Khuzdul

Khuzdul is the native language of the dwarves.
 

Description

Khuzdul is a deep, resonant language marked by hard consonants, rolling r’s, and clipped syllables that seem to have their own echo. It carries a weighty, deliberate cadence, often spoken from the chest, giving even casual speech a sense of gravity and purpose that seems to magnify the somber, dour countenance of its native speakers.
 

Speakers

Khuzdul is spoken primarily by the various Dwarves of Astora, with dialects divided along the lines of the old dwarven clans.
 

Dialects

Each of the old dwarven clans speaks a distinct dialect of Khuzdul, and a fifth dialect has emerged in more recent years.

• Nargazun: Nargazun, Khuzdul for Long-beard or Leading-beard, is the dialect of Clan Brass-Hand, spoken by their descendants. It drops some of the harshness of Khuzdul, and is considered a delicate dialect by Dwarven standards.
• Barag-Khaz: Barag-Khaz, Khuzdul for War-Hold, is the dialect of clan Broadbeard. While lacking a particularly distinct sound, it is rife with idioms and metaphors, particularly those of a martial nature, lending to the stereotype that Broadbeards view the world through a lens of war.
• Nar-Khadun: Nar-Khadun, meaning Deep-Anvil in Khuzdul, is the dialect of clan Deephammer. Those listening often describe it as sharper than its linguistic kin, often spoken more deliberately and with a steady cadence that is almost rhythmic in nature
• Duergan: Duergan is the dialect of clan Duergar, and is by far the most distinct dialect of Khuzdul. It has departed dramatically from its fellow dialects, nearly to the point of distinction as a separate language. The Drow and Illithid influences present in the language are hard to ignore, having significantly altered its vocabulary and grammatical structure.
• Kazad-Varn: Kazad-Varn, Khuzdul for Wanderer or Roaming Folk, is the most commonly spoken dialect amongst the dwarves. It is the youngest dialect, a hodgepodge of Nargazun, Barag-Khaz, and Nar-Khadun, with a smattering of common and human languages added in. It is the patron dialect of the dwarven nomads, who claim no specific clan heritage and live their lives more integrated with the human kingdoms.

 

Writing System

Khuzdul is written using the Dethek script.
 

History

Khuzdul was brought to Astora with the migration of the Dwarves, though nothing is known of the history of the Dwarves before their arrival on Astora. The vaious clan dialects formed over millennia of geographical separation of the clans, the fact that they remain so similar a testiment to the unchanging nature of the Dwarves. It is only in more recent times, since the collapse of the dwarven empires that the language has undergone any significant change, evolving under the influence of an integrated existance in close proximity to the ever mutable human nations.
 

Special

The dwarves' natural resistance to magic is a double-edged sword, lending to a natural awkwardness in their ability to master the arcane arts. As a people they have leaned into this predisposition, focusing little on arcane arts and instead focusing their efforts on runic magics and feats of engineering. Their language matches this shift, and their vocabulary is poorly suited to the arcane arts. Any arcane works written in Khuzdul impose a -2 penalty to checks to identify it or to learn a new spell from it (see Spellcraft and Learning New Spells, respectively). They also impose a -2 penalty to Use Magic Device checks to attempt to activate them.
  Where the dwarven language shines is in the art of runecrafting. Inscribing magical runes onto objects is a core part of crafting magical arms and armor, and Khuzdul is the obvious choice for such crafting, given the sheer depth of understanding the dwarven people have in this art. When crafting magical arms and armor, gain a +2 bonus to the check made to craft it if the runes were inscribed in Khuzdul.
  Similarly, any Knowledge (Architecture and engineering) checks made involving speaking, reading, or writing in Khuzdun are granted a +2 bonus.