could find it. Instead, she is researching ways of either not having a phylactery at all, or having several of them. In her pursuits, Yersi is ravaging the countryside looking for arcane knowledge locked away in ancient tombs, and is using anyone she can get as experimental units for her research. She is very thorough in her experiments, and will deplete someone entirely of all their life force before killing them and turning them into undead. She has raised a vast undead army from all of her victims. However, in addition to the large number of ordinary zombies and skeletons, Yersi Pestis has also created larger and more bizarre undead monstrosities, making her army more versatile and dangerous than anyone would normally expect from a necromancer. She has bound many lesser wizards to her cause, and as they outlive their usefulness they are further enslaved as eternal servants, bound to her even in death. 
  She never had much of a childhood. Her family was very affluent, and as soon as it was obvious that she was capable of becoming a wizard, her parents sent her off to learn the arcane arts. She was always a cruel girl, and grew very attached to necromancy. Her teachers were concerned, and hoped that it was merely a phase, but it quickly grew apparent that she was as demented as they had feared. She was expelled after murdering another student and turning them into her undead slave, and was only spared the death sentence because of her family's influence. After that she only sought to grow her own power, and quickly became feared and outcast from society. She mostly lived in the wilderness after that, kidnapping travelers and torturing them, feeding her own thirst for power. Nowadays, she is an immensely powerful wizard that nobody dares trifle with, and she knows it.
  In combat, Yersi Pestis will rely mostly on her minions. She is a powerful wizard in her own right, and will largely focus on applying negative energy to her opponents, draining them of their life energy. She tries to keep a distance, but she moves very slowly. She has an aura around her that disgusts and repels living creatures, as though she had a perpetual Turn Undead that applied to living beings. Even if they are not "turned," living creatures still suffer a penalty from the nauseating effects. In melee, her robes come alive and whirl out with tendrils to attack her foes. Each tendril is the soul of a powerful wizard, and will apply magical effects to anyone they hit. They whip around independently of each other, though still bound to her will. If she manages to actually grab someone, even if through her glove, she can drain their energy more easily than with her ranged spells. 

NPC: The Galmi Twins

Reddit user De_Vermis_Mysteriis recently uploaded 1848 character portraits. I haven't gone through them all, but I have come up with what I consider very interesting concepts. This first one I think has a lot of potential, and I'm not sure if I entirely did it justice with this. 

Names: Judah and Bezalel Galmi
Race: Construct
Alignment: Lawful Neutral


Appearance:
  Both of the humanoids you see look as though they are not alive. As far as you can tell, they don't breathe, and remain perfectly still at times. They keep their faces obscured, and all of their skin is covered by their clothing. When they move, it is with an inhuman precision. They are proportioned much like ordinary humans, one male and one female, but nothing in their behavior or movement seems at all natural.
  The male stands, wearing an immaculate suit of fine clothing. His face is covered with a black mask made of metal, and two large white domes cover where his eyes should be. Though his sleeves are long, you think you can see the imprint of metal armor showing. His hands end in long, vicious talons, though he usually keeps them in his voluminous pockets. When he speaks, his voice sounds distant and hollow, yet has an eery cheeriness that never seems to waver. He struts with a gentleman's pace, perfect to the point of absurdity, and stands rigidly still when he finishes. 
  The female wears a red cloak that conceals almost her entire body, though you catch brief glimpses of leather armor underneath. She wears a red mask of cloth over her face, and only dark grey goggles over her eyes are visible. She moves quickly and lightly, almost dancing through crowds and around people. She seems to be faster than any human has any right to be, and also goes rigid if she reaches a destination. Her voice sounds like an echo from a distant place, and she generally speaks in riddles or otherwise nonsense. 

Profile:
  The Galmi Twins are golems, imbued with the fractured soul of their creator. A wizard grew desperate to have an heir, and yet was unable to ever conceive a child. So he constructed his own, and to make sure they would be "true" heirs, he gave them each a part of his own soul. This consequently drove him mad, and he died shortly thereafter. The twins have lived on in secret ever since, although the townsfolk are very suspicious of their origins. Their "father" was a prominent mage, and he seemed to go senile shortly before introducing his "children" to the city's nobles. 
The twins are socially active, though in different ways.

