Gaz6 The Dwarves of Rockhome - the sixth BECMI Gazetteer set in the Known World (Mystara)

Gaz6 The Dwarves of Rockhome was the sixth in a series of official TSR Gazetteers, written by Aaron Allston and published in 1988. It was the second Gazetteer that delved into demihuman culture, focusing on the race of dwarves. The cover art was by Clyde Caldwell.
The Gazetteers are set in the Known World, a collection of nations on a continent that first appeared in the X1 The Isle of Dread adventure module, becoming the official setting for BECMI Dungeons and Dragons, which later became known as Mystara from about 1994.
Gaz6 Credits:
Design: Aaron Allston
Editing: Karen S. Boomgarden
Product Manager: Bruce Heard
Cover Artist: Clyde Caldwell
Interior Artist: Stephen Fabian
Cartography: Dave C. Sutherland III, Dave Laforce, Dennis Kauth
Introduction to the Known World: • The Known World Gazett...
Link to my BECMI Dungeons and Dragons playlist: • BECMI Dungeon and Dragons
Link to Rules Cyclopeadia video: • The Rules Cyclopedia -...
If you like this video and want to support me further, please consider buying me a coffee at: www.buymeacoffee.com/becmiber... Your support is greatly appreciated.
Berserker image: www.pngall.com/viking-png/dow... (used under Creative Commons)
Many thanks to ITS A TRAPP for cleaning up the Berserker image for me. It’s a lot cleaner and sharper now.
Contact:
Instagram: D&D RPG fRe&k
Email: [e-mail]

[@anarionelendili8961]

51:43 [Error] Magical Armor Cost The price of the platemail is 60 gp, not 6 gp. Thus, the basic enchantment cost is 10 000 gp, not 1000 gp (min 3000 gp). The minimum only comes to play with the Leather Armor, 20*200/3 = 1333 gp, and there you can argue that it is a play balance reason, as the leather armor is the best that a thief can wear. Hence increased demand and increased price. Whereas I almost never see enchanted scale mails due to how poor they are in protection. Even a Scale +2 is only equal to a banded mail, so strictly on protection, an unmagical platemail is better (personally, the lightness of the magical scale would be much nicer to wear, but still).

[@becmiberserker]

This is a combination of my maths being terrible and fatigue. Thanks for the correction. Will pin this post.

[@anarionelendili8961]

@@becmiberserker Don't feel too bad. GAZ6, p. 35, has the correct price 60 gp and enc 500, but still ends up with the error of 1000 gp. And of course the limit comes to play also with shields, the point made explicitly in RC.

[@becmiberserker]

It's one those 'word blind' moments. I looked at these slides forever and still missed it. I guess it's one of the perils of being a one-man-band. Still, I'm counting on the forgiveness of countless BECMI nerds. :)

[@anarionelendili8961]

@@becmiberserker I think you have built up plenty of good will in the community. :) When I was watching the video, I got this sense of 'hmm, I recall the minimum amount, but I don't remember it being this big of a problem, did I house-rule it or something?'. I didn't actually notice the 6gp mistake until pulling up the video again to check the math you did. I just assumed that you dropped a zero 60x500 = 3000 (0).

[@SusCalvin]

Enchanting armour to make it lighter, not harder, was something people did in Earthdawn where armour had strength requirements. Wizards could wear any armour they liked, but often lacked the strenth to do so. Our wizard rocked a crystal mail suit that was flimsier than standard plate but at least they could wear it after skipping every gym class. The requirement isn't too big in D&D. Fighters are constrained by budget and not strength. A heavy armour eats into your carrying capacity but most fighters and other people will still be able to walk around in plate. I know some settings up the cost of plate to something closer to historical articulated plate suit. Most people and PCs in WFRP would not afford a plate suit.

[@DnDOldGuard]

I was just thinking "When is Berserker giving us his lovely breakdown on Rockhome?" and low and behold Christmas came early!

[@midnightgreen8319]

Those covers are all magnificent!

[@becmiberserker]

They are truly standout pieces of work.

[@midnightgreen8319]

@@becmiberserker They are so timelessly amazing, they elevate those books so much

[@solomani5959]

This product was made with passion. +1

[@becmiberserker]

Many thanks!

