Tar Taargadth

Druman History

The Ancient Dwarven Empire Beneath Druma

Long before the Prophets of Kalistrade shaped modern Druma, these lands stood beneath the authority of one of the greatest dwarven civilizations Golarion has ever known: Tar Taargadth.

Its roads, fortifications, tunnels, foundations, and buried works still lie beneath portions of Druma. Even thousands of years later, dwarven engineering from that age remains capable of surprising those who think the old empire is nothing more than history.

Tar Taargadth (pronounced TAHR TAHR-gahdth) was the enormous dwarven empire founded by the legendary king Taargick during the dwarves' Quest for Sky. Taargick united the fractious dwarven clans in –5133 AR, allowing the great migration toward the surface to continue.

In –4987 AR, the dwarves finally broke through to the surface and reached the Five Kings Mountains. From there, Tar Taargadth expanded across a vast territory, establishing settlements, roads, underground passages, defensive works, and the monumental Sky Citadels that became symbols of dwarven power.

Tar Taargadth and Druma

The land now called Druma was incorporated into Tar Taargadth and remained under dwarven rule for thousands of years. Although the mountains were famous for mining, much of the Drumish lowlands served the empire in other ways, including agriculture, trade, settlement, and transportation.

Humans, including descendants of the region's ancient Kellid peoples, continued to live in these lands under dwarven authority. The result was a landscape in which human settlements grew beside — and sometimes directly atop — much older dwarven infrastructure.

Engineering That Outlived an Empire

Tar Taargadth's builders were renowned for working on a scale measured in centuries rather than years. Their surviving works can include deep foundations, precisely fitted stone channels, underground waterways, concealed maintenance passages, massive retaining structures, and mechanisms designed to function with little attention for generations.

Why It Matters in Macridi: Ancient dwarven construction is not automatically a ruin. A modern bridge, mill, foundation, waterworks, or other major project might incorporate recovered Tar Taargadth designs — or even make use of surviving structures buried beneath the modern settlement.

The Fall of Tar Taargadth

By the early Age of Enthronement, the empire had become increasingly divided. In 1551 AR, enormous orc armies attacked dwarven holdings across the region. Several Sky Citadels fell or were isolated, and Tar Taargadth ceased to function as a unified empire.

In the Five Kings Mountains, its remnants fractured into competing dwarven kingdoms. Their struggles became the Five Kings Wars, centuries of conflict that placed enormous pressure on the humans of Druma.

In 2332 AR, the Kerse Accord finally ended the long dwarven civil wars and secured Druma's independence. By then, however, thousands of years of dwarven construction had already become a permanent part of the country's foundations.

At a Glance

Name	Tar Taargadth
Pronunciation	TAHR TAHR-gahdth
Founder	King Taargick
Founded	–5133 AR
Quest for Sky Completed	–4987 AR
Heartland	The Five Kings Mountains
Druma	A former province of the dwarven empire
Fall	1551 AR, following massive orc assaults
Legacy	Sky Citadels, roads, tunnels, stoneworks, waterways, and ancient engineering