Orzammar

Orzammar is a great thaig and one of the two remaining dwarven kingdoms in Thedas. An underground metropolis, the thaig is located deep beneath the Frostback Mountains and was once the capital of the dwarven empire.
According to legend, the thaig's name derives from one of the seven brothers who founded the dwarven empire. Orzammar dug the mines that would become the foundation of the city that bears his name. His descendants formed the Mining caste.
== History ==
According to dwarven history, the dwarven empire once spread across all of Thedas and their underground city-fortresses called thaigs were almost beyond counting. Kal-Sharok was the capital then, home to all the noble houses, and Orzammar was simply the home of the mining and smith castes. Orzammar was one of the twelve "great thaigs" that were the center of the dwarven empire.
In -1170 Ancient (25 TE), King Endrin Stonehammer moved the capital of the dwarven empire to Orzammar to preside more directly over the commercial aspects of dwarven life, mining and crafting, as Orzammar was the ancestral seat of the Mining and Smith castesCodex entry: Orzammar History: Chapter One and because of the turmoil in the Tevinter Imperium following the death of Archon Darinius. This sparked the development of several construction projects in the city such as the Stonehammer Hall and the expansion of the Proving Grounds. However, some years later, the taxes that Orzammar demanded from Kal-Sharok's trade profits began to grow burdensome.
Following the outbreak of the First Blight, the dwarven empire started crumbling. Paragon Aeducan assumed the leadership of Orzammar and managed to push back the darkspawn. 
In -255 Ancient, Paragon Caridin made the world's first golem, a giant soldier of living stone and metal, and each one was an army. With the Paragon's golems, the dwarves began to retake their lost lands. In -248 Ancient, after six years of constant output, Caridin and his Anvil of the Void vanished, and with them, the process of golem manufacture. Over time, the golems that remained became damaged beyond repair.
None of this was enough to overcome the relentless advance of the darkspawn, who kept attacking long after the official end of the First Blight. Eventually, communication lines became permanently severed as more of the Deep Roads had to be sealed, leading the surviving kingdoms to elect their own kings while maintaining allegiance to the High King of Orzammar. By -15 Ancient (1180 TE), the kingdom of Orzammar was assumed to be the last one still standing. Fighting an endless war against the darkspawn has led to the dwindling of the Warrior Caste, as more able-bodied men perished in their prime without fathering true-born progeny to replenish their ranks. As a result, Orzammar has steadily lost more and more of its outlying thaigs. Although Orzammar has endured, the dwarves of Orzammar fear their perennial war against the darkspawn will eventually lead to their extinction.Codex entry: Orzammar History: Chapter Two
In the Towers Age, Orzammar fighters joined the Alamarri hero Cormarc to fight the Chasind Wilders and other "terrible things" led by Flemeth's daughters, the Witches of the Wild. After a long series of dreadful battles, the Chasind were all but destroyed, and the witches burned.Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Player's Guide, set 1, p. 9
== Involvement ==
=== Dragon Age: Origins ===
=== Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening ===
=== Witch Hunt ===
=== Dragon Age: Inquisition ===
== Geography ==
Orzammar lies at the heart of the Frostback Mountains, deep underground. The main gateway into Orzammar is through the Hall of Heroes, which exits into Gherlen's Pass on the Fereldan side of the Frostbacks.
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==== Diamond Quarter ====
thumb|275px|Concept art of Orzammar
The Diamond Quarter is the home to the very pinnacle of dwarven society, the noble caste and the royal family. It is also the highest point in Orzammar, looking down upon the rest of the city. The many halls there contain the most important institutions of dwarven society and are not often seen by those of other castes. On some occasions, however, a select few of the merchant caste are allowed to set up stalls and sell their wares directly to the nobles.As was the case during The Nobles' Feast quest.Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Player's Guide, set 2, p. 19
The Royal Palace sits there, as does the estate of House Harrowmont. The Assembly is found next to the Palace, the home of Orzammar's bitter political battles. For those few outsiders engaging in diplomatic relations, a ceremonial Key to the City awaits, should they take it upon themselves to learn more of dwarven culture. The Shaperate lies next to the Assembly, the literal Memories of the dwarven society. If it is not recorded within the Shaperate, it is either completely unknown, misplaced in the Deep Roads or outright ignored.
The Diamond Quarter is the starting point for the Dwarf Noble Origin.
==== Commons ====
The Commons is the largest and central portion of Orzammar, and serves as the home to the bulk of Orzammar’s population, particularly those of the merchant caste. The Commons is where most merchants, including some surface dwarves allowed into the city, peddle their wares. It is a respectable and well maintained sector, a far cry from the destitution of Dust Town, playing host to the Proving Grounds.
The Commons has many tiers. As a general rule, higher tiers are home to more powerful or influential dwarves. Warriors generally live higher than smiths, who dwell higher than artisans and so forth. As a rule, though, the dwellings of the Commons are far simpler than those of the Diamond Quarter, and seldom extend as deep into the rock.