[@raff3486]

This is the best christmas gift

[@ClownKenny]

I'm an AD&D 2e guy, but I've really liked these BECMI videos and it's been making me want to give BECMI a shot.

[@johnbalk6091]

BECMI can be converted into 2E quite easily.

[@newtpondskipper]

A great book indeed. Can't wait for the next one!

[@StarkMaximum]

THE DWARVES ARE FINALLY HERE

[@Ian_Butterworth]

Another great video. I enjoyed it, thank you. Also, happy first birthday (23rd of December) marking the date of your first BECMI video upload, "Roll Initiative! WotC has drawn their sword."

[@becmiberserker]

Wow! That flew by quick!!

[@Bargletheinfamous]

This made my night!

[@DnDOldGuard]

You and me both!

[@zeIIendor]

Another awesome video! Having watched your channel for several months now made me want to play a longer campaign in Mystara. I got all the Gazetteers and my party is currently playing OSE in Karameikos. We are having a blast! Thanks for the genuine love you show this scenario and ruleset (ok, ok, I know OSE is not BECMI, but pretty close!). It is a source of inspiration that brought a lot of fun to my group. Happy Christmas!

[@becmiberserker]

You're more than welcome. merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@elfbait3774]

One thing I feel the need to point out that i love about this and other elements of BECMI. BECMI demonstrates quite well that D&D is not a static thing and that it evolves and grows from original form as time goes by. I know a lot of people avoid house rules or unofficial content but I feel that the body of what was published by official and semi-official (e.g. Dragon) clearly demonstrate that the game is not designed to persist in a vacuum of its original creation. This supplement, allows dwarven clerics where there had been none before demonstrating to the players of the game that just because it's not in the original rulebook, doesn't mean there is no room or possibility for it in your games or the game as a whole.

[@WizardDeadloss]

Dwarf Clerics. Yes! I think I'll have to get a copy of this Gazatteer (or at least the relevent pages). They don't seem to be, strictly, a fighter/cleric the way an elf is a fighter/MU. Their XP table is pretty harsh. I would have hoped the early levels would be an exponential of 3000, not 4000. Regarding the large maps: A1 is pretty damn large. And for that to be printed in colour in a reasonably limited print run is a very generous inclusion - especially given 1980s technology. The printing mightn't be clear, but the terrian symbols are well done. If had that map as a teenager I would have stared over it for ages. Thanks for another great video.

[@becmiberserker]

It’s true, we loved those maps. It’s hard to find any that have not suffered from being over loved. 🙂

[@robbabcock_]

Thanks for another great video! I never bought Gaz6 back in the day but I might have to buy the PDF.

[@becmiberserker]

You won’t be disappointed.

[@davidbrennan660]

Always an interest to have good campaigns weighted, measured and quantified... Great work BB.

[@batou1976]

Even if you don’t play BECMI, it sounds like there’s still a *lot* of useful material here to be used in your game. Along with 2E’s Complete Book of Dwarves, you can really build and flesh out a great Dwarf centered campaign. 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@steveyoungwork]

Very informative, Looks like a well rounded Gazetterrer

[@becmiberserker]

Thanks, Steve! :)

[@elfbait3774]

Another excellent review. i really didn't give these the credit they were due back in the day. I picked up a few here and there but only to use in my AD&D games.

[@becmiberserker]

Thank you!

[@StarkMaximum]

At long last, we have it! The best BECMI Berserker video ever made, because it's all about the best fantasy race, the dwarves! I finally got a chance to sit down and watch this one and it really lived up to the hype. This was one I read over myself and I was dying to see what you thought of it, and I'm so glad you overall really liked it! I mean, I'm biased as hell, but this is certainly my favorite of the Gazetteers so far! Would love to find a physical copy of this, even a reproduction!

[@becmiberserker]

Glad you liked it.

[@andrewhaldenby4949]

So good BB ty!

[@APaganPerspective]

love this book

[@christophercharles904]

My second purchase of a TSR products. My first was the Basic set

[@becmiberserker]

Your young imagination must have been on fire!

