Terrapoint

Terrapoint, the entrance city to the cave system hold by the Terranites during the gloom age.

The Founding of Terrapoint

Originally built by earth and fire genasi alongside Goliath clans, Terrapoint was a bastion of elemental craftsmanship and volcanic forge-work. Its location at the foot of the Dentarian Mountains' only volcano made it a hub for smithing, stone-shaping, and geothermal energy. The genasi designed the city with lava channels for warmth and defence, while the Goliaths raised monolithic fortifications to withstand tremors.

Yet, for reasons lost to time, the original inhabitants abandoned the city—some say due to a prophetic exodus, others whisper of a buried calamity beneath the volcano. Whatever the cause, Terrapoint stood empty when the Gloom Age began.

The Descent: Refuge in the Caves

As the surface world grew hostile, refugees fled underground. The old city became the gateway to salvation, its abandoned tunnels the only known entrance to the sprawling Dentarian Caverns. The displaced dwarves, gnomes, Dragonborn, goblins, kobolds, Goliaths, and humans, formed an uneasy alliance.

• Dwarves and gnomes reinforced the crumbling architecture.
• Dragonborn and Goliaths stood guard at the choke points.
• Goblins and kobolds, adept at navigating tight spaces, scouted deeper tunnels.
• Humans mediated tensions, their adaptability keeping the peace.

Some chose to rebuild Terrapoint itself as a fortified border town, as a last line of defense against surface horrors. Others ventured deeper, founding subterranean settlements like Emberhold (Dragonborn/goblins) and Stonehearth (dwarves/gnomes).

The Cycles of Loss and Reclamation

Terrapoint’s history is written in blood and rubble. Over the centuries, it has fallen multiple times to surface horrors, Gloom-twisted beasts, undead legions, or territorial monsters from the plains above. Each reconquest required:

1. Scout teams mapping enemy weak points, and damage sustained to the city
2. Siege-breakers storming the defences used by occupiers (often Dragonborn and Goliath)
3. Artificers and craftsmen rebuilding defences stronger than before.

With each iteration, Terrapoint evolved:

• Walls thickened with layered stone and metal.
• Tunnels were deliberately collapsed to create kill zones.
• The old genasi lava channels were weaponized into flame moats.

Terrapoint Today

Now, the city stands as a jagged hybrid of its past lives:

• The Foundry District: Where fire genasi forges now roar again under dwarven stewardship.
• The Echoing Market: A cavern where its sprawling markets reside, the main point of commerce for the underground society
• The Memorial Pillar: A stone etched with the names of every fallen reclaimers’ brigade.

The Terranites: A People Forged in Darkness

Over eight centuries, these disparate groups melded into the Terranites a hardy folk shaped by survival. Their culture reflects their origins.

• Architecture: A mix of genasi geomantic carvings, dwarven stonework, and improvised goblin scaffolding. Buildings are low, fortified or build directly into the cavern walls, and built around lava vents for heat.
• Defences: Echo-halls to amplify approaching footsteps, and Goliath-manned ballistae loaded with volcanic rock.
• Religion: A syncretic faith venerating earth spirits, the gods of old, and the sprit of the volcano some whisper to it in its sleeps, but none dare wake it.