Dwemer Dungeons : What I Know Content . By Kireth Vanos , Dungeon - Delver Extraordinaire We know almost nothing about them , except that they left behind the most interesting and exciting ruins . You know who I ' m talking about . That ' s right ! The Dwarves — or the Dwemer , for the scholars among you who might be reading this . ( My brother Raynor insists I call them Dwemer , but I like the name Dwarves better . It rolls off the tongue , in my opinion . ) Now , dungeon - delving is serious work ( no matter how much fun it might be ) , and can be pretty dangerous besides . Just finding a Dwarven ruin is no small accomplishment , but getting into one and back out again in one piece can be next to impossible . But before I get to that , let ' s talk about the ruins themselves . Dwarves created a vast network of underground complexes and cities . Why they preferred to build beneath rock and soil , I couldn ' t say , but that ' s where they built them . So that ' s where you ' ll have to go if you want to visit a Dwarven ruin . Once you do find one , you ' ll know it . Dwarven architecture has a distinctive look and feel , from the surface entryways to the subterranean structures . They utilized natural openings in the rock wherever possible , tending to decorate and carve existing rock and natural pillars . They only built new structures when it was absolutely necessary , usually to support other structures or to install fortifications . In addition to carving and shaping the natural rock , Dwarves used stone as their primary building material . Some metal appears within their ruins , primarily brass , used as accents and in mechanical construction . And here ' s the really exciting part : Dwarves loved their gadgets , and their ruins are full of them ! I don ' t mean just traps , though some of the most devious were designed and built by the long - gone Dwarves . I mean heating and cooling systems made up of steam pistons and great gears , glowing lights that shine from the walls , giant wheels that turn as water cascades over them , multifaceted gems that fire beams of light , and many other wonders too numerous to mention . It ' s eerie to walk through a Dwarven ruin . It ' s supposed to be empty , deserted , but the lights continue to glow and the pipes continue to steam . It ' s like the place is waiting for someone to return , as though the Dwarves just stepped out for a moment and haven ' t been gone for hundreds of years . Then there are the inhabitants of the ruins , for a Dwarven complex isn ' t as devoid of life as you might think . In fact , some of the ruins virtually teem with the stuff . But it isn ' t life as you or I know it . It ' s mechanical life . Constructs . They wander the chambers and corridors of these dungeons , performing tasks assigned to them in ages past . But make no mistake , if a construct spots you , it will attack you . With whirring blades and piston - powered swords , the Dwarven constructs pose a significant threat to any would - be dungeon - delver . Worse , the constructs know how to repair each other , so the ruins seem to contain an endless supply of the mechanical creatures . So , to successfully enter and exit a Dwarven ruin , you need to spot and disarm ( or otherwise bypass ) devious traps , avoid or defeat an army of increasingly more powerful wandering constructs , and figure out how to open strange locks that might or might not require something that looks like a key . It can be a bit maddening , but personally I find the challenge to be remarkably fun . Of course , everything I ' ve written thus far has been theory and conjecture . My brother and I have yet to enter a Dwarven ruin , and all of our practice has been within the mundane dungeons that dot the land . But I ' ve read all the books ! We ' ve finally acquired the funding we need to tackle the Dwarven ruin known as Bthanual , and I plan to write about that adventure in the very near future . In the meantime , let ' s all be careful out there . Remember that a dungeon isn ' t all fun and games . Survival is serious business , and we ' re in this line of work to not only thrive — but to survive !