[@RB-sz9gv]

Keep ‘em coming

[@bradleypotts9865]

I picked up a copy of this just a couple weeks ago to support a dwarf character in my BECMI game, who promptly get killed by a skeleton in the abbey in Horror on the Hill :( The dwarven city design recalls that published for Thorbardin, in Dragonlance module DL4 Dragons of Desolation, in 1984. This introduced the idea of dwarven cities being composed of standard city blocks and is used throughout the Dragonlance products. I'll be sure to introduce the dwarf cleric and allow my players access to that. That same battle which took poor Mak the dwarf also took Darin, the party cleric and closest member of the party to actually reaching 2nd level. Both players will be rolling up new PCs and the party really needs some strong fighter types as their ranks have been badly thinned.

[@becmiberserker]

Sounds like a great game.

[@cragland94]

love these videos :)

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

I visited Stonehaven in Scotland this past spring, expected to meet alot of dwarves and gnomes.

[@becmiberserker]

At risk of offending my Scottish friends, you probably did.

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

@@becmiberserker You are less than wrong, sir. But they were of the most hospitable nature.

[@spartaninvirginia]

Merry Christmas, Berserker!

[@becmiberserker]

Same to you!

[@philipmorris9928]

I also realized the similarities between this Gazetteer and the Dwarves in Dragon Age Origins.

[@becmiberserker]

Yay! It wasn’t just me then!!

[@dgu-bg6rg]

Thank you once again for your hard work

[@becmiberserker]

Thank you so much!

[@shinemoon4673]

A land of craft and industry? Strike the earth!

[@0den]

I was waiting for that one! did not disappoint :) Thank you for that 🙏 Weirdly, the dwarves which are considered to be an ancient race are actually quite new, only 1800 years old 😮 and yes, some dwarves existed before but they were not created by Kagyar, the immortal of dwarves of Rockhome. To me, this feels a bit disappointing as someone who often chooses to play a proud dwarf. One thing to suggest: I would really like to hear more about what the land looks and feel. what are the landscapes? what do cities and buildings look like? and what is the overall atmosphere of those places? if that's mentioned in the Gazetteer of course.

[@williammoore9794]

Great video. This was one of my favourite Gazetteers. One of my players had a dwarf character, so it was very useful to help their background. Don't the pre-Blackmoor Dwarves turn up in the Hollow World? Yodelling Swiss mountaineers or something like that? I presume they changed the Dwarves' maximum age to increase the number of generations between Kagyar changing the Dwarven race and the present day. Denwarf therefore becomes a semi-mythical creature rather than someone your great-grandfather met. Compare with Alfheim where (i believe) some of the NPCs had grandparents who lived through the various cataclysms and migrations of the Elves. It's also arguably easier to roleplay a character who has a lifespan only twice as long as a human, rather than four or five times as long.

[@becmiberserker]

Thanks. I'll have to refamiliarise myself with Hollow World, but it rings a bell. I agree about the ageing thing though. What was clear when looking at Alfheim is that the Blackmoor incident was only a few generations ago, and perhaps there isn't much elven legacy due to their eternal outlook and there not having been a lot of time passed in their eyes.

[@ProudfootUnderhill]

Yours is a great channel! Can't wait for your review of the Halfling gazetteer :) Merry Christmas!

[@becmiberserker]

Coming after the Northern Reaches. Hold on to your pipeweed!

[@ProudfootUnderhill]

@becmiberserker great! I intend to start a Solo campaign, just can't decide between Greyhawk and Mystara.... there is almost no info for halflings in Greyhawk AFAIK:)

[@adamb8154]

Great Video!

[@pedromatiasmullervannordt9659]

fabulous ...

[@becmiberserker]

Thank you.

[@pedromatiasmullervannordt9659]

@@becmiberserker you are welcome sir

[@Taranchule]

Aye, a fine video Laddie. Worthy of the craft of the Mountain Folk! ...can you tell Dwarves are my favorite of the Demi-Human races?

[@darthjoel6357]

BECMI B I hope you do a ranking video of these at some point after you finish all the gazetteers.

[@becmiberserker]

I do intend to do a wrap up video after the series, so might include this.

