Duergar

Duergar, also known as gray dwarves, were a subrace of Dwarf who carved out an existence in the Underdark, often near volcanoes. Their kinship to other dwarven subraces could be compared to that of a drow to a surface Elf.

Description

Like other dwarves, duergar were typically thick, stocky figures, though beyond this there were many differences. Both male and female duergar were typically bald, with females also lacking the capacity to grow facial hair. Many were also thinner than their dwarven brethren. Most obvious, however, was their dull gray skin and hair, often matched with an equally stolid expression.
Tyrannical, grim, industrious and pessimistic, the lives of the gray dwarves were bleak and brutal. Rather than a flaw, however, they viewed their lack of happiness as their greatest strength, the defining feature of duergar pride. The duergar saw themselves as the true paragons of dwarvish ideals compared to their weak and pampered kin, but in truth, their ways were a dark reflection of those found in normal dwarves.
While they did display the redeeming virtues of determination and bravery, duergar took dwarven flaws to their logical extremes. They were violent and hateful, sullen and insular, greedy and ungrateful, deeply cynical of others' motives and dutifully tracked and nursed every grudge, whether or not any offense was meant. Though their vices were many, the moral failings of the gray dwarves could be traced to three primary principles: bottomless greed, unceasing conflict, and rejection of emotion.
Duergar creations weren't flawed or subpar, and in fact were rather enduring, but were completely utilitarian, considered valuable only for their function and bereft of warmth and artistry. Appreciation of beauty had been erased from their minds, the aesthetics of their creation ignored. Their works were not labors of love, for their goal was not quality, but quantity, an attempt to craft as many items as possible as fast as possible. At the heart of duergar efforts was simply desire, an insatiable desire for wealth and prestige. Yet even when their great schemes to acquire succeeded, the success was never cause for celebration, each acquisition just as incapable of satisfying their unending need for more.
The suffering of others was one of the rare times that the duergar could feel some semblance of happiness. They enjoyed tormenting those vulnerable to their predations, but this was not to be mistaken for the wasteful and extravagant displays of cruelty shown by the drow. Rather, the duergar enjoyed more "down-to-earth" suffering, working others to the death and using cruel jokes and petty abuse to bring a momentary smile to their faces. The closest they came to feeling true joy was when satisfying their violent urges and desire for treasure, especially when raiding dwarven strongholds to do it.
The gray dwarves were consumed by feelings of bitterness, convinced not only that their race had been denied their due, but that the world, other dwarves, and even their own kin and clan had cheated them of their birthright. They were forbidden from trusting others and raised from a young age to believe that betrayal was simply their inevitable fate, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Though the duergar were assigned life partners, this was merely to ensure the continued survival of the clan, for life in the Underdark required cooperation. The creation of a legacy was not considered because they had abandoned individuality, each member of society expected to perform their determined role as best they could.
On the positive side of duergar behavior, they shared the dwarven virtue of minding one's own business (at least as long as others didn't have something they wanted). Though most were evil, a fair number leant towards hardhearted neutrality, wanting nothing more than to be left alone, and a rare few managed to become good.

A duergar blacksmith

Abilities

Duergar were in some ways even better adapted to underground living than other dwarves. While other dwarves lacked the capacity to see completely in the deepest darkness, this was not a problem for duergar. Duergar were also immune to many of the ancient techniques used by the mind flayers to control them, such as paralysis, phantasms, alchemical poisons, or some types of illusion.
Duergar were also a sneaky, crafty people, unlike their honor-bound cousins, and often excelled at setting up ambushes or moving out of sight. Conversely, many were also good at detecting hidden objects. A few duergar also possessed natural abilities akin to the enlarge and invisibility spells. This came at a cost, however, and duergar, like drow, had a special vulnerability to sunlight

Society

Duergar were, as a whole, generally cruel and malevolent creatures, but as in most evil races this was as much a cultural affectation as a psychological trait.

Magic

Unlike other dwarves, duergar had a strong tradition of magic, both in the divine and arcane varieties, and duergar clerics, runecasters, runesmiths, and wizards were highly respected for their skill. Clerics were fairly common, serving Khitrost in order to gain power and influence within society.
In particular, the duergar had a fondness for magically crafted items that they could use to aid them in combat, protect their minds against tampering, or to hide from enemy senses. Duergar crafted many magic items unique to them, such as absorbing shields, bolts of battering, and stonereaver axes.

Religion

The chief god of the duergar was Khitrost, the dwarven god of magic, cunning, and conquest, although the more good aligned duergar tended to worship Shakhter, the god of crafting and the forge. When Clan Duergar was enslaved by the mind flayers, the duergar began to dedicate an increasing amount of worship to Otoriter, an evil deity who's domain included using technology to control and domineer others.
Over time, the captive duergar become more dogmatic in their following of Otoriter, believing that the rest of the Dwarven Pantheon had abandoned them as their kin had. They came to believe that their suffering at the hand of mind flayers was proof of their being forsaken. Good aligned Duergar still worship Shakhter, although they do so in secret as the worship of Shakhter has been forbiden in most Underdark society.

Combat

Duergar adventurers were most commonly concerned with personal gratification, and were frequently fighters or rogues, leaning on their training against the threats of the Underdark. Because of their cruel nature, experienced duergar adventurers often became assassins or blackguards.

Relations

Duergar were a coarse and distrustful race who felt that other races were out to get them, whether they were from the Underdark or the surface world. In spite of this, duergar were usually willing to trade with outside races, particularly from the surface world, for the sake of profit and the relations between duergar and their sometime-enemies, sometime-friends the drow and deep gnomes were especially complicated.
However, the duergar had absolutely no love in their heart for their closest of kin, surface dwarves, who the duergar felt abandoned them to the onslaught of the mind flayers. Since then, the duergar had waged war time and time again against dwarves, demonstrating a deep-seated loathing.
Because of their pessimism, duergar rarely adventured of their own free will and were instead most commonly exiles cast out of their society. Some found escape from their society through petty crime, tattooed and cast out from their cities beneath the surface and driven into the arms of other races. Their grim disposition, however, made them unlikely to form many lasting friendships

Player Race Features

• Size. Medium.
• Speed. 25 ft. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.
• Superior Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
• Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage. You also have advantage on saving throws against illusions and against being charmed or paralyzed.
• Dwarven Combat Training. You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, light hammer, and warhammer.
• Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: Smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.
• Stonecunning. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Dwarvish, and Under Speak.
• 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, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race).
• Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and 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.