The lowest Commons tier rests just above a pool of lava spanned by a bridge that leads to the Proving Grounds, which are the home of the honorable dwarven gladiatorial contests known simply as the "Provings". Merchants of every stripe, including surfacers, do their business here. There is always a great deal of activity on the streets, and regular patrols of soldiers keep order. Many passages lead from the Commons to Orzammar's mine works and to the Deep Roads, though many of the latter are sealed and heavily guarded.
==== Dust Town ====
Dust Town is the poorest sector of Orzammar. Once the seat of the old palace, Dust Town has fallen into an appalling state of disrepair and is the veritable "seedy underbelly" of the city. It is the home of the casteless, or "dusters" as they are informally known, dwarves who are believed to be rejected by the Stone and thus shunned by the rest of society and left to rot. The inhabitants of Dust Town have no rights and are not allowed to do work that is performed by any of the other castes and, as such, the majority turn to the Carta, a criminal organisation. Beyond crime, the only other means of survival are begging, "noble hunting" or hunting nugs.
Dust Town is a dangerous place and should an unwary outsider ever find their way in the midst of the Carta's territory, the local Dusters will feel no hesitation in relieving them of their possessions.
Dust Town is also the starting point for the Dwarf Commoner Origin and where the Commoner's home can be found.
== Quests ==
All of the following quests are initiated, but not necessarily completed, in Orzammar itself.
=== Main quests ===
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=== Side quests ===
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The following quests take place entirely outside of Orzammar, though they are filed under "Orzammar" in the journal.
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: (unmarked side quest)
== Companion remarks ==
One of your companions may make interesting remarks at certain spots:
* Just outside Tapster's Tavern
* Entering Tapster's Tavern
* Entering Dust Town
* Outside the Royal Palace in the Diamond Quarter
* Entering the Proving
* On path to the Deep Roads, before Mines Commander
=== Banter ===
Party banter may be triggered at the following spots:
* On the bridge leading to the Proving and in the Hall of Heroes near the dwarven scholar.
* In the Diamond Quarter outside the Chamber of the Assembly.
== Culture and society ==
Orzammar is organized around a rigid caste system that is dictated by one's birth. There are seven castes in Orzammar: noble, warrior, smith, artisan, miner, merchant, and servant, based on the seven legendary brothers who founded the dwarven empire. There are also the "casteless," who are said to be the descendants of criminals and other undesirables and as such are born without rights and considered non-people. Dwarves always inherit the caste of their same-sex parent. In very rare cases, it is possible for a dwarf to rise above their caste by performing an extraordinary deed and being named Paragon.
== Politics ==
Orzammar is a constitutional monarchy; its main legislative body, comprised entirely of nobles known as deshyrs, is the Assembly. The Assembly chooses Orzammar's king or queen, so that the monarch must strive to maintain the support of the deshyrs, lest they find their chosen heirs deemed unacceptable to inherit the throne and passed over in favor of another noble house. Orzammar politics are notoriously cutthroat.
== Foreign relations ==
Orzammar is very segregationist and generally prohibits non-dwarves from entering the city.According to Zevran Arainai's dialogue in Frostback Mountain Pass: "Are we going to get to enter Orzammar? I don't believe they allow non-dwarves within." Aside from some selected surface dwarves, Orzammar forbids most traders from entering the city. As a result, most traders congregate outside the entrance to Orzammar at Frostback Mountain Pass, creating a lawless trading hub the size of a small city, and presumably seeking ways to bypass Orzammar's restrictions in order to hawk their wares.According to Alistair's dialogue in Frostback Mountain Pass: "Most traders aren't allowed into Orzammar, so they just sort of... gather near the doors. There's no laws up here at all, I'm told."
Despite their isolationist nature, they have maintained strong relationships with human nations and institutions like Tevinter and the Chantry who rely on Orzammar's supply of lyrium. More than half of Orzammar's wealth comes from the sale of lyrium. The dwarves sell very little of the processed mineral to the surface, giving the greater portion of what they mine to their own smiths, who use it in the forging of all truly superior dwarven weapons and armor. What processed lyrium is sold on the surface goes to the Chantry, who strictly control the supply. From the Chantry, it is dispensed both to the templars, who make use of it in tracking and fighting maleficarum, and to the Circle.Codex entry: Lyrium (Origins)
== Codex entries ==
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== Trivia ==
* Prostitution exists in Orzammar, with the finest brothels being restricted to the highest caste dwarves, such as warrior caste.Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Player's Guide, set 2, p. 14
* The pelts of red lions are greatly prized by the dwarves of Orzammar.Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Blood in Ferelden, p. 53
== See also ==
* Stone Halls of the Dwarves - a book written by Brother Genitivi about dwarves.
== References ==
Category:Locations
Category:Dragon Age Journeys locations
Category:Dragon Age: Origins locations
Category:A Tale of Orzammar locations
Category:Nations
Category:Fortresses
 
Category:Thaigs
Category:Great thaigs
Category:Underground
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