[@SimonAshworthWood]

Ah, Rockhome… my favourite music festival. 😁

[@becmiberserker]

🤣

[@Axiie]

Fab video, one I've been looking forward too for a while now. Dwarfs are a sweet spot for me, and I'm glad to hear this one is done fairly well in execution. With ease, this series is going to become the go to for primers on the Known World for an age. Out of curiosity, is there any teasing for future topics you've been pondering, or other video topics you've got in mind to do in the future?

[@becmiberserker]

Well, the modules need some diving into, and there’s the Creature Crucibles and AC series. I’m also considering a series of livestream chats to basically talk about all things BECMI, as well as other OSR. That’s just conceptual at this stage though.

[@Axiie]

Those all sound fantastic. Especially the Livestreaming. Correct me if I'm wrong but you're on UK time aye? If true, it would be good to see livestreaming in a more friendly timezone. Some of the others require a bit more commitment to stay awake and a free morning the day after 😂

[@martinfiedler4317]

45:44 HYou are wrong: It's "Fee-LIN" (maybe 😁, or maybe it's something completely different😉) Anyway, now I want to know more about Rockhome! 😄

[@SusCalvin]

Complete Dwarf continuned with a similar social organization. The basic dwarf organization is stronghold -> clan -> household. Clans all work in a similar field in the stronghold, like a farmer/baker clan or a stonemason clan or a weaver/tailor clan. The clan represents you and its other members to the greater stronghold and participates in its central government. The stronghold can have a monarch or a council head or an elder but the stronghold as a whole always has some central authority on a level above clans. The family/household is the smallest unit, dwarfs will always present themselves with lineage and family. The household is also the smallest economic unit, family business is the norm where one or more families from a clan will run an operation. Lineage is important, you are your family and inherit their reputation. Sme families are economically important, have traditional high clan standing or inherit a position of confidence making them an aristocratic class. The power of the monarch is often not absolute, clans will have ideas about the proper way and what to do. Sometimes the temple of Moradin and their pantheon form another balance to clans and monarch. All strongholds are functionally independent of eachother, sometimes they might have a sort of city-state league for defence.

[@SusCalvin]

The rule of a golem with a mandate for its rule but acting with autonomy towards this mandate is just the sort of funky governent D&D can have. Golemic technocratic transition government, sort of.

[@danacoleman4007]

Wow! The ads are getting way out of control. I hope that means the channel is doing well but it's too much for me.

[@becmiberserker]

I don’t really have much control of that. Sorry. 😔

[@danacoleman4007]

@@becmiberserker I understand.. Great channel!

[@TheRyujinLP]

"Laziness is seen as a mental illness." You know, dem Dwarves might have something with this one.

[@becmiberserker]

That’s what I thought.

[@SusCalvin]

@@becmiberserker I think this continued in 2e and Forgotten Realms. Not work is hard for them to understand. They don't enslave people or throw them into workhouses but they will try to nudge people to work and hope they just need to find the right work for them.

[@lexington476]

18:26 what's it mean to be a dwarf? oh that's easy, you're a short Irish or Scottish men 🙂.

[@jasonnewell7036]

Seriously, Mithril (or Mithral) would be far too useful a metal to be used as coinage.

[@Giles29]

The national anthem of Rockhome: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKW2Y3xjj86ioLc

[@FreihEitner]

It seems odd to think that creating an excellent (magical) item COSTS experience. Logically thinking, creating such an item would likely GIVE experience, thus being the method by which master crafters who do not go adventuring level up and, well, master their craft.

[@EriktheRed2023]

It's a very Tolkienian notion, though. You have to invest something of your own essence to create an enchanted item. In game terms, it also encourages adventuring.

[@becmiberserker]

I like this notion. Change 'Cost' to 'Give' and it communicates some form of spiritualism that satisfies the need to please Kagyar with creativity. You could even have something that rewards the more you Give, such as a divine favour. Nothing too powerful, just a potential +4 to any one act in the future - the equivalent of Advantage in 5e. You've got my mind working...

