Post by facemelter on Jan 26, 2012 18:58:21 GMT -5
The Deep Roads are an extensive network of underground roads that once belonged to the dwarven kingdom. Many people of Ferelden thought these roads lost to time, but a large number of them still exist. The dwarves closed the Deep Roads off when they fell to the darkspawn during First Blight. The entrances still exist, but are all sealed by octagonal steel doors decorated with geometric patterns that may form words or patterns.
The entrance at the dwarven city of Orzammar is also sealed, though the gate is opened on occasion to allow members of the Legion of The Dead into the Deep Roads, where they spend their last days fighting the darkspawn in hopes of redemption.
Background
The Deep Roads are a grand network of tunnels that joined the thaigs, the caverns where settlements were built in honor of the Paragons. These subterranean highways were works of unparalleled artisan achievement, with centuries of planning and engineering demonstrated in the geometry of their walls. Statues of the Paragons watched over passing travelers, and channels carried a flow of lava that kept the Deep Roads lit and warm.
This once-proud creation is now the source of much lament for what they have lost. Today, only two thaigs even remain inhabited: Kal-Sharok and Orzammar in the Frostback Mountains. When the darkspawn first appeared, the dwarves sealed off the entrances and abandoned the Deep Roads.
How much of the network is still open is unknown, as is how much of the Deep Roads the darkspawn have corrupted. It has been centuries since the darkspawn invaded the surface. Entering the Deep Roads brings great risks. There are many legends of travelers going missing in the hills near these entrances, most coming from Ferelden.
Travel
Travel within the Deep Roads is difficult. Many of the caverns leading down have been partially filled in with rock and earth, either on purpose to keep what is down there from getting to the surface, or through neglect and the passage of time. There is air available even in the deepest portions, as the dwarven craftsmen that built the roads created an intricate duct system to supply it. However, there is no natural light, and torches are needed to navigate the Deep Roads. The intersections have dwarven runes carved into walls, which may indicate directions.
Along the network of passages are abandoned way-stations and forts, as well as empty thaigs; caverns where dwarves had built settlements from the stone in tribute to their Paragons - dwarves that achieve legendary status among their people.
In the more ancient parts of the Deep Roads, the walls and floor are covered with a bizarre substance of oil and filth that is spread by the darkspawn that inhabit it. They spread the blight to even the very rock around them.
In the Primeval Thaig things are even more different. There are no statues of Paragons, no signs of it in the records and memories of the Shapers, and no signs of darkspawn corruption. Even more bizarrely, there are magically-created objects and temples to some deity, which is unusual because dwarves do not have a God-like figure. Structures are made of lyrium, which is not safe.
The entrance at the dwarven city of Orzammar is also sealed, though the gate is opened on occasion to allow members of the Legion of The Dead into the Deep Roads, where they spend their last days fighting the darkspawn in hopes of redemption.
Background
The Deep Roads are a grand network of tunnels that joined the thaigs, the caverns where settlements were built in honor of the Paragons. These subterranean highways were works of unparalleled artisan achievement, with centuries of planning and engineering demonstrated in the geometry of their walls. Statues of the Paragons watched over passing travelers, and channels carried a flow of lava that kept the Deep Roads lit and warm.
This once-proud creation is now the source of much lament for what they have lost. Today, only two thaigs even remain inhabited: Kal-Sharok and Orzammar in the Frostback Mountains. When the darkspawn first appeared, the dwarves sealed off the entrances and abandoned the Deep Roads.
How much of the network is still open is unknown, as is how much of the Deep Roads the darkspawn have corrupted. It has been centuries since the darkspawn invaded the surface. Entering the Deep Roads brings great risks. There are many legends of travelers going missing in the hills near these entrances, most coming from Ferelden.
Travel
Travel within the Deep Roads is difficult. Many of the caverns leading down have been partially filled in with rock and earth, either on purpose to keep what is down there from getting to the surface, or through neglect and the passage of time. There is air available even in the deepest portions, as the dwarven craftsmen that built the roads created an intricate duct system to supply it. However, there is no natural light, and torches are needed to navigate the Deep Roads. The intersections have dwarven runes carved into walls, which may indicate directions.
Along the network of passages are abandoned way-stations and forts, as well as empty thaigs; caverns where dwarves had built settlements from the stone in tribute to their Paragons - dwarves that achieve legendary status among their people.
In the more ancient parts of the Deep Roads, the walls and floor are covered with a bizarre substance of oil and filth that is spread by the darkspawn that inhabit it. They spread the blight to even the very rock around them.
In the Primeval Thaig things are even more different. There are no statues of Paragons, no signs of it in the records and memories of the Shapers, and no signs of darkspawn corruption. Even more bizarrely, there are magically-created objects and temples to some deity, which is unusual because dwarves do not have a God-like figure. Structures are made of lyrium, which is not safe.
