Duergar

Forged by centuries beneath the earth, the grim Duergar endure the darkness with unyielding resilience, unmatched craftsmanship, and an unwavering devotion to their subterranean kingdom.

Culture & Society

            Unlike their surface-dwelling cousins, the Duergar have forsworn the sunlit world in favor of the bounty and security of the caverns beneath Vaeria’s surface.  Being unable to bear witness to the other races “ruining” their god’s perfect creation they retreated to the depths of the world where they could continue to build and create as their nature demands of them.  The Duergar refer to their homeland as, “The Unformed Lands.” 

After eons spent dwelling in the gloom of their caves the idea of traveling to the surface realm fills most Duergar with horror!  Only the most brave or desperate of their kind venture far from their dark homes.  Those adventurous souls who do so are usually driven by some vision or search that may lead them to create one of the great works of their people.  In doing so, they trust they will ascend to a place of honor beside their god in the afterlife.  They believe that The World Forger intended for his children to continue his work of shaping the world he began with almost a religious zealot’s passion.

Unfortunately, millennium of delving beneath the surface realm has begun to subtly warp the minds of the Duergar.  As they continue to descend into the darkness, they draw ever closer to the realm of the Shadowfell.  The dark and twisted beings of that realm have begun to influence and corrupt the minds of the deep dwelling dwarves.  This corruption manifests as a form of indefinite madness that cannot be cured.

Ages of dwelling in the dark depths of the world and their proximity to the Shadowfell has washed out most of the color from the aspects of the Duergar.  Their skin tones have transitioned to muted shades of black and ashen gray.  Their hair and beards are mostly black during their younger years but slowly fade to a dusky grey color as they age.

Indefinite Madness

d100	Madness Description
01 – 15	“Being drunk keeps me sane.”
16 – 25	“I keep whatever I find.”
26 – 30	“I try to become more like someone else I know – adopting his or her style of dress, mannerisms, and name.”
31 – 35	“I must bend the truth, exaggerate, or outright lie to be interesting to other people.”
36 – 45	“Achieving my goal is the only thing of interest to me, and I’ll ignore everything else to pursue it.”
46 – 50	“I find it hard to care about anything that goes on around me.”
51 – 55	“I don’t like the way people judge me all the time.”
56 – 70	“I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know.”
71 – 80	“I am convinced that powerful enemies are hunting me, and their agents are everywhere I go.  I am sure they’re watching me all the time.”
81  – 85	”There’s only one person I can trust, and only I can see this special friend.”

Racial Traits

• Superior Darkvision – Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.
• 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.
• Duergar Resilience – You have advantage on saving throws against illusions and against being charmed or paralyzed.
• Tool Proficiency – You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools.
• 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.
• Indefinite Madness – All Duergar are affected by a form of indefinite madness.  Players must choose or roll for the type of madness that afflicts their character using the table below (more personalized traits may be negotiated at the DM’s discretion).