Duergar
Industrialization overcomes morality
Basic Information
Anatomy
Duergar possess a humanoid form, but are shorter then the average human, standing at about 4 foot or chest level height. They also have a lot more muscle then humans, making them a very stocky people. Unlike their mountain kin, duergar don't drink excessive amounts of alcohol and only drink in moderation, so their livers aren't as strong
Biological Traits
Duergar, unlike their mountain kin, are less hesitant for magic that isnt runic magic which has led to many duergar to experimenting on magic, Specifically, it seems after many experiments on mind flayers duergar now have latent psionic abilities. While not every duergar can use these psionic abilities to any great extent, some master the powers of the mind and become psionic sorcerers
Genetics and Reproduction
Duergar reproduce sexually the same way humans do. The gestation period is tenish months, and physical signs of pregnancy don't show to late in the pregnancy
Growth Rate & Stages
Duergar mature around the same age as humans, but aren't considered an adult until 50 years of age
Ecology and Habitats
Duergar preferred the Underdark before the great cataclysm, but now they take to living in some of the northern mountain ranges now that the Underdark has been destroyed
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Curiously, all duergar are bald, and only duergar males can grow facial hair. Beards are almost always a bright or dark white
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Duergar now near the mountains of the north or any deep cave system they can find
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Duergar, thanks to their lives in the Underdark, possess the ability to see in dark environments, but like the drow have developed a sensitivity to sunlight
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Duergar names differ little from regular dwarf names, with the exception of their clan names. Like their society, clan names are often bleek and hint at cruelty. Examples include Necksnapper, Battlegore, Doomfist and Firetamer. Though more mundane names, like Runehammer and Underearth are possible too
Major Organizations
The Duergar Kingdoms of the North
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The Three Rules of Conduct
Duergar psychology, culture, and society are predicted by three principles:
Our Pockets are Never Full:
The duergar are fueled in all their actions by two pervasive feelings: ambition that never flags and greed that can never be satisfied. Though they might scheme and plot at great lengths to gain treasure or prestige, success is never a cause for celebration. Each acquisition, once in hand, is like a meal that quickly loses its appeal, leaving the duergar hungry for more. No matter how much wealth or power they gain, it's never enough.
Our Fight Is Never Done:
As duergar acquire treasure and prestige, they need to become ever mightier to hold on to what they have. When the duergar wage war on other races, they demonstrate that the weak aren't fit to possess that which is meant for the strong. And to the duergar, no creatures a re more unworthy of holding wealth than dwarves. When duergar have an opportunity to strike at dwarves. especially in their strongholds, they fight with utmost viciousness and cunning, matching the value of the spoils to be gained with the intensity of their onslaught.
Our Resolve Is Never Shaken:
Any show of weakness is a mortal sin among the duergar, and that stricture extends to personal conduct as well as to the workings of a duergar clan. Displays of happiness, contentedness, and trust are forbidden. The duergar are bound together in a rigid society, but it is a marriage of necessity rather than choice. In the Underdark, they must cooperate to survive. Within their society, each individual fills a role assigned to them and must perform it to the best of their abilities. Duergar warriors epitomize the race's abandonment of emotion and individuality. In battle, they wear heavy armor and hateful, scowling masks that hide their identities. When assembled in ranks, the duergar move forward like army ants. They are an implacable, relentless foe, marching over the corpses of their fallen comrades to press the attack.
Clans are everything to duergars, and those who fail to live up to the expectations of both their clan and duergar society as a whole are cast out. A show of kindness is often a reason for exile, as is a lack of greed or even cruelty at times
History
The history of the duergar is a tale dwarves do not like telling. It is a tale of old grudges, strife, and unending shame. Legends tell that thousands of years ago, long before the fall of the great keeps, The dwarves would send out a large group of dwarves to expand the influence of the dwarven kingdoms. This expedition was lead by Deep Duran, a master of his own clan and a well respected man for his efficiency in clearing out mountain areas for habitation. Work would begin in a mountain keep close by to the Underdark, believing the Underdark could serve as mining hub of vast wealth once the other creatures were cleared of it such as the drow. However, not much is known as to why, but something would pull at Deep Duran down in the very depths of the Underdark. Each day he would demand more mining, more, more, and more. Soon the new keep was digging at a rate faster then any other dwarven settlement, and soon Deep Duran found what was pulling at him. A strange effigy to some other worldly god laid before him at the end of a cave, whispering promises of power and wealth into his ear. Having been driven partially mad by the voices already, he would accept the deal the effigy laid out: to hunt down and experiment on mind flayers. Once Deep Duran successfully had his dwarves raid and destroy a mind flayer colony, they would begin experimenting, something some of the other great keep emissaries would find worrying and hurry back to the other keeps. Deep Duran would then offer the brains of the mindflayers to the effigy, and suddenly the power of the mindflayers would rush out and infect all the dwarves in the keep, turning their skin purple and grey and filling them psionic might. This would also grant Deep Duran a vision of power and conquest, and the rulership of the whole world, and maybe even beyond. Once Deep Duran would receive a summons to the nearest dwarven great keep, Thar'ak Ever-stand, he would walk before the ruler of the keep, Gakoag Kragbeard, he would speak of how he was now the true ruler of the land, and then much to the courts horror, brutally behead Gakoag Kragbeard and show his dismembered head to the court as a promise to wage unending war until he is given his rightful title as ruler of all the lands.
Thus would begin the War of Lost Kinsmen, a war that would last 600 years, between the dwarves and the now self named duergar. The duergar would look up to Deep Duran as a god, their god, far stronger then the dwarven ancestor gods. The fighting was bloody and horrible iventions were created on both sides to kill the other, such as the Drake Gun, and entire clans were wiped out in the fighting. Fighting would take place in vast tunnel networks that have since then been collapsed. However, the war would end when the High King of the dwarves, Narilom Noblethane, would lead a darring assault on the capital of the duergar with but 100 of his most elite guard. While all but 4 of his guards would survive the Battle of Final Grudges, he and his men would slay Deep Duran and sunder the morale of the duergar. The dwarves, having won the war, would drive the duergar deep into the underdark, where they let them rot deep below as they returned, victorius, but deeply wounded and ashamed. The names of duergar who were once dwarves would be scrubbed from all records, and the stature of Deep Duran back when he was a highly respected dwarf would be demolished.
Since then the duergar have remained a threat to the dwarves. Even after the great Underdark Cataclysm, many duergar survived, and fled to cave networks in the northern mountains. To the duergar, the war with the dwarves never ended, even after the dwarves were forced to abandon their keeps to flee to the sky. Some fear the duergar may capture the keeps occupied by the goblins first, and so it is that to this day, dwarves and duergar wage a never ending war of bitter rivalry and betrayed kinship
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
In terms of views on other races, duergar share similarities with drow, believing the other races to be weak and inferior and only good for slavery. Duergar are known to go on raids to loot from other races and capture salves for diabolic experiments, labor, and other such tasks. As such, many other races who come into contact with duergar view them with disdain or suspicion
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
300-400 years
Average Height
4-5 feet tall
Average Weight
about 150lbs
Average Physique
About the same as dwarves
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Duergar skin tones are either purplish or grey
