Duergar (DWAIR-gar)

Duergar, or gray dwarves, are a malevolent breed that exist deep underground, sometimes below the deep dwarves. They rarely venture above ground, finding it painful, except during heavily overcast days or at night. The light does not cause them damage, but it does affect their ability to see clearly.

While hill and mountain dwarves tend to be lawful good in alignment, the duergar, or gray dwarves, are typically evil. Player characters, on the other hand, can be of any alignment. Most good or neutrally aligned races are suspicious of duergar.

Duergar live deeper underground than the mountain dwarves and war with their cousins often. There is a deep-seated animosity between the two cultures.

Duergar are not descendants of the mountain dwarves but are, or were, rather, mountain dwarves once.

Duergar frequently compete with deep dwarves for living space and minerals. Usually the duergar are bested in such struggles.

Even though their society is evil, they still retain many of the social structures of hill and mountain dwarves. They are clan based, but their crafts are usually inferior to those of other dwarves.

They carve out an existence in the Underdark, often near volcanoes. Their kinship to other dwarven subraces could be compared to that of the Drow to surface elves.

Recommended Languages

Duergar, deep dwarf, drow, illithid, kua-toa, troll, troglodyte, ghoul, undercommon (the trading language of subterranean cultures), the deep tongue, sign language.

Intelligent duergar may speak other languages as well.

Because they live deep underground, dwarves have had to learn the languages of several of their neighbors out of necessity, both friendly and hostile. The number of languages that can be learned is limited by the nonweapon proficiency slots allotted to languages and the maximum allowed number of languages as determined by Intelligence. However, their primary language should be their native tongue. A character's native tongue does not cost the character any nonweapon proficiency slots. This includes reading and writing in their native tongue.

Important note Being able to speak another language does not mean the character can read or write in that language. This will cost the character appropriate nonweapon proficiency slots.

Additionally, the kinds of languages duergar may learn should be determined by the campaign background. If a character lives in a stronghold that has had no contact with goblins, he is unlikely to have learned goblinoid. The languages for dwarves listed should also be considered as suggestions only. Duergar may learn any language that suits their background. Some suggested languages are listed above.

Most of the different subraces of dwarves can usually communicate with each other with little difficulty, but some slang or jargon may vary from race to race or even from stronghold to stronghold. Think of the English language. For the most part, Americans, Canadians, Australians, the British, and New Zealanders can communicate with each other on a basic level, but each has its parlance. Even each variation has its subdialects.

This causes a -2 penalty to the opponent's surprise rolls. If a door or other screen is opened, the bonus is lost.

Duergar are surprised only on a roll of 1 (on a d10).

In addition to the standard saving throw bonuses against magical attacks, duergar are unaffected by paralysis, illusion, and phantasm spells. They are immune to all magical and alchemical poisons. Against natural poisons they gain the standard dwarf saving throw bonus.

Additionally, they possess the innate magical abilities of Enlarge and Invisibility. They can use each of these powers once per day.

A duergar uses the enlarge ability as though he were a wizard twice his own level, i.e., a 2nd-level duergar uses enlarge as though he were a 4th-level wizard. He may use it only to affect himself and whatever he is wearing or carrying.

Ogres, trolls, ogre magi, giants, and titans suffer a -4 penalty to attack Duergar.

Special Disadvantages

Duergar are adversely affected by bright light such as sunlight or a continual light spell. They are not affected by the light of torches, lanterns, magic weapons, or light and faerie fire spells.

When in bright light, his enhanced ability to gain surprise is negated. Dexterity is reduced by -2, to hit rolls are made at a -2 penalty, and their opponent's saving throws are made with a +2 bonus.

In situations where a duergar is in darkness but his opponents are in bright light, his Dexterity and surprise advantages are unaffected, but he suffers a -1 penalty to his attack rolls while their opponents gain a +1 bonus to saving throws against attacks.

Other dwarves distrust duergar and react to them at -3 penalty. If the character kits are being used, this penalty is cumulative with any incurred when choosing a particular kit.

Racial Enmities

Duergar do not gain any advantage when fighting orcs, half-orcs, goblins, or hobgoblins. They do, however, receive a +1 to hit when fighting mountain dwarves, hill dwarves, or Illithids.

Their dull gray skin and hair is often matched with an equally stolid expression. Surface dwarves say they have flat heads, possibly as an insult.

A typical duergar is 4 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds.

Because many duergar found on the surface world are criminal exiles, a surface dweller who encounters one of the gray dwarves is likely to notice facial and arm tattoos that mark the duergar as a traitor to his or her people.

For centuries, generations of gray dwarves toiled in slavery, and the surface dwarves never looked for them or attempted to rescue them. The duergar never forgave their surface kin for this act of betrayal. Generation after generation has been taught how their birthright was stolen from them by the bastards living above who cared nothing for them.

[Note The duergar consider anyone or anything that lives closer to the surface than they to be “surface”.]

Being slaves to the illithids tortured and twisted the duergar mind and their outlook on life. The powerful take what they want from whomever they want. The weak and helpless are to be stepped on as long as it achieves the goals of the powerful. During their time as slaves, these dwarves were able to overcome their innate non-magical nature and learned their enlarge and invisibility abilities from their tormentors. The duergar watched, listened, studied, and learned to hone their minds to access these abilities.

