Dondakan the Dwarf

The Old School RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: osrsw:Dondakan the Dwarf

Dondakan the Dwarf
Release date	21 March 2005 (Update)
Also called	Donnie, Don
Race	Dwarf
Members	Yes
Quest NPC	Between a Rock...
Location(s)	Keldagrim south-west mine
Shop	No
Gender	Male
Actions	Talk-to, Fire-into-rock, Examine
Examine	A short, old and gold loving guy.
Advanced data
NPC ID	1837, 1838, 1839
Links	MRND
Infobox • Talk page

Dondakan the Dwarf is a dwarven miner and the father of Commander Veldaban. He is the main character in the Between a Rock... quest, and the father of Veldaban.

History

A Strange Rock

Dondakan has spent 18 years of his life attempting to open a seemingly impenetrable rock in the Keldagrim south-west mine. While he had many dwarves helping him at one point, they have all since left, leaving him alone in his work. He now spends every bit of money he can dredge up in an attempt to open the rock.

Dondakan has tried many different methods to break the rock, such hitting it with a pickaxe, shooting it with several types of cannonballs (with a cannon obtained from his son), and kicking it with granite boots. None have been successful, and the cost has taken a toll on him.

Dondakan seems to be on bad terms with his son Veldaban since he joined the Black Guard, which Dondakan doesn't consider a profitable job. While Veldaban insists that there are more important things than making himself richer, Dondakan responds that there aren't, at least not for a "real dwarf". In other words, Dondakan cares more about money, while Veldaban cares more about helping people in need and doing what's right.

In year 169 of the Fifth Age, Dondakan was met by a human adventurer who inquired as to what he was doing. Still obsessed with opening the rock, he recruited them into their team and sent them out to help uncover the mysteries of the rock. Upon learning that gold was inside the rock, he asked the adventurer to find yellow materials for a cannonball that could penetrate the rock. The adventurer created a gold cannonball (as it was technically "yellow"), and they began the test. Dondakan was extremely shocked when the golden cannonball just "disappeared", and began modifying his cannon to shoot them to deal with the demon inside. Once the demon was dispatched of by the adventurer, Dondakan thanked them for their services and allowed them to use the newly discovered mine as much as they liked. The discovery also made Dondakan extremely rich, despite the cuts the Consortium took from his new mine.

When his son Veldaban becomes king and exposes Hreidmar's chaos dwarf army outside Keldagrim and ready to invade, Dondakan learns the same adventurer who helped him was responsible for this and allowed them access to a mine he bought with his newfound wealth. Although Dondakan is still living and should technically be the king, he is over 150 years old, and as a result of tradition with such kings having to pass down the throne to heirs, it is why Veldaban is appointed king.

Veldaban was paranoid the Red Axe would try something and launched an attack on their stronghold to destroy them for good. In the resulting battle, three fates await Veldaban, with Dondakan expressing his thoughts to the adventurer:

• Veldaban remains as king - Dondakan is proud with his son's resilience, but is upset he isn't helping him with the mine. He is still content with his wealth.
• Veldaban steps down - Dondakan is upset with his son's decision to step down, believing that the younger generation lacks ambition.
• Veldaban is killed - Dondakan mourns his son's death; although content with his wealth, he regrets not spending enough time with his son.

Dialogue

This article on an NPC has an associated dialogue page. Click here for a transcript of possible conversations and other messaging related to this NPC.

Dondakan the Dwarf speaks in:

• Between a Rock...

Update history

This information has been compiled as part of the update history project. Some updates may not be included - see here for how to help out!

• update 28 October 2019 (Update):
  • Fixed Dondakan the Dwarf mentioning he's holding a rune pickaxe, when he in fact holds an adamant one.

• patch 1 November 2014 (Update):
  • Dondakan the dwarf now has an idle animation.

• patch 21 January 2014 (Update):
  • The dwarf multicannon next to Dondakan has been updated to use the new model.

• patch 9 July 2013 (Update):
  • Dondakan will now recognise pickaxes stored in your tool belt during the Between a Rock... quest.

• patch 6 May 2009 (Update):
  • Dondakan now has a right-click option to fire you into the rock.
• update 21 March 2005 (Update):
  • Added to game.

Trivia

• Dondakan has 6 un-obtainable items - granite boots, and all cannonballs from bronze to rune except steel and mithril.
• It is unknown why he would try bronze or iron cannonballs, as they would obviously not have as much of an impact as standard steel cannonballs. It is possible that he predicted that a massive number of shots would be needed to crack the rock and was attempting to save money.