Khaldrim
Khaldrim, the Stonefather, is the eldest and most revered of the dwarven gods, the maker of the first halls, the shaper of the mountains, and the father of the dwarven race. He embodies endurance, craftsmanship, and legacy, the strength to create, to build, and to leave something that lasts beyond death.
To the dwarves of Mossak Dum, Khaldrim is the beating heart of their culture, the steady rhythm of hammer upon anvil that echoes through every forge. To honour Khaldrim is to shape the world with one’s hands, to create not for glory, but for permanence.
Khaldrim is depicted as a broad, stoic figure of living stone, his skin veined with iron, his decorated beard formed of chiselled gold. His eyes burn with the red glow of forge embers, and his voice is said to carry like the rumble of an earthquake.
In art, he is shown holding a forge hammer and chisel, each stroke of which births sparks that become stars. He is often depicted standing within a great cavern, one hand resting upon the earth itself as if listening to its pulse.
Titles
Adjectives
Worshippers
Alignment
Symbol
Domains
Favoured Colour
The Stonefather
Khaldrim
Blacksmiths, architects, and artisans
Any Lawful
Mason's Tools
Craftsmanship, Earth, Legacy
Dark Green
Worshippers
Basic Information
Khaldrim’s presence is felt wherever dwarves build or shape the world. The heat of a forge, the tremor of a hammer’s strike, or the first breath of air in a newly carved tunnel, all are signs of his favour.
When a master craftsman completes a great work, dwarves say Khaldrim’s hand guided theirs. He is also known to manifest through dreams, appearing as a glowing silhouette of stone and fire to those burdened with doubt or failure, urging them to begin again. In times of collapse or loss, his voice is said to echo through the caverns. “The mountain stands.”
Khaldrim is steadfast and unyielding, patient as the stone from which he was born. He values effort above talent, work above words. To him, failure is sacred, proof that one has tried. His teachings praise perseverance and humility: “Stone breaks to teach you how to shape it.” Yet Khaldrim is not without warmth. In dwarven songs, he is called the Father Beneath, a protector whose presence can be felt in the steady heartbeat of the mountain. Though he rarely speaks, when he does, it is with quiet certainty, simple truths forged in labour and time.
description
Activities
Personality
When the divine pact was forged beneath the newborn mountains, Khaldrim stood as the foundation of creation, the strength upon which the others built. Alongside Thyndra, the Forge Mother, and Drakthor, the Flamekeeper, Khaldrim shaped the first dwarves from molten stone, imbuing them with his endurance and the will to create.
It was Khaldrim who cooled their forms and gave them purpose, teaching that the act of shaping the world is both duty and devotion. From him, the dwarves inherited their resilience, their pride, and their reverence for lasting work. His voice is said to still echo through the caverns of Mossak Dum, a low and steady rhythm that guides every hammer strike, reminding his children that all creation must honour its maker, and that true strength endures long after the hand that forged it is gone.
History
-
Thyndra, The Forge Mother – Eternal bond; together they gave the dwarves unity and endurance.
-
Drakthor, The Flamekeeper – Creative kinship; Drakthor’s fire shapes Khaldrim’s stone.
-
Morgrim, The Deep Warden – Mutual guardianship; Khaldrim builds what Morgrim defends.
-
Aetherion, The Eternal Flame – Shared foundation; both embody creation through order and design.
Relationships
-
The Stone Oath: Sworn by builders, artisans, and rulers alike, this vow binds a dwarf’s honour to their work.
-
Emberwake: At the founding of a new hold, a sacred ember from an ancestral forge is carried to light the new fires, symbolizing the unbroken line of dwarven legacy.
-
Maker's Rest: All Dwarven crafter's are buried with their tools.
Rituals
All dwarves honour Khaldrim in some form, whether artisan or councilman, miner or soldier. He is less a distant deity than a living tradition, invoked in every oath, blessing, and act of creation. His temples are carved directly into the mountainside, their halls echoing with the rhythm of hammers and chants. The Khaldrim, his devoted clergy, serve as both architects and historians, ensuring that every work built in his name holds both beauty and purpose.
Among the surface dwarves, Khaldrim’s worship takes on simpler forms, cairns raised at the edges of mines, prayers whispered before quarrying, songs sung to mark a structure’s completion. Even those who have never entered a temple feel his presence in the stone beneath their feet.
To the dwarves, Khaldrim is not a god, but lineage, the father whose hands shaped their world and whose patience still guides their own. They believe that when they die, they return to the mountain’s heart, where Khaldrim's hammer rings.