"Unusually, the Carpenters' Guild hall is lined with wainscoting and populated with grandiose benches of the finest timber."
- —Descritpion of the Carpenters' Guild Hall from Total War: Warhammer.[2]
Dwarf Carpenters have large chips on their shoulders - a jest often repeated by factors from other Guilds, but one that is partially true. While stone masons and engineers get the most recognition for their fine works, carpenters are often in the background, fashioning all manner of things from wood, but generally taken for granted by all other Dwarfs.[2]
Most Dwarfs regard trees simply as useful fuel for their forges. There is one exception – wutroth, or ironbark. The stout, broadtrunked, smooth-barked tree once grew in plentiful supply in the highlands surrounding the old dwarf strongholds, but most of the forests were destroyed during the Time of Woes. Dwarfs once used its extremely tough but pliable wood as a durable material in their architecture and artefacts, making the Guild of Carpenters an honoured and wealthy establishment. Today the guild is much diminished, for iron and brass are the preferred building materials of most dwarfs and wutroth is so rare that it is almost as expensive as gromril. If a grove happens to be found, it is well-guarded and the wood is reserved for kingly artefacts. The Carpenters' Guild survives as an elite institution of a few highly-specialised individuals, carving wutroth as a status symbol for royalty.[1a]
Dwarfen carpentry exceeds that of Empire craftsmen, but wood is far scarcer in the mountains. Dwarf carpenters must rely on Empire merchants for a lot of their wood, as they live further away from the dense forests than manlings and certain kinds of strange elgi. However, Dwarfs have been known to lead expeditions of Rangers into forests near the mountainsides in search of prime lumber for their creations. Dwarfen lumberyards do not share the capacity of their Empire equivalents as demand, in general, is much lower, although the carpenters and coopers are always good and consistent customers. There is also a space issue - getting large pieces of lumber underground for storage is a lot less practical than keeping it in the open, but some of the larger Holds - such as Zhufbar - manage it anyway.[2]
Source[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: Book of Grudges (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 13
- 2: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)