Gray Dwarf (Duergar)
Duergar see themselves as the true manifestation of dwarven ideals, clever enough not to be taken in by the treacherous deceptions of Moradin and his false promises. Their period of enslavement and the revolt against the mind flayers led by their god, Laduguer, purged the influence of the other dwarven gods from their souls and thus made them into the superior race.
Duergar have no appreciation for beauty, that ability having been erased from their minds by the mind flayers long ago and any thought of recapturing it obliterated by Moradin’s betrayal. The duergar lead bleak, grim lives devoid of happiness or satisfaction, but they see that as their defining strength — the root of duergar pride, as it were — rather than a drawback to be corrected.
A Dark Reflection
Duergar society is a dark mirror of the dwarven clan. Where dwarves toil for love of industry, duergar do so out of a drive to create and own as much goods and treasure as possible. Their priests assign vocations and arrange marriages, but only to ensure that a clan continues to exist, not out of any sense of creating a legacy. In many ways, the culture of the duergar is fundamentally hollow. For all their wars, and all the treasures they have accumulated, duergar feel no happiness or satisfaction. They simply continue to exist, ever-turning cogs in an engine of destruction that is the antithesis of the dwarves’ joyful cycle of creation.Three Rules of Conduct
Duergar psychology, culture, and society are predicated on three principles set down by their god Laduguer. Adherence to these precepts is now enforced by Laduguer’s chief lieutenant, Deep Duerra.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 are 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.Inside a Stronghold
Duergar strongholds are best defined in terms of how they compare to the underground fortresses of the dwarves. Both places constantly bustle with activity, forges and picks and hammers always at work, but that’s where the similarity ends. In a dwarven stronghold, the atmosphere is one of optimistic industry. Dwarves enjoy what they do, and their dedication to furthering the clan and leaving a proper legacy shows through in every aspect of a clan’s operation. In contrast, the duergar care nothing for the dwarven ideal of achieving utmost mastery of a craft. For this reason, they pay no mind to their environment or the aesthetics of their creations. In a duergar stronghold, the atmosphere is one of unrelenting drudgery. Quantity, not quality, is at the heart of their efforts, as the duergar strive to craft as many items as possible in the shortest period of time. Duergar goods aren’t flawed or substandard, but are plain to the point of austerity. To the duergar, a manufactured object is useful only for the function it performs. In a typical stronghold, the workshops occupy the central chamber. The smoke that belches from them fills the air and drifts into surrounding passages. The outer edges of the stronghold are honeycombed with mining operations. The duergar wrest rock from the cavern walls and process the chunks in search of useful ore, pulverizing them with powerful mechanical devices and sorting out the metals, minerals, and gems. Between the mines and the workshops stands a ring of fortresses, each ruled by a noble and occupied by the noble’s followers. The stronghold’s king commands the largest edifice, five times the size of the next biggest. The priests of Deep Duerra reside in the second largest fortress, which houses the duergar army. The priests organize patrols and guard duty and oversee the settlement’s armory. Steeders, spiders that are used as mounts and war beasts by the duergar, are housed in stables that stand between the workshops and the fortresses. Each enclosure is virtually an individual prison, since the violent creatures must be kept apart lest they tear into each other or wreak havoc in some other way. Only careful supervision and brutal discipline keep them in line when they are out of their cages. Each noble is responsible for maintaining a set of steeder pens, and a squad of duergar are assigned to train and supervise the beasts.Power of the Mind
During their period of slavery under the mind flayers, the duergar were the subjects of a variety of bizarre experiments that endowed them with psionic abilities. Every duergar is born with some amount of psionic talent. The typical warrior can turn invisible or increase in size, and some duergar take up a more formal study of psionics to enhance or augment their capabilities. These individuals push their abilities beyond the normal limits, using what they learn to create new talents that they can then teach to others. Despite these efforts, duergar still have a limited understanding of the true extent of their psionic capabilities. From the perspective of most other creatures, such abilities are seen as merely another flavor of magic. After all, they reason, what does it matter if a duergar turns invisible by using magic or a psionic ability? The outcome is the same either way. Those duergar who delve into psionic research describe the process as accessing a dimensional space in which they can tap into the energy exerted by living minds. Using this power source, a small number of duergar can alter their bodies and those of other creatures, tap into thoughts and bend them as they see fit, and impart a spark of locomotion and even basic intelligence into objects. Duergar of truly exceptional skill can move objects without touching them, view creatures from a great distance, and push their bodies to achieve incredible feats, such as lifting a boulder or transforming into liquid to flow through a crack in a wall.
Ability Score Increase.
Your Strength score increases by 1.
Superior Darkvision.
Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.
Extra Language.
You can speak, read, and write Undercommon.
Duergar Resilience.
You have advantage on saving throws against illusions and against being charmed or paralyzed.
Duergar Magic.
When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the enlarge/reduce spell on yourself once with this trait, using only the spell’s enlarge option. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the invisibility spell on yourself once with this trait. You don’t need material components for either spell, and you can’t cast them while you’re in direct sunlight, although sunlight has no effect on them once cast. You regain the ability to cast these spells with this trait when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Sunlight Sensitivity.
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Loot.
Your Strength score increases by 1.
Superior Darkvision.
Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.
Extra Language.
You can speak, read, and write Undercommon.
Duergar Resilience.
You have advantage on saving throws against illusions and against being charmed or paralyzed.
Duergar Magic.
When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the enlarge/reduce spell on yourself once with this trait, using only the spell’s enlarge option. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the invisibility spell on yourself once with this trait. You don’t need material components for either spell, and you can’t cast them while you’re in direct sunlight, although sunlight has no effect on them once cast. You regain the ability to cast these spells with this trait when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Sunlight Sensitivity.
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Encompassed species
- 1 Tattered War Pick
- 1d4 Tattered Javelins
- 1 Tattered Scale Mail
- 1 Tattered Shield
- 1d8 Duergar Fingers (No immediate use. Acts as trophy among Underdark hunters/adventurers.)
- 1 Duergar Head (Marks the holder as a foe of the Duergar. Can be carefully crafted (alchemist's supplies) into a Potion of Growth, or mastercrafted (alchemist's supplies) into a Potion of Invisibility.)
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