• Judah Galmi is the male. He is in every way a proper Victorian-era gentleman, and always wears the suit his father created for him. His very cheery and polite, and is a freakish master of proper etiquette in all social situations. He attends every social event in the city, though the other nobles tend not to approve of him. He doesn't notice. Judah is very proud of his "heritage," often extolling the wisdom and discoveries of his late father. In combat, Judah is mostly a melee warrior. His claws rip through armor with ease, and he is highly mobile. His feet also have extenders that allow him to jump higher than one would expect. His magical specialty is Abjuration, and he has taken to maintaining and improving both himself and his sister.
• Bezalel Galmi is the female. She is much more roguish than her brother. She speaks only in riddles, and is actually incapable of being straightforward with anyone. The only one alive who can understand what she's saying is her brother. She avoids the social scene of the city, preferring to wander through dark alleys and interact with the criminal underground. She has become an infamous thief, unknown to all but her criminal boss. In combat, she is a ranged rogue. She has hundreds of knives built into her body that she is capable of throwing without interrupting her movement or clothing. Her magical specialty is Illusions, and she often uses these to perform her heists or gain an advantage in combat.

  The twins have carried on as though their father never died, as he never had time to "finish" them properly. As such, their directives have left them confused, and they're not entirely sure what they're supposed to be doing. They are more advanced than normal golems, and so have actively taken to exploring the city to determine what their purpose is. The possibility that they were never given a purpose has not occurred to either of them. Judah is assuming that through proper social interactions, he will discover what his father wanted of them both. Bezalel thinks that going through the criminal underground will show her the same. Neither of them thinks the other is wrong, per se, and they do care for each other as deeply as they are capable of doing. They do recognize that they are each imbued with the soul of their father, and that they have different parts. They also recognize that their father is dead, they just don't understand what that actually means. 
  A few members of society have discovered exactly what the twins are, and seek to manipulate them. They are very powerful constructs, capable of independent thought and having some amount of reason. They are being subtly manipulated in different directions, to varying degrees of success. 
The twins continue to live in their father's old home. His body has long since rotted away, though his bones remained untouched. Neither of the twins were ever told that you were supposed to bury people. The ghost still howls through the mansion, though neither twin is capable of seeing nor understanding it. 

NPC: Putrid Shadow of the Moon

Well this sure was convenient! Reddit user jenjello773 did a "Good ol' Fashion Image Dump" today, and I got some images to use as inspiration. One such image is here, and was probably my favorite concept out of all the ones they had.


Name: Putrid Shadow of the Moon
Race: ???
Alignment: Neutral Evil

Appearance:
The creature before you is huddled and emaciated. It's skin is white, and stretched taut over it's bones. It's hands are twisted into vicious claws, with long black nails. It wears tattered hides over it's body, and a large mask made of the skull of a beast covers it's face. Two horns protrude from the mask, curling back behind it's head, and a mane of fur goes down it's back. It walks with an unearthly gait, hobbling between it's legs, faster than seems possible. It's eyes peer out of the mask, as white as it's skin. You can not tell what it is. The creature smells of death and decay, and has an unmistakable aura of ancient magic surrounding it.

