Tythald Gate
Patron: The King With a Thousand Mouths (Shoggoth)
Capital: Tythald Gate
Primary Race: Dwarf
Primary Language: Dwarven
Suggested Traits: Beacon of Faith, Duelist, Experienced, Hardy, Ignorance is Bliss, Militia, Poor Hygiene
Regional Feat: Kin of Stone
Description
Not every patron is benevolent and not every nation is blessed to have their ruler. A prime example of this is the festering madness that is Tythald Gate. A series of mountaintop redoubts strung along the ridge of the West Delka Mountains, it at first appears to be a place of security in the eastern Direwild, but anyone visiting the dwarven cities soon realizes that something is terribly wrong. Once noted for their law-abiding nature and stern work ethic, these dwarves are shifty, sloppy, and crude. Their crafted goods are second rate and they take offense at the smallest slights, real or percieved.
The reason for this boils in the caverns that run beneath the mountains, where monstrous oozes wend their way through unlit halls, answering the gibbering madness of the King With a Thousand Mouths. The dwarves of Tythald Gate not only worship this creature for fear of the death that its abandonment would bring them, but they spend their entire lives breathing in the vile fumes that its feasting produces as they bubble up out of the ground beneath their feet. Decades or centuries of exposure slowly degrade their wits, leaving the dwarves in their weakened mental state.
History
In the Era of Heroes, the dwarves once ruled an unbroken empire that stretched across both of the Delkan ranges. Following the War of the Traitor-Heroes, all word was lost from Kanda Delka, the seat of power located in the East Delka Mountains. Monsters began filtering up out of the earth, driving the dwarves to the frigid watchtowers that capped the mountains where thousands died of exposure and starvation.
One day, a dwarven princess and one of the last descendants of the old dwarven emperor, announced that she had discovered the salvation of her people. Ritte Tythus declared that he had spoken with the spirit of the mountain and it had offered to save the living, provided they sacrificed their dead to it. Many dwarves argued, but were ultimately overwhelmed by the starving masses, many of them added to the offering. In return, the highest levels of several old dwarven cities were purged of their monstrous infestation and the people allowed to return. But they had bought their survival at a terrible price, for Tythus had made a deal with the shoggoth ooze that old dwarven magic from the Era of Heroes had kept imprisoned. Without the constant supply of magic that kept the prison intact, the so-called King With a Thousand Mouths had broken free and it, alone, now ruled the West Delkans. Since then, it has answered the prayers of the mad priests of Tythald Gate, ever demanding that they supply it with its favorite delicacy: dwarf flesh.
Foreign Relations
Tythald Gate is generally an isolationist nation, outsiders viewed with a combination of scorn and suspicion. Though their militia forces are powerful, they refuse to engage with other nations in any sort of diplomacy. The limit of their international activities are constant skirmishes with the Imbaran raiders who seek to loot the capital city or the scattered shore settlements.