So it was that one day, the duergar rose up and overthrew their masters. They were as violent and brutal as they needed to be to escape captivity, though at the cost of many lives. Alas, they were not able to liberate the Fierce Axe. The survivors fled into the Underdark, but the illithids were too weak to pursue. Getting as far away from their captors as they thought was safe, the duergar established their first stronghold in the Underdark. There were many challenges to their survival, but they grew stronger, just as their hatred for the surface dwarves grew white hot.

This myopic view shows how long the gray dwarf memory is. Anger and mistrust fester in the duergar memory and give them a hardened edge. While the duergar are willing to trade and ally with anyone, this can change in an instant. The duergar, driven in part by dwarven greed have waged wars of aggression against neighboring kingdoms. The duergar believe that the natural extension of dwarven values is to take by force what they can’t come by naturally, or just because they want it. Although Moradin is not the primary deity of the duergar clans, they believe that Moradin and Clangeddin Silverbeard teach that the mighty conquer and that it is their right to take what they want or need by force, and they often do. Preying on neighbors weaker than themselves, they grow in power in the Underdark and becoming one of the most feared races of the world below. They have fully become what centuries of slavery made them into, absolute tyrants of the Underdark.

But they don’t go to war with their neighbors simply for material gain. They will raid nearby settlements and cities just to take slaves. The duergar are major players in the Underdark slave trade. They have been known to go so far as to take weaker duergar towns into slavery, including kings who have been overthrown because they were judged to be too weak to lead, usually by those who see themselves as strong.

To the duergar, this is seen as the natural order of things. If you are not strong enough to hold your throne you don’t deserve it. This may be seen as a chaotic act (from an alignment point of view), it isn't. The duergar want, even need, a strong leader whole can take control of the entire city, kingdom, or empire and hold it together by force if needed, and provide structure to their subjects. There have been cases of a woman taking control of the clans. Strong kings and queens will go unchallenged by dwarven nobility as long as they continue to show unbridled strength.

Slaves are treated poorly and often in a cruel manner. They are sent to harvest the fungi and tend whatever animals the duergar have corralled. They also maintain the cities, often working in the sewers to keep them clean. Or they are sold to other races, including the illithids.

Woe to the mountain dwarf that delves too deep or wanders too close to a duergar city, for they will suffer. The duergar will gleefully torture captives in a variety of ways, often anything their twisted minds come up with. Prisoners will be tortured for information, but as soon as their usefulness has ended, they will be thrown into the slave pens, where they usually die in a matter of days.

Anyone who insults them also becomes the target of their wrath. The duergar have gone to war over the smallest of slights, real or imagined. Their lives in the Underdark have made them stronger, they believe, than their surface cousins. They wait for the day when prophecy says that all duergar clans will be united and they will take their rightful place in the mountain dwarves halls.

Because of their demeanor, there is a misconception that the duergar do not know happiness, joy, or pride. Despite what the mountain dwarves say, the duergar are every bit as brave, industrious, and skilled as their surface dwarf cousins. They take pride in their work and use their skills to generate trade with the denizens of the Underdark.

Gray dwarves are known to build their cities and fortresses astride major trade tunnels and charge a hefty toll to pass.

General Alignment

Most duergar are lawful evil with neutral tendencies. Other dwarves find their ways repulsive. Duergar war on other dwarf races, and sometimes even join forces with orcs and other evil races to raid other dwarf strongholds.

Crime & Punishment

While it may be hard to believe that in a society that is as malevolent as the duergar, there are criminals who are often exiled. These exiles are left to their own devices in the Underdark, and if they return, they are killed on sight. These dwarves have tattoos on their faces that denote their exile status. Here are a few things that would be illegal in a duergar society.

• Murder is perfectly acceptable within duergar society. It is failing the attempt that is illegal. In other words, if you intend on killing someone, you better make sure they are dead.
• Dissent and Rebellion
• Speaking out against the ruling authority or attempting to incite rebellion will be met with harsh punishments. The duergar government maintains strict control and does not tolerate any form of dissent. However, a successful rebellion is a revolution.
• Aiding Outsiders
• Providing assistance or information to outsiders, especially those from the surface world or rival Underdark factions, is considered treasonous. The duergar value their isolation and security.
• Magic Misuse
• Unauthorized use of magic, particularly spells that could undermine the authority of the ruling class or harm the community, is illegal. Only those sanctioned by the government are permitted to practice certain types of magic. Since duergar are as non-magical as their cousins, this primarily applies to outsiders who are visiting, the use of magic items that work for dwarves, or divine magic provided by a deity other than the one sanctioned by the State.
• Theft and Property Damage
• Stealing or damaging property, especially resources critical to survival in the Underdark, is severely punished. Resources are often scarce, and their protection is paramount. Many duergar are practiced thieves, and stealing from others is not looked down upon as stealing resources belonging to the crown is. Unless one gets caught...
• Slavery Violations
• While duergar may use slaves, any unauthorized freeing of slaves or disrupting the slave system is illegal. The economy and infrastructure rely on this practice.
• Espionage and Sabotage
• Spying on government officials or sabotaging military or industrial operations is a serious crimes. The duergar prioritize their military strength and internal security.
• Heretical Practices
• Engaging in religious practices that are deemed heretical or contrary to the worship of the State deity, is prohibited. The duergar hold their religious beliefs in high regard.
• Failure to Contribute
• Failing to contribute to the community's labor and survival efforts is a crime. Every duergar is expected to work hard and fulfill their role within society.

These laws reflect the harsh and disciplined nature of duergar society, where maintaining order, security, and survival are of utmost importance. The penalties for breaking these laws are often severe to ensure strict compliance.