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==Kobolds==
[[Crucible:Kobolds|Kobolds]]

==Orcs==
[[Crucible:Orcs|Orcs]]

==Dwarves==
[[Crucible:Dwarves|Dwarves]]

==Humans==
[[Crucible:Humans|Humans]]

==Elves==
[[Crucible:Elves|Elves]]

==Gnomes==
[[Crucible:Gnomes|Gnomes]]

==The Great Cities==
The three Great Cities huddle around the initial point of contact between the early races. They are rich from trade between the so-called Builder races (orcs, kobolds and dwarves). Elvish and Human goods are brought up by Elven traders through Clearwater Lake, and the river Silver provides access for merchants from the orcish frontiers. 
===Kobolds: Karraltak===
Karraltak stands on the spot where the rivers Scalefall and Bluetongue flow together. Originally a trading post between the Orcs and Kobolds, and later with the Elves, Karraltak has expanded into a prosperous town with a 200-year historical record. To mimic the typical warrens of the Stone Lair, its more permanent buildings such as the palace of the local patriarch are constructed from granite brought down from the mountains. Everything else (including the town’s walls) is made out of wood. <br>

While the population inside these walls is mostly kobold warriors and administrators, beyond them lies a rich market that never truly dies down (not so long as there are elves and gnomes manning stalls). A steady stream of orc traders maintains a more or less constant population of orcs, and the proximity of elven territory results in a number of them spending time in the city as well. It is rare to see humans here, but the occasional trading ship will come up Clearwater with news from the human frontier. Gnomes adore this city for its multiculturalism, and make up much of its permanent population, some even rising into the ranks of the ruling classes. Karraltak is also the most common place to see dwarves outside their territory, as they run a tidy profit carrying goods between the city and the orcish frontier.<br>

The patriarchy of Karraltak is a lucrative position for a kobold to hold – it is sufficiently removed from the capital to allow significant autonomy, but unlike backwaters with similar benefits, it rivals that capital in wealth. The patriarch of Karraltak is adorned with gold. The Golden Patriarch maintains three legions, a massive number of troops given the city’s distance from the frontier, mostly out of tradition. <br>

Demographics: 45% Kobold, 20% Gnome, 15% Orc, 10% Dwarf, 9% Elf, 1% Human

===Orcs: Ogden===
Ogden is the Host’s capital city, made wealthy by the ancient trade route between the INNERSEA coast and the kobolds. Built on Clearwater Lake, Ogden has three rings of heavy wooden fortifications typical of orcish settlements. It is the heart of orcish military might, as the vast majority of influential and high-ranked orcs make their home here. Humans coming up Clearwater to trade will usually make their stop here, and many kobold traders conduct their business in Ogden rather than attempt to guide heavy trade ships up the congested Scalefall river. Thanks to the wide, fertile plains on which it was constructed, Ogden supports a large population, and the taxes from that population allow the government to maintain a few serviceable roads and something approaching a reliable system of communication through mounted couriers.<br>

	Ogden’s non-orc population is mostly concentrated at the docks and inns, and is transient in nature. Humans make up the largest minority, and many are permanent citizens of the city, with their own rank within orcish society. Some kobolds live here, many of them exiles from the Stone Lair that are unwilling to travel far from their homeland. <br>

Demographics: 85% Orc, 7% Human, 4% Kobold, 3% Dwarf, <1% Elf, <1% Gnome

===Dwarves: Dvergrad===
Entrenched firmly in a well-defended mountain pass, Dvergrad serves as the gateway between the Deeplands and the Great Host. Merchants wishing to ferry their goods from the East without having to sail around the lands of the Great Host and up Scalefall River take the Silver river up to Dvergrad and then hire a caravan to carry them to Ogden or Karraltak. Dvergrad is the docking site for a significant part of the Dwarven navy (the rest is docked at nearby Ogre’s Beard Lake which offers more space) which mostly serves as a deterrent for Orcish military action against the Dwarves. The city itself towers over the docks, a magnificent edifice of granite that descends deep into the mountains from which it rises. Those unwilling to spend their time in small, dark rooms surrounded on all sides by stone (i.e. most visitors) have, over time, built a zone of wooden structures around the docks that extends all the way up to the Host’s border. Traditionalist dwarves refuse to consider this area part of Dvergrad, and refer to it derisively as the Echo – a fleeting copy of the genuine thing.<br>

	Since most dwarves are traditionalists, the only dwarves living in the Echo are those that travel often or have businesses catering to foreigners, and are too lazy to walk up and down the many steps that Dvergrad is famous for. Few outsiders are willing to make that trip themselves – kobolds are the only non-dwarves that are, as a species, comfortable in Dvergrad’s stony halls, though foreign emissaries have to put up with the dark, cramped spaces whether they like it or not. Because of their small stature and obsession with the quirks of other races, gnomes sometimes take up residence there as well, though few stay for long. Despite their keen eyesight, the powerfully built orcs and free-roaming elves have little tolerance for Dvergrad’s interior.<br>

	The Echo is the best place to find elves and humans of all the Great Cities. Many elves choose to pass through the Deeplands when travelling between their forests than risk dealing with the bureaucracy of their ancient foes, the kobolds, and their more recent human enemies. Ironically, humans also like to travel through dwarven lands, as crossing the Greyjaw mountains puts human traders from the West right on top of RIVERNAME2 without having to deal with any kobolds or elves.<br>

Demographics (Dvergrad): 80% Dwarf, 14% Kobold, 5% Gnome, <1% Elf, <1% Orc, <1% Human<br>
Demographics (Echo): 40% Orc, 30% Elf, 15% Human, 7% Dwarf, 5% Gnome, 3% Kobold