Talk:Dwarven Army/@comment-179.127.113.200-20180719022846/@comment-45.56.46.26-20180719040144

The problem is that the dwarves were in a cultural/economic death spiral.

At a fairly deep level, they were forced so far onto the back foot because they had essentially lost faith that they deserved to go on existing, after the loss of their king and capital, along with their abandonment of the arts unique to their own culture.

It wasn't absolutely certain to happen just from those circumstances, but the premise of the story is that it did.

And while the alliance with the SK may allow them a reprive that leads to renewal, it won't happen immediately enough for a military investment of the scale described nor is any such military investment immediately necessary, given that the SK has agreed to provide for all their defense needs for the foreseeable future.

For probably the next generation, the main chance at a military career for Dwarves will be to join the SKAdventureer™ Guild.