Wild dwarf Wild dwarves , also know as jungle dwarves and dur Authalar ( " the People " ) , were primitive dwarves who inhabited the Jungles of Chult and the Mhair and Black Jungle s . Description . This dwarven subrace was little - known except by those familiar with the jungles of South Faerûn . The jungle dwarves were smaller than most other dwarves but sturdy and well - muscled . Over millennia in the hot jungles , they had developed a strong resistance to heat and disease . They wore very little , if any , clothing , and greased their tattoo - covered dark skin to keep away insects and make themselves slippery . Both males and females could grow beards , and their beards and woven hair provided satisfactory covering for their otherwise naked bodies . They often plastered themselves , skin and hair , with dried mud , which served as a surprisingly effective armor . For adornment , they carved earrings , bracelets and necklaces out of bone . Personality . As a rule , wild dwarves were not trusting of strangers , and would avoid detection whenever possible . Wild dwarves were used to certain magics — such as those granted their cleric s and druid s — and treated it no differently than they would the power of a healing herb or a warrior ' s strength in battle . With most arcane spells and magic items , on the other hand , with which they were not very familiar , they could be fearful . Society . Contrary to their cousins , the gold , gray , and shield dwarves , wild dwarves adopted a completely different social structure , leaving behind the more common clan - based approach . The term " dur Authalar " referred to their belief that they were all of the same family . Instead of tribes or clans , they formed hunting groups with very fluid memberships , and practiced polygamy . Children were raised by the community with little acknowledgement of lineage . They were taught to hunt from a very young age . Wild dwarves held the wisdom of their elderly in respect , but those with weakness or illness were often abandoned to die for the good of the hunting group . Some wild dwarves , when they knew they were growing old and weak , would instead provoke and attack a ferocious jungle beast alone to be killed in a show of bravery . Wild dwarves would on occasion keep wild cats , such as leopards or lynxes , as pets . In fact , most wild dwarves would not hunt jungle felines . For the most part , they did not make use of mounts or pack animals , with the rare exception of riding on the backs of triceratops . Each hunting group carried a drum used to " talk " to other groups , warning them of danger or inviting them to share a large carcass of fresh meat . Each group also carried a water skin and at a minimum maintained a few watering - holes , a place to cook and eat , a sleeping cavern and / or sleeping trees with hammocks , several lookout posts , and a handful of bolt holes that extended deep underground . As a people , the wild dwarves followed various leaders similar to a meritocracy . Those that planned ahead , were good with tactics , and had the best ideas , regardless of age or sex , were called the " talkers " . Their best warriors were called " war leaders " and soldiers that had some combat experience were called " bloods " . Their cleric s were simply called " priests " or " shamans " . Specialty priests of Thard Harr were called " vuddor " . " Dur Authalar " were constantly struggling for survival and refused to adopt the methods of other civilizations . In many ways , they lived more like animals , in a struggle to kill or be killed for food , and cared little for material possessions that did not help them survive . They kept to the tops of the highest trees or the depths of the most remote lush valleys in the jungles . They did not form villages but maintained nomadic lifestyles . Wild dwarves made up approximately five percent of the sentient population of Chult . Language . Wild dwarves spoke their own dialect of Dwarvish , called Authalan , which was characterized by tongue clicks and trilling notes . It was most closely related to the dialect spoken by the gold dwarves , with notable Chultan and Tashalan influences . Those that dealt with outsiders understood a very basic vocabulary of Common , and a few could read and write Dethek runes when necessary . The study of books , however , was nonexistent . Religion . The wild dwarves almost exclusively served the jungle god Thard Harr , and Thard Harr was worshiped almost exclusively by the wild dwarves . It was rare that offerings were made to any of the other Morndinsamman . Two out of five dwarven priest s of Thard Harr were female . About half of Thard Harr ' s clergy among the wild dwarves were known as " vuddor " ( singular " vuddar " ) , who were especially dedicated to the life of the jungle . The priests and vuddor were responsible for guiding " dur Authalar " on successful hunts and for their overall protection from outsiders . They wore the skulls of large jungle animals as helmets . During religious ceremonies , the priests donned the pelts of jungle predators , a rare exception to the usual lack of clothing . The priests never cut their beards and wore Thard Harr ' s symbol as tattoos . In fact , priests of Thard Harr did not carry holy symbols as those of other faiths did ; the tattoo alone sufficed . Wild dwarven divine magic usually involved nature spells and those increasing the likelihood of success in a hunt . The verbal and somatic components of such spells often involved wild grunting and hand motions or involved the use of special herbs . " Dur Authalar " held sacred ceremonies to Thard Harr twice a month on nights of the full and new moon . These ceremonies would involve drums and loud chanting . On such nights — and only on such nights — blood sacrifices were made , and the attendees would eat the flesh of the victim , which was either a wild animal , dinosaur , or a prisoner of war . The Emerald Crater , or " Morndin Vertesplendarrorn " , located in the Peaks of Flame , was a place sacred to the wild dwarves , and Thard Harr was said to walk there . The dwarves had a strange relationship with an emerald dragon named Esmerandanna , who lived there . She was the guardian of the sacred writings of their religion . Trade . The wild dwarves sometimes traded for metal or glass objects in exchange for skins , meat , or captured animals . Ever cautious of outsiders , they would generally only enact trade in their own territory and would set traps in case of betrayal . Combat . Wild dwarves employed blowgun s to launch sleep - inducing , poisonous darts at their enemies or prey . They were immune to their own sleep venom and were even more resistant than their shield dwarven brethren to poisons in general . For melee weapons , they favored handaxe s , halfspear s , and throwing club s . All wild dwarves were taught how to use a handaxe and blowgun from an early age . Their hunting bands usually consisted of between four and 24 dwarves led by a leader called the " blood " . Larger bands of warriors would include a " war leader " and priests and were called " the Pack " . Jungle traps , pits , and snares were their specialty and were difficult to detect . Enemies unfamiliar with jungle warfare were especially at a disadvantage . Wild dwarves preferred to attack from hiding , nettling their target with darts until it charged blindly , then surrounded it with overwhelming numbers for the kill . On occasion , Thard Harr would empower one of his followers or a nearby wild animal to assist the dwarves in combat . Such a manifestation of their god ' s power involved strange low and continuous snarling or thudding sounds that seemed to come from the empowered creature along with a glow of cherry - red . The empowered individual gained a brief burst of strength , prowess , and fearlessness and was immune to mind - affecting enchantments or any sort of entanglements . In the case of victory , the wild dwarves usually took at least one prisoner alive back to their camp for questioning . If sparing the prisoner ' s life did not seem beneficial to the clan , the prisoner would be offered as a sacrifice on one of the holy nights . The Batiri , the goblin s of Chult , were the wild dwarves ' greatest enemy . Ecology . Their diet consisted of most jungle mammals , reptiles , birds , worms , and insects . From the jungle flora they ate select berries , fruits , leaves , roots , and saps . Their favorite delicacy was snake of nearly any species . They were known to ferment fruit into wine using earthenware pottery . Wild dwarves did not practice cannibalism , but generally did not let a sacrifice , either prisoner or animal , go to waste . Wild dwarves were cross - fertile with humans and other demihuman s . History . After the fall of Bhaerynden in - 9000 DR , some of the dwarves who survived managed to reach the Jungles of Chult . Once there , they abandoned their usual subterranean homes to adopt a new life style , and gradually earned the wild dwarf monicker . As other civilized lands arose around them — Mezro , Serpentes , Tashtan — the wild dwarves simply receded deeper into the jungles .