[@patrickholt2270]

I always think of D&D Dwarves as being naturally collectivist and solidaristic, and that their natural economic unit would be the producer co-operative. Likewise when hired for crafting, construction, mining or military work by humans or others above ground, that they would reflexively collectively bargain, and demand decent pay for their whole group and be able to get it, without any variations due to anyone getting ill for a few days or being female or from a lower social class like humans put up with as reasons to be paid less. Being naturally diligent, they aren't going to put up with anyone standing over them trying to force them to work longer or harder than they like doing already, and they aren't impressed with tall people trying to flex anyway, given their advantages in fighting Giants. Orcs might like to use slavery, but we're no bloody Orcs, by all the Immortals! They aren't going to put up with inferior housing, let alone homelessness in Rockhome because their demanding taste in excellence of construction won't let any one of them be stuck with ugly or inadequate or less sturdy homes, and beyond that why should they put up with some other Dwarf, even the king, charging them rent and claiming the right to evict them if they can't pay? Kagyar gave them the entire mountain to live under, and they all worked equally hard to mine out the space and build the roads and tunnels and structures and infrastructures for running water, sewage disposal, natural lighting etc. Anyone charging rent, or trying to profit by forcing them into wage slavery so they can profit off other Dwarves' work is trying to sit on his arse all day, and how can you respect such a Dwarf? It doesn't compute to me. So I see the government structure of Rockhome as purely practical, with no real class struggle or differentiating wealth, and as such no ruling class. The Kings are mostly for the military command structure when it's necessary, and otherwise essentially ceremonial, without fabulous wealth or servants or the luxuries of idlers, all that silliness that humans put up with, and the clan structure and the clan leaders as being as much a function of underground geography as of division of labour or ideology, physically seperating groups of Dwarves by their cavern systems, like how Switzerland has multiple ancient languages and religions and is divided into semi-autonomous Cantons by the geography of mountain valleys and passes.

[@SusCalvin]

I think we have run dwarfs as industrial cartels, where the city is a company governing/employing all others. Or as fantasy Yugoslavia, where worker-councils and the church are the independent powers balancing the crown. Or guild operations where an oligarchy of guilds run the city and your representation is through your guild rep on the council. In most of them, organization is the norm. I think the basic organization they suggested in Complete Dwarf was stronghold > clan > household. The stronghold is practically a city-state, a city-fort with surrounding resource areas. Sometimes they band in leagues with a loose, sometimes symbolic head of state. The clan is some sort of worker-council or loose extended family, like the farmer's clans or the clocksmith clan. Clans represent you and others of your profession to the stronghold. Your family is the people you are actual close family to. Families have communal dwellings and often work as a family. The RPG Eon calculated that a dwarf city would at least need a lot of civic infrastructure to function. Transportation was one of the largest sectors in their cities. Land is expensive, even a small dwelling or workshop needs to be carved out. Owning more than a small workshop/home is rare. Property tax is one of the simplest taxes to implement so they use it. When public space for conveyance, storage or stall space is limited, they definitely charge for it. The internal city economy is on credit, people rarely carry cash. Cash sits at a public bank and who owns it is transfered on a ledger. Central government and its civic services and the army are constant. Conscription is the norm and bolsters the standing forces. For some reason they decided dwarf math is eight-base. Dwarfs are extremely conservative, socal shifts are glacial. A dwarf separated by millennia and two continents from another stronghold can show up there and speak with eachother without language drift. Dwarfs/duergar in Veins of the Earth are madness. Work creates work creates work. All is work. We are work passing through temporary flesh. They live in a futuristic mindset where a glorious future is set out. It is also filled with work. The first dwarf started working and created itself. They don't roll reactions, they follow a dysfunctional flowchart. Dwarfs who can't work sit down and starve. They move on when every pebble has been carved and crafted.

[@Fr.O.G.]

you're like mr welch without the weird politics

[@PvtSchlock]

Technocracy= rule by experts.

[@SusCalvin]

Complete Dwarf suggested that some strongholds run like guild strongholds. The clans or worker-councils run it and view it as something they can engineer.

[@Toreadorification]

The Dwarf cleric is not worth it, if not for roleplaying. He is weaker than a normal dwarf hp-wise, his progression is slow, no turning undead and no seventh level spells.

[@johnbalk6091]

These videos are too long. Shorten 'em up, son!

[@steved1135]

Nice. I still use all the Gazetteers to this day. Amazing resources.