Duergar

*"A word of advice laddie. Asking around about our dark cousins isn't likely to make you any friends here."-Krammur Strurerk, dwarf warrior. Letting his human friend know what topics to avoid in dwarven lands.*

*"While our inferiors, obviously. They are the closest thing we have to rivals in the Hollow. Those wretched little gremlins are not to be underestimated."- Matron Mother Molmur'ss Helviani, educating her daughter on drow rivals within the Hollow.*

*"While I couldn't fault his work ethic, I never saw him laugh. I never saw him smile. He always seemed angry. I pity him."-Zacnund Nuggetsaver, Deep gnome foreman on his solitary duergar worker, an exile.*

## Physical Description:

Duergar resemble mountain dwarves, superficially. They are short, stocky and muscular. However, unlike those other dwarves, duergar skin is various shades of grey, ranging from slate to an almost blue shade. Their beards and hair are snowy white or darkest black, or once in a thousand, red. Their eyes have pupils so light that they appear to have none at all. Duergar are bald above the eyebrows, though a few duergar women manage to grow some hair on their scalps. From a fashion perspective they wear simple, sturdy clothing in dark colors that assists them in blending into their underground surroundings. A duergar, even more than other dwarves, is a staunch believer in practicality and function above all else.

## History:

When the mind flayers ruled Apia they were obsessed with unlocking the power of the mind, what is known as psionics. Psionics is a power that all mind flayers possessed, but they always hungered for more mental strength, more ability and more control. Yet no mind flayer would risk his own well-being on an experiment, especially if it hadn't been ordered by an elder brain. So some other lesser creatures were needed. The unfortunate subjects chosen were the dwarves of clan duergar. Many of the dwarves died during these twisted experiments but some survived. Those who did were irrecoverably changed, now something different than they were before. These new duergar displayed great psionic potential, mostly focused on hiding one's presence. Unfortunately for the mind flayers, the duergar were stubborn, organized, angry, and now they were powerful. Using a combination of their mental powers, physical might and sure force of will, the duergar slaughtered their masters and fled into the Hollow. Refusing to ever be ruled again, the duergar established their own hidden empire deep in the bowels of the Hollow and there they remain to this day.

## Geography:

The specific location of any duergar city or stronghold is a carefully guarded secret that no duergar would reveal, even under torture. This, combined with the nature of The Hollow, makes any actually geography difficult and thus, unlike the major drow cities, the general location of duergar cities are unknown.

## Personality:

Duergar are grim, stern and quiet until their notoriously short tempers exploded in a fit of destructive rage. They are greedy, devoting themselves to the acquisition of wealth and power, particularly magical or psionic items. Unlike their mountain ancestors, they posses great cruelty and malice. They hold grudges far longer than any sane being should and have no real understanding of forgiveness. While an honorless mountain dwarf can eventually re-earn his place in society an exiled duergar is usually killed before he has a chance to leave. Joy is entirely foreign to them, as is leisure or artistry, there is work and that is all. They aren't without positive traits however. The duergar work tirelessly on whatever task they set themselves to with focus and determination that is admirable. They show great courage in the face of danger and are known to offer mercy to those warriors who fight bravely and with honor. They never complain about hardship and create effective, if un-ornimented tools. Duergar happily keep to themselves, preferring the company of other duergar over any of the inferior races, which is all non-duergar.

## Society:

Duergar society is a twisted mirror of more traditional dwarvish society. They have the firm rigidity of caste and clan but none of the spirited debate. Their craftsmanship is brutal and efficient with none of the joy or beauty of other dwarves. Artistic expression, games, songs and other diversions are considered wasted time and energy, not fit for a proud duergar. Work is all. Even their food, mostly blue bread, mushroom gruel and watery ale, is made tasteless. They are xenophobic to the extreme, viewing outsiders as nothing more than slaves that can be worked to death in their mines, used as meat-shields in battle or sold to the drow for profit. A duergar clan follows a king not out of respect but out of fear of his wrath, either towards individuals or the clan as a whole. Most promotions are based on assassination or clever political maneuvering. Aside from revenge or wealth, there's nothing the duergar love more than their cutthroat politics. It is a rigid, joyless society that the grim duergar accept without complaint.

## Religion:

Many duergar worship Khudall and model their societies after his tenants. Asmodeous, the devil lord, is worshiped by other, even darker duergar communities. The dwarf gods are dismissed as weak fumbling fools who couldn't protect them from the mind flayer threat, save their patron god Laduguer, who they believe reforged them in the depths of the Hollow to be "perfect beings." Each holds his three dictates closely.

Our Pockets Are Never Full: A duergar's ambition and avarice can never be sated. Success is not celebrated, as a duergar should already begin planning for what it will achieve next, be it wealth, vengeance, or power.

Our Fight Is Never Done: Life is a battle for survival that only the fittest can win, in duergar philosophy, and it is their solemn duty as a race to prove themselves the fittest.

Our Resolve Is Never Shaken: Showing weakness of any sort is a mortal sin in duergar society, be it in the workings of the clan or in personal conduct. Duergar are prohibited from demonstrating happiness, contentedness or trust, and the abandonment of emotion and individuality is idealized in their ranks. Thus, duergar soldiers on the march wear grotesque facial masks to obscure their identity and their feelings, and are compelled to march on relentlessly. Laduguer is consider the truest, most perfect lord of the duergar and his teachings take precedent.

## Alignment:

The majority of duergar are lawful or neutral evil. They have perspectives that are too warped for true goodness. Some find that spark of old duergar in them or, after exile reflect on their lives and emerge as better men but even those tend to be neutral.

## Relations:

Duergar hate most everyone and thus have poor relations with most everyone. They despise their dwarf cousins and hate mind flayers with a burning passion that is never quenched. They'll work with the drow but dislike and distrust them. The githyanki and the duergar are known to occasionally make temporary alliances if the end result is more dead mind flayers but these alliances of convince never last long. Beyond that, non-duergar are slaves without exception.

## Language:

Duergar speak duergarish, a variant of dwarvish and undercommon.

## Adventurers:

The duergar lust for wealth and power can drive them to seek the riches of the surface or Hollow far from the comforts of their homes and some duergar end up as adventurers this way. Others are exiles, forced from their homes for some perceived crime or another. Rather than simply die, these duergar press on to spite those who would dare try and end their lives. Occasionally, the rare duergar is born with the heart of old Moradin beating within and, finding duergar society a perversion of those ideals, leaves to seek a better life.

### Names:

**Example Male Names:** Bruthwol, Horgar, Ivar, Murgol, Thangardt.

**Example Female Names:** Brilmara, Dorthis, Olga, Ulara, Weltha.

**Example Surnames:** Coalhewer, Firehand, Goldcrown, Hammerhand, Ironthew, Steelshadow.

## Traits:

The duergar in Apia are nearly identical to those found in The Expanded Psionics Handbook (with the exception of the level adjustment). Their stats are recreated below for the sake of convenience.

+2 Constitution, -4 Charisma

Medium

Base speed 20 feet, but unaffected by medium/heavy armor or medium/heavy loads

Darkvision 120 feet

Immune to Paralysis, Phantasms and Poison

+2 racial bonus on saves vs. spells and spell-like effects Stability: As per dwarf

Psi-Like Abilities: Expansion and Invisibility, both self only, both 1/day with Manifester level equal to Hit Dice.

Naturally Psionic: +3 psionic power points at 1st level.

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids.

+4 dodge bonus to AC against Giant type creatures.

Light Sensitivity

+4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.

+1 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.

+2 racial bonus on Appraise & Craft checks related to stone and metal.

Favored Class: Fighter