Duergar

The Dawi Zharr in Dwarvish

Mention of the duergar around dwarves is usually accompanied by an exclamation of "Unbaraki" (oathbreakers) or "Wanaz" (a disreputable dwarf with an unkempt beard), both of the worst insults in the dwarven tongue. They are universally hated amongst the iron dwarves and gold dwarves alike.
Though I have never met one of these mysterious folk, as it is said they live deep in the underdark, I managed to cobble together what information I could from my time with the iron dwarves and, from the tales they told, I am fortunate to have never encountered the dawi zharr.
The duergar are cruel slavers of the underdark, raiding the deepest points of dwarven holds to capture slaves. The obsidian mines of Durazzhar Kadrin are said to be one of the points of frequent conflict in the dwarf realms as miners battle with the dawi zharr on a regular basis.
Whilst I was staying there, a miner who was enslaved by the duergar had managed to break free and return to the settlement. I was allowed the privilege of being able to interview him.
His skin that was showing was covered in wounds both fresh and scarred, there were branding marks that he explained he got when he assumed he had passed between owners (the duergar apparently no longer speak dwarvish), and his arm and the portion of his chest i could see were riddled with what looked like puncture marks. It was not only iron dwarves that he found had been enslaved but drow, deep gnomes, even other duergar. He told me of how he was worked tirelessly to extract various minerals from mines far deeper than any normal dwarf would dig and of how the duergar could use magic to infuse metal to work on its own. These machines would burrow their way through in random tunneling patterns, arcing out before burrowing back to the point they were released. The slaves would be required to work through the rubble to find anything of use, each cut, he said, was a day in which did not find anything considered valuable enough. This process was rife with danger and he had seen many of his fellow slaves torn to shreds as a tunneling machine broke through the tunnel wall without warning.
When I had inquired about the puncture marks he informed me his master had liked to perform alchemical experiments on his slaves. Mostly, he said it was to keep them weak and confused, there were more slaves than duergar in this mine, he informed me. His escape he said was due to an attack by rat people roughly the size of dwarves coming to attack his master's mining settlement and as his master and his duergar rushed to defend his laboratory our slave friend escaped.
My best guess at the truth is that even a dwarf's mind can only sustain so much pressure before it breaks or perhaps that the master was injecting him with some form of hallucinogenics. I would guess it was either a band of dwarves from another hold trying to free their captured friends, perhaps a rival duergar clan attempting to take over the mine. Either way i find little credence in the myth of the thaggoraki, or skaven in the common tongue that the iron dwarves perpetuate.
Less than two days after I had interviewed the runaway slave, it was reported to me that he had died. His muscles had begun to swell until his body could not take it any more and his ribs had broken inwards, puncturing his lung and suffocating him. I was shocked and saddened at the news as it was a cruel and painful death. That day my understanding grew for dwarvenkind's hatred of their duergar cousins.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

My assumption is that duergar are best suited to being deep underground. Through my vast travels and extensive collecting of research and folk tales, not once did i find mention of a duergar on the surface world.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Unclear, although there is some semblance of hierarchy within the duergar and some aspect of trading, for slaves and precious minerals at least.

Facial characteristics

A duergar's eyes are white to pale grey, sometimes with hints of violet. Their hair as well is a pale grey to white colour.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Like their iron dwarf ancestors the duergar possess a superior form of darkvision.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Dwarves

Scientific Name

V. S. Dwarfus Sulphurum

Lifespan

300 years (assuming similar to other dwarves)

Average Height

4' 1"

Average Weight

8st 2lb

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The duergar's skin ranges between pale grey and near black. Near everything about these dwarves physicality is monochrome.