Profile:
  Putrid Shadow of the Moon is an insane Druid. He is ancient enough that he has no memory of his earlier life, and lives in his own twisted vision of reality. His own race is unknown to him, not that he cares in the slightest. He lives out in the wilderness, corrupting and polluting nature by his very presence. He is unintelligible in speech, though he can sometimes understand it from others. However, even then his comprehension is limited only to basic concepts. Putrid Shadow of the Moon actually has a very complex grasp of how magic works, and how to bend it to his will. If he weren't so insane and was capable of focusing, he would likely be a very potent power in the world. However, instead he gibbers aimlessly in random caves, causing chaos wherever he goes. He is constantly manipulating nature, creating abominations out of plants and animals alike.
  Putrid Shadow does not outright attack anyone that he sees. Mostly he ignores them, or is altogether unaware of their presence. If they disturb his work, he may perceive them as a threat and try to destroy them. However, due to his insanity this may not be in the way you'd always expect. He may go off in some random incantations, but his creations will generally respond to his attitude. Whatever creatures or plants he has brought under his twisted will may lash out at the PCs. His lair should be someplace dark, and probably underground. If no suitable location can be found, Putrid Shadow of the Moon may simply create one with his magic, twisting thorny brush into a shelter. In there, he conducts bizarre experiments. Animal bodies can be found mutilated, flames burn in strange colors making the room look like a rave, and weird plants twist and write all around him. Meanwhile he dances around, screaming maniacally. 
  In his past, Putrid Shadow of the Moon was not always insane. His name used to be Walks With Sunlight. He is so old that no record exists of his people. He's basically some sort of proto-satyr, but is ancient enough that he can't really be recognized as such. He was a powerful Druid among his people, and served as their protection against their enemies. He was corrupted by a powerful demon, which battled him for several weeks for the fate of the world. Walks With Sunlight did defeat him, but the battle destroyed his homeland. He was driven mad with guilt, and a small piece of the demon lord implanted itself in him. They still battle in his mind to this day, warping his own perception of reality. His new name, Putrid Shadow of the Moon, is what he is known as by the nature spirits. Very few of them actually know of his history, as Putrid Shadow is actually older than they are. But due to his constant battling within his mind, he does project very violent and evil psychic influences, which they have come to identify him as.
  In battle, Putrid Shadow randomly throws his magic around. His minions do most of the fighting, but even they just tend to swarm the enemies. Even after the battle is over, his minions oftentimes go ahead and destroy each other, caught up in Putrid Shadow's madness. If for some reason he has a rare moment of clarity, he will probably perceive the PCs as demons come to destroy his home once again, in which case he will go into all-out battle mode. He's still somewhat mad, so most of his magic will be wasted. He is also very weakened from his psychic battle with the demon lord still raging within him. No matter what, he is actually unkillable. He has grown so powerful that even if the PCs destroy him, Putrid Shadow of the Moon will live on, his new body growing out of the corrupted lands that he has created. He is likely to be even more insane afterwards, and will definitely recognize the PCs after that.

Location: Mendenhall Ice Caves

Back to the "23 Unbelievable Places" set.


Description: The ice forms a massive cavern. Everything in your vision is tinted an eerily pale blue, and the light plays off the ice formations. The air is frigid, and all the warmth from your body is sapped out just by being here. You can hear the faint sounds of the water surrounding the cavern, muffled through the thick walls of ice. You slip slightly while you walk, your feet unable to find sure purchase on the floors of the ice. The caves twist and turn about, sometimes seeming random and natural, but other times appearing as though constructed by an architect. The ice bubbles out in some places, with smooth and even shells, and at other points is jagged and rough. 

Associated Knowledges:
Nature:

• These caves are only possible due to the freezing temperatures far beneath the sea.
• The caves were formed naturally, at least in part.
• The caves are home to many creatures who thrive in these temperatures.

Arcana:

• A faint magical aura permeates the caves entirely.
• Parts of the cave were shaped by magical means long ago.
• The caves have been enchanted to be ever-growing deeper into the ocean.

Planes:

• The upper levels of the caves are grounded in the Material Plane.
• The caves seem to bend towards the Elemental Plane of Ice.
• The caves are a connection between the Material Plane and the Elemental Plane of Ice, and a skilled magician could open a gate between the two from the depths of the cave.

