Although they are skilled warriors, the dwarves seldom wage war on others. They are very territorial and tend to keep to their homelands, which they thoroughly fortify to stave off possible threats. Homes and mines are protected with zeal. The Dar'Kolbur dwarves make use of their natural surroundings, hiding much of their strategic holdings behind mountainous rock. The Mervin dwarves have less natural protection, and are forced to quarry stone from the hills for their constructions. They protect their holdings with walls and moats, and raise stone towers from which they can sight approaching enemies. On the few historic occasions that dwarves have marched to war, it has been to serve vengeance, to aid an ally, or to claim valuable mining prospects. The ancient Dar'Kolbur dwarves made a prominent impact on the customs of dwarven warfare when they were forced to unite under a common banner in order to stave off an orc onslaught. It was during this time that the military duties of the clans were founded. Ever since the clans pride themselves in their ability to contribute troops to protect joint dwarven interests. These military units are often self-sufficient, consisting not only of soldiers, but also of cooks, priests, smiths, drummers and messengers. In battle the dwarves keep close formations, such as wedges, relying on their superior equipment and discipline rather than mobility and skill. Dwarven tactics are often direct and forceful, intended to wear down the enemy quickly. Dwarves commonly handle heavy weapons in battle, and wear metal armor and kite shields as protection. The pickaxe is a common weapon among ordinary people. The Dar'Kolbur dwarves use battleaxes, war hammers, military picks, maces, two handed axes and hammers, and light crossbows. They are renowned for their full plate mail, but many wear lighter variations of plate and ring mails. The Mervin dwarves have developed the heavy crossbow as a means to overcome their foes in the open landscape, and they favor poleaxes and halberds as weaponry, and ring mail as armor. During their struggle against the invading Barinorr Empire they were known to deploy explosives within their own mines in order to seal them off from the invaders.