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Lands of Deepearth	-	-	-	DSG

Geography: This extensive region of natural caverns comprises
numerous long, narrow caverns, all running north to south.
These caverns run side by side, but also above and below each
other, creating three distinct levels.

The caves average 20 feet wide and 10 feet high, but in many
places become much narrower than that. At least once each mile
travelers encounter a short passage only two or three feet in
diameter. Streams flow through most of the caves, but never
completely fill the passages. In areas where they come close to
choking off entire tunnels, the svirfneblin have constructed upper
passages so that a gnome-sized character can walk anywhere in
these caves without getting wet feet.

The passages establishing vertical connections between the
caves have all been crafted by the deep gnomes with small spiral
stairways or ladders. Although many of these places are tight
squeezes for human characters, none are too small for humans
to force their way through.

Many small tunnels have been excavated in the sides of these
caves to serve as homes for the svirfneblin. These range from
tiny burrows, too small for a human to enter, to large multi-family
residences or council centers into which a human could crawl
and stand erect once inside.

Denizens: Each cave in this area is the home of a single clan
of the deep gnomes. The most prestigious clans have the largest
caves. Each clan maintains its own council chamber, which is an
excavated chamber about 60 feet in diameter and eight feet high.
The gnomes cooperate well with each other and have established
a clan meeting chamber in a central cave, surrounded by
the residences of the most powerful clans. This huge chamber is
200 feet in diameter, although the ceiling is only 10 feet from the
floor and has numerous columns supporting it.

The total population of svirfneblin numbers close to 5,000. About
1/3 of this population is able to mobilize for military purposes. This
makes them a force to be reckoned with in Deepearth.
Living in the same caverns as the svirfneblin are many herds of
rothe. The deep gnomes protect them from the more savage
predators of Deepearth, and find many uses for their wooly hair
and tasty meat. Each clan of svirfneblin keeps at least 100 rothe,
with larger herds numbering eight or 10 times as many beasts.
The deep gnomes practice selective breeding, and thus insure a
healthy and prolific livestock supply.

Resources: Fresh water trickles steadily into these caverns
through many small cracks in the walls and ceilings. No single
watercourse is large enough to be called a stream, but the trickles
combine to create the equivalent of a small stream in each
cave. In a few places the water gathers in large, still pools.
The caverns at the southern end of the deep gnomes’ domain
gain the benefit of air circulation through the Grand Canyon of
Deepearth, and this fresh air circulates enough to provide all of
the caverns with an ample supply.

Plant life is represented by the edible fungi that grow throughout
the area.

The tunnels branching off from the northeast end of the deep
gnomes’ domain are mines. These ever-growing shafts are
sources of iron, silver, copper, and lead. An extensive network of
mine tunnels extends deep into the earth, as well as horizontally
to the north and east. Many of these shafts are over five miles
long, and have yielded their valuable contents to the industrious
gnomes for generations.

Unique Features: A vast cavern connects the gnomes’ dwellings
with their mining tunnels, and this cavern is the location of a
huge smelter and smithy. Massive amounts of coal are needed to
feed the roaring fires. Exhaust smoke is vented through cracks in
the bedrock, eventually spilling into the huge caverns of the lava
sea where it harmlessly disperses.

In the smithy, svirfneblin blacksmiths, weaponsmiths, and
armorers toil endlessly to create high-quality weapons, armor,
and tools. They have, in fact, created many more of these implements
than they need. Some of the surplus is traded with other
cultures and the rest is stockpiled. A huge stone door blocks off a
large vault that contains not only the excess products of the
smiths, but thousands of bars of silver worth 500 sp apiece. The
stone door slides along a grooved track in the floor, and requires
a combined Strength of 550 to open. The gnomes pull it aside
about once a week, using a work team composed of hundreds of
deep gnomes and a complicated system of winches and pulleys.
A number of illusions conceal the vault’s entrance.