DM Info:
  The Mendenhall Ice Caves are an ancient ice structure beneath the sea. Long ago they were formed naturally, but were discovered by a group of wizards who wanted to study the Elemental Plane of Ice. The caves became their place of research, and were shaped by the wizards so they could perform experiments. Over time, the caves have been inhabited by numerous other creatures, mostly frost giants or other denizens of the Elemental Plane of Ice. Arctic Druids have also taken up residence in the halls at least once, feeling that it was especially close to nature. Mindless creatures have also lived there, either deep-sea fish or other entities. Demons and devils have also lived in the caves, as they don't really care about the environment and it provided a good spot to hide away from those that would do them harm.
  The caves are, for the most part, not terribly dangerous in and of themselves. The only difficulties the PCs should have from the caves are the slippery floors and cold temperatures. Some areas of the caves may have been enchanted so as to be more habitable by some of the people who have lived here before, but that magic could have worn off over time. The caves were constructed mostly naturally, and so emulate a more natural pattern in the tunnels. Generally, they grow mostly in a downward direction, and the attunement to the Elemental Plane of Ice gets stronger the deeper it goes. This is mostly harmless to the PCs, but more powerful creatures would be more likely to live in those deeper areas. 
  Encounters inside the caves should almost definitely include copious amounts of difficult terrain. The ice was never really meant for combat to take place inside of it, and the PCs are likely to be the only things in there that aren't naturally adapted to this environment. The slippery ice I would imagine would act as though a Grease spell had been cast on that area, in addition to other difficult terrain just from the formation of the floor. If the fighting is too rough, sections of the caves could also collapse, causing temporary floods. This would make fights in the cave far more brutal, but also allow for a dramatic escape sequence from the collapsing and flooding caves. 
  Even just getting to the Mendenhall Ice Caves should not be easy. They are, after all, far underwater. Different parties may have different approaches to entering the caves. For instance, a party with a Druid would have an easier time casting spells that would make the party able to access the caves. A party with an Artificer might construct a makeshift submarine. Go nuts.
  The caves can be as large or as small as you want. The way I envision them is to actually have them be constantly growing downwards and outwards. The upper "floors" would be fairly narrow, while the lower the PCs descend, the wider and more complex the levels will become. Perhaps even to the point that an entire ice city could be present very far down, or that warring factions could exist between the different levels. A possible breakdown that I am considering:

• The upper floors would be nearly uninhabited, and the PCs would only contend with the natural challenges of the caves themselves.
• After a few levels down, the PCs may encounter some random wildlife. Winter Wolves, Wargs, small elementals.
• Towards the intermediate levels, the PCs find that a group of Frost Goblins have made their home spanning a few levels. Their boss is on the bottom level (of course), and they are forced to fight their way through.
• Lower down, there are three massive levels to the ice caves, each one essentially constituting it's own fortress. On each level are warring factions.
• A Frost Giant jarl has mustered his tribesmen from the Elemental Plane of Ice and wants to control the caves. He doesn't know that the surface world isn't as cold as he'd like.
• An Ice Devil wants this place as his own personal lair to begin the conquest of the Material Plane. He has summoned a number of smaller devils, and bound a number of Frost Goblins to his will.
• A group of Aboleth are enslaving anything and everything they can find, and also hope to own the caves. They actually have a number of Skum in addition to enslaved members of the other warring factions. 
• A Mind Flayer is also trying to take control. He is the only one not entirely suited to the climate, but appreciates the caves for the security as a lair. He is summoning armies of aberrations.
• Even lower still, the PCs can possibly be outright transported to the Elemental Plane of Ice, or move between the planes fluidly.

Adventure Hooks:

• A wizard knows that long ago, other magi used the caverns for their research. He wishes to continue this research, and employs the PCs to help him find and secure the caves for his own purposes.
• People in the fishing villages are going missing. The PCs investigate to find that they are being taken by merfolk slavers into the caves.
• The mysterious ice caverns suddenly emerge from the depths up to the surface. The PCs investigate.

Location: Pouderin Keep

I decided to do another picture today. This time, though, the image is from Reddit user Pouderpuff. Since he didn't name the picture, I dubbed it "Pouderin Keep" in honor of him. Also, I decided that I would only post on weekdays. This is already of low quality as it is, and I'd like to spend at least a little more time on each post than I have been.

