The Dwarven Empire was a powerful Oshmondian dwarven monarchy.

History

Settlers from the Eternal Empire founded a new state, the Dwarven Empire, in the Colupan Archipelago. Under the leadership of the Firefist dynasty, the Dwarves engendered a long reign in the material plane; they were replaced by the Fireforges in 15'000 b. OW. Finally, they became extremely powerful and established an interplanar sphere of influence under Thaud Fireforge. The state was then reformed by the Queens into the Holy Dwarven Empire.

Cultural Makeup

Though the Dwarves inherited some isolationist traits from the Eternals, they embraced a much more aggressive imperialist policy. They were known to trade with allied states, and did not hesitate to use their powerful navy to establish footholds all over the known world. Until the Weapons Act of 212 OW, the Dwarves were also always ahead of their neighbors technologically.

The Dwarves greatly valued kinship and loyalty to the crown, even more than the Eternals. They also placed some importance in science and technological progress.

Military

The Dwarven military machine was a force to be reckoned with on Oshmondu. At its head was the king, and it was subdivided into several different specializations. The idea was to make supplying each branch with its specialized equipment easier.

There also existed the Armored branch, which was founded in 407 b. OW and fully incorporated into the Army in 52 OW, and the Special Forces.

Army

The Dwarven infantry fought most of its battles underground, either in enclaves or in the Caverealm, though it still saw vastly more surface fights than other dwarven armies, such as those of free enclaves or the Eternal Empire. Regular infantry troops, the legionaries, were often heavily armored, wore shields, and wielded heavy weapons like polearms and axes. They relied on pure toughness and martial potential to win their battles. However, the army was also known to utilize some specialized units, like Baovuldian skirmishers, rangers, standing guard (fortress personnel), various cavalries, including mobile, ranged, charge and shock cavalries, and artillerists.

Some famous specialized regimental types were the Rune Fighters (introduced 70 b. OW), the Armored Scouts, and the King's Own Acers.

Traditionally, the army was divided into 7 legions, though their number varied as some were disbanded or reintroduced, and more were added with time: 1st (hawk), 2nd (earth elemental), 3 (cave bear), 4 (mouse), 5th (armored gurtle), 6th (spectre), and the Outer Legions (a triangle). The legions in turn each consisted of around 70 regiments, and 200 cohorts, 2 to 3 per regiment. The numbers of units varied over time, as the Empire's size changed.

Ranks: Lord Marshal, [idk read the faction sheet]

Royal Navy

Though dwarves were not famous for their naval prowess, the Dwarven Empire had an exceptionally powerful navy. They translated dwarven appreciation for heavy gear to their Royal Navy, giving it more punch than many others.

Traditionally, the navy was divided into the Home (red Aithnar silhouette), Central (golden hammer, for Eisenhowl/Battlehammer clan), Northern (blue mountain), Colonial (green tree), Western (orange naval sergeant's patch), and Bromgorn (two brown crystals) fleets.

The navy was commanded by a Lord Admiral, and each fleet had one full Admiral.

Airborne

The Airborne branch was introduced in 758 b. OW, though it consisted mostly of wyverns and balloons, and occasionally one or two dragons. First aircraft for reconnaissance purposes were introduced in 195 OW. The branch was turned into the Firefleet some years later.

Marines

The Marines branch was built out of Army, Royal Navy and Special Forces personnel in 34 OW, based on human models. As ship-based infantry, it swiftly became the largest branch and grew in importance because it effectively combined assets from all other branches in a single army. The mighty Armada was almost solely built out of Marine units.

Ranks: Lord Admiral, Admiral-at-Arms, Lord Captain, Commodore-at-Arms, Marine Captain, Major-at-Arms