Underhome

This great dwarfhold consisted of three massive caverns, whose colossal, 70' tall, solid-gold gates were nestled into the eastern face of The Great Rift, overlooking the Riftlake. The cavernous tunnels were lined with spired buildings similar to those that could be found on Toril's surface lands. They were often interconnected with one another by means of floating bridges and accessed by many-tiered walkways and mechanical elevators. The entrance to Underhome was protected by a number of magical wards and inscribed with powerful arcane runes.

The recent history of the Shaar is dominated by the events of the Spellplague. During the Spellplague, the center of the Shaar collapsed into the Underdark, forming a vast sinkhole, hundreds of miles across, known as the Underchasm.

The fall of the Underchasm caused disaster for those settled near it. The subterranean dwarven city of Underhome (located on the eastern side of the Great Rift) was badly damaged by the collapse. Things got worse when drow displaced by the collapse of the Underchasm attacked the city and drove the dwarves out to the surface.

The dwarves were able to retake the upper sections of the city (including the seventy-foot-tall magical golden doors connecting Underhome to the surface) some years later, however the lower sections are still infested by drow who repeatedly carry out raids to test the dwarves' defenses.

Other races were also adversely affected by the Spellplague. The forming of the Underchasm stole plenty of fresh water that would otherwise flow through the Shaar. This, combined with a change in climate brought on by the Spellplague, led to the Shaar slowly deteriorating into a desert.

Things began to change for the better during the Second Sundering, when the Underchasm was closed. Once more, fresh water began to flow through the Shaar, and another shift in Toril's climate pushed things back to how they'd been before.

While the Shaar has once more begun to resemble a lush, bountiful savannah, many effects of the Spellplague still linger. The Shaaran tribes are a fraction of their former numbers, with certain tribes having been completely wiped out, their unique customs and cultures dying with them. Furthermore, drow continue to infest the deeper reaches of Underhome, and the wild elves continue to struggle to survive in the harsh lands of Elfharrow. Things may have changed for the better, but it will be a long time before the damage caused by the Spellplague is fully undone.

The city was ruled by the council known as the Deep Lords, nobles of the realm's greatest clans. While they oversaw Underhome, they served the monarch of the Deep Kingdom. During the late 14th century DR, this was Queen Karrivva of Clan Simmerforge.

Underhome was the trading center for dwarves of the Deep Realm. The city was home to a great many businesses including moneylenders, caravan masters, cheese-makers, butchers, weapon and armorsmiths, and boar-breeders whose herds were out grazing within the Rift. The garment-makers and clothiers of Underhome set the trends for dwarven fashion across Faerûn.

On one occasion, the golden gates of Underhome withstood the assault of a great wyrm, who launched its body at them with all its might.

When the Spellplague struck Toril in 1385 DR, great rifts opened up in the Underdark beneath the Sea of Fallen Stars, which in turn caused the collapse of great swathes of land. The Underchasm formed in southern Faerûn, devastating the Great Rift, including the Deep Realm and its capital of Underhome.[6] Many gold dwarves were able to flee the cataclysm through the elemental portals that fed the Riftlake, and others, including the Deep Lords, fled east to the devout city of Eartheart.

The fortress of Underwatch was established near the entrance that led to the ruins of Underhome. Underwatch was a huge fortress in the East Rift erected by dwarves to guard the entrance to Underhome. The dwarves regularly sent expeditions into the Underchasm to search for threats. The dwarven guardians aided surface-dwellers in their travels into the exposed areas of the Underdark, but fiercely protected their former noble city of Underhome.

Scar of Sune

Many stories exist of how the Underchasm came to be filled. Most of these stories involve implausible alliances, rivalries and trysts between the gods. However, common elements amongst them all are Grumbar, Sune, and gods of the Orc pantheon.

The most widely told tale claims that Sune was displeased by how the Underchasm and the Shaar Desolation marred a once beautiful savannah. As such, she resolved to restore it to its former beauty. Knowing she lacked the power to restore the Shaar on her own, she turned to Grumbar, the god of earth, for help. His reasons for aiding her vary greatly in each telling of the story; in some he was smitten with her, in others he too disliked what had become of the Shaar. Whatever his motives, the two of them worked together, further bolstering their magic by drawing power from an ancient Orcish artifact.

Together, they ensured that the Underchasm was filled in and sent earth magic rippling across the Shaar, helping to speed up the recovery of the desolation. In time, it seemed as though everything was back to how it was before the Spellplague occurred.

However, as is often the case where Sune is involved, things weren't as clean as they may have appeared on the surface. While the Shaar might look as though it's completely restored to the untrained eye, those with an affinity for earth and stone, (particularly dwarves) can see the subtle geological signs of where the Underchasm used to be. As such, the dwarves who live around the Great Rift have taken to referring to the restored lands of the Underchasm as the Scar of Sune.