Description: The castle sits atop a small island in the ocean. The sun gleams off the white stone in a majestic fashion, nearly blinding you as you approach. The air is salty from the sea, and the wind blows perpetually. The nearby area is nothing but cliffs and jagged stone. The keep itself is made from a white stone, and shows the wear from the sea over the course of the years. The keep tunnels down into the rock it is located on, and it seems to you that it must even go underwater. You have a slight sense of claustrophobia inside the cramped halls.

Associated Knowledges:
History:

• This keep was built many centuries ago, and has always been owned by the same dwarves.
• The Bilder clan of dwarves crafted this keep, and it has always been owned by one of their patriarchs.
• The dwarves use this fortress as a secure point to fall back in case of war. This has happened many times during their history, and the keep is virtually unassailable.

Geography:

• The location of the keep makes it very secluded.
• The difficult terrain surrounding the keep prevents easy travel, even to the dwarves that live nearby and inside the keep.
• The keep itself is made of a stone that is not found in this region.

Dungeoneering:

• The keep appears to be built solidly. You can't identify any faults in the inside structure.
• The keep is made out of a porous stone that would resist any sort of siege weapons.
• You can tell that the keep extends far beneath the waterline.

DM Info:
  Pouderin Keep is an ancient dwarven fortress. The Bilder clan of dwarves regards it as the one location that they will definitively keep - pun fully intended - forever. In times of crisis, they have retreated to Pouderin Keep to hold out against invading armies. Every time, they have repelled the attackers without issue. It is built in such an unassailable location, and is made of a stone that is nearly impossible to breach. The material is similar to coquina, but is an actual stone. Siege weapons basically have little to no effect on the keep's walls. What is interesting is that this stone is found nowhere near the keep. In fact, it's not located anywhere in territory that the Bilder clan has every controlled. The Bilder dwarves have actually found a way to fabricate the stone, and do so in secret. It is very difficult to do so, which is why they only built the one keep. Most of the Bilder dwarves are obsessed with finding ways of making the process easier, to give them an advantage against invaders.
  The keep is inhabited mostly by dwarves and a small number of gnomes. This keep is to the south of the Bilder territory, and only has a few defenders. A minor patriarch is given control of the keep, almost as a token measure. However, in times of invasion the keep becomes a major strategic lynchpin to the dwarves, and that patriarch's status is elevated. This is, I feel, the biggest plot point that the keep can offer. The patriarch plans to start a war with another nearby clan, so that the Bilders will be forced to rely on his keep. This will make him a valuable member of the clan, and allow him to advance out of the Pouderin Keep. 
  Inside, the keep resembles most dwarven homes. Narrow tunnels, deep shafts, and underground mining. The keep extends far below the waterline, and has hit the earth below the relatively shallow sea. They are free to extend their operations as deep as they please without threatening the integrity of the keep. However, due to the small number of dwarves and gnomes that live there permanently, the operation is slow and inefficient. Mostly they spend their time readying the battlements in case of invasion. The tunnels, however, do still have a number of underground creatures living in them. The dwarves are oftentimes overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters that inhabit their home, and are unable to do anything but slowly weed them out. Sometimes they will hire mercenaries to do it for them, but this is seen as highly insulting to the patriarch's honor, and is only done in times of great need.
  There is little trade to Pouderin Keep. Shipments of food and supplies come every now and then from the Bilder clan, but little else makes it's way there. No merchant is willing to risk the dangerous terrain for the little business they might drum up in the keep. Especially since dwarves are notoriously territorial, and may take offense to such actions. Luxury goods are very rare in the keep because of this. The dwarves that live there keep their lives fairly minimalistic. They keep to their tunnels, mining away slowly, and readying for a war that may never come. They keep their tradition highly insulated, and rarely see newcomers to the keep. 

Adventure Hooks:

• The tunnels are overwhelmed by monsters. The dwarven patriarch puts out a call for adventurers to help them reclaim their home.
• The patriarch is weary from boredom. He is scheming to start a war to elevate his position, but needs the PCs to help him.
• A merchant is willing to make the trip, provided that he has an escort.