Dwemer Ruin Design Guide

Current Inhabitants

Compared to most dungeon types, Dwemer ruins are more often than not left alone by outside forces; the most common inhabitants being the automatons still conducting their ancient patrols millennia later.

1. Dwemer Automatons/Dwemer Spectres - By far the most common occupants of a Dwemer ruin will be the Dwemer automatons left behind after the disappearance of the Dwemer and Dwemer spectres that somehow have been left behind as well. The automatons do not comprehend that their creators are gone and so have continued their patrols and maintenance as best the can in the intervening millennia. The spectres also, curiously, behave as if nothing has happened and continue to sandbox around the facilities, living out a reflection of their past life. 

2. Bandits - Two ruins are being plundered or occupied by bandits trying to rob the ancient ruins of their valuables to sell to smuggler gangs around the island. The most important of which is Arkngthand which is the location of an early main quest.

3. Vampires - Two Dwemer ruins have been taken over by vampires and made into the headquarters for their respective clans. Clans Aundae and Berne make their homes in Druscashti and Galom Daeus respectively.

4. Sixth House - These are almost a category unto themselves, but 5 Dwemer ruins within the ghostfence have been taken over by the Ash Vampires of the Sixth House. Each of these dungeons are unique given their importance to the main story, but for general Sixth House design rules, please check out the Sixth House Guide.

Designing Your Dwemer Ruin

• The Dwemer were a steampunk society in a high-fantasy setting. They were not, however, quite at the level of "science-fiction" as we usually think of it. The Dwemer did not have modern computers, or holograms, or advanced AI for instance. 

• The Dwemer on Vvardenfell relied on geothermal and steam power, both to power their sprawling facilities and to power their automatons, so don't be afraid to show the more industrial areas of your ruin, particularly in the lower sections. 

• Dwemer would not have relied on tricks, traps, or secret doors typically in their homes and workplaces. Their facilities are tough enough to prevent unauthorized access typically, so any "hidden" areas should be "incidental", in the sense that the only reason the player may not be able to access an area at first is because it is blocked by wreckage or some machine that is offline or has not been unlocked. 

  • A very notable exception to that would be the citadels on Red Mountain that have been taken over by the Sixth House. These citadels originally were a network of facilities approximating the Dwemer capitol. The secrecy around the Numidium project would have created a need for carefully hidden rooms for planning, storage, and work on the Numidium project.

Clutter Usage

Dwemer ruins are generally the remains of cities or large facilities that would have had a town or city-sized population working and living inside of them. Therefore some recognizeable features can likely be found such as eating areas, beds, furniture. It is also important to remember that the Dwemer famously all vanished in a single instant with no warning, so setting up scenes showing Dwemer daily life is not a bad idea. Tables with plates and cups still visible, a work desk with some small project still laid out, things like that. This, of course, changes if bandits or the Sixth House have taken over the ruin. 

Additionally, despite automated maintenance procedures, the ravages of time have taken their toll on the ruins. Cave-ins, broken down equipment, and the relentless push of wildlife and plantlife have broken into the ruins in many places. Opportunistic thieves have likely at least breached the upper rooms of any ruin to steal and ransack whatever they could before either escaping with their loot or meeting their end at the hands of the automatons. 

Enemies

As mentioned before, Dwemer relied primarily on the protection of their automatons which are still active to this day. 

Trap Usage

Dwemer ruins are unique in that they do not have a great deal of traps compared to other dungeon types, generally relying on the overwhelming force of their automatons to deter intruders. What traps they may have, however are:

• Flame throwers

• Ballistae

• Dwemer Sphere ambushes

For the few ruins that have been taken over by bandits and vampires additional traps may be considered. Typical "squatter" traps can be used there, such as bear traps, swinging maces, etc. Intruders like these would not have figured out how to control or command automatons.

Puzzle Usage

Puzzles in dwemer ruins will rarely be "intended" puzzles since these ruins were originally cities but will instead be trying to manipulate or repair Dwemer machinery. Replacing damaged pipes to get an elevator working (as we did in the Battle at Nchurdamz video here) or making sense of a control panel operating dwemer pumps in Aleft are two dramatic examples, but other puzzles can be more subtle such as finding a valve to shut off dangerous steam or open a door. 

The Sixth House citadels, again, are a notable exception. The secrecy around Numidium would have necessitated hidden rooms and puzzles in order to access those areas.