I love dwarves in fantasy settings. I just think they're cool. So creating an RPG story based around a remote mining town, naturally I had to include some cool dwarves!
My setting is partly inspired by the comic Rat Queens, and one of the things it has in common is this kind of wild underground punk scene element to it. The Dig Inn has basically become Fantasy CBGB in the setting and Hollow Rock has a really vibrant music scene. It hosts a yearly music festival that brings in a surprising amount of tourist money. We will get to this later.
This is Aduna. Aduna is another transplant to Hollow Rock, this time coming from the mountains of Kalim Kuna. This is the Dwarven city you expect. Carved into the side of a massive mountain, with tunnels and mines running deep inside. The Dwarven cities are more or less constantly fighting a cold war against each other some are more traditional feudal dynasties, others are capitalist business ventures with state authority, and still others are socialist worker's collectives.
Aduna's home of Kalim Kuna (Dwarven for "Rich City") was a mercantile business venture dressed as a city, and Aduna was the foreman of its largest mine. She ran that mine like a well-oiled machine, and quickly became one of the city's top earners. At least until she wasn't. Her mine began producing less, and Aduna began to panic. She tried to squeeze as much iron out of that mine as she could, leading to dangerous conditions that culminated in an accident that took the lives of 40 miners. Kalim Kuna brass couldn't care less about the lives of their workers, but were upset with Aduna and demanded she get the mine back up and running. She enacted new, unpopular measures, and a rebellion began in her mine. This was the final straw. Aduna was unceremoniously fired, and fearing for her life from both the brass and the miners who were out for her blood, she left Kalim Kuna.
The Catonbag Barony has been investing in infrastructure, hoping to become more than just a hub for trade, but also a military and industrial power. To do this, you need steel. Fortune smiled on them when iron was found in Hollow Rock, and a mining endeavor began. Initial efforts were met with little success. The Barony had to face the fact that they knew nothing about mining.
So when they heard the former foreman of Kalim Kuna's biggest mine was available and looking for work, they tripped over themselves to hire her. Aduna got a pretty good deal out of it, and a chance to clear her reputation... but mostly she wanted the money.
That is, until she arrived at Hollow Rock and had to lead a bunch of humans, tabaxi, and firbolg who know nothing about mining. She hates Hollow Rock. She hates most of the people here. None of them speak her native language. She relates to few if any of the townsfolk. Her only escape is the wonderful music at The Dig Inn.
Here she is, shown cutting loose at a concert, taking joy in the only thing she has that keeps her going: Rock and roll!