What WOULD you find in a dwarven mine?

[Astromancer]

One of the most common magical items in a Dwarven mine/city would logically be a gemstone enchanted with Permanent Light. Well polished stone would reflect the light making the most of each gem. In order to inhibit petty theft, such gems would be set in hard to reach places.

This provides two issues for a party looting/exploring a dwarven city/mine. A) Getting at the gems. B) Doing without light in the areas where others stole the gems earlier.

[RevBob]

No find ANY wood in dwarven mine. Find ROCK in dwarven mine. Find WOOD in FOREST.

Silly humans...

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by RevBob

No find ANY wood in dwarven mine. Find ROCK in dwarven mine. Find WOOD in FOREST.

Silly humans...

Ironbark

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by RevBob

No find ANY wood in dwarven mine. Find ROCK in dwarven mine. Find WOOD in FOREST.

Silly humans...

No, wood would be a rarish luxury import in a Dwarven city. Stone would be used in most of the places we'd use wood, but fine woods would be imported. To make this clearer, we human's can make small storage boxes most easily from wood; however, we carve fine delicate boxes from alabaster, jade, and chalcedony. Similarly, Dwarves would make little use of knotty pine, but ebony and mahogany would be prized.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this. High mountains with a rain shadow, the Dwarfs channel water from the rainy side of the mountains down to waterwheels. The waterwheels lift water out of the lower mines. All of that water, both the mine drainage the the stuff that turns the mills has to be gotten rid of. The Dwarfs offer it to farmers living in the Rain Shadow of the mountains in exchange for food supplies.

Reactions?

Besides having Cat Stevens triggered in my head?

I'm livin' in a rain shadow,
Rain shadow, rain shadow ...

[jason taylor]

In Peoples Of Middle Earth an alliance between Dwarves and Men is specifically mentioned. Dwarves of course provided technology(insofar as mr "I am a language professor and I hate machines" would deign to call it such). Men provided food. Likewise men provided light cavalry and dwarves heavy infantry.

It is explicitly said that Dwarves were capable of providing food. Men however could allow them to concentrate on their specialty. Amazing how a subtle economic law like that would come up in fantasy of that time.