Next Fest Day 6: The Deepstone Hold

The Deepstone Hold

Carved deep beneath mountain roots where sunlight has never touched stone, the Deepstone Hold is a kingdom of anvils, runes, and unyielding will. Its halls echo with hammer strikes and war chants, its vaults glitter with ancient relics wrested from darkness by stubborn hands. Where others see stone as obstacle, the dwarves of Deepstone see foundation. Every tunnel is reinforced. Every wall is fortified. Every oath is sworn in iron.

They do not charge recklessly into war. They advance like a collapsing mountain face, shield locked to shield, gunpowder roaring from behind disciplined lines. Against the Hold, momentum dies. Steel breaks. And grudges are never forgotten.

Hrothgar Goblinslayer

Hrothgar earned his name not through rumor, but through extermination. In the early years of his command, goblin hordes swarmed the outer tunnels of Deepstone, believing the dwarves too slow to respond. They were wrong. Hrothgar led the counterassault personally, descending into lightless caverns where even torchfire faltered. For weeks the battle raged underground, axe against fang, shield against swarm. When it ended, the tunnels were silent and the goblin clans broken beyond recovery.

Now Hrothgar carries that ancestral hatred into every campaign. His warriors strike harder when facing the Green Tide, fueled by grudges etched into stone tablets generations old. Under his leadership, even the stalwart Cragflayers fight with renewed fury, their rage kindled against any who dare gather in swarms. Hrothgar does not forget. He does not forgive. And when he marches, old debts are paid in full.

Bertha Barrelstorm

Bertha Barrelstorm was born into smoke and thunder. From a young age she preferred the roar of cannon to the clang of sword, the precise calculation of trajectory over the chaos of melee. She rose through the ranks not by lineage, but by innovation, refining artillery designs and supply lines until Deepstone’s ranged regiments could fire longer, straighter, and deadlier than ever before. Under her command, ammunition never runs dry and barrels never cool.

Bertha sees war as engineering. Accuracy is sacred. Preparation is everything. Her artillery crews strike with devastating precision, and her supply chains ensure that no gun falls silent at a critical moment. When the Storm Forged Battery unleashes its thunder or the Grimfire Guns tear through armor, it is Bertha’s meticulous discipline behind every shot. Against her, fortifications crumble and even giants learn to fear the echo of dwarven cannons.

Units of the Deepstone Hold

Crackshot Crossbows

Disciplined dwarf marksmen armed with crossbows. Reliable, steady, and highly accurate.

Riftpick Laborers

Hardened miners turned soldiers wielding heavy pickaxes.

Cragflayers

Dual-axe warriors who hurl their blades before crashing into melee. Against swarming foes, their fury becomes unstoppable.

Drakefire Riflers

Blunderbuss-armed dwarves whose armor-piercing blasts tear through heavy infantry and monstrous hides alike.

Grimfire Guns

Triple barreled artillery platforms that devastate clustered enemies and shred armored formations.

Helmwall Defenders

Shield bearing dwarfs who excel at grinding down enemy infantry in brutal frontline engagements.

Glyphstone Phalanx

Heavily armored dwarves fighting in tight formation with shield and phalanx. Immune to fear and specialists in bringing down larger opponents.

Grimazul Ancients

Veteran warriors clad in ancient armor, crushing enemy defenses with armor crushing battle axes.

Storm Forged Battery

A colossal cannon engineered to tear through armor and obliterate towering enemies with thunderous force.

The Bulwark

Heavily armored dwarves wielding steel shields and blunderbusses, capable of holding the line while delivering punishing close-range fire.

Thunderhoof Chargers

Dwarves mounted upon massive rams, crashing into enemy lines with shield and spear in unstoppable momentum.

Abyssal Delveknights

Legendary, heavily armored champions of the deep tunnels. Immune to fear and unmatched in slaying monstrous foes.

Forgewrath Hammers

Elite infantry wielding terrifying glowing hammers. The more enemies they fell, the stronger and more prestigious they become, rising in